THE GREEN FAIRIES OF WOOLPIT

In the twelfth century, there was a town in England called Woolpit. One day, this quiet town became astir with the stories of a mysterious boy and girl found by a villager. Thought to be brother and sister, and missing their parents, these kids didn’t look normal. There was doubt they were even human. Their skin was green and they spoke an unidentifiable language. And their clothes were made of strange fabric. The villagers took the children in and the entire town of Woolpit marveled at the green children from a distant land. For days the children didn’t eat, until finally they came across a couple raw beans. They gorged themselves. So the villagers continued to provide the green children beans to eat. Eventually, the children learned the villagers’ language and were questioned thereafter. They said they came from a place called Saint Martin’s Land, where the sun isn’t as bright and it’s always twilight. Their land was “Christian” and that the day they got lost they were in the fields with their sheep. They heard bells ringing and then found themselves mysteriously in a field in Woolpit. It was concluded the two children should be baptized, and so they were. The boy ended up dying shortly after, but the girl survived. She adapted to Woolpit society and even married a man in Lynne. They said her ways were wanton, or loose, compared to the other women of that day and age.
Some say they were fairy-children from underneath the earth, who slipped into our world and got lost. Others say they were extraterrestrial. To me, their green skin, otherworldly language, and the fact they claimed to have lived in a twilight-place underground confirms they were fairy-children. Today in the town of Woolpit, there’s a sign with the silhouette of the two Green Children of Woolpit.