Fairies often dance in circles in the grass, surrounded by mushrooms called Fairy Rings and this spells danger for the human passerby. The wild enchantment of the fairy music can lead him relentlessly towards the ring which, like a fairy kiss or fairy food and drink, can lead to captivity for ever in the world of Fairies. If a human steps into the ring he is compelled to join the fairies in their wild prancing. The dance might seem to last only minutes, or hours, or even at most a whole night but in fact the normal duration would be seven years or by our time and sometimes longer. The unfortunate captive can be rescued by a friend who, with others holding his coat-tails, follows the fairy music, reaches into the ring (keeping one foot firmly outside the ring) and pulls the dancer out.
Updated 2/4/2001