Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland / Collected Entirely from Oral Sources

Chapter 49: READY WIT REPULSES THE FAIRIES.

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About This Book

A collection of oral traditions from the Scottish Highlands and Islands, recorded and arranged thematically to present popular beliefs about fairies, changelings, banshees, tutelary beings, witchcraft, and related customs. The material combines narrative tales and descriptive entries that show regional variants, accounts of sightings and interactions, and practical measures for protection or repair. Gaelic expressions are translated with emphasis on literal meaning and authentic usage, and the compiler relied solely on spoken testimony gathered across multiple districts to preserve the vernacular form of these folk beliefs.

READY WIT REPULSES THE FAIRIES.

A Fairy woman came to take away a child, and said to its mother, “Grey is your child.” “Grey is the grass, and it grows,” was the ready answer. “Heavy is your child,” said the Banshi. “Heavy is each fruitful thing,” the mother replied. “Light is your child,” said the Banshi. “Light is each happy worldly one,” said the mother, bursting into singing and saying—

“Grey is the foliage, grey the flowers,
And grey the axe that has a handle,
And nought comes through the earth,
But has some greyness in its nature.”29

On finding herself outwitted the Banshi left.

A boy, a mere child, was left alone for a few minutes, in the islet of Soa, near Tiree. The mother was making kelp there at the time, and in her absence the Fairies came and gave the child’s legs such a twist that it was lame (liùgach) ever after.