Magic,Myth, Mystery CHANGE

Home , Changeling

NGS LI Y = 0 | K = 0 Y = 70 | K = 0 Virginia Loh-Hagan Virginia MS 366 MS 277 Blue: C = 27 | M = 13 | Green: C = 35 | M = 0 | Blue: P Green: P Magic,Myth, Magic,Myth, Mystery CHANGE

Loh-Hagan CHANGELINGS

Witches Unicorns Zombies Vampires Werewolves Trolls Hydra Kraken Krampus Mermaids Magic, Myth, and Mystery Compelling photos Compelling Considerate vocabulary Considerate Clear text and formatting Clear text www.cherrylakepublishing.com Fairies Genies Ghosts Goblins Griffins Engaging content and fascinating facts fascinating content and Engaging Books in this Series 45th Parallel Press Titles Feature High interest topics with accessible reading levels reading topics with accessible High interest Elves Dwarfs Bigfoot Dragons Changelings They lurk in forests and murky, They wateryhowl depths. They lurk in forests and murky, at the They moon. drink blood, eat brains, and set curses. They have powers beyond your wildest imagination. The creatures explored in the series will stir your imagination and dreams—and your nightmares! Beware. creep into your Page intentionally blank Magic,Myth, Mystery CHANGELINGS DO YOU BELIEVE? This series features creatures that excite our minds. They’re magical. They’re mythical. They’re mysterious. They’re also not real. They live in our stories. They’re brought to life by our imaginations. Facts about these creatures are based on folklore, legends, and beliefs. We have a rich history of believing in the impossible. But these creatures only live in fantasies and dreams. Monsters do not live under our beds.

They live in our heads! Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Reading Adviser: Marla Conn MS, Ed., Literacy specialist, Read-Ability, Inc. Book Design: Felicia Macheske

Photo Credits: © © Volodymyr Tverdokhlib, cover; 7; © Mariola Kraczowska/Shutterstock.com, 1; © Maksimilian/Shutterstock.com, 5; © Nolte Lourens/Shutterstock.com, 8; © Hilman Kamaruzzaman/ Shutterstock.com, 11; © Roman Pyshchyk/Shutterstock.com, 12; © tdemirboga/Shutterstock.com, 15; © Neil Lockhart/Shutterstock.com, 17; © ambrozinio/Shutterstock.com, 18; © WAYHOME studio/ Shutterstock.com,21; © rSnapshotPhotos/Shutterstock.com, 22; © Robsonphoto/Shutterstock.com, 24; © Dmitry A/Shutterstock.com, 27; © Marco Tiberio/Shutterstock.com, 29

Graphic Elements Throughout: © denniro/Shutterstock.com; © Libellule/Shutterstock.com; © sociologas/ Shutterstock.com; © paprika/Shutterstock.com; © ilolab/Shutterstock.com; © Bruce Rolff/Shutterstock.com

45th Parallel Press is an imprint of Cherry Lake Publishing.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been filed and is available at catalog.loc.gov

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Please visit www.p21.org for more information.

Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics Inc. TABLE of CONTENTS Chapter One

Baby Snatchers...... 4

Chapter Two

Signs of Changelings...... 10

Chapter Three

Changing Changelings...... 16

Chapter Four

Human vs . Fairy World...... 20

Chapter Five

Excuses! Excuses! ...... 26

Did You Know?...... 30

Consider This!...... 31

Learn More...... 31

Glossary ...... 32

Index ...... 32

About the Author...... 32 Chapter One

Baby Snatchers Who is Bridget Cleary? What are fairies? What are changelings?

“Are you a witch? Or are you a fairy? Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?” This is an Irish children’s rhyme. Bridget Cleary was an Irish woman. She sewed. She made clothes. Her husband was Michael. He was a cooper. Coopers make tools and barrels. Michael burned her to death. He said fairies took her away. Fairies are magical creatures. Michael said a changeling took her place. Changelings are fairy babies and adults. He said he killed the changeling,

4 not his wife. He said Bridget was at a nearby fairy ring. A fairy ring is a fort in Ireland. People thought fairies lived there. Some people believed Michael. They thought fairies were real. So, Michael got away with murder.

Bridget Cleary was called “the last witch burned in Ireland.”

5 Explained by Science! Williams syndrome affects one in every 10,000 people. Syndrome means medical condition. People with Williams syndrome may look like changelings. They look like fairy elves. They have upturned noses. They have high cheekbones. They have broad foreheads. They have wide smiles. They have full lips. They have small, crooked teeth. They have long faces. They have pointy chins. This syndrome has been called the “elfin face syndrome.” People with Williams syndrome are friendly. They talk a lot. They’re musical. They have a hard time drawing. They have a hard time doing puzzles. They have attention problems. They have dental problems. They have breathing problems. They’re difficult babies. They have weight problems. They have trouble eating. They have trouble sleeping. They act like changelings!

