3476 Fairies

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

In Scott Turow‘s Burden of Proof, Sandy's daughters describe
his love life as “a tom-tom network of females wailing over
his shortcomings late into the night.”

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Most representations of fairies show them with wings.

They don't really have wings of their own, you know. Not at home, anyway. They're actually built rather like ordinary humans, with the usual four limbs.

When Fairies go out and about, they call on dragonflies or damselflies, which pick them up and hold them about the waist with their legs. Dragonflies and damselflies are wonderfully maneuverable. They can fly up, down, backward, and hover with little effort. Because the insects are so slender, they barely show pressed close along the fairy's back, and because they are so light, the fairy can bear them easily when not flying.

On formal occasions, a rather vain fairy might call upon a butterfly to carry her. But that's a bit frowned upon, because the butterfly's body is wider, and will show around the fairy's sides, the work is much harder for the butterfly, and when they aren't flying, the butterfly is much heavier for the fairy to bear. All of which is a rather silly vanity considering that a dragonfly's wings are equally beautiful.

Next time you see a fairy (a real live one, not a drawing by someone who's never seen one), notice the wings, and the legs around her waist. The insect legs will look like ribbon laces binding her tunic.
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