Are
genetic defects - Book
of Daniel
| P145 The
inhabitants of Iceland, as the population of the island with isolated genetics,
especially suffered from the activity of these creatures. Icelandic Sagas are
filled with incidents of collisions with elves, trolls, fairies, gnomes and so
on. A famous Icelandic Saga of the 14th century about Grettir
(Translation from the Icelandic by G. H. Hight, London, 1914) lets understand,
how commonly these beings were assumed by people.
The hero of the Saga Grettier killed Skeggi in
the middle of the day, and when the people of Thorkell asked him where this man
was, Grettier answered, that he was killed by the woman - troll ogress,
and he saw it. "Then Thorkell's men sprang up and said it was
impossible that a troll has taken the man in full daylight." We see how
familiar the inhabitants
of Iceland were with the habits
of the underground creatures. But
what land, do you think, could brag of the largest variety of kinds of these
essences? Certainly, the same, which was chosen by the Satan: the
British islands (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland). There are 34
(!) * of them. And though they
frequently receive the separate name depending on sorts of their activity (for
example: fairies, which force the travelers down from the way; fairies, which
live under earthen embankments; and fairies, which scream at houses, where
someone should die), but even externally there not less than 15 types exists:
three feet in height with brown faces and shaggy hair; a dark blue witch having
tusks and sometimes three faces; 18 inches high, dress like miners and knock
with the hammers, where there are ores; small spirits, which live in trees; red
skinned, who wears a red cap and a coat and helps the farmers; large, ugly and
hairy; gnomes, living in dungeon and protecting treasures of ground; mischievous
water spirit, which takes the form of the horse; fairy-tempter, preferring
people of art (as an muse of ancient
Greek), which for the inspiration exhausts forces of life from a man, who
concludes the bargain with her; old and terrible fairy, which loves to live in
loneliness; the phantom of hunting dogs, which carry away people to the god of
the underground world; half man half goat, which loves to be near waterfalls;
mermaids, singing so, that it is very difficult for a man to go away from the
artful melody; very white skinned god of the underground world; horseman without
the head (as the majority of them can change the shape, the precise allocation
of types is hardly possible). According
to the legends many fairies stole children, sometimes laying an ugly and
malicious child instead of the human one. Such child was called changeling.
These babies were never happy, they howled and screamed all day long; coming in
joyful excitation only, when there was a disaster in the family. Approximately
two weeks after arrival in human family changelings had a complete set of teeth,
legs so thin, as the bones of a chicken, and hands bent, as claws of birds and
covered with light, fluffy hair. They never took breast, but ate usual food and
differed by extreme appetite, though were always skinny and looked hungry. ________________________
*there also. |