The Little Fairy

Once upon a time there was a little fairy who was very sad because she had no name and no magic powers with which to help people in need, as the other fairies did. She would wander through the warm, sunny meadows and cool, shady woods, weeping until her pretty nose and beautiful slanting eyes were all red. “I shall never have a name,” she would say dismally, bursting into fresh tears. “And I shall never be able to help anyone, because I do not have any powers.” 

Now the Queen of the Fairies heard this, and she was very sorry, for she wanted everyone in Fairyland to be happy. So she sent a note, written in gold letters on perfumed paper, asking the little fairy to come see her. When the little fairy received the summons to come before the Queen, she was very afraid. Maybe she was going to be banished from Fairyland, or perhaps banned from attending the Midsummer Festival. She sobbed as she threw herself down on the soft grass beneath her favorite tree. “Oh, oh, what shall I do?” she cried, sobbing louder than ever. A sleepy old owl poked his head out of a hole and gruffly inquired what the matter was. When he had heard her story, he said, in his gravelly voice, “The Fairy Queen is very kind and good. She would not harm anyone, for she wants only to help and heal. “

But the little fairy still trembled, for the Queen was very powerful and her magic was strong. But she had no choice, so she went and stood before the Queen, trembling and weeping softly. “Why are you so sad?” asked the Queen kindly. “Because there is no hope of my ever getting a real name, or being able to do anybody good, for I have no powers,” replied the little fairy, starting to cry harder. The queen watched her a minute. Then, putting her finger under the little fairy’s chin, she raised her face, dried her tears, and said softly, “There is always hope.” 

Then she pointed to the ground where the little fairy’s tears had fallen. Little yellow flowers bloomed between tufts of soft green grass. She plucked one and placed it in the little fairy’s hands. “Wait and see,” she said, kissing the little fairy’s forehead.

The Queen of the Fairies stood and called for all the fairies to assemble in the glade that was her throne room. Then she presented the little fairy to them and explained her trouble. “What shall this fairy’s name be?” she asked. All the fairies answered, “She shall be called Hope.” Then she asked, “And what shall be her duty?” And they answered, “Let her bring hope to man, woman, and child in their despair, and light to those in their darkest hour.” Then the fairy queen bid the little fairy, who now had a name, to look at the flower in her hand. But as Hope looked down, she saw that the flower had become a golden wand, with dazzling rays streaming from its yellow center. Hope curtsied deeply to the Queen, then, impulsively, she flew into her arms. “Thank you, oh thank you,” she cried. And the fairy queen smiled.