Dame Pridgett and the Fairies

Dame Pridgett was a cheerful old woman who worked as a nurse in her small Irish village.

One evening, a stranger rode up to her house.

“Can you come and care for my sick wife and newborn baby?” he asked.

Dame Pridgett was nervous about going. But she was a nurse and couldn’t refuse. She climbed upon his big black horse.

They galloped a long distance until they arrived at a run-down shack.

Dame Pridgett looked all around. The yard was filled with rocks and tall weeds.

Two children dressed in rags were kicking stones into a muddy puddle. A withered orchard stood behind the shack. Rotting fruit was hanging from dead branches.