In the first, a young MacCrimmon was sent to learn the pipes, wanted to compete at a wedding, and was refused leave by his master. He set off alone across the hills and found a fairy dwelling with only an old woman inside. She said she knew his errand and, on his promising to go halves with her in loss and gain, gave him a black chanter that would let him excel every other piper.
She said her people were about to move but that if he came on a certain night they would have time to teach him. That one night's instruction and the magic chanter, which stayed in the family as an heirloom, were said to explain the MacCrimmons' superiority.
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