The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various CountriesKeightley, Thomas
General
The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries
Keightley, Thomas
Fairies; Fairy tales; Folk literature; Folklore
In Friesland the Dwarfs are named Oennereeske, in some of the islands
Oennerbänske, and in Holstein Unnerorske.[280] The same stories are
told of them as of the Dwarfs and Fairies elsewhere. They take away,
and keep for long periods, girls with whom they have fallen in love;
they steal children and leave changelings in their stead, the remedy
against which is to lay a bible under the child's pillow; they lend
and borrow pots, plates, and such like, sometimes lending money with
or even without interest; they aid to build houses and churches; help
the peasant when his cart has stuck in the mire, and will bring him
water and pancakes to refresh him when at work in the fields.
_The Dwarf Husband._
A poor girl went out one day and as she was passing by a hill she
heard a Dwarf hammering away inside of it, for they are handy smiths,
and singing at his work. She was so pleased with the song, that she
could not refrain from wishing aloud that she could sing like him, and
live like him under the ground. Scarcely had she expressed the wish
when the singing ceased, and a voice came out of the hill, saying,
"Should you like to live with us?" "To be sure I should," replied the
girl, who probably had no very happy life of it above ground.
Instantly the Dwarf came out of the hill and made a declaration of
love, and a proffer of his hand and a share in his subterranean
wealth. She accepted the offer and lived very comfortably with him, as
he proved an excellent little husband.
_Inge of Rantum._
The Friesland girls are, however, rather shy of these matches, and if
they have unwarily been drawn into an engagement they try to get out
of it if they possibly can.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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