Fairy Flying a Flower Kite Over the Hills

The fairy in this picture has delicate butterfly wings, a curly bun decorated with tiny blossoms and a dress whose skirt is made of layered petals. A chain of small flowers circles her waist, and she wears puffed sleeves and soft slippers. With one foot lifted mid-stride, she grips the string of a big four-petal kite that has a round flower at its center. Long ribbons trimmed with little flowers trail from the kite. Behind her, a path winds over a gentle hill toward rounded bushes, two fluffy clouds float in the sky, and daisies bloom in the foreground.

How Kites Catch the Wind

Kites are among the oldest flying objects made by people. Written records from China describe kites more than 2,000 years ago, and early ones were built from wood or bamboo frames covered with silk. A kite rises because moving air pushes against its tilted surface and creates lift, while the tight string pulls in the opposite direction and holds it in place.

Long tails and ribbons are not only decoration. They add drag at the bottom of the kite, which keeps its nose pointed into the wind and stops it from spinning. Fairies themselves come from European folklore, and the English word fairy grew out of Old French, where it traces back to the Latin fata, meaning the Fates.