Mythical Ballet

I was sitting in the shade of apple trees during lunch today when I noticed nearly two dozen dragonflies buzzing, darting, and swooping in the sunshine.

Watching the hyperactive dragonflies made me think of faeries. I could picture delicate little creatures hopping between blades of grass, leaping high into the air, and dancing circles around one another.

In fact, as I studied the dragonflies I saw that their seemingly random movements had a dance quality to them. Like tiny helicopters making choreographed vertical changes in direction, one dragonfly would zip upward just as another dropped three feet.

And I thought perhaps the movements really were choreographed. Perhaps faeries rode and directed the dragonflies just as knights of old rode their steeds. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed altogether possible that what I was watching was an intricate ballet marrying nature to myth.