The Magick Willow

Years and years ago, when I was just a little girl around the age of five, there was a magnificent willow tree that grew in our back yard. I spent many an hour under that tree, singing songs I made up and swinging on the swing my father made for me and my brothers.

One day, when I went out to play under my favorite tree, I saw something amazing. There was a little man standing there, and a little fairy was flying around him. I suppose I should have been frightened to see such a thing, but I couldn't help but wonder who these people were and why hadn't I seen them before? I walked up to them, and the little man was just about my size, only thicker around the middle, he had a big face, and they both looked old to me. How old, you wonder? Oh, I don't know. Perhaps about as old as my grandparents were at that time... maybe 45 in our years.

Anyway, I excitedly told the man that I had never met a midget before, and he gruffly informed me that he was NOT a midget. "So you're a dwarf then?" I asked. He wasn't too pleased with that comparison either and told me that he most certainly was NOT a dwarf! He was an elf. An ELF? Yes, that's exactly what he claimed to be. I asked him what the difference was, and all he would say was that there was a HUGE difference, and he was most assuredly an ELF. Then he introduced me to his wife.

She was the little fairy that had been flying around him. At this point she was standing on his shoulder, with her head about level with the top of his head. I took one look at her, with the worn purplish gray bandana around her head, the face lined with wrinkles, the bulbous nose, the pursed lips, all complete with a double chin. 'She doesn't look like a fairy.' I thought to myself. About that time, a very indignant fairy told me, "WELL, WE DON'T ALL LOOK YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL LIKE TINKERBELL! We get old just like you do. Besides that, Tinkerbell isn't even real! Hmph!" I was shocked! I hadn't even made a comment out loud, but then the fairy reminded me that she was a fairy, after all, and she didn't need to hear my voice to know what I was thinking. I also learned that the fairy could change her size any time she wished. She simply preferred to be small when she was flitting about. She could also change her appearance as well.

When the visit ended I went inside and eagerly told my mother everything that had happened. She listened to my tale of the fairy and the elf, and then remarked that I must have fallen asleep under the tree and had this interesting dream to tell her about. At the age of five I knew it was not a dream. More than forty years later I still remember it as if it were yesterday. Dreams fade, and are eventually forgotten.... yet the memory of their visit still lingers in my soul.

On that warm summer day, so long ago, I remember being sad when they said it was time for them to go. However, they promised me that they would come back again..... and they did.

And so, my store is named after the place where I was introduced to the magickal realm of fairies and elves.... and it is dedicated to the incredible beings who made it so!