MERLIN’S CRAG
by Ada M. Skinner · from Merry Tales
Adapted Version
Tom was a new worker. His boss told him to cut peat. "Go to Merlin's Crag," said Mr. Jones. Tom knew the old stories. Mr. Jones did not like old stories. "No magic there," he said. "Just cut the peat."
Tom went to the crag. He started to cut the peat. A tiny queen appeared. She was very small. Her dress was green. Her hair was gold. "Stop!" said Queen Lily. "This is our home."
Tom told Mr. Jones about Queen Lily. Mr. Jones laughed. "Go back," he said. "Cut the peat." Tom felt sad. He went back to the crag. He cut the peat.
One year passed. Tom walked near Merlin's Crag. He felt very sleepy. His eyes felt heavy. He sat on the grass. He fell fast asleep there.
Tom woke up slowly. He heard soft singing. It was happy music. Little Fairies danced around him. They were tiny and bright. They smiled at Tom.
Queen Lily smiled at Tom. She asked him to dance. Tom danced with the Little Fairies. They danced and played with him. They played all night long. It was much fun for Tom.
The sun began to rise. The Fairies took Tom. They went to a secret door. Inside was a bright hall. It was a magical place. Fairies did their magic work. Tom watched them.
Queen Lily spoke to Tom. "Your lesson is done," she said. "The grass has grown back." Tom looked at the crag. He saw new green grass. The crag was whole again.
"Keep our special secret," Queen Lily told him. Tom promised her. He would not tell anyone. He would not tell about the fairies. He kept his word always.
Tom walked back to his village. People looked at him. His wife was there. "You were gone a long time," she said. "You were gone for seven years."
Tom thought about it. He was gone for seven years. The fairies made time fly for him. It was a special magic. It was a magic trick from them.
Tom kept his special secret. He never talked about Merlin's Crag. He always respected nature. He respected magic too. Tom learned a big lesson. He knew nature had special wonders.
Original Story
MERLIN’S CRAG
One evening the master of a fine estate and a farm laborer were walking over the fields. The master said, “To-morrow I want the peat cut from yonder crag, which rises at the end of the moorland.”
“Do you mean Merlin’s Crag, master?” asked the laborer.
“You have been here but a short time. How did you learn that name?” said the master in surprise.
“One of the old servants told me about it, sir. He said that long, long ago an enchanter named Merlin lived there. And, master, there is a haunted cave under the crag where—”
“Nonsense! Pay no attention to the 87stories servants tell, but see to it that the peat is cut to-morrow,” said the owner impatiently.
The next afternoon the laborer began to cut the peat which covered the curiously shaped crag. He was about to lift up a piece of turf when, suddenly, there appeared before him the daintiest little creature he had ever seen. She was twelve inches tall and was dressed in a gown of sparkling green. She wore red stockings and dainty red sandals with jeweled buckles. On her head was a tiny, dazzling coronet. Her lovely golden hair rippled down under the crown and over her shoulders.
The laborer stopped his work and in amazement gazed silently at this exquisite little queen. She raised her tiny wand in warning and said in a silvery small voice:
“Now tell me, pray, what would you think if I should send one of my people to unroof your home? I am out of patience with you mortals! I am, indeed. You are selfish creatures. You do anything that pleases you and you consider no one but yourselves.” 88Here she stamped her tiny sandaled foot and continued, “Now listen to me! Put back that turf this instant, or I declare you shall rue the day that you disturbed the roof of Merlin’s Crag.” Then she vanished.
The poor bewildered laborer could hardly believe his senses. He put back the turf exactly where it belonged, took up his spade, and went back to his master.
“Why, where is the peat?” began the landlord.
“O master,” said the poor man, “the fairies live in Merlin’s Crag! I have seen the queen, and she warned me not to take the turf from the top. May I cut the peat from the other side of the moor?”
“What do you mean? I believe your senses are wandering, or you would not say such stupid things,” replied the master. “Go back immediately and cut all the peat from Merlin’s Crag. Even if the old wizard himself appears, you must do as I command.”
The poor laborer was obliged to obey, so he went back to the crag and cut the peat. 89His heart beat very fast, for every minute he expected the fairy to reappear and upbraid him, but strange to say, nothing of the kind happened.
Exactly one year from the day when the peat was cut from the top of Merlin’s Crag, the laborer started on his way home across the fields. The master had given him a present of a can of milk and some cheese for his wife and children; so he whistled a merry tune as he hurried along. In the distance he noticed the queerly-shaped outline of Merlin’s Crag against a pale amber sky and his thoughts wandered back to the day one year ago. How strange that he had never again seen the exquisite little fairy! What a funny threat she had made! As he drew near the crag he began to feel strangely tired. He seemed to drag his leaden feet, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
“I must rest a bit,” he thought. “How long the road seems this evening!” So he sat down in a shadow near the crag and fell into a deep sleep.
