Oct 8, 2025
Illustration for Joseph Jacobs' 'European Folk & Fairy Tsles' by John D Batten , c.1916.
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Illustration for Joseph Jacobs' 'European Folk & Fairy Tsles' by John D Batten , c.1916.
Illustration for Joseph Jacobs' 'The Book of Wonder Voyages ' by John D Batten, 1919.
'Europa's Fairu Book' by John D. Batten, 1916
A new flash fiction length fairy tale to accompany an old illustration by John D Batten. I've been spending too much time on Wikimedia Commons and decided I should share some of the pictures I've been finding.
He Carried Her Through The Night
new flash fairy tale for an old illustration
She’d hardly slept the last week as her wedding day approached. Each night she waited by the tower window, watching her tears fall to the pavers a hundred feet below.
Finally, on the eve of the wedding day, she heard the heavy velvet sound of Halvard’s wings, unmistakable against the midnight stillness. “Runa,” he called as he approached her tower, and her tears of sorrow turned to those of joy as the low rumble of his voice reached her.
“I’m here,” she replied. “Take me away from here, Halvard. Take me back to your mountain. I’d rather jump from this window than marry that horrible blond prince.”
“Of course you won’t marry him,” Halvard said. He landed in a crouch on the balcony. The wind from his wings sent the curtains to the bedchamber beyond rippling and swirling.
Runa barely waited for him to settle his balance on two feet before she ran to press her face into his chest. His soft feathers absorbed her tears.
He folded his arms around her and Runa felt a surge of warmth through her body. “We’re going home,” he said. “I'll never let them take you again.”
She felt his body shift and his grip tighten, then he sprang into the air again with a powerful beat of his great wings. He carried her through the night, and Runa, warm against his body and safe at last, fell into a deep sleep.
Illustration by John D. Batten from Fairy tales from the Arabian nights, c.1915, via Wikimedia Commons.
How would you color it? What story does it tell you?
Illustration by John D Batten for 'Indian Fairy Tales' edited by Joseph Jacobs, 1892.
John D Batten (UK 1860-1932)
Sleeping Beauty The princess pricks her finger 1914
The Creation of Pandora by John D. Batten, Pandora by John William Waterhouse, Allegory of Vanity - Pandora by Nicolas Régnier // “Fast As You Can” by Fiona Apple
Born today in 1860 painter and illustrator John D. Batten. Thanks to the Cat Museum of San Francisco for the tip.