Blessing the Beasts and the Children

Only a few gentle souls know all of the work that is done in the enchanted forest. Oh, of course, there is the popular mythology about our faeries and gnomes and wizards, but there is more... so much more...

The faeries are generally tiny, winged and good-hearted, but their very size limits their actual usefulness in the day-to-day work of the woods. Gnomes – my true partners in productivity and mischief - are usually an average of 15 centimeters tall (appearing much taller with their caps on), having somewhat pigeon toed feet which gives them an extra edge on speed and agility through the wood and grass. Luckily, our northern climate discourages trolls, as they find the undersides of bridges quite miserably cold much of the year. A wizard - as you must certainly know by now - is a person with magical, or at least exceptional, abilities. And, oh, yes, the dwarves tend to keep to themselves and the elves are most often too stoned to be of any consequence.

“Where is she going with all of this?” you are probably asking yourself (if you’re still reading). The answer is... down the winding, narrow path, across the brook and through the glen to the magical valley... the place where unborn children - babes whose genesis is in secret promises, stardust and faint hopes - are nurtured until suitable parents can be found for them...

The female gnomes are so absolutely suited to the care of these tiny creatures: their love of animals naturally transfers to the blue and pink bootied tiny humans. In our forest nursery, Elizabeth Gnome was chosen for this great and important task many, many years ago, just after she and Sigmund became grandparents for the 437th time.

I remember the day not so long ago when she knocked on my door, her eyes sparkling with the special delight I have come to recognize: she had found the perfect parents for one of our waiting cocooned babes.

“These two people have waited many years and gathered much wisdom. They give love and kindness to each other, yet they have more love and kindness than each other needs. They are a man and a woman of ways perhaps somewhat set by time, but they will adapt and yield their ways to accommodate our wee babe, and he will be blessed and raised up well. I have considered how it will be for this child to look so like his father, and I deem it a challenge that will someday become a source of pride. With your blessings, Wizard, I will entrust one of our wee boy babes to this deserving couple.”

And with that, Elizabeth seemed to melt back into the forest. I knew she would go down the winding, narrow path, across the brook and through the glen to the magical valley... the place where unborn children are nurtured until suitable parents can be found for them... and she would deliver this carefully swaddled one to the unsuspecting couple.

I sighed and smiled, knowing as only a wizened wizard can know, that a man and a woman were about to embark on the ride of their lives.