The Lost Child of St. Allen

Long ago, in Cornwall, there was a tiny village called Treonike, in the parish of St. Allen. A little boy lived there with his mother and father.

One lovely summer evening, the little boy was picking flowers in a field near a wood. Suddenly he heard music. At first he thought it was the birds singing. But he was a clever boy, and he soon knew that no bird could sing like that. The music was coming from the wood, so he went to see who was playing.

When he reached the edge of the wood, the music grew even sweeter. It seemed to float along in front of him, so he followed it. Deeper and deeper into the wood he went. Soon the bushes grew so thick and tangled that he could not get through. He stopped and began to think about going home. But then the music grew more beautiful than ever. And all by themselves, the tangled bushes bent down flat to make a little path for him.

The boy followed the path until he came to a small, still lake. He was very surprised, because now it was night, and the sky was full of twinkling stars. The music stopped. The little boy was so tired that he lay down on a soft bed of ferns and fell fast asleep.

At home, his mother and father were very worried. They looked for him in the fields, and they called his name in the woods. Their neighbors came to help, and they searched for many days.

Then, early one bright morning, they found him. He was lying on the same bed of ferns beside the lake, sleeping peacefully. His mother picked him up and hugged him tight, and the little boy opened his eyes and smiled. “Where have you been?” asked his father.

“A beautiful lady took me to visit her palaces,” said the boy. “They had shining pillars made of glass, and arches of every color.” “And there were sparkling crystals everywhere, brighter than anything in the world.” Nobody knew why the fairies had taken him, or why they had brought him back. But the old people of St. Allen said the little folk had liked the boy because he was so kind and gentle. And they said that the fairies would always watch over him, wherever he went. After that, whenever he went to pick flowers, he always told his mother first.