The Grain Mother
By D.J. Conway
The summer Sun was very bright and hot. It turned the grass in the meadow brown and dry. All the birds and
animals huddled in the shade under the trees so they could be cool in the heat of late summer. Deep
under the roots of the giant Oak in the shady forest, a group of fairies sat in their home, drinking
glasses of cool flower nectar.
"It will soon be time for us to go to the meadow," a fairy named Lilac said as she fanned herself with an Oak
leaf. "It seems as if we have been harvesting food forever."
"The squirrel says winter will soon come, and we will need the food to eat then." Little Meadow-Grass
sighed and looked around at the baskets of grass seeds, dries mushrooms, acorns, and sweet-smelling
flower petals that filled the shelves around all the rooms. "Surely this will be enough food for us."
"What is winter?" asked Rose, as she finished making a hat of leaves and moss to keep off the Sun.
"We have never seen winter."
"The squirrel says winter is very, very cold." Daffodil piled the last of their empty baskets near the door.
"He and the birds say the wind blows, it rains, and then it snows."
"I don't think I will like snow." Dandelion put an apron on over her white dress. "I asked the Great Oak
today about snow, and it told me that snow is wetter and colder than anything we have ever seen."
"Then I don't think I will like snow, either." Elder Blossom finished weaving her big grass-stem basket and
set it aside.
"The fairies who live under the big maple tree near the pond told me there will be special celebration tonight
when the harvest is finished," lilac said. "They said the Grain Mother will be there."
All the fairies looked in surprise at Lilac, who shrugged and shook her head.
"When I asked them who the Grain Mother was, they laughed at me," she said. "I was embarrassed that I
didn't know."
"We don't know either," the other fairies answered. "Will the others let us go to the celebration if we don't
know who the Grain Mother is?"
Lilac shrugged again. "I don't know," she answered.
There was a knock on the door to their underground home. "Open up, fairies," called a voice. "It's time to
go harvesting."
Rose opened the door, and the little gnome Brown Knobby hurried inside. He took off his brown hat and
smiled at the fairies. The sleeves of his brown shirt were rolled up above his elbows. Several grass-
woven bags were thrown over his shoulder. One of the bags held his fiddle.
"Brown Knobby, who is the Grain Mother?" Daffodil asked, as she poured the gnome a glass of flower
nectar.
"The Grain Mother is just another face of the Great Mother," the gnome answered, as he looked at the
fairies with round dark eyes. "when the Mother appears as the Grain Mother, the humans sometimes
called Her Demeter or Ceres. She blesses the grain and all the food that is harvested for the winter."
His eyes twinkled. "Maybe I shouldn't let you go to the celebration if you don't know about the Grain
Mother."
"Don't tease us, Brown Knobby!" Little Dandelion looked as if she were going to cry. "We're only new
fairies. We are still learning, you know."
The gnome smiled and bowed to the fairies. "You can come with me," he said, his dark eyes twinkling. "I
will introduce you to the Grain Mother when She comes to the harvest festival." He smiled wider, and
then said, "The Sun King will be there too."
The fairies gathered up their baskets and bags and a picnic lunch. Then they all hurried out toward the
meadow with Brown Knobby. Other fairies, gnomes, elves, and brownies were already filling their
pouches and bags with the last of the grass seeds.
"Look! There is the Queen of the fairies, and the King!" Rose pointed across the meadow. A regal looking
woman, with her long hair braided back, was helping with the harvesting. Beside her worked a
handsome man with dark hair, his sleeves rolled up like Brown Knobby's.
"Everyone helps at the harvest," the gnome said. "Everyone must gather food for winter."
The gnome and fairies began to fill their baskets with grass seeds. They gathered the fallen acorns and the
mushrooms that grew at the edges of the forest. Finally, the Sun went down, and a round Moon came
sliding up the sky.
"It's cooler now," said Elder Blossom as they stacked all their filled baskets and bags together. "Look at the
Moon. Isn't she beautiful tonight?"
The gnome and the fairies went to the edge of a stream and washed their hands and faces. Brown Knobby
brought out the big picnic basket and a jug of apple cider. Rose and Dandelion spread a blanket on the
grass near a tree, and they all sat down to eat.
"listen!" said Brown Knobby. "She is coming! The Grain Mother is coming!"
The fairies listened. Everyone in the meadow was quiet. Lilac saw several deer silently step out of the trees
and wait along the edge of the meadow. A white owl settled on a limb above their heads, and a pair of
squirrels dashed down a tree trunk to sit beside the fairies.
"I don't hear anything," Lilac said, looking around.
"listen to the breeze," answered the gnome. "You can hear the footsteps of the Grain Mother."
The fairies listened very carefully and heard the sound of someone walking through dry grass. Swish, swish,
went the sound. They watched as the fairy King and Queen stood up and faced the far end of the
meadow.
A tall woman stepped out of the forest and walked out into the meadow. She wore a gold and green dress.
Her bright yellow hair was braided around Her head, and She was smiling.
"Is that the Grain Mother?" Elder Blossom's little mouth made an 'O' of delight, as she looked at the
beautiful lady. "Oh, look! The Sun King is coming along behind Her, and His arms are full of ripe
grapes and fruit."
"And there is the Maiden and the Old Wise One." Rose clasped her hands together in joy. "Oh, it's so
wonderful, Brown Knobby! And listen. Even the trees and wind are singing to Her."
The fairies all looked up at the great trees of the forest and heard the wind whispering through the branches.
The rustle of the leaves and movement of the tree limbs made a special song. The white owl hooted
once, spread its mighty wings, and flew to meet the Grain Mother. The golden-haired Mother raised her
arm, and the owl settled gently on it.
"Greetings, my children." The grain Mother's voice carried like music on the light night breeze. "I am so
glad you remembered to come and celebrate the harvest with me."
Everyone around the meadow bowed to the Lady as She walked along, blessing each of them. When She
came to the little fairies, She stopped and touched each one of them on the head with Her hand.
"Welcome, little ones. I am so happy to see new children at My festivals. Are you all happy?"
"Yes, Lady," they all said together as they looked up into Her beautiful eyes.
The Grain Mother moved on to a fallen tree, where the Maiden spread a green cloak for Her to sit upon.
"Her eyes were blue as the hot summer sky," Lilac said.
"Yes, but they were also the blue of the secret, shady forest pond, where the turtles and fish live." Rose
answered.
The little fairies watched in fascination as the Sun King squeezed the juice from the grapes and fruit into a
big cauldron that the Old Wise One set near the Grain Mother.
"Now we will all have even more fun," said Brown Knobby as he took his fiddle out of one of his bags and
began to tune it. "Tonight we will dance in honor of the Lady and the Sun King."
Other fiddles and bagpipes and flutes sounded all around the clearing, making beautiful music. Soon
everyone there, even the new little fairies, were dancing and laughing to the music. The Sun King and
the Grain Mother danced together, while the Old Wise One took a ladle and filled all the cups and
glasses with the juice.
Once the Maiden came to Brown Knobby and made him put down his fiddle to dance with Her. Brown
Knobby's cheeks turned pink with surprise and happiness. He bowed to the Maiden, and they whirled
out into the meadow in a spinning dance.
"Now I see," said Dandelion when she and her sisters stopped dancing for a while to rest. "Harvest isn't all
work. It is also a celebration that we have food for the coming cold times. It is all very wonderful."
The fairies watched the dancers and the fireflies for a time, before they fell asleep on the blankets, tired and
happy. When Brown Knobby woke them to take them home, he was humming a dance tune. And he
hummed it all the way back to the great oak and the fairies' little home.
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