The English summer having finally descended upon us, serious al fresco reading was long overdue.
And thus, inspired by Proust…
‘And indeed at that very moment I was favoured with just such a magical apparition. As when, in a stretch of country which one thinks one does not know and which in fact one has approached from a new direction, after turning a corner one finds oneself suddenly emerging on to a road every inch of which is familiar, but one had simply not been in the habit of approaching it that way […]’
…the notion to come upon The Fairy Tree from a different direction took root. Note that the two accompanying daughters, with a galling lack of faith in maternal competence, insisted on bringing a map. Admittedly the proposed new route landed us not in a suddenly familiar bucolic aspect but in the middle of a housing estate. The Proust experience worked out to some extent but not quite as envisioned.
Perhaps Proust isn’t the way to go when we’re really talking Faraway Tree. (A squirrel was running up The Tree as we arrived. Alas, no, not wearing an old jumper.)
But I should explain. The Fairy Tree has a cunning little door concealing a hollow interior in which, obviously, you leave a gift for the fairies. My daughters usually make strings of beads, but today they brought drawings. It might all sound very sweet and innocent, but make no mistake, it is a hazardous place to sit and read. What the girls call gifts I call propitiation. On the other hand it is a delightfully shady dell in which to sit and read; perched on a rotten trunk (more like a troll than an unearthly spirit) while the kids poke around in the stream that runs through the wood. On this occasion seems like the faery folk found the kids’ offerings acceptable. At any rate we survived to tell the tale.
This does all rather beg the question, if you were to leave a book for the fairies, what would it be?
A Rat in the Book Pile 
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That is a great story as well as great picture Sarah. It is funny how I love both reading and the outdoors, particularly forests and fields. Your post made me think however that I have almost never combined the two interests. Perhaps this summer is the time to start!
By the way, I think that I would leave Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” for the fairies since they, and as well as a bucolic wood, figure so prominently in it.
Hi Brian, and thanks! It was a good day, and we are blessed with wonderful countryside in Derbyshire.
I definitely recommend reading outdoors. I often take a book when walking with the kids: then if they want to spend time clambering or splashing they can have as long as they like! However the whole ‘extreme’ thing is kind of lame. ‘Tame,’ perhaps :)
Midsummer’s Night Dream would be a perfect gift for the wee folk, but it would probably be too tempting to just read it in the wood oneself!