The Binkle and the Catawampus Compass (Binkles and Magic) by Faith [fantasy] Lynella

long moment. “My dear Jeep, so glad you’re back. Grikkl’s grown tired of my songs and I know all of his stories. You...” She beamed at him. “You want to hear me sing, and keep asking for more. How can I thank you?”
    “Thank me? It’s me who should be thanking you. It’s much more than songs and stories—you make me happy.”
    She tussled his hair in reply, and sang him the Bee Song—another favorite song about flying, only not so high. As she sang he tirelessly flew from flower to flower. He felt himself float slowly over flower beds, pausing to burrow his face into blossom after blossom, breathing in their many-flavored scents.
     When he finally returned to the hive, other bees gathered around to taste the pollen clinging to him, so they could enjoy the same flavors. Jeep the bee wiggled an intricate dance for the other bees that told them where to find the flowers they just tasted on him.
    Through Adah’s song he experienced a bee’s life as a diligent search for blossoms. As such, he enjoyed riding the shifting breezes and feeling the warm sun or cool shadows as he went about his never-ending work. Ah, the life of a bee, I like that .
    Grikkl came over once Adah finished her song. “Now tell, Laddie. We want to hear about what you learned out there on your own.”
    The three of them again sat in front of the fireplace, but this time Jeep did the talking. He told about the little ways his life at home and school changed after he went back—more energy, more variety in how he spent his time. The gnomes chuckled at his description of spending so much time with people he used to avoid. Adah praised his spunk. But hearing Jeep’s joy in having a marvelous secret was the part they liked best.
    They talked a lot about binkles. Adah said, “Life is sprinkled with perfect moments, kind of like pepper. Whenever you binkle, you’re spreading that pepper around. You get some on yourself at the same time you sprinkle it on anyone else. And there’s more good feelings for everybody.”
    ~~~
    Lulu stuck to Jeep as if she were glued to him, but he spent more time with Cerberus as well. Jeep asked the dog, “Don’t you ever leave?”
    “Sure, but I’m so fast that no one sees me coming and going. I’m gone and back in a flash. Besides, most of my trips take me to other dimensions, where the fairy folk live. Over there everyone treats me like the mailman.”
    “But I thought things got done by magic.”
    “That’s only halfway true. But magic or not, the mail gets through because I deliver it . You know the saying, ‘Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night...’ That’s about me. See my mailbags?” He gestured toward the gear on his back.
    “I was meaning to ask you about what it’s for. I thought it was a saddle.”
    “That’s a good one, Jeep. Who do you think would ride me?”
    “Grikkl?”
    Cerberus burst out laughing with a wheezy, yodeling sound. He laughed harder and harder, louder and louder, more like yodeling all the time. The dog was so consumed by laughter he fell over. His right front paw waived in the air, as he pounded the floor with his left one. More than once, the riotous laughter petered out, only to start up all over again.
     “I don’t think it’s that funny. Maybe it was a dumb thing to say, but don’t make fun of me. I didn’t know,” said Jeep.
    Cerberus was wheezing too hard to answer. Feeling put down and embarrassed, Jeep moved off by himself. I’ve been made fun of too many times, but didn’t expect that here. And not from a dog .
    He tried to ignore Cerberus’ chuckles and floor pounding without success. But soon Lulu leaped into his lap and made him forget.
    From then on, Cerberus treated Jeep as good for a laugh. The dog would ask him a riddle or tell a joke with Jeep as his straight man. Although Jeep’s ability to understand the dog’s words improved, he never got the point of those jokes. They depended on experiences he didn’t have. Like