I caugh a Fairy

"Caught I am, and fairly"
The Fairy did dicree
"But if you will release me
A wish I'll grant to thee"

I gently grasped the fairy's wings
And put him in a jar
And off we went to my little house
It wasn't very far.

The jar I set on the table
Myself I sat in a chair
And thunk my thoughs, and daydreamed
While I was sitting there

The Fairy waited patiently
While I considered all
The things that I could ask for
And what might then befall.

Finally I said to him
"I truly do not know
what would be best to whis for,
So I'll just let you go".

I freed him from the jar and then
he flitted up and out
And flew around the room times three
But did not hurry out.

I held out my hand and he flew down
And landed gently there
And then looked up into my face
While his wings beat the air.

"A gift indeed, I have for thee"
The Fairy then did say
"Aye, more than one, since you did freely
Set me on my way">

And saying this, he gave to me
To my great surprise
Fairy kisses, numbering five
On lips, and ears, and eyes.

"The ears for hearing truly"
He did explain to me
"The lips for speaking fairly
The eyes for my world to see">

Then he leaped up, and off he flew
Out of my cottage door
While my senses reeled from
All there was to explore.

For that sweet kiss upon my eyes
Had opened up for me
A world of Magic, and of Faerie,
I never thought I'd see

And so, dear reader, I tell thee true
Though you may not believe
There's a fairy on your shoulder
And he's picking at your sleeve.

Lady Cat

De elfen

Wie bij de elfen in de gunst wil staan,
Moet 's avonds voor het slapen gaan
't Vuur verzorgen, water halen
Vloeren vegen, zonder dralen
Alles poetsen, spik en span,
Want daar houden elfen van.
Wie dat niet doet wordt -heel gemeen-
's Nachts geknepen in zijn teen!

Robert Herrick

Sleep song

How far and wide the fairies fly
On bright and golden wing
But when they settle down to sleep
A gently song they sing

Sweet Queen of Night
Soft silver stars
We're glad you are so near
We seek our beds
We rest out heads
Without a moment's fear

On thistledown
In hidden nooks
We watch the waning light
The joy of sleep
Upon us creep
We wish you all Good Night

Steven Kroll

The Rainbow

Can that fairy place be found
Where the rainbow touches ground?
Will you tell me, driver, pray,
Is it very miles away?

Somewhere there must be a spot
Shining like a coloured blot,
Pink and purple, blue and green,
Like a transformation scene.

What must all the cattle think
When the grass and flowers turn pink?
Woolly sheep, what do you do
When the daisied field shines blue?

Happy must those children be,
Who the rainbow's end can see,
Who can play and dance and sing
In the rainbow's shining ring!

I'd Love to be a Fairy's Child

Children born of fairy stock
Never need for shirt or frock
Never want for food or fire
Always get their heart's desire
Jingle pockets full of gold
Marry when they're seven years old
Every fairy child may keep
Two strong ponies and ten sheep
All have houses, each his own
Built of brick or granite stone
They live on cherries, they run wild...
I'd love to be a Fairy's child.

Robert Graves
"Fairies and Fusiliers"(1918)

The Flowers

All the names I know from nurse
Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse
Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock
And the Lady Hollyhock

Fairy places, fairy things
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings
Tiny trees for tiny dames-
These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme
Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown-up people's trees
But the fairest woods are these:
Where, if I were not so tall
I sould live for good and all.

Robert Louis Stevenson