When they had finished eating Akari started painting the back and one side whilst Koji did the front and the other side. Inside the house the three ladies set about painting the walls and Cherry Blossom was waving her wand making curtains, cushions and bed linen out of the material that their friends had brought. Akari could hear them all laughing and chattering inside the house so happily. She whispered to Koji “I am so glad we could help them, I wish we could show your Okaasan (mum) how well the house looks” Koji lifted his head and put down his brush covered in yellow paint as he was just finishing off the squiggly bits” “We can, we can come back tomorrow and bring my Otousan (dad) ’s old camera, I’m sure he won’t mind, if I look after it.” When all the work was done they all flopped down onto the ground and congratulated each other on a job well done.

“All you need now is some lights; we will have a think about what we can do” said Koji. Akari and Koji packed up their stuff onto the pram and said to all their friends that they would see them tomorrow and finish off their work. “We will come to the woods and call Cherry Blossom when we are there” Everyone thanked the two children and waved them goodbye and they set off home following Cherry Blossom through the forest.

Akari ran into her house thinking that she was late and was afraid that her Okaasan (mum) would be worried. “You have only been just over an hour so I wasn’t worried, but it is good that you consider that I may be worried” said her Okaasan (mum) Akari remembered then that time is different in the magic forest so what seemed to Akari was a whole morning and part of an afternoon was only an hour. Akari and Koji went to their beds that night feeling very happy with their achievement and fell fast asleep.

The next morning Akari woke up and suddenly had a bright idea. She ran next door and knocked on Mr Kita’s door and asked to see Koji. “I have had a brilliant idea. I have some fairy lights in my drawer at home which I have never used. They are worked by the sun which stores up the daylight and puts them on in the dark. They were for the garden, they would be perfect for the house.” said Akari. Off she went up to her bedroom and proceeded to rummage through her drawers for the lights, and leaving behind a very messy bedroom. Koji replied “We could put the “solar rechargeable” box on top of the mound and run the wires into the house. We could ask Cherry Blossom to magic some tiny holes for us so we could thread it through the wall and through each room?”

Off they set armed with hammer and nails to meet up with everyone at the house. They told Cherry blossom about what they wanted to do and she was so pleased to help she clapped her hands and laughed and said “Just show me where you want them and I will do that” The ladies looked at each puzzled, as they didn’t understand what they were talking about. “Don’t worry it will all come clear to you in a while” said Koji. They all set to and fitted the lights around the house and Koji looked for the best place to put the sunlight charger. Akari said “when it goes dark the lights should come on, we have only put one of the lights in your bedroom so it is not too bright for sleeping, and we have put most of them in the other rooms.”
They had been able to help their woodland friends.