unpublished
One day the little elf was chasing butterflies when she came to the edge of the woods and spied a couple walking by. Out of curiosity, she ventured past the trees to get a better look at them. It was a Balloon Lady and an Invisible Man. They saw the elf staring at them and smiled. The Balloon Lady asked the elf if she would come live with them. They were so lonely, the lady explained. Now, the elf had been noticing all of the families in the forest, from the tiniest frog family to the big lumbering bears and, although she was happy, there were no other elves in her part of the woods. The creatures in the woods were all friendly and fun, but she didn't have anything that looked like a "family" and she felt left out. The elf considered the Balloon Lady's offer and thought these people looked very nice. If I went with these people, we would look like a family, thought the elf. So she said yes.
At first it was fun living with her new family. The Balloon Lady was large and bouncy and full of air, which was good for jumping or just resting. And the elf could walk right through the Invisible Man and he didn't seem to mind. The elf had always enjoyed her life in the forest, but secretly she had been wishing to be a part of the family. Now it seemed that her wish had been granted.
One day, the elf tripped over one of her toys in the middle of the floor. Her gown turned blue with the rain of her tears, as she examined the scrape on her knee. "Now, now, don't cry," said the Balloon Lady. "It's just a little scratch, you know. Why don't you put on your red dress? I like that one much better than the blue one." So the elf smiled and wore red for the Balloon Lady. When the Invisible Man came home from work, the elf asked him, "Which dress do you like?" But the Invisible Man gave no answer.
A few days later, the elf was singing one of her favorite songs, about birds in the trees and frogs on the lily pads. Coming into the room, the Balloon Lady said, "No, don't sing that song. Let's sing my song." The little elf whined and protested, but to no avail, until she finally shouted, "NO!" in a flash of white. The Balloon Lady towered over her. "I don't like your tone of voice!" she yelled at the elf. "Don't say NO to me!" Then, calmer, she added, "You know, I really like you in the red dress best." So, with some effort, the elf put on her red and sang along with the lady. When the Invisible Man came in from mowing the yard, the elf asked, "Which dress do you like?" But he made no reply.
Still later came the day that the elf had to visit The Doctor. The Balloon Lady took her and sat with her in the room. The Doctor's room was all silver and black and had pictures of words on the walls and it smelled funny. As the elf sat on the Tall Bed, she saw a big tray of gadgets and tools and long needles! Her little outfit faded to a pale icy yellow, and when The Doctor came in, she began to cry. "Stop that!" ordered the Balloon Lady, as she shook the elf by the shoulders. "Don't act like a baby, you'll upset the Doctor!" But the elf cried and screamed as they poked her with a needle and she went yellow and white and blue with such ferocity that she was finally drained to something resembling a sand dune. When it was over, the Balloon Lady stroked her hair and said, "Now that wasn't so bad. Why don't you put on your red dress? That would make The Doctor so happy." The little elf smiled wanly, found the red dress and put it on. When they got home, the elf ran to the Invisible Man. "Which dress do you like?" she asked. But he said nothing.
