Magic and Myth Read online

  Noreen felt her breath catch in her throat, and her heart began to pound. She bent her head and peered through the door—there was bright sunlight on the other side! She stepped back and looked at the wall again. But it still looked like the same old wall; over it she could make out the dim shapes of the fields and mountains barely visible in the distance. Yet through the door was a bright sunlit field, with tiny red and blue star-shaped flowers scattered on the pale green grass. She looked across at Nano Hayes, and the old woman smiled.

  “Fairy-land,” she said, and then she bent over and stepped through into the other world.

  Noreen took another look over her shoulder, just to make sure that the world behind her was still there. And then, holding tightly on to Gabby’s long hair, she stepped into fairy-land…

  * * *

  —

  Noreen didn’t feel any different. She had expected to feel a tingling or a chill or maybe even a shiver run up her back, but she felt nothing—except that it was a lot warmer. She looked back at the wall—and found that the door behind her had closed. She was facing another wall, exactly the same as the one she had left in her own world, except that she could see the darkened beach and the blue-black sea back in Erin behind this one.

  Nano Hayes took her by the arm and led her across the field. They came onto a thin white path.

  “This is fairy-land,” Nano Hayes said quietly. “The Otherworld, the land of the Sidhe. Now, before we meet anyone, you must listen to me very carefully, and you must always do as I tell you—otherwise you will become trapped here, and even I will not be able to help you then. Do you understand?”

  Noreen nodded without saying a word.

  “Good. Now, the first thing to remember is that you must neither eat nor drink anything. If you are offered anything to eat, you must say that you like plenty of salt with your food. The fairy-folk cannot bear to have salt near them, so it will make sure that they will offer you nothing else. If you are offered any drink, you must ask for your drink in an iron cup. The fairy-folk cannot bear to have iron near them, either.”

  “What will I eat, then?” Noreen asked.

  Nano Hayes smiled. “It’s a funny thing, but in fairy-land you don’t feel hungry, and time is different here. You might spend a day here, but find that a week, or a month, or even a year has passed back in our world.” She stopped and looked at the girl, whose eyes had grown wide as saucers. “It’s not too late to turn back.”

  Noreen shook her head resolutely. “No, I won’t turn back.”

  Nano Hayes smiled again and then quickened her step and hurried down the road, with the young girl by her side, and Gabby trotting along behind.

  As they walked, Nano Hayes told Noreen stories about fairy-land, and about her adventures in it, with the Little People, the fairy-folk, the leprechauns, the cluricauns, the Shining Ones, and banshees, and the terrible phookas, the demon-horses. The old woman also pointed out the strange trees and flowers of the Otherworld, flora that didn’t appear anywhere else. They passed through a grove of metal trees. The tree trunks and branches were silver, and the leaves were gold, and they were polished like mirrors. They crossed a bridge of glass that made Noreen dizzy when she looked down into the foaming river beneath. Nano Hayes led her beneath tall rocks that seemed to turn ever so slowly to stare at them, and the girl thought she heard them rumbling quietly together. They passed stones that rolled along beside them for a while, and bushes that trembled and shivered as they walked by.

  But strangely there were no animals; no birds flew in the sky, no insects crawled on the ground or basked in the sun, and no sheep or cows walked around the fields. When Noreen asked Nano Hayes about it, all the old woman would say was that they were sleeping. “The fairy-beasts only come forth at night,” she said. “They are creatures of the dark. Why is it that phookas, the fairy-horses, are only heard and seen at night, and why is it that fairy-cows only come out and graze at night?”

  Noreen shook her head and said she didn’t know.

  “Because at night the doors between the fairy-lands and our world are fully opened, and the creatures from this place are able to wander through.”

  “Where are these doors?” Noreen asked in a whisper.

  “Usually in the sides of fairy-forts,” Nano Hayes said. “But some of the beasts can come up out of the water from the Land Beneath the Waves, which is another part of fairy-land.”

