Child or Fairy by Abbie Farwell Brown
The speaker imagines that it must be pleasant to be a Fairy, flying on gauzy wings, sleeping in flower cradles, and playing without grief or care. Yet the speaker decides that being a little human child is better, despite hard lessons, tasks, and occasional troubles, because a mother’s tender kiss is greater than any Fairy happiness.
By Abbie Farwell Brown · First published 1905 · Genre: Children's Poetry, Nursery Rhyme, Fantasy Poetry · 138 words
First lines
'Tis good to be a Fairy-thing, / And flit about on gauzy wing; / To sleep in cradles made of flowers, / Or play through all the joyous hours. / For Fairies have no grief nor care, / Happy they are, and always fair, -- / I suppose.
And yet 'tis better far to be / A little human child like me, / With lessons hard and tasks to do, / And sometimes little troubles, too. / For I have Mother's tender kiss, / And nothing is so good as this, -- / Every one knows!
Similar titles
- First Stage Of The Journey by Sarah Noble Ives
- Fairy Bread by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Hobby Horse by Amy Ella Blanchard
- The Rainbow by Sarah Noble Ives
- Cherry Time by Robert Graves
- Mother Gooses Teddy Bears by Frederick L. Cavally
Genres
- Children's Poetry — A short, accessible verse written from a child's perspective, using simple rhyme, playful imagery, and a child-centered emotional conclusion.
- Nursery Rhyme — Its compact paired rhymes, musical cadence, fanciful subject matter, and direct language resemble traditional nursery verse.
- Fantasy Poetry — The poem imagines the carefree life of fairies, including gauzy wings, flower cradles, and magical play.
- Lyric Poetry — Rather than telling an extended story, it expresses a speaker's personal reflection on fairy life versus human childhood.
Tags
children's poetry · fairy poem · fantasy · childhood · motherly love · mother-child relationship · human child versus fairy · imagination · fairies · gauzy wings · flower cradles · play
What this Textopian page supports
Child or Fairy is listed on Textopian as a poem by Abbie Farwell Brown, dated 1905 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Abbie Farwell Brown
- Date: 1905 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Poetry, Nursery Rhyme, Fantasy Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Didactic Children's Literature
- Length: 138 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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- Work identity for Child or Fairy by Abbie Farwell Brown
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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