Long, long ago a drover courted and married the Miller
of Cuthilldorie's only daughter. The drover learned how to grind the corn,
and so he set up with his young wife as the Miller of Cuthilldorie when
the old miller died. They did not have very much money to begin with, but
an old Highlander lent them some silver, and soon they did well.
By and by the young miller and his wife had a daughter,
but on the very night she was born the fairies stole her away. The wee
thing was carried far away from the house into the wood of Cuthilldorie,
where she was found on the very lip of the Black Well. In the air was heard
a lilting:
"O we'll come back again, my honey, my hert, We'll come
back again, my ain kind dearie; And you will mind upon a time When we met
in the wood at the Well so wearie!"
The lassie grew up to be by far the bonniest lass in all
the countryside. Everything went well at the mill. One dark night there
came a woodcock with a glowing tinder in its beak, and set fire to the
mill. Everything was burnt and the miller and his wife were left without
a thing in the world. To make matters worse, who should come along next
day but the old Highlander who had lent them the silver, demanding payment.
Now, there was a wee old man in the wood of Cuthilldorie
beside the Black Well, who would never stay in a house if he could help
it. In the winter he went away, nobody knew where. He was an ugly goblin,
not more than two and a half feet high. He had been seen only three times
in fifteen years since he came to the place, for he always flew up out
of sight when anybody came near him. But if you crept cannily through the
wood after dark, you might have heard him playing with the water, and singing
the same song:
"O when will you come, my honey, my hert, O when will
you come, my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in
the wood at the Well so wearie?"
Well, the night after the firing of the mill, the miller's
daughter wandered into the wood alone, and wandered and wandered till she
came to the Black Well. Then the wee goblin gripped her and jumped about
singing:
"O come with me, my honey, my hert, O come with me, my
ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood at
the Well so wearie?"
With that he made her drink three double handfuls of witched
water, and away they flew on a flash of lightning. When the poor lass opened
her eyes, she was in a palace, all gold and silver and diamonds, and full
of fairies. The King and Queen of the Fairies invited her to stay, and
said she would be well looked after. But if she wanted to go home again,
she must never tell anybody where she had been or what she had seen. She
said she wanted to go home, and promised to do as she was told. Then the
King said:
"The first stranger you meet, give him oatmeal."
"Give him oatcakes," said the Queen.
"Give him butter," said her King.
"Give him a drink of the Black Well water," they both
said.
Then they gave her twelve drops of liquid in a wee green
bottle, three drops for the oatmeal, three for the oatcakes, three for
the butter and three for the Black Well water. She took the green bottle
in her hand, and suddenly it was dark. She was flying through the air,
and when she opened her eyes she was at her own doorstep. She slipped away
to bed, glad to be home again, and said nothing about where she had been
or what she had seen.
Next morning, before the sun was up, there came a rap,
rap, rap, three times at the door. The sleepy lass looked out and saw an
old beggar man, who began to sing:
"O open the door, my honey, my hert, O open the door,
my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
at the Well so wearie?"
When she heard that, she said nothing, and opened the
door. The old beggar came in singing:
"O gie me my oatmeal, my honey, my hert, O gie me my oatmeal,
my ain hind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
at the Well so wearie?"
The lassie made a bowl of oatmeal for the beggar, not
forgeting the three drops of water from the green bottle. As he was supping
the meal the old beggar vanished, and there in his place was the big Highlander
who had lent silver to her father, the miller, and he was singing:
"O gie me my oatcakes, my honey, my hert, O gie me my
oatcakes, my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in
the wood at the Well so wearie?"
She baked him some fresh oatcakes, not forgeting the three
drops from the wee green bottle. He had just finished eating the oatcakes
when he vanished, and there in his place was the woodcock that had fired
the mill, singing:
"O gie me my butter, my honey, my hert, O gie me my butter,
my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
by the Well so wearie?"
She gave him butter as fast as she could, not forgeting
the three drops of water from the green bottle. He had only eaten a bite,
when he flapped his wings and vanished, and there was the ugly wee goblin
that had grabbed her at the Black Well the night before, and he was singing:
"O gie me my water, my honey, my hert, O gie me my water,
my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
by the Well so wearie?"
She knew there were only three other drops of water left
in the green bottle and she was afraid. She ran fast as she could to the
Black Well, but who should be there before her but the wee ugly goblin
himself, singing:
"O gie me my water, my honey, my hert, O gie me my water,
my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
by the Well so wearie?"
She gave him the water, not forgeting the three drops
from the green bottle. But he had scarcely drunk the witched water when
he vanished, and there was a fine young Prince, who spoke to her as if
he had known her all her days. They sat down beside the Black Well.
"I was born the same night as you," he said, "and I was
carried away by the fairies the same night as you were found on the lip
of the Well. I was a goblin for so many years because the fairies were
scared away. They made me play many tricks before they would let me go
and return to my father, the King of France, and make the bonniest lass
in all the world my bride."
"Who is she?" asked the maiden.
"The Miller of Cuthilldorie's daughter," said the young
Prince. Then they went home and told their stories over again, and that
very night they were married. A coach and four came for them, and the miller
and his wife, and the Prince and the Princess, drove away singing:
"O but we're happy, my honey, my hert, O but we're happy,
my ain kind dearie; For don't you mind upon the time We met in the wood
at the Well so wearie?"
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