Hunter A savage hunter deep in the wild lands tripped on a root and fell all akimbo into a roiling stream. He was carried helter skelter down a series of twisting foaming falls until he was washed into a hidden rift. The water slowed at a bend just enough to drag himself from the frothing current. He caught his breath and surveyed his bruises as he lay there exhausted on the bank. After a certain expanse of time he stood and looked about to find his bearings. His brush with death had evidently sharpened his senses. Everywhere he looked seemed to fairly glow with an inner light. He was quite taken by this beautiful place with it's lush greenery and many waterfalls . The mist allowed a delightful variety of flowers to thrive here. The bird song infused the air with an vast interplay of melodies and rhythms. With the intent of finding his way back to a known area of the forest he began to explore the wonderful little canyon. Shortly he determined himself all ringed by high cliffs with another precipitous water fall his likely escape to the deeper canyon below. He found a clearing in the midst of a thicket of lovely plants. A beam of sunlight shown down like a golden shaft and fell upon a scene out of a dream. The hunter had to stop and catch his breath. His heart beat fast and seemed to rise into his throat. He was at once fascinated and terrified to gaze upon this wondrous sight. There in the clearing, sitting in the cradle of a lily, weaving gossamer cloth, was a fairy. She was easily the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She was as delicate as a moonbeam and the air around her seemed to glisten with the promise of magic. The hunter crouched down and thought to creep in with some stealth but she laughed out loud. "You silly oaf", "I have been hearing you for some long time now", "You can hardly think to creep about unseen when you are of such gigantic proportions". "Oh no" he said "I am of ordinary size. It is you who are most tiny". She gave him a sly smile and waved him forward into the clearing. She sat in the center of a wide circle of mushrooms. As he stepped into the circle he felt a swirling breeze that tickled the hair on his ears. He lost his balance and fell forward. In a panic he worried that he might crush the delicate creature before him. He braced his hands to hold himself away from her as he fell but something altogether unexpected happened. When he hit the ground he bounced of the crown of a mushroom and fell into the tiny puddle of water. He came up sputtering annoyed at being nearly drowned twice in the same day. When he looked up he saw his tiny maiden was tiny no more. He rather, had diminished two orders of magnitude. "Come forward gentle Sir", "Rest and take comfort". She offered him a drink of nectar from the petal of a blossom. She took his hand led him to a soft patch of clover to lay and rest. With tender magic she tended to his discomforts. He might have protested but he was too weak and her ministrations too soothing. He fell into a deep and dreamless slumber. ____________________________ He awoke to a dream life. His love for the fairy grew daily unto soon it swelled without bound. They lived in a humble hut of twigs and grass. They made love in the grass and drank dew and nectar. The fairy would dance her magic until the elements would dance with her. The wind would swirl and sing. The earth would roll in waves beneath her feet. The plants would sway to the music of her heart. She would act out the stories of ancient lore. The tales of gods and goddesses. The sweet anguish of unfulfilled love and painful loss. The triumph of joy and love. The hunter forgot his old life as he gladly lost himself in her weave of light. They lived together in bliss and raised a family in that perfect world. They grew old together in their joy. In the twilight of his life he lay on the verge of death and called his lover to his side. She kissed him and stroked him and offered what peace she could. "You will surely pass to the heavenly realm my love" she said. "No" he replied "There can be no greater heaven than this", and he closed his eyes and passed to the other world. She set him on a raft and placed him in the stream. Down he floated and passed the last water fall out of the magic glen. ____________________________ Days after having lost him, his hunting party found him down stream, drowned, full sized with a smile on his face.