~A Day With the Fairies~ The fairies ride the horses at night. Their magic gives the steeds their flight. Be still; let your heart be your guide …For if it is your horse they ride A fee to you they must pay If you should catch them at their play. Catch them when your horse they kiss, And they must grant you what you wish. If you listen carefully to me I will tell you secrets of the fairies that very few know. Do you know that toads don’t have eyelids? I’ll bet you did, but do you know why? They fairies have stolen all of their eyelids. Have you ever looked at the underside of a toadstool? Well, they fairies stay up at night and fold the stolen eyelids of the toads and tuck and sew them under the caps of the toadstools. That is why they are named after toads. Sometimes it takes ten years to finish one toadstool! If you one day find a toadstool here is a secret. Count the folds under the cap. If you can count them correctly and not miss even one, something wonderful will happen. When you awaken the next morning, you will find yourself in the fairy village. They will allow you to become one of the fey folk for just one day. You will have your own set of wings, and you will ride on the backs of hummingbirds. They will teach you to dance on the head of a dandelion! There are so many things the fairies will teach you, if they like you! How would you like to slay a mosquito with a sword made from a bumble bee stinger? Would you like to swing on bunny whiskers and land in soft fields of clover? Dragonflies will whisper their secrets to you and you will understand every word they say. Can you imagine being able to breathe under water? The fairies can, and you will too for the day that you spend with them. You may want to ride off on a seahorse and find a mermaid to talk with. You will truly have a wonderfully glorious day, but there are three things that you must not forget before the sun goes down. The first thing that you must be very careful of is that you will be very tired at the end of your day. The fairies will keep you so busy! You won’t have time to sit for a minute, and you will be so sleepy. Above all, never take a nap with the fairies! You see, fairies can’t ever have babies, and they love them so. There is nothing that fairies love more than babies. Have you ever seen a baby laughing at something that only he can see? Well, they fairies are playing with him. Now listen carefully. The fairies will try to keep you with them. They will sing you soft sweet fairy songs. They will play with your hair and tickle your back to try to get you to go to sleep. You will want to go to sleep more than anything, but if you do, you will never go back to your world. You will wake up and you will be one of them. You will forget everything about who you were and what your life was like. You will think that you have never been anything but a fairy. That is how new fairies are made. The second thing you must always remember while you are in their land is the exact number of the folds in the toadstool that you counted. Don’t ever forget the number because if you do, they will keep you there forever. The toadstools are enchanted and they have strange magic. Never forget! You had to know the exact number to enter into their village, and you must remember the exact number to return to your bed at home! The last thing you must remember not to do is to eat fairy food. There are many beautiful gardens and fruit trees in the land. You will get very hungry because you will be doing so much all day! Never eat fairy food. Everything in their land is enchanted with a un-remember spell. You will forget everything that happened before you woke up in their village. Now, if you remember all three of these things I have warned you about you will have the time of your life. You will have something to tell your children some day, just like I am telling you. You see, I spent a day with the fairies, and I wish I could go back and visit. The funny thing is that I have never been able to count the folds right again. I try and I try, but I can’t do it. Three is just one more thing. If you are ever lucky enough to spend a day with the fairies, keep the bumble bee stinger and hide it away. He just may come looking for it some day. They don’t mind your using it, really. Bumblebees really hate mosquitoes.