When he awoke, the soft silvery moonlight 90flooded the fields, and he heard distinctly the village bell striking the midnight hour. Then there floated to his ears the happiest ripple of laughter. He rubbed his eyes and aroused himself. He heard a sweet, small voice singing:
“Come, follow, follow me
Ye fairy elves that be,
Which circle on the green,
Come follow Mab, your queen;
Hand in hand, let’s dance around,
For the place is fairy ground.”
And a fairy chorus answered:
“O’er tops of dewy grass
So nimbly do we pass,
The young and tender stalk
Ne’er bends when we do walk;
Yet in the morning may be seen
Where we the night before have been.”
Ringed about him was a host of dainty fairies singing and dancing, and laughing and pointing wee elfin fingers at him as if he were the funniest object in the whole world. What could it all mean?
93He determined to break through their circle and make for home, but, when he rose and tried to walk away, the magic green ring and the dancing fairies accompanied him and held him prisoner. How the wee folks enjoyed his dilemma! They fairly shrieked with laughter. In a little while the queen, whom he had met before, danced forward and said slyly, “Wilt thou not tread a measure, O mortal? Come, thou mayest have our loveliest maiden for a partner. Join our sport, do. Then thou wilt not be so eager to depart.”
She waved her wand to the circle of fairies, and a charming little creature flitted up to him. Before the poor man realized what was happening the wee dancer took one of his fingers in each of her tiny hands and away they went, swinging, whirling, waltzing about in the gayest manner. The little people shrieked again and again with elfin laughter at the sight of this strange couple treading a measure. All night long the merriment continued.
Finally the moon set behind the dark crag, and rosy streaks broke through the gray 94curtain in the east. Then the queen held up her tiny wand and said, “Come, the cock is welcoming the dawn.” She led the way and the other fairies forced our friend to accompany them. As she drew near the crag a mysterious door opened and the fairies trooped through into a beautiful hall carpeted with velvet moss and dimly lighted by glow-worms. On tiny couches the wee people soon fell asleep. Our friend the countryman sat on a fragment of rock in the corner of the hall.
When the fairies woke each went, about some special task. Some mixed wonderful colors for flower petals, birds’ eggs, and delicate shells, others powdered gold dust for pollen and spun gossamer threads, while still others mixed the most delicious odors for violets, wild roses, and hyacinths.
The countryman was so charmed with the sight that he desired nothing more than the joy of watching these elfin people forever. Toward evening the queen touched his arm with her wand and said,
95“Your punishment is over.”
“What do you mean?” asked our friend.
She replied, “The turf you cut from the roof of Merlin’s Crag has grown again. Once more the roof of our hall is whole. You may go back to your friends now. But first you must take a solemn oath that you will never disclose to mortal ears where you have been, or what you have seen. Do you promise?”
“I promise,” said the countryman.
Then the fairy led the way to the cave’s door which opened of its own accord, and he passed out into the fields.
As he made his way to the village, he noticed that the people looked at him in astonishment. When he reached his cottage his wife, who came to the door, drew back in fear and wonder.
“Is it indeed you, my husband?” she cried out. “Where have you been so long?”
“So long?” the dazed countryman echoed. “So long? What do you mean? I don’t understand. Where are the children?”
96“There they are,” said his wife, pointing to a well-grown boy and girl. “You have been gone from us seven years. No wonder you do not know us.”
“Seven years!” he exclaimed. “Seven years do you say? Let me think.”
Then suddenly he knew what the fairy queen meant by his punishment. He had been imprisoned seven long years by the wee folk of fairyland.
He was besieged with questions when the village people learned about his return, but he shook his head and said nothing.
He never explained the mystery of his long absence, but many noticed that there was one name which always made him hasten to change the subject, and that name was—Merlin’s Crag.
Story DNA
Moral
Disrespecting nature or ancient places can lead to unforeseen and significant consequences.
Plot Summary
A farm laborer is ordered by his skeptical master to cut peat from Merlin's Crag, despite warnings of its magical inhabitants. A tiny fairy queen confronts the laborer, warning him not to disturb her home, but he is forced to obey his master. One year later, the laborer falls asleep near the crag and is drawn into the fairy realm, spending what feels like a night dancing and observing their magical tasks. Upon his release, he discovers that seven years have passed in the mortal world, a punishment for disturbing the fairies' home. He keeps his secret, forever changed by his encounter with Merlin's Crag.
