The Fairy Ring
'Beannaithe were now eighteen years of age. Two years had passed since she dreamt of Áine, her Sióg Mhaith ("Fairy Godmother"). In all this time Áine had not returned, yet, Beannaithe recalls hearin' Áine's voice sayin',
"I will watch over you always, and guide you where I may, but I cannot intervene in your battles. Choose them wisely, daughter of Aengus!"
"Aengus!" thought Beannaithe. "That's me father's name, but who is he?"'
'The farmer's daughter thought the man in her dreams may have been one of the Fair Folk,' I said. I looked around to see if me daughters were nearby before proceedin'...
'Aengus were not the Fairy King at all, as Beannaithe had thought. Rather, as she would later learn, he were the son of the Dagda, chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the river goddess Boann.'
'Meanin' that Beannaithe were a demigod?' asked Darowva.
I looked at Darowva. She often surprises me, but never more so than on this occasion.
'So it appears,' I answered before addin' under me breath, 'but looks may be deceivin'.'
'This would account for her extraordinary abilities, would it not?' asked Darowva.
'Aye, it would indeed,' I replied. I suppose that were my intention when I first began this tale. All this time I had thought I were makin' it up as I went along, but perhaps not.
'Don't be forgettin' that she had learnt much from Fikta,' I reminded Darowva. 'Much of Beannaithe's skill and ability had come from his teachin'.'
'Aye, but even he were amazed by her precociousness,' Darowva reminded me.
'Aye, you're right, lass,' I admitted.
'Did Áine make another visit to Beannaithe?' asked Daibhidh.
'Well, let me continue the story so that we may discover it together,' I says.
'Beannaithe were anxious that Áine had not returned to impart wisdom and guidance to her, so she decided to force the matter.
She'd recently observed a Fairy Ring in her granda's garden. The farmer had warned her, "Don't go steppin' into the Fairy Ring. It will bring bad luck or worse!"
Beannaithe decided to take a chance. Late that night she quietly climbed out of her bead, slowly opened the door to the garden, then crept out of the house. She made certain that the door closed as quietly as she had opened it.
She searched the garden for the Fairy Ring. "There it is!" she thought when she found it. She looked around to make certain no one was watchin', then stepped inside it and began to dance.'
'All right,' I heard me daughter Ériu say, 'it's bedtime for this lot.'
I never heard me grandkids groan so loudly.
'Can't we stay up a wee bit later?' asked Darowva.
'No, lass,' me daughter answered, 'it's much too late to hear any more of Daidí Beag's fanciful stories about fairies, demigods, and the Tuatha Dé.'
Oy! Seems me eldest daughter had been listenin' without me knowin'. I had best check more carefully next time.
Fódla, Banba, and Ériu gathered their wee ones and escorted them to bed.
'Oíche mhaith, leanaí clainne!' I said after them.
'Good night, Granda!' I heard their voices answer.
'Oíche mhaith, iníonacha!' I said to me daughters.
They did not answer.
