WO N D E R TA L E S

FROM S C O T T IS H
M Y TH 9 L E G E N D

BY

DO N A L D A . MAC K E NZ I E
A u flz a r
In dia n My tlz a nd L egen d
Egyp tz a n My th a nd Legen d

M yt/z s of B a bylo n ia a nd A yria
ss

W t/ z Illmtm tio m !} 7
: 0 5 71 Dunca n,

J
J

B LA C K IE A ND S O N L IMITE D
50 O LD B A I LE Y LO N D O N

G LA S G O W A ND B OMB AY
 Co n t e n ts

C HA R Pa ge

I N T ROD U C T I ON
B E I RA ! EEN
, OF W I N T ER
U 22

I I T H E C O I N G OF A N G S
. M B R I DE U A ND

I II C O TS T H T N E ER
. MB A A V E ND

V I T H E R I N E SS
. P ND NDER W E S
C 0 F LA -U - AV

V NI. LE M B L E M
MB E N, REEN D I E S
U E N, A ND G LA

VI C ON LL
. A T H E T H NDER H
A ND U AG

S T OR OF FI N L
V II . Y T H E G I N TS
AY A N D A

VIII H EROE S ON T H E G REEN IS L E

. I IZ

A V I S I ON OF T H E D E D A 1 22

T H E S T OR M H L S O TTY OF IC AE
3 3
C S
)
1 26

! II N T H E I N G DOM S E L S
. K OF

A 1 38

S T OR OF T H R Y ER
J J

! II . Y H O MA S J T K H M I 47

!III T H E M I D T I E W E
. A O F- I - AV .
3
'
3
3 )
I6 1

! IV . I L E S FRO E i
E! M FI IR Y A NI)

I70

V! FR I END S
. F OE S OF M
AND AN I 80

!V T H E ND OF GREEN MO N T I N S
I
. LA U A I9S
 Illu s tra t io n s

Pa g e
T H E C O I N G OF B R I DE
M F ro n ti sp i ece

B EI
RA 2;

THE C UP OF H E L I N G
A 72

S E L FO L L I ST EN I N G T O MER I D S S ON G
A - K A MA

I 3S

JE SS I E M
AC RAE AN D THE GI I E D
LL HU
WO N DE R TA LE S FR OM
S C O TTIS H MYTH S

In tro du ctio n
The m yths and legends of S cotland a r e full
o f what is called

local colou r They affo r d us

.

not only g l impses of anc i ent times and of old

habits of thought and life but also o f the country
,

itself at d i fferent ti mes of the year I n the winte r

.

season the g reat mountain ranges a r e white with

snow and many inland lochs a r e frozen ove r b ut ,

along th e west coast wh i ch is washed by the

,

warm surface waters of th e Atlantic and bathed

in m ild moist breez es from the south west the r e -
,

may b e found sheltered and sunny spots whe r e

wild owers continue to bloom T he old peopl e
.

bel ieved that somewhere in the west th e spi r it o f

Spring had its h id i ng place and they imagined
-
,

th is h iding place to be a green oating island on

-

which the sun always shone and owe r s we r e

9
10 Ta les fro m Sco tt i sh My t h s
always bloomin g D uring the reign of B ei r a
.

,

Q ueen of Winter the spirit of Sp r ing they

, ,

thought w a s always try i ng to vis i t S cotland

, ,

and they imagined that B ei r a r aised the storms

of J anua r y and Feb r uary to p r olong her re i gn by
keepin g the grass fr om grow i ng B e i ra was re .

garded as a hard and cruel old woman and the ,

sto r y of he r explo i ts is the story o f the weathe r

conditions in W inter and early spr i ng She rouses .

the dange r ous wh i rlpool of C o rryv re cka n she ,

brings the sno w she unlooses the torrents that

,

cause r ivers to overow Accord i ng to fol k b e .

l ief it w a s she wh o for m ed the lochs and the

,

mountains I n the days when the people had no

.

calendar the various periods of good and bad

,

weather were named afte r the battles of B e i ra and

the victor i es of the spirits of sunshine and growth .

Gael ic speaking people st i l l r efer to certa i n gales

-

in Fe b ruary and M arch by the i r ancient names

the W h i stl i ng wind the sweeper and so on

, ,

as set forth i n the second chapter O n the no r th .

east coast even those sher folks who are not ,

Gaelic speake r s still tell that th e erce south

,

westerly gales of early spring are caused by the

storm w i fe whom they call Gentle Annie
-
Th i s
.

Annie may be the same old deity as B lack Annis

o f Le i cestersh i re and Anu of I reland whose name ,

l in g e rs in the place name the Paps of Anu a ,

,

Pro n o u n ce d B '
e e ra .
 I nt ro d uc t i o n I I

mountain group in County K erry I n S cotland .

the story of the winter goddess B e ira has a , ,

strictly local sett i ng She i s i n consequence a .

, ,

local deity B r i de the lady of summer g r owth

.
, ,

is still rem embered also and the r e a r e b eaut i ful ,

Gaelic songs about he r .

O ther stories have l i kewise a local cha r acte r .

Those who know the west coast will be famil ia r

w i th the glorious transparency of the h i ll su r -

rounded lochs in cal m weathe r When the ol d .

people s a w the waters reecting the mountains

and forests the bare cl i ffs and the b r ight gi r ths
,

of green verdure they i magined a Land unde r ,

-

Waves about which they of course made , ,

stories The N orthern Lights (aurora b o r e a l is )

.

,

wh i ch are a feature of no r thern winters also st i rred ,

their i maginat i ons They called these v i v i d and

.

beautiful streamers N i mbl e M en and M er r y

Dancers and bel i eved they sometimes danced

,

and somet i mes waged w a r I n the r ed spotted .

-

g reen stones called blood stones they saw the

blood drops of the wounded When the streamers

-
.

are part i cularly bright a red cloud often appears

below them ; this the old peopl e called the pool

of fa i ry blood
.

I n l i ke manner they accounted fo r the restless

ness of the waters of a strait between the island
of Lewis and the S hant islands by imagin i ng
that B lue M en we r e al ways swimmin g up and
12 Tale s from Sco tt is h My ths
down this haunt of thei rs trying to sin k b oats and ,

ships A S the Gael i c people have eve r b een

.

g reat lovers of poet ry they made the Blue M en ,

poets and told that they spared those seafarers

,

w h o were able to complete the half verses they

shouted to them by way of chall enge fo r trial of
, ,

S kill The B lue M en a r e pecul iar to S cot

.

land and espec i ally to the north western a r ea

,
-
.

I n other stories we nd femal e wate r S p i rits

w h o wait at fords threaten ing travelle r s with ,

disaste r They also could be thwarted by those

.

wh o had the necessa r y knowledge wh ich made it

possible for them to secu r e p r otection .

Al most all the rivers of S cotland were abodes

of goddesses bu t about many of them there a r e
,

no su r viving sto r ies The character of a goddess .

w a s suggested b y that of a river The goddess .

of the river Forth for i nstance w a s th e deaf , ,

o r soundless one because th e Forth is a com

,

a ra tiv e ly S i lent river ; the goddess of the Clyde

p ,

on the othe r hand was the pur i fying one b e,

,

cause the old people knew i t as a river wh i ch

scoured th e count r y i t passed th rough and ,

carried much mud and cla y seawa r d when in

}
ood
Many old stories have been lost ,of cou r se and ,

thos e wh i ch rema i n are mere fragments of an

ancient mythology I n different parts o f S cot .

1
Pro fe s s o r W J Wa
. . t so n s

Rb in d l t
e c u res , 1 9 1 6.
 I n t ro d uc ti o n 1 3

land the r e a r e variations of legends b ecause the

,

local cond i t i ons are of varying characte r .

Readers may ask how the stor i es of ancient

beliefs happen to be preserved in Christ i an t i mes .

One reason is because they are connected with

place names ; another because certain of them
we r e recorded centur i es ago by ea r ly write r s .

One of the ea r ly S cott i sh collectors of old legends

and poems was S ir J ames Ma cG re go r D ean of ,

L i s m ore w h o l ived i n the sixteenth century H is

,
.

manuscr i pt volum e is still in existence and the ,

m ost of it can be r ead w i thout d i f culty I t is .

called The D ean of L i smore s B ook

.

The g reater number of collected le g ends how ,

ever have b een taken down from r ecite r s in

,

r ecent times I n the days when the r e were no

.

b oo k s poets and story tellers committed thei r

,
-

compositions to memo r y These they repeated

.

to thei r S tudents who in turn r epeated the m to

,

othe r s. I n th i s way poems and sto r ies we r e

handed down fr om g eneration to g eneration .

E ven i n our own day it is possibl e to nd not

a few Gaeli c speak i ng men and women wh o can
-

r epeat compositions many thousands o f wo r ds in

length which they have lea r ned by r ote The .

wr i ter knew an old woman whose stories would

have lled a volum e qu ite as large as th i s one .

S ome of the poems collected by the D ean of

Lis m o r e in the sixteenth centu r y we r e s till re
14 Ta le s from Sco t t i sh My th s
pea te d a b out a gene r ation a g o al most word, fo r
wo r d b y old r ecite r s i n th e H i ghlands certa i n o f
, ,

who m could ne i the r read nor wr i te .

M en and women able to r epeat popula r poems

and stories have always b een greatly thought of
in the Gael ic speaking parts of S cotland
-
On .

long dark winte r n i ghts it is still the custo m i n

,

s mall villages fo r friends to collect in a house

and hold what they call a ce i l idh (p r onounced

kay lee ) Youn g and old are entertained by the

.

r eciters o f old poems and le g endary stor i es which

deal w i th ancient bel i efs the do i ngs of traditional
,

he r oes and he r oines and s o on S ome s i ng old

, .

and new songs s e t to old music o r new music

composed in the manner of the old I n this way .

some of the ancient poems stories and music o f , ,

the ea r ly inhabitants of S cotland have b een p r e

se r ved till our own t i mes .

The wonder tales of S cotland do not affo r d a

ve r y clear i nd i cation of the attitude o f worsh i ppe r s
towards their deit i es S o fa r as can b e gathered
.
,

they loved and admir e d some de i t i es especially ,

those that brou g ht the m g ood luck and plenty ,

and they hated and feared those de i t i es wh o were

supposed to cause sufferin g and disaster At the .

same t i me they bel i eved that there were m yste r ious

Powers or a Power g r eate r than the gods and
, ,

goddesses .

B ei r a the winte r queen m i ght r aise sto r m s and

, ,
 I n t ro d uc ti o n I5

br in g snow and fr ost b ut when the sp r in g season

,

came on S he could not p r event the g r ass gr owin g

o r the trees budding The Powers which caused
.

the seasons to change were neve r named ; they

were not even given human att r i b utes When we .

S tudy the customs and search th r ou g h the sto r ies

fo r t races of r el ig ious bel i efs and practices we nd ,

that there we r e many ceremon ies some o f which ,

still su r vive The old people appea r to have

.

been g r eatly concerned about the ea r th the wate r ,

supply and the weathe r When th ey too k oaths

, .

they swore b y the ea r th I n one old story fo r .

,

instance a he r o is insulted and badly treated b y

,

his enemies H e complains to h i s companions

. .

When th is sto r y ru ns he rehea rsed to them

, ,

the tale of h i s wande r ings and told of the insul ts ,

and of the b ad treatment he had r eceived and ,

the ha r dships he had endu r ed s ince they had

s eparated Mey lif te d a li ttle p iece of ea r l/z a nd we !
, }

s /z o u te a
. Ve ezg ea m e

That is they swo r e b y

what w a s hol iest to them I n various pa r ts o f .

S cotland the r e are ea r th mounds wh ich used to

b e sacred to the old people They h eld r egula r .

assembl i es upon them at wh i ch new laws we r e ,

made and law b reakers were j udged Rel igious

-
.

ceremonies we r e also performed When Chr i s .

t ia n ity was introduced the sacred mounds and the

,

lands surrounding them we r e in many cases tak en , ,

ove r as chu r ch lands - The Gaelic na m e fo r

.
16 Ta le s fro m Sco t ti sh My th s

chu r ch lands is de r ived fr om the name of an

-

ea r th g oddess and r endered i n E nglish as

,

Na v ity o r

Na v ie N o doubt B eira w h o

.
,

wa s a goddess o f the m ountains lochs and r ive r s , , ,

as well as of the weathe r had some connection ,

with th e ea r th spir i t She kept herds of wild .

an imals l ike th e Greek A r temis A t the same

, .

ti m e she found the Powe rs which caused the

,

g rass to gr ow we r e opposed to her when sp r ing

,

ca m e on T he pe r iod o f he r r eign wa s l i m i ted

.

to winte r and du r ing winte r the

, Powe r s

favou r ed he r .

