Portal:Discworld/Book of the day/30
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The story is the first since Carpe Jugulum to feature the Nac Mac Feegle, or Pictsies, six inch tall blue-painted red-haired fairies, who, according to their own history, rebelled against the wicked rule of the (or possibly "a") Queen of the Fairies, and were therefore exiled from Fairyland. According to everyone else (including the Nac Mac Feegle themselves if they forget this story) they were kicked out for causing fights and being drunk at two in the afternoon. They speak what can only be described as some sort of variation on the Scots language, usually Glaswegian (examples include "Waily, waily, waily!", "Crivens!", and "They can tak' oour lives but they cannae tak' oour troousers!"), and have an innate fear of writing and lawyers - in the presence of whom their swords glow blue. They are warriors, hunters, and foragers; Nac Mac Feegle foraging consists of taking anything that isn't nailed down (if it is nailed down, they will take the nails as well), up to and including quite large cows if enough foragers can be gathered to do the lifting (given their strength, one for each hoof). If one were to see a sheep rise off the ground six inches and move backward rapidly, four Feegles are sure to be responsible. Among the warriors of each clan is a gonnagle, or war-poet, whose job is to create terrible poetry as a form of offensive weapon. A well-trained gonnagle can even make the enemy's ears explode and is equipped with "mousepipes" (bagpipes made from mouseskin, often with the ears still attached).
| Preceded by None |
1st Tiffany Aching Story Published in 2003 |
Succeeded by A Hat Full of Sky |
| Discworld reading order | Full article |
