Rewards and Fairies

In Short

When siblings Dan and Una meet Puck, the last surviving fairy in England, they gain the magical gift to see and hear figures from three thousand years of history. Across fields, gardens, and seaside cliffs, historical visitors arrive to share their life stories—from a Flint-Age shepherd who traded an eye for an iron knife to save his people, to an astrologer-physician fighting the plague with Mars-infused ashes, to Francis Drake outmaneuvering Spanish warships. Blending poetry, folk wisdom, and historical craft, this collection endures as a profound tapestry of sacrifice, human endeavor, and quiet endurance.

The Story

The story begins in the Sussex countryside, where two young siblings, Dan and Una, encounter Puck, the last fairy remaining in England. Using the ancient magic of Oak, Ash, and Thorn, Puck opens a doorway across time, allowing the children to see and hear figures who shaped the nation's past across three thousand years. Through these meetings, the landscape itself becomes a living canvas where historical figures step forward to share their personal struggles and triumphs.

Early encounters bring the children face-to-face with the high stakes of royal courts and craftsmanship. Hal, a master builder, recalls his bitter rivalry and eventual friendship with an Italian fresco artist named Benedetto while working on cathedral lead-work. Queen Elizabeth I—Gloriana—interrogates two young privateer cousins who broke the peace on the Spanish Main, showing the fierce pragmatism behind royal authority. In disguise, King Henry VII inspects his warship, the Mary of the Tower, exposing corrupt shipwrights stealing timber while rewarding honest labor.

As the children move through seasons and fields, the stories probe deeper into human sacrifice and survival. A prehistoric shepherd from the Flint Age recounts how he journeyed to the Children of the Night, trading his right eye for a magic iron knife to protect his tribe’s sheep from ravenous wolves. In a Sussex village, Rene, a French prisoner on parole, uses crude stethoscope trumpets to diagnose the sick, facing the townspeople’s fear of devilry over traditional charms. Later, the children hide in a hay-mow to hear the astrologer-physician Nicholas Culpeper explain how he halted a deadly outbreak of plague by packing rat-burrows with Mars-governed iron and ash, braving mockery to save his neighbors.

Venturing toward the coast and ocean, Dan and Una hear tales of global exploration and exile. A fiddler named Pharaoh describes traveling to Philadelphia in 1794 alongside a Seneca chief, witnessing yellow fever outbreaks and encountering an exiled French political strategist hiding under the guise of a humble button-seller. Simple Simon recalls sailing alongside a young Francis Drake off Dunkirk, outrunning Spanish warships while contemplating prophecies of iron ships and world conquest. Saint Wilfrid tells of running across treacherous mud-flats to save South Saxons from drowning themselves out of despair, converting them through fellowship and warm hospitality. Near the end of their travels, the children listen as Sir Richard remembers a forest hunt with King William Rufus, where they discovered an old, one-eyed Saxon pilgrim wandering without rest—a fallen monarch living out his days in quiet obscurity.

The journey concludes back on the farm in late autumn. As evening gathers, Dan and Una watch old Hobden gently lift a hibernating dormouse from inside a prickly thorn-faggot. Rather than placing the creature in a cage, Hobden carefully nestles the woven nest into the bottom of a hedge, ensuring it can sleep undisturbed until spring. The magical visions quiet down, leaving the siblings grounded in their familiar fields, enriched by an abiding understanding of the unseen generations beneath their feet.

How It Unfolds

Puck opens the way Dan and Una meet Puck, the last fairy in England, who uses the magic of Oak, Ash, and Thorn to grant them power to witness three thousand years of history. Visitors from disparate eras begin appearing across their Sussex farm to share their lived experiences.

Courts, craft, and crowns Hal the builder recounts his artistic rivalries over cathedral lead-work, while Queen Elizabeth I questions two teenage privateers returning from the Spanish Main. Meanwhile, King Henry VII wanders in disguise to catch corrupt shipwrights plundering timber from his warship.

The price of protection A Flint-Age shepherd explains how he sacrificed his right eye to buy a magic iron knife, saving his tribe’s livestock from ravenous wolf packs. In a later century, an exiled French physician uses stethoscope trumpets to treat frightened villagers who suspect his medicine is witchcraft.

Reason against pestilence The children shelter in a hay-mow with Nicholas Culpeper, a boastful astrologer-doctor who describes stopping a village plague. He details filling rat-burrows with iron, slag, and ashes under the planetary sign of Mars to banish the sickness.

