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What if the hill has a door, the loch hides a creature, and your next word changes your luck?
In The Scottish Fairy Book, Elizabeth W. Grierson gathers and retells folk tales from the Highlands, the Lowlands and the islands. Fairies share the land with country people, water spirits haunt the lochs, and giants throw boulders. In this story world, a kind word or a rude one can change what happens next.
These stories draw on tales spoken in Gaelic and Scots around cottage and farmhouse fires. Grierson writes for young readers, keeping the fireside storyteller’s simple manner. Tales of fairies, giants, heroes and clever small figures bring you into a landscape where green mounds hide other folk and strange shapes in the land invite a story.
What you’ll discover
- Doors in the hills Meet the fairies of Scottish tradition, whose homes lie within hollow hills and green mounds.
- Giants across the landscape Enter legends where giants throw boulders and their quarrels give the land its strange shapes.
- The clever and small Find clever country people alongside the larger figures of Highland legend.
- Words that change luck Discover tales where kindness and rudeness matter, and lessons lie tucked inside the magic.
- Stories for the ear Enjoy repeated phrases and the rule of three as you read a tale aloud.
Who will love it
Readers who love folktales, fairy lore and old Scottish settings will enjoy this collection. Parents and teachers who share stories aloud will also find much to love.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The other world has its price
- Kindness gathers friends against jealousy
- A secret name offers protection
- Sharing brings help on the road
- A promise holds through changing fortune
- Strangers deserve care and respect
- An overlooked boy faces the serpent
- Fairy rules change what people perceive
- Ordinary virtues carry unusual power
Who’s who
- Thomas of ErcildouneA young laird who loves poetry and nature, he kisses the Fairy Queen and serves her in Fairyland for what feels like three days.
- The Queen of FairylandA rider in green who can turn old and gray, she claims mortals who kiss her and guards the rules of her country.
- AssipattleThe youngest son who lies among the ashes, he wants to save the princess from the Mester Stoorworm using wit rather than strength.
- Princess GemdelovelyThe king's only daughter, she is loved by her father and is chosen as a sacrifice to the sea serpent.
- Katherine CrackernutsA quick-thinking girl who leaves home with her stepsister and nurses a bewitched prince, she wants to break the spell on both.
- HabetrotA kindly little spinning fairy with long lips, she helps an idle girl for no reward except secrecy.
- The Brownie of Ferne-DenA shaggy, misshapen helper who works unseen for a bowl of milk, he cares deeply for the farmer's gentle wife.
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The Scottish Fairy Book in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Scottish Fairy Book
by Elizabeth W. Grierson · 1910
Assipattle, a boy who lies in ashes, enters a sea serpent with an iron pot and a live peat.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you give for one kiss? In the first tale of this book, a young laird named Thomas begs it from a beautiful rider in green, and the price is seven years of service in Fairyland.
The Scottish Fairy Book at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 10 min3 h 15 min fast, 4 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 59,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1910by Elizabeth W. Grierson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A kiss for the Fairy Queen costs seven years
The book opens with Thomas Learmont, laird of Ercildoune, a gracious young man who loves books, music and the animals of the woods. One May morning he lies down beside the Huntly Burn. A lady rides up on a gray horse, dressed in green silk, with little silver bells on her golden reins. She tells him she is the Queen of Fairyland.
Thomas begs her for a kiss, and the moment their lips meet, her beauty fades. Her gown turns ashen, and half her hair goes gray. She laughs at his terror and tells him that whoever kisses the Fairy Queen must serve her for seven years.
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Which edition is right for me
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Grierson, Elizabeth W. The Scottish Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scottish-fairy-book.
Grierson, E. W. (2026). The Scottish fairy book. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scottish-fairy-book (Original work published 1910)
Grierson, Elizabeth W. The Scottish Fairy Book. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scottish-fairy-book.
@book{grierson2026scottish,
author = {Grierson, Elizabeth W.},
title = {The Scottish Fairy Book},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scottish-fairy-book},
note = {First published 1910}
}
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What is The Scottish Fairy Book about?
It is a collection of nearly thirty Scottish tales and rhymes, retold by Elizabeth W. Grierson. They feature fairies, brownies, giants, witches, merfolk, talking animals and clever young heroes, with settings from the Borders to the Highlands and Orkney.
What is a brownie in Scottish folklore?
In the book, a brownie is a shaggy, kindly, half-human helper who does farm work at night and takes no wages. He vanishes if anyone watches him, and a bowl of fresh milk is his usual thanks.
What does Assipattle mean?
Assipattle is the name of the youngest son in the sea serpent tale, and the book explains it as He who grovels among the ashes. He earns the name by lying lazily on the ash heap telling himself stories.
The author
Elizabeth W. Grierson
Scottish folklorist and children's writer
Elizabeth W. Grierson was a Scottish writer who lived from 1869 to 1943. She wrote books about Scottish folklore and history. Her works include Children’s Tales from Scottish Ballads, published in 1906, and The Scottish Fairy Book, published in 1910. Her full name was Elizabeth Wilson Grierson.
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