  “But what about the door we used?” the girl asked.

  “That door is just for me—I created it myself,” Nano Hayes answered. “I was given that power by the fairy-folk so that I can come and go into the Otherworld whenever I please.” Nano Hayes stopped suddenly and pointed. “Look—over there.” She was pointing toward a collection of low mounds that rose like hills in the distance. “This is where the fairy-folk are staying. It’s called the Fort.”

  Soon enough they reached the Fort, and as they were passing the first building—which was small and rounded, like a little mound—the door opened and someone walked up the steps. The young girl stopped and stared in amazement at the figure. It stopped, too, and looked from her to Nano Hayes, smiling.

  “Is this her first time?” he asked, in a bright, high voice.

  The old woman nodded. “She’s never seen a leprechaun before.”

  Noreen remembered her manners then and smiled at the small man in the bright green coat, red stockings, large hat, and shiny black shoes with huge buckles. “Hello. I’m sorry for staring at you, but…”

  The small man laughed. “Oh, there’s no need to be sorry. I remember staring myself the first time I saw one of the Big Folk.” He tipped his hat and gave a little bow, and then hurried off.

  The young girl turned to Nano Hayes. “Who are the Big Folk?” she asked.

  “We are,” Nano Hayes said with a smile. “Come on now, we must hurry.”

  The old woman led Noreen through the maze of low humps that were the fairy-folk’s houses, and then stopped outside a hump that looked no different from any of the others. “The Palace,” she said.

  The girl looked at it in surprise. “This?” she said. She had expected something bigger, grander.

  Nano Hayes looked back at her in surprise. “Oh, you must never judge anything by its appearance,” she said, starting down the steps that led to a simple arched door. She paused before the door and looked back. “Can Gabby come down the steps?”

  “Of course,” Noreen said, and led the goat down the few steps to the doorway.

  Nano Hayes knocked softly on the door with a small wrinkled hand. It was opened almost immediately by a tall, thin young girl with pale green skin and fine green hair. Her grass-green eyes were wide. She bowed when she saw Nano Hayes and stepped aside.

  The old woman hurried through the open door, with Noreen and the goat following behind. But once inside, Noreen stopped in astonishment. Instead of the small hallway she had been expecting, she found she was in a huge circular room that stretched far into the distance. There were pillars everywhere, and the walls were covered with rich hanging drapes. There was a carpet on the floor that was so thick she could actually feel herself sinking into it. She turned and found the strange fairy-girl staring at her. Noreen hurried off after Nano Hayes.

  They seemed to be walking for a very long time. The palace was huge and stretched in every direction. Everywhere Noreen looked she saw corridors disappearing into the distance, and there were wide staircases winding up endless floors. The palace itself was very beautiful. The walls—where they were not covered with tapestries—were made of white marble, and every door was made of solid gold. The doors were also covered with thousands of tiny pictures, which Nano Hayes said told the story of the fairy-folk and how they came to the land of Erin. All the corridors seemed to have at least one tiny wind chime hanging up somewhere, which tinkled and jangled softly all the time, so that the palace was al
ways full of gentle music.

  At last Nano Hayes stopped before a tall double door. Unlike the others, this door was made of a shiny black material. There was a very simple Celtic-style design running all around the edge of the two doors, and the handles were each made in an old Irish design.

  The old woman put her hand on the doors, but before she opened them, she looked back at Noreen. “Remember, eat nothing, drink nothing, and do as I say.” The girl only had a chance to nod once before Nano Hayes threw the doors open and walked in.

  After the beauty of the rest of the palace, Noreen had expected this room to be extra special. But it was just a small, simple bedroom, with a single bed set against the wall, and a low table beside it. There was nothing else in the room, and the only other person there was a young girl lying in the bed.

  Nano Hayes hurried over and looked down at the girl. She smiled gently and settled the silken sheets and then looked back at Noreen. “Will you milk Gabby for me, please? You can use the jug on the table.”

