Heritage > Myths and Legends > Ireland
Fairy Thorns
Traditional Folk Tale
A FAIRY THORN is called so because it has not been planted by man,
rather it has originated by itself or it has grown on an ancient "rath"
(fort). These fairy bushes have some of the most strangest stories attached
to them.
A farmer's son wanted to build his pet rabbits a hut for shelter. He
started digging in one of his fathers fields to place the hut, not
realizing that a fairy thorn one in close vicinity. "Don't dig here!"
a sudden voice said.
The boy thought he must have been hearing things, hence he continued
digging. Again, the voice repeated the warning, "Don't dig here!"
However, this time the boy thought his friends were playing a trick
on him. He looked for his friends, but no one could be seen. By now
the boy was at a conundrum. As he restarted digging the voice reissued
a louder and angrier warning: "DON'T DIG HERE!"
The boy ran for home with his spade in tow. He was not going to be
foolish enough to argue with what he could not see, but only hear. Thus,
the boy was forced to search out a new site for his rabbit hut!
Another story concerns a farmer of Glendum, who had the ordacity to remove
a Fairy Thorn that was growing on his farm. Without any concern, he took
his sharpest axe and began hacking away at the Fairy Thorn.
A few blows after he had started, the axe turned 180 degrees onto the
farmer, and quite literally almost gashed his leg. The farmer returned
to the Fairy Thorn for a second time, but this time with a different
and equally sharp axe. No sooner had the elementary blows begun, than
did blood start flowing out of the Fairy Thorn's stem.
That was as much as the poor farmer could take, he finally gave up
and went home to sleep! The following morning, the farmer awoke to find
all his hair had mysteriously dropped out. The farmer had the embarrassment
of having to wear a wig for the rest of his days!
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