Big Boots and Faries

“It’s important you know.”

“What’s important for me to know?” Johnny asked his grandfather.”

“It’s important you know something my grandfather told me.”

Johnny, walking at his grandfather’s side, only partially paid attention. His focus was on watching and listening to the sound of grandfather’s boots. He thought, what great big boots grandfather has, his steps make noise and mine don’t make any.

Johnny replied, “What thing?”

“My grandfather told me it’s important to know and share about the fairies.”

“Oh, grandfather those are old stories. They don’t mean anything today.”

“I’m glad you said that Johnny,” grandfather’s voice was steady and calm. “Listen, your schoolteachers can only tell you about what they know. If the teachers don’t know about the fairies, they won’t tell you about them.”

“Well, if there are fairies, where do they live?”

“Excellent question,” complimented grandfather, “I can show you a few places.”

They continued walking on the path in silence until they came to a large flat rock which they had passed by many times before.

Grandfather pointed, “Here is a place a fairy lives.”

Johnny confused asked, “This is just a rock, how can a fairy live here?”

Grandfather sat on the rock and said, “Long ago I sat just here and suddenly I knew I was to ask your grandmother to marry me.”

Johnny struggled to understand. “The fairy told you what you should do? Did you see it? What was it wearing? He moved all around the rock and tried to look under it. “Did it come out from under the rock? There must be a hole someplace.”

Grandfather listened to all the questions and said, “Perhaps if you see another place where I know a fairy lives, you will understand more.”

The two walked up a large hill to a place where a cart track crossed the paved road. 

“Here’s where another fairy lives”, declared grandfather.

Johnny was quiet, stubbed the toe of his shoe in the dirt, then said, “this doesn’t look a place a fairy would live”. 

Grandfather said, “I know it doesn’t look like much but a fairy lives here because I was standing just here when I knew I should plant those ten acres of spruce trees that we shall begin to harvest next year. There are other places I can show you. Like in the corner of the house where we eat breakfast, it is a fairy corner because there I knew I should accept a job with the roads planning board.”

“Grandfather,” Johnny asked, “Can fairies live anywhere?”

“Well, I think we are the wiser if we anticipate they can.”

The years went by. One morning Johnny was lacing his boots on his feet when a sudden thought slapped him in the face, he realized, I’m wearing big boots like grandfather! There was a pause, he looked out the windows to see great white clouds blowing up in the blue sky. He stood, still looking at the clouds, and a great smile spread across his face and his heart rejoiced. He spoke aloud saying, Grandfather, at last I understand. Truly the fairies you talked about were your precious memories and now my memory of you is like a fairy that was living in these boots. Aye, it has alighted on me just now. Thank you for teaching me. Now I will start to share your fairies and new ones from my life with that little grandson of ours.

Going outside, walking across the lawn, he knew something else Grandfather had said was true. The school teachers teach only what they know, and they don’t know about fairies.