The Nixy — Obscure Fairy Tales

There was once a very rich miller who lived happily in a village with his wife. He gladly took care of their mill everyday, until a terrible draught caused a poor harvest in his village. The poor harvest meant the miller was no more useful, and his fortune depleted. From then on, the miller sulked all day, upset to barely have his mill to his name.

One morning, the miller rose up before dawn and went outside to breathe in the fresh air. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the mill-pond and a tall and slender white woman rose out of the water. The man thought to himself that it must be the nixy of the mill-pond.

She looked at the man before her and asked him why he was sad. The man responded he was heartbroken to have lost his fortune. The nixy thought for a moment.

“I can help you get your wealth back, and, in exchange, I will only ask for the youngest thing in your house.”

The man, eager to regain his wealth, had no trouble sacrificing one puppy from the litter that had come the past week and swiftly accepted the deal. The nixy returned to the mill-pond, and the man walked back to his house.

When he arrived, a servant informed him that his wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy and was waiting for him in their chambers. The miller’s heart dropped.

He thought about the deal he had just made with the nixy and realized he had to trick his way out of the deal. He would have given all he had to save his son! He shared his sorrows with the staff, but no one knew how to trick a nixy. They only recommended that the child remain far from the mill-pond. And so he did.

Over the years, the boy grew into a big strong man. As he was a skilled hunter, he made hunting his profession. When he reached adulthood, the hunter married a beautiful and smart wife he loved to spend time with.

One day, as he was hunting a hare, he missed his shot. The animal ran for its life in the woods, the man on its heels. Both human and hare ran for a few minutes before nearing the miller’s property. With less camouflage than he had in the forest floor, the hare stopped in its tracks for s second, just enough for the hunter to throw his hunting knife and kill it in one quick blow.

The man took his weapon out of the animal’s flesh and stored the prey on his belt. He realized he was near his father’s mill-pond. He was instructed to avoid it like the plague his entire childhood. Thinking no more of it, he leaned in to wash the blood off his hands in the water. As soon as his fingers touched the surface, a wave came out of the pond and swallowed him whole.

The first one to notice the hunter’s disappearance was the man’s wife, who started to worry when he did not make it home that same night. The next day, the woman visited her in-laws, hoping to learn her husband’s whereabouts. When another few days went by without news, the miller decided it was time for him to come clean to his daughter-in-law about the deal he had made with the nixy of the mill-pond all those years ago. The hunter’s wife, full of sorrow, went on to lie by the mill-pond for the night, wondering if she’d ever see her love again.

As she slept, the woman dreamt of a gorgeous flowery meadow with a small hut in its middle. She walked towards the hut and entered it. Inside, she found an old woman sitting on the floor, looking at the lady as if she had expected her. She demonstrated with her palm the space in front of her, quietly inviting the hunter’s wife to join her sitting down. As soon as she touched the ground with her buttocks, the young woman was pulled out of her dream and woke up beside the mill-pond.

The woman could not shake the feeling that something about that dream felt magical. She had to find that hut!

The hunter’s wife waited for dawn and set out in the forest to find the meadow. She walked around for hours, following her intuition as to where to go next. Her path finally led her to a flowery opening in the woods, in which a small hut was erected. The woman sighed in relief. She had finally found it, she had had no doubt it was real!

The woman quickly ran towards the hut and entered it to find the same scene as she had seen in her dreams. Thus, she sat down in front of the old woman and waited for her to speak.

“I know what you are looking for, my child, but I cannot bring him back for you. The magic of the nixy is too strong,” said the old woman.

The young lady’s heart sank.

“However, I can guide you back to him,” the old woman continued. “At the next full moon, go to the pond and brush your long black hair with a golden comb. Once you have done so, leave the comb by the mill-pond’s edge.”

The young woman did not even have a chance to thank her helper that the latter was already gesturing for her to leave the hut. The young woman got up, bowed to the old lady and exited the hut. Surprisingly, a row of flowers seemed to guide her towards a path in the woods and, as she followed it, it disappeared behind her. Before long, the young woman was back home, with the hope in her heart restored.

