Mallie & The Trow

Mallie and her children were in trouble. Like many families in Orkney, her husband had been a sailor but this year he had been lost at sea and now they were short on money and food. Forced to beg from her closest neighbours, few had anything to spare apart from the little old lady who lived up the hill. Her cupboards were full, but she still slammed the door in Mallie’s face.

Her oldest son couldn’t understand how somebody could be so cruel! Mallie explained that’s just how some people are, but no matter what happened, they were better than that. They would always help anybody in need.

That evening, a strange-looking little man arrived at Mallie’s door asking for food and shelter. Of course, she had nothing to eat, but there was a warm room and a comfortable chair, so she welcomed him inside. Their guest was insistent though, there must be a few crumbs lying around!

Trying to be as hospitable as possible, Mallie came back with the only food she could offer. The scrapings of flour and sawdust from her meal chest, mixed into a paste with salty water from the empty herring barrel. Her visitor gave it a sniff with a horrified look on his face, but he saw how Mallie and her children ravenously wolfed it down.

In the morning, the strange man said to Mallie “It takes a special kind of person to share the last food you have with a total stranger. I give you my blessing.”

As he disappeared down the road, Mallie realised that had been no ordinary traveller, but one of Orkney’s magical Trows. A blessing was always welcome, but what they really needed was some food in their bellies. Worrying about what to do, she began to gather chunks of peat for the fire, splitting one in half to burn better. All of a sudden, something heavy fell out.

It was a gold coin! She split another, then another and every single block of peat had a coin buried inside. With tears in her eyes and silently thanking the Trow, Mallie rushed to the store and filled up their cupboards with food.

However, the little old lady who had turned them away wasn’t so pleased. Just days ago, Mallie had been begging and now she seemed to be the richest woman in Orkney. Creeping outside the window late that night, the jealous woman discovered where the coins were coming from and decided that she deserved some of that gold.

In an act of spite, she stole all of Mallie’s peat, carting it to her own home and tearing it all open. Instead of gold coins, dozens of hungry mice fell out instead until the old lady’s home was overrun. They descended on her pantry, devouring every bit of food that she had hoarded. Now it was her turn to go begging.

Ashamed, she confessed her actions to Mallie, expecting to be turned away as a fitting revenge. To her surprise, she was welcomed instead. No matter who it was or what they had done, Mallie kept that promise to her son, refusing to ignore somebody in need.