Samuel Peterson’s Reviews > Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales > Status Update

The next is called "The Brownie and the Glen." From what I remember of Brownies, they are tiny, woodland folk. They were the people in Willow who were smaller than Willow himself.

That was a fun story.

I'm reminded of the Norwegian folktales where the hero prepares ahead of time and this allows him to overcome his challenges. Very nice.

Clever little kid.
This forest with terrifying visions reminds me of the scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when Snow White is in the dark forest.

This list of things to do and creatures to meet on a quest is endless!

The Golden Basin sounds like the Holy Grail, and the Silver Lance sounds like the spear that pierced Jesus's side.

The next section of stories are ones that involve quests. The first of which is called "The Basin of Gold and the Diamond Lance."

It's interesting that this story ended on a high note with the merrow and the seaman being friends till the end despite Jack going behind the merrow's back to free drowned souls on occasion. If this was a more grim fairy tale, it would end with the merrow getting what was coming to it.

"Jack recommended to him, by way of cure, to swallow a hair of the dog that bit him." So, this is where we get the phrase "hair of a dog" as a cure for hangovers.

"'When I see a good storm coming on, to set a couple dozen of these, and then, when the sailors are drowned and the souls get out of them under the water, the poor things are almost perished to death, not being used to the cold. So they make into my pots for shelter, and then I have them snug and and fetch them home and keep them here dry and warm.'" Whoa, this is so cool! A good idea for a sea witch/hag.