February 25th 1850

Fairy tales from Killin

In the mid-nineteenth century there was man still living in Killin who would happily recall his wonderful adventures with the fairies of Lawers. He had been returning one night from the market at Kenmore when he heard the music from the fairies. It was the most wonderful music that he had ever heard and he was unable to resist the temptation to draw closer and closer to the source. Eventually he found himself among the fairies who looked at him with curiosity but without hostility. He sat down to listen and the fairies crowded round him. Many of them were dancing and he gazed entranced at the happy scene.

When at last he decided that it was time to go home to Killin, the fairies offered to provide him with a white fairy horse to carry him. It was a beautiful white stallion that flew through the air at enormous speed so that before he knew what was happening they had passed Killin and were rapidly approaching Tyndrum.

“Whoa,”  shouted the man and immediately the horse stopped, throwing him off its back. He fell through the air and down a chimney into a house at Tyndrum where a wedding party was taking place. The people were rather surprised to see him but, with true hospitality, they insisted that he stay with them and take part in the celebrations. Next day, he returned to Killin bruised and tired, but none the worse for his adventures.