Cabbage Fairies by Vira Niemkova

Cabbage fairies are so determined!

Somewhere among the colorful rows of bright, sunlit market stalls lies a humble head of cabbage. It is ordinarily green and round. Nothing unusual about it. Nothing special. Nothing to catch your eye. But wait! What is that golden spark over there? Look! There is another one! And another! Those kinds of sparks could only mean one thing: the cabbage fairies are finally waking up for the day. Oh, have you never heard of them? How strange…Well, all right! Let me tell you.

The first thing you have to understand is that every single cabbage head has its own group of cabbage fairies to live in. Yes, this well-known vegetable is something of a fairy dorm for them. They settle in on the day of harvest and look after it till the very moment it turns into a salad.

Cabbage fairies are special, for sure. They also like talking in poems:

“We clean day and night

With all of our might!

Stay fresh, our darling!

Stay fresh”

“We get very sad when you treat cabbage badly.

We cry and weep all day long”

“With all of our work,

Can’t you take a fork

And sit,

And silently eat it?

Oh, don’t you be rude!

We swear, cabbage’s good!”

Believe me, their magical tears are no joke. I once made them cry, so I know it. Cabbage is nice. At least take a slice, but don’t ever try to throw it!