  While Noreen took the jug and sat down cross-legged on the thickly carpeted floor, Nano Hayes gently woke the young girl. She sat up, her golden eyes sleepy and her pale golden hair all mussed. The tiny girl—she was much smaller than Noreen—looked at the goat, and then at the other girl, and then she turned to Nano Hayes.

  “Is that a goat?” she asked. Her voice was soft and gentle, almost like a whisper.

  The old woman nodded. “Aye, that’s Gabby the goat. And that is her keeper, Noreen. She is going to start milking the goat in a moment, and then you will have fresh goat’s milk. I want you to drink it all down,” she added.

  “I’m hungry,” the golden-haired girl said. “I want something more than goat’s milk.”

  “Well, goat’s milk is all you are going to get,” Nano Hayes said sternly. She turned back to Noreen. “This is Shee, princess of this land, and in a hundred years or so she might even be queen—if she does what she is supposed to do, and takes her medicine.”

  “A fairy-princess?” Noreen said incredulously.

  “The medicine is horrible,” Shee interrupted.

  “As you can see,” Nano Hayes continued, ignoring the fairy-child, “she is not very well behaved, although she is around your own age, I think.” She nodded at Gabby. “You can start milking her now.”

  Noreen began to milk the goat, fingers trembling in the presence of the sulky princess. Thin streams of pale yellow-white liquid shot out and plinked into the jug she had placed on the floor, while Gabby stood patiently. When the jug was full, Nano Hayes came over, and Noreen handed it up to her. The old woman tasted the steaming warm milk and nodded. “That’s lovely.”

  She carried it back over to the bed and offered it to Shee. “Drink this,” she said. “It will help to make you well again.”

  But Shee just folded her arms and shook her head. “I will not drink that awful stuff,” she snapped.

  Nano Hayes was just about to speak when the door opened and two of the most beautiful people Noreen had ever seen entered the room. They must be the king and queen, she thought, her heart thumping loudly with excitement. They were almost identical; both were very tall, with silver-gold hair, long bony faces, and pointed chins. Their fingers also seemed to be very long. They were dressed in gauzy robes of purest silk, and the simple crowns on their heads looked as if they were made of glass. The king wore a sword made from the same material.

  When they spoke, their voices were so beautiful that they seemed to be singing. “I hope you are not being difficult again, Shee,” the man said.

  “I am not,” Shee said in a sullen voice. “But she wants me to drink that awful stuff.”

  “If Nano Hayes wants you to drink something, then I think you had better drink it.” The king’s voice hardened. “Now, I have told you before, Shee, Nano Hayes has come a long way just to help you. She has gone to a lot of trouble to find fresh goat’s milk that will keep you alive and strong until the poison passes your body. I can only hope that you will do as she says!”

  “But why?” Shee whined.

  “Shee,” the queen said in a quiet voice, “you will do as Nano Hayes tells you. There will be no more trouble from you.” Everyone heard the stern warning in it.

  Shee nodded obediently.

  Nano Hayes handed the steaming jug of fresh goat’s milk to the tiny fairy-girl. “Drink,” she said.

  And Shee drank.

  Every day for the next twelve weeks, Nano Hayes, along with Noreen and Gabby, would go to the fairy-princess’s room. Noreen would milk the goat, and Shee would drink it. Every fifth day, the old woman would have Noreen keep some of the goat’s milk, which she handed over to one of the tall beautiful people, the Daoine Sidhe. They would come back to her a little while later with a pat of fresh goat’s cheese, made from the milk. Shee liked this even less than the milk, but Nano Hayes made her eat it.

  During the day, Gabby was allowed to wander through the fields of fairy-land, eating the fresh, sweet grass and drinking the crystal clear, ice-cold water. Her milk grew thicker and lovelier every day.

