Fairy Tales Ride Again
May. 11th, 2011 12:22 pmThere are many stories about the King of Fairies, and here's one. The different Fairy Kings, who governed their own tribes had chosen him to be the king over all Fairies because he was not himself one, and so would not choose one tribe over another and would be wise and correct to all. But he told them that he didn't think that he could do this job well. “You're all magical and invisible and everything, I'm just ordinary.” Is what he told them. The Fairies, for their own reasons, really didn't think that the man was ordinary at all. But they felt like it was their duty to help him, since he had accepted the duty of keeping the peace between them.
So this is what they did. The fairy kings got together and each one contributed a single hair, and there were millions of hairs then, and they wound these together over and over, and they made a magic wand. The magic wand was long and straight and it fit just right in the man's hand. Then, to make sure the man would have authority over all the fairies, they taught him five magic words. Here is a story of how the man used one of his magic words.
One day the man was going to work and he noticed that there was a big sign by the forest. It said that soon the forest would be bulldozed and a new store would be opening there. The man was at first kind of happy because he usually had to go a long way to get to a store, but then he remembered that this was the forest where the Fairy Kings met in their circle, and had taught him the five magic words. The King of All Fairies decided he really needed to do something about this and so he stopped his car and got out and went into the forest. There he met two men, who had driven to the forest in two very shiny, bright new cars. The men wore expensive looking clothes and the King could tell that they were rich, important men.
“Can we help you?” One man asked when the King approached them.
“Oh, I live near here and I just noticed the sign. Will you really bulldoze the forest to build a new store?” The King wanted to be sure that these were the men he needed to talk to.
“That's right, I own this land and this man wants to build his store here. We're breaking ground next month.” The King of Fairies shook their hands and smiled at them, they seemed friendly and he was glad to meet them, but he felt strong misgivings when they said 'break ground'.
“Oh, well. I would like to ask you not to do that then gentlemen. You see this is a special forest where the Fairy Kings meet and it's very important to the Fairies that you don't disturb this forest at all.” The King of Fairies was pretty smart and he knew that these men would think that he was crazy. Sometimes he still thought he was crazy, but then he also had a magic wand and five magic words to say. He could feel the magic wand in his pocket and he was thinking about which magic word he would use just then, so he didn't feel very crazy. He knew that the two men would not see it that way though.
They didn't. “Listen, sir. You need to leave here right now.” Was what one man said, the other man seemed very upset and was getting ready to say something else, probably something very, very rude.
“I'm asking you to please not do what you are planning to do.” The King of Fairies said very straightforwardly. “Will you please?”
“No! Go away before we call the police!” And in fact the man who had been silent up until now was getting out his telephone to do exactly that.
“I asked you nicely but I can see that I have to do something I would rather not do.” Said the King of Fairies, and he took out his magic wand and he tapped it on the telephone-man's head and said his magic word – which is a special fairy word that means Pig. And wouldn't you know it, the man turned into a pig, his nice clothes fell to the ground, and he stamped on his telephone with his pig's hoof.
“What are you doing!” Cried the other man, but the King of Fairies had made up his mind and even though he felt pretty bad about it he tapped his magic wand on that man's face just as he was trying to run away, and the King of Fairies said the magic word again, and that man turned into a pig.
Now both the pigs stood very still. They weren't all the way pigs yet. They still could think and talk, just a little, like people do. One of the pigs was a girl pig and one was a boy, and the King of Fairies wondered if it was very confusing for the man to have turned into not only a pig – but a lady pig. They stood very still looking at the King of Fairies, and they tried to talk but could only just barely. The telephone-man, who had been turned into a girl pig started trying to talk, but all he could say were some very rude words. “No, no, you had a chance and I'm sorry it's come to this, but I have to stop you from doing your plan. So from now on you will walk and think and eat and be exactly like pigs. I'll make sure the Fairies in this forest protect you while you're pigs and if you come back here in one year, exactly, and bring any baby pigs you have by then, then I might turn you back. Until then – Go and be pigs!”
