Scottish fairies may be diminutive but they are capricious and
mischievous. You find them inside Sighan, the conical green hills of West
Scotland. Never pass a Sighan without performing some ceremony to
avert the displeasure of the fairies. There, by moonlight; they dance their
fairy dance leaving the marks of circles, sometimes yellow and blasted,
sometimes rich green.
Never tarry by these hills especially after sunset. And never, ever, go to
sleep inside a fairy circle !
Fairies dress in green; though sometimes on the moors in heath-brown,
or in weeds dyed with the stoneraw, or lichen. They ride in invisible
procession, their passing noted only by the eerie ringing of their bridles.
Sometimes they borrow mortal steeds; the poor beasts found at morning,
panting and fatigued in their stalls, with their manes and tails
dishevelled.and eyes still rolling. Once the beautiful Queen of the Fairies
from the Eildon Hills came riding along on her graceful white horse
wearing green silk and velvet and on her horse’s mane fifty-nine silver
bells. She spirited away Thomas the Rhymer to be her lover for seven
years.
If Fairies blight your cattle, which will suddenly seize with the cramp,
quickly chafe the parts affected with a blue bonnet. The beast has been
elf-shot
The triangular flints of the ancient inhabitants are frequently found in
Scotland, and these are regarded as weapons of Faerie, and named elf
arrow-heads. But elfin skill isn’t confined to weapons, they are heard
hammering in precipices and rocky caverns for they are as adept as
mining as the dwarves