Hundreds of years ago in the hillfoots town of Alva, it is said that the Fairy King kidnapped the local Bakers wife. He then took her to his village in the Fairy Glen and kept her captive.
The wee folks treated her well and made sure she was comfortable. Sometime later her enchantment was broken when her husband the baker without realising stood on one leg. Now unknown to him this simple pose broke the Fairy King's spell and allowed his wife her freedom and to return to her husband.
Just a very few short miles away in Menstrie, the Miller's beautiful wife disappeared. Unknown to the Miller or his wife the wee folks had taken a shine to her and stole her away to Fairy Land against her will.
The poor Miller was beside himself with the loss of his much-loved wife, made much worse by being able to hear her chanting of their home village each morning.
“O' the Alva woods are bonnie
Tillicoutry hills are fair
But when I think on the Braes of Menstrie
it makes my heart aye sair”
Despite hearing his wife singing each morning he could never see his much longed after wife.
Time passed slowly and the Miller missed his wife so terribly but began to think he may never see her again.
One day as he was brushing the Mill floor without knowing he stood on one foot. Suddenly his beautiful wife appeared there beside him. The Miller and his wife were overjoyed to finally be reunited. Unknown to them by standing on one foot the Miller had broken the Fairies enchantment and released his wife.
Fortunately for them the Fairies never came near again.
Now the afore mentioned Miller had a brother called Davie who lived just a few miles away at the top of the hill in Tullibody. Now Davie had a bit of a liking for a dram some would say too much of a liking. His drunken behaviour brought unhappiness into his marriage and his wife regularly nagged at him to stop the drinking, but her pleads fell on ears that were deaf.
On realising that no matter what she said and did Davie wouldn't give up the drams which meant they would never be happy together, she wished under her breath that the Fairies would steal her away. Within a second to her surprise a group of wee folks appeared and stole her away. They flew her up the chimney singing a merry wee tune:
“Deedle linkum dodie
We're aff wi' drunken Davie's wife
The saut man o' Tullibody”
Off they flew carrying her along to Cauldhame, the home of the Fairy Palace.