J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular tales of the West Highlands > Volume 2

XXVIII.
THE SMITH AM) THE FAIEIES.
From the Rev. Thomas Pattieson, Islay.
XT^'EAES ago there lived in Crossbrig a smitli of the
-^ name of MacEachern. This man had an only
child, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years of age,
cheerful, strong, and healthy. All of a sudden he feU
ill ; took to his bed and moped whole days away. No
one could teU what was the matter with him, and the
boy lumself could not, or would not, tell how he felt.
He was Avasting away fast ; getting thin, old, and
yellow ; and his father and all his friends were afraid
that he would die.
At last one day, after the boy had been lying in
this conditiou for a long time, getting neither better
nor worse, always confined to bed, but with an extra-
ordinary appetite, — one day, wliile sadly revolving these
things, and standing idly at his forge, with no heart to
work, the smith was agreeably surprised to see an old
man, well known to him for his sagacity and knowledge of
out-of-the-way things, walk into his workshop. Forth-
with ho told him the occurrence wliich had clouded his
life.
The old man looked grave as he hstened ; and
after sitting a long time pondering over all he had
heard, gave his opinion thus — " It is not your son you
have got. The boy has been carried away by the