Читать книгу 366 Celt: A Year and A Day of Celtic Wisdom and Lore - Carl McColman - Страница 89

The question of respect for the fairies is well illustrated by the popular folktale of the fairies and the hunchbacks—which is not unique to Celtic lands, but is certainly a favorite among Irish storytellers. The tale recounts how a hunchback falls asleep one night on a fairy mound, only to encounter the good people; he is kind to them and helps them compose a song, and for his civility they magically remove his hunchback. He wakes up a healed man, and cheerfully makes his way to town. Another, more naturally mean-spirited hunchback sees him, and learning what happened to him goes and spends the next evening on the fairy mound. He encounters the same troupe of fairies, but treats them abusively and makes poor suggestions on how to improve their songs. Angered, the gentry “reward” him by taking the hump from the first man and adding it onto the back of the second, making his back far more hunched than before. It’s a story with an apparent enough moral: treat the fey folk well, and be treated well yourself. The implications for how we relate to nature are not hard to discern.