There were once a lot of brownies in Scotland. Brownies are like brownies, but they do not live in people’s houses or yards, but on their own, somewhere close to human habitation. There are many tales told about the Brownies of Bodsbeck and the Brownies of Bledknock, but the best tale is the tale of the Brownies of Farn Den.
"Fzrn-Den" means "Fern Log". One farm was called that because it stood at the end of a ravine where ferns grew lushly. You had to go through this log to get to the farm.
There were rumors that a brownie lived in the log. During the day he did not appear, and at night people sometimes saw him silently, like an ugly shadow, sneaking from tree to tree, trying not to be noticed. But he never harmed anyone.
After all, all brownies, if they are not offended, not only do not harm people, but even try in every possible way to help those who need help. The farmer, the owner of Fern-Dzna, often said that he didn’t really know how he would manage without his brownie. After all, if there was urgent work on the farm, say, if it was necessary to thresh and winnow rye, or pour grain into bags, or collect turnips, or wash clothes, churn butter, weed the garden - Brownie came to the rescue. The owners of the farm had only to go to bed, open the doors to the barn, or the dairy, or the turnip shed, and put a cup of fresh milk on the threshold - brownies for dinner, and when they woke up the next morning, the cup was empty, and all the work on the farm was completed. And everything was done even better than people would have done. Everyone knew how meek and gentle this brownie was, but for some reason everyone was afraid of him. When people returned home from church or from the market, they even made a detour of two miles at night, just to avoid going through the ravine - they were so afraid to see the brownies even from afar. However, not everyone was afraid of him. The farmer's wife herself was so kind and friendly that she was not afraid of anything in the world. When she needed to put a cup of brownie milk over the threshold for dinner, she poured the thickest, richest milk into it and also added a full spoonful of cream to it.
“Brownie works hard for us,” she used to say, “but doesn’t ask for a salary.” This means we must treat him as best we can.
And then one evening the farmer’s wife suddenly fell ill, so seriously that everyone was afraid that she would die. Her husband was very alarmed, and so were the servants, because she was a good housewife, and they loved her like their own mother. But they were all young people, they did not understand anything about diseases, and therefore they said that they should call an experienced old woman doctor who lived seven miles from the farm on the other side of the river.
But who should go get her? Here's the question! Midnight was approaching, the darkness was pitch-black, the path to the doctor’s house ran through a ravine, and there, good luck, you could meet the brownie that everyone was afraid of. And no one on the farm knew that the one they all feared was now standing outside the kitchen door.
He was a tiny, hairy freak with a long beard, red eyelids, wide, flat feet—like the feet of a toad—and long, very long arms that reached to the ground even when he stood upright.
Brownie listened anxiously to the conversation in the kitchen. That evening he, as always, came out of the secret hole in the ravine to see if there was any work on the farm and to drink his cup of milk. And then he saw that the front door of the house was not locked, and the lights were on in the windows, and he guessed that something was wrong on the farm.
After all, at this late hour it was always dark and quiet there. Well, he snuck onto the porch to find out what happened. And so he learned from the conversation of the servants that the farmer’s wife had fallen ill. Then his heart sank - after all, he loved the farmer dearly, because she was always kind to him. And he got very angry when he realized that these cowards didn’t dare go for the doctor because they were afraid of him, the brownies.
- Fools, boobies, blockheads! - he muttered and stamped his wide ugly
foot. - As if I would rush to bite them as soon as I meet them! Eh, if only they knew how hard I try not to
if they caught their eye, they wouldn’t talk such nonsense. But you can’t hesitate. The hostess might die like that. Apparently, I’ll have to go get the doctor myself.
Then the brownie raised his hand, took the farmer's dark cloak from the nail and threw it over his head. He wrapped his awkward body well in a cloak, then ran to the stable, and there he saddled and bridled the fastest of the horses. Then he led the horse to the door and climbed onto its back.
- Well, if you always run fast, now run even faster! - he said.
And the horse seemed to understand him. She neighed softly, tucked her ears, then rushed into the darkness like an arrow shot from a bow. She had never run so fast before, and soon the brownie stopped her at the old doctor's house. She was fast asleep. But Brownie banged on the window, and immediately a white nightcap appeared in the window. The old woman pressed her face to the glass.
-Who's there? she asked.
Brownie leaned over and said in his deep bass voice:
- Get ready quickly, auntie! We need to save the life of Fern-Dan's owner. There is no one to treat her on the farm, there are only foolish maids there.
- But how will I get there? — the old woman asked with concern. “Have they sent a cart for me?”
“No, they didn’t send a cart,” answered the brownie. “Sit behind me and hold on to me tightly.” I'll take you to Fern Den safe and sound. He did not just speak, but ordered, and the old woman did not dare to disobey. Moreover, in her youth she rode on horseback more than once, behind the back of some rider. She got dressed and left the house. Then she stood on a stone that lay at the threshold, climbed onto the horse and sat down, tightly hugging the stranger in a dark cloak. They didn't say a word until they arrived at the log. Then the old woman felt terrified.
— Do you think we won’t meet any brownies here? - she asked timidly. “I don’t want to see him!” People say that meeting him is not good. Her companion laughed a strange laugh.
“Don’t worry and don’t talk nonsense,” he said. “You’re afraid of meeting a freak.” But you won’t see anything uglier than the one who is now sitting on a horse with you. I vouch for this!
- Well, then everything is fine! - the old woman responded with a sigh of relief. “Although I didn’t see your face, I know that you are a kind person, since you calm the poor old woman.”
She didn't say another word until they had ridden all over the ravine and the horse ran into the farmyard. Then the rider dismounted, extended his strong, long arms and carefully pulled the old woman down. And suddenly his cloak slipped off, and the old woman saw that her companion was a freak with a short, wide body and ugly arms and legs.
-Who are you? - she asked, peering into his face in the light of the dawn. “Why do your eyes look like bowls?” And what kind of feet do you have? They are too big! Yes, and they look like toad legs.
The little freak laughed.
“I walked many miles when I was young. “They say that those who walk a lot have their feet splattered,” he answered. - But you, auntie, don’t waste your time. Go into the house. And if someone asks you how you got there
come here so quickly, say that people didn’t come for me, so I had to sit behind the brownie from Fzrn-Dzna!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru