Ossian Collection > Folk tales and fairy lore in Gaelic and English

FOLK TALES AND FAIRY LORE. 275
I lie under spells by the fairies for twenty-one years,
and I have another year yet to put in before I shall be
free and have power to return back to my own people
again. That you also may have power to return home
at the end of your time, take heed what you say and
do as long as you are in the Fairy Knoll. Things
there will not be as they will appear; but do you as
I tell you, and you will see them as they are; and you
will no longer be in danger of being deceived by them.
Well, you will get three kinds of soap, one white,
another yellow, and the third red. When you find
yourself alone, rub the white soap over your right eye,
and it will remove thence the glamour, and then you
will see things aright. But take good heed that you
do not touch your eye, or your brow, with either of
the other kinds. That is my first advice; and here is
the other, and be sure that you do not neglect it. When
your time is out, I will come for you, and then the
fairies will gather about you, and each one of them
will offer something to take with you as a gift. You
may take anything they will give you, except gold or
silver; and I will tell you again what you ought to do
with them. But we are now in sight of the Fairy
Knoll, and see that you will not come over anything
I have said to you."
The door of the Fairy Knoll stood open before them,
and a mild light was shining through the doorway.
The farmer s wife entered, and it was there that the
grand place was. The walls and the ceiling were
glistening with gold and silver; and on the floor stood
a long table, covered with abundance, and free to all
comers. A great company was there, of young men