Once upon a time there was a princess in a tower. No, that’s not how it starts. Once upon a time, the princess kissed the frog in the glass slipper and the three bears fell asleep for one hundred years. Or wait, maybe the bears got stuck in the tower and the princess lived in a house that stood on a chicken leg. Or did the princess make three wishes on a magic goose which meant jewels fell out of her mouth whenever she spoke?  Which was OK in some ways, except that it made it difficult during her ascent of the crystal mountain, since she started panting and the sliding gems made a terrible racket rattling down the mountainside.

The smells rose up over the hedges, momentarily suspended in huge clouds before shattering into fireworks. Little bits rained down like scented confetti, covering the ground with unexploded odor-bombs. Patchouli, vanilla, Old Spice, freshly cooked spaghetti. Fragrances stuck to Jenny’s bare feet and tangled in her hair. The cat flicked her paws in a gesture of disdain. The baby laughed and chewed on his hands. The dog rolled in ecstasy over the uncut lawn. At school the teenagers sniffed their fingers surreptitiously, worried they might have picked up the wrong one.