The ea r th Powe r o r Powe r s m ay also have, ,

had cont r ol ove r the fai r ies who were usuall y clad
in gr een which wa s a supe r natural colou r I t is
, .

still reg a r ded unlucky for lad i es to wea r gr een

d r esses An old S cottish saying is :
.

A G h m i n g een
ra a r

S h ld n ve b e s en
ou e r e .

I n W ales one o f the na m es o f the fai r ies is

Y Mamau which means , The M othe r s It

m ay be th e fai r ies rep r esent the ancient g r oup of

E a r th M othe r s wh o caused th e grass to g r ow

,

th e co r n seeds to S prout in the ea r th the trees to ,

b ud blossom and bea r fruit The fairies are

, , .

always r ep r esented as busy wo r ke r s ; th ey teach

human b ein g s how to compose music and m ake
m usical inst r uments how to make implements ,

( 0 871 )
 I n t ro d uc ti o n I7

and weapons and so on ; and they sometimes

,

assist them to sp i n and weave to s o w seeds to , ,

plough and to reap The peopl e made food offer .

ings to the fa i ries who were very fond of meal, .

M others used to put meal i n ch i ldren s pockets

to protect them aga i nst the fa i ries .

C e r tain an i mals we r e connected w i th the earth

spirit o r spi r its One was th e boar and there are
.
,

r eferences i n Gael i c stor i es to a g reen boar

and a erce black boa r

I n the northern
.

and southe r n H ig hlands the r e l ong ex i sted a

prej ud i ce aga i nst pork because pi g s were i t , ,

seems sacred an i mals The devil i s somet i mes

, .

called the B lack Pig b ecause the ea r ly Chr i s

,

t i ans r e g a r ded the Pa g an gods as demons A n .

othe r sac r ed an i mal w a s the serpent All w i nte r .

long it slept secu r e from storms and cold When .

,

however B e i ra the winter goddess w a s over

, , ,

thrown and B r i de the goddess of g rowth b egan

, , ,

her rei g n the serpent came forth from i ts winte r

,

abode . The people then chanted a hymn o f ,

which the follow i ng is a ve r se

To d a y-
i s the D y f B i de
a o r ,

T he se pent s h ll m e f m h i h l e
r a co ro s o ,

I w i ll t m lest the se pent no o r ,

And t h e s pent wi ll t m l e t m er no o s e .

The serpent was so m etimes called Daughte r

of I vo r and Ma c Iv o rs were supposed to be safe

,

fr o m attack by he r and all othe r se rpents She .

( 0 8 71 ) 2
18 Ta le s fro m Sc o tti sh My th s
wa s also r efe r red to as nobl e queen I t is

possibl e S he wa s a form of the E arth sp i r i t i n

spring time
-
A nother verse of a B r i de s Day
.

hy m n is :
Th e se p n t w i ll m e f m t h e h l e
r e co ro o

O n the b wn d y f B i d e
ro a o r ,

Th g h the e sh ld b e th ee feet f sn w
ou r ou r o o

O n h s f e f the g nd
t e at ur a c o ro u .
1

A white serpent was supposed to to g ive s k ill

phys i c i ans A part of the body was cooked and
.
,

he wh o rst tasted the j uice of the serpent o b

ta in e d power to cure d i seases Th i s bel i ef w i ll .

be found in the story about M ichael S cott .

The sal mon w a s a sacred sh and he who ,

l ikewise r st tasted the j u i ce of a certa i n sal mon

obta i ned the power to foretell events When .

the r st sal mon grils e of the season is caught ,

sal mon she rs on the east coast make mer r y and

celebrate the event as probably d i d the i r pagan
,

ancestors in ancient t i mes O n several of the .

old standin g stones of S cotland there are drawings

of sal mon S e rpents a r e also dep i cted .

H ow d i d the ol d people worsh i p the earth and

oth e r spirits ? The answer is that they made offer
ings to them and performed ceremonies to secure
,

luck and protect themselves against attack I n .

stead o f praye r s they used mag i cal verses V a r i ous .

charms were repeated to cure d i seases and ward

1
Dr A C a rm
. . ih
c ae l
s Ca rm i n a Ga deli ea , Vo l . I , p . 1 69 .
 I n t ro d uc t i o n 19

o ff t r ouble . H ere
is an ext ract fr o m a cha r m
ag ainst the
evil eye
T h e ey e th t wen t v a o e r,

And m e b k
ca ac ,

T h t e hed the b ne
a r ac o ,

And e hed the m w

r ac a rro ,

I w i ll l i ft f m ff thee
ro o

And the K i n g f the E le m en ts w i l l

o a id me .

The pe r son who r epeated the cha r m b el ieved

that the i nj ur i ous i nuence of the ev i l eye

would be l i fted o ff w i th the aid of the K i ng

of the E lements We do not have any sto r ies

about th i s god H e i s often referred to and is
.
,

one of the vagu e Powers w i thout a personal name .

O n B ride s Day the rst day of the Gael ic

,

Spring offer i ngs were m ade to earth and s e a

, .

M i lk was poured on th e ground and the she r ,

people made porridge and th r ew it into the s e a

s o that the s e a m i ght yield what was sought fr om

it

lots of sh and also seaweed fo r fert i l izin g
,

th e soil I n some parts of the H ebr i des th e sea

.

de i ty to whom the food offerings were made was

called S h o n y

.

I t w i ll thus be seen that the old sto r ies a r e not

only i nterest i ng as stor i es but a r e wo r thy of ,

study as help i ng u s to know something a b out the

bel i efs of the peopl e of olden time .

Certa i n stor i es appear to be ve ry ancient I t .

is possi b le that one or two have come down from

20 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
the Late S tone A ge which in these islands , , ,

closed p r obably about 30 0 0 years ago There .

a r e hints of very ancient beliefs fo r i nstance i n , ,

the story about F i nlay and the G i ants

The
.

hero obtains a magic wand which transforms stone

p i lla r s into hu man be i n g s I t was believed by .

the old peopl e that the sp i rit o f the dead entered

the stone erected over a grave Another story .

of special interest is the one about H eroes on

the Green I sl e A pri ncess is conned i n a

.

tower wait i ng for a hero to win h er as h i s bride

,

b y taking her down A simila r story i s found in

.

an ancient E gyptian papyrus I t may be that .

the S cottish and E gyptian ve r sions of th i s legend

came fr om the same sou r ce in r emote t i mes A .

S trin g of Egyptian beads has been found i n a

g rave n ear S tonehenge I t came from E g ypt .

about 30 0 0 yea r s ago along the old trade routes

, .

I f fa r travelled wanderers or traders brought

-
, ,

beads they may also have b r ought some stories

, .

The ancient E gyptians had l i ke th e ancient folk ,

of S cotland a wonder tal e about a oat i n g island

,

which vanished beneath the waves .

Anothe r i nterestin g S cottish sto r y is The

Vision of the D ead The woman who acts as
a nu rse to a fairy child sees the spirits of the dead
cuttin g co r n I n E gypt it was b elieved that the
.

dead were thus employed in the Parad i se of

Osiris wh o was amon g other things a corn god
, , , .
 I nt rod uc t i o n 2:

The g ods and goddesses o f S cotland we r e

never dep i cted by sculptors l ike the gods and
goddesses of ancien t G reece They are not
.

the r efo r e so well known They would have been

.

enti r ely forg otten long ag o had not th e old bards

sung songs about them and the old sto ry tellers
,
-

composed wonder tales such as are r etold i n

,

th i s volume from fragme n ts that survive .

Of special interest at the p r esent time a r e the

r efe rences in some stories to red moss ; that i s

,

the red S phagnum which w a s used to dress

wounds . Apparently th e ancient people knew

fr om exper i ence that it had cleansin g and heal ing
prope r t i es and esteemed the red as superior to
,

green S phag num They also used tar wate r fo r

.

s k i n troubles and to cure diseases they used ce r

,

ta i n herbs from wh ich so m e m ode r n da y m edicines

-

a r e manu factu r ed .
 C H A PT E R I

B e i ra ! u een o f W i nte r
,

Da rk B eira was the m other of all th e gods

a n d g oddesses i n S cotland S he was of great
.

hei g ht and very old and everyone feared her

,
.

W hen roused to anger S h e was as erce as the

b iting north wind and harsh as the tempest
s tricken s e a . E ach winter s h e re i gned as Q ueen
o f the Four Red D ivis i ons of the world and
,

none d i sputed her sway B ut when the sweet

.

spring season drew nigh her subj ects began to

,

r ebel aga i nst her and to long for the com i ng of

th e S ummer K i ng Angus of the Wh i te S teed
, ,

and B ride his beaut i ful queen who were loved

, ,

by all fo r they were the bringers o f plenty and

,

o f b righ t and happy days I t enraged B e i ra

.

greatly to nd her power pass i ng away and she ,

tried her utmost to prolong the w i nter season

by rais i n g spr i ng storms a n d send i ng bl i ghting
frost to kill early owers and keep the grass from
growing .

Be i ra l ived for hundreds and hundreds of years .

The r eason she did not d i e of old age was because ,

22
 B e i ra ! u een o f W i nte r
, 3 2

at the beginn ing of every spr i ng h drank the

, s e

mag i c wate r s of the Well of Youth wh ich bubbles

up i n the G reen I sland of the West Th i s was a .

oat i ng i sland where summer was the only season ,

and the trees were always br i ght w i th blossom and

laden with fruit I t drifted about on the s i lve r
.

t i des of the blue Atlantic and somet i mes appeared

,

off the western coasts of I reland and som etimes

close to the H ebr i des Many bold ma r iners have
.

steered their galleys up and down the ocean ,

search i ng fo r Green I sland in va i n On a cal m .

morn i ng they mi ght sa i l past its shores and yet

neve r know i t w a s near at hand for oft t i mes
,
-

i t lay h i dden i n a tw i nkl ing m i st M en have.

caught gl i mpses of i t from the shore but wh i le ,

they gazed on i ts beaut i es with eyes of wonder ,

i t van i shed suddenly from s i ght by sinking beneath

th e waves l i ke the sett i ng s u n B eira however
.
, ,

al ways knew where to nd Green I sland when the

time came for her to vis i t it .

The waters of the Well of Youth are most

potent when th e days begin to grow longer and ,

most potent of all on th e rst of the lengthen i ng

days of spring B eira always vis i ted the island
.

on the night before the rst lengthen ing day

that is on the last n ight of her r e i gn as Q ueen o f
,

W i nte r All alone i n the darkness she sat b es i de

.

the Well of Youth waiting for the dawn When

, .

the rst faint beam of li g ht appea r ed i n th e

24 T ales from Sco tt i sh My th s
eastern sky s h e drank the wate r as it b ubbled
,

fresh from a crev i ce i n the rock I t was n e ce s .

sary that s h e should dr i nk of this magic wate r

before any bird visited the well and before any
dog barked I f a bird drank rst o r a dog b arked
.
,

ere s h e began to drink dark old B eira would ,

c r umble into dust .

A S soon as B ei r a tasted the magic wate r In ,

s i lence and alone s h e began to grow young again

,
.

S he left the island and r etu r n ing to S cotland fell

, ,

into a magic S leep When at length she awoke.

, , ,

i n bright sunsh i ne she r ose up as a beautiful g i rl

,

with long ha i r yellow as buds of broom cheeks ,

r ed as rowan berr i es and blue eyes that sparkled

,

l ike the summe r s e a in sunsh i ne Then s h e went .

to and fro th rough S cotland clad in a robe of ,

green and crowned with a chaplet of bright owers

of many hues N o fa i rer goddess was to be found
.

In all the land sa ve B ride the pee r less Q ueen of

, ,

S ummer .

As each month wen t past however B eira aged , ,

qu i ckly She reached full womanhood i n m i d

.

summer and when autumn came on her brows

,

wr i nkled and her beauty began to fade When .

the season of w i nter returned once again she ,

became an old and withered h ag and be g an to ,

r eign as the erce Q ueen B eira .

Often on stormy nights in early winter she

wandered a b out s i nging this sorrowful song :
,
C 871

BE I R A

Fr o m a d z a w m g by Ja l m D u n ca n
,
 B ei ra ! ue e n o f W i nte r ,
25

0 l i fe th t e bb s l ik e the
a ! s ea

I m we y
a d ld I m we y
ar d ld
an o ,
a ar an o

O h ! h w I h ppy b e
o ca n a

All l ne i n the d k d the ld

a o ar an co .

I m the ld B e i g in

o ra a a ,

My m ntle l n g e i s g een
a no o r r ,

I th i n k f m y b e t y w i th p i n
o au a

A d the d y s when n the w

n a q ee a o r as u n .

My m s w i the ed d th i n
ar a re r an ,

My h i n e g l d en i s g ey ;
a r o c o r

T i s w i nte

m y e ig n d th b e gi n
r
r o

Y th s s mm e h f d e d w y
ou

u r as a a a .

