Friday Sock Fairy Adventures and Strawberry Fool

Friday Sock Fairy Adventures in Sockland

Reader ages 6-9 Story synopsis so far…

Will, an eight year old boy, is searching through the clothes in the dryer for his lost soccer sock. He really wants to find the mate as his soccer socks are a lucky pair. He once scored a winning goal wearing them. As Will leans into the dryer he suddenly is sucked in and tossed about. When Will stops spinning he tumbles out into a new place called Sockland. This new magical place has mismatched socks everywhere hanging on tree branches. Three fairies fly by Will. He knows they are fairies from seeing pictures in his story books. He runs excitedly down the road hoping to catch up to them but trips and falls over a large rock on the road. His leg hurts but he manages to catch up just as the fairies disappear through the door into the Sock Bank. Unexpectedly Will’s size changes to very small when he rubs fairy dust over his hands. He is able to make it inside the Sock Bank behind a fairy just as the door closes.

Vocabulary words to be discussed before reading the story
Bank-a place that accepts money deposits and also where money can be withdrawn
Cubbyholes- a group of small boxlike enclosures or compartments, open at the front, in which things or belongings are stored
Pair-two things that are alike
Mismatched-two things that are not alike
Mate-one of a matched pair
Accessory-a thing which can be added to something else in order to make it more useful or attractive
Teller-someone who works at a bank

Chapter Two: Sock Bank
Will moved over to the corner sitting quietly on the floor. He did not want anyone to see him. He had heard stories that fairies are known to play tricks on humans. But no one paid attention to him. Will looked around. He had never seen so many fairies in all different shapes and colors. Each fairy was wearing some kind of sock accessory: leg warmers, stocking caps, mittens, mismatched socks some long- some short, hand warmers and even sock monkey hats. They were standing in a line holding their bags talking and laughing.

Straight ahead of the line was a long table. Behind the table was a huge bookcase with many cubbyholes. Each cubbyhole had a different sign in front of it Women, Men, Boys, Girls. Inside they were stuffed with all sorts of socks: rubber duckies, dinosaurs, monkeys, sailboats, ladybugs and many, many more.

The funniest looking fairy was standing in front of the long table. She was wearing a colorful stripped stocking cap that hung down her back.  Attached to the front of her cap was a large sign that said Teller. When each fairy reached the front of the line she dumped all the mismatched socks out of their bag. It looked like to Will the fairy was looking for the mate to each one of the socks in the cubbyholes.

“I’ve got one! I’ve got one!” shouted one fairy waving a matching pair in the air.

The teller handed the fairy a gold coin. Loud clapping from all the fairies standing in line could be heard all through the room. Just as the next fairy standing in line dumped out her bag, Will yelled, “Stop! That’s mine!”

He ran down the aisle waving his green stripped soccer sock and grabbed the mate right off the table. Silence filled the room. A loud buzzer went off  Beep-Beep-Beep. 
But all Will heard was “Thief! Thief! Thief!” as two very large guards grabbed him.

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Next Friday Adventures Chapter Three-Melinda to the Rescue

A lovely summery dessert with a fruit, that doesn't need cooking. This recipe is a twist on the traditional strawberry fool recipe using whole milk Greek yogurt. Only 196 calories per serving.  Recipe adapted from Beth Dooley Star Tribune newspaper 6-25-15
Ingredients:

• 1 pint strawberries, hulled plus a few extra strawberries for garnish
• 2 TB. sugar
• 3/4 heavy cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
• fresh mint sprigs

Directions:

• Cut berries into 1/4 inch pieces and place in a medium bowl with the sugar. Using the back of the fork, smash the strawberries to release their juices.
• In a medium bowl , whip the cream until it holds firm peaks and then whip in yogurt. 
• Fold the smashed berries with their juices into the cream mixture.
• Place the mixture in parfait glasses and garnish with mint and more diced strawberries. 

 

The fool, or a dessert of sweetened fruit folded into stiffly peaked and slightly sugared whipped cream, dates back to 16th-century England. It’s possibly the simplest dessert, and any fool should be able to make it. Many fruits and some vegetables (in the case of rhubarb) can be used, but berries work particularly well, especially strawberries. If you’re a stickler for tradition, channel the Brits and make your fool with gooseberries.

Rhubarb is a vegetable with a unique taste that makes it a favorite in many pies and desserts. It originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago. It was initially cultivated for its medicinal qualities, it was not until the 18th century that rhubarb was grown for culinary purposes in Britain and America. Rhubarb is often commonly mistaken to be a fruit but rhubarb is actually a close relative of garden sorrel, and is therefore a member of the vegetable family. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber.