Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 223

This is the name for the mermaid in the Manx language of the Isle of Man. Her male counterpart is the Dinny-Mara or merman.

Tales speak of the two natures of the Ben Varrey who can enchant fisherman into dangerous waters with her singing, or can help them find lost treasure.

A young man called Evan was tending his croft while his brothers set out fishing. He heard a melodious voice calling him and saw a Ben Varrey seated upon the rocks with her fish-tail a-swishing. She asked kindly after his old father who had recently fallen sick. Evan ran home to ask his father how he came to know a mermaid. His father related that he had met her many years ago and that she was fond of apples, a bag of which he always took to give to her. Since he had fallen sick, he had not given her any and this was why their prosperity was waning. He told Evan to take some apples to the Ben Varrey who was delighted to receive again what she called ‘sweet-land eggs’. Things began to look up for the family and Evan spent more time with the Ben Varrey, delighting in her conversation. He planted an apple tree on the cliff above her bay where the apples could drop right into the sea when it grew big enough. Although his intention was good, the Ben Varrey began to lose interest in the family because the apple tree was slow to mature.