fairy story

[miriam_e]

When I was very little my favorite story was one about a little fairy who would enviously watch all the children playing and desperately wished to be one of them, but of course couldn't because fairies walked above the ground, not on it. Also her wings were a dead giveaway. Over a long period of time she practiced stretching her toes down to the ground till she could actually touch it and give the impression she was tiptoeing. At this point she hid her wings in her clothes then went to meet the children. I don't remember much more of the story. What made a great impression on me was this extraordinary, beautiful, little creature putting herself through what amounted to torture in order to be able to play with ordinary kids. I adored the tale and have from time to time tried, in vain, to find it again. I think it was in one of those big children's storybook compendiums. Anybody heard of it?

I've spent the last couple of days at my folks' place resurrecting first my parent's computer, then my sister's so haven't been on the net much lately. Succeeded with my parents' machine by cannibalising one of my own to rebuild it. Failed with my sister's -- I'll probably go get another of my machines tomorrow for her.

Comments

[dorjejaguar.livejournal.com]

That's a wonderful image. Thank you. :)
I can't say that I know who wrote the story though. For some reason it reminds me of George Macdonald's Phantastes. I don't think that image is in there but it does almost seem the kind of image he'd come up with.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thanks for the pointer. I've now found a wealth of George Macdonald books online
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a127
Phantastes itself is there:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/325
Gutenberg Australia has some too ()
I shall have to sift through them and see if any have the story.

I'm very grateful.

[dorjejaguar.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. :) I'm really not sure that that story is in his works. I kinda don't think so. However, it does seem to me that that's exactly the kind of story he'd write though.