Gather round for a story about the Fairy known as 'My Own Self.'
Once upon a time, a widow lived in a ramshackle house in the woods. She would have preferred a cottage near town so her young daughter could make friends, but the woman had no money or means to move. And although her daughter had once been obedient, helpful, and content with their solitary life, as the girl neared her seventh birthday, she grew bored and restless.
Soon, the girl began to wonder, why not make my own rules? For if she were forced to make friends with trees and stones instead of boys and girls, then why concern herself with her mother’s orders? What did a widow in the woods know about bedtimes or etiquette or making friends?
After all, it was her mother who chose to live amongst the trees, where fairies roamed, and elves made homes. The girl told herself that if a fairy were to appear and offer a good time, they would undoubtedly become the best of friends…
On one particularly stormy evening, as the winds howled and threatened to shake the tiny house from its foundation, the girl renounced her bedtime. The widow scolded her daughter, bribed her, and tried every other tactic to get her into bed, but the girl refused. The widow knew that with stormy weather came meddlesome fairies, but the more she begged and threatened her daughter, the more she dug in her heels.
Eventually, the woman retired to bed, leaving the girl to her lonesome.
But she wasn’t lonesome for long, for as the flames in the hearth died and turned to embers, a wee little sprite hopped down from the chimney and into her lap. She was about the size of a doll, and the girl knew right away she was one of the Good Folk.
The girl smiled brightly and asked the fairy her name, to which she replied, “My Own Self!”
The fairy grabbed the girl’s hands and they danced around the room for what seemed like ages. When they fell to the floor in a giggling heap, the fairy asked, “And what do they call you?”
The girl wanted to tell the fairy her name, but she hesitated. Even though she was angry with her mother, she remembered her warnings concerning the fae folk.
“Well…they also call me My Own Self!” responded the girl.
Then, they were up dancing again. They pranced and played until they were breathless and then dropped onto the floor. As they swapped stories of their worlds, the fairy child asked the girl where she hid her toys. The girl turned crimson. She explained that her mother had no money to buy toys, so she often made her own from whatever nature provided.
“That’s what I do!” said the fairy, as she scooped up a handful of ash and tossed it into the air.
The girl was alarmed, for surely her mother would not take kindly to a floor covered in soot, but to her surprise, the ash stayed suspended in the air. The fairy used her tiny hands to draw images of an enchanted forest, which looked just like the woods outside, except more colorful and cheery (not to mention there were more friends to play with!).
With a wave of her hand, the scene came to life. Trees danced in the wind, and rain splashed atop the green earth. Mushroom circles sprouted and decayed, and one by one, fairy children grew wings and took to the sky.
The girl sighed and wondered why her mother feared such a beautiful place and its kind, curious creatures…
All too soon, dawn beckoned from the horizon. Worried her new friend would leave, the girl stirred the coals in the hearth, hoping to create more ash to play with. But as she stoked the fire, a red-hot ember jumped up and onto the fairy child’s foot. The fairy’s face turned white, pink, then red. Soon, it glowed brighter than the ember, and the girl began apologizing profusely. But it was too late – the fairy let out a shrill, heart-stopping scream.
The scream was unlike anything the girl had ever heard. It shook the windows, rattled the roof, and nearly split the house in two. The girl was so frightened that she ran to her bedroom and hid beneath the covers.
Even then, the screaming continued. The girl peeked out from beneath her blankets just as a voice called down from the chimney:
“Child! What is all the racket?”
“It’s My Own Self,” the fairy said, “and my foot was burnt with an ember from the fire!”
“And who is to blame?” demanded the voice.
“My Own Self did it!” the fairy said, glaring back into the girl’s room.
“Well, if you’re to blame, you best shut your mouth! No use making a fuss over something you did to yourself!” And with that, a long, skinny arm appeared from the chimney and snatched the fairy child up and away.
The girl never saw My Own Self again.
But, that’s not to say the fairy never returned to the old shack in search of her friend, for every once in a while, the girl spotted tiny, sooty footprints near the fireplace. You see, the reason she never saw the fairy again was because after that night, she always listened to her mother. She never ignored her mother’s warnings or stayed up past her bedtime, and she never invited fairies into her home when the wind howled, and wild things were afoot.
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This story was inspired by and adapted from the folktale as told by Joseph Jacobs.
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