The Story of the Brownie
Once upon a time, long, long, before any of you were born, there lived an old woman in a cottage, beside a wide-stretching moor, behind the Ochil hills. Her cottage was in a very lonely spot, far from neighbours, and to keep her company there lived a little grandchild with the name of Nelly. The house in which they dwelt was known by the name of "Bessie o' the Bogs", for the old woman's name was Bessie, and the moor at this part was full of boggy places, in which it was very dangerous to venture. 

The old woman kept a cow and a few fowls, so that she and her grandchild were supplied with plenty of milk, butter, and eggs. Little Nelly was not able to go to school, because the road was too long for her tiny feet; so her grandmother gave her lessons at home, and taught Nelly the letters of the Alphabet from an old horn book, which she had used herself when a little girl. She also taught Nelly to sew a sampler, which is a piece of fine canvas, stretched upon a frame, on which is sewn in coloured wool all the letters of the Alphabet, the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0, and beneath that the girl's own name, which in this case was Nelly Henderson.

On the long winter nights the Granny used to tell stories about the Fairies and Brownies, who were at that time believed to dwell in a large earth mound, called "The Fairy Knowe," which was near Pendreich, overlooking the beautiful vale of Menteith, and the western group of the Grampian mountains. There they held high revels, dancing in the silver moonbeams, and playing at leap-frog and other funny games, which kept them amused until the dawn drove them into hiding. Nelly loved to listen to tales of these grey people, as they were sometimes called, and especially the doings of one Brownie, called Tod Lowrie, or Red Bonnett, from the red cap which he was supposed to wear. This Brownie was a great favourite with the shepherds who looked after the sheep on the Ochils, and as he always helped them, though he was never seen by any of them, none would speak an evil word of this good Fairy.

Nelly's Granny had quite a budget of tales about the things Tod Lowrie used to do, and thus the little girl got to love the tiny elf whose good-humour and kindly deeds were proverbial. At night when she went to bed she used to wish very much to see her favourite Fairy, but she never managed to catch even a glimpse of his red cap. As time went on little Nelly thought more and more about her Fairy friends, and often wished to see some of them as the gambolled on the dewy grass or crept quietly into people's houses to do their work for them, and leave everything tidy in the morning. For, of course, Nelly knew that when all the folks in a house were sound asleep, then it was that Tod Lowrie would step inside, and take up the broom and sweep the floors and lay the fire, and leave everything tidy and neat for the shephard's wife in the morning. 

Though Nelly and her Granny lived so far from other people, they had a little world of their own to take up their attention. Nelly was specially fond of the scones which her Granny baked, and which she called her "Fairy scones", because they were covered with little rings made by a thimble. These rings reminded Nelly of the rings she often observed on the dewy grass in the early morning, which were supposed to be made by the Fairies dancing at the dawn of day. When the evening shadows fell she would sit by the fire and dream of the little queer folk who hid away from the view of mortals, and only appeared to do some service to the people they regarded with favour.

One night, as Nelly thus sat by the fire and watched the glowing peats, for they had no coal in that moorland region, she prayed to herself that God would let her see the Brownie whom she knew as Tod Lowrie, or Red Bonnet. Her Granny had not been very well that day, and Nelly had tried her best to do the work of the house, but she had not been able to do it all. When she went to bed, where her Granny had been resting all day, she felt very tired, and soon fell asleep. It was the month of January, and the cold of winter was severe, the ground being covered with snow. 

That night a snowstorm began to blow across the moor, just as the evening shadows began to fall, and about the time little Nelly had gone to bed. Some little time after she fell asleep the door gently opened, and a strange, quaint little figure stole into the room. It was a wee man with a red cap upon his head, green shoes upon his feet, and a tight little jacket of greenish leather closely buttoned round his body. He looked slyly round the room, which was in semi-darkness, the only light being that which came from the flickering embers of the peat fire. Having satisfied himself that everybody was asleep, he picked up a broom and set to work to sweep the hearth and the floor; next he arranged the dishes upon the shelves of the dresser or cupboard. Then the Brownie, for this was none other than Tod Lowrie himself, went out to an outhouse and brought in two wooden stoups, or pitchers, full of water, and set them carefully in a corner. Going out again, he brought in some peats which he placed upon the fire, and bending down upon his knees, he blew the embers until the fire blazed quite cheerily. Taking a hurried glance round to see if he might be observed, he seemed to be satisfied that all was well, and going into a scullery close by, he carried a pot into the room, and, having put some water into it, he hung it upon the hook above the fire. The Brownie then took a bowl full of meal, and with a wooden stick, called a "spurtle," in his hand, he slowly allowed the oatmeal to trickle through his fingers into the pot, stirring the contents the while until it boiled; adding a pinch of salt, he allowed it to boil for some time. Taking out the wooden spurtle, he scraped it upon the side of the pot and laid it carefully aside. His next action was to fetch two wooden bowls from a press, one large and one small. 

