One night John Roy was going over the mountains, when he fell in with a company of Elves, whose mode of travelling clearly indicated that they were carrying a person off with them.
They are doomed to wander amid mountains and lakes till the day of judgment, in ignorance of their sentence whether they shall be pardoned or condemned, but they fear the worst.
Joy and mirth reign in such assemblies of the fairies; for they are particularly fond of dancing, and it is one of their chief occupations.
Whoever finds an elf bolt should preserve it with much care, as the possessor of it is always secured against death from such a weapon.
The farmer was agreeably surprised to find that the sack out of which he had already sown a large field did not diminish, and was still the same in weight and size as when he met the fairy.
The wife of a farmer in Lothian had fallen into the hands of the fairies, and, during the probationary year, sometimes appeared on a Sunday, among her children, combing their hair.
His guide produced an enormous knife, and he already thought that his end was come; when the latter quieted his fears, and asked him if he had never before seen the knife?
A thick fog concealed the road, and confused his senses. Every stone was, in the farmer's eyes, as large as a mountain; every little brook seemed to flow in an opposite direction.
So cheap and useful a servant is naturally very valuable, but cannot be obtained with money. He continues in a family so long as a member of it survives.
The elf bull is small in comparison with the real one; of a mouse colour, has upright ears, short horns and legs; his hair is short, smooth, and shining like an otter.
Every fairy unites in his own person the most various trades: he is his own weaver, tailor, and shoemaker.
The little men began to stitch, to pierce, and to hammer so cleverly and quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker's eyes could scarcely follow them, so full of wonder was he.
During the summer nights, when the moon shines, and particularly in harvest-time, the Elves come out of their secret dwellings, and assemble for the dance in certain favourite spots, which are hidden and secluded places.