It is wise always to treat fairies with respect,
even more than ordinary mortals. That which is,
perhaps, most dear to the People of Peace is
their privacy. They hate being spied upon or
intruded upon. However, they occasionally welcome
an outsider who knows how to enter their revels
in the proper spirit. This is a risky business and
not for the timid. Knowing the proper incantation,
or fitting into a chant or rhyme often allows a
mortal to join in a fairy activity. A man, seeing
a moving dust cloud and recognizing it to be a
troop of fairies flying by, might shout ":Horse
and Hattock" (one of their little spells) and be
swept up to ride with them.
Another story is told about a humpbacked man
who heard the fairies at the revel, singing a
monotonous song in Gaelic that translates to
"Monday! Tuesday!" The man, sitting unseen
outside the wall of the ancient fairy fort,
chimed in with 'And Wednesday, too!" The fairies
were so delighted to have an ending for the
tune (it seems they'd been stuck) that they
took him in to revel with them, and removed
the hump from his back. But another man who
tried the same cure came into the song out of
rhythm, which angered the fairies. Instead of
removing his hump, they doubled it with the
hump they'd removed from the first man.
It is far safer to entice the fairies to come
to you than to enter their realm and risk being
lost there for good. This is not easily done,
for they seem to avoid our kind unless they want
something. However, here is a chant which has
been said to charm them (occasionally) into
making their appearance:
Come out from your fairy bower
Come upon this golden hour
Come to us we beg you please
Fairies dancing on the breeze.
If you are so lucky as to call them successfully,
or if you meet them by accident, a few simple
precautions are worth taking.
