What child doesn’t love stories and books about fairies, dragons, unicorns and the myriad of other fairy tale creatures? These stories excite, thrill and sometimes even scare the reader just a little bit, but most of all, they open a whole new world. One in which pixies stir up all sorts of mischief, a brave-hearted boy can tame an unruly dragon and a clever princess can outwit an evil witch.
Unfortunately, fairies and all their friends only exist in fairy tales. Or do they?
I’ll let you in on a little secret I’ve only told to a select few–there is a fairy village right in the heart of my community of Sidney!
Don’t believe me? Come and look for yourself. But don’t be discouraged if you aren’t able to spot it right away. You see, fairies are very clever, and they choose out-of-the-way places in which to dwell—under toadstools, in tree hollows and as it happens in Sidney, in the crevices of rock walls.
My young grandson and I have often visited this fairy village on our walks. It took us a while to notice it; we had to look closely, of course. After all, fairies and their friends are not always so easy to observe. There are many nooks and crannies in the rocks where they like to hide.
If you peer in these crevices though, you may be able to spot the doors and windows of their homes.
Please be courteous—if the “Fairies Sleeping” sign is out, be sure to tread quietly. If you’re really lucky, you may even see the fairy queen who sits on her throne presiding over the village with her magic wand. In that case, be sure to pay her homage with a nod, or even better, a slight bow as you pass by. (It is rumoured that she is particularly delighted by curtsies.) You’ll undoubtedly see her winged horse out and about as he often pays a visit to the other fairies.
As this fairy village has grown in recent years, the fairies have been joined by whole families of teddy bears and gnomes who love to have tea parties in their gardens on a sunny day. These gardens are very well-tended as everyone knows gnomes are excellent gardeners.
A word of warning should you venture into this land—be sure to heed the “Beyond Be Dragons” sign. Don’t worry too much; these dragons are usually friendly. They’ve never been rude or given us a scare, but they are growing in number and could therefore be more difficult to control in the not-too-distant future. You know how dragons are. They’re an unruly lot, always trying to outdo one another with showy feats like breathing fire or changing the colour of their scales or practicing their terrible roars.
There’s truly something very special about a fairy walk, and it has to do with the fact that fairies don’t tend to dwell in one place for very long; it’s in their nature to always be on the move to that next adventure. So every time you walk by their village, you can be assured of spotting something you haven’t seen before—a new group here or there (fairies can easily be distinguished by the colour of their wings), new dwellings that have seemingly popped up overnight or new friends who have come to pay a visit (we recently spotted a mermaid sunning herself on the rocks).
So, if your family finds itself out near Sidney, be sure to explore the beautiful waterfront walkway (hint, it’s in the vicinity of the marina), and in particular, the fairy walk where your little ones will be sure to spot a dragon or two.
Oh, and don’t tell the fairies I sent you. They enjoy children, but they’re not overly fond of adults; something to do with lack of imagination…
