Workaday Fairies

I don't believe in fairies, but they do a lot of work in my house. Many moons ago, my wife asked me how I thought "things got cleaned and the work got done around the house: fairies?"

Ever since then, like the Elves and the Shoemaker, we've found evidence of these unseen but hardworking sprites.

There are the Dish Fairies, who clean the kitchen and scrub the pots and pans; there is a Cleaning Fairy to vacuum and pick up toys, there is the Laundry Fairy who takes the laundry baskets for days at a time, but always returns them empty and drawers full of clean, folded clothing.

My daughters insist that there is a Tooth Fairy, who takes little children's teeth and leaves a few coins under the pillow. I tell them point blank that I don't believe in the Tooth Fairy, that I've never seen a Tooth Fairy, and can't be convinced otherwise. They laugh derisively and show me the two quarters she leaves at their bedside as they whistle through the hole in their smile. I'm faintly amused.

The girls read books about Rainbow Fairies, play with Barbie Fairies, watch movies about Fairytopia and Disney Fairies. Everywhere you look, it seems, there are fairies.

I told my wife I thought there was a Yard Fairy who mowed the lawn and other manly chores, but she just looked at me like I was an idiot. You can't win 'em all.


So when I saw this van with a sign advertising Fairy Maids, I knew I had to show my wife. See? See? They are real. And they take credit cards.