Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 3 (Celtic and Slavic).djvu/392

258 until a better day has dawned. The belief that a Vila may become a man's sister also points to the existence of close relations between them and human beings ; and it is a popular conviction that not only every young lad and, indeed, every honest man has a fairy for his sister who helps him in case of need, but even some animals, such as stags, roes, and chamois, for whom the Vily have a special liking, may possess such supernatural kindred. The fairies will aid their brothers in danger, will bless their property, and will bestow all sorts of presents upon them. In numerous folk-tales Vily are married to young men. They are dutiful wives and excellent housekeepers, but their husbands must not remind them of their descent, or they will disappear forever, though they still continue to keep secret watch over the welfare of their children.

The Vily are pictured as beautiful women, eternally young, with pale cheeks, and dressed in white. Their long hair is usually fair or golden, and their life and strength are believed to depend upon it, so that if a fairy loses a single hair, she will die. The Slovenians, however, assert that a Vila will show herself in her true shape to any one who succeeds in cutting off her hair. Their bodies are as slender as the stem of a pine, and as light as those of birds; and they are frequently provided with wings. A man who robs a fairy of her pinions will bind her to himself; but so soon as she has regained possession of them, she will disappear. The eyes of the Vily flash like lightning, and their voices are so fine and sweet that to hear them once is to remember them forever. Men are often fascinated by their beauty; he who once chances to see a Vila, will yearn for her from the depths of his soul, and his longing will kill him at last.

The fairies like to ride horses and stags, and they have the power of transforming themselves into horses, wolves, snakes, falcons, or swans. They live in the clouds, on forest-clad mountains, and in the waters. The first kind sit among the clouds, sleeping, singing, and dancing. They may cause winds