The Blacksmith's Rock on the Isle of Skye

It was said that inside this Rock slept the Fenians, and that if anyone entered there and blew three times into the Wooden Whistle that lay beside Finn, they would rise alive and well, just as they had been before. A blacksmith who lived on the island heard this tale and decided to try entering the Rock. He reached the place where it stood, and then a good idea came to him about the key to the entrance. He returned to his forge and made a key that fit the keyhole. Then he went back to the Rock, and as soon as he turned the key in the lock, the door opened.

He saw before him a vast, spacious place and enormous men lying on the floor. One man, larger than the rest, lay in the center, and beside him was a large hollow wooden rod. The blacksmith thought that this must be the Wooden Whistle. But it was so large that the blacksmith feared he wouldn’t be able to lift it, let alone blow into it. He stood for a while, examining it, but in the end, he realized he had come too far and had to try at all costs. He grasped the Wooden Whistle and, with great effort, brought it to his mouth. He blew into it with all his might, and the sound was so loud that it seemed as if the Rock and everything on it had collapsed onto his head. The huge, sluggish men lying on the floor shuddered from head to toe. He blew into the Wooden Whistle a second time, and with a single motion, they rose onto their elbows. Their fingers were like the tendrils of wild grapes, and their arms were like the branches of an iron oak. Their size and terrifying appearance filled him with such dread that he threw down the Wooden Whistle and fled. Then they shouted after him: "It is bad that you found us; it is worse that you left us!"

But he did not look back until he had escaped outside and locked the door. Then he pulled the key from the lock and threw it into the lake that was near the Rock, which to this day is called the Lake of the Blacksmith’s Rock.

More fairy tales

• The Night Helpers of the Good Housewife
• King Malcolm and the Saints of Hexham
• The Great Calamity of the Fenians
• The Death of Duff, King of Scotland
• The Last of the Picts