FAIRIES!

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 5^th 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