In the heart of a whimsical wood, there lived a merry woodcutter named Ned. Ned had a dazzling smile and a bright red hat that bobbed up and down like a cheerful bird as he walked.

One sunny morn, Ned heard a clinking and clanking from the sparkling stream nearby. 'What's that sound?' he wondered aloud, his curiosity as bright as his cap.

As he peered into the glittering water, there appeared Mercury, shining like a silver moonbeam! Mercury twinkled with a grin, saying, 'Hello, Ned, you jolly fellow!'

Ned was amazed, his eyes as round as the moon. 'Why, Mercury! What brings you to my neck of the woods?' he asked with a gregarious giggle.

Mercury laughed like tinkling bells, 'I come with gifts and giggles, for those who are honest and hearty!' Ned's smile widened like the crescent of a new moon.

'Behold!' Mercury waved a wand that seemed made of stars, and out of the stream flew a silver axe! It glittered and gleamed, the finest tool any woodcutter could dream.

With his heart aglow, Ned clapped and cheered. 'This is surely a wonder for the world to hear!' he sang in his sing-songy voice.

But then Mercury became quite solemn, like a statue in the town square. 'Honesty is key, dear Ned, to earn this gift fair and square.'

Ned nodded proudly, 'Truth is my guide, forever and wide.' He waved to Mercury with a glee-filled grin, glowing like the garden's brightest flower.

Mercury returned a twinkle that sparkled like the evening stars, 'May honesty light your life as brightly as my silvery shimmer!'

And so, Mercury slipped away into the stream's silky embrace, leaving Ned with his heart filled with magic and his axe of honesty forever in hand.

'Whenever you hear a clink or a clank, remember Ned's honest and grand thanks!' he sang, as merry as a lark under the vast, blue sky.