Y th s s mm e
ou

ud t m n h ve d r an au u a e

I m we y
a d ld I m we y
ar d ld
an o , a ar an o .

E ve y we m st f d e
r o d f ll d e d
r u a an a a

When the w i nds b l w l d when the wi nds bl w o co , o co ld .

The aged B eira was fearsome to look upon .

She had only one eye but the s i ght of it wa s keen ,

and sharp as i ce and as swift as the macke r el o f

the ocean H er complex i on was a dull da rk b lue
.
, ,

and th i s is how S he sang about it :

Wh y i s m y f e d k d k ? ac so ar , so ar

S d k h ! d k hee !
o ar , o o so ar , o

O i n ll wea the s I w nde l ne

ut a r a r a o

I the m i e i n the nld h m e ! r , co , a

H er teeth were red rust and he r locks

which as , ,

lay heav i ly on her S houlders were white as an ,

aspen covered with hoar frost O n her h ead she .

wo r e a spotted mutch All her cloth ing was gr e y

1
.
,

1 Th e o ld S co tti h s na m e fo r a wm o

a n s ca
p .
26 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My th s
and s h e w a s neve r seen without her great dun
coloured shawl wh i ch was drawn closely r ound
,

her shoulde rs .

I t i s tol d that in the days when the wo rld was

young Beira s a w land where there is now water
and water where the r e i s now land .

O nce a wizard spoke to her and said : T ell

m e you r age 0 sharp old woman

, .

B ei r a answe r ed : I have long ceased to count

th e years B ut I shall tell you what I have seen

. .

Yonder i s the seal haunted rock of S k e rryv o re in

-

the midst of the sea I remember when i t was a

.

mountain surrounded by elds I saw the elds .

ploughed and the barley that grew upon them

,

w a s sha r p and j uicy Yonder i s a loch I re

. .

member when it w a s a small round well In .

these days I was a fa i r young g i rl and now I am ,

very old and fra i l and dark and miserable .

I t is told also that B eira l et loose many rivers

and formed m any lochs sometimes w i ll i ngly and ,

sometimes against he r will and that s h e also ,

shaped many bens and glens All the h i lls i n.

Ross S h i re are sa i d to have been made by B e i ra

-
.

There was once a wel l on B en C ruachan i n ,

A rgyll from wh i ch B e i ra drew water da i ly E ach

,
.

morn i ng at sunr i se S he l i fted o ff th e slab that

i

covered i t and each even i ng at sunset s h e laid i t

,

above the well again I t happened that one

.

even i n g S he fo rg ot to cover the well Then the .

 B ei ra ! u een o f W i nte r
, 7 2

proper order of th i ngs was disturbed As soon .

as the sun went down the wate r rose i n great

volume and streamed down th e mountain s i de ,

roar i n g l ike a tempest swollen sea When day-

.

dawned B eira found that the valley beneath was

,

lled with wate r I t was in this w a y that Loch

.

Awe came to be .

B e i ra had anothe r well in I nve r ness S hi r e wh ich -

had to be kept covered i n like manner from sunset

t i ll sunrise O ne of her maids whose name was
.
,

N essa had charge of the well I t happened that

,
.

one even i ng the ma i d wa s late i n go i ng to the

well to cover it When she d r ew near s h e beheld
.

the water ow i ng s o fast fro m i t that s h e turned

away and ran for he r l i fe B ei ra watched he r
.

from the top of B en N ev i s which wa s her moun ,

ta i n throne a nd cr i ed :
,
Yo u h ave neglected

your duty N ow you will run for ever and neve r

.

leave water .

The ma i den was at once changed into a r ive r ,

and the loch and the river wh i ch runs from it

towards the s e a were named after he r That i s .

w h y the loch i s called Loch N ess and the r i ve r

the r i ver N ess .

Once a year when th e n i ght on wh i ch she was

,

transformed comes round N ess (N essa )ar i ses out,

of the r i ver in her girl form and s i ngs a sad sweet,

song i n the pale moonl i ght I t is sa i d that her .

voice is clearer and more beautiful than that o f

28 Ta le s from Sco t t is h My ths
any b i r d and her music more m elodious than the
,

golden harps and S i lvern pipes of fa i ryland .

In the days when rivers broke loose and lochs

were made B e i ra set he r self to build the moun
,

ta i ns o f S cotland. When at work s h e carr i ed

on her b ack a great creel lled with rocks and
ea r th S ometimes as s h e leapt from h i ll to h i ll
.

he r c r eel tilted sideways and rocks and earth fell

,

fr om it into lochs and formed islands M any .

islands a r e spoken of as sp i ll i ngs from the creel

of the big old woman .

B e i ra had e i ght hags who were her servants .

They also carried creels and one after the other

,

they empt i ed out thei r c reels until a mountain

was piled up n i gh to the clouds .

One of the reasons why B eira made the moun

tains was to use them as stepp i ng stones ; another
w a s to prov i de houses for h er g i ant sons Many .

of her sons were very quarrelsome ; they fought

cont i nually one aga i nst another To pun i sh those
.

of them who disobeyed her B eira S hut the o f

,

fende r s up i n mountain houses and from thes e ,

they could not escape w i thout her perm i ss i on .

B ut this d i d not keep them from ghting E ve r y .

morn i ng they cl i mbed to the tops of the i r mou ntai n

houses and threw great boulders a t one anothe r .

That is why so many b i g grey boulders now l i e

on steep S lope s and are scattered through th e
valleys Other g i ant sons of B eira dwel t i n deep
.
 B e i ra ! ue e n o f W i nt e r
,
29

caves . S ome were horned l i ke deer and

others ,

had m any heads S o strong were they that they .

coul d p i ck up cattl e and throw i ng them over ,

their shoulders carry them away to roast them ,

for the i r meals E ach g i ant s o n of B eira was .

called a F o o a r 1
.

I t was B e i ra who built B en Wyv is S he found .

it a hard task for S h e had to do all the work ,

alone her hag servants be i ng busy elsewhere

, .

One day when she had grown very weary S he

, ,

stumbled and upset her creel All the rocks and .

earth it conta i ned fell out i n a heap and formed ,

the mounta i n wh i ch is called L i ttl e Wyv is .

The only tool that B eira used was a magic

hammer When s h e struck it lightly on th e
.

ground the so i l became as hard as i ron ; when

S he struck i t heav i ly on the ground a valley was
formed After S he had bu i lt up a mountain s h e
.
,

gave i t its special form by spl i nter i ng the rocks

w i th her hammer If S he had m ade all the hills .

of th e same S hape s h e woul d not have b een able ,

to recognize one from anothe r .

After the mounta i ns were all formed B eira ,

took g r eat del i ght i n wande r ing between them

and ove r them She was always followed by w i ld .

an i mals The foxes barked with del i ght when

.

they beheld her wolves howl ed to greet her and , ,

1
Pro n o u n ce d Fo o

a r. l -
Iih
Th e A n g o r s re n e r n g is d i
Fm
o o r an i
but
Fm
,

th e Iih
rs o i
o r a ns a re d I e re n t fro m th e S co s
'

tti h .
30 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
eagl es shrieked wi th j oy in m id air B eira had -
.

great herds and ocks to wh i ch s h e gave her pro

t e ctio n nimble footed deer h i gh horned cattle
-
,
-
,

shaggy grey goats black sw i ne an d sheep that , ,

had snow wh i te eeces She charmed he r deer

-
.

aga i nst the huntsmen and wh en s h e vis i ted a deer ,

forest s h e helped them to escape from th e hunters .

D uri n g early w i nter S he m i lked the hinds on the

tops of mountains but when the winds rose so ,

h igh that th e froth was blown from the m ilking

pa i ls s h e drove the h i nds down to the valleys
, .

The froth was frozen on the crests of h i gh h i lls ,

and lay there snow white and beaut i ful When -

.

the w i nter torrents began to pou r down the

mounta i n sides leaping from ledge to ledge th e
, ,

peopl e sa i d : B e i ra is m i lk i ng her S haggy goats ,

and streams of m ilk are pour i ng down over high

r ocks .

B ei r a washed her great shawl i n the sea for ,

there was no lake b i g enough for th e purpose .

The part she chose fo r her wash i ng is the stra i t

between the western i slands of j ura and S ca rb a .

B e i ra s

wash i n g pot i s the wh i rlpool there

-

,

called Corry v re ck a n I t w a s s o named because

-
.

the s o n of a S cottish king named B re ck a n was , ,

drowned in i t h i s boat having bee n upset by th e

,

waves raised by B eira .

Three days before the Q ueen of Winter began

he r work he r hag servants made ready the water
 B e i ra ! u een o f W i nt e r
, 31

for her and the Corry could then be heard snort i ng

,

and fum i ng for twenty m i les around On the fourth .

day Beira threw her shawl i nto the wh i rlpool and ,

tramped i t w i th her feet unt i l the edge of the

Corry o v e r o w e d w i th foam When she had.

n i shed her washing s h e la i d her S hawl on the

mounta i ns to dry and as soon as s h e l ifted it up
, ,

all the mounta i ns of S cotland were wh ite w i th

snow to s i gn i fy that the great Q ueen had be g un
her re i gn .

N ow the meanin g of th i s story is that B eira is

,

the spirit o f w i nte r S he grows older and e rce r

.

as the weeks go past unt i l at length her strength

,

is spent Then S he renews h er youth s o that she

.
,

may live th rough the summer and autumn and

beg i n to re i gn once aga i n The ancient people
.

of S cotland saw that during early w i nter to r

re n ts poured down from the hills and in this ,

B e i ra fable they expressed the i r bel ief that the

torrents were let loose b y the W i nter Queen and ,

that th e lochs were at the begin ning formed by

, ,

the torrents that sprang from magic wells They .

saw great boulders lying on hillsides and in

valleys and accounted for thei r p r esence in these
,

places by tell i ng how they were un g fr o m moun

ta i n tops by the g i ant sons of B e i ra .

I n the next chapter the story w i ll be tol d of the

com i ng of Angus and B r i de the K ing and Q ueen
,

of Summe r and Plenty and of the s to r m y conicts

,
32 Ta l e s from Sco tt i sh My ths
waged during the closing weeks of winter and the
early weeks of spr i ng between B e i ra and Angus
the E ver Young who comes from the fabled
- -
,

G reen I sl e of the West the land o f eternal

summe r and perpetual youth .

 C H A PT E R I I

T he Com i n g o f A n g u s and B ri de
All the long w i nter B eira kept capt i ve a beaut i
ful young princess named B r i de She was j ealous .

of B r i de s bea u ty and gave he r ragged cloth i ng

to wear and put her to work among the servants

,

i n the kitchen of her mounta i n castle where the ,

g i rl had to perform the m eanest tasks B e i ra .

scolded her cont i nually nd i ng fault w i th every

,

th i ng S he d i d and B ride s l i fe was made very

,

wretched .

One day B eira gave the pr i ncess a br own eece

and sa i d : You must wash th i s eece i n the run

n i ng stream u nt i l it is pure wh i te .

B r i de took th e eece and went outs i de th e

castle and began to wash i t in a pool below a
,

waterfall All day lo n g S he laboured at the work

.
,

but to no purpose She found i t i mposs i bl e to

.

wash the brown colour out of th e wool .

When even i ng came on B e i ra scolded the g i rl

, ,

and sa i d : You are a useless hussy The eece

.

is as brown as when I gave i t to you .

Sa i d B r i de : All day long have I washed

( 0 87 1 ) 33 3
34 Ta l e s fro m Sco tt i sh My ths
it in the pool below the waterfall of the Red

Rock .

To mo r row you shall wash it a ga in B e ira

i

-
,

sa i d ; and i f you do not wash it wh i te you w i ll

,

go on w ash i ng on the next day and on every day ,

after that N ow begone ! and do as I b i d you

.
, .

I t was a sorrowful t i me for B r i de Day after .

day s h e washed the eece and i t seemed to h e r ,

that if s h e wen t on wash i ng until the worl d came

to an end the brown wool woul d n ever become
,

wh i te .

O ne morn i n g as s h e went on with her washing

a grey bearded old man came near
-
H e took .

pity on the princess w h o wept bitter tears over ,

her work and spoke to her say i ng : Who are

, ,

you and why do you sorrow ?
,

S a i d th e princess : M y name i s B ride I am

.

the capt i ve of Q ueen B e i ra and S he has ordered ,

m e to wash th i s brown eece until it i s white .

Alas ! i t cannot be don e .

I am sorry for you the old man said , .

Who a r e you and whence come you ? asked ,

B r i de .

M y name i s Father W i nter the old man ,

told he r G ive me the eece and I shall make

.

,

it wh i te for you .

B r i de gave Father Winter the brown eece ,

and when he had shaken i t three t i mes it turned

white as snow .
 Com i n g o f A n g us an d B ri de 35

The heart of B r i de was i mmed i ately lled with

j oy and s h e excla i med : D ear Father W i nter
,

,

you are very k i nd You have saved me much

.

labour and taken away my sorrow .

