Thro' Fairyland by Sarah Noble Ives
Three children — the narrator, Jimmy, and Alice — stop at the bars marking the entrance to Fairy-Land after dark, under a sky filled with millions of stars. The narrator is frightened, Jimmy acts bold, and Alice shivers, claiming it is only the cold. They knock timidly, fearing they will be refused entry, but the bars vanish. The stars fall from the sky and become lamps carried by fairies. The fairies dance like wind-blown leaves, beckoning the children to follow, and small, surprised, strange-eyed faces peer out of the darkness at them. The narrator describes a wonderful dell filled with rose-hues, daffodil-yellow, purple, and green, ruled over by a lily-white Queen who is the loveliest sight of all. The fairies sing of the land of the Sugary Dews, where children may eat a whole pie if they wish — a wonderful land the three children are told they will one day see, if the Shining Way leads Jimmy, Alice, and the narrator there. The children shout with joy at this vision. Then the stars drift back up into the sky, the fairies vanish, and the narrator covers their head. On looking up again, all three children find themselves back in bed.
By Sarah Noble Ives · Genre: Fantasy, Children's Literature, Poetry · 308 words
First lines
It was dark when we stopped at the Fairy-Land bars, / And over our heads there were millions of stars; / And I was quite frightened, but Jimmy looked bold, / And Alice just shivered-she said it was cold.
We timidly knocked, and then, just as I feared / They would not let us in, lo! the bars disappeared, / And the stars dropped right down from the sky, and behold! / Each one was a lamp for a fairy to hold.
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Genres
- Fantasy — The entire work centers on magical encounters with fairies and an enchanted realm, featuring supernatural phenomena, impossible landscapes, and vivid descriptions of magical transformation.
- Children's Literature — Features child protagonists with accessible language, whimsical tone, themes of wonder and imagination, and an innocent perspective designed to appeal to young readers.
- Poetry — Composed entirely in verse form with consistent rhyming couplets and rhythmic meter characteristic of traditional narrative poetry.
- Fairy Tale — Centers on magical fairies as primary characters, features enchantment and transformation, and follows the classic fairy tale structure of wonder, magic, and return to reality.
Tags
fairies · fairyland · children · magic · fantasy · dreams · adventure · verse · children's literature · enchantment · whimsical · nighttime
What this Textopian page supports
Thro' Fairyland is listed on Textopian as a poem by Sarah Noble Ives, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Sarah Noble Ives
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Children's Literature, Poetry, Fairy Tale, Adventure
- Length: 308 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Thro' Fairyland by Sarah Noble Ives
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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