Santa’s gone but we’ve still got fairies…

Grace aged 2 wondering at the sun’s rays.

A child’s imagination is such a beautiful thing to witness. Up until recently my daughter believed with all her heart that Father Christmas existed. She’s now a non-believer. Fairies are another matter entirely. Whilst she’d rather listen to One Direction than go on a fairy hunt, she earnestly believes that it is egotistical of humans to suppose that fairies couldn’t possibly exist. She likens it to humans presuming that we’re the only ones in the Universe. I like her attitude. As my daughter progresses to her Tweens, I hope this ability to balance imagination, discovery, make-believe and reality remains steadfast.

Here’s a post she wrote about fairies 3 years ago when she was just seven. Still makes my heart sing…

Hi, it’s Grace here. Yesterday, Sparkle* and I decided that we should make a book. It’s really easy to do. You just get some paper and staple it together along one edge. Mum held the paper while I stapled. I like the clicky-clunk noise a stapler makes.

I wanted to make a book because I think most of the books about fairies are OK, but they don’t really talk about how nature and fairies work together. Did you know that every flower has a fairy to look after it? Also, my mum’s friend writes about Little Humbugs. They are REALLY cool. They help nature stay clean and beautiful all the time.

Sparkle wanted to make the book because some people like to capture fairies and try and keep them. Like insects in a jar. We both think this is VERY mean. If fairies can’t fly around all the time they can get very sick. Mummy said the best way to catch fairies is to “catch” them by drawing them and writing about them in a book. Sparkle hugged Mummy on the ear then, because she thinks that’s a GREAT idea. So please draw fairies from now on – don’t try to catch them. I’ve tried to take photographs too, but they don’t work very well.

Anyway, here’s a little bit of what Sparkle and I wrote. We haven’t finished it yet. We also did some pictures.

SIGNS OF NATURE

If you hear a rustle in the wind, it means a fairy is near. A fairy is always close if you believe in them.

The flowers that Sparkle and I love:

Jacarandas. I like the jacaranda because it sways with little flowers falling off. Fairies use the petals to make pretty purple dresses. Daddy doesn’t like them much because they keep falling in our pool.

Bluebells.

We have Bluebells at our farm. I like them because they make the ground look happy. Fairies live in them too so you have to be careful to watch where you are walking. My Mummy found a sentence from a lady called Emily Bronte about Bluebells which I like. It says;

The blue bell is the sweetest flower
That waves in summer air
Its blossoms have the mightiest power
To soothe my spirit’s care

We also like Pansies and Violas and Dandelions but we haven’t written about them yet. I hope you like what we wrote. We’ll try and do some more soon. I break up for summer holidays soon so we’ll have lots more time to write and draw. Bye!!!!

* Editor’s note: Sparkle is the fairy that lives on Grace’s shoulder.