In folklore there are many references to fairies but not to Human Fairies. Therefore, when most people think of fairies they’re imagining small magical creatures the size of a squirrel or Disney’s Tinkerbell. This is most peculiar because obviously if fairies were small they could not pass as humans which brings up the question, how can a tiny fairy pass as a human?
So, like many things in history, there is missing information in the story of the world of fairies. It is the story of the Human Fairy which was all but lost, except for this reference of a changeling in folklore.
The word ‘changeling’ describes Human Fairy parents giving their children to humans. Although there are various interpretations, the common theme is fairies giving their children to humans to raise. A changeling is a Human Fairy that was taken to a human’s house and left there. The unaware human family would raise the baby as one of their own.
This brings up the question of how could a parent do such a thing. We all know that even animals protect their young. However, in times of war and catastrophic events, parents who would never have given up their children will do so, no matter how painful. For example, the Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. (Wikipedia)
Most children assimilate into their new surroundings. Often times, new parents never tell their children their true origins. Therefore, the fairy children would integrate into the world never knowing they were of fairy realm origin. If the changelings felt different or were told by their human parents that they came from the fairy species, they could have been encouraged to be who they really were—magical. This is how Human Fairies integrated into the human race on the earthly plane. but with fey magic dormant in their bones.
The Human Fairy
C.JillHefte.com and Sophie the Fairy Dog
