The Mad Tea Party - 2009...

Once Upon a Time (as stories like this are wont to start) there was a girl dressed in a butterfly robe...

She lived in a place not far from where you are now, and she may remind you of someone you know or someone you've been before...she didn't always stand out for any exceptional reasons that I can think of, and did not consider herself magic by any means. The tragic thing happened to be, that she was suffering from a strange ailment. It could have been a spell placed on her by a witch or a fairy that had fallen from grace...or even elf (because they can sometimes be mischievous) or perhaps she had walked through an enchanted spiderweb. Whatever the case may have been, the girl in the butterfly robe was unable to see the colors that surrounded her. And often she found herself in a very un-colorful world where things were always black and white and hardly any shades of gray.

She was not always happy about this, but didn't quite know what to do (along with finding her surroundings more than a little drab, she was sometimes quite confused...as I'm sure we all know that it's easy to be that way when you live in such a world) She had lived like this for so long, she was having a hard time remembering what colors the things that surrounded her could possibly be.

One day, while out walking among the rocks in her land...the girl came upon quite a fantastic scene.

There was an entire tea party set up just seemingly waiting for someone to stumble upon it! She looked and sighed thinking to herself that it would be so much better if she could see the true colors she imagined it to be. She walked around the tea party searching for whom it might belong to, and that is when she spied a rather large top hat sitting next to the tea pot.

She paused to think that maybe it would be OK if she put the hat on for a little bit...just to try it out. But she was very scared and wished that there was someone there that she could ask about what it is that she should do. She looked over each shoulder, but only saw some very drab monkeys and they didn't seem to want to say a thing, because they all looked away and pretended not to see her distress...All of a sudden, the girl felt her courage growing as her heart whispered to her to put on the hat. Before she lost her nerve all together, she found herself quickly putting the hat on her head.

And then a strange thing started to happen...

Colors started to fade in swirling around her where there were none before. She stopped to pause...could it be the hat? Was this a Magic Hat in the middle of a Magic Tea Party? She lived in a land full of magic, so the girl decided that this was most likely the case.

After wearing the had she decided it was most fantastic indeed, but she found it to be a little big for her head...as it kept slipping down over her eyes obscuring the views of the colors that were finally starting to creep into her life...She was a little worried as the thought occurred to her that she might have to wear this hat for the rest of her life, unless she wanted to slip back into her small black and white world.

The girl had decided that if wearing the over-sized magic hat helped her to see the true colors of her now much larger world, that she would have no other choice but to wear it, and that she would just decide to be grateful to have found the magic anyway. Suddenly, the thought of stumbling into this magia felice (happy magic) just around the corner made her impossibly happy and she soon found herself giggling with delight...

...Which caused her to almost topple off her precarious perch and made her new hat fly right off her head...

and that's when the colors around her really exploded!

You see...just by having the courage to stop and try something totally different, take a bit of a risk and follow her own inner voice...it caused the magic of the hat to flow into her heart and open her up to the colors of the world that had always surrounded her (but she quite often didn't see...)

Sometimes that's how Magic works you know.

She immediately hopped up and decided to explore her new exciting surroundings as the Tea Party suddenly looked so much more edible...you see, the colors gave her an appetite that she thought she'd lost. Upon the bright quilt she found herself sitting on, there were plates heaped with goodies and she was surrounded with tea party friends in the forms of now very jauntily dressed monkeys where there was once sad drab little fellows, who were now all of a sudden quite eager to share her smile (I think often monkeys can be fickle like that)

The girl thought after exploring the party, that one of the most fantastic things she found was a white metal bowl full of the most colorful eggs she'd ever seen...

She decided right then and there to pick one up and crack it open to see if there was anything inside (you see, she had fared so well with the hat, her courage was starting to grow and she was feeling bold...)

Can you imagine what was in it?

