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The Art of Raven's Shire
A gallery of art inspired by the stories of Raven's Shire









Raven's Shire Fairies Tales
The Old Männlein (Rumpelstiltskin) and the Knight

The ancient fairy sat beside the road and felt the wind brushing through his leafy hair as he kissed the moonlight causing her to give a shy giggle which made him smile.
“Its going to be a while isn’t it?” Rumpelstiltskin asked the wind, which blew in affirmation. So he sat on an old rock which bent and softened itself for him providing an unnatural cushion. Rumpelstiltskin knew that three young men would soon be passing his way, one after the other, and while he’d already determined that it was the third and youngest of them which deserved to rule Whispershire he still felt he should give the others a chance to prove him wrong. He whistled cheerfully as he looked out over what remained of the wild rye meadow. Perhaps he’d let the trees grow too far he mused as a deer and her fawn were forced to stand so close to the forests that they would have had no warning had wolves been on the prowl. He closed his eyes and began to envision how the forest would look if he allowed the grass to push the trees back just a little more. He was contemplating all the ways he could change the forest when the oldest of the young men started to walk past.
“Hello,” the ancient fairy greeted the young man who simply nodded an affirmation in return. “Where are you off to this late at night?” Rumpelstiltskin inquired.
“I’m going to seek my fortune,” the young man told the old fairy who nodded as if it were an interesting discovery though he’d already foreseen that.
“Perhaps I could give you a little advice?” The Rumpelstiltskin asked.
“No, thank you,” the young man told the old fairy. “I think I’ll do well enough on my own.” And although he was polite Rumpelstiltskin could hear his mental scoff at the very idea that what appeared to be an old man might be able to help him.
The second young man to pass didn’t even make the pretence of being polite as he brushed the Rumpelstiltskin off. Then at long last the third young man came by.
“Hello,” Rumpelstiltskin greeted him.
“Hello,” the young man smiled back, his boyish grin making him look even younger than he was. It was a grin that had caused people to mistake him for a fool, but the fairy could see beyond such outward appearances. “I’m new to this area,” the young man told the old fairy carefully. “Yet I’m passing through to seek my fortune. Perhaps you could help me?”
The old man smiled as he peered into the young man’s soul and saw up close the goodness that was there. It was just as he’d suspected, the youngest was the best choice to rule the humans of Whispershire.
“There is a Lord,” the fairy told the young man, “who lives down the road to the right. A lord who is being plagued by a violent and terrible unicorn and so has promised his daughter’s hand in marriage and the shire to anyone who can capture it.”
“That is indeed a very interesting story,” the young man agreed. “However, I don’t think I could capture a unicorn.”
“Perhaps you could share with me some of your bread?” the Rumpelstiltskin asked.
“Yes of course, I should have offered sooner,” the young man agreed as he pulled the hard peasants bread from his bag and broke off a piece for the old fairy.
“There is a young girl who is true of mind that lives by hiding in people’s barns to keep from being exploited wrongly,” the fairy told him. “If you go to the third barn down the road to the right you’ll find her. She is so pure and in such need that the unicorn will come and be tamed by her. Promise her that if she helps you you’ll make her one of your knights and you’ll have the unicorn and a smart advisor for yourself when you become the Lord of these lands.”
“Thank you,” the young man said graciously with a short bow before he continued on his way.
The old fairy smiled as he hopped down from the rock. He’d finally figured out just exactly how to arrange the trees and in a hundred years it would be a beautiful sight to behold.







Rumpelstiltskin and the Knight

Rumpelstiltskin and the Fox

Little Red Riding Hood

Discription of the Whispering Forest

The Forgotten and the Future Wicked Step Mother

The Hawthorn Tree Teaches a Girl

Rumpelstiltskin

The Girl Has a Child With the Tree

Fairies Bosom

Wood Wife and the Baker

Forest Kings

Bunnik

Forest King Spreads Illness

Forest King Goes Hunting

Saga of a Nix

The Sealkie

An Old Child