A Golden Dream

"If you live in the country, you will be used to the sound of a cricket singing away to himself behind the fire. The heat attracts them, and it is considered lucky to have a cricket living in the house, because they are magical creatures and not really from this world. They live to a great age and know all the secrets of the animal world..."So begins The Cricket's Tale, a story which, like the other nine gathered here, illustrates the rich and fascinating variety of Irish folklore. Some maybe familiar, others you may not have heard before, but all are concerned, in one way or another, with a rarely-seen side of Irish life: the magical creatures who live in the enchanted world of Ireland's animal kingdom.