Turning to the fire, he unhooked the pot, carried it carefully to the table, and poured out the porridge into the two empty bowls. When this was done, Ted Lowrie took the pot into the scullery and washed it clean, using a bunch of heather stalks tied firmly together, called a "range"; going into the scullery again, he returned with two small bowls of fresh milk, which he placed beside the bowls of steaming porridge. 

Looking at his handiwork, the Brownie smiled to himself and rubbed his hands together in high glee. "This will surprise my little Nell," he said to himself; and wheeling round he said, "Now it's time I was off, before the morning light wakens up my little friend." Red Bonnet went to the door, but great was his surprise to find that during the night, when he had been so busy, the snow had been falling and the wind had been causing it to drift; so heavy had it been that the cottage was completely surrounded by a bank of snow, heaped up to the roof. 

He next tried the window, but it was blocked too, so the wee man could find no exit that way. Standing in the middle of the floor the Brownie considered what he should do. At last he hit upon a plan of escape. He went to the fireplace and prepared to climb up the chimney; but as he stepped upon the jamb of the fireplace, the smoke from the burning peats so tickled his little nose that he gave a huge sneeze and fell with a dump on the floor. This untoward noise awoke Nelly from her slumbers, and looking out from her box-bed, she saw the wee Brownie with his red cap and green shoes, and, thrilled with delight; she cried to her Granny: "Oh look, Granny, here's Tod Lowrie!" But when Granny had opened her eyes and looked out of the bed, the Brownie was gone, having leapt up the chimney and vanished.

So, after all, the only person who ever saw Tod Lowrie was little Nelly, whose pure eyes and kind heart enabled her to see a Fairy
 

The King of the Fairies
Once upon a time, many years ago, before steam-engines or aeroplanes were thought of, the Fairies still dwelt in one or two favourite spots in Scotland. The chief rendezvous in the Midlands was the "Fairy Knowe," near the Allan Water, where the King of the Fairies ruled over a goodly company, and spent the time in doing good to those who did not speak ill of them. Many a merry revel did they hold when the moon shone clearly over the summit of Dunmyat, dancing in the moonbeams and playing their funny games beside the Wharry Burn. One of the merriest Fairies was one called Red Bonnet, from the circumstance that he always wore a red cap. When the King summoned his company to issue out upon a midnight frolic, you may be sure that Red Cap was amongst the first to obey the summons, and became the leader of their merry dances, races, and exploits. The people in the neighbourhood who loved these little folk could tell many a queer tale about Red Cap and his friends, for they often left behind them traces of their merry doings, and many a good turn did they do to those who were considered to be among their friends.

The King of the Fairies was a very handsome fairy, tall and slim, compared to the rest of his band; and he was very fond of going off by himself occasionally, so that he might see how mortals lived, and how they conducted themselves in their moments of merriment and leisure. Sometimes he would go to watch the mill-wheel at Menstrie go round, and see the sparkling water splash as it came tumbling down from Menstrie Glen. He thus came to know the miller. This miller had a very handsome wife, who sometimes came to the mill to speak to her husband, and tell him the news of the day. Her laugh was like the sound of the gurgling water that drove the mill-wheel round so merrily, and the King of the Fairies would stand, himself unseen, and watch with pleasure the pretty wife of the sonsy miller. The more he saw and heard the miller's wife the more he fell in love with her, so that one day, meeting her when she was taking a walk up the hillside, he made himself visible, and entered into conversation with her. The miller's wife had never seen so handsome a man before, and as he spoke to her she felt quite flattered. This meeting was followed by many more, and by-and-by the silly matron was head over ears in love with the Fairy. She did not know that the handsome lover was a fairy, having never asked him such a question, but she had given her foolish heart into his keeping and did not care any more for the honest miller, who loved her all the same, and often wondered what had come over his pretty wife. He never said a word to her about the change which he perceived had come over her affection for him: he thought that everything would come right again, and so he held his peace, like a wise man. 

