He was walking into Faerie, in search of a fallen star, with no idea how he would find the star, nor how to keep himself safe and whole as he tried. He looked back and fancied that he could see the lights of Wall behind him, wavering and glimmering as if in a heat-haze, but still inviting.

There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart’s Desire.

Do not lose hope - what you seek will be found.

Of course, fairy tales are transmissible. You can catch them, or be infected by them. They are currency that we share with those who walked the world before ever we were here. (Telling stories to my children that I was, in my turn, told by my parents and grandparents makes me feel part of something special and odd, part of the continuous stream of life itself.)

For it is a true fact that faeries, just like people, very often find that a full belly and a good friend are all that they need to be happy.

I don't have a lot of patience for stories in which women are rescued by men.