My Land Of Dream.

Going to the forest, where the mushrooms grow,

I saw some Fairies playing with the snow.

They were having such a lovely time,

And I will tell you about it, in this my rhyme.

They built a Snowman with a very large crown,

and had great fun as the sun shone down.

The snow then melted, now was that not a shame,

for they had been having such a lovely game.

But suddenly there were lots of flowers,

these they painted in just two hours.

Now they are building a Fairy Dream,

with petals and blossoms, for the Fairy Queen.

The Queen was happy with this lovely dream,

for everything glowed with a wondrous sheen.

The Queen touched the dream with her wand of magic,

the dream faded away, now was that not tragic.

I came to a place, a magic plot,

on the forest floor, the sun was hot.

Flowers and blossoms were growing wild,

This was the place for a little child.

I stayed awhile in this enchanted place,

where Spiders spun webs of finest lace.

Birds sang songs to the Fairy Queen,

then I woke up it was only a dream.

I know tonight when I have said my prayers,

and Mummy treads lightly down the stairs.

I will go back to my land of dream,

and once again I will see my Fairy Queen.

A Days Work.

Walking through Fairyland I could see all of the fairies working away at colouring the flowers and plants that Mother Nature so abundantly supplies. Just one fairy sat doing nothing. The toadstool that she was sitting on was a bright red with yellow spots. I asked her why she was not helping the other fairies with their painting. “Yesterday I did at least two days work and today I am resting.” I am very surprised that a fairy would give me such an answer, normally I would be told of some strange thing that had happened to the fairy. “Does Her Majesty know that you are resting today?” I asked. “Oh no, I do not always tell Her Majesty when I take a day off from work, she would not be at all happy with me sitting here taking things easy.” I walked away thinking that it was just a little something that would soon pass away.

A week later as I was walking through Fairyland I saw the same fairy sitting again on a toadstool. “You worked so hard yesterday that you are taking today off.” I said. This time she asked me not to tell Her Majesty that she was not busy like all of the other fairies. I could see that something was wrong, “What is the matter with you,” I gently asked. “I am so bored with painting the flowers and things,” she said and I could see the tears coming slowly from her eyes. “Please do not cry, little one.” I said as softly as I could. I will see how I can help you. “I do not like to see any of you fairies unhappy.” I walked on leaving her sitting on her toadstool. A little later I saw a robin and asked it to take a message for me to Her Majesty Queen Feeana. Queen Feeana appeared in the usual blue light and I told her that one of her fairies was very unhappy. Her Majesty took out her magic mirror and in it she saw the little fairy that was still sitting on her toadstool with the tears coming from her eyes.

I told Her Majesty that the little one was unhappy because she was bored painting the flowers and shrubs. The next day I was in the woods and saw all of the fairies sitting together. They were waiting for something to happen. Her Majesty appeared and the fairies all stood up to greet her. Her Majesty spoke to the fairies. “Today,” she said. “No one is to paint flowers I want all of you to do or make something that you really would like to do.” Her Majesty then disappeared as she had come and I watched the fairies for a while and saw that while some were busy painting the flowers a few others were doing other things. One was writing in a book. Another was busy combing the other fairies hair. Yet another was writing what looked like chemical formulas on some paper. The little one that was crying the previous day was busy sewing flowers and little pictures on some cloth. All were so busy that they had forgotten the time. Her Majesty it seems had been watching over the fairies and now came back to the opening where the fairies were sitting each doing that what she or he wanted.

Her Majesty looked at each fairies work, her praise was gratefully accepted by the fairies. When she came to the little fairy that had started all of this, Her Majesty was amazed at how perfect the stitches were in the little one’s pictures. Queen Feeana made her decision, all of the fairies that had wanted to do something else than paint the flowers were sent to the wise old fairies. The wise old fairies had been told by Her Majesty that the fairies were to be given anything that they wanted to do each his or her work. The little fairy that was so good at sewing asked for coloured silks and a large tapestry that she sewed for over a hundred years. The tapestry shows the fairies homes and Fairyland the colours are wonderful. The tapestry is now in the Fairy University and one day it will be on show for all to see. Yes even the humans will get to see the most wonderful tapestry that the world has ever seen. The little fairy is now one of the wise old fairies and it is her job to go to the fairy schools and find out what each fairy likes doing the best. Now only few of the fairies paint flowers the rest all work at whatever they can do well and there is no more fibbing in fairyland with a fairy saying it had worked twice as hard on the yesterday that is why it was today resting. This is another true story and all children should do that what they can do the best. “Do you not agree?”

MORTAL MAN.

Walking through the grass so green,

I saw a beautiful Fairy Queen.

She was combing her golden hair,

all I could do was stand and stare.

