Garnet Graeme glows red with excitement. He zooms to door number twenty-three of the Gemstone Glade advent calendar, crystal palms sweating with acute anticipation.

The door is covered in tiny crystals, shining softly in the low winter light. Eagerly he swings it open. Inside is a large patchwork stocking!

Back at ground level, the fairies clap their hands in delight. Garnet Graeme sticks his hand deep into the stocking. He discovers several tiny polished crystals. He shares them among the others. All different colours, they sparkle with the joy of Christmas.

Then they begin to change, from pebble crystals to little birds. Together, the birds flap their new wings and fly from the fairy hands. They take their place on the Gemstone Glade Christmas Tree.

Graeme again sticks his hand in to the stocking. He finds several tangerines. Again, he shares them among the group. Greedily, the fairies eat, throwing the tangerine peel carelessly to the ground.

Suddenly, the tangerine peel begins to move. The pieces assemble together in a small cloud, taking on the shape of a bird of prey. Gracefully the orange bird flies around the glade, and then takes off over the trees.

Graeme’s hand returns to the stocking. Right at the bottom, rests another crystal. Graeme clutches it tightly, and as his hand returns the fairies behold a clear crystal ball.

The fairies crowd round. Within the ball, they see a miniature Gemstone Glade. Unicorns are drinking from the fountain. Suddenly, a red-tunicked Santa Claus appears. He dumps the stocking – their stocking – on the ground, then is gone.

Next the fairies see themselves, encircling the stocking and eating tangerines. They laugh with bemusement. The crystal ball turns cloudy.

“I will keep this,” declares Garnet Graeme. “Who knows what this ball will one day reveal?”

Then it is time to dance, the start of the fairy Christmas festivities in earnest. A unicorn enters the glade, and quietly watches them. It begins to snow, and the scene is complete.