Wanderers and revolution Near the coast, the fiddler Pharaoh recalls Philadelphia during a yellow fever outbreak, where he befriended a Seneca chief and a disgraced French politician. Nearby, Simple Simon remembers sailing alongside Francis Drake as they outmaneuvered Spanish warships off Calais.

Faith on the mud-flats Saint Wilfrid recounts running across treacherous coastline to rescue despondent South Saxons from drowning, sharing food and fellowship. Later, Sir Richard remembers discovering a frail, one-eyed Saxon pilgrim wandering the royal hunting grounds long after the Conquest.

Winter sleep in the hedge Old Hobden shows the children a hibernating dormouse cradled inside a thorn-faggot, gently tucking the nest back into a hedge until spring. The magical visitors fade away, leaving the children with a newfound reverence for their native earth.

The People

Puck seeks to keep the memory and spirit of England’s past alive for the rising generation. As the last surviving fairy, he acts as an unobtrusive mediator who uses ancient land magic to connect children with historical travelers, remaining constant while human eras fade.

The Flint-Age Shepherd desires absolute safety for his tribe and their sheep against the ravages of wolves. Faced with superior wild beasts, he sacrifices his own right eye to purchase an iron knife from the Children of the Night, becoming a lonely, scarred leader who carries the heavy burden of his people's survival.

Nicholas Culpeper wants to validate his astrological medical theories and eradicate pestilence from suffering villages. Impeded by local ignorance, mocking clergy, and his own abrasive vanity, he proves his methods by packing rat burrows with Mars-governed iron and ash, emerging victorious over the plague while retaining his quirky self-righteousness.

Pharaoh seeks justice and restitution for his seized cargo of tobacco while trying to earn an honest living as a traveling fiddler. Thwarted by bureaucratic posturing in revolutionary Paris and yellow fever in Philadelphia, he adapts through musical companionship alongside Red Jacket and Toby Hirte, gaining a pragmatic resilience that sees him through displacement.

Queen Gloriana (Elizabeth I) wants total control over her realm and its maritime security while keeping peace with foreign powers. Confronted by headstrong young privateers who broke the peace on the Spanish Main, she balances stern threats of the gallows with hidden admiration, maintaining her royal composure above personal sentiment.

In Its Own Voice

Puck explains the specific magical power bestowed upon Dan and Una through the ancient charm of Oak, Ash, and Thorn.

To see what they should see and hear what they should hear, Though it should have happened three thousand year.

The Flint-Age shepherd quietly admits to Puck the heavy communal responsibility that drove him to sacrifice his own right eye for a metal weapon.

‘It was for the sheep. The sheep are the people,’ said the man, in an ashamed voice.

Nicholas Culpeper triumphantly defends his unorthodox medical methods after successfully ridding a Sussex village of the devastating plague.

‘I say I have proved my contention, which is, that by Divine Astrology and humble search into the veritable causes of things--at the proper time--the sons of wisdom may combat even the plague.’

What It's Really About

Beneath its magical encounters, the book explores the quiet weight of duty and the personal costs required to protect a community. Whether a shepherd losing an eye to defend his flock or a doctor braving public hostility to stop a plague, leadership demands sacrifice without expectation of praise. The narrative argues that true history is built not merely by famous monarchs, but by the uncounted ordinary folk whose labor, craft, and endurance sustain human life across generations. Iron, earth, and physical work serve as grounding forces against fleeting illusion, suggesting that belonging to a place requires honoring the struggles embedded in its soil. Ultimately, it asks how individuals navigate fear, displacement, and social change while remaining faithful to those who rely on them.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate rich historical atmosphere, folklore, and deeply grounded storytelling will find immense quiet pleasure in this book. It feels like sitting by a warm hearth on an autumn evening, listening to weathered craftsmen and travelers recount forgotten memories. What stays with you is the profound respect for everyday human labor and the deep connection between regional landscapes and human memory.

However, modern readers should be prepared for certain structural and stylistic challenges evident throughout the work. The narrative moves at an unhurried, episodic pace, weaving poems and historical vignettes without a single driving plotline. The dialogue frequently relies on heavy Sussex dialect, archaic phrasing, and period-specific trade terminology—such as plastering, shipwrighting, and early astrology—that demands slow, patient reading. Furthermore, the text reflects historical period attitudes and prejudices regarding religion, ethnicity, and foreign nations that reveal the era of its creation. For those willing to navigate these dense linguistic textures, the reward is an immersive, deeply reflective journey into the quiet rhythms of English history and the timeless sacrifices of the working hands that shaped it.