Strange Animals

transcribed at

Strange Animals  [duchas:5038928]

There are many stories about fairies and there are people who believe in them too. In olden times a man tells that fairies used to be very plentiful in this district, and each fairy was a beautiful sight to see. One day a cow strayed from a fairy herd and was caught by an old farmer. He found her among his cows and liking her colour which was new to him he took charge of her. In those times we are told the colour of all Irish cows was a mixture of red and white and it is thought that only fairy cows were pure white and there was not a black cow to be seen in all the land. From that day onward the farmer grew richer. The fairy cow's milk was such as had never been tasted before. She gave milk to all who asked for it and as often in the day as was asked for it. The calves of this cow were snow white like herself and were finer than any others. But the old farmer was not very wise and neither was he grateful to the cow that brought him such wealth. He grew tired of her and he resolved to kill her for meat. The day for the killing soon arrived. The butcher was there with his axe and crowds of people gathered to see

Strange Animals  [duchas:5038929]

the cow die. But before the butcher could strike a blow a voice was heard on a hill close by . Looking up the people saw a fairy dressed in green. The fairy spoke to the cow to come home and the white cow rose up in the air. Then all her calves rose too and they were soon out of sight. It seems one of the white calves was left behind - she had not heard the call. But when the farmer looked at her she turned black before his eyes and it is said that this was the first black cow ever seen in the country.