Father W i nter handed back th e eece to Pr i n

cess B r i de w i t h one hand and s h e took i t Then , .

he s a i d : Take also what I hold i n my other

hand .

As he spoke he gave her a bunch of pu r e
wh i te snowdrops The eyes of B r i de sparkled
.

with j oy to behold them .

S a i d Father W i nter : I f B eira scolds you g i ve

,

her these owers and i f s h e asks where you found

,

them tell her that they came from the green rust
,

l i ng r woods Tell her also that the cress i s

-
.

spr i ng i ng up on the banks of streams and that ,

the new grass has begun to sh oot up i n th e

elds .

H av i ng spoken thus Fathe r Winte r bade the

,

pr i ncess farewell and turned away .

B ride returned to the mounta i n castl e and laid

the wh i te eece at B e i ra s feet B ut the old queen

.

scarcely looked at i t H er gaze was xed on th e

.

snowdrops t h at B r i de ca r r i ed .

Where d i d you nd these owe r s ? B eira

asked w i th sudden anger .

Sa i d B r i de The snowdrops are now growing

in the green rustl i ng r woods the cress i s spr i ng

,

i ng up on the banks of streams and the new grass ,

is beginning to shoot up i n the elds

.
36 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths

E vil are the t i d i ngs you br i ng me ! B e i ra

cried . B egone from my S i ght !

B r i de turned away but not i n sorrow A new

,
.

j oy had entered her heart for she knew that the

,

w i ld w i nter season was go i ng past and that the ,

reign of Q ueen B e i ra would soon come to an end .

M eanwh i le B e i ra summoned her e i ght hag

servants and spoke to them say i n g : R i de to
, ,

the north and ride to the south r i de to the east ,

and r i de to the west and I w i ll ride forth also

, .

S m i te the world w i th frost and tempest s o that ,

no ower may bloom and no grass blade surv i ve .

I am wag i ng war aga i nst all growth .

When S he had spoken thus the e i ght hags ,

mou nted on the backs of shaggy goats and rode

forth to do her b i dd i ng B e i ra went forth also
.
,

grasp i ng i n her r i gh t hand her black mag i c

hammer On the n i ght of that very day a great
.

tempest lashed the ocean to fury and brought

terror to every corner of th e land .

N ow the reason why B e i ra kept B ride a pri

s o n e r was because h er fa i rest and dearest s o n ,

whose name was Angus the E ver Young had - - -

,

fallen in love w i th her H e was called the E ver

.

Young be cause age n ever came near h i m and

,

all w i nter long h e l i ved on the Green I sle of th e

West wh i ch i s also called the Land of Youth
,

Angus rst beheld B r i de i n a dream and when ,

he awoke he spoke to the K i n g o f the Green I sle ,

 Com i n g o f A n g us and B ri d e 37

saying : Last n i ght I dreamed a dream and s a w

a beaut i ful pr i ncess whom I love Tears fell from .

her eyes and I spoke to an old man who stood

,

near her and sa i d : Why does the ma i den weep ?

,

Sa i d the old man : She weeps because S he i s

kept capt i ve by B e i ra who treats her w i th great ,

cruelty I looked aga i n at the princess and sa i d :

.

Fa i n would I s e t her free Then I awoke .

.

Tell m e O k i ng who is this p r incess and where

, , ,

S hall I nd her ?

The K i ng of the Green I sl e answered A ngus ,

saying : The fa i r pr i ncess whom you s a w i s

B ride and i n the days wh en you w i ll be K i ng

,

of Summer she w i ll be your queen O f this .

your mother Q ueen B e i ra h a s full knowledge

, , ,

and i t i s her w i sh to keep you away from B r i de s o ,

that her own re i gn may be prolonged Tarry here .

,

0 Angus unt i l the owers beg i n to bloom and

,

the grass beg i ns to grow and then you shall set ,

free the beaut i ful Pr i ncess B r i de .

Sa i d Angus : Fa i n would I go forth at once to

search for her .

The wolf month (February) has now come
-
,

the king sa i d U ncerta i n is the temper of the

.

wolf .

Sa i d Angus : I S h all cast a spell on the sea

and a spell on the land and borrow for February ,

three days from August .

H e did as he sa i d h e would do H e borrowed .

38 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
three days from August and the ocean S lumbered ,

peacefully wh i le the su n shone br i ghtly over

mounta i n and glen Then Angus mounted h i s .

wh i te steed and rode eastward to S cotland over

the i sles and over the M i nch and he reached th e ,

Gramp i ans when dawn was break i ng H e w a s .

clad i n raiment o f sh i n i ng gold and from h i s ,

shoulders hung h i s royal robe of cr i mson wh i ch

the w i nd upl i fted and spread out i n gleam i ng
splendour athwart the sky .

An aged bard looked eastward and when he ,

beheld the fa i r Angus he l i fted up h i s harp and

sang a song of welcome and the b i rds of the ,

fo r est sang w i th h i m And th i s is how he sang : .

A n g s h th m e the y n g the f i
u a co
o u ,
a r,

T he bl e e y e d g d w i th g l d en h i
u -
o o a r

T he g d wh t the w l d d th b i n g
o o o o r o r

T h i s m n the p m i se f the s p i n g ;
or ro o r

Wh m ves the bi d s t s n g
o o y et r o o e re

H e h th w k ed the v i let
a a a o ,

O the s ft p i m se
r o the stee p
r ro o n ,

Wh ile b d s l i d i n l i d d e d sleep
u a re a ,

And wh i te sn ws w p the h i lls se ene

o ra r ,

E re gl ws the l h s v i v i d g een
o a rc
1
r

T h g h the b wn w d s d b e All h i l !
ro u ro oo an ar . a

A n g s d m y th y w i ll p ev i l
u ,
an a r a .

H e m es he g es
co A d f d w i de o . n ar an

H e se hes f the P i n ess B i de

a rc o r r c r .

U p and down the land went Angus but he ,

1 Th e l a rc h is th e rs tt ree in S co tl d whi h t
an c u rn s a b rig ht gre en in
i
S pr n g ti m e.
 Com i n g o f A n g us and B ri de 39

could not nd B r i de anywhere The fa ir princess .

behel d h i m i n a dream however and knew that , ,

he longed to set her free When s h e awoke she .

shed tears of j oy and on th e place where her

,

tears fell there spra n g u p violets and they were ,

blue as her beaut i ful eyes .

B eira was angry when s h e cam e to know that

Angus was search i ng for B r i de and on the th i rd ,

even i ng of h i s v i s i t s h e ra i sed a great tempest

wh i ch drove h i m back to Green I sle But he .

returned aga i n and aga i n and at length he d i s ,

covered the castl e in wh i ch the pr i ncess was k ept

a pr i soner .

Then came a day when Angus m e t B ride i n a

forest near the castle The v i olets were bloom
.

ing and soft yellow prim roses opened the i r eyes

of wonde r to gaze on the pr i nce and the pr i ncess .

When they spoke one to another the b i rds ra i sed

the i r sweet vo i ces i n son g and the sun shone fa i r
and br i ght .

S a i d Angus : B eaut i ful princess I beheld you

,

in a dream weep i ng tears of sorrow .

B r i de sa i d : M i ghty pr i nce I beheld you in

,

a dream r i d i ng over bens and through glens i n

beauty and power .

S a i d Angus : I have come to r escue you from

Q ueen B e i ra who has kept you all winter lon g i n
,

capt i v i ty
.

B r i de sa i d : To me this is a day of g r eat j o y .

40 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
Sa i d Angus : I t w i ll be a day of great j oy to

all man k i nd ever after th i s .

That i s why the rst day of spring the day on

wh i ch Angus found the princess is called B r i de s

Day .
1

Through the forest came a fair company of

fa i ry lad i es w h o ha i led B ride as queen and bade
,

welcome to A n gus Then the Fa i ry Q ueen waved .

her wand and B ride w a s transformed A S swiftly

,
.

as the br i ght sun spr i ngs out from behind a dark

cloud shedd i ng beauty all round s o sw i ftly d i d
, ,

B r i de appear i n new splendour I nstead of ra gged .

cloth i ng S he then wore a white robe adorned w i th

,

spangles of sh i n i ng s i lver O ver her heart gleamed .

a star l i ke crystal pu re as her thoughts and br i gh t

-
,

as the j oy that Angus brought her Th i s gem is .

called the gu i d i ng star of B r i de H er golden

brown ha i r wh i ch hung down to her wa i st in

,

gleam i ng curls was decked w i th fa i r spring

,

o w e rs
snowdrops and da i s i es and pr i mroses
and v i olets B lue were her eyes and her face
.
,

had the redness and wh i teness of the w i ld rose

of peerless beauty and tende r grace I n her r i ght .

hand s h e carr i ed a wh i te wand entw i ned w i th

golden corn stalks and i n her left a golden horn
-
,

wh i ch is called th e H orn of Plenty

The l i nnet was the rst forest b i rd that ha i led

B ride i n her beauty and the Fa i ry Q ueen said : ,

1 F e b rua ry I s t o ld s tl F
y e, e b ru a ry 1 th
3 n ew s tl y e .
 Com i n g o f A n g us and B ri de 41

E ver after this you shall be called the B i rd of

O n the sea s hore the rst b i rd that

ch i rped w i th j oy was th e oyster catcher and the -
,

Fa i ry Q ueen sa i d : E ver after th i s you shall be

called the Page of B r i de

Then the Fa i ry Q ueen l ed Angus and B ride to

her green roofed underground palace i n the m idst
-

of the forest As they went forward they cam e

.

to a r i ver wh i ch was covered w i th i ce B r i de put .

her ngers on the ice and the I ce H ag shrieked ,

and ed .

A great feast was hel d in th e palace of th e

Fairy Queen and i t was the marr i age feast of
,

B r ide for Angus and S he were wed Th e fairies

,
.

danced and sang w i th j oy and all the worl d was ,

moved to dance and S i ng w i th them This w a s .

how the rst Fest i val of B r i de came to be

.

Spr i ng has come ! the shepherds cr i ed ; and

they drove the i r ocks on to the moors where ,

they were counted and blessed .

Spr i ng has come ! chattered th e raven and
,

ew off to nd moss for her nest The rook .

heard and followed after and the wild duck rose ,

from am i dst the reeds c ry i ng : Spr i ng has come !

,

B r i de came forth from the fa i ry palace w i th

A n gus and waved her hand wh i le Angus repeated ,

mag i c spells Then greater growth was given to

.

the grass and all the world ha i led Angus a n d

,

B r ide as k in g and queen Although they were .

42 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My th s
not beheld by m ank i nd yet the i r presence wa s
,

everywhere felt throughout S cotland .

B e i ra was wroth when she came to know that

Angus had found B r i de She se i zed her mag i c
.

hammer and smote th e ground unceas i ngly unt i l

i t was frozen hard as i ron aga i n s o hard that no

he r b or blade of grass coul d cont i nue to l i ve upon

its surface Terr i ble was h er wrath when s h e
.

beheld th e grass grow i n g She kn ew well that .

when the grass ourished and Angus and B r i de

were marr i ed her author i ty would pass away I t
, .

was her des i re to keep her throne as long as

poss i ble .

Br i de is m arried hail to B ride ! sang the
,

b i rds .

A n g us is married ha i l to Angus ! they sang

,

also .

B e i ra heard the songs of the b i rds and called ,

to her hag servants : R i de north and r i de south ,

r i de east and r i de west and wage war a g a i nst

,

Angus I shall r i de forth also

. .

H e r servants mounted the i r shaggy goats and

rode forth to do her b i dd i ng B e i ra mounted a .

black steed and s e t out i n pursu i t of Angus S he .

r ode fast and S he rode hard Black clouds swept .

over the S ky as she rode on unt i l at length S he ,

came to the forest in wh i ch the Fa i ry Q u een had

her dwell i ng All the fa i r i es ed i n terror i nto
.

their green mound and the doors were shut .

 Com i n g o f A n g u s and B ri de 43

Angus looked up and beheld B e i ra drawing n i gh .

H e leapt on the back of h is wh i te stee d and l i fted ,

h i s young br i de i nto the saddle in front of h i m

and ed away w i th her .

Angus rode westward over the h ills and over

th e valleys and over the s e a and B e i ra pu rsued
,

him .

There i s a rocky rav i ne on the island of T i ree ,

and B e i ra s black S teed j umped across i t wh i le

pursuing the wh i te steed of Angus The hoofs .

of the black steed made a gash on the rocks To .

th i s day the ravine i s called Th e H orse s Leap

.

Angus escaped to the Green I sle of the West ,

and there he passed happy days w i th B ride B ut .

he longed to retu rn to S cotland and r e i gn as K i ng

of Summer Aga i n and aga i n he crossed the
.

sea ; and each t i me h e reached the land of glens

and bens the s u n broke forth i n br i ghtness and
,

the birds sang merr i ly to welcome him .

