jfragrant IRote 



and how pleasant must have been her thought of the le^§nd- 

 ary time. 



'Iw 



M' " In olde dayes of the King Arthoi 

 ^ Of which thet Britons speken gret honour 

 I Al was this lond ful filled of fayere.'' , 



Now what does this mean? Here is one of them back 

 again, — the same little chap I noticed before, because he 

 seems to be a fairy poUceman. He wears a little cap on his 

 head which these folk call a "Thor's Cap" and we too called 

 it the same until the early Christians dropped all their pagan 

 names and it was changed to Monkshood. The diminutive 

 policeman guards himself thus against evil, for very poison 

 is the cap and very potent against spells. In his hand the 

 guardian of the fairies' peace carries a tiny sword which I 

 suppose he thinks a trenchant weapon, though I can hardly 

 repress a smile as I recognise it as the gladiolus leaf that it is. 

 His mission however is evidently one of friendly peace 

 because if he has swallowed fern seed he has good-naturedly 

 added later some other counteracting spell and remained 

 visible. He tells me in very good English, though with the 

 usual fairy accent, that he has been directed by Queen Mab 

 to point out to me anything which I may consider of interest, 

 and which is not forbidden by the censor. ' 



^ Having seen my friends in peaceful churchgoing, I feel 

 curious to know something more about their worldly side. 



u,< 



/ 



The Httle policeman takes me to the aviation plant where I 



