The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-08-08
THE STORY OF SUNBEAM.

Among the contributions to sixteen-page
paper published by the scholars at girls
school in Pittsield, Mass, is the following
fanciful little sketch, entitled "The Life of 8
Child Fairy" remarkable as purporting to be
the work of little miss of twelve years:
Her name was Sunbeam. She had lovely,
waving, golden hair, and beautiful deep blue
eyes, and such cunning little mouth; and
she was three inches tall Perhaps you think
that fairies have no lessons to learn, but in
this country they had to learn the language
of the birds and animals so that they could
talk with them. unbeam lived in the hol-
low trunk of an old tree. 1t was papered with
the lightest green leaves that could be found.
The rooms were separated by birch bark.
Every morning when Sunbeam arose from
her bed of apple-blossoms she had to learn
lesson in the bird language; but it was not
| hard, for her mother went with her and told
her what they said. When her lesson was
done she sprang away to meet her playmates-
and oh, what fun they had They made a
swing out of vine, and almost flew through
the air. They sometimes jumped on robin s
back and had ride. They played hide and
seek IN the birds nests, and in the spring
picked open the buds, and when they were
tired sat on the dandelions or on a horse
chestnut leaf, or in full-blown apple-blos-
som. But If any one came into the woods
they scampered away as fast as they could,
1or little fairies are very shy. After while
they would 60 home to their dinner of fairy
honey -cake and apple-blossom syrup. The
afternoon was much like the forenoon but the
evening was the pleasantest time of ALL
Every pleasant night just before dark Sun
beams mother dressed her in her apple-blos-
som dress with the little lily of the-valley bells
fastened like tassels to her green sash of
grass blades. Her slippers were made from
blue violets and her hair was tied with the
threads of blue forget-me.nots woven to-
gether. Her mother and her father were
dressed in light green. A little after dark
they started for their fairy haunt with fire.
flies for lanterns The haunt was in the
thickest part of the forest; it was covered with
moss, and brook flowed through the center
OF the inclosure One hundred gentlemen
fairies with their wives and children were
waiting here. Each had FREELY lantern.
Very soon from the brush-wood, out sprapg
two white mice, harnessed to a carriage made
OF dandelions with the stems so woven to-
gether that the flowers formed the outside |
The inside was lined with white violets. In
this chariot sat the queen of the Forget-me- |
not fairies (for there are different families of
f.iries.)
The queen was dressed in robe made of |
deep red tulip, and she had a sash of lilies |
oI the valley. her Dlack halr was fastened |
with what looked like pearl, but really was |
tiny drop OF water crystalized. Beside her |
rode her maids OF honor with dresses of blue |
v;olets. The queen took her place upon the
throne, and around her stood her maids of
honor. The queen then began to sing, and
'he fairies danced to the music. This lasted |
ill midnight and then the fairies went home
You can easily imagine Sunbeam's life
through the Summer and Autumn; but if you
hink that she hid in her house all Winter,
you are mistaken. In the Autumn the fathers
If the fairies had gathered the bright colored
caves, and the mothers had made them into
warm Winter dresses and cloaks. Sunbeam
lad muff of swans down. The great sport
n Winter was the queens ball, to which all
he fairies came l wish 1 he'd time to tell
'ou all about it, for it was Sunbeam's last ap-
,earance as child fairy, as the next Spring
he was tall enough to be a ful-grown fairy.