Changeling

A changeling is a fairy baby found in Irish folklore. Some fairies took a liking to mortals and would secretly exchange a mortal baby with that of a sickly fairy child (Jim). According to Lady Wilde, one way to tell if a child was a changeling was to lay it on the fire with this formula, "Burn, burn, burn- if of the devil, burn: but if of God and the saints, be safe from the harm." If the child was a changeling it would leave and climb up the chimney. In The Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by William Yeats, he recorded a story about a mother that was leaning over a wrinkled changeling when the latch was lifted. The fairy came in to carry home the stolen baby. Some people believe that those who were carried away had "plenty of good living and music and mirth" (Yeats, 48). Other people believe the ones that are carried away lived a sad life yearning for their earthly friends. 

Joe, Jim. "Faeries." Timeless Myths. 1999. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. 

         <http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html>.

Yeats, W. B. Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998. Fairy  

         and Folk Tales of Ireland- Google Books. Simon & Schuster. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. 

         <http://books.google.com/books?id=pp_SVHuVsFoC&pg=PA48&dq=William+Yeats                                            

+butler&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false>.