Irwin Tarheel and the Fair Folk

A well-known, Irish supernatural folktale gets a Southern twist, as an early white settler in Louisiana rescues a turtle from some mischievous kids - and ends up in a strange world of The Fair Folk.  

Additional Reading:

The not-so-friendly fairies of Irish folklore

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"Irwin Tarheel and the Fair Folk" was written by Sam McDonald.

Storyteller: Otis Jiry

The Moonlit Road Podcast is a production of The Moonlit Road, LLC.

 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Erwin Tarheel and the Fair Folk, Louisiana Folktale
Written by Sam MacDonald Performed by Otis Jirye
You see, it all started many years ago
in Shreveport, Louisiana.
These days, Shreveport is the third largest city

(00:22):
in the entire state of Louisiana.
But in those days, Shreveport was just a
tiny little settlement on the banks of the
Red River.
Captain Henry Miller Shreve, from whom the city
gets his name, was still clearing off the
Great Log Jam.
Before the good captain arrived, you could drive
a horse and buggy all the way across

(00:43):
the river.
Everyone was very excited about the new opportunities
the new waterways would bring the little settlement.
But that wasn't what this story is about.
It was around this time there lived a
fellow named Erwin Sherwin Tarheel.
He was the son of an Indian maiden
and a white settler.

(01:04):
You see, mixed-race marriages faced a lot
of prejudices back then, and poor Erwin had
been dealt quite a few knocks in his
life.
One day, Erwin was taking a walk out
in the woods to go fishing at his
favorite stream.
When he got to the stream, he came
across a group of boys messing with a
turtle that was flipped on its back.

(01:26):
Erwin, never one to let a helpless creature
be tortured, quickly shooed the boys away and
gently put the turtle right side up.
The turtle looked at Erwin, and in a
tiny little voice, it said, Well, thank you,
kind sir.
I thought I'd never escape these tormentors.
Erwin nearly jumped back four feet.

(01:49):
He'd never heard a turtle utter so much
as a single word before.
When Erwin looked back at the turtle, it
was gone, and in its place stood a
beautiful young lady with raven black hair, copper
skin, and dressed like a goddess of some
ancient land.
At this point, Erwin was so terrified that
he tried to back away, but he tripped

(02:11):
over a log and fell flat on the
ground.
Who are you?
What are you?
A strange girl giggled.
I have many names, but you can call
me Red Ears.
Now hurry and get up.
Everyone is waiting for us.
Erwin looked, and sure enough, the girl's ears

(02:31):
were bright and red as a ripe tomato.
Erwin wanted nothing more than to run to
his home, draw the curtains, and huddle underneath
a blanket.
Still, there was no telling what else Red
Ears could turn into, and he wasn't so
keen on finding out the hard way.
After a while, and well after it had

(02:53):
started to turn dark, Red Ears led Erwin
to a clearing of sorts.
The bright lights, joyous music, and wonderful smells
told Erwin everything he needed to know.
Red Ears had led him to a party.
Erwin didn't get invited to many parties, but
he soon found himself as the guest of

(03:14):
honor.
Red Ears made a point of introducing Erwin
to everyone at the party and telling of
how he saved her.
Erwin had a grand time, as he danced
up a storm, sipped on sweet drinks, ate
tasty food, and generally felt like he'd found
some place he belonged.
Soon, however, Erwin noticed that there was something

(03:35):
a little off about the people throwing the
party.
Some of them had hooves like deer, others
had eyes like cats, and a few had
scales like alligators.
Erwin nearly lost it altogether when a man
with an alligator head and deer antlers walked
up to him.
"'You the Mr. Tarhill I've been hearing so

(03:57):
much about?' "'Ah, yes.
May I ask who you are?' Erwin stammered.
"'Oh, dear, where are my manners?
My name is Chief Sir Noonas, and you
have earned my daughter's hand in marriage.
Now don't worry, I'm sure you'll make a
fine husband for Red Ears.' "'But who are

(04:19):
all these people?
They don't look right.' Chief Sir Noonas gave
Erwin a big alligator smile.
"'Well, now, that depends on who you ask.
Some would say we are gods, while others
would say that we are demons, yet others
would call us spirits.
But if you want to call us something,

(04:39):
you may call us the Fair Folk.
We really are quite reasonable.' Erwin considered what
the Chief had told him.
The Fair Folk had certainly been more kind
and welcoming than anyone he'd ever met, but
he had his suspicions that all was not
as it seemed.
Both of his parents had told stories of

(05:00):
tricksters who lured unsuspecting travelers to all sorts
of horrible fates.
If he could only slip away to see
if anyone else had heard of these strange
people.
Red Ear and Chief Sir Noonas tried their
best, but Erwin insisted that he needed to
go attend some matters in Shreveport, though he
promised he'd be back as soon as possible.

(05:23):
Reluctantly, they sent Erwin on his way, but
not before Red Ear gave Erwin a tiny
pouch.
He instructed Erwin to absolutely never open the
pouch under any circumstances.
It didn't take long for Erwin to find
the path he'd taken to get to the
Fair Folk part.
But when he made it out of the

(05:44):
woods, he did not find the Shreveport he
remembered.
Shreveport had grown from a tiny little settlement
into a city of glass towers and strange
metal carriages that drove without horses.
Erwin searched and asked around, but everyone he'd
ever known was gone.
The more he searched, the more Erwin realized
the horrible truth.

(06:06):
Everyone he'd known was dead because he'd been
away for over 160 years.
There wasn't any point in staying in Shreveport,
so Erwin decided to make his way back
to the Fair Folk.
Unfortunately, Erwin soon found himself completely disoriented.
There had to be something that would remind

(06:26):
him of the way back.
Erwin decided to ignore Red Ear's warning and
see if the pouch held a clue.
What Red Ear hadn't told Erwin was that
the pouch contained all the years he would
have aged if he hadn't stayed at the
Fair Folk party.
As soon as the pouch was opened, Erwin
aged until he was a feeble old man.

(06:49):
As if carried on a gentle breeze, Erwin
could hear Red Ear's voice say to him,
I told you not to open the pouch.
With that, Erwin crumbled into dust and was
carried away in the wind.
The white man brought many things with him
when he colonized this land.
Perhaps a few Fair Folks decided to come

(07:10):
along for the ride.