A Midsummer Night's Scheme

Dearest Father,

How are you? I hope you are well, and I think of you often.

What an experience this trip has been! Thank you for your advice in encouraging me to go out and see other parts of fairydom. I want to tell you that you should be very proud of your nieces and nephew. They are all such kind, honest, and light-hearted fairies. They are very eager to visit our family in the woodlands someday.

Although there are many different customs here than what we have at home, I've discovered there is one thing that's the same. Midsummer Night is a big celebration here. All the fairies come together for dancing and singing around campfires. I can't wait! I will get to meet so many fairies that my cousins have been telling me about.

They have made me promise to tell them stories about you and the rest of my family. I'm going to tell them about when you were a young man and the king sent you to gather the magical flower, whose juice you were to spread over certain eyes for a love potion. You got the right flower, but put it on the wrong people's eyes! They fell in love with all the wrong people and it caused so many problems! As you often tell me, the course of true love never did run smooth. But all is mended now, and I'm sure you did better than I would have at that age. I won't be able to tell it as well as you can. I especially love the part where the fairy queen fell in love with the weaver who had a donkey's head! I was thinking about writing up the whole story and have my cousins and their friends play the different parts. What do you think?

I must go seek some dewdrops now. I miss you and Mother and everyone at home very much. Please give everyone my love. Write to me soon!

Your loving son,
Asarum