Fair Janet and Tam Lin
Beautiful Janet, the daughter of the mighty Earl of March, sat by the castle window, sewing. Her friends, singing a song, were diligently embroidering rich garments with silk and gold... But Janet was distracted. Her gaze kept wandering dreamily beyond the castle walls—toward the tall, rustling trees. Oh, how she longed to catch even a glimpse of the dark Carterhaugh Forest, which stretched right up to the oak gates of the castle!But the girls were strictly forbidden from approaching that forest. It was said that the knights of the Elf Queen herself hunted there. And it was dangerous for humans to meddle with elves or their knights. So everyone claimed.
But could Janet possibly be frightened by such tales? Anyone but her!
And so, slipping away from her friends and her nurse, she ran toward Carterhaugh Forest.
Under the green canopy of Carterhaugh Forest, on a lush meadow, grazed a horse. Such a horse Janet had never seen in the stables of the Earl of March! A snow-white steed with a golden bridle gleaming in the sun and a green blanket calmly nibbled grass beside a beautiful rose bush. Such roses Janet had never seen in the gardens of the Earl of March either! But just as Janet reached out to pluck a flower, a tall and handsome young man in a green doublet appeared before her as if by magic. He looked angry.
"Why do you pluck my roses, fair Janet?" asked the young man. "And who gave you permission to wander in Carterhaugh Forest?"
"I am the earl's daughter, and I pluck flowers wherever I please!" Janet's voice rang with anger. "And I certainly won't ask for your permission!"
But the young man didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed so merrily that it seemed all the birds in the trees chirped in response. He plucked a rose himself and handed it to Janet.
"Pluck as many as you wish. For such a beautiful maiden, I wouldn't begrudge even all the roses of Carterhaugh Forest!"
And so, for the entire long summer day—until the sun set—Janet spent her time with the young man, whose name was Tam Lin. They wandered through the forest, danced on sunlit glades, and the forest seemed to sing magical songs for them.
But at sunset, Janet raced back to the castle, and as the last ray of sunlight slid over the stones, she slipped through the gates.
It seemed that no one—neither her friends nor the servants—had noticed the earl's daughter's absence. Only her old nurse looked intently at Janet's happy face and asked anxiously:
"What's happened to you, dear Janet? Have you been to the green land of the elves? Woe to us all if the earl himself finds out!"
"Oh, what nonsense!"
Janet hugged her nurse and tried to smile, but unease crept into her heart. She realized the nurse was right: Tam Lin was not like ordinary people. He was a knight of the Elf Queen. And it was dangerous for humans to meddle with elves. So everyone claimed. But could Janet possibly be frightened by this?
And so, she entered Carterhaugh Forest once more. But this time, there was no white horse or its owner in sight. Just as Janet was about to turn back, Tam Lin appeared before her as if by magic, clad in an emerald-green cloak.
"Tell me the truth, Tam Lin," Janet asked. "Have I truly given my heart to a knight of the Elf Queen?"
"Yes, I am the guardian of this forest," the young man replied. "But I was born and raised among humans. When I was just a boy, the Elf Queen kidnapped me and cast a spell. Ever since, for many years, I have guarded the enchanted Carterhaugh Forest by day, and by night I dwell on the green hills of the elves, in the land of eternal youth and summer. The elves dance all night long, fly under the moon, and it is marvelous... I never thought of leaving them until... until I met you. Now I wish to return to the world of humans."
"How can I help you?" Janet asked.
"Know this: there is only one night in the year when the Elf Queen's spell can be broken. That night comes tomorrow. But will you, gentle daughter of the earl, find the strength to endure the trials and help me?"
Janet merely pressed her lips together and nodded.
Tam Lin took her hand and said:
"At midnight, go to the crossroads of four roads and wait there. First, knights on black horses will ride by, then on red horses, and finally on white horses. I will be among them. To recognize me, I will remove my glove. You must approach my horse and seize the reins from my hands. I will fall from the horse, and the Elf Queen will cry out, 'Faithful Tam Lin has been stolen!' Then the hardest part will begin. Hold me tightly, no matter what happens to me—do not let go. Only this can break the Elf Queen's spell."
...The night in Carterhaugh Forest was terrifying, and even more so at the crossroads of four roads.
But then Janet saw a cavalcade of ghostly knights emerge from the forest. First came riders on horses as black as night, followed by horses as red as sunset, and then knights on snow-white steeds...
Janet's heart raced, and she rushed toward the rider whose hand was bare of a glove, grabbing the horse's reins. When Tam Lin fell to the ground as if lifeless, she held him tightly to her.
Then the Elf Queen cried out:
"Faithful Tam Lin has been stolen!"
But Janet only held her beloved even tighter. The Elf Queen whispered a spell, and Tam Lin turned into a nimble lizard. Janet pressed the lizard to her heart, but it turned into a cold snake coiled around her neck. Janet grabbed the snake—and it turned into a bar of red-hot iron in her hands. Oh, how it hurt! Tears welled in Janet's eyes, but she still held Tam Lin tightly.
Then the Elf Queen realized that Tam Lin was leaving her for the world of humans. She turned him back into a man and said:
"Farewell, my faithful Tam Lin! You would have been the finest knight in the land of the elves. But you have a living human heart, capable of love..."
With these words, the Elf Queen spurred her horse, and the entire ghostly cavalcade of elves vanished into the forest. And beautiful Janet embraced her beloved and took him to her father's castle.
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