The Elements

by Whackedgourd

We've forgotten some of the more Whimsical parst of childhood. Oh, the Holidays are very well and good to remember, along with Jack Frost, the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy. But what about four leaf Clovers? Or Wishing Stars? The Four Winds? Or even Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter? Rating has gone up.

1. Lore

The Guardians of Childhood represent the more interesting holidays and instances of childhood itself. The magic of Christmas and the surprise of Easter. The hope of a snow day in winter or a sweet dream at night. Even the proof of waning childhood. The last lost tooth before a child can be considered fully grown, or the first loose tooth to prove that a child has grown from unknowing toddler hood. Even seeing the phases of the moon become something as familiar as the face of a wise and kind elder. All of these represent the most of childhood, the most fun to be had in life. These are the things we think about most growing up.

But there are more than these to remember fondly. The first snow does not come from Jack Frost. It comes from the North and the West winds driving the cold down from the North Pole. Winter is an old man who commands the formidable winds of the North and West. Without Old Man Winter, Jack would still be making little frost flowers on window panes and little puddles of water.

Among those to remember is Spring, as sweet as honey and as needed by the Easter Bunny, for she brings the warm East and South winds along with Rain storms to wash away the final gloom of Winter. Without her, Easter would be a cold, soggy affair and the sweets would freeze in the cold of the last snows. The Easter Bunny can not bring Easter if Spring hasn't already come.

The first star you see at night, is the Wishing Star. It's fallen out of use lately, and the Sandman is a little disappointed. Wishing on a star is one of the quickest ways to get a good dream, as stars in general are very talkative. All stars can grant some kind of wish, but only a few true believers have found the right star for their wishes. It was their stories and the Sandman, who spread the legend of the Wishing Stars. The Tooth Fairy also laments the loss of the Wishing Star. They do make for easy navigation for they shine brightest when a child has wished to see the Tooth Fairy, or one of the other Guardians. They are lovely little beacons of hope, the Wishing Stars.

Also, not to be forgotten, are the purely whimsical, four leaf clovers. These plants behave much like the stars, only they have less intelligence, but more cleverness. Why else can a person find perhaps one four leaf clover in their life. A clover spans three seasons, Spring, Summer and Autumn. But these little plants can not move on their own. Spring delivers only a handful of their seeds around the world, making sure only a few people a year can find one of these fetching little plants.

These beings that we have put to the wayside, have not forgotten us. They know that sooner or later, they will be needed, and that their representatives will be chosen by the Man in the Moon and Mother Nature. The Elements and the Wishfuls have waited for us long enough. Their time is coming, and they want it to be now.