The lamp that stands beside the
Is not yet lighted to warm the
Of the blueish, opaque light
Through the curtains of late afternoon.
From outside come unfamiliar
And weary children interrupt their
While in every corner of the
Fairies awaken at the end of day.
Shadows gathering among the
Rustle and murmur to childish ears,
And from the pages of their
Come all their favorite characters.
First, industrious Rin Rin Renacuajo,
And Mouse Pérez, scurrying to survive,
Then, casting even deeper shadows,
Blue Beard, who killed his seven wives.
Given life in darkest corners,
Somewhere in a distant
Puss-in-Boots strides through the
And the Wolf stalks Little Red Ridinghood.
In a deep dark forest
With chilling howls, the handsome Prince,
On his white charger, rides
Sleeping Beauty, who awaits his kiss.
The children’s voices, silver and pure,
Form a chorus that speaks as one:“Then they went to the ball and
Poor Cinderella all alone.“She wiped away her flowing
And scrubbed the kitchen pots and
Watching the dance leaping
Somber shadows and glowing coals.“But her fairy godmother soon
With a beauteous gown and, in a thrice,
From a pumpkin produced a golden
With prancing steeds, once six white mice.“She gave Cinderella a lush
And a glass slipper she quickly donned,
She turned ashes to flashing
With one wave of her magic wand.”Abandoned dolls tossed on the carpet,
The listening girls sit in thrall,
The light grows pale and dark creeps
As lowering evening shadows fall.
Wondrous stories of fairies and
Are alive with ideas and fantasies,
They open to childish imaginationsA whole world of possibilities!
Stories born of times long gone,
Wing through the dark of ages,
From powerful, early Aryan
To diminished future races.
These stories are told by
When children can’t get to sleep,
The essence of poetic
Is the mystery they keep.
These stories have proved more
Than tomes of the
And with every
Have entertained our ancestors.
O tales of elves and ghosts and
That people the dreams all children have,
Time buries you forever in our
And man evokes you with his love.
