Midwest Mary

My blogger friend, Kimberly Vargas Agnese (Moccasins at Meadow Arc), asked me to read a fairy tale that she could listen to with her daughter. So, Kimberly, this one is for you. It’s literally a tale about fairies that I wrote and recorded.

(See full audio recording below.)

***

Fairy Forest of Ferns

In the fairy forest of the ferns
we winged creatures dance among the greens—
magical, mystical, and merry.
A playful bunch are we.

*

The warm summer sun beat down on me as I picked raspberries and blackberries from the bushes that grew wild near my campsite. The berries were well worth taking the time to gather. They were tiny but sweet and flavorful.

My bowl was half full when something flew into it and took off with a berry.

“What was that?” I asked aloud.

It looked like some sort of bug, about the size of a hummingbird.

About ten minutes later, the creature returned, stole another berry from my bowl, and then hovered in front of me. It was a pretty little thing with a human-like body and glimmering wings.

“Are you a fairy?” I asked.

The wee one nodded, smiled, and took a bite out of the raspberry.

I held the bowl out to her. “You don’t have to steal. You are welcome to help yourself. Can you tell me your name?”

She stared at me.

“May I call you, Glimmer, because of your beautiful wings?”

She nodded her head full of curls and flew into the field of wild ferns. I took a few steps in to follow her. I hoped to see where she nested, but a wall of fairies formed in front of me.

“Oh, I understand. I’m not allowed into your habitat. I apologize,” I said sincerely and stepped back out to the road.

Every morning of my camping trip, I returned to collect berries for breakfast. At some point, Glimmer would suddenly appear, take a few berries from my bowl, and then fly off. I wondered how she knew when I would be there.

On the fifth day, I filled my bowl and was surprised there had been no sign of Glimmer. I was about to return to the campsite when a blue fairy appeared before me.

“Where is Glimmer?”

The blue fairy waved me to follow her into the ferns.

“Are you sure I can enter?”

She nodded and urgently waved me forward.

As I walked into the field, the knee-high ferns became taller until I found myself in a deep forest. I walked about a half mile when I spotted a little village in front of me. Blue Fairy brought me to the edge of the fairy village and pointed to a large branch that had fallen. Glimmer’s wing was pinned beneath the branch.

I lifted the branch, and a swarm of fairies scooped up Glimmer. They laid her on a bed of moss in the center of their town.

I carried the branch away to the outskirts and returned to check on Glimmer. I knelt before my little friend.

“Are you in pain?”

She nodded, and a tear ran down her cheek.

“What else can I do?”

Blue Fairy smiled kindly at me and motioned for me to follow her. She led me back to the berry bush-lined road. It felt like I’d been gone for hours, but looking at my watch, I was only away for a few minutes.  

The next days passed with no sign of Glimmer, Blue Fairy, or any other wee ones. On the morning I left the campsite to return home, I drove down the berry-lined road and noticed swarms of “bugs” behind the car.

I pulled to the side of the road and stepped out of the car. Glimmer, Blue Fairy, and a rainbow of other fairies circled me. They smiled and waved.

“Thank you for saying goodbye. It was a pleasure to meet all of you.”

Glimmer flew in front of me and held out her little hands. She offered me a large raspberry.

“Thank you, Glimmer. I’m happy to see you well. Be safe,” I said.

The fairies formed a rainbow over my car and followed for a mile before disappearing into the fields.  

* * *

Photos: Channing, MI, 2021

©Mary K. Doyle, 2025

Inspired Caregiving. Weekly Morale Builders is an excellent gift book for caregivers. The book is filled with morsels of encouragement, guidance, and photos.