Thanks to Patricia H. For the tip

Mexican news agencies were quick to show a “real fairy” that was supposedly found the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. The supposed fairy was found by a 22 year old man who claimed to have captured the creature while picking Guavas. His mother gave an emotional testimony to the cameras, claiming to have had experienced some sort of spiritual awakening.

As the word spread across the town, hundreds of residents lined up for up to three hours at a time to take a glimpse of the so-called “fairy”. Not missing a beat, the son and mother setup a makeshift sign outside their home, which showed the fees charged for taking a look at the fairy, as well as taking video and photos of it. All had a different price.

As the word and photos spread through the Mexican media, many more people began making their way to pay visit to the supposed fairy.

A reader quickly recognized what many believed to be a fairy, as a popular toy sold across the country. Regardless of this, many still aired the footage as something “unexplained” and continued with the notion that this was a mysterious creature. Most residents quickly began talking to the press cameras claiming that they knew where these fairies lived and that they’ve heard tales of them growing up. Needless to say, this is a prime example of word-of-mouth myth creation.

Guadalajara (Mexico), Aug 12 (IANS/EFE) An unemployed 22-year-old bricklayer claims he has found a fairy in this western Mexican metropolis.

Jose Maldonado, who charges a monetary ‘donation’ in exchange for displaying what appears to be a simple plastic figure kept in a container of formaldehyde, says he has already received 3,000 visits from people eager to see the so-called fairy at his home in Lomas Verdes, one of Guadalajara’s poorest and most dangerous neighbourhoods.

‘I was picking guavas and I saw a twinkling. I thought it was a firefly. I picked it up and felt that it was moving; when I looked at it I knew that it was a fairy godmother,’ Maldonado told EFE.

The tale of the fairy that Maldonado claims to have discovered last weekend has run like wildfire through the area and his home is now besieged by the curious, some of whom wait for up to an hour to enter.

What Maldonado shows the paying public is a small container filled with formaldehyde containing a humanlike figure about 2 centimeters tall, with a gelatinous consistency and a certain resemblance to Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell.

Maldonado says that what seems to be just a little plastic figure is a fairy and that it was alive when he found it. And there are those who believe him.

‘I’ve seen everything and, yes, I believe the fairy is real. Therefore, I wanted to come to confirm that those myths are true,’ said Cesar Ramirez, a visitor.

To be allowed to examine the ‘fairy’ for a few seconds and take a photograph of it, the curious must make a donation to financially help out Maldonado who recently lost his job.

His neighbours have also taken advantage of the situation to sell photographs and keyrings with the image of the fairy for about 20 pesos ($1.60), as well as refreshments including drinks and food to those people while they wait in line outside Maldonado’s house. –source: Yahoo News