down the road:

"Listen all ye, 'tis the Feast o' St. Stephen,
Mind that ye keep it, this holy even.
Open your door an' greet ye the stranger--
For ye mind that the wee Lord had naught but a manger.
Mhuire as truagh!

"Feed ye the hungry an' rest ye the weary,
This ye must do for the sake of Our Mary.
'Tis well that ye mind--ye who sit by the fire--
That the Lord he was born in a dark and cold byre.
Mhuire as truagh!"

Teig put his fingers deep in his ears. "A million murdthering curses on
them that won't let me be! Can't a man try to keep what is his without
bein' pesthered by them that has only idled an' wasted their days?"

And then the strange thing happened: hundreds and hundreds of wee
lights began dancing outside the window, making the room bright; the
hands of the clock began chasing each other round the dial, and the
bolt of the door drew itself out. Slowly, without a creak or a cringe,
the door opened, and in there trooped a crowd of the Good People. Their
wee green cloaks were folded close about them, and each carried a rush
candle.

Teig was filled with a great wonderment, entirely, when he saw the
fairies, but when they saw him they laughed.

"We are takin' the loan o' your cabin this night, Teig," said they. "Ye