Also called Cu Sith, the fairy dog.
The tale
The cù-sìth is a fairy hound of the Scottish Highlands, as big as a calf, dark green, with a long tail coiled or braided over its back. It moves silently in straight lines, leaving huge footprints. It barks three times, and anyone who has not reached safety by the third bark will die of fright. It was also sent out to take nursing mothers into the fairy mound.
When they are met
- on moorland nights
- Samhain
Staying on their good side
- get indoors before the third bark
- never follow a strange dog onto the moor at night
- kindness to real dogs
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Care for a dog in need, as a gentle way of honouring the old tales.
- Keep to paths on wild moorland at night, as his tales advise.
What their tales teach
- the tales teach caution on wild ground
- respect for fairy places
Symbols
- the green hound
- the three barks
- the braided tail
Sources
- Campbell, Superstitions of the Scottish Highlands
- Briggs, A Dictionary of Fairies
More Celtic folklore
- The Banshee The keening woman of the fairy mound
- Selkies The seal folk who come ashore
- The Púca The shape-shifter of November
- The Aos Sí The people of the fairy mounds
- The Kelpie The water horse of the lochs
- The Tylwyth Teg The Fair Family of Wales
- Leprechaun The solitary fairy shoemaker
- Clurichaun The fairy of the wine cellar