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
The Legend of Knock-Grafton tells how a little hunchback, while
sitting to rest at nightfall at the side of a Rath or Moat, heard the
fairies within singing over and over again, _Da Luan, Da Mart!_
(_i.e._, Monday, Tuesday!) and added, weary with the monotony, _Agus
da Cadin!_ (_i.e._, and Wednesday!) The fairies were so delighted with
this addition to their song that they brought him into the Moat,
entertained him, and finally freed him from the incumbrance of his
hump. Another hunchback hearing the story went to the Moat to try if
he could meet with the same good fortune. He heard the fairies singing
the amended version of the song, and, anxious to contribute, without
waiting for a pause or attending to the rhythm or melody, he added
_Agus da Hena!_ (_i.e._, and Friday.)[432] His reward was, being
carried into the Moat, and having his predecessor's hump placed on his
back in addition to his own.[433]
In the story named the Priest's Supper, a fisherman, at the request of
the fairies, asks a priest who had stopt at his house, whether they
would be saved or not at the last day. The priest desired him to tell
them to come themselves and put the question to him, but this they
declined doing, and the question remained undecided.
The next three stories are of changelings. The Young Piper, one of our
own contributions, will be found in the Appendix. The Changeling has
nothing peculiar in it; but the Brewery of Eggshells is one which we
find in many places, even in Brittany and Auvergne. In the present
version, the mother puts down eggshells to boil, and to the enquiry of
the changeling she tells him that she is brewing them, and clapping
his hands he says, "Well! I'm fifteen hundred years in the world, and
I never saw a brewery of eggshells before!"
In the Capture of Bridget Purcel, a girl is struck with a little
switch between the shoulders, by something in the form of a little
child that came suddenly behind her, and she pined away and died.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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