THE KELPIE'S PEARLS

Morag MacLeod lived near Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, and this is the story of how she came to be called a witch. Small wonder, too, what with her carrying on with a kelpie--the creature who lives in the bottom of a pool. and roams about in the shape of a big black horse. Morag's only other friend was Torquil MacVinish, a boy who could charm wild animals into complaisance. Rumors of witchery started when an intruder saw the string of pearls the kelpie had given Morag, and it didn't help that she was always surrounded by Torquil's animals. Eventually Morag couldn't put up with all the curiosity-seekers who camped on her hill, so she worked just a tiny spell from her grandmother's book. (Well, her grandmother was a white witch.) When the villagers found out, that was the end of course, so Morag had to accept the kelpie's offer to take her away to the land of eternal youth. This is a quiet story with a clever tie-in with the appearance of the Loch Ness Monster. (The scientists don't see the monster, but Morag does.) The narrative is smooth, the Scottish setting is evocative, and the fantasy invites belief.