A wee 5 years old. Or 9. Or maybe 3. Three would be good. Thrice, quite nice, and not just for blind mice.

Not too small, not too big, but juuuuust right for a trip not far, far away to Children's Fairyland.

That fanciful place that's hidden in plain view, that's tucked in trees by Lake Merritt in Oakland, that's filled with simple enchantments old and new, that has pirate ships and puppets and dragons and whales, that has castles and carousels and storybook tales -- that was all here long before the land that Walt built.

"This is the oldest storybook theme park in America, tied to stories, books and reading," said executive director C.J. Hirschfield, on a recent tour she was leading. And it's a gem oft taken for granted, you know.

Likely because grownups probably think it too slow. To be sure, it's not the neck-snapping rides many desire, but a sweet, peaceful nostalgia our old grownup souls do require. Things are getting better there too, adults really should observe. What was once disrepair is now spruced up with verve.

Thanks to the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club that's long loved the place. And grants, donations and new management to lift the nonprofit, city-owned amusement park's face.

A new Wild West Junction is coming -- for real this time, even though it has said "coming soon" for 20 years on the weather-worn sign. Now workers are pounding on a water-tower slide, saloon and a jail, which will all open the weekend of Sept. 11 -- they promise -- without fail.

There's still work and more funds needed for the rest of the park too. Peter Rabbit's Village looks a bit tired. Some of the ponds aren't too blue. Not that peeling paint ever mattered to little girls or little boys. Remember, they're the ones who choose the boxes always over the toys.

For many years now, adults couldn't get in to Fairyland without a child. That's bugged a few grownups. Just driven them wild. Because they'd been kids too, you know. Really. Once upon a time ....

So starting 9 a.m. this Saturday (and continuing the last Saturday of every month), adults can get in for a free tour of the 10-acre park on their own, without a kid in the bunch.

If nothing else, there's so much fun amusement-park history to be had. Not many of these small 1950s-built kids' parks are left, so ignoring this one would be sad.

Fairyland really mixes the old and the new. To enter the park, you still go through the Old Woman's giant old shoe. It was the park's original 1950 entry way. Back then a ticket-taker crouched inside for you to pay.

Now you pass through the shoe and into a domed hall. A winged fairy reaches down from the deep-blue ceiling, a crowned frog grips a gold ball.

There are bright-colored, slanty archways drawing you in, through which you see Chung Ling the Happy Dragon peeking out from within. The archways are new. Chung Ling sure is not. But he's a bright yellow fellow who likes to talk a lot.

If you pull his long tongue he goes,"Roar!" but get close to hear. The old recording is tinny and just not too clear. "Welcome to Fairyland!" Chung Ling says with permanent glee. "Magic keys can be purchased at that cute little pumpkin, right behind me."

"Magic keys" plug into boxes outside the storybook displays, and a tape plays a famed fable that few kids know these days. It doesn't matter how old the keys may be -- or you. The decades-old ones you've long kept will still work, and always will. C.J. tells us it's true.

"That's one aspect we will forever keep the same," she said. "Just like the Bubble Elf." That would be Oswald, by name.

Adult: "He doesn't look very friendly."

Kid: "Bubbles! I caught one! And it didn't brea ... ooops."

Time to go climb some toadstools, colored bright like Froot Loops.

Stop by the Three Little Pigs' house, the one the wolf couldn't blow down, huff and puff as he might like a politician on full bluff around town.

Bong! Bong! in the distance, rang the bell for the Pied Piper puppet show. "We're gonna be late!" yelled a running little girl, who looked nothing like a rabbit, but you just never know.

There's the pirate ship -- mainly a sail, crow's nest and mast. But a fine craft to board and shout, "I'm a pirate! Avast!"

One of the longtime faves is a mysterious cave-like door. There's writing on the wall, but you quickly want more.

Down!

Down!

Down!

Would the fall never come to an end?

Unlike Alice, you slide or walk down the rabbit hole to a room of purple walls. Crooked doors and a fun house mirror help you weave through the halls. There are painted snippets of the tale and some of them say, "The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer's day."

The end's a little scary -- an outdoor maze. Lost in playing-card soldiers. You could be there for days.

The old miniature Ferris wheel was brought to the park, back in 1975 as a cast-off from the Santa Cruz boardwalk. But it looks older than that, and if you look and you see, the huge toothy gear that turns it is stamped "Coney Island," hinting at a long-lost pedigree.

Don't forget the Flecto Carousel, just a wee thing itself. Can hold only very small children, like the size of an elf. It's new to the park, built over the old Seal Pond in 2001. But a venerable attraction, which was never meant to be one.

The tiny merry-go-round was built by the Flecto Paint Company in the 50s, so we know. Not for places like Fairyland, but to take to trade shows.

"It was to show off the company's palette," said Fairyland operations supervisor Brian Grove. "And being half-scale, it was a perfect match for Fairyland." It was simply true love.

He said, "Fairyland is great because it doesn't tell you how to play. Kids get as much out of it as they put into it; some get tired after an hour, others play all day."

There's even more to this place than first meets the eye. Did you know they have all-night summer campouts, out under the starry sky? And we know playing is the thing, but sometimes too is the play. They have children's theater programs on nice summer days.

Weekend storytellers enthrall with multicultural stories. And kids love to see the Three Amigos -- a sheep, an alpaca and a pony.

Willie the Whale is another popular fellow. But sometimes adult-former-kids see him and start with a bellow.

"Why did you shrink the whale?" people ask C.J. and she'll hate to break it to you. But it's not that they shrank it.

She says, "The thing is: You grew."

Fairyland is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Admission is $6 for children and adults. Call 452-2259 or visit www.fairyland.org for more information.