Folk-Lore
mediately by an elf-shot she is struck blind on the eye that had been thus mysteriously opened to behold the secrets of this enchanted dwelling.
It is said that the trows were great lovers of music, and the fiddlers of the olden time could discuss lightsome lilts, known as “fairy reels,” that had been learned from the hillfolk. A noted fiddler named John Herculeson had been invited to a wedding at Whiteness, where he was supposed to arrive early on the bridal e'en. The company waited long and patiently, but John did not turn up, and it was only on the eve of the “sindering day” that he reached the festive dwelling. Now, it turned out that John, while crossing the Hill of Wormidale, had been taken into a trowie abode, and had been kept playing the fiddle for two whole days. It was deemed imprudent to accept any reward from the trows, or to partake of their food.
I was told by an old man of my
early acquaintance that on one occasion
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