B e i ra ra i sed storm after storm to dr i ve h i m

away F i rst S he called on the w i nd named The
.

Wh i stl e wh i ch blew high a n d shr i ll and brought

, ,

down rapid sho w ers of cold ha i lstones I t las t ed .

for three days and there w a s much sorrow and

,

b i tterness throughout th e le n gth and breadth o f

S cotland Sheep and la m bs were k i lled on th e
.

moors and horses and cows per i shed also

, .

Angus ed but he retur n ed soon aga i n Th e

, .

next w i nd that B e i ra ra i sed to prolong he r winte r

44 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My th s
r e i gn was the S harp B i lled Wind which is

called Gobag I t lasted for nine days and all ,

the land was p i erced by i t for it pecked and bit ,

i n every nook and cranny l i ke a S harp billed bird -

.

Angus returned and the B eira ra i sed the eddy

,

wind which is called The S weeper I ts wh i rl

.

i ng gusts tore branches from the budd i ng trees

and br i ght owers from the ir stal ks All the .

time i t blew B eira kept beat i ng the ground w i th

,

her magic hammer s o as to keep the grass from

g r ow i ng B ut her efforts were i n va i n Spring
. .

s m i led i n beauty all around and each t i me s h e ,

tu rned away wear i ed by he r efforts the s u n

, ,

sprang forth in splendour The s mall modest .

pr i mroses opened the i r petal s in the sunsh i ne ,

look i ng forth fr om cosy nooks that the wind ,

called S weeper was unabl e to reach An g us

,
.

ed b ut he soon returned aga i n

,
.

B eira was not yet however ent i rely w i thout , ,

hope H er efforts had brought d i saster to man

.

k i nd and the Weeks of Leanness came on

,

.

Food became scarce The shermen were unable .

to venture to s e a on account of B e i ra s tempests

and coul d get no sh I n the n i ght t i me B e i ra .

-

and her hags entered th e dwell i ngs of mank i nd

,

and stole away the i r stores of food I t was .

,

indeed a sorrowful t i me
, .

Angus was moved w i th p i ty for mank i nd and ,

tried to ght the hags of B e i ra B ut the erce .

 Com i n g o f A n g u s and B ri d e 45

queen raised the Gales of Compla i n t to keep

h i m away and they raged i n fury u nt i l the rst

,

week of March H orses and cattle d i ed for want .

of food because the erce w i nds blew down stacks

,

of fodder and scattered them over the lochs and

the ocean .

Angus howeve r waged a erce struggl e aga i nst

, ,

th e hag servants and at length he drove them ,

away to the north whe r e they fumed and fretted ,

fur i ously .

B e i ra was greatly alarmed and she made he r ,

last great effort to subdue the Powers of Spring .

S he waved her mag i c hammer and s mote the ,

clouds w i th i t N o rth w a rd s h e rode on her black

.

steed and gathered her servants together and

, ,

called to them say i ng : R i de southward w i th

,

me all of you and scatter our enem i es befo r e us

, , .

Out of the bleak dark north they rode i n a

s i ngle pack With them came the B ig B lack
.

Tempest I t seemed then as if w i nter had re

.

turned in full st r ength and woul d abide for ever .

B ut even B e i ra and he r hags had to take rest .

On a dusky evening they crouched down togethe r

on the s i de of a bare mounta i n and when they , ,

d i d s o a sudden cal m fell upon the land and the

,

s ea

H a ! ha ! laughed the wild duck who hated
the hag H a ! ha ! I am st i ll al ive and s o a r e
.

,

my six duckl i n g s .

46 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths

H ave patience ! i dle chatterer answered the ,

H ag . I am not yet done .

That n i ght she borrowed three days from

W i nter wh i ch had not been used for Angus had ,

prev iously borrowed for W i nter three days from

August T he three spirits of the borrowed days
.

were tempest sp i r i ts and came towards B e i ra ,

mounted on black hogs S he spoke to them .

,

say i ng : Long have you been bound ! N ow I

s e t you at l i berty

.

One after another on each of the three days ,

that followed th e sp i r i ts went forth riding the

,

black hogs They brought snow and ha i l and

.

erce blasts of wind S now wh itened the moors .

and lled th e furrows of ploughed land r i vers ,

rose in ood and great trees were shattered and

,

uprooted The duck was k i lled and so were her

.
,

s i x duc k l ings ; sheep and cattle per i shed and ,

many human be i ngs were k i lled on land and

d r owned at sea The days on which these th i ngs
.

happened are called the Three H og Days
.

B eira s re i gn was now drawing to a close She

.

found herself u nabl e to combat any lo n ger aga i nst

the powe r of the n ew l ife that was ris i ng i n every
ve i n of the land The weakness of extrem e old
.

age c rept upon he r and s h e longed once agai n ,

to drink of the waters of the Well of Youth .

When on a bright March morn i ng S he beheld

, ,

Angus rid i ng over the hills on his white steed ,

 Com i n g o f A n g us and B ri de 47

scattering h er erce hag se r vants before him s h e ,

ed away i n despa i r E re s h e went s h e threw

.

her m ag i c ham mer beneath a holly tree and that ,

i s the reason why no grass grows unde r the holly

trees.

B eira s black steed went no r thward w i th her in

i ght As i t leapt over Loch E tiv e i t left the

.

marks of i ts hoofs on the s i de of a rocky mounta i n ,

and the spot is named to th i s day H orse shoes -

She d i d not re i n up her steed until s h e reached

the i sland of S kye where S he found rest on the
,

summ i t of the Old W i fe s B en (B en e Ca i l

-

l i ch )at B roadford There s h e s a t gaz i ng stead

.
,

fastly across the s e a wa i t i ng unt i l the day and

,

n i ght would be of equal length All that equal .

day s h e wept tears of sorrow for her lost power ,

and when n i ght cam e on s h e went westward ove r

the s e a to G reen I sland At the dawn of the .

day that followed she drank the mag i c waters of

the Well of Youth .

On that day wh i ch i s of equal length w i th the

n i ght Angus came to S cotland w i th B r i de and
, ,

they were ha i led as k i ng and queen of the unseen

beings They rode from south to north i n the
.

morn i ng and forenoon and from north to south in,

the afternoon and eve n i ng A gentl e w i nd went .

w i th them blow i ng towards the north from dawn

,

t i ll m i dday and towards th e south from m i dday

,

t i ll sunset .
4 8 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
I t was on that day that B r i de d i pped her fai r
wh i te hands i n the h i gh r i vers and lochs wh i ch
st i ll reta i ned i ce When s h e d i d s o the I ce H ag
.
,

fell into a deep S leep from wh i ch s h e could not

awake unt i l sum mer and autu mn were over and
past .

The grass grew qu i ckly after Angus began to

reign as k i ng S eeds were sown and the people
.
,

called on B r i de to grant them a good harvest .

E re long the whole land was made beaut i ful w i th

spr i ng owers of every hue .

Angus had a harp of gold w i th S i lver str i ngs ,

and when he played on i t youths and ma i dens

followed th e sound of the mus i c through the
woods B ards sang h is pra i ses and told that he
.

k i ssed lovers and that w hen they parted one from

,

another to return to the i r homes the k i sses b e ,

came i nvis i ble b i rds that hovered round thei r

heads and sa n g sweet songs o f lo v e and w h i spered ,

memories dear I t was thus that one bard sang

.

of h i m :
When s ftl y blew the s th w i n d the
o o u o er

s ea ,

Li sp i n g f s p i n g t i m e h p e
o r d s mm e p i de
o an u r r ,

A d the
n gh e ig n f B e i e se d b e
ro u r o ra c a to ,

A n g s the E ve Y n g
u r- o u ,

Th b e te s g d f l ve the g l den h i e d
e au ou o o o ,
o -
a r ,

Th b l e m y ste i s e y e d
e u r o u -
,

S h ne l ik e the st
o f m n i n g h ig h m n g
ar o or a o

Th st s th t sh n k f i d
e ar a ra a ra

When d wn p l i m ed the t i m ph th t he sh ed
a ro c a r u a ar
 Com i n g o f A n g u s a nd B ri de 49

Wi th B i d e the pee less m i d

r r a .

Then w i nds f v i let sweetness

o o se d s ighed ro an ,

No co n q u es t is p a r ed
co m

T0 Lo ve s tra n s cen d en t j oys t/z a t fa a e

ez ever .

I n th e old days when there was n o Cal endar

,

in S cotland the people named the var i ous per i ods

,

of w i nter and spr i ng storm and cal m a s they are

, ,

given above The story of the struggle between

Angus and B e i ra i s the story of the struggle b e
tween spr i ng and w i nter growth and decay l i ght , ,

and darkness and warmth and cold

, .

( 0 87 1 )
 C H A PT E R I I I

Com b ats that N e v e r End

There are two mounta i ns that overlook the
S pey valley one to the east an d one to the west
, ,

and a fa i ry king dwells on each of them They .

are both sons of B e i ra One fa i ry k i ng is white

.
,

and has great fame as an archer ; he has a S i lver

bow and ar rows of gold and once a day he shoots
,

an arrow across the S trath The othe r fairy k i n g .

i s black as the raven and on h i s left breast there

,

i s a red spot H e has no weapon but i s yet

.
,

ter ri bl e in battle because he can make h i mself

,

i nv i s i ble at w i ll When he does s o noth i ng re

.
,

ma i ns in s i ght except the red spot H e h a s great .

strength and when h e goes aga i nst h is enem i es

,

he se i zes them unawares and throws them to the

ground N o matter how well they are armed h i s
.
,

enemies tremble when the inv i s i ble fa i ry comes

aga i nst them All they s e e is a red S pot moving
.

about in th e air .

N ow the wh i te fairy has a fair bride whose

,

name i s Face o f L i ght I t is a great j oy to her

- -
.

to wande r among the mountains where herds of

50
 Com b ats that N e v e r End 51

deer crop the green herbage and through th e ,

strath where co rn e ld s rustle i n soft w i nds and

fragrant owers bloom fa i r to s e e The black .

fa i ry has no br i de and i s j ealous of the wh i te fa i ry

,

because h i s days are lled w i th j oy by th e beauty

of Face o f Li ght These two fa i r i es have eve r
-
.

been enem i es The black fa i ry keeps out of S i ght

.

of the famous archer fear i ng h is arrows of gold

,
.

One summer even i ng when the tw i l i ght shadows

were lengthen i ng and deepen i ng across the strath ,

Face of L i ght tr i pped merr i ly over the grassy

banks gathering w i ld owers S i lence had fallen
, .

on the w orld ; no bird sang and no w i nd wh i spered ,

the lochs were asleep and th e shrunken r i ver ,

made scarcely a sound louder than the s i gh of a

sleep i ng babe ; i t was no longer bright when
Face o f L i gh t turned away from i t
- -
.

The black fa i ry looked out from h is mounta i n

home H e knew that the wh i te fa i ry had la i n
.

down to rest and he watched Face o f L i ght

,

gather i ng w i ld owers N earer and nearer s h e

.

came to h i s dwell i ng and he crept into a deep

,

forest wh i ch conceals the entrance to h i s moun

ta i n and wa i ted to se i ze her
, Face o f L i gh t .
- -
,

never dream i n g of her per i l tr i pped towards the ,

edge of the forest ; and see i ng m any owers ,

grow i ng beneath the trees went in to pluck them , .

She made the forest br i ght w i th her beauty and ,

the owers g rew faire r a s s h e drew near the m .

52 T al e s from Sco tt i sh My ths
S uddenly a great black hand was thrust out from
a th i ck clump of bushes The hand se i zed her
.
,

and S h e sh r i eked i n terror and struggled to escape .

The wh i te fa i ry heard her cr i es wh i ch p i erced the ,

a i r l i ke the keen long wh i stl e of the curlew leapt ,

up and looked forth fro m h i s mounta i n top I n

,
.

a moment he knew what had happened Face .

o f L i ght had been seized by h is enemy the black

-
,

fairy who was dragg i ng her to a dark dungeon

,

i n the m i ddle of h i s mounta i n The wh i te fa i ry .

was unable to go to her rescue for two reasons .

L i ke h i s dark enemy he could not pass the utmost

,

l i m i ts of h i s m ounta i n house and ha v ing al ready

,

shot a golden arrow that day he could not shoot ,

another unt i l a new d a y had dawned .

N i ght came on and the black fa i ry climbed

,

to the top of h is mounta i n where he danced ,

w i th j oy because h e had taken capt i ve the br i de

of h is enemy The wh i te fa i ry was str i cken w i th
.

sorrow and when h e heard the cr i es of Face o f

,

Light com i ng from the dungeon he fell down i n ,

a swoon .