One day, not long after, when the miller came from his mill, he found that his wife had left him, and gone off with her lover. The poor man was perfectly distracted with grief, and went about like one demented. He could not attend to his work, and the music of the mill-wheel was silent, the water rushed past without turning the big wheel, and the farmers could not get their corn ground, because the miller's wife had gone and left him.

At last the miller of Menstrie went to consult an old woman who was said to be a witch. He told her all his trouble, how his wife had left him, and that he would do anything to get her back again, for he loved her even more than ever. The old witch said that she would cast a spell and find out who it was who had carried off his lovely wife, for until they knew this nothing could be done. It took some time before the spell could be properly cast, but at length it was done, and the witch told the sorowing miller that his wife had been carried off by the King of the Fairies, and there was only one way by which she could be restored to him again. He was to go back to his mill, set the wheel agoing again, and resume his ordinary employment. Then, when he was riddling the corn, he was to give the riddle a certain magic turn, which she showed to him, and if that were done correctly his wife would drop down at his feet. The miller returned home cheerier than he had been for many a day, and began to work as usual. The big wheel began to turn and drone out its usual song, the water came splashing over the weir, and the hum of industry was once more heard at the old mill. 

One bright summer day, as the miller was busy riddling the corn, he heard singing in the air, and the notes reminded him of his wife's voice. Listening attentively, he heard her singing a plaintive air, of which he made out this verse: 
Oh, Alva woods are bonny,
Tillicoultry hills are fair;
But when I think o' the bonny braes o' Menstrie,
It makes my heart aye sair.

Although the miller heard the singing he could not see his wife, but he was convinced that it was she. Each day he heard the same song in affectionate notes, but the singer was always invisible. The music always came at the time when he was engaged riddling the corn, and try as he would he never seemed to be able to make the magic movement which the old witch had showed him. At last, one day, as he was standing at the barn door with the corn riddle in his hand, he succeeded in making the magic turn, the spell that held his wife in captivity was instantly dissolved, and she dropped down from the air at his feet. The old mill-house was full of joy that night, and the miller invited his friends to share his hospitality as he told them how he had got his beloved wife back from Fairyland. The miller's wife would never tell anything she had seen when with the Fairies, and her husband never asked her what she had seen or done; he was too pleased to have her restored to his desolate home. And it is good to know that they lived happy together
 

The Grey Horse And The Widow's Daughters
There was once a poor widow who lived in the Highlands with her three daughters. They were all fair to look upon, and indeed the young men admired them; but they had no dowry, so there was no word of them getting married. 

All the widow had besides her cottage was a yard full of fine kail, which was the principal food of the household. But there was a big grey horse that would come, morning after morning, and feed upon the kale, and, try as they liked, he would not be driven away. 

One day the eldest of the three daughters said: "Well indeed, mother, we must do something to keep the beast from eating all the kale on us ! See you tomorrow morning I'll take my spinning-wheel and go; and sit in the yard, and when he comes I'll try if I canno t drive him away." 

"That's you for a brave lassie," said the widow. "When he comes in, just you give him the good hit with your distaff, and maybe he will not be coming again." So the next morning when the horse arrived as usual, there was the eldest daughter spinning among the kale. Up she got in a fine rage, and, taking her distaff, over she went to him and gave him one crack! But, och! och!---when she did, it was herself got the fine fright, for the distaff stuck to the horse, and her hand stuck to; the distaff; and away went the horse---gallop, gallop---and she with him, to a green hillock not far away.

And there the horse stamped three times on the hillock, and called out: "Open, open, green hillock, and let in the grey horse that is son of a King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the widow's eldest daughter!" And the hillock opened---but it wasn't the inside of a hill they were in at all, but a beautiful Palace! And the eldest daughter found warm water waiting to wash her feet, and a soft bed to lie upon, and beautiful clothes to wear. 

