The Fairy Dell

 

In the evening light of the fading day,
young baby rabbits frolic and play.
Scampering about in the fields and lanes,
not noticing the noise of the distant trains.

At dusk they come out of their burrows to feed.
The meadows provide everything that they need.
As dusk turns to night, they tussle and fight,
 silhouettes clear in the moon’s silver light.
 
 It was on one such night, that this tale begins.
 It’s the story of an adventure that happened to twins
  who strayed from under their mother’s tired eyes,
  with the help of the cover from the darkening skies.
 
  Fluffy and Flo reached the edge of the wood,
  for the dangers of roaming they’d not understood.
  They looked up in awe at an oak tree so tall,
  and both of them realised, they must be quite small!
 
  The wood looked enticing, exciting and wild.
  The two little rabbits were easily beguiled
  into thinking the wood was a safe place to be;
  Plenty of nibbles and new things to see.
 
  They scurried by the oak tree and into the wood,
  under the ferns which arched in a hood;
  over stones covered in moss, which was trying to grow
  everywhere underfoot, a soft green plateau.

They paused for a while to nibble some shoots,
   and Flo accidentally bumped into some newts.
   Just then, somewhere near, came the sound of a bell.
   From where the little rabbits were unable to tell.
  
   They turned round to look, and were met with a bright
   shimmering, quivering sphere of white light.
   When they looked a little closer the light disappeared.
   They could see a small figure now the whiteness had cleared
  
   Fluffy and Flo were baffled and scared.
   Being young rabbits, they weren’t well prepared
   for surprises like this, so they started to run.
   This wasn’t their idea of how to have fun.
  
   A flash of bright light! They could no longer move.
   ‘Stop running little rabbits, the spell I’ll remove’
   The voice had a gentleness, soft and so sweet
   that the twins felt they no longer had need to retreat.
   
     The air became little stars of twinkling light,
    Flooding the wood’s darkness, and filling the night
    With tinkling and jingling that seemed almost to float
    in the air ‘til the demise of each quivering note.
   
      They were able to move again and turned round to look.
    The figure stepped forward and reached out and took
   one each of Fluffy and Flo’s front paws,
   with a touch soft as gossamer, silk or thin gauze.
  
   ‘Welcome to the Fairy Dell, little rabbits. Please come
   and sit here on this log, next the pure white arum.
   My name is Bluebell, and this is Violet
   We won’t hurt you, I promise, so please do not fret’.
  
   The twins hopped up on the log next to Bluebell,
   What was she, this creature? They were unable to tell.
   Bluebell saw their confusion, and knew it was scary,
   To be a small rabbit and meet with a fairy.
  
   ‘We are the fairies who live in this wood.
   Don’t worry; our magic is used only for good.
   Not every creature can see us you know.
   We will protect you wherever you go’.
  
   Just then, from a tree that was laden with fruit,
   they heard the unmistakable sound of a hoot.
   ‘Oh no’, cried poor Fluffy, for he was aware,
   an owl must be nearby and they must take care.
  
   Violet reached out, touching each twin on their nose,
   She knew that the owls were formidable foes,
   so she turned the two rabbits into handsome toadstools
   and said, ‘don’t dare move, for owls are not fools’.
  
   The rabbits remained still, too frightened to move,
   hoping their stillness would help to remove
   the threat from the branches, hidden, but heard.
   The wise old owl; the scariest bird.
  
   Moments passed by, then they felt a slight draught
   as the owl flew away, and they heard Violet laugh.
   Flo looked at fluffy, and Fluffy at Flo,
   ‘We are rabbits again, the fairies we owe’!
  
   ‘Of course you don’t owe us, we’re here to protect
   all bunnies who are lost. Now, quiet. I detect
   the scent of a fox, quite close by I should think.
   He is probably coming to the brook for a drink’.
  
   In the time that it takes for a rabbit to blink,
   the twins became smaller and continued to shrink
   until they were the size of a red ladybird.
   Another incredible change had occurred!
  
   They crept under the log; it was a safe place to hide,
   and watched what was happening from the safety inside.
   The fairies were invisible, as the fox sauntered by,
   but if he’d listened he might have heard both fairies sigh.
  
   ‘Come little rabbits. It’s time to go home.
   This is not a safe place for young rabbits to roam.
   Now come out from the log, and we will transform you again
   You mother with worry waits in the glen.
  
   The twins crept out from under the log,
   into a mist, or some sort of fog.
   When the mist cleared, they were back in the lane.
   Familiar territory, their own domain.
  
   Quickly they scampered around on the verge,
   until they found where the lane and field merge.
   They ran full speed to find their own burrow,
   their mother’s grief filling them with guilt and sorrow.
  
  They had had an adventure, that much was true,
   but they felt their behaviour was something to rue.
   If it had not been for the fairies, their care and concern,
  the twins might have had a much worse lesson to learn.
 
  Their mother was elated and hugged them so hard.
  She knew that they might have become tea for Reynard.
  But Fluffy and Flo were dazed and confused.
  Was it really a dream? Were there fairies? They mused.
 

  Dream, or adventure, one thing is for sure;
  Fluffy and Flo don’t stray off anymore.
  They have learned that the world can be dangerous and bad.
  Increasing the risk, would surely be mad.
 
  So they stay with their mother, whenever they go out.
  Whether somewhere more distant, or round and about,
  And they think of the fairies, who helped them escape;
  Who waved magic wands that could make them change shape
 
  Every night when they go to bed, wrapped snug and tight,
  they always remember to say a ‘good night’
  to the fairies out there in the mysterious wood,
  and promise, from now on, they would always be good!
 
©Copyright DF 2007