Before the next full moon, she procured a golden comb and eagerly waited for the opportunity to see her husband again.

When the night in question came, the hunter’s wife watched the full moon ascend in the night sky. She started combing her long black hair with the golden comb when the celestial body reached its peak. When every silky strand was combed through, she laid the comb on the side of the mill-pond and waited.

After a few moment, the otherwise calm pond started to boil and a big wave seemed to rise an object out of the water. It was the hunter’s head! The lady was so happy to see her husband, but the man had a very sad expression. Too soon, the hunter’s head was swallowed by another wave and the water became still again.

The woman cried out in sorrow, having lost her husband to the nixy a second time. She left the mill-pond and ran home to cry. That night, she again dreamt of the old lady in the hut and knew exactly what she had to do when she woke up.

The second time she wandered in the woods to look for the small flowery meadow, it took the woman two days to find it. When she got there and asked the old woman for her help once again, the woman gave her new instructions.

“At the next full moon, bring a golden flute with you to the mill-pond and play it while the moon is at its peak. When you are done, place the flute by the body of water and wait.”

Just like before, the old lady gestured for the young woman to leave her hut, and so she did.

On the night of the next full moon, the hunter’s wife set out to go to the mill-pond. When the moon reached its height, the young woman played the golden flute for a while. Then, she placed the instrument by the mill-pond. Soon after, the body of water started bubbling and a big wave rose the hunter halfway out of the water. He seemed to recognize his wife and reached his arms out to her. Then, as soon as he had arrived, he was gone again.

The sorrowful wife walked back home, tears rolling down her cheeks. She thought she must see the old woman again and further ask for help. She was so close this time!

Thus, she set out for the flowery meadow for a third time. This once, she wandered in the woods for nearly three days before she found the opening in the tree she was looking for. Once out of the forest, she ran towards the hut and asked the old woman for help before even sitting down. Surprised by the sudden intrusion in her space, the old lady still accepted to help the young woman in love with a smile.

“At the next full moon, use a golden spinning wheel beside the mill-pond while the moon is at her peak. Then, place the spinning wheel and the thread by the pond beside you and wait.”

The young woman was so eager for the advice and sure it would be effective this time, that she hugged the stunned old lady briefly before leaving.

On the next full moon, the young woman thought to herself “Third time’s the charm!” and set out to the mill-pond with her golden spinning wheel. When she was done spinning, she placed the wheel and thread on the bank of the pond and eagerly waited, her heart pounding.

Before long, the water started bubbling and a huge wave made the woman’s husband rise up in the air. As he saw his beloved, he tried to hold her hands. Instead, they were both swallowed by the water. The man was turned into a frog , and the woman into a toad.

When they woke up, they were both back to their human forms, but in unfamiliar settings. The man was in a meadow, the woman in a glade, far from each other. As they walked around and learned about their surroundings, they each realized they were in a strange country.

Over time, the hunter became a shepherd, spending his days herding sheep. The woman also did the same, unknowingly, and became a shepherdess. After living apart for many years, they had gotten accustomed to the solitude their lifestyle required.

Eventually, the man moved to his wife’s village, as he followed the best and greenest grass for his flock. However, the shepherd and the shepherdess did not recognize each other, as their eyes were scaled by the previous transformation. Still, the man and the woman became close friends and spent much of their free time together.

One evening, as their flocks were already herded and the duo was eating dinner by the river, the man took out his flute and played a beautiful melody. The woman thought back to that fateful night she had played a golden flute by the mill-pond to get her husband back. The emotion ran down her cheeks and the pain escaped her mouth as sobs.

The man, pained to see his best friend crying, asked her what was wrong. The woman, unable to hold the secret any longer, opened up to him about her troubles. Somehow, the trust made the scale fall off their eyes, and they recognized each other. After embracing their beloved, they decided to return to their original home and carried on with their former lives.

They lived the rest of their existence in peace and happiness.

The serie Obscure Fairy Tales encompasses an array of tales, myths and legends from around the world. To read more, visit this page dedicated to fiction writing.