First published 2006
Tu Miter runs a grocery store in Wizard Tree Village when a dwarf named Teds Burin arrives at the local Catholic association meeting. The stranger carries cards marked with red dots and makes an extraordinary claim. For just five mao, he will grant any wish. Three villagers take the offer. Eleven year old Polly has a sharp tongue that drives people away. She wishes everyone would like her. Fifteen year old Lovina has fallen for Henry Pipuer, the traveling tool salesman who visits twice yearly. She wishes he would love her forever. Sixteen year old Adam struggles with his dry ranch and the long trips to Spider River for water. He wishes his farm had water everywhere. The dwarf keeps his word, but the three wishes come true in ways none of them expected. Their desires transform their lives in the small village, though not quite as they imagined.
Genres: fiction, fantasy, contemporary, magical-realism
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: unexpected-consequences, wish-fulfillment
Setting: Wizard Tree Village, Spider River
199 pages · Paperback · Newbuds Press