g Celts, at least, the fay, whatever her
original stature, in later times had certainly achieved the height of
mortal womanhood.

In Upper Brittany, where French is the language in general use, the
usual French ideas concerning fairies prevail. They are called _fees_
or _fetes_ (Latin _fata_), and sometimes _fions_, which reminds us of
the _fions_ of Scottish and Irish folk-lore.[28] There are old people
still alive who claim to have seen the fairies, and who describe them
variously, but the general belief seems to be that they disappeared
from the land several generations ago. One old man described them as
having teeth as long as one's hand, and as wearing garments of
sea-weed or leaves. They were human in aspect, said another ancient
whom Sebillot questioned; their clothes were seamless, and it was
impossible to say by merely looking at them whether they were male or
female. Their garments were of the most brilliant colours imaginable,
but if one approached them too closely these gaudy hues disappeared.
They wore a kind of bonnet shaped like a crown, which appeared to be
part of their person.

The people of the coast say that the fairies are an accursed race who
are condemned to walk the earth for a certain space. Some even think
them rebellious angels who have been sent to earth for a time to
expiate their offences against heaven. For the most part they inhabit
the dolmens and the grottos and caverns on the coast.[29]

On the shores of the Channel are numerous grottos or caverns which the
Bretons call _houles_, and these are supposed to harbour a distinct
class of fairy. Some of these caverns are from twenty to thirty feet
high, and so extensive that it is unwise to explore them too far.
Others seem only large enough to hold a single person, but if one
enters he will find himself in a spacious natural chamber. The
inhabitants of these depths, like all their kind, prefer to sally
forth by night rather than by day. In the day-time they are not seen
because they smear themselves with a magic ointment which renders them
invisible; but at night they are visible to everybody.

_The Lost Daughter_

There was once upon a time a labourer of Saint-Cast named Marc
Bourdais, but, according to the usage of the country, he had a
nickname and was called Maraud. One day he was returning home when he
heard the sound of a horn beneath his feet, and asked a companion who
chanced to be with him if he had heard it also.

"Of co