Berry Picking Tales
From Newfoundland
Berry picking is a familiar activity to all people in the Conception Bay North area. In the late summer and early fall, people of all ages head for the numerous barrens to pick blueberries, partridge berries, marsh berries, and bakeapples. Since these low, brush covered hill look very similar, it is easy to become lost and wander into the woods, into the bogs, or across the barrens. A number of fairy stories relate to those who have been lost in the barrens while berry picking.

LOST GIRL FROM SOUTH RIVER
This story originated in the 1930's; it was told by Gretchen Marshall. A little girl, ten years of age, went berry picking alone one day. When it got late and she didn't return, her family got worried and they went looking for her. They didn't find her that night, so the next day they sent a search party to look for her. They were looking three days and three nights until finally a man found her. He asked her who she was and why she was in the woods alone. She didn't know who she was, but she knew she was from South River. When they took her home, she said she went so deep in the woods because she was following the little people. From then on she was never the same. The people concluded from this that she was fairy changed.
--told by Georgina Marshall, South River.
GOOD PEOPLE
One day a woman went marsh berry picking by herself. She went around nine o'clock in the morning. When she got where the marsh berries were, she started to pick them. She lost track of time, but she kept on picking them. About five o'clock in the evening, she heard beautiful music, so she started towards the beautiful music. Around six o'clock her husband started to get worried because she wasn't home, so he called the police to come and help him look for her. They looked all night, but couldn't find her. The next day they spotted her on an island. The police went over to get her. When they got there, they asked her how she had arrived there. She said that all she could remember was hearing beautiful music, which she started to walk towards. The people back then said that the good people took her.
--told by Sherry Whelan, Clarke's Beach.
DEEP SLEEP
Many years ago Will was in the woods with some friends picking berries. He wandered off to a place full of berries. His friends found him after a three hour search. Will was lying unconscious by a camp fire. He would not wake up, so his friends carried him home. He was checked over by a doctor and there was nothing wrong with him physically. Will came out of the coma one year later. He did not remember anything of the dreadful day or the year that he was in the coma.
--told by Kim Greely, Upper Island Cove.
FAIRY ENCOUNTER
Three men from Upper Island Cove were in the woods picking blueberries. When two of the men looked, the third had his clothes turned inside out and was walking away from the other two, making funny noises. The man with his clothes inside out claimed he was following little men whom he called Jackies. The two other men realized he was in the fairies and started to swear to frighten the fairies away. They succeeded and the man in the fairies immediately returned to normal.
--told by Scott Mercer, Bay Roberts.
THE BERRY PICKER
One day two friends decided to go berry picking in on the Ridge. They set off early in the morning after their chores were finished. They had travelled a long time, but berries were very scarce so they decided to return home. The walk home seemed to take forever. They appeared to be coming back to the same rock all the time. It was getting dark, so they decided to sit down to rest. As they sat, they glanced to the right. There was an enormous patch of big, juicy berries. Their energy came back and they started picking, but something strange was happening since their buckets were still empty. They knew what was wrong--fairies were near! They had to get out of there. They started to run, leaving screams of laughter behind. When they arrived home, both collapsed on the floor exhausted.
--told by Glenn Sheppard, Spaniard's Bay.
CENTER OF THE POND
Children when they were young often hated the thought of fairies. One person told the following story to prove the dislike that was experienced. "I was just picking blueberries in on the Tilton Barrens, when all of a sudden I knew that my grandmother who was picking berries with me had left. I started looking. We were looking for at least an hour or two, when we looked down by the side of the pond. We saw someone in the middle of the pond, but we also saw little men close to the person in a circular motion. Leaving and walking down to the pond, we found surely enough that the person in the pond was grandmother. She was out to her waist in water. She said that they had wanted to play with her."
--told by Gordie Clarke, Upper Island Cove
FAIRIES ON BLUEBERRY HILL
Three young boys were blueberry picking in an area near Snow's Pond. The boys' parents were over the next hill picking berries. It was about 7 o'clock in the evening and it was getting close to dark. Two of the boys went ahead of the other boy who had just found a rather large patch of blue berries. As the two boys disappeared over the hill, the third boy heard his parents calling to him from the woods. He proceeded to where he heard the voices coming from. The boy wasn't found until three days later. He claimed that little men with white beards, who were very mean, took him away. To prove his story he has a rather large black mark on his left leg, which was never there before and is still there to this day.
--told by Robert French, Birch Hills.
BERRY PICKING
Every summer the fields would be full of people trying to make a bit of extra money berry picking; but something happened one year that made everyone afraid of the fairies. Nobody believed in them until a guy called George from Bay Roberts went blueberry picking on the Tilton fields. George was gone for 2 1/2 days. He said he would never go berry picking again. The fairies had taken him. They must have done something to him because from that day on he was very mean, didn't care about anybody, or anything. It was like he was frightened to do anything.
--told by Laura Parsons, Bay Roberts.
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