Little People of the CherokeeOf course, I had to pick it up and peek a bit. From the snatches that I read, it seems as if the Cherokee tales of their "little people of the woods" are quite similar to the old tales from Europe. This is very interesting, given that there is often some discussion amongst those of us interested in the fey, as to whether there were always fey in North America, or they came with the Europeans. Myself, I have always felt that there were probably always fey folk here. To believe that fey originated in Europe, to me, is an extension of believing that "civilization" originated there, and/or the the while folk "discovered" America - a land that was the home of literally thousands of peoples, hundreds of distinct languages, and a number of nations with distinct borders, government, and all the other trappings of "humanity" and "civilization". I am 1/4 Cherokee, and that may well color my beliefs. With a sigh, I set the book back down. I am trying very hard not to buy any books right now, when we don't know if we are going to move or not, or where, or how far, or how long we may be on the road. I'm also trying to balance spending between enjoying our travel, but having enough to go! I thought about these stories on the way home, and after I got home, and this morning... This morning as I did my morning prayers, as I do every morning, I recieved a message to sit down. I sat on the ground and finished my prayers, and just sat and meditated a few moments. Sensing a presence nearby, I held myself still, outside and in, as I would with a wild creature - or fey. A small figure crept up to me from behind, hesitated, then climbed onto my thigh. He was as light as a feather. I tilted my head a little to look at him and he stood up from his crouch onto his tiptoes, stretching high, his nose and whiskers twitching. He was certainly as curious about me, as I was about him. One of "my" fey, a fey I have known for a while, hovered near my ear and, best as I can describe, translated for us. The little fellow on my knee was curious to see the human who was so curious about his people. He was the least human looking fey I have ever seen. A bit like a rabbit, with large pink ears, paper thin. A bit like a prarie dog - with a shaggy little tail. Yet his eyes, his hands, and his bare feet, were definately human-like. I wondered if he was a shaman, a skin changer, who had spent too long as an animal - there are stories - "No" my fey told me, and with a sort of bold air "He says he owes you no explanations". He struck me as bold, curious, and sure of himself. He had a good look at me, reached tall and sniffed around my face, tasting my breath like a horse does to get acquainted, then vanished. I got the impression he simply turned and dashed away, but so quickly that I didn't even see him move. I felt little more than a brush against my leg. Like a tiny deer, he seemed light upon the earth. I've tried to capture him for you with my awkward human words and heavy human hands, but he seems quite outside of all our "human stuff".  The illustrations in the book showed very small but very definately human looking people. But then, my experience has been that the fey don't feel any particular need to stick with one form or another just to make things easy for us human artists ;) Summer
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