6 Fairies can look human. But they’re not. They have magical powers. Some fairies practice dark magic. This is bad magic. Fairies play pranks on humans. Pranks are tricks. Some pranks are harmless. Some pranks are dangerous. Humans have life changes. Examples are getting married or having children. Humans are most open to fairy attacks at this time. On rare occasions, fairies kidnap adults. They kidnap brides. They kidnap new mothers. They replace them with changelings. These changelings are fairy women. The fairy women trick men. They make men do bad things.

There are many different types of fairies. They’re all different.

7 8 The most common fairy crime is stealing newborn babies. Fairies take them from their cribs. They replace them with changelings. These changelings are fairy children. They’re weak. They don’t grow well. They have big heads. They have big eyes. They’re deformed. Deformed means not normally formed or shaped. Changelings don’t live long. They die soon. But sometimes fairies don’t leave changelings. They’ll leave a block of wood. Or they’ll leave a lump of wax. These things are magical. They look like the missing child. But then, the magic wears off. They become wood or wax again. People can throw these things into the fire. The fire may bring back the missing child.

Changelings have dark, wise eyes.

9 Did You Know? • Changelings are in My Little Pony. They look like ponies. They have some insect features. They feed off the love of others. Later, they changed. They learned to share love as well. • Some babies are born with a caul. Cauls are like extra skin that covers a newborn’s head. Some people think cauls are a sign of being a changeling. It’s a sign of a fairy birth. • Changelings can have several physical deformities. They can have crooked backs. They can have broken hands. They can have a full set of teeth at birth. They can have legs as thin as chicken bones. They can have hands like bird talons. They can be covered with light hair. • Some stories say changelings can be returned if parents don’t touch the babies. Parents can leave the changelings outside their doors. They yell that they’ll hurt the changeling. Then, fairies will come take the changeling away. But timing has to be perfect. This can only happen if parents do this seconds after fairies come. • Changelings are in stories about fairies, elves, and trolls. • Some people think changelings really happened. In ancient times, lands were being raided. People went into hiding. The people in hiding would swap their sick babies for the invaders’ healthy babies. • In really scary stories, fairies steal human babies to eat them. • Ogbanje is an African word. It means “child who comes and goes.” The Igbo people believed in changelings. Many of their babies died. They blamed it on evil spirits.

30 Consider This! Take a Position: Some people think changelings are victims. Some people think changelings are monsters. Which one are they? Argue your point with reasons and evidence.

Say What? Read the 45th Parallel Press book about fairies. Explain how fairies and changelings are connected.

Think About It! Changelings cause trouble for their human family. They have been blamed for many things. Why do you think this is? What would you blame on changelings?

Learn More • Marriott, Susannah. A Field Guide to Fairies. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2009. • Moorey, Teresa. The Fairy Bible: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fairies. New York: Sterling, 2008. • Reinhart, Matthew, and Robert Sabuda. Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures. London: Walker, 2008.

31 Glossary baptize (BAP-tize) a ceremony that deformed (dih-FORMD) not normally admits someone into the church formed or shaped Bible (BYE-buhl) religious book fairies (FAIR-eez) magical creatures birthmarks (BURTH-mahrks) moles or left-handed (left-HAND-id) having a spots on the body dominant left hand challenges (CHAL-inj-iz) obstacles loners (LOHN-urz) people who prefer to be by themselves changeling (CHAYNJ-ling) fairy baby that replaced a human baby pranks (PRANGKS) jokes cooper (KOOP-ur) a person who makes suspicious (suh-SPISH-uhs) mistrustful, tools and barrels doubtful dark magic (DAHRK MAJ-ik) the type of traits (TRAYTS) physical or behavioral magic that does bad, evil things qualities

Index

changelings, 30 dottyback reef fish, 14 survival tips, 19 how parents treat them, fairies, 4–9, 29 Williams syndrome, 6 16–18 crimes, 9 how to get rid of them, how to keep them away, 17–18 16–17, 27, 30 powers, 15 what they do, 7 stories about, 26–29, 30 what they look like, 7 what they are, 4–9 why they steal babies, 20–25 what they don't like, 13, 14 what they look like, 9, 10–11, lingo, 23 30 magic, 7, 9 where they live, 25

About the Author Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan is an author, university professor, former classroom teacher, and curriculum designer. Fairies replaced her good dogs with impish ones. She lives in San Diego, California, with her very tall husband and very naughty dogs. To learn more about her, visit www.virginialoh.com.

32 Page intentionally blank NGS LI Y = 0 | K = 0 Y = 70 | K = 0 Virginia Loh-Hagan Virginia MS 366 MS 277 Blue: C = 27 | M = 13 | Green: C = 35 | M = 0 | Blue: P Green: P Magic,Myth, Magic,Myth, Mystery CHANGE

Loh-Hagan CHANGELINGS