The Fairies of Skye

Hundreds of years ago, when Christianity hadn't long spread to Scotland, a priest travelled to Skye to preach and convert the islanders. Skye isn't a small island so after miles of walking, the priest had to stop and sit down for a rest. Driving his walking cane into the soft ground next to him like a fence post, he had some lunch and closed his eyes for a quick nap.

When he opened them again, he was shocked to find himself surrounded by dozens of tiny people! One of them explained that they were the fairy folk of Skye and were delighted there was finally a priest on the island. They had come to repent their sins and ask for forgiveness.

As kind as the priest was, he knew that the fairies had been cast out of heaven by God himself. On top of that, the Bible only referred to salvation for the children of Adam, so this was above his level of expertise. He apologised but it wasn't in his power to forgive them.

Another, older fairy then tried to plead with the priest. Was it not true that one repented sinner was worth more in heaven than a hundred righteous men? Still, the priest refused and exclaimed that there was more chance of his walking cane transforming into a tree than God allowing the fairies back into heaven.

The fairies began to cry and wail as the priest stood up, the sound so terrible that he had to quickly plug fingers in both his ears and run off with his cane still planted in the ground. He travelled around the island, preaching to the people who lived there before eventually passing back the way he had come.

When he arrived at the spot where he had been greeted by the fairies, he could still hear them crying. That wasn’t nearly as strange as the sight of his cane though. It had grown into a beautiful ash tree.

The priest knew a sign from God when he saw one. He decided there and then that he should dedicate the rest of his life to helping the fairy folk. Setting himself up as a hermit near this miraculous tree, he asked God every day to forgive the fairies. Each day he prayed, he heard the fairies sobbing a little less until eventually, the whole island was silent.