On Fridays they obtrusively enter houses, and have even the impudence, it is said, to lift the lid off the pot to see what the family have on the fire for dinner. Any Fairy story, told on this day, should be prefixed by saying, ‘a blessing attend their departing and travelling! this day is Friday and they will not hear us’ (_Beannachd nan siubhal ’s nan isneachd! ’se ’n diugh Di-haoine ’s cha chluinn iad sinn_). This prevents Fairy ill-will coming upon the narrator for anything he may chance to say. No one should call the day by its proper name of Friday (_Di-haoine_), but ‘the day of yonder town’ (_latha bhatl’ ud thall_). The Fairies do not like to hear the day mentioned, and if anyone is so unlucky as to use the proper name, their wrath is directed elsewhere by the bystander adding ‘on the cattle of yonder town’ (_air cro a bhail’ ud thall_), or ‘on the farm of So-and-so,’ mentioning anyone he may have a dislike to. The fear of Fairy wrath also prevented the sharpening of knives on this day. They are said to come always from the west. They are admitted into houses, however well guarded otherwise, by the little hand-made cake, the last of the baking (_bonnach beag boise_), called the _Fallaid_ bannock, unless there has been a hole put through it with the finger, or a piece is broken off it, or a live coal is put on the top of it;[7] by the water in which men’s feet have been washed; by the fire, unless it be properly ‘raked’ (_smàladh_), _i.e._ covered up to keep it alive for the night; or by the band of the spinning wheel, if left stretched on the wheel. The reason assigned for taking water into the house at night was that the Fairies would suck the sleeper’s blood if they found no water in to quench their thirst. The water in which feet were washed, unless thrown out, or a burning peat were put in it, let them in, and was used by them to plash about in (_gan loireadh fhéin ann_) all night. Unless the band was taken off the spinning wheel, particularly on the Saturday evenings, they came after the inmates of the house had retired to rest and used the wheel. Sounds of busy work were heard, but in the morning no work was found done, and possibly the wheel was disarranged.[8] On the last night of the year they are kept out by decorating the house with holly; and the last handful of corn reaped should be dressed up as a Harvest Maiden (_Maighdean Bhuan_), and hung up in the farmer’s house to aid in keeping them out till next harvest. WHEN SEEN.