The Cowbell of the Skogsrå
A cowbell heard in the forest in Swedish belief, and a mark of the skogsrå, the forest spirit who leads cattle astray. She is said to ring her bell or to ride a cow, and the tinkle of a bell where no cow is to be seen warns the woodsman or the herder of her presence. The cowbell ties the skogsrå to her trade of seducing cattle into the forest, where she keeps them in her care and returns them only on her own terms; a herd that wandered off was said to be 'with the skogsrå'. Her bell is a sound of both warning and temptation, for she appears as a beautiful woman from behind and a hollow or tail