Fairies- A 5 Page Report By Madison Nef
I am going to cut to the chase and just jump right
into things. I am going to write a story, similar to what I did with the
leprechaun.
I fluttered into my office early in the morning to
start my work. I was writing a history of my ancestors- fairies. I am a fairy,
descended from the line of the smallest fairies- we stand only an inch high.
But of course there are larger ones- ones even as big as children. But I cannot
stop to think about that now. I fly over to my chair and sit at my desk, pen in
hand, looking at my blank paper as I begin to write:
From The Eyes Of A Fairy
By Kerry Leafwinter
Fairies have been recorded ever since
ancient times- but not all accounts have been good. Many reports tell of us as
demons, as evil things that needed to be gotten rid of. In common folklore we
are often described as tiny humans with all sorts of magic powers, ones that
must be stopped. In fact, most folklore revolving around us tells of how get
rid of us with cold iron- a myth that is hardly true.
Though I am one of the small varieties,
there actually WERE larger fairies decades ago. They truly WERE evil, and were
killed off by herbs people would leave around their houses. When they died,
smaller fairies slowly emerged. These fairies preferred to play pranks and
tricks on people than to be downright nasty, though there were a few that bit
people on certain occasions. Human books and writings assume that we take our
tiny forms magically, but this is untrue as well. Fairies are one size and one
size only.
Our magic does help plants grow, and
helps protect us from the danger of large animals. Other than that, we just
play and joke. More recent writings of us depict us better- winged, kind, and
carefree creatures that play and frolic about. Celtic tales tell of us being a
hidden race, driven into hiding by invading humans. We then came to be known as
spirits among the Celtics, spirits that lived in the Otherworld down in the
dirt. The part the Celtics got wrong is that they thought we were immortal- we
are only near immortal. The only things that can kill us are certain herbs,
wild animals, and spells.
A less common Celtic story was that we
actually started out as humans- children of a woman who wanted to hide her
children from God. When she went to look for them, she couldn’t find them as
they were fairies. However, this is more a tale than anything else. In fact, we
fairies WERE driven out by humans- but only in certain places.
As for out appearance: We commonly have
bright green eyes, and range from 2 feet tall to inch tall. Our wings range
different sizes, and some of us don’t have wings- we just travel using magic or
friendly birds. We typically have pointy ears and long hair (with the exception
of males). We make our homes in burrows in the ground, mushrooms, and sometimes
trees. Like I said before- it all depends on size.
I closed my book. It was getting pretty thick, and I
was tired out. I flew out into my living room and collapsed onto my couch. I
settled down to read a book about fairies for some info. I flipped past the
Celtic page and went into the Christian section of the book. Their folklore was
quite different, claiming we are banished angels. The book read that those
extremely evil went to hell, and the angels caught in between became fairies.
Next, I read the Cottingley Hoax, my favorite fairy
story: In July of 1917 in Cottingley, England two young girls set out with a
new 'Midg' Camera and took the most famous pictures of fairies known. Frances
Griffiths and her cousin Elise Wright caught on film what seemed to be dancing,
leaping fairies and even a gnome. No one took notice of the pictures until two
years later. Suddenly, people saw who had seen the photos were ecstatic. Many
people tried to debunk the pictures, but soon they were deemed the real thing.
Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed in the girls
and their pictures. He even set the girls out to take more pictures that he
used in articles based on the girl’s story. The girls continued to claim they
had in fact seen and photographed fairies. Meanwhile people were out there
trying to prove their validity or that the pictures were faked. Finally, on
March 18, 1983 at the age of 76, Francis admitted that the pictures were a
hoax. Soon after, Elise, at 83, confirmed the hoax. The fairies were actually
cutouts that Elise had drawn. Hatpins were used to hold the cutouts in place.
The girls claimed there were indeed fairies but they had to resort to the
deception to prove they were telling the truth.
I laughed. I loved how the girls had tried to make
everyone believe in fairies. It was nice to see such honest believers. I was
getting tired. I knew there were plenty of fairytales to read, but it was just
so late! There was Thumbelina- a small fairy girl born from a flower who was no
bigger than I am, only without wings. There is the story of Sleeping Beauty,
and of the evil Malificent and of the 3 kind fairies that cared for Aurora.
There is Peter Pan, with Tinker Bell and Neverland… I could go on forever.
I wandered into my small kitchen to have some dinner
before bed. I found a leftover acorn casserole I had made 2 days ago, and ate
some of that. It had lost its crisp flavor, and was disgusting, but I choked it
down anyway. Then, I flew into my bedroom and went to sleep for the night.
Well, there was my story on fairies. I have no idea
what to talk about now. The folklores I mentioned above ARE actually true, and
I was just using my character to add a little length to the page. Cold iron is
actually one of the ways to get rid of a “fairy”, I was just creating my own
rules a bit. Fairies WERE said to be giants, and often in the old tales are
described not as tiny but as tall. It was only in the Victorian era where
fairies started being portrayed as small in paintings.
The Cottingley Fairies actually IS a true story.
While both girls are long dead, it is still very famous today, as the hoax was
very well coordinated. And yes- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually DID review the
photos and asked the girls to take more. The spot where the photos were taken
is actually now a public garden. The girls said that despite the hoax, they
actually DID see the fairies, and so the garden has become quite a popular spot
for families.
The photos were examined, and there has only been
controversy on the 5th and last photo. There is a figure in the
photo that neither of the girls made, as it actually has dimension to it. Both
girls claim to have taken the photo, and while Elise claims it is a fake like
the rest, Frances says that the fairy is actually there. I personally think
that it is a fake.
I must say, I didn’t know the Celtic and Christian
stories for fairies before today either. They were quite interesting. There are
also a few old songs and poems about fairies, a few of the more famous ones
being “Sir Orfeo” and “Lady Isabelle and the Elf-Knight”. Sir Orfeo tells of a
king whose wife is kidnapped by fairies, and how he has to go on a quest to get
her back, while Lady Isabelle and the Elf-Knight tells of a woman whose child
is taken by the fairies and must find it again.
I find it funny that as time went on, fairies were
slowly turned from cruel, impish creatures into funny, giggly role models for
five year olds. It probably all started with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, and
once producers and authors saw that it was a hit, they built off of it, and
slowly turned the creatures into another manufacturing endeavor. The older
stories, such as Water Babies, or the traditional Peter Pan, were classic fairy
stories that were worth the read. Now, everything is fluff and brainwashing.
On the subject of brainwashing- this may be
over-stretching things for my readers, but have you ever noticed that today’s
modern culture is taking Pagan creatures and making Christians comfortable with
them? Just take a second- vampires appear in Twilight, wizards and witches in
Harry Potter- there is also Tinker Bell, a fairy, and of course the genie from
Aladdin… genies are otherwise known as jinn and are not always friendly. But
Disney made the genie happy and bouncy, and made Christians comfortable with a
Pagan character once again.
I am sure if you took the time to go through some of
your favorite movies, you’d see what I mean… witches, vampires, werewolves,
fairies, and genies galore.
Maddie
