Fairy Rhymes

Yeah, I know, fairies again. It's not that I've got a one-track mind, it's just I was writing the Joy of Hunting, on which, you know, I've got a piece of writer's block the size of the iceberg that sank the Titanic, and realized I found something that would let me justify a group a' fairies from the Fairy Kingdom (more specifically, Kortiki townsfolk) surviving in the Forest of Whispers despite not having been there ever. Being four would help, but it can only do so much; I had been thinking that they could have a way to transmit information orally. Just like Negav knows a bit of everything, I figured Kortiki fairies would have a rough idea of what lies beyond the Fairy Kingdom. Like everyone knows Australians are venomous.

So, thinking fairy like I've found a way to, I thought the best way to go about it would be with a rhyme. Transmitting non-essential knowledge in rhymes and proverbs isn't anything new under the sun; sounds plausible enough for me. This is what I've got so far.

"Up to a cat's hop you can see a cat
up to a frog's hop you can see a frog
but for those quiet you keep your guard up
so look around and watch out for that log."

I'm not sure cat rhymes with up, or frog with log, but what this stanza means is, basically, stay somewhere you can get a good look of your surroundings, at a distance from any obstacle to your line of sight.

"In clear water, ten braces per lap.
"If it's running don't you go chasing flow,
the fish run together with the current
and there'll always be one you don't know."

Translation: If you can't span the water in ten braces, something big might lie there. Running water doesn't even have this limit- and if you don't know what fish lie there then don't even

"Below the leaves where you bob up and down
between the big and the smaller trunks.
In the quiet of the heart listen close,
and attune deep to the feel all abounds."

Translation: Move in beehive patterns, to avoid less mobile predators (at least at first), between the largest possible trees you can find, so as to avoid ambushes out of the corner of a trunk. If you are alone, hone your predator sense.
Question: Does "attune" have two or three syllables? At-tewn, or At-tew-ne?

"Below the leaves it peeks with no venom,
don't just wait under the green branches,
your wings won't be always getting hunches,
and... or... hmhmhmhmhmhmhmmm?"

Archaic version of the other stanzas. The last verse has been forgotten, but it obviously ended on something that rhymed with venom.
Translation: Being it the forest of whispers, I wanted a rhyme that allowed the echo to repeat "om nom nom". ._.; Don't judge me, I know VEnom and NOM don't rhyme... only French has rhymes for nom as far as I know. As a side utility, it's a warning against canopy stalkers, be it boas (peeks with no venom) or whatever (it), and against complacence with predator sense (your wings won't be always getting hunches).

"If one whiff were to become your demise,
Ask me where not to go: word to the wise.
Fool me once, shame on me, but can you twice?
Maybe you can, but you won't, says my pack."

Translation: Pheromone-producing plants will stop you wherever one wants. Ask local fairies where you shouldn't go: that's the wise thing to do. Similarly, stealth will only get so many fairies by surprise. Then you'll have the rest of the pack to deal with.


NOTE: Though I've said "fairy" in this case, I know it's possible to do the same for any species. It's just fairies are the special needs group (if you know what I mean), and they're pretty gregarious at that. Dridders and elves could have songs, and I'm sure JaetteTroll already thought of this for de Jotun (though I'm not gonna check).

Thoughts?

This is interesting, but I'm not sure how many people here are good at poetry XD, I'm certainly not. How long did it take you to come up with these?

I don't know if there are harpies in the Forest of Whispers but they might run across a few eventually...

"There they are, the foul of mouth,
flailing wildly against the blue.
It's a wonder the ugly rarely crash down,
here's hoping their mouths someday do.


This is something that might get passed down to fairy children to basically let them know that they don't have very high opinions of harpies and to avoid them. I'm just making a presumption here.

Couple hours, Archmage.

gt500x wrote:

I don't know if there are harpies in the Forest of Whispers but they might run across a few eventually...

"There they are, the foul of mouth,
flailing wildly against the blue.
It's a wonder the ugly rarely crash down,
here's hoping their mouths someday do.


This is something that might get passed down to fairy children to basically let them know that they don't have very high opinions of harpies and to avoid them. I'm just making a presumption here.

Yes, there are.

These could be said by any of de "normal" sized beings, (humans, nekos and such.)

What was that, a soft giggle and a flash of scale,
Perhaps that was a Naga you saw,
pray that your legs don't fail,
or be in it's unhinging maw.

Just because the naga is your height doesn't mean they can't eat you, try to keep a good distance from them.

Watch the trees for shadows that ebb,
or thread white as milk,
Don't fall to the Dridder's web,
covered in their silk.

Always keep an eye out for white threads, for they are signs of Dridders nearby.