When she cracked the egg open, jewels of which the like she had never before seen spilled out...along with cupcakes of every color in the rainbow! The girl threw off her butterfly robe and danced a happy dance all along the rocks. After dancing for quite some time, she became a little tired and in need of some refreshment. This is when she remembered that she happened to be at a Mad Tea Party and this may have been the best place in the world in which to be parched...

If Only...

If only she wasn't alone. I mean, of course she did have her small monkey guests, but they were not the best of entertainers, no matter how jauntily they were dressed and how eagerly they smiled. This is when she happened to look over her shoulder to see the mask of the Naso Turco wedged between two pillows...Well, that could only mean one thing! And before she could even think another thought...

Poof!

Whom did she find herself sitting next to? Yes! It was Lo Sciocco Favoloso (the fabulous fool) who was also sometimes known as Lo Sciocco a Piedi Nudi (the barefoot fool) and the true owner of the bird mask that had previously been resting between the pillows, as if waiting only for a thought to bring forth its magic.

After searching her mind for only a moment, the girl really couldn't think of a better companion for this Mad Tea Party...for his legendary magic entertaining skills were well known in her land!

Lo Sciocco Favoloso immediately served the tea and they started to eat cupcakes, while Lo Sciocco Favoloso serenaded them with the most fantastic songs for no reason what so ever (except that they were enjoying each other's company very much by this point...and I find that magic creatures are so often impromptu like this)

And then Lo Sciocco Favoloso jumped off the blanket to do what he did best...

He had brought along his extraordinary gift of entertainment (he keeps it under his hat, you know) and performed a whole magic act for the girl. She was utterly enchanted...and was surprised to find herself no longer the confused person she was before, as Lo Sciocco Favoloso swirled his ribbons and danced among the rocks...

Lo Sciocco Favoloso juggled and twirled as the girl laughed and clapped. She honestly could not remember the last time she had such a magical day...perhaps it was long long ago in a time before she walked through the enchanted spiderweb? Or when she was bitten on the ankle by an Elf (they really can be nasty creatures you know...or perhaps they're just bored.)

Whatever the case may be, at the end of the day...

Lo Sciocco Favoloso took the girl by the hand and told her that the magic of the world actually lived right inside her heart, and that she was only temporarily blinded to the colors caused by the confusion of looking outside herself. By having the courage to listen to and then to follow her heart when she first put on the magic hat, that even if the colors of the world could sometimes fade, she would now be able to remember how to see the colors forevermore.

The girl knew that this must be true because it made her heart expand with happiness as she found herself laughing with joy...and whenever she had any trouble with feeling confused, she only had to remember to have the courage to look into her heart (no matter what was happening outside of her) listen to her own little voice, and remember the lesson of the Magic Hat and the Mad Tea Party and the kind words of Lo Sciocco Favoloso, if only be reminded of her own magia felice every day of her life from then on...

And she pretty much lived a very happy and colorful life for ever after...

Many special thanks to:

Rich Charpentier for reaching far beyond his comfort zone to find his inner whimsy and proving his creative skills with a camera and a computer and the special way he sees the world once again (he who gets it, and didn't laugh at once unless it was from pure happiness) And for having the courage to take my hand while I led him into a Mad Tea Party.








Clay Lightfoot and his amazing talents and willingness to play and have tea on the rocks...bringing his joy and smile! And when he isn't juggling, acting, or singing is the best and brightest bank teller in our little village.










That girl in the butterfly robe, who is learning to remember to look inside of her own heart and find the magic and colors of the world every day. Who, when asked if she could prop a Mad Hatter's Tea Party...threw back her head and laughed as this was one of the things she'd been waiting to do her whole life.








And finally, our fabulous hostess...Vanessa, who inspires every day creativity with her beautiful life and gentle wisdom. A special friend and wonderful woman who weaves stories and creates beauty just by breathing life, love, and joy into everything she does...if you would like to visit more participants of The Mad Tea Party, please click on her name above and get ready for a wonderful treat!