Ten lords a-leaping

 

On the twelfth day of Christmas I wander through my garden.   My mind's eye sees the images of Kate Greenaway's fairies.    I search for the Elf Ring.   Are there "Ten lords a-leaping"?    I count the number of elves in the illustration. 

How many fairies dance on toadstools.    I make a wish - to discover fairies in my garden.

I look under under leaf debris.   Are they concealed behind rocks?   Buried in the snow? 

The birds chirp.    Suddenly the tweets, the chirrups reach a crescendo.    Do birds see fairies? 

We have many birds in our garden but none louder than the sparrows.   I estimate more than thirty.   They live amongst the evergreen shrubs that clad the front of the house.  The spiny shoots of Berberis thunbergii are the perfect foil for sparrows, for fairies, and for elves.

During the 19th Century the Victorians revered fantasy, romantic stories and fairy tales.   

Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) illustrated children's books.   This most famous creator of  fairies had an interesting relationship with John Ruskin (1819-1900), the champion of the idealistic Pre Raphaelite artists .   Ruskin believed that children should not be showered with explicit moralistic literature but should be allowed to read fairy tales for pleasure.

Art critic, social commentator and prolific writer, John Ruskin had just one work of fiction published - a literary fantasy written especially for children -  "The King of the Golden  River".  He wrote the fair tale because of a request from 13 year old Euphemia (Effie) Gray in 1841.    Seven years later John Ruskin and Effie married. 

  

For the last 28 years of his life John Ruskin lived at Brantwood on Coniston Water, Cumbria.  www.brantwood.org.uk

The story of the "King of the Golden River" is a story of our time - triumph of love, kindness and goodness over evil.

 


    




  

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