Themes
Emotional Arc
disbelief to wonder to bewilderment
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story draws on traditional British folklore regarding fairies, their hidden homes, and their interactions with mortals, often involving warnings, enchantments, and the distortion of time.
Plot Beats (12)
- A master orders his new laborer to cut peat from Merlin's Crag, dismissing its legendary status.
- The laborer begins work and is confronted by a tiny, angry fairy queen who warns him not to disturb the 'roof' of her home.
- The bewildered laborer reports the encounter to his master, who disbelieves him and forces him to finish cutting the peat.
- One year later, the laborer, carrying gifts from his master, feels an overwhelming tiredness near Merlin's Crag and falls asleep.
- He awakens to the sound of fairy singing and dancing, finding himself encircled by tiny elves.
- The fairies, including the queen, compel him to dance with them all night, mocking his predicament.
- At dawn, the fairies lead him into a hidden, magical hall within the crag, where he observes them performing their enchanting tasks.
- After an unspecified period, the fairy queen tells him his 'punishment' is over, as the turf he cut has regrown.
- The queen makes him swear an oath of secrecy about his experiences before releasing him.
- The laborer returns to his village, where people look at him strangely, and his wife reveals he has been gone for seven years.
- He realizes the fairy queen's 'punishment' was the passage of seven years in fairyland.
- He never explains his absence, but avoids any mention of Merlin's Crag.
Characters
The Farm Laborer ★ protagonist
A man of average height and build, likely with a weathered appearance from working outdoors. His hands would be calloused from manual labor.
Attire: Simple, practical working clothes typical of a 19th-century European farm laborer: sturdy linen or wool trousers, a plain shirt, and possibly a waistcoat or rough jacket. Likely wears heavy, worn leather boots.
Wants: To provide for his family and obey his master, while also trying to understand the strange events he experiences.
Flaw: Gullibility and fear of the supernatural, which makes him easily manipulated or overwhelmed by the fairies. His obedience to his master also puts him in a difficult position.
He begins as a simple laborer, encounters the fairy world, is punished by being held captive for seven years, and returns home a changed man, forever bound by his secret and the mystery of Merlin's Crag.
Obedient, bewildered, easily amazed, honest, somewhat timid. He is a simple man who respects authority but is also deeply affected by supernatural encounters.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged European farm laborer standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a weathered face, short brown hair, and kind, wide eyes. He wears a coarse brown linen shirt, dark grey wool trousers, and heavy, mud-splattered leather boots. He holds a long-handled peat-cutting spade in his right hand, looking slightly bewildered. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Master ◆ supporting
A man of a 'fine estate', suggesting a well-fed and well-dressed appearance, likely of average height or taller, with a commanding presence.
Attire: Fine, well-tailored clothing appropriate for a landowner in 19th-century Europe: a dark wool frock coat, a crisp white shirt, a waistcoat, tailored trousers, and polished leather boots. Perhaps a cravat or tie.
Wants: To manage his estate effectively and ensure his laborers follow his commands.
Flaw: His skepticism and dismissal of the laborer's genuine experience, which indirectly leads to the laborer's punishment.
Remains unchanged, serving as a foil to the laborer's experiences and representing the mundane, skeptical world.
Impatient, dismissive of folklore, practical, authoritative, skeptical. He values efficiency and logic over 'superstitious' stories.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged European gentleman standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a stern expression, a neatly trimmed dark beard, and sharp, discerning eyes. He wears a dark grey wool frock coat, a white linen shirt, a patterned silk waistcoat, and dark trousers. His posture is upright and authoritative. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Fairy Queen ⚔ antagonist
Twelve inches tall, exquisitely dainty, with a delicate build. Her presence is both beautiful and formidable.
Attire: A sparkling green gown, red stockings, and dainty red sandals with jeweled buckles. On her head, a tiny, dazzling coronet.
Wants: To protect her home (Merlin's Crag) and her people from mortal intrusion, and to teach disrespectful mortals a lesson.
Flaw: Her quick temper and impatience with mortals, though she uses it to her advantage.
Remains unchanged, serving as a powerful guardian of the fairy realm.
Impatient, easily angered by mortals, possessive of her domain, sly, playful, and ultimately just in her own magical way (punishment fits the 'crime').
Image Prompt & Upload
A tiny, ethereal female fairy, twelve inches tall, standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has long, rippling golden hair, bright, intelligent eyes, and delicate features. She wears a sparkling emerald green gown, vibrant red stockings, and dainty red sandals with tiny jeweled buckles. A dazzling, intricate silver coronet rests on her head. She holds a slender, glowing silver wand in her right hand. Her expression is regal and slightly stern. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Fairy Elves ○ minor
Dainty, wee folk, small in stature, capable of dancing nimbly without bending grass.
