Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of IrelandFolk Magic / White MagicLegend / Oral TraditionEnglish with Irish folklore source materialShareAncient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 81919 edition - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 available1919 editionLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 1Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 2Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 3Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 4Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 5Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 6Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 7Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 8Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 9Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 10Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 11Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 12Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 13Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 14Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 15Ancient Legends and 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Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 226Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 227Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 228Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 229Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 230Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 231Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 232Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 233Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 234›The Fairy Dance.Ancient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 8ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1The following story is from the Irish, as told by a native of one of the Western Isles, where the primitive superstitions have still all the freshness of young life. 2One evening late in November, which is the month when spirits have most power over all things, as the prettiest girl in all the island was going to the well for water, her foot slipped and she fell. It was an unlucky omen, and when she got up and looked round it seemed to her as if she were in a strange place, and all around her was changed as if by enchantment. But at some distance she saw a great crowd gathered round a blazing fire, and she was drawn slowly on towards them, till at last she stood in the very midst of the people; but they kept silence, looking fixedly at her; and she was afraid, and tried to turn and leave them, but she could not. Then a beautiful youth, like a prince, with a red sash, and a golden band on his long yellow hair, came up and asked her to dance. 3“It is a foolish thing of you, sir, to ask me to dance,” she said, “when there is no music.” 4Then he lifted his hand and made a sign to the people, and instantly the sweetest music sounded near her and around her, and the young man took her hand, and they danced and danced till the moon and the stars went down, but she seemed like one floating on the air, and she forgot everything in the world except the dancing, and the sweet low music, and her beautiful partner. 5At last the dancing ceased, and her partner thanked her, and invited her to supper with the company. Then she saw an opening in the ground, and a flight of steps, and the young man, who seemed to be the king amongst them all, led her down, followed by the whole company. At the end of the stairs they came upon a large hall, all bright and beautiful with gold and silver and lights; and the table was covered with everything good to eat, and wine was poured out in golden cups for them to drink. When she sat down they all pressed her to eat the food and to drink the wine; and as she was weary after the dancing, she took the golden cup the prince handed to her, and raised it to her lips to drink. Just then, a man passed close to her, and whispered— 6“Eat no food, and drink no wine, or you will never reach your home again.” 7So she laid down the cup, and refused to drink. On this they were angry, and a great noise arose, and a fierce, dark man stood up, and said— 8“Whoever comes to us must drink with us.” 9And he seized her arm, and held the wine to her lips, so that she almost died of fright. But at that moment a red-haired man came up, and he took her by the hand and led her out. 10“You are safe for this time,” he said. “Take this herb, and hold it in your hand till you reach home, and no one can harm you.” And he gave her a branch of a plant called the Athair-Luss (the ground ivy).[4] 11[4] In Ancient Egypt the ivy was sacred to Osiris, and a safeguard against evil. 12This she took, and fled away along the sward in the dark night; but all the time she heard footsteps behind her in pursuit. At last she reached home and barred the door, and went to bed, when a great clamour arose outside, and voices were heard crying to her— 13“The power we had over you is gone through the magic of the herb; but wait—when you dance again to the music on the hill, you will stay with us for evermore, and none shall hinder.” 14However, she kept the magic branch safely, and the fairies never troubled her more; but it was long and long before the sound of the fairy music left her ears which she had danced to that November night on the hillside with her fairy lover. ‹Previous chapterAncient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 7Next chapterAncient Legends and Mystic Charms of Ireland 9›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg