A blacksmith and his teenage son worked together in their forge on Islay every day, until out of nowhere the boy fell mysteriously ill. He was incapable of leaving his bed and even though he had a ravenous appetite, seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. After days with no sign of recovery, the smith was distraught at the thought of losing his only son.
News reached the forge that a wise, old traveller had arrived in the village and the smith wasted no time in seeking his advice. The wise man nodded gravely as he heard the story. He informed the smith that it wasn't his son lying in that bed, but a fairy changeling.
The fairies were known to steal children away to their kingdom, leaving an identical fairy imposter as a replacement. It wasn’t easy to tell the difference, but there was one trick that might convince the father of the truth. All he had to do was pour water into dozens of empty eggshells, carry them into the bedroom as if they were incredibly heavy, before arranging them on the floor.
As the smith carried out the instructions, the figure in the bed burst out laughing and shouted, "in all my 800 years I've never seen anything as strange as that!" Now he was certain that this was a changeling, the smith picked the fairy up and threw him into the fire where it shot up and away through the chimney.
The smith wasn't finished though, he was still determined to get his child back, so returned to the wise man for more advice. He was told to go to a nearby hill that same night and the entrance to the fairy kingdom would be open. To rescue his son he must bring with him a bible, a little knife, and a cockerel.
As the smith approached the hill, he saw a shine of light and the sound of music coming from a strange hole in the hillside. Before passing into the fairy realm, he stabbed the knife into the ground to stop the entrance from closing behind him. Then holding the bible out as protection, he marched through the onlooking fairies until he found his son slaving away over a forge. The smith demanded that the fairies let them leave together, but the gathered crowd shrieked with laughter.
The sound of all that laughing woke up the cockerel which started crowing over and over. The fairies couldn't stand the sound, so they dragged the father and son to the entrance and kicked them back out into the open. The smith plucked his knife out the ground and the hillside suddenly went dark and quiet behind them.
It took the boy a long time to recover from his ordeal and the smith had to struggle along with his work alone. One day, the son was watching his father struggle to forge a sword that would be fit for a clan chief. With a sigh the boy pushed the smith aside and in no time at all he had crafted the most elegant blade they had ever seen. It seemed he had picked up a few tricks during his time in the fairy kingdom.
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Whitehill Farmhouse
Located on Colquhalzie Estate, this 19th Century farmhouse has been lovingly restored into a family home, having previously been home to the Shepherd who lived there for 40 years. We welcome friends and families of up to 8 people on a self-catered basis for at least 4 nights.
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