The peat-fire flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands

Letting in the Rain.
THE BROWNIE
This recalls the faery-tale about the man who, when
tethering his horse or cow on a sithcan or faery knoll near
his home, took such pains not to damage the green sward,
covering the knoll, that the faery inmates relieved him of
the task of moving his animals to a sheltered spot in wild
weather.
But that all owners of animals were not so considerate is
shown by the following folk-tale associated with the Island
of Coll. One evening a crofter was tethering his pony on
a grassy hillock. As he was driving the tether-peg well into
the ground by striking it on the head with a stone, a little
face showed itself above the ground, and a voice spoke that
warned him to pasture his pony elsewhere hereafter, as the
constant driving down of the peg was letting rain into
the interior of the hillock, and on one occasion the point of
it had actually injured an indweller. After this experience
the crofter was more careful when tethering his pony.
Some Family Brownies.
Space will not allow of my enumerating all the Brownies
that attached themselves to Highland families ; and so I have
selected five—the Brownie at Castle Lachlan, the Brownie
at Ardincaple, the Cara Brownie, the MacKays' Brownie,
and the Brownie that dwelt in the house of Sir Norman
MacLeod of Berneray, in the Sound of Harris.
Castle Lachlan, home of MacLachlan of MacLachlan,
situated by the shore of Loch Fyne, still has its brownie,
they say. He is described as being scantily clad at all times
and on cold, wintry nights, when the Castle's inmates are
abed, he may be seen seated in front of the kitchen grate,
warming himself at the glowing embers.
It may have been the Brownie of Castle Lachlan who,
according to Highland story, toured the bedrooms at least
once every night during the winter months, in order to see
that the sleeping inhabitants were adequately covered up.
On the small island of Inch, near Easdale, in Argyll,
dwelt the Brownie of the MacDougalls of Ardincaple. This
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