Attire: Implied to be light and ethereal, suitable for dancing. Perhaps in various shades of green, brown, or natural colors, made of gossamer threads or flower petals.
Wants: To participate in their nightly revels and serve their queen.
Flaw: Not applicable, as they are part of a collective and not individually explored.
Remain unchanged, serving as the magical backdrop and enforcers of the fairy queen's will.
Playful, mischievous, joyful, and obedient to their queen. They enjoy the dilemma of mortals.
Image Prompt & Upload
A group of three tiny, ethereal fairy elves, about six inches tall, dancing in a circle, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. They have delicate, pointed ears, bright, mischievous eyes, and fine, wispy hair in shades of brown and blonde. They wear tunics and dresses made of shimmering green and brown gossamer fabric, adorned with tiny leaves and flower petals. Their movements are light and joyful. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Laborer's Wife ○ minor
Not explicitly described, but would show the effects of seven years of worry and labor. Initially, she would be a young adult, but by the end, she would appear older and more worn.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing of a peasant woman in 19th-century Europe: a plain linen dress, an apron, and possibly a shawl. Her clothes would be worn but clean.
Wants: To care for her children and understand her husband's mysterious disappearance and return.
Flaw: Her fear and bewilderment at the supernatural events surrounding her husband.
She experiences the passage of time and the burden of her husband's absence, highlighting the real-world consequences of his magical encounter.
Fearful, wondering, resilient (having raised her children alone for seven years).
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged European peasant woman standing at a wooden cottage door, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a worn but kind face, with worried eyes and light brown hair pulled back in a simple bun. She wears a faded blue linen dress, a plain white apron, and a simple grey shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hands are clasped in front of her, and her expression is a mix of fear and wonder. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Merlin's Crag (Exterior)
A curiously shaped crag, rising at the end of a moorland, covered in peat. It has a distinctive outline against the sky. Later, it is described with a shadow where the laborer rests, and the moon sets behind its dark form.
Mood: Initially mundane, then mysterious and foreboding due to the fairy warning, later magical and enchanting during the fairy dance.
The laborer first encounters the fairy queen here, is warned, later falls asleep and is drawn into the fairy realm, and finally emerges after seven years.
Image Prompt & Upload
A rugged, curiously shaped crag rises abruptly from a vast, windswept moorland, its slopes covered in thick, dark peat. The sky above is a pale amber, transitioning from golden hour to twilight, casting long, deep shadows across the undulating terrain. Sparse, hardy grasses and heather cling to the exposed rock faces and peat banks. In the foreground, the moorland stretches out, dotted with small, dark pools reflecting the fading light. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Fairy Dance Ring on the Moorland
A specific area on the moorland near Merlin's Crag, illuminated by soft silvery moonlight. It's a 'magic green ring' where fairies dance on dewy grass, so nimbly that the young and tender stalks do not bend.
Mood: Magical, whimsical, enchanting, yet also mischievous and slightly menacing for the imprisoned laborer.
The laborer is enchanted and forced to dance with the fairies for what he perceives as one night, but is actually seven years.
Image Prompt & Upload
Under a soft, silvery full moon, a circular patch of dewy, vibrant green grass glows faintly on a wide, open moorland. Tiny, ethereal lights flit and swirl above the grass, indicating the presence of unseen dancers. The air is cool and still, with a faint mist clinging to the distant horizon where the dark silhouette of Merlin's Crag looms. The ground is a tapestry of short, damp grasses and scattered heather. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Fairy Hall within Merlin's Crag
A beautiful, hidden hall accessed through a mysterious door in the crag. It is carpeted with velvet moss and dimly lit by glow-worms. It contains tiny couches for the fairies and a fragment of rock where the countryman sits.
Mood: Magical, serene, industrious, captivating, a hidden world of wonder.
The laborer is brought here after the night of dancing and witnesses the fairies' daily tasks, serving his 'punishment' for seven years.
Image Prompt & Upload
A vast, subterranean hall carved within ancient rock, its floor entirely carpeted with thick, emerald-green velvet moss. The cavernous space is dimly illuminated by countless tiny, bioluminescent glow-worms adhering to the rough-hewn stone walls and ceiling, casting a soft, ethereal light. Clusters of miniature, organic-shaped couches, seemingly carved from polished wood or smooth stone, are arranged throughout the hall. In one corner, a large, moss-covered fragment of rock serves as a seat. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
