FIRESIDE STORIES. 497

 

DCCXCVII.
MALLY DIXON AND KNURRE-MURRE.

STORIES of fairies appearing in the shape of cats are common
in the north of England. Mr. Longstaffe relates that a farmer
of Staindrop, in Durham, was one night crossing a bridge, when
a cat jumped out, stood before him, and looking him full in the

face, said :
Johnny Reed! Johnny Reed!

Tell Madam Momfort
That Mally Dixon’s dead.

The farmer returned home, and in mickle wonder recited this
awfu’ stanza to his wife, when up started their black cat, saying,
“Is she?” and disappeared for ever. It was supposed she was
a fairy in disguise, who thus went to attend a sister’s funeral, for
in the north fairies do die, and green shady spots are pointed out
by the country folks as the cemeteries of the tiny people. An
analogous story is found in the people-literature of Denmark.
Near a town called Lyng is the hill of Brondhoé, inhabited by
the trold-folk, or imps. Amongst these trolds was an old sickly
devil, peevish and ill tempered because he was married to a
young wife. This unhappy trold often set the rest by the ears,
so they nicknamed him Knurre-Murre, or Rumble-Grumble.
Now, it came to pass that Knurre-Murre discovered his young
wife was not behaving well; and the object of his jealousy, to
avoid his vengeance, was compelled to fly for his life from the
cavern, and take refuge, in the shape of a tortoise-shell cat, in the
house of Goodman Platt, who harboured him with much hospi-
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