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The Pedestal Magazine > Archives > Issue 55 > Fiction >Jane Yolen - When Elder Sister Grew Her Wings

When Elder Sister Grew Her Wings

          When Elder Sister grew her wings and the bumblebees came in procession to gift her with honey, I sat grounded in the garden, sullen and still wingless.

          Suddenly the thrushes sang around her in upward spirals, psalmic, glorious sounds. Dragonflies with wings veined like cathedral windows followed them. And then with a rush, all the birds of the air flew above.

          Mother and Father were her guides, one at each hand, praising every wing beat, as if Elder Sister had invented flight.

          I sat there jealous, refusing to follow her trail with my eyes. I did not care who saw me, who noted my grumpiness, who spoke my name with unease. It was all so unfair. She had been the vain one, the silly one, the one who never cared for anything but what she saw in the mirror. I was the one who could not wait for flight, knew the numbers of the stars, the arithmetic of speed.

          Oh, wait till she goes solo, when Mother and Father leave her to her own feeble devices. Then the small pinpoint holes I made in her primaries as she slept will bring her spiraling down to earth. And she, who had not the brains or imagination to do any such damage in return, will have to watch me, her twin, her younger sister by mere minutes, casting off the ground in one shudder of new wings to greet the dawn.









Jane Yolen, often called "the Hans Christian Andersen of America," is the author of over three hundred books, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and Briar Rose. The books range from rhymed picture books through middle grade fiction, poetry collections, and nonfiction, to novels and story collections for young adults and adults. She has won an assortment of awards, including two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoeic awards, two Christopher Medals, a nomination for the National Book Award, the Jewish Book Award, and the World Fantasy Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates. For additional information, visit www.janeyolen.com.
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