More Theories of Fairies

"Your turn to make the tea, then."

"Will do, when needed ... oh you took the small tea pot?"

"You saw it, didn't you?"

"And comfortably forgot it was the smaller one while we were consuming the tea. OK, will do my duty as a host this time and - hear me clearly - take a tea pot of decent size for two grown English persons. Meaning not too small a pot."

"It was the only one I found."

"Wait ... you were too disgusted to look behind the pile of dishes?"

"It was big and we were in a hurry for tea. But you do seem to need a wife ..." She blushed modestly.

"OK, while I cook tea, I will wash the dishes too. NO. I mean it. You are not my wife yet, and I do have some manners as a host."

"I am not so sure about that."

"I mean it."

He went out, clearly angered at himself, and laughed out loud as he reached the kitchen.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

"CAN'T HEAR YOU!" she bawled back.

In fact she had not just washed the dishes while preparing the little tea pot, but also prepared the greater tea pot so he needed only to warm the water kettle back to boiling a minute and pour the hot water into the tea pot. She was not called gentle Susan for nothing.

"As I was saying," he said while coming back with the larger and more decent tea pot, at leats for two grown English people, "this man Owen Barfield is a Theosophist of the Rudolf Steiner school, and since I am not I have never figured out what their theory of fairies is. Like if they believe them to be Atlanteans with especially pure bloodlines or extraterrestrials with access to their space ships of whatever they make such a fuss about."

"Well, if the stars are moved by angels and if they are close, there is not much chance of them having planets developing life and civilisations and technologies before us, is there?"

"I take it you are no big fan of Steiner ... don't say that too loudly to Owen Barfield. Have you met him?"

"At least heard his daughter Lucy play the piano. She was given a first edition of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and we got along pretty well on the occasion."

"Did she know you were the Susan ...?"

"She did not start reading while we were talking. She might have figured that out later. Or Lucy - my sister that is - might have told her."

"Then there are of course the Pagan theories ..."

"Aren't they kind of - Pagan?"

"The Pagans are only wrong where they contradict Christianity. Pythagoras was wrong about reincarnation, but not about the square of the hypothenuse or about the octave and fourth and fifth."