Northern European Mythology
The Fairies: The Muryan's Bank
THE MURYANS' BANK [a]
The ant is called by the peasantry a Muryan. Believing that they are the Small People in their state of decay from off the earth, it is deemed most unlucky to destroy a colony of ants. If you place a oiece of tin in a bank of Muryans at a certain age of the moon, it will be turned into silver.
[a] Murrian, Welsh, "Crig-murrian," the hill of ants.