Turning, smiling, she looked at me,

and said, she'd grant me wishes three.

Choose carefully mortal man,

for I cannot increase your life's span.

So wish not before you think,

for I have driven many a man to drink.

And all that glitters is not gold,

these three wishes can make one old.

You may wish for health and wealth,

or much happiness for yourself.

Oh Fairy Queen! Majesty fair,

as you stand, combing your hair.

There is nothing that I want from you,

I have my health and happiness too.

My five senses work quite well,

The crafts of my hands I can easily sell.

As I walk though this grass so green,

breathing God's air so fresh and clean.

I thank the Lord for a wonderful day,

also for sending you my way.

As you may see, by my words of reply,

my aspirations are not too high.

For I have all that I may need,

my heart was never filled with greed.

So I bid you farewell as I go on my way,

save your three wishes for another day.

The next mortal man that you may meet,

might find your wishes extra sweet.

But I am content just as I am,

an ordinary happy, Mortal Man.

Cuckoo.

It was the thirty first of June, Monday eleven fifteen in the morning, a fine sunny day that I heard the cry of the Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Putting my hand in my pocket I turned over my small change. Many years ago an elderly lady had told me that when one first hears the cry of the Cuckoo one must turn over one’s money. In this way one’s purse would never become empty. This old saying has stuck in my head and for years I always turn over my small change when I first hear the cry of the Cuckoo. My friend Shamus the Leprechaun asked me why I turned over my small change. I told him the story that the elderly woman had told me all of those years ago. Shamus broke out into peels of hearty laughter. “Perhaps I should do the same with all of my gold,” he laughingly said. “My what a rich man I would be today if it were true.” “Shamus, my purse has never been empty since I listened to the woman, perhaps it is true after all.” Shamus smiled a knowing smile and told me of the man that had heard of the Leprechauns saving their gold in iron pots or cauldrons. “All Leprechauns have a bank that they deposit their money in. How would the gold increase if it were left in an iron pot? No we all deposit our money in banks and wait for the interest on the money to increase that is how we get rich.” “But turn your money over if that is what you believe in. We Leprechauns know that when the Cuckoo calls she has probably laid an egg in a strange bird’s nest. The call is really her way of shouting her triumph that she has once again got the better of another bird.”

We both heard the call of the Cuckoo again. “Something is strange,” said Shamus. “The Cuckoo always flies away from the nest that she has just laid an egg in.” We both walked to where the noise of the cuckoo’s call is coming from and to our surprise sitting on a branch is a parrot the bright green of her feathers gave her away she is sitting next to a nest and is eating an egg. Shamus climbed on to a branch and called down to me,” she is eating the Cuckoo’s egg the other eggs in the nest the parrot did not touch. On a whim I called the parrot, “Polly come here I softly called and to my surprise She flew on to my shoulder. Shamus climbed down from the tree and we both smiled. The Cuckoo had laid an egg in a strange nest and Polly that is what I call her had taken a fancy to the egg and eaten it. I must admit that I was a little embarrassed at Polly’s calls of Cuckoo, Cuckoo as we made our way back to my home.

Polly now has a large room in my conservatory all to herself. Food and fresh water is given to her every day and I am in touch with a Pet Shop to buy a companion for my Polly. I think that I will call her companion when it arrives Cuckoo. After all if we had not heard Polly’s cries of cuckoo we would never have found her. I have stopped turning my small change over in my pocket since I have Polly and Shamus has returned to his home in Ireland. He still places his gold in a bank and is I believe a very rich man if not in money then surely in experience.

My new Parrot has arrived and comes to me when I call Cuckoo and Polly is not the least bit jealous and shares all of her food and water with her new mate cuckoo.

One Wish.

It is now very lonely in my old house,

no fairies or my little family mouse.

The mice have gone away for the day,

not even the fairies have come to play.

There was a knock on my front door,

the Postman had a parcel for Mr. Shaw.

I signed and asked him to come on in,

made him a cup of tea with some biscuits from my tin.

Then alas he went on his way to the next house,

I sure am missing my little family mouse.

Then the Fairy Queen appeared on the scene,

as usual she was calm and very serene.

She said she knew that I was lonely today,

I could have one wish what could I say.

I did not want money or even wealth,

I just did not want to be all by myself.

I wished for someone to come each day,

even a stranger if he had something to say.

My wish was granted I knew it would be,

now wouldn’t it be nice if you all came to see me.

Each and every day, one of you nice bards,

we could just speak or even play cards.

We could write a poem together one to rhyme,

That would be interesting and it would pass away the time.

It would then not matter if my mice go away,

nor if no fairies came again with me to play.

For I would have one of you to come to my old house,

a fine compensation instead of my little mouse.

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