Cherry of Zennor

Cherry was a poor but happy girl, one of twelve. Turning sixteen she grew discontented with her poverty and envied the ribbons of her friends as they skipped off to Morvah Fair. She resolved to leave Zennor to seek employment and gain such riches. But at Ladydowns crossroads she became fearful, having never been away from home before. Suddenly a handsome man appeared and invited her to become his housekeeper and care for his little son. The landscape seemed suddenly beautiful, as did the man’s house. Cherry had pretty garments and delicious food and was very happy. The presence of an ugly, misshapen old woman, Aunt Prudence, was the only unpleasant aspect of her new life, but her master assured Cherry that Prudence would be gone when she became familiar with her duties. Apart from household work, her chief task was to bathe the boy’s eyes at the spring and apply a special ointment to them every morning, but with care never to apply it to herself. The ointment made the child’s eyes glitter strangely.

Cherry was consumed with curiosity and eventually succumbed to it and applied a tiny speck to her own eyes. She looked into the spring and saw it was full of little people including her master. When she confessed, he was saddened but said she would have to go home as punishment for her disobedience. Suddenly she was back at Ladydowns in her ragged clothes again. She was never the same girl and every night Cherry would wander the moors looking for the master she loved, but he never came again.