All n i ght long Face o f L i ght sobbed and wept

- -
,

wh i le the black fa i ry da n ced on the mounta i n

top and sang songs of tr i umph H e danced s o .

fast that he ra i sed a w i nd wh i ch swept down the

strath and shook the trees from sl e ep s o that ,

they moaned and s i ghed all n i ght long The .

cr i es of Face o f L i ght were heard by human

-
 Com b a ts th a t N e v e r End 53

b eings and those who were awakened sa i d one to

,

another : L i sten to the hag of n i ght H ow ter

.

r i ble are her cr i es !

N ot unt i l the dawn began to break did the

wh i te fa i ry r ecover from h is swoon j ust when .

the rst shaft of grey l i ght p i erced the eastern

sk
y,
he opened h i s eyes Then h e remembered.

h i s sorrow and wept softly H i s tears fell as dew .

on the owers and the grass .

Weep i ng he cl i mbed h is mounta i n and then

, ,

wandered round about the crest of i t H is heart .

was heavy for the loss of Face o f L i ght and when - -

,

he l i stened he heard her moan i ng i n her dark

prison The black fa i ry had ceased to dance
. .

H e stood upr i ght on the h i ghest po i nt of his

mounta i n house and shouted to h is enemy : H a !
,

Face o f L i ght is my pr i soner

-
Then suddenly .

he was s i lent H e s a w the wh i te fa i ry str i ng

i ng h i s s i lver bow and then draw i ng fr om h i s
sh i n i ng quiver a br i ght golden arrow .

H a ! cr i ed the black fa i ry would you dare

,

S hoot at me ?

S et free Face o f Light or I shall shoot the
- -
, ,

wh i te fa i ry made answer H is face w a s wh i te a s

.

snow and hard a s i ce .

The black fa i ry la u ghed and w i lled h imsel f to ,

become i nv i s i ble and then j ust as the wh i te fa i ry

, ,

ra i sed h i s bow to take a im h i s enemy van i shed ,

from sight N 0 part of h im could be seen but the

.
54 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
great red spot on h is left breast which seemed to ,

oat i n the a i r .

For a moment the wh i te fa i ry gazing eastward , ,

looked w i th w onder at the red spot wh i ch grew

br i ghter and br i ghter H i s bow was bent and .
,

h i s golden arrow was held ready for i ght .

The sound of deant laughter came down the

w i nd as the black fa i ry now i nv i s i ble danced , ,

w i th j oy on h i s mounta i n top .

To and fro swayed th e red spot and the white ,

fa i ry thought h e would S hoot at i t H i s a i m was .

true and h i s arm w a s strong S tra i ght from the .

bow ew the br i ght golden arrow I t darted .

through the a i r w i th l i ghtn i ng speed and struck

the red S pot wh i ch be i t known w a s the heart of
, , ,

the black fa i ry A shriek rang out across the

.

strath I t was the death shr i ek of the black fa i ry

.
,

who fell down on the bare rock and d i ed H i s .

l i fe blood streamed forth and the whole eastern

-
,

sk
y was covered w i th i t I n the m i dst of the red
.

ness gleamed the bright golden arrow of the wh i te

fa i ry .

N o soone r was the black fa i ry sla i n than Face

o f L i ght was s e t free
-
The doors of her dungeon
.

ew open and s h e came forth in all her beauty

,
.

When s h e d i d s o th e mounta i ns and the strath

,

were made br i ght the r i ver sparkled i n the l i ght

, ,

an d the lochs ashed l i ke burn i shed s i lver All .

the land was made glad when Face o f L i ght was - -

 Com b ats that Nev e r End 55

set free from her dark pr i son The slumber i ng.

owers opened the i r eyes to gaze upon her and ,

the birds broke forth in merry song wh i le the ,

white fa i ry sm i led and danced with j oy .

The black fa i ry lay dead and i nv i s i ble on h i s

mounta i n top unt i l e v en i ng came on Then B e i ra .

came to V i s i t h i m When s h e found that her s o n

.

had been sla i n s h e took from her wallet a pot of

,

h eal i ng balsam and rubbed i t on h i s wound Then .

s h e rubbed the balsam on h i s eyes and on h is l i ps .

When S he d i d th i s he came to l i fe and began

, ,

once aga i n to plot e v il aga i nst the white fairy and

h i s beaut i ful br i de .

Th i s story wh i ch used to be told i n S trathspey

, ,

i s the story of the stru ggle between darkness and

l i ght The black fa i ry i s n i ght wh i ch beg i ns to
.
,

make i tself i nv i s i ble at dawn and the red spot on

,

h i s left breast i s the red l i ght of morn i ng The .

golden arrow of the wh i te fa i ry i s th e golden shaft

of sunl i ght that darts across th e eastern heaven
as the s u n r i ses i n morning splendour Face o f .
-

L i ght i s th e sp i r i t of the R i ver S pey which i s ,

br i ght i n d ayt i me and lost to S i gh t in the dark

ness of n i ght When the story teller says that
.
-

Face o f L i ght leaves the r i ver he means that its

-
,

br i ghtness leaves it when the shadows of night

are fall i ng .

A d i fferent story is told in the N ess valley .

There a r e two mountains on either side of Loch

56 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
N ess and on each i s a F o o a r or g i ant These
, ,
.

sons of B e i ra are r i vals O ne loves the dayl i ght

.

and th e other loves darkness .

E very morn i n g at dawn one F o o a r in gs across

Loch N e s s a wh i te boulder When the boulder .

goes through the a i r th e sky becomes br i ght .

E very even i ng the other F o o a r in gs across Loch

N e s s a black boulder and the s ky grows dark
,
.

The r i vals can throw the i r boulders o n ly once

in eve r y twenty four hours -
When the wh i te .

boulder i s ung i t str i kes the n i ght F o o a r and he

, ,

falls down i n a swoon H e does not recover unt i l

.

e v en i ng and then he r i ses and i n turn i ngs h i s

, , ,

black boulder and str i kes down h is r i val who

, ,

then l i es unconsc i ous unt i l the dawn When the .

g i ant of day gra s p s his wh i te boulder and ra i ses

a

i t on h i gh h i s red hand can be seen i n the sky

, ,

and the red hand of the g i ant of n i ght i s often

seen at even i ng S omet i mes the g i ants turn
.

round the boulders to adj ust them for th row i ng .

Then the gold rings on the ir ngers and the

golden armlets on the i r arms ash athwart the
sk
y in bright splendour .
 C H A PT E R IV

T he P ri n c ess o f L and u nde Wave s -

r

When no w i nd blows and th e surface of the sea

is clear as crystal the beaut i es of Land under
,
-

Waves are revealed to human eyes I t is a fa ir .

country w i th green vales through which ow

S i lvern streams and the pebbles i n the beds of
,

the streams are ash i ng gems of var i ed hues .

There are deep forests that gl i tter i n eternal s u n

shine and br i ght owers that never fade Rocks
, .

are of gold and the sand is dust of s i lver

, .

O n a cal m morn i ng i n May the F e a n s wh o , ,

were great warr i ors i n anc i ent S cotland be i ng ,

the offspr i ng of gods and goddesses were sittin g ,

beside the Red Cataract below wh i ch sal mon ,

moved S lowly rest i ng themselves ere they began

,

to leap towards th e h i gher waters of the stream .

The s u n was shin i ng br i ght and the s e a was ,

w i thout a r i pple W i th eyes of wonder the F e a n s

.

gazed on the beaut i es of Land u nder Waves - -

.

N one S poke s o deeply were they absorbed They

, .

saw the s i lver sands the rocks of gold the gleam

, ,

57
58 Tales from Sco tti sh My ths
ing forests the beautiful owers and the br i gh t
, ,

streams that ow over beds covered with ashin g

gems .

As they gazed a boat was seen on the s e a and ,

fo r a t i me the P eans were not sure whether i t

moved above the surface o r below i t I n time .
,

however as it drew near they s a w that it was o n

,

the surface The boat came towards the place

.

where they s a t and they s a w that a woman pulled

,

the oars .

All the F e a n s rose to the i r feet F inn the .

,

K ing of the P eans and G 0 11 h i s ch i ef warrior

, , ,

had keen s i ght and when the boat w a s st i ll afar

,

o ff they s a w that the woman had great beauty .

S he pulled two oars wh i ch parted the sea and , ,

the ripples seemed to s e t i n mot i on all the trees

and owers of Land under Waves - -
.

Th e boat came qu i ckly and when i t grounded ,

on the beach th e lovel iest woman that ever eyes

,

gazed upon rose out of i t H er face was m ild .

and touched w i th a soft sadness She was a .

stranger to the F e a n s who knew well that s h e ,

had come from afar and they wondered when ce ,

S he came and what were the t i d i ngs S he brought .

The young wo m an walked towards Fin n and

saluted h i m and for a t i me F inn and all the
,

F e a n s were made s i len t b y her exceed i ng great

beauty At length F i nn spoke to her
. You .

a r e welcome fai r young stranger he sa i d

, Tell ,

.

 P i n c ess o f L and unde r Waves
r - -
59

us what tr i be you are from and what is the pur ,

pose o f your j ourney to th e land of the F e a n s .

S oftly S poke the young woman say i ng : I am ,

the daughter of K i ng U nder Waves and I shall -

,

tell you why I have come here There i s not a .

la n d beneath th e s u n wh i ch I have not sea r ched

for F i nn and h i s brave warr i ors .

B eaut i ful maiden F inn sa i d will you not
,

,

tell us why you have searched through the lands

that are far and near seek i ng to nd us ?
,

Then you are F inn and no other spo k e th e ,

ma i den .

I am indeed F inn and these who stand near ,

me are my warr i ors I t was thus that F i nn made

.

answer speaking modestly and yet not without

, ,

pride .

I have com e to ask fo r your h elp said the ,

ma i den and I shall have need of i t ve r y soon

,

.

M i ne enemy pursues me even now .

I prom i se to help you fa i r pr i ncess F inn , ,

assured her Tell me who it i s that pursues

.

you .

S a i d the maiden : H e who pursues m e over

the ocean is a m i ghty and fearless warr i or H i s .

name is Dark Pr i nce o f S torm and he i s the s o n

-
,

of the Wh i te K i ng of Red Sh i elds H e means -

.

to se i ze the kingdom of my father and make m e

h i s br i de I have deed h im say i ng : F i nn shall
.
,

take me to my home ; he shall be my sav i ou r .

6o Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
Great as is your prowess you cannot ght and ,

beat F i nn and h i s hero i c

Oscar the young hero an d the grandson of
,

Finn spoke forth and said : E ven i f F i nn were

,

not here the Dark Prince would not da r e to

,

seize you .

A S he spo k e a shadow fell athwart the s ea ,

blott i ng ou t the vis i on of Land under Waves - -

.

The P eans looked up and they s a w on the s k y ,

l i ne a m ighty war r io r mounted on a blue g r ey -

steed of ocean ; wh i te was i ts mane and white i ts

tail and wh i te the foam that was driven from its
,

nostrils and its mouth .

The warrior cam e swiftly towards the sho r e ,

and as h i s steed rode forward w i th great fu r y ,

waves rose and br oke around i t The breath .

from its panting nost r ils came over the s e a l ike

g usts of tempest .

O n the war r ior s head was a ashing hel met

and on h i s left arm a r i dged S h i eld I n h i s r i ght .

hand he grasped a large heavy sword and when ,

he waved it on h i gh it ashed br i ght l i ke l i ghtning .

Faste r than a mounta i n torrent galloped h i s

ho rse .The P eans adm i red the Dark Pr i nce .

H e was a great and m i ghty wa r r i or who b ore

hi m sel f l i ke a k i ng .

The steed came to land and when i t did so the , ,

Dark Pr i nce leapt from its back and strode up

the beach .
 P ri n c ess o f L and u nde r Waves - -
61

F i n n spoke to the fair daughter of the K i ng

U nder Waves and sa i d : IS th i s the pr i nce of
-

whom you have spoken ?
Sa i d the princess : I t is he and no othe r Oh .
,

p rotect me now for great i s h is power !

,

Goll the old warr i or and Oscar the youth ful

, , ,

hero sprang forward and placed themselves b e

,

tween the D ark Pr i nce and the fair pr i ncess B ut .

the Dark Pr i nce scorned to combat w i th h i m .

H e went towards F i nn who was unarmed Goll ,

.

w a s made angry at once H e se i zed a spea r and .

ung i t at th e stranger I t d id not touch h i s .

body but i t split the ridged sh i eld r i gh t through

,

the m i ddle Then Oscar ra i sed h i s spear and

.

ung it from h is left hand I t struck the warrior s .

steed and slew i t Th i s was accounted a mi g hty

.

deed and Oss i an the bard of the P eans and

,
1
, ,

father of Oscar cel eb r ated it i n a song wh i ch is

,

still sung i n S cotland .

