The Crystal Staircase

Pip is a tiny mountain fairy with warm peach skin, fluffy copper hair, amber eyes and translucent wings, dressed in a knitted red scarf and a moss-green tunic. She makes her home high on a snowy peak where the wind sings and clouds drift past, and she loves wandering the mountain paths in search of something new. On a crisp winter morning, she follows a trail of frosty footprints to a waterfall frozen solid, and within the blue and silver ice she finds a staircase of clear crystal winding upward, every step sparkling like a star.

Mindful of her grandmother's warning to look before she leaps, Pip climbs slowly and carefully. She tests each step with her boot, holds her silver acorn pendant for luck, goes around a cracked step rather than jumping over it, keeps her wings folded against the gusting wind, and finds a safe ledge to pass a narrow gap. This gentle winter tale by Yavuz DEMİRKIRAN follows her careful ascent and can be read on Online Masal, where young readers will find a quiet story about balancing courage with caution.