In the morning the grey horse came to her and said: "Well now, I am going to the hunting today. See you and prepare a good dinner for me. Here are the keys of this Palace. You can open the door of every room that is in it---all but the one that this little key is for. Swear to me that you will not open it." 

So she promised she would leave that room alone, and the grey horse said, "Remember, if you are a good girl while I am away I will marry you before very long," and off he cantered. The girl went into the grandest kitchen she had ever seen, and made ready a fine dinner; and then she thought she would see what the Palace was like; so she opened room after room, and each seemed more magnificent than the last. 

Then, of course, she began to think about the forbidden room. "I wonder what can be in it! If I give just one peep, who will be the wiser, and where will be the harm?" she thought. So she turned the key and opened the door a little way. But what she saw put the fear on her so that she fell into the room on her hands and knees; and when she was able to rise, her hands were bloody all over! For the room was full of poor dead ladies---a fearsome sight indeed it was. 

She tried to wash the blood off her hands, but she could not get the stains out. "Oh dear, oh dear ! " she sobbed in terror, "what am I to do?" 
Then there came a small lean cat to her feet, and it said: "Give me a plate of milk---even a little drop---and I will lick the hands of you until they are clean." 
But she said: "And if good warm water will not take out the stains, is it likely that a cat's tongue will? Shoo! Off you go! Ugly little beast!" 
As she spoke, home came the grey horse himself, all pleased with his hunting, and asked for his food. And as he ate he said: "Well, were you a good woman today?" 
"Oh yes, I think so," was her reply. 
"Let me see thy hands and I will know whether thou speakest truth," he said, as he opened her clenched hands. And there was the blood on them! 
"Oho!" he said to the terrified girl. "So that is the way of it!" And he took an axe and chopped her head clean off, and he threw her into the forbidden room---and went on with his meal. 
Next morning the grey horse was feeding once more on the widow s kale; and the second daughter said to her mother: 
"Well, mother, I am going out this morning to see if I cannot drive that beast from among our precious kale." 
And the widow said: "That's you for a brave lassie!" 

So out the second daughter went, takingwith her a seam she was sewing, and she went right up to the horse and stabbed him with her needle. But could she get it away again ? No---nor the hand that held the needle! And away the horse went, and the girl with him, to the green hillock. 

He stamped his hoofs and called out as before: "Open, open, green hillock, and let in the grey horse that is son of a King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the widow's second daughter!" And the hillock opened, and in they went; and everything happened as it had done before. Next morning the grey horse gave the widow's second daughter the keys of the Palace, warning her by all she ever saw not to use the key of the closed chamber. And, telling her to have a fine dinner ready for him when he returned from the hunting, he went away and left her preparing the dinner. 

After she finished doing that, she began opening up the rooms of the Palace and admiring all the beautiful things in them. And after looking again and again at the key of the forbidden room, she could no longer resist the temptation to peep into it, and she gently opened the door. But what she saw made her let out a scream, for there was her sister, lying among a lot of poor dead ladies! And the fright made her fall on her hands and knees in the room, and when she rose up one of her hands was all over blood. She ran for warm water and scrubbed it again and again, without being able to get it cleaned---and terror came upon her. 
Then came the little lean cat, saying as before: "I will lick your hand as clean as ever for a plate of milk." 
But all the answer it got from her was: "Ugly little beast, be going with you! If the good warm water cannot cleanse my hand, is it likely that your tongue can? Shoo!" 
"Well then, you will see what will happen when himself comes home!" said the cat, and it sat down and began licking itself. 
Then came the sound of the horse's gallop, and he came in and called for his dinner. And when it was set before him he said to the second daughter:
"Well, were you a good woman to-day?" 
"That I was," said she, shivering all the same. 
Let me see your hands," he said, "and I will know." 

She spread her clean hand open over the stained one but he pulled out the other hand from below, and when he saw the stains, "Oho!" he said, "so that is the way of it." And he took his axe and chopped off her head, and then he threw her into the chamber beside her sister. 

And next morning the youngest sister, who was knitting beside her mother, saw the grey horse back again among the kail. Both her sisters had disappeared, and neither she nor her mother had closed an eye all night wondering what had happened to them. But she said to her mother in a brave voice: "Well, mother, I am going out to see whether I cannot find out where my sisters have gone, and if necessary I, too, will go with the grey horse and look for them." 

