The lost changeling

This is a story about feyfolk and changeling. It is told both in changeling culture and in human culture. Although the human variants tend to downplay the involvement of the feyfolk and give the protagonist spot to the loud baby, the feyfolk reserve this spot for the clever group of feyfolk that fooled the humans.

Two babies where born looking alike. But one loud and one quiet. The peaceful baby was born on a farm with fields all around with scarecrows that where not at all efficient at scaring off birds. The loud baby was born in a border house. Where everybody had to be quiet to not signal the oft passing orcs.

The feyfolk saw the two babies and without hesitation stole the loud baby carrying it to the farm, away from the dangerous border house.

When they switched the two babies and smacked the loud one on the bottom the baby started to cry even louder and scared all the birds away from the fields. The feyfolk smiled and looked down at a job well done.

Then they took the silent baby towards the border house but before they got there, they spotted smoke on the horizon.

The orcs had attacked the border house, maybe the loud baby did indeed lure them. There where no longer parents there to give the baby to.

The feyfolk panicked. Where should this baby go? With them to the forest? None was of a form to take care of large babies. Back to the original parents? But they would spot suddenly two babies and might guess feyfolk where stealing them in this area!

They dressed the whole group in a cloak and acted like an old lady. Saying "Dear young parents, this child is without mother nor father. Could you take care of it?" The parents looked at the baby with sad eyes. Something about it was familiar. But they could not take care of it. Saying "With the birds around we can hardly provide for our own! Please understand old woman. We cannot take care of this babe."

The old woman would have none of it. She strolled into the small farm up to the crib and smacked the sleeping baby on it's bottom. It woke up with such a cry that both parents where startled just as much as the birds.

"Don't turn this baby away. When you will enter the heavens on the day of your death and Talor will make all clear; You will understand that the child in your own crib is the one that is lucky it can even take care of this child. If you turn this baby away, on the day that you die and Talor will reveal all; you will know that you have made a terrible mistake, that would kill your own child!"

The cryptic old lady made no sense at all to the parents, but now their child was suddenly loud as if it wanted to help clear of the birds, and the young parents where afraid of the explanation they would receive, after their deaths. So they agreed to take care of both babies from that day forward and the young children grew up to be a duo like no other.

Last updated Tue, 05-04-2022 12:51 by Brian Bors
Created Wed, 10-02-2016 10:06 by Anonymous

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