And that is exactly what the two pigs did. Instead of planning to build stores and bulldozing forests and driving around in shiny cars they rooted in the dirt and ate up mushrooms and rolled in the mud and looked up at the moon and stars every night as if they had never seen them before. The Fairy Kings looked after the pigs and used their magic to hide them when the two men's families and friends came to the forest to search for them.
Because the two men had been rich and important a lot of people looked all over the place for them. The police came around, and then detectives, and then the Men's wives and children. Sometimes they would come and knock at the King of the Fairies' door and he'd tell them that he hadn't seen the men, and he would feel very bad. Sometimes when he would go to the forest he would take something nice for the pigs to eat, a cake or some ice cream. And then he would meet with the kings of the fairy tribes and he would tell them what had happened and why, and he would ask them to take pity on the families of the men and take them treats and sing them songs so that they could sleep in peace and not be too worried. And the fairy kings, who weren't all very nice, would do what the King asked them. The Thornbush-fairy king and the Crabgrass-fairy king and the thistle-fairy king, all prickly characters and none too friendly went and did just as the King of Fairies had asked them, and even though they were mean and sometimes cruel, they felt better for doing what the King had said for them to do, and secretly, down in their hearts, they were happy when they sang to the children of the men-who-were-pigs. And the children would sleep and feel certain that one day soon they would see their fathers again, and would be happy and a family again.
Well a year went by and some other interesting things happened between the Fairies and the King, but those are different stories. After a year though, the King of Fairies did what he said, he went back to that spot in the woods and there were the once shiny cars, and the once fancy clothes and there were four pigs. Two big happy looking pigs and two piglets. “I'm very sorry to tell you this, said the King of Fairies, but I can only turn two pigs into people now. I can turn you both back into men if you want, or I can turn these piglets into children. It's up to you.”
At this, one of the big pigs pushed forward the little piglet, and the other big pig pushed aside the other piglet so he could go first. The King of Fairies then made up his mind. He tapped both of the piglets and the caring, forthright pig all on their little pig heads and said the magic word three times.”Now you have been pigs and you will always remember, but you will go forward and act like people, and think like people and be people, but don't forget that you were pigs once and that the Fairies protected you.” The pig became a man and the two piglets became little children. Only one Pig was left. “Let that be a lesson to you greedy pig!” Said the King of Fairies.
The Man and his two pig-children were very distressed. He looked in his clothes, that had laid in the forest for a year, and he found his keys and then he and his two naked children got in the car and drove off. They were in such a hurry that they never said a word. The King of Fairies sat down on a rock, the last pig left came and lay his poor piggy head on the King of Fairies' lap. He was crying sad little piggy tears. “Do you think they'll come back? Maybe they'll think like people and want to build their store again. Maybe. Well, I can turn them back to pigs if I want. What about you greedy pig? Have you learned your lesson? Maybe you were just lonely and wanted to go home to your family? I understand that. Well. You're a big fat greedy pig now, I can see you've eaten up the fairy food and probably had a lot of the fairy drink. Will you act right if I turn you into a man again?” The greedy pig cried and nodded its head.
“I promised that I would change you back and I won't go back on my promise.” Said the King. “But you better promise that you'll act right toward the fairies. Promise?”
The greedy pig cried and cried and nodded its head.
“Okay. Well.” And the King tapped the pig on the head and said the magic word and the pig became a man. He ran right away before the King could even tell him that he would think and act and be a man again, he was out of the forest before his curly tail had vanished off of him. “Well, I don't think he'll come back anyway.” Thought the King of Fairies. “I hope that's that.” He said.
And then he went home and made himself supper. He had been eating the fairy dinner himself, and drinking the fairy drink, and now he was getting thicker and stronger and his fairy clothes were stretched over him. He had been the King of the Fairies now for a year, and so far he had been a wise and good king.
Note -
So this second story about the King of Fairies was extracted from me, and I told about his five magic words, which basically has obligated me to come up with four more - watch for them soon.