the fairies

Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a hunting
For fear of little green men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And grey-cock’s feather!
- excerpt, William Allingham’s The Fairies

This little green book was a gift from MrsP many moons ago. I had forgotten about it but discovered it today buried in a bookcase while frantically looking for Shakespeare’s King Lear. It is the Ides of March, after all, and we humans do have our superstitions, some more than others, but I could not put my hands on it. Instead, I found another William, an Irish William, who writes of wee green folks, most apropos for St Patrick’s Day • Only two more sleeps, as the Brits like to say :) • Happy Weekend to you!