“And all of the Fairies, both rich and poor,
Are welcome within its door.”
THE
WONDERFUL FAIRIES
OF
THE SUN
BY
ERNEST VINCENT WRIGHT
Illustrations
BY CORA M. NORMAN
BOSTON
ROBERTS BROTHERS
1896
Copyright, 1896,
By Ernest Vincent Wright.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.
PREFACE.
THE subject of Fairies as a basis for children’s stories is by no means a new one. From time immemorial writers of fiction have resorted to their characteristic magical achievements, either as an embellishment to rational stories, or devoting a volume entirely to them. But all fairy tales heretofore have borne a similarity of style, seemingly limited by the customary manner of introducing them into the fables. Generally, human beings, such as Kings, Princesses, or children, are made the leading characters, with the fairies as occasional participants in the unfolding of the fable’s wonders.
In “The Wonderful Fairies of the Sun” the elves are given exclusive prominence, with human beings brought in only when necessary to carry out an idea of surroundings. The subjects dealt with are manifestly well known to children, and it is hoped that many pleasant thoughts in connection with the workings of Nature may be derived from this volume, wherein the fairy bands appear in a new field of action, portrayed in simple verse of easy metre, but at the same time avoiding the conventional “jingle.”
The Author.
1 |
5 |
9 |
15 |
19 |
25 |
31 |
39 |
43 |
49 |
54 |
57 |
62 |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
“And all the Fairies, both rich and poor, Are welcome within its door” |
Frontispiece |
“So, calling his chariot every morn, Through the regions of space he’s whirled” |
4 |
“In a crescent-shaped silver boat” |
7 |
“Some choose the roofs to clean and scrub” |
11 |
“Which, pushed by the Wind-God, takes them home” |
12 |
“And the drivers, decked with sleigh-bells, Wave a merry, bright ‘good-bye’” |
14 |
“Lighting on the trees and house-tops,” Softly, gently, side by side” |
16 |
“When, out of her home in a Star, This beautiful goddess came riding” |
18 |
“And they stuck all those Raindrops together In the form of a beautiful arch” |
20 |
“Sent up hosts of artists to paint it In every conceivable shade” |
22 |
“High overhead, above the sky, Their plans are drawn and laid” |
24 |
“In a monstrous foundry, where the Wind A thousand forges blows” |
26 |
“In a magic-lantern held before The slowly setting sun” |
28 |
“He dances all day with the Polar Bears” |
30 |
“He flirts with the Mermaids, he rocks their waves, And sings them his weird love-song” |
32 |
“Every one loves her, she’s so refined; So gentle, so light and neat” |
34 |
“She dresses in careless, tom-boy style, Her cloak flapping here and there” |
36 |
“Some have bedding for the Insects,— Gowns and nightcaps for the Birds” |
38 |
“Owls and Bats, with young Mosquitoes, Mice and Fire-flies, dance and hop” |
40 |
“And while you are sleeping they climb up and squat In a row on the foot of your bed” |
42 |
“And while it is working, they dance” |
44 |
“For they scamper in forty directions at once When they think you’re about to awake” |
46 |
“And they are such wonderful pictures too,— So skilfully carved and drawn” |
48 |
“Taking pictures of waving grains, That give him ideas for his shows next year” |
50 |
“They are taken to places beyond the sky, And there they are dusted and swept” |
52 |
“Thus, early and late are these teachers at work, Each proud of his own special class” |
55 |
“He was always rather partial to the little school-girl Stars” |
58 |
“Fierce old Mars would be policeman at the door” |
60 |
“And tells what toys those boys have got, And what he thinks they need” |
63 |
“Her sleigh is made of glistening frost” |
65 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1939, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 84 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse