“Officially to prevent overfishing on the Undine, but really because we’ve got friends in the Department who are giving us time to get the undines out,” Diana added.

“But we have to act fast,” Soheila said, leading the way down the steep, rocky path to the junction pool. “The underground passage to Faerie is on the far side of the pool, but the undines get confused because of the different currents. They could head down into the lower branch of the river if we don’t help direct them.”

At the bottom of the falls there was a metal sign erected by the Fairwick Fly Fishing Club. It seemed out of place here on the edge of Faerie … until I read it.

Sul’s Eddy is one of the most famous pools in angling lore. Formed by the waters of the Undine and the Beaverkill, it is a pool with strange and mystifying currents and eddies. Legend says that the confusing flows cause migrating trout to linger for days trying to decide which stream to enter. This indecisiveness causes delay, which, in itself, is the reason many of the largest trout in the Undine are taken from this pool.

“The same thing happens to the undines,” Soheila said. “Look, you can see them swimming in circles. They’re confused by the currents.”

I looked into the pool. At first I saw nothing but clear water, then I noticed circular ripples spreading out from the center of the pool.

“This is bad,” Liz said. “When a few start swimming in circles they create a whirlpool that sucks all of them into it. It’s a sort of mass hysteria.”

“How do we get them to stop?” I asked, the spinning circles making me dizzy.

“The way you get all teenage girls’ attention,” Diana said, pulling a swath of gaily-colored material out of her rucksack. “By distracting them with something bright and shiny.”

The objects in each rucksack were kites – fancy, elaborate kites purchased at The Enchanted Forest Toy Store in town. Diana had bought different shapes for each of them, but none for me.

“We’ll use the kites to lure them to the far side of the pool,” Liz explained to me as she took her kite out of its package. “You wait on the far side and concentrate on opening the passage.”

I wasn’t sure how that would work, but I went obediently to the far side of the pool, sat on a rock overhanging the water, and watched the women launch their kites. Liz sent hers into the air with an impressive cast that landed the kite well into the middle of the pool. It lay on the water for a moment, and then sank. Liz gave the line a gentle tug and the cloth swelled beneath the clear water and took the shape of a curvaceous mermaid with long red hair and a sea-shell brassiere, clearly modeled on Disney’s Little Mermaid. At another tug from Liz, the mermaid wiggled her hips and shimmied through the water. Within seconds several of the undines were following the mermaid through the water, their mossy green eyes as wide with wonder as any nine-year-old at Disney World.