An Elf in the Woods
In 1953 when I was seven years old in Dover Massachusetts October
was a time of bayberry candles, pumpkins, and black cats. Debbie Chandler, the little six year old girl next door,
and I spent many days looking for Witch Silver Stones and even for the dreaded Witch Blood Stones. Both
were very scarce, but we found them anyway, and kept them in secret pouches.
One night we were discussing elves at the old gateleg table in
my living room. I was attempting to draw a picture of how I thought an elf would look. Debbie corrected me about the style of the shoes and I asked how she would know.
She told me she had seen and and exchanged greetings with
an elf in the woods. She had learned honesty from her parents and was quite adamant about the elf, so I believed the story
and asked her to draw what she saw.
Debbie's elf was male about two feet tall with normal human
proportions, although somewhat portly. He wore brown pointed shoes, dark orange trousers, a forest green Edwardian style
coat, and a pointed red hat. His face was just a plain human face with a long pointed European nose and medium
length light brown hair. His aspect was quite genteel. Debbie was
a good artist.
I don't remember any subsequent conversation about this. I suspect
it was all just imaginary kid talk, but who knows? One is reminded of the nanocephalic dwarfs who lived in small communities
in the forests of Southern Europe during the Middle Ages. They were thought of and called elves in that realm.
March 29, 2006
1:48 PM
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The Faerie Ring
The following summer Debbie told me another story about winged nymphs dancing outside in
a circle every night since the warm weather began. She said they were only six inches tall and used fireflies
in tiny cages as lamps. At the end they would let all the fireflies loose for the grand finale.
I asked why they didn't fly away. She said they didn't see her because she watched them at a
distance with her father's old military binoculars. She said that the big lenses allowed her to see like an owl
at night.
I asked her to show me where this happened. She took me to a far corner of her back yard near
the woods. There was a hydrangea bush with a large clear area beneath. She pointed to the spot. You could see a lightly
trodden circle about two feet in diameter.
March 30, 2006
9:32 AM
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Dover Massachusetts has many strange secrets.
Visit my home town and see for yourself
