A doorway in Fairyland

In Short

This collection of original, romantic fairy tales follows humble mortals, enchanted maidens, and strange magical beings as they brave trials of devotion, sacrifice, and magic. Across landscapes marked by moving mazes, galloping ploughs, and skyward kites, lovers endure long separations and cruel enchantments to prove their worth. Laurence Housman blends folk simplicity with lyrical, mournful wonder, crafting stories where true love demands courage, patience, and the surrender of vanity. The book endures for its haunting emotional depth, vivid imaginative imagery, and timeless exploration of human devotion.

The Story

The collection gathers diverse stories of enchantment, opening with the tale of Nillywill and Hands-pansy, two peasant children whose early love is disrupted when Nillywill is revealed to be a true princess. She is whisked away to a palace, told that marrying a peasant boy happens only once in a blue moon, setting off a search for magical intervention. In another realm, a young woman named Katipah marries Gamma-gata, the West Wind, who showers her in plum-blossom veils but departs until she can find real courage. Accused of terrible crimes by her townspeople, Katipah flies a blue-and-green kite to call upon her wind-husband, who returns her lost child on the string and lifts her safely above the hostile crowd.

Elsewhere, a youth named Noodle tames the miraculous Galloping Plough using a magical ring called the Sweetener. Riding the silver plough at blinding speeds, he carves a line around the earth that becomes the Equator. To rescue the enchanted Princess Melilot, bound under fourfold spells, Noodle secures drops from the Thirsty Well, braves the perilous Camphor-Worm to catch its year-old breath, and uses the plough to uproot her feet, restoring her memory and life through a tender reunion.

In other tales, humble suitors seek impossible loves. A young cobbler named Lubin uses an invisible cap and cleverness to navigate royal threats and protect a princess's hair from being stolen. A poor ploughboy trades his life to a wise woman to be transformed into a poppy-like man, winning Princess Fleur-de-lis when she embraces him in a cottage doorway. In a grander kingdom, Princess Rosemary longs to escape her swarms of courtly suitors, while a Prince gets lost in the forest, follows his dancing shoe to a mysterious bronze house, and marries Berenice, a maiden of the Moon.

War and devotion clash when a proud Queen conquers the realm of the White King, only to fall hopelessly in love with his marble statue after he vanishes from the field of battle. In a smaller, tragic theater, two marionettes gain real human hearts and express an unyielding love through their daily performances. When a malicious showman forces the puppet King to point a sword at his beloved, the puppet snaps his own wires to embrace her, dying beside her under a rain of gold. Finally, the faithful servant Knoonie watches over his sleeping father for a century during a palace-wide slumber, only to be cast out into the world when the spell breaks, wandering until he finds a peaceful doorway in Fairyland.

How It Unfolds

The lovers are separated Royal guardians tear the Princess Nillywill away from her childhood sweetheart, the poor peasant boy Hands-pansy, confining her to a distant palace. She refuses to forget him, despite being warned that their reunion could only happen once in a blue moon.

The West Wind tests his bride Gamma-gata marries the timid Katipah under a shower of plum blossom, but bids her learn courage before he can stay with her forever. When townspeople falsely accuse her, she flies her kite and trusts the wind to save her and her child.

Noodle tames the silver plough Using the Sweetener ring, Noodle subdues the miraculous Galloping Plough and rides it around the globe at breathtaking speed. To break the spells locking Princess Melilot in stone-like sleep, he gathers drops from the Thirsty Well and catches the breath of the deep-water Camphor-Worm.

A ploughboy risks his life In love with the distant Princess Fleur-de-lis, a rough ploughboy gives his entire fortune to a wise woman to be turned into a flower. He risks death for a single tender touch, eventually winning the princess's heart when she is cast out in poverty.

The marionettes break their strings Two small stage puppets gifted with genuine hearts fall deeply in love, but a cruel performance plot forces them into conflict. Rather than harm his queen, the puppet king resists his operator's control, breaking his own wires to die in his lover's arms.

Knoonie endures the century-sleep While a royal court sleeps under a hundred-year enchantment, the devoted Knoonie ages gently in isolation while kissing his sleeping father's face each night. When the spell breaks, the blustering palace servants cast the old man out into the world.

The People

• Katipah: A gentle, timid woman who marries the West Wind. She wants to be brave enough to keep her husband, faces down false accusations, and transforms from a fearful child into a resolute mother.
• Gamma-gata: The beautiful, elusive West Wind who loves Katipah. He wants his bride to possess true courage, testing her by leaving her until she can trust him completely without fear.
• Noodle: A brave, resourceful youth who masters the Galloping Plough. He wants to save the enchanted Princess Melilot, braving drowning depths and extreme speeds to break the four spells binding her.
• Princess Melilot: A spellbound princess locked in a deep, motionlessness state. She needs the water of the Thirsty Well, the Burning Rose, and the Camphor-Worm's breath to recover her senses, heart, and freedom.
• The Marionettes: Two small stage puppets who mysteriously possess living hearts. They want only to love and dance together, ultimate choosing total physical destruction over harming one another.
• Knoonie: A quiet, devoted palace servant. He wants only to stay near his father, spending a century patiently tending to him during a kingdom-wide sleep before being cast into the world as an old man.

In Its Own Voice

" Katipah drew softly upon the kite-string. 'Oh, Gamma-gata,' she cried, 'lift me up now very high, and I will not be afraid!'"

Katipah calls upon her wind-husband to lift her away from the hostile crowd seeking to execute her.

"He cast himself speechless across the back of the Galloping Plough and clung."

Noodle grips his magical, swift mount after successfully retrieving the life-giving breath from the depths of the pool.

"The showman pulled violently with all his might, to get her away; there was a snapping of strings, and then--the queen reached out two weak little hands, and laid them under her lover’s head."

The puppet queen reaches for her dying companion as their wire controls snap under the force of their genuine love.

What It's Really About

Underneath its enchanting creatures, silver ploughs, and floating kites, the book examines the high cost of genuine devotion. True love in Housman’s world is never a passive inheritance; it requires courage, endurance, and often immense physical or emotional sacrifice. The stories repeatedly contrast outer status—kings, princesses, and fine robes—with inner nobility, showing that humble cobblers, ploughboys, and even wooden marionettes possess greater capacity for truth than monarchs and magistrates. Housman also explores the passage of time and isolation, depicting lovers and servants who wait through years of quiet devotion. Ultimately, the collection argues that affection is a transcendent force that overcomes rigid social boundaries, magical curses, and mortal limitations.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic, artfully crafted fairy tales with high romantic stakes and vivid imagery will find much to love in this collection. Housman's prose feels like a bridge between traditional folklore and Victorian literary art, filled with strikingly original visual conceits—a plough that carves the Equator, shoes that dance reels on cobblers' floors, and puppet shows that turn genuinely tragic.

The reading experience is lush, gentle, and frequently melancholy. It carries a patient, atmospheric rhythm rather than a modern, fast-paced plot structure, inviting readers to linger over poetic details and emotional nuances. While some readers may find the archaic phrasing and classic fairytale archetypes deliberate or slow, the book’s emotional authenticity prevents it from feeling like a mere period piece. The tragic beauty of the puppet lovers and the quiet loyalty of Knoonie linger long after reading. It remains a deeply rewarding text for anyone seeking imaginative fairy stories rooted in heart, sacrifice, and quiet wonder.