When the steed perished Dark Prince tu r ned ,

r ound w i th rage and fury and called for fty ,

heroes to combat aga i nst h i m Then he sa i d .

that h e would overcom e all th e F e a n s and take

away the fair pr i ncess .

A great battle was waged on the beach The .

Dark Pr i nce sprang upon the Feans and fou g ht ,

w i th e rce n e s s and great strength .

At length Goll went aga i nst him B oth fough t .

1
Pro n o u n ce dO
sh

ya n in S co tti h G l i
s ae c .
62 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
with the ir swords alone and n ever wa s seen ,

befo r e such a fur i ous combat S t rong w a s the

arm of G 0 11 and cunn i ng the thr u sts he gave
,
.

As he fought on h i s battle powe r i ncreased and

, ,

at length he struck down and slew the Dark

Prince N or was ever such a hero ove r com e
.

s ince the day when the Ocean G i ant was sla i n .

When the Dark Prince was sla i n the w i nd fell ,

and the sea was hushed and th e sun at even i ng

,

shone over the waters Once aga i n Land under

.
-

Waves was revealed in all i ts beauty .

The princess bade farewell to all the P eans and ,

F in n went i nto a boat and went w i th her across

the s e a unt i l they r eached the gates of La n d
under Waves The entrance to th i s wonderful
-
.

land i s a sea cave on the Far Blue I sle of Ocean

-
.

When F i nn took leave of the pr i ncess s h e made ,

him p r om i se that i f ever s h e had need of his help

aga i n he would g i ve i t to her freely and quickly
, .

A year and a day went past and then came a ,

cal m and beaut i ful morn i ng Once aga i n the

.

F e a n s s a t on the S hore below the Red Cataract ,

gazing on the beaut i es of Land under Waves - -

.

As they gazed a boat came over the s e a and

, ,

th ere was bu t one person in i t .

Sa i d Oscar : Who comes hither ? IS it the

princess of Land under Waves once more ?
- -

F i nn looked seawa r d and sa i d : N o it is not ,

the p r incess w h o comes hithe r but a youn g man , .

 P ri n c ess o f L and u nde r W a ves -
63

The boat drew sw i ftly towards the shore and ,

when th e man was w i th i n call he ha i led F in n

w i th words of greeti n g and pra i se .

Who are you and whence come you ? F inn
,

asked .

Sa i d th e m a n : I am th e messenge r of the

pr i ncess of Land under Waves S he is ill and

- -
.
,

seems ready to d i e .

There w a s great sorrow among the F e a n s when

they heard the s a d t i dings .

What is you r messag e fr o m the fai r p r incess ?

Finn asked .

Said th e man : S he b i ds you to r eme m b e r

your prom i se to help her i n t i me of need .

I have n ever forgotten my pro m ise Finn ,

told h i m and am ready now to full i t

,

.

Said the man Then a s k Je e rm it the healer

!
, ,

to come w i th me so that he may give healin g to

the Princess U nder Waves -
.

F i n n m ade a S ign to Je e rm it and he rose up ,

and went down the beach and entered th e boat .

Then the boat went out over the s e a towards the

Far B lue I sle and i t went sw i ftly unt i l i t reached
,

the s e a cave through which one must pass to ente r

-

Land under Waves

- -
.

N ow Je e rm it was th e fa i rest of all the members

of the Eean band H i s fath er was Angus the .
-

E ver You n g who con ferred upon him the powe r

-
,

to give heal in g for wounds and sickness Je e rm it .

64 Ta les from S co tt i sh My ths
had k nowl edge of cu rative herbs and l i fe givin g -

waters and he had the power by touching a suffere r

, , ,

to prolong l i fe u nt i l he found the means to cure .

e rm it was taken through the s e a cave of the

j e -

Far B lue I sle and for a t i me he saw naught s o

, ,

thick was the darkness ; but h e heard the splash ing

of waves against the rocks At length l i ght broke .

forth and the boat grounded

, Je e rm it stepped .

out and found h i msel f on a broad level pla i n The

,
.

boatman walked in fr ont and Je e rm it followed ,

h i m They went on and on and it seemed that

.
,

the ir j ourney would n ever end j e e rm it saw a

clu mp of red sphagnum moss and plucked some ,

and went on E re long he s a w another clump

.
,

and plucked some more A th i rd t i me he came .

to a red moss clump and from i t too h e plucked

,

a po r tion The boatman st i ll led on and on yet

.
,

e e rm it never felt weary

J .

At length j e e rm it s a w befo r e h im a golden

castle H e spoke to the boatman sayin g : Whose
.
,

castle i s that ?

S a i d the boatman : I t i s th e castle of K in g

U nder Waves and th e pr i ncess l i es w i th i n

-
, .

j e e rm it entered th e castle H e s a w m any .

cou rt i ers w i th pale faces N one spoke : all were .

hushed to s i lence w i th gr i e f The queen cam e .

towards h i m and S he se i zed h i s r i ght hand and

,

led h i m towards the chamber i n which the dy i n g

princess lay .
 P ri n c e s s o f La nd u nde r W a ve s - - 65

J knel
e e rm it t beside he r and when h e touched ,

he r the powe r of his healing entered her veins ,

and she opened her eyes As soon as s h e beheld .

J e e rm it of the Feans s h e sm i led a sweet s mile ,

and all wh o we r e in the chambe r s m i led too .

I feel st r on g er already the pr i ncess told ,

j rm it Great is the j oy I feel to behold you

e e . .

B ut the sickness has not yet left me and I fea r ,

I S hall die

.

I have th r ee portions of r ed m oss said ,

j e e rm it .I f you w i

ll take them i n a drink they
w i ll heal you because they a r e the th r ee li fe d r ops
,

of you r heart .

Alas ! the p r incess exclaimed

I cannot ,

drink of any water now except from the cup o f

the K i ng of the Pla i n of Wonder .

N ow great as was Je e rm it s knowled g e he had

,

never heard before of th i s mag i c cup .

0

A w i se woman has told that i f I g et th r ee
d raughts from th i s cup I shall be cured said ,

the princess She sa i d also that when I dr i nk

.

I must swallow the three portions of red moss

from the W i de Bare Pla i n The m oss of heal i ng
- -
.

you have already found O j e e rm it B ut no man , .

S hall eve r ga i n possession of the mag i c cup of the

K i ng of the Pla i n o f Wonde r and I shall not -
,

therefore get it and must die , .

Said Je e rm it : There i s not in the wo r ld a b ove

the s e a o r the world below the sea a sin g le m an

, ,

( 0 87 1 ) 5
66 Ta les from Sco tt is h My th s
wh o will keep the cup fr om m e Tell m e whe r e .

dw ells th e K i ng of the Pla i n o f Wonder IS his - -

.

palace far d i stant from here ?

N o it is not fa r distant the princess told
, ,

him Pla i n o f Wonder is the next k i ngdom to

.
- -

that of my fathe r The two k i ngdoms are d i v i ded.

by a rive r You may reach that river O j e e rm it

.
, ,

b ut you m ay never be able to cross i t .

S aid Je e rm it : I now lay heal i ng spells upon

y ou and you shall l ive until I return with the

,

magic cup .

When he had S poken thus h e r ose up and ,

walked out of the castle The cou rt i ers w h o had .

been s a d when he entered were merry as he wen t

away and those who had been s ilent spoke one
,

to anothe r wo r ds of comfort and hope because ,

e e rm it had laid heal i ng spells upon the pr i ncess

j .

The K ing and the Q ueen of Land under -

Waves bade the healer of the F e a n s farewell

and wished him a safe and speedy j ourney .

rm it went on alone i n the d i rect i on of the

j e e

Pla i n o f Wonder H e went on and on unt i l he

- -
.

reached the river of wh i ch the princess had

spoken Then he walked up and down the river
.

bank sea r chin g for a fo r d but he could not nd ,

one .

I can not c r oss over he said aloud The ,

.

princess has spoken truly .

As he spoke a l i ttle b r own man r ose up out of

 P ri n c e s s o f La nd u nde W a ve s
r- 67

the r ive r Je e.rm it he said you

a r e now in ,

,

so r e st raits .

S aid Je e rm it : I ndeed I a m You have .

spoken w i sely .

What would you g ive to one wh o woul d help
y ou in your trouble ?

Whatever he may as k of m e .

All I as k for said the b r own man is you r ,
!

goodwill .

That you get fr eely said Je e rm it to hi m ,

.

I shall ca rr y y ou ac r oss th e r ive r said the ,

l ittl e man .

You cannot do that .

Yes indeed I can
,
.

H e stretched forth his hands and too k Je e rm it

on his back and walked across the r i ve r with hi m
, ,

tread i ng the surface as if it we r e ha r d gr ound .

A S they crossed the r ive r they passed an island

over wh i ch hove r ed a dar k mist .

What island is that asked j e e rm it
? .

I ts name the brown m an tol d h i m is Cold
,

,

I sle o f the D ead The r e is a well on the island

- - -
.
,

and the water o f it is heal ing water .

They reached the opposite bank and the br own ,

man sa i d You are goin g to the palace of K in g

I an of Wonde r Plain -
.

I am .

You desi r e to o b tain th e Cup of H eal in g .

That is t ru e .

68 Ta les fro m Sc o t t i sh My ths

May you get it said the br own m an wh o ,

,

thereupon entered th e river .

E re he disappeared he spoke again and said :

K now you where you now are ?

I n th e K in g dom of Pla i n o f Wonde r j e e rm it - -
,

said .

That i s t r ue said the little b r own man
,

It .

is also Land under M ounta i ns Th i s r i ver div i des

- -
.

Land u nder M ounta i ns from Land under Waves

- - - -
.

e rm it was about to ask a quest i on but ere

j e ,

he coul d speak the l i ttle b r own man vanished

from befo r e h i s eyes .

J e e rm it went on and on The r e w a s no sun .

above him and yet all the land was bright N o .

darkness ever comes to Land under M ounta i ns - -

,

and there is no morning the r e and no even ing ,

but always endless day .

rm it went on and on until he s a w a silve r

j e e

castl e w i th a roof of gleam ing c rystal The doors .

were shut and guarded by armed warr i o r s

, .

rm it blew a blast on his ho r n and called out

j e e , ,

Open and let m e i n .

A warr i or went towards him with drawn swo r d .

e e rm it ung h i s spear and slew the warrior

j .

Then the doors of the castl e were opened and

K i ng I an cam e forth .

Who are you and whence co m e you ? he
,

asked sternly .

I am Je e rm it was the answe r he r eceived

,

.
 P ri n c es s o f L and u nde r W a ves - -
69

S on of Angus the E ve r Young you are w e ]- - -

,

come exclaimed the k i ng

,

Why did you not .

send a message that you were com i ng ? I t i s

sorrowful to think you have slain my greatest
warrio r .

Sa i d Je e rm it : Give him to drink o f the

water i n the Cup of H eal i ng .

B ring forth th e cup ! the king called .

Th e cup was brought forth and the k i n g g ave ,

it to j e e rm it say i ng : There is no v i rtue i n the

,

cup unless i t is placed in hands of eithe r An g us

or h i s s o n .

j e e rm it touched the slain wa rr io r s l i ps with

the cup H e poured d r ops of th e water i nto the

.

man s mouth and he s a t up Then he drank all
,
.

the water in the cup and r ose to his feet strong ,

and well again fo r his wound had been healed

,
.

Said Je e rm it to the k i ng : I have come hithe r

to obta i n th i s cup and w i ll now take it with m e

,

and go away .

S o be it answe r ed the k in g
,

1 give you .

th e cup freely B ut remembe r that th ere is no

.

longer any heal i ng i n it for my mighty wa rr io r ,

has drunk the mag i c water .

J e e rm it w a s not too well pleased when the

K i ng of Wonde r Pla i n spoke thus -
N o matter .
,

sa i d he ; I shall take the cup w i th m e .

I w i ll send a boat to take you across the r i ve r

and past the Cold I sle o f the D ead the king sa i d
- - - -
,

.
70 Ta le s fro m Sco tt i sh My th s
Said Je e rm it : I thank you b ut I have no
,

need of a b oat .

May you return soon the K ing said with a ,

s mile for he bel i eved that Je e rm it would never be

,

able to cross the r ive r o r pass the Cold I sle o f the - - -

D ead .

rm it b ade th e king fa r ewell and went away

j e e ,

as he had come all alone H e went on and on , .

unt i l he reached the r iver Then he sat down .

,

and gloomy thoughts entered h i s m i nd H e had .

obtained the cup but it was empty : h e had re ,

tu r ned to the r i ver and coul d not cross it .

Alas ! he exclaimed aloud my errand is ,

fr uitless The cup is of no use to m e and I

.
,

cannot cross th e river and must needs return i n ,

shame to the K ing of Wonder Plain -
.

As he spo k e the little brown man rose out o f

the river .

You a r e ag ain in so r e st raits j e e rm it he said , ,

.