  While the goat fed, Nano Hayes would take Noreen and show her the various sights of the strange land. She showed her the ice palaces of the northern fairy-folk, which were sparklingly beautiful. They visited Tir na nOg, the Land of Youth, in the wide Western Ocean, where no one ever aged, and where creatures out of myth and legend still roamed—dragons, griffins, huge wolves, long-toothed tigers, and unicorns. Nano Hayes brought her to Tir Fo Thoinn, the Land Beneath the Waves, home of Manannan, the Lord of the Sea. Noreen saw palaces of coral and hardened sand, carpets of woven seaweed and moss. There were mermaids there, and giant seahorses and huge many-armed squid, gentle-eyed dolphins, and soft-toothed whales.

  But the old woman always made sure that they were back in the Fort by nightfall, because then the Fairy-Host rode out on their smoky-eyed horses, and even Nano Hayes didn’t want to meet them.

  Noreen once asked why they rode out into the human world by night.

  The old wise woman smiled sadly. “It reminds them that they once ruled our world. Sometimes they take young men or women and bring them back here to work as servants.”

  “Do they take children?” Noreen asked in a whisper.

  Nano Hayes nodded. “Rarely; if they see a very beautiful baby they might take it and leave one of their own behind.”

  “But the fairy-folk are so beautiful already,” the girl said. “Why should they want to take human babies?”

  “Because fairy-babies are very ugly indeed, and the fairy-folk only love beautiful things.”

  The weeks passed, and day by day Shee began to look better. A little color came into her cheeks, her hair took on a fine sheen, and even her pale eyes brightened. Her temper and manners improved, and eventually she took the goat’s milk and cheese with no arguments. By the time the twelve weeks were up, she had completely recovered.

  Nano Hayes stood beside her bed on the final morning and handed the princess her last drink of goat’s milk. Shee took it without a word and drank it down in one gulp. She made a face. “I still think it tastes terrible,” she said.

  The old woman smiled. “I know. But it has saved your life.”

  Shee nodded. “Can I get up now?”

  “You can get up,” Nano Hayes said, and then she turned as the door opened and the king and queen entered the room. “Your daughter is cured,” the old woman said.

  The king smiled. “Wonderful!” He looked from the old woman to Noreen. “I know you wish to return to your own world, but we are preparing a feast in your honor—will you stay and eat with us?”

  Noreen glanced at the old woman, nerves rising in her stomach, before turning to the king. “I would very much like to,” she said, “but I am afraid that I like plenty of salt on my food, and I only drink out of iron cups and eat off iron plates.”

/>   The king laughed softly. “I see Nano Hayes has taught you well.” He looked over at the old woman. “Will she be the next wise woman?”

  “She might be” was all she would say, and then, bowing to the king and queen, Nano Hayes took Noreen by the hand and walked out of the door. Gabby gave a final bleat to the fairy-folk and hurried after her, glad to be going home.

  * * *

  —

  When Noreen stepped through the door in the stone wall, she found it was evening—just as she’d left it. Even more surprising, Noreen could see her herd of sheep slowly wandering down the road. The old woman bent and kissed her cheek. “I told you time was different in fairy-land,” she said, and then Nano Hayes stepped back into the wall and closed the door behind her.

  Noreen stood looking at it for a few moments before setting off at a run after her sheep. As she suspected, her note was still tied to the back of one of them. Although she had spent three months in fairy-land, only a few minutes had passed in her own world!

  She had heard something jangling in her pocket as she ran, and when she looked, she found a small red cloth purse. Inside there were two silver coins.

  But Noreen knew what it was; it was a fairy-purse. As long as she spent only one of those coins, and then closed the purse, when she would open it again she would find two. It was a purse that would never empty—a gift from the Sidhe.

  Many years later, when Noreen had almost—but not quite—forgotten about her trip to the Otherworld, the old woman came to visit her again. Nano Hayes told her that she was leaving this world and going into the Sidhe world for the rest of her days. The fairy-folk needed a new wise woman.

  And the king and queen, and especially Princess Shee, asked for Noreen to become the new wise woman—which she did.