The Power of Fairies

Recently, I realized the power of fairies. Yes, fairies.

The Tooth Fairy

My girls still have all their baby teeth, but they’re looking forward to their first tooth fairy visit. One night they were delaying brushing their teeth, making funny faces in the mirror instead.

I remarked, “You know, the tooth fairy loves clean teeth.”

They got to brushing right away.

Fairy Houses

Then, a few days later, after I’d wasted too much time fantasizing about perfect fairy houses on Pinterest, I suggested we make our own fairy houses. I envisioned beauty in miniature, our own moss-covered little fairy garden (like the one pictured below from Tinker Lab), and enchanting fairy tales at bedtime.

Source: Tinker Lab

My girls had their own ideas. They chattered away about what kinds of fairies would come, what colors they’d prefer, and whether we could catch one. I reminded them that fairies are shy and don’t like to be seen.

Reality Check

Clearly, we all needed a reality check. So I set to work figuring out a realistic plan.

While the fairy houses I’d pinned are inspiring, we needed something simpler. We popped over to our local craft store and bought two wooden birdhouses for $1.50 each.

I thought about busting out a saw to make the doors rectangular instead of round. Then I considered my woodworking skill level and thought better of it. Our fairies will just have to squeeze through a small round door. I’m sure their magic will help.

As for the mossy garden? It’s still summer in Texas. Not gonna happen. And the fairy tales? Well, more on that later.

What Colors Do Fairies Like?

We put on our paint shirts, covered the table in newspaper, and got out the acrylic paints. My girls were eager to get started.

They worked with seriousness and concentration.

We had fun mixing colors to get just the right shade. In fact, we had so much fun that the girls changed their minds several times, painting over their prior color choices.

This house started out green on the front.

But then my little painter decided to add another coat. In pink.

Twin Sister, on the other hand, started out with all yellow everywhere,

but ultimately opted for green.

They are so proud of their results, and I’m pleased that we kept it simple enough for them to do independently. They were busy for a good hour, at least. Now that is some fairy power!

Fairy Tales without Fairies

The girls asked a ton of hard-to-answer questions about fairies. I deflected.

I asked, "What do you think?"

Like most five-year-olds, they used their imaginations and filled in all kinds of details for themselves. I went with the flow, but it bothered me that I didn’t know more.

Searching for a quick primer, I turned to some modern magic, er… Google. It turns out that the folklore on fairies varies widely. There are many different types of fairies. No wonder I was confused.

As I dug a little further, I found that the term “fairy tale“ is used for any folktale that has a regular human main character plus a magical element – which could include fairies. It’s sort of the magical realism of folktales. (I love magical realism in my grown up reading – Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors).

Anyway.

Next, I went looking for a good fairy tale. At first I only found one --ONE! -- that actually contains a fairy. 

We have an older, out of print book, Going to Bed Tales by treasured British illustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell. In one of the stories, “The Shoemaker’s Daughter,” an insolent, toadstool-sized, chubby cheeked fairy plays a central role. She steals golden slippers made for a princess, and the shoemaker’s daughter must rectify the situation. 

I was pretty sure that this story is my girls’ main exposure to literary fairies.

Then I had a big duh moment. Cinderella! Peter Pan! How could I have missed those?

At the library today, I picked up three books on fairies and fairy tales. I also indulged myself and got a new novel, so I may or may not read up further on fairies. I think I already know what I need to know about them and their magical powers.

The awesome tooth brushing going on here is all the evidence I need.

This is just a stock photo, but he's cute, isn't he!

P.S.     I peeked at the library books. I highly recommend The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings, by Lise Lunge-Larsen. It has two delightful stories featuring flower fairies.