Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland: Collected Entirely from Oral SourcesCampbell, John Gregorson
History
Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland: Collected Entirely from Oral Sources
Campbell, John Gregorson
Folklore -- Scotland
A man in Mull, watching in the harvest field at night, saw a woman
standing in the middle of a stream that ran past the field. He ran
after her, and seemed sometimes to be close upon her, and again to be
as far from her as ever. Losing temper he swore himself to the devil
that he would follow till he caught her. When he said the words the
object of his pursuit allowed herself to be overtaken, and showed her
true character by giving him a sound thrashing. Every night after he
had to meet her. He was like to fall into a decline through fear of
her, and becoming thoroughly tired of the affair, he consulted an old
woman of the neighbourhood, who advised him to take with him to the
place of appointment the ploughshare and his brother John. This would
keep the Fairy woman from coming near him. The Fairy, however, said
to him in a mumbling voice, “You have taken the ploughshare with you
to-night, Donald, and big, pock-marked, dirty John your brother,” and
catching him she administered a severer thrashing than ever. He went
again to the old woman, and this time she made for his protection a
thread, which he was to wear about his neck. He put it on, and, instead
of going to the place of meeting, remained at the fireside. The Fairy
came, and, taking him out of the house, gave him a still severer
thrashing. Upon this, the wise woman said she would make a chain to
protect him against all the powers of darkness, though they came. He
put this chain about his neck, and remained by the fireside. He heard
a voice calling down the chimney, “I cannot come near you to-night,
Donald, when the pretty smooth-white is about your neck.”
IONA BANSHI.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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