That's you for a brave lassie," said the widow but mind you come back to me." 
So out went the youngest daughter, and over to the grey horse. 
"Where are my sisters?" she said, and she stuck her knitting needle in his side. It stuck to him and her hand stuck to the knitting needle, and off they went to the green hillock. Again he stamped his hoofs and said: "Open, open, green hillock, and let in the grey horse that is son of a King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the widow's youngest daughter!" And everything happened to her as it had to her sisters, whom she saw next day, dead, in the forbidden chamber. With the shock of it she fell down, and her hands also became stained with blood; and although she tried and tried to wash them, the stains would not disappear. But when the little cat came to her with its offer to lick her hands clean in return for a drop of milk, she did not repulse it as her sisters had done. Her answer was: "Look you---creature that you are---if you will do what you are promising and lick my hands clean, you are worth a good drink of milk. So come and take it." And after the cat had lapped its fill of milk, it licked and licked the girl's hands until there was not a stain upon them. 

So when the grey horse galloped home in the gloaming to get his dinner there was no fear in her heart. And when he asked to look at her hands and saw not one spot on them he was very pleased indeed with her, and he said: 
"Aha! you are not like your sisters; and if you will be good for a few more days, we will be married." 
And he went away again the next day to the hunting. 

Then the little cat came and sat beside the girl, and it said: "See now, if you have a wish to marry a King's son I will tell you how to accomplish it. In the treasure-room of this Palace there are a number of old chests. Take out three of them and clean them up and then say to the grey horse that they can easily be spared, and that you would like him to leave them, one at a time, at your mother's house. And tell him also that he must on no account look inside them, for you will be spyingfrom the tree-tops and will call out to him if he does. Now, if you look above the door of the treasure-room you will find a magic sword, which you must take down when the grey horse has gone hunting tomorrow. Take it into the forbidden room and wave it over your sisters, and they will come alive again. Then put them each into one of the chests, along with some of the jewels from the treasure-room, close the lids, and get the grey horse to carry the chests, one at a time, to your mother. When he has done what you ask, instruct him to carry the third chest also, and, taking with you the magic sword, slip into the chest when he is not looking, and he will carry you home. After this third journey the horse will return to the Palace, and when he finds that you are not there he will go back to your mother's cottage. You must be waiting there for him, and when you have a chance you must lay the magic sword hard to his neck, and you will then see how you are going to find the King's son." 

The third daughter thanked the little cat and did exactly as it bade her. She restored her sisters to life by waving the magic sword over them; she put them in two of the chests and heaped in gold and jewels from the treasure-room along with them; and she told them what to say if the horse tried to see what he was carrying. She found him quite willing to do as she asked---though he certainly wondered what she had put in the chests; and when he came to a spot in the glen where he thought he would not be seen he tried to peep in. Immediately a voice came from---he knew not where---and it said: "Who is peeping? Who is peeping?" 

And thinking that the sound came from the tree-tops he laughed and said, "Well, well! Surely you have the good sight!"---and went on with his burden. And when the third chest also was delivered at the widow's cottage, the horse went home for his dinner. When he found no dinner and no one waiting to welcome him, he galloped back to the widow's cottage in a great state. The door was closed, but he crashed it through with his forehead. Behind the door the youngest daughter was waiting with the magic sword in her hand, and when his head crashed through, she brought the sword down on his neck with all her might, and he changed immediately into a beautiful youth! 

"Oh!" she cried in wonder. "It is true, then---you are the King's son!" "I am that, indeed," he replied, "and more than that, I am your husband-to-be." And he took her hand, and leading her to the widow, he said: "Mother, this third daughter of yours has broken an evil spell that bound me. Will you give her to me, for indeed I love her truly?" 

And the widow gave a glad consent. Thanks to this same girl she had got back her two elder daughters, and with them enough gold and Jewels to ensure good husbands for them and comfort for herself for the rest of her life. When the King's son took his bride home to his Palace, they found a pretty girl there who ran to the Prince and kissed him affectionately. "Why, who is this?" said the young bride in astonishment. "Who but my sister," he answered---my sister, who was the little lean cat! At the same time as you released me you released her from the spell that had changed her. She will be a sister to you and will live with us until she marries,"---and the two girls embraced each other tenderly. They lived happily in the Palace under the hill, and many a time did the widow bless the day that brought the grey horse to eat her kale! 
 

