Fairies Afield

A cottage garden on the edge of a forest gives way to winter worries in the opening tale of Mrs. Molesworth's Fairies Afield. Sisters Aria and Linde have lost their parents and earn money by selling flowers and gathered fruit. As their supplies dwindle, Aria thinks of selling dried rose leaves kept in a treasured family jar. The powder that preserves their scent came from their mother's godmother, a woman remembered for her possible connection with fairies.

In another tale, Merran takes refuge from teasing and scolding in a farmhouse garret. She imagines stories about its damaged furniture and feels drawn to an old toy weather house on a high shelf. The collection contains four fairy tales, with familiar household things offering hints of another world. Molesworth gives careful attention to gardens, seasonal changes and children's private thoughts. Readers interested in fairy stories rooted in everyday hardship will find affection, loneliness and small objects that invite wonder.