Monday, June 2, 2014

I Spy with my little Eye a fairy fluttering by..

vintage fairy


'I stood against the window
And I looked between the bars,
And there were strings of fairies
Hanging from the stars;
Everywhere and everywhere
In shining, swinging chains;
The air was full of shimmering,
Like sunlight when it rains.'

1st stanza: 'I Stood Against the Window' by Rose Fyleman


fairies dancing upon the water, from a vintage ad


'They kept on swinging, swinging,
They flung themselves so high
They caught upon the pointed moon
and hung across the sky.
And when I woke next morning,
There still were crowds and crowds
In beautiful bright bunches
All sleeping on the clouds.'

2nd stanza: 'I Stood Against the Window' by Rose Fyleman

http://www.celticfairymusic.com/fairy-stories/fairy-poetry.htm


illustration by Frances Brundage
found on picssr.com


a teddy bear fairy paperdoll


Teddy Bear paper doll set by Beverly Matteson Pont
c. 1954 - 1995
found on origamibears.com



'Buttercups in the sunshine look like little cups of gold.
Perhaps the Faeries come to drink the raindrops
that they hold."

 - Elizabeth T. Dillingham in "Faery Song"



vintage fairy found on www.bumblebutton.blogspot.com


Courtesy of Dover Publications, website address to the right.


The Fairies by Robert Herrick*

If ye will with Mab find grace,
Set each Platter in his place:
Rake the Fier up, and get
Water in, ere Sun be set.
Wash your Pailes, and clense your Dairies;
Sloths are loathsome to the Fairies:
Sweep your house:
Who doth not so,
Mab will pinch her by the toe.


vintage Queen Mab of the fairies from
Treasury of Verse for Little Children cover art

vintage Butterfly Fairy

Let's do some 'splainin'.
Queen Mab is the queen of the Fairies, and is found in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

As this is a vintage poem, 
you will find the spellings a bit 'odd'!
Fier is today spelled: Fire
Pailes is today spelled: Pails
Clense is today spelled: Cleanse

I also edited the word "Sloths".
In the original poem it is "Sluts".
However, the meaning has changed quite a bit from then to now! We consider 'sluts' to be 'bad women who sell or give their bodies for sex.
This is certainly NOT what Mr. Herrick means in his poem!
I substituted the word "Sloths" which I feel is more accurate terminology in our modern world.


'Titannia' by Karen Prince


I found many poems that refer to Queen Mab 
who will pinch you if you do not do things her way.
It was almost always referring to: 
'pinch you til you're black and blue',
and this is done while you are sleeping!

Tatania by Frederick Howard Michael

closeup of Tatania's crown

My scan isn't so great, 
but it is like a moth/butterfly floated down on her head 
to be her tiara!


fairy to color on a green background
courtesy of Dover publications

'Angel Pond' found on www.paintermagazine.co.uk

'til next time,
inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com

and on pinterest:  K.Kloberdans

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