The Art of Storytelling

Last night in the Lecture Hall an Irish storyteller came in to tell us some stories about the faeries and local tales. It was so amazing. I love people who can tell stories. He is one of those people that just has that inate ability to be able to convey a story and a feeling and a place with enthusiasm and grace. Over the years he has collected many stories from the people and he has published quite a few books. I bought one called "Biddy Early" and it's about this woman in the early 1800s that lived in Co. Clare on the eastern side of it (opposite where I am now) and was like the South American Shaman of today. People from all over came to her for help, mostly they were serious ailments but every once and a while they were trivial. There is this story of a man that walked 45 miles to see her because he was balding. He made it to Biddy's house and realized that he wasn't as in need of her help as everyone else waiting there, however, he had walked 45 miles so he had to wait in line otherwise it would have been a a waist to walk all that way. The man waited through the long line of illness wridden people and finally when it was his turn Biddy was waiting in the doorway. She welcomed him, speaking to him by name, (because this is what Biddy is known for, she knew everything about you before you stepped through your door) however, just to keep the man at ease she asked, knowing fully what the answer would be, what it was that was bothering him. He told her that he was balding and wanted his hair back, she said it was possible. She walked out the door, down the hill and to a well (still there today) and pulled up some water. She placed it in a bottle and corked it with a piece of paper. She told him to stick it in the deepest and safest pocket in his jacket and not to take it out until he was in his house then he was to wash with it and he would have his hair back. She also forewarned that she was not responsible if he took the bottle out and dropped it along the way. Those consequences were his own. The man thanked her and walked back home. He made it the whole way without letting the water touch the ground. As he was walking up to his house his wife was standing there waiting for him and she asked him if he had gotten the cure that he had wanted so desparatly and he pulled out the bottle to show her. He was so excited that he had made it the whole 45 miles home without one drop spilled that he tripped as entering his own house, something he had done hundreds of times before. The bottle smashed on the floor and his tonic went everywhere. He stood up, dumbfounded at what he had wasted, and slumped back to his room and into his bed which he didn't leave for a full day. When he finally decided to get up, he walked out into the house only to find it empty. All he saw was a small patch of bushy hair growing on the floor in front of his door. This is just a sample of what Biddy Early is about and it's only a sample of what this guy told us about. He also said that he has found Biddy's grave and can show you where her house is, which goes to show you that Biddy was real, and the stories must come from something real as well. I can't even explain how entertaining it was to hear him talk about this. He was up and down off of his chair, on the floor and jutting around the room like the stories were real. I'm going to read up on my Faery stories.