The Fairy Tree

There are random trees here that for some reason spring up in the middle of a field or even sometimes along the roadway that those who live here are so taken with that they not only protect them they feel compelled to decorate them.  But not with lights or ornaments, with small bits of fabric they hope the fairies will like enough to grant the a wish. On a recent field trip with a beginning Irish language class our bus driver slammed on the brakes when he saw one, to point it out.

"It's a fairy tree," he said. "Look they eve built the stone wall around it to keep from disturbing it. You put a just a bit of clothing or fabric on it and make a wish and they fairies decide it's worth," he said. So of course all 10 of us on that small buss jumped out to climb the wall and take part.

I have to admit it looked a bit more like a clothesline to me, with complete articles of clothing clinging to it. But all you need is a thread for the fairies he said, so I pulled a thread out of the wool scarf I'd just purchased that day to stay warm, and wrapped it around a paper clip and added it to the lot.

Now i watch for them. And it really is pretty common to see a lone tree off by itself in a field or along the roadway. They say they are protected more for fear of what angry fairies will do than for having wishes granted. But I plan to give anything and everything a try for magic while I'm here.