The Whispering Woods and the Lost Laughter

Previously

…The sprites, hearing Barnaby’s words, seemed to puff up with pride. They danced around him, their lights creating a dazzling halo. Barnaby, for his part, didn't seem to mind. He even gave a little chuckle, a soft, rumbling sound that was far more charming than his earlier bellow. Lily knew, with a certainty that settled deep in her giggling heart, that she had helped. She had brought her laughter, her innate inability to be serious for too long, and it had been the key. The Whispering Woods was no longer a place of sorrow and silence. It was a place of joy, of light, and of the sweetest, most infectious laughter. The sprites remembered, and the woods, at long last, was truly alive.