Photo by JR and Sue 

A long, long time ago – In an ancient lagoon-In the land of the Druids- A tiny egg was planted on a cattail reed- this egg the fruit of the hovering mating ritual of two special Dragonflies-Tonbo and Darnelle-They finished what they were made to do-and spent the last days of their lives- Seeking a dry warm spot to kill some flies- Or maybe a bee or two-

Inside that tiny egg awaiting the birth of the pupae nymph lay the heart and soul-Of the first incarnation of the most holy of holy in the history of Dragonflies-when the nymph emerged the other nymphs knew she was different-knew she was here for a reason-The elders of the colony called her The Dahlia Dragonfly-Or Dahli for short.

When she was filled with all the tadpoles she could eat- She would gather tadpoles in her pouch and share her bounty with the sick and poor-one day she had so many nymphs gathered under her lily pad-that she had to make her single tadpole and cattail fluffy seed head- Feed hundreds of hungry nymphs- Her very first miracle- Not one nymph went home hungry-She renounced her exalted title- Offered her most luxurious home- Under the most beautiful Lily Pad in the lagoon- To the nymphs that came to receive her blessings- She found a small young Lily Pad shoot and made it her home.

Then one day the colony of nymphs arrived- Wailing and gnashing their teeth- A monster had slithered into their lagoon and was swallowing up nymphs by the dozens-Holding others captive to be its slaves-While the petitioning nymphs feared for their own safety they were also very worried about losing The Dahlia Dragonfly-“We must flee this lagoon and find our way to the quiet lac on the other side of the Red Sandbar” she declared- “But how? We cannot cross the Red Sandbar- If we try- We will all die” the others cried - Dahli spoke in her calmest voice- “Never fear-Follow me-Stay close at hand;” When the nymphs gathered close she focused her eyes on the sun- Most Dragonflies have 30,000 individual lenses in their eyes-Dahli had 300,000-With a cattail staff in her arms-Dahli asked the Red Sandbar to sink into the earth-instantly the water washed over the sandbar-All of the nymphs crossed into the peaceful lac-Dahli blessed the Red Sandbar and told it to return as before- The monster could no longer eat or enslave the happy little nymphs.

Seven years passed- The normal lifespan of a nymph uneaten by monsters of the lagoon- Hundreds of miracles were performed- One day, Dahli knew it was time to shed her final nymph skin and become a Dragonfly-She knew that she would have but six weeks to find the perfect mate-to fertilize her eggs-Hundreds of potential mates were in their final molt- All eligible- But- Dahli could not find one that met her qualifications- She went to visit her very good friend who lived in the lotus flower that topped her Lily pad-His name was Sean- He was the son of  Iubdan, King of the Leprechauns- He left his father’s castle as a young boy- Renouncing the life of riches at a time of great poverty- Leprechauns were starving- He could not wear emeralds and eat the charms of great luck- Sean listened to Dahli’s story and he looked into all of the lenses her beautiful eyes- Instantly-They knew what they must do-

By the time the singular egg hatched-Dahli was no longer with them-She ascended to a place where she could watch those on this earth-The nymph that emerged from the egg- Shed seven times in one day- Emerged from the final molt- A new kind of being- Not a Dragonfly- Not a Leprechaun- But there in all her glory- A wee fair lassie- Sporting multicolored iridescent wings- Thus began the Golden Age-All in the land celebrated with glee- Sean was so proud of their creation-He named her Titania-Queen of the Fairies-And they all lived in a state of bliss for a very long time.

Titania - by Wiccancountess08