Swiss Fairy Tales

by William Elliot Griffis

The water fairies, quite the most numerous, were present in full force. There were the [[193]]sprites, or “necks,” that live in, and had come all the way from the river Neckar. They looked and behaved very much like the nixies of England.

Undine was the general name of one family of the female water fairies. All of these were in the form of pretty young women. They love to sit by the side of the brooks or water courses. Sometimes they lurk in the marshes among the reeds. They have very white hands and golden hair, which is full of waves or ripples, that can beat Marcel, or any other hair waver. On their heads they wear a fillet, or wreath, made of pond lilies, and often have on a long white veil-like mist. They are very sentimental and have tender emotions and whisper often and sigh a great deal. They delight in dancing along the shore, and go flitting from one water lily to another, opening the golden hearts and lovely white petals of these flowers that grow in the water.

These mist maidens were very attentive to all that was talked about, but they did not themselves say much. Like other pretty fairies, they were lovely to look at, but they had no soul, and if they had any brains, no one would ever know it. One would not expect to meet them at matinee parties, or at any daylight picnics, for they made it a rule never to be seen, except on [[194]]moonlight nights. It was therefore useless to look for them at any other time.

Very much like Undine and her sisters were those in a delegation of fairies from the Grotto de Balme. This cave may be seen on the way to Chamounix, but high up above the level of the road, and has stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The story teller remembers it well, but when he was there, the fairies were all out, for it was broad daylight, when fairies do not allow themselves to become visible. How we two college boys wished we had spectacles, that could pierce the light and make the fairies to be seen.

These grotto folks, that were at this mass meeting of the fairies, looked much like human girls, with olive complexions; but if one looked carefully, he would see that they had no heels. Their hair was the most wonderful part of them, for they never wore any clothes. When any human person came near, they could cover themselves up entirely with their tresses, so that nothing but their roguish, laughing faces were visible.

They were great coquettes, and often appeared on mountain paths, to lure away young hunters; but old men only laughed at them, and hummed a tune and ditty about “The Spider and the Fly,” for they knew all the tricks of these grotto girls. Sometimes these pretty creatures carried lights at night and danced in circles, so [[195]]it was very hard to tell one from another. Yet they looked very lovely, with their fresh faces, sparkling eyes and pretty manners. Besides these charms, they had, each one, a soft low voice. Of all these grotto girls, Funetta was the best known.

In fact, some of these fairies belonged to the same families as fairies in other lands, though they spelled their names differently and talked German, French or Italian, and, what sounded like the speech, which country people in Switzerland use.

For instance, there were several of the Herwisch folk, or first cousins to the Will-o’-the-wisp. Several dozen of little creatures of this family, not much bigger than dolls, were on hand. They live on marshy ground and delight in lighting their little lanterns at night. Then they entice bumpkins and other dull fellows, out of the regular path in the fields, into the mud and swamp. When the clumsy chaps are floundering deep in the water, and down among the frogs and tadpoles, the Herwisch put out their lights and leave the louts in the wet, all the while laughing at them. Stupid fellows from the grog and beer shops, with their brains befuddled, are the chief victims of these merry mischiefs. It is good to see how many a drunkard gets a ducking and cooling off from these tiny tots. [[196]]

Some of the Herwisch folk have wings like bats, and to the bold girl or boy that is too smart, and makes fun of them, they come and flap their wings in his or her face and this frightens them. Men, especially, who have drunk too much wine, get easily scared. After it is dark, most people are careful not to anger, or irritate the Herwisches in any way.

Quite different in their bearing and looks, as well as in their ideas and manners, was another set of delegates to this fairy convention. These were the gnomes, the kobolds, and the elves. They were near relations, and looked very much alike, especially in stature, in the color of their skin, and in all having beards. Most of them live underground and in the mines. These very industrious and lively little fellows are always busy. Many among them look like old men. When they talk to each other, their long beards and chins wag up and down, so the boys and girls call them “chin choppers.” They wear funny, peaked caps, each with a tassel on the end of it. They have to do with gold mines, for they understand all about fires, forges, coal, crucibles, and what one sees in a foundry.