The King of the Cats
Many years ago, long before shooting in Scotland was a fashion as it is now, two young men spent the autumn in the very far north, living in a lodge far from other houses, with an old woman to cook for them. Her cat and their own dogs formed all the rest of the household.

One afternoon the elder of the two young men said he would not go out, and the younger one went alone, to follow the path of the previous day's sport looking for missing birds, and intending to return home before the early sunset. However, he did not do so, and the elder man became very uneasy as he watched and waited in vain till long after their usual supper-time. At last the young man returned, wet and exhausted, nor did he explain his unusual lateness until, after supper, they were seated by the fire with their pipes, the dogs lying at their feet, and the old woman's black cat sitting gravely with half-shut eyes on the hearth between them. Then the young man began as follows:--

"You must be wondering what made me so late. I have had a curious adventure to-day. I hardly know what to say about it. I went, as I told you I should, along our yesterday's route. A mountain fog came on just as I was about to turn homewards, and I completely lost my way. I wandered about for a long time, not knowing where I was, till at last I saw a light, and made for it, hoping to get help. As I came near it, it disappeared, and I found myself close to a large old oak-tree. I climbed into the branches the better to look for the light, and, behold! it was beneath me, inside the hollow trunk of the tree. I seemed to be looking down into a church, where a funeral was in the act of taking place. I heard singing, and saw a coffin, surrounded by torches, all carried by ---- But I know you won't believe me if I tell you!"

His friend eagerly begged him to go on, and laid down his pipe to listen. The dogs were sleeping quietly, but the cat was sitting up apparently listening as attentively as the man, and both young men involuntarily turned their eyes towards him. "Yes," proceeded the absentee," it is perfectly true. The coffin and the torches were both borne by cats, and upon the coffin were marked a crown and scepter!" He got no further; the cat started up shrieking, "By Jove! old Peter's dead! and I'm the King o' the Cats!" rushed up the chimney and was seen no more.
 

The Fox and the Fleas
The fox is much troubled by fleas, and this is the way in which he gets rid of them. He hunts about until he finds a lock of wool, and then he takes it to the river, and holds it in his mouth, and so puts the end of his brush into the water, and down he goes slowly. The fleas run away from the water, and at last they all run over the fox's nose into the wool, and then the fox dips his nose under and lets the wool go off with the stream.
 

The Keg of Butter
The russet dog and the wild dog (the fox and the wolf) were going together. And they went round about the seashore, and they found a keg of butter, and they buried it.

On the morrow the fox went out, and when he returned, he said that a man had come to ask him to a baptism. The fox went, and he arrayed himself in excellent attire, and he went away. And where should he go but to the butter keg. And when he came home, the wolf asked him, "What name was given to the child?"

And he said that it was Foveeal (under its mouth).

On the morrow the fox said that a man had sent to ask him to a baptism. And he went to the keg, and he took out about half. 

The wolf asked, when he came home, "What name was given to the child?"

"Well," said he, "It is a queer name that I myself would not give to my man child, if I had one. It is Moolay Moolay (about half and half)."

On the morrow the fox said that a man had come to ask him to a baptism again. And he went to the keg, and he ate it all up. When he came home, the wolf asked him, "What name was given to the child?"

And he said that it was Booill Eemlich (licking all up).

On the morrow the fox said to the wolf that they ought to bring the keg home. They went, and when they reached the keg, there was not a shadow of the butter in it.

"Well," said the fox, "you came here without me!"

The other one swore that he had not come near it.

"You need not be claiming that you did not come here. I know that you did come, and that it was you who took the butter. And when we go home, I will see if you ate the butter," said the fox.

When they arrived home, the fox hung the wolf by his hind legs, with his head dangling below him. Then he put a dab of the butter under the wolf's mouth, as though it had come out of the wolf's belly.

"You red thief!" said the fox. "I said before, that it was you who ate the butter!"
 

Two Foxes and a Horse
Two foxes came to a smith's house, and there was a horse tied at the door, and he had a golden shoe, and there was a name on it. "I will go and read what is written on that shoe," said the big fox, and went. But the horse lifted his foot, and struck a kick on him, and drove his brains out.