“Everytime a child says 'I don't believe in fairies,' there's a a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.” -- Peter Pan
You should know, right off the bat, that I believe in fairies. I believe in make-believe, and I (usually) am not too bashful admitting it. Probably this revelation will cause you great embarrassment in the tween years. Until then, I'm really looking forward to sharing this little bit of magic with you. Downtown Phoenix isn't the ideal place for fairy watching--too much concrete and not enough water or trees. It's barely habitable for regular people.
You'll have a much better chance at seeing fairies than your mommy. Something happens to people as they get older. Cynicism or anxiety . . . it's happened to me, but at least I still have stories upon stories (ancient, classic, modern, urban) that I can share with you. Most of them will begin, "Once upon a time," and most of them will end, "And she lived happily ever after." The Brothers Grimm are a favorite of mine, and "The Frog Prince" is at the top of the list.
Scott Gustafson's Proof Print for "The Frog Prince" I often think about what you'll look like. Maybe like this princess?
The story starts out, "One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell."
The princess in this story can come across as selfish, but the beautiful thing about fairy tales is that there's all this symbolism tucked away. I like to think of it as a story of a girl attempting to embrace her inner voice and power. Symbolism! Our brains love to play and explore and stumble through meaning and metaphor.
I promise I'll try not to bore you with too many crazy details and interpretations when I'm reading you stories. Sometimes the story is enough.
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