The Flight of the Fairies

There's a rustle in the woodlands, and a sighing in the breeze,     For the Little Folk are busy in the bushes and the trees;     They are packing up their treasures, every one with nimble hand,     Ready for the coming journey back to sunny Fairyland.     They have gathered up the jewels from their beds of mossy green,     With all the dewy diamonds that summer morns have seen;     The silver from the lichen and the powdered gold dust, too,     Where the buttercups have flourished and the dandelions grew.     They packed away the birdies' songs, then, lest we should be sad,     They left the Robin's carol out, to make the winter glad;     They packed the fragrance of the flowers, then, lest we should forget,     Out of the pearly scented box they dropped a Violet.     Then o'er a leafy carpet, by the silent woods they came,     Where the golden bracken lingered and the maples were aflame.     On the stream the starlight shimmered, o'er their wings the moonbeams shone,     Music filtered through the forest -- and the Little Folk were gone!