[This blog spoils the entire story.]
"The Legend of Knockfierna" is a short Irish fairy tale by T. Crofton Croker. Another one by this fella. He's pretty good.
The story goes that a man named Carroll O'Daly was not a believer in the fairies. He thought them to be old wives' tales. Yes, we've been here before. Never a good thing.
While traveling down the road, he runs into an old farmer and they talk for a bit. The farmer mentions a place where the "good people" live. At first Carroll doesn't understand but then mentions that the farmer is talking about "the fairies." This being willful ignorance on his part, the farmer rebukes him for not calling them the right thing and then wishes him a good day.
Carroll follows the farmer up a hill and finds a cavern with a deep hole. It's so deep that he can't see down to the bottom, but he figures that the made-up fairies must live down there, at least that's what everyone was believing anyhow.
So just to prove that everyone was just being stupid, Carroll picks up a rock and tosses it down into the hole as hard as he can. He then leans down to listens to see if it would ever hit the bottom. Too bad for him though, for that rock comes right back up out of the hole as hard as he had chucked it. It smashes right into his face so hard that it sends him rolling out of the cave entirely.
To be sure, he had no reason to be disrespectful to the "good people" ever again after that. A lesson well learned.
"The Legend of Knockfierna" is a great story, and I recommend it. T. Crofton Crocker is a talented writer, and I hope to find more Irish fairy tales by him in the future.
This blog was written on August 25, 2023.
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Spooky. The Underworld indeed. Carroll O'Daly tempted fate for no other reason than to gratify his own ego. Pride goes before a fall. He "lost face" right in the face.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Ha!
DeleteA cautionary tale of sorts, I mean why try to prove everyone wrong about something that had no bearing on him? Funny that his ignorant flow was directed right back at himself. Let the fairy folk be, no reason to go out your way to disrespect them indeed.
ReplyDeleteNot believing in fairies doesn't stop them from being real.
DeleteWith the little that we know, it is arrogant to so easily dismiss anything. That which is real has a way of making its presence known. Sometimes, it hits you right in the face.
ReplyDeleteImagine if this had really happened? Who would believe him today?
Delete