Chanters

House and garden

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Some say that a chanter is born whenever a child’s laugh is echoed three times, but no one is entirely certain. One way or another, though, there are an awful lot of chanters in the world, though it’s hard to meet one accidentally. This is because chanters only appear when their help is urgently needed. On a daily basis, they prefer to live in isolation, far from the hustle and bustle to which mere mortals are accustomed.

Their homes are usually found on the edges of forests and are tucked away in the dense greenery of permanently blossoming shrubs and flowers.

Many chanters are especially fond of roses, whose buds and blossoms are protected by their thorny stems.

Soft, green lawns swarm with tiny daisies and four-leafed clover. To the side, in fragrant bushes, grow berries, wild strawberries and herbs, from which the chanters make special brews and syrups with equally special magic properties.

Chanters’ gardens are quite similar to each other and only a close observer will notice the differences in the varieties of plants and flowers, as well as appreciate the artistic design behind the apparent disorder.

After walking up the narrow path, sprinkled with small, shiny pebbles, which has enchanting blue flowers on both sides, you reach the wooden threshold and the traditionally open door. Only on chilly, snowy, windy or rainy days are they closed tightly. In such cases, you should pull the cord which shakes the clapper in a brass bell. Then the chanter knows she has guests.

Chanters’ houses, though small, are extremely cosy. In the middle of the living room, on a round table stands a glass ball with golden dust floating inside. Next to it, on a silver tray there lies a wand decorated with coloured beads and a star at the tip. Chanter wands vary in their length and intricacy.

A guest, awaiting a meeting with the hostess, will sit on the comfy sofa and recline against fluffy, embroidered cushions. The chanter, meanwhile, prepares a snack of an aromatic drink with some crumbly shortbread and jam.

In winter, a fire crackles in the hearth, whereas in summer, the friendly wind blows cooling gusts.

Sometimes, the cat, which is either dozing on the window sill or the pouffe, is in a friendly mood and will chat with the visitor.

The chanter’s workshop, which is a kind of laboratory, as well as a place for reflection, is in the attic. Narrow, winding steps lead up to it. To open the door requires a key, which every chanter carries on them.