Fairy House

Experts agree that a fairy house must be constructed exclusively of natural materials.  I have seen pictures of them on the internet that I’m sure have felt the sear of a glue gun, but if fairy noses detect the chemical stench, the tiny creatures never come to dwell.  My granddaughter turned five the other day, and received a book of fairy stickers and a cake decorated with images of our little winged friends.  I built a fairy house. 

I walked in the woods collecting clumps of moss, sheets of bark from a dead tree, lichens, sticks, Indian pipes, and a baby pine. The sticks were stuck in the ground, bark leant against them, and a lightweight roof was constructed of arborvitae branches and English ivy.  A forked stick served as an open door, and the blossoms of flox, hosta and black-eyed Susans served as decoration. 

When the birthday girl arrived, I showed her the dwelling and observed that if I’d done my job well enough a fairy might decide to live there.  She was of the opinion that one was in residence already.  All three of my grandchildren got down and peered in the door to see if they could see it. 

I was gratified, but if the fairy moved in, it vacated the next day when the flowers wilted and the roof began to slide.  My glueless creation was ephemeral and had to be relegated to the humus pile, but for a moment the magic was there.