I ndeed I a m answered the s o n of A n gus
, ,
.

I g ot what I went for but it is useless and I , ,

cannot c r oss the river :

.

I S hall ca rr y you said the l ittle br own man ,

.

S o b e it j e e rm it answered
,

.

Th e l i ttle b rown man walked over the river \

with Je e rm it on his shoulders and went towards ,

th e Cold I sle o f the D ead

- - - -
.

Wh i ther a r e you carry i n g me now ? asked

e e rm it with fea r in his hea r t

J .
 P ri n c ess o f La nd u nde r W a ves -
7 1

Said the l i ttle brown man : You desi r e to heal

the daughter of K ing U nde r Waves -

.

That i s true .

Your cup i s empty and you must ll it at the ,

Well of H eal i ng on the Cold I sle o f the D ead

,
- - - -
.

That is why I am carry i ng you towards the i sle .

You must not get off my back o r s e t foot on the

shore else you w i ll never be a b le to le a ve it B ut
,
.

have no fear I S hall kneel down bes i de the well

.
,

and you can d i p the cup in it and ca r ry o ff ,

enough water to heal the p r incess .

e e rm it was well pleased to hear these wo r ds

J ,

for he knew that the l i ttle brown man was indeed

h i s fr i end H e obta i ned th e heal i ng wate r in the
.

manner that was prom i sed Then the l ittle brown .

man carried h i m to the oppos i te bank of the river ,

and set h i m down on the borde r of Land unde r -

VVa v e s


N ow you are happy hearted said the l ittle -
,

brown man .

H appy hearted i ndeed j e e rm it answe r ed

-
,

.

E re I b i d you farewell I shall give you g ood
advice sa i d the l i ttle brown man
,

.

Why ha v e you helped me as you have done ?
j e e rm it asked .

B ecause your hea r t is war m and you desire ,

to do good to others sa i d the little brown man ,

.

M en who do good to others w i ll ever nd fr i ends

in the Land of the Living in th e Land of the ,
72 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
D ead in Land unde r Waves and i n Land unde r
,
- -
,
-

M ounta i ns .

e e rm it sa i d

1 thank you j N ow I am

.
,

ready for your good advice knowing that you r ,

fri endsh i p is true and last i ng .

S aid the l i ttle brown man : You may give the

princess water from th e Cup o f H eal i ng but s h e - -

,

will not be cured u nless you drop into the water

th ree port i ons of sphagnum moss .

I have already found these po r tions on th e
br oad level plain .

That is well said the othe r,

N ow I have .

more advice to offer you When the pr i ncess is .

healed the king will offer you choice of reward .

Take no th i ng he offers but ask for a boat to ,

convey you home aga i n .

I w i ll follow your adv i ce Je e rm it promised ,

.

Then the two parted and j e e rm it went on and ,

on unt i l h e came to the golden palace of K i ng

U nder Waves The princess welcomed hi m when
-
.

he was brought into her room and sa i d No ,

:

m a n ever before w a s g i ven th e cup you now carry

.

S a i d j e e rm it : For your sake I shou ld have

got i t even if I had to ght an army

,
.

I feared greatly that yo u woul d neve r r eturn

,

sighed the pr i ncess .

e e rm it put i nto the Cup o f H ealing the three

j - -

port i ons of blood red moss wh ich he had found

-
,

and bade the princess to drink .

 TH E CU P OF H EA L I N G

Fro m a d ra w i n g by 1 a l m D u n ca n
,
 P ri n c e s s o f L and unde r W a ves - -
73

Thr i ce she drank and each t i me s h e swallowed ,

a port i on of red moss When s h e drank the last .

drop hav i ng swallowed the th i rd port i on of red

,

m oss s h e sa i d :
,
N 0 w I am heal ed Let a feast .

be made ready and I shall sit at the boa r d with

,

you .

There was great j oy and merr i ment i n the castl e

when the feast was held S orrow was put away .
,

and mus i c w a s sounded When the feast w a s over .

,

the k i ng spoke to Je e rm it and sa i d : I would

fa i n reward you for heal i ng my daughter the ,

pr i ncess I shall g i ve you as much s i l ver and

.

gold as you des i re and you shall marry my ,

daughter and become the he i r to my throne .

Sa i d j e e rm it : I f I marry your daughte r I

cannot aga i n ret u rn to my own land .

N 0 you cannot aga i n return except on rare
, ,

and short v i s i ts B ut here you will spend happy

.

days and everyone shall honour you
,
.

Said j e e rm it : The only reward I a s k fo r

,

O k i ng is a small one i ndeed

,
,
.

I p r om i se to give you whateve r you a s k for .

Sa i d j e e rm it : G i ve me a boat s o that I may

,

r eturn aga i n to my own land wh i ch is very dea r ,

to me and to my friends and kinsmen the F e a n s

, , ,

whom I love and to F i nn mac Cool th e great

, ,

chief of men .

Your w i sh i s granted the king said ,

.

Then Je e rm it bade farewell to all who we r e in

74 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
the castle and when he parted with the princess
,

s he sa i d : I S hall never forget you j e e rm it

, .

You found m e i n suffer i n g and gave me rel i ef ;

you found m e dy i ng and gave me back my l ife
aga i n When you return to your own land re
.

membe r me for I shall never pass an hour of l i fe

,

w i thout thinking o f you with j oy and thankful

ness .

e e rm it c r ossed the l evel plain once aga i n and

J ,

reached the place where the boat in wh i ch he had

com e lay safely moored The boatman went into .

i t and se i zed the oars and j e e rm it went i n after

,

h i m Then the boat sped through the deep dark

.

tunnel where the waves splash unseen aga i nst the

,

rocks and passed out of the cave on the shore of

,

Far Blue I sle The boat then went speed i ly over

- -
.

the s e a and while i t was yet afar o ff F i n n s a w

, ,

it com i ng All the P eans gathered on the shore

.

to bid Je e rm it welcome .

Long have we wa i ted for you s o n of Angus , ,

Fin n sa i d .

What time has passed s ince I went away ?

asked Je e rm it fo r i t seemed to h i m that he had

,

b een absent fo r no more than a day and a n i ght

S even long years have passed S i nce w e bade

you farewell Finn told h im ,
and w e feared ,

greatly that you would never again come back

to us .

Sa i d Je e rm it : I n the lands I visited there is

 P i n c e ss o f L and unde r W a v e s
r - -
75

no n i ght and no cha n ge i n the year Glad am I

, .

to return home once aga i n .

Then they all went to F i nn s house and a great

feast was held i n honour of j e e rm it who brought

,

back w i th h i m the Cup o f H eal i ng wh i ch he had

- -

received fr om the K ing of Wonder Pla i n-

.
 C H A PT E R V

N i m b le M en B l u e M en , a nd
,

G reen La d i es
A m ong the children and descendants of B eira
are the N imble M en or M er r y Dance r s (Au r ora
,

B oreal i s ) the B lue M en of the M inch and the

, ,

G r een Lad i es .

The N imble M en are divided into two clans .

The heroes of on e clan are clad in garments wh i te

as hoar fr ost and the heroes of the other clan in
-
,

garments of pal e yellow B r i ghter and more

.

varied colou rs are worn by the lad i es of the clans .

S ome are gowned i n green some in red and some , ,

in s i lvery white and a few wea r r oyal purple

,
.

O n winter n i ghts when there is peace on land

and s e a the N i mble M en and M e r ry Ma i dens
come forth to dance i n the northern S ky They .

are all of giant stature but comely of form and ,

the i r dances are very graceful The men b o w to .

the ma i ds and the ma i ds cu rts y t o the men and ,

when the dance i s at i ts he i ght some of th e men

leap h igh and wh i rl round about s o merry do they ,

become Fa i ry p i pers play enchant i ng mus i c wh i le

.

the me r ry couples dance across the no r thern s ky .

76
 N i m b le M en ,
B l u e M en ,
&c .
77

The r e was once a p ri nce of the White Clan of

N imble M en and h i s name was L i gh t Foot H e
,
.

loved the Princess Comely wh o was the fai r est ,

of all the M e rr y Maidens and he had a r ival ,

named Green E yes the ch i ef of the Yellow Clan

, .

Princess Comely l i ked best to dance with L i ght

Foot because amon g the N im b le M en he wa s
,

w i thout an equal as a dancer .

One dark n i ght when the m ountains we r e white

w i th new fallen snow and the valleys gliste n ed
-

w i th hoar frost all the northern sky was l i t up in

-
,

S plendour by the N i mble M en and M erry M aidens ,

w h o came out to dance in honour of Q ueen B e i ra .

I t was the rst g r eat gather i ng of the w i nter

season and all the dancers were clad i n new
,

and dazzl i ng g arments They began to dance

.

soon afte r da r kness s e t in and i t was nigh to ,

m idnight e r e they sank down to rest .

P r incess Comely had danced all the time with

Light Foot and when s h e sat down he knel t
,

befo r e he r wh i sperin g softly : Fa i rest of th e fair

, ,

O be my b r ide !

S a i d Pr i ncess Comely : You r b ride I shall be

.

The words were heard by Green Eyes who ,

wa s c r ouching nea r at hand H is heart wa s lled.

with ange r and leaping up he called u pon the

, , ,

members of h is clan to draw the i r swords and

ght L i ght Foot and h i s followe rs Then all was .

confusion The wa rr io r s of both clans sp r an g at

.
78 T ales fro m Sco t ti sh My th s
one anothe r brandishing their gleaming weapons
, .

U p leapt L i ght Foot to ght aga i nst Green Eyes .

R i s i ng to full stature he darted across the s k y to

s m i te him down U p leapt th e Princess Comely
.

and all the maidens and ran away shriek i ng

, .

Then a battl e royal began to r age between the

rival clans The sound of swords striking swo r ds
.

reached the ea r th and seemed l i ke the rustlin g o f

,

fr osty tw ig s when the wind rises suddenl y and

scampers th r ough the fo r est .

Fo r hours the fearsome ght was waged with

fur y and men and women came forth to watch
,

it with wonder and in s ilence They saw the war.

rio r s leaping white with anger H a r d and swift .

we r e the blows and many we r e slain At length

, .

below the feet of the N imble M en there appeared

a cloud wh i ch wa s red w i th the blood that owed
fr om many wounds received in the battle r oyal .

F r o m the s k y the blood drops fell l i ke dew on the

green stones of th e mountain which we r e thus for
,

eve r stained w i th red S pots That i s why the red

.

speckl ed green stones a r e called blood stones

.

When the n i ght was al most spent P r incess ,

Comely returned to the battle ground and found -

,

that th e conict had come to an end A S she .

d r ew near a few wounded wa r rio r s rose up and

,

staggered away She began to search among the

.

fallen warrio r s for Light Foot and at length she ,

found him lying cold and dead A cry of so r row .

 N i m b le M en ,
B l u e M en ,
Sa c . 79

broke fr om her l i ps and was wafted towa r ds the

,

earth on the rst breath of dawn Those wh o .

heard i t knew then that the prophecy of the S ee r

was bein g fullled and they sang the song he
,

had made :
Wh n y l d y seek s h l ve
e on a er o r

I n the col d d pe l y m n
an ar or ,

S he w i ll d th t he h
n f llen
a as a

B y the h n d th t h d id s n
a a S e co r .

S h e w i ll l sp h
c a ms b t hi m
er a r a o u

A d in h
n ng i sh d i
er a u e

Oh , nv
e er a g i n w i l l t i p h tw i n
a r t e s the N th n Sky!
a a cro s or er

The B lue M en a r e found only in the M inch and ,

chiey i n the strait wh i ch l i es between the I sland

of Lew i s and the S hant I sles (the charmed i slands ) ,

and is called the S ea stream of the B lue M en -
.

They are not g i ants l i ke the N imble M en but of

, ,

human s ize and they have great strength B y

, .

day and by night they swi m round and between

the Shant I sles and the s e a the r e is n eve r at r est
, .

The Blue M en wear blue caps and have grey

faces which appear above the waves that they
r a i se w i th their long r estless arms I n sum me r .

weathe r they skim l i ghtly below the surface b ut ,

when the wind i s h i gh they revel In the sto r m '

and swim w i th heads e r ect splash i n g th e waters ,

with mad del i ght S ometimes they a r e seen

.

oat i n g from the waist out of the s e a and some ,

times tu r n ing r ound like porpoises as they dive .

80 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
H e r e is a boatman s song about the B lue M en
:

Wh n t h e t i de i s the t n i n g d the w i nd i s f st sleep

e at ur an a a ,

And no w ve i s l i n g the w i de b l e deep

t a a cu r on , u ,

O h the w te s w i ll b e h n i n g i n the st e m th t neve s m i les

,
a r c ur r a a r ,

W h e e the B l e M en spl sh i n g nd the h m ed i sles

r u a re a ro u c ar .

As the s mm e w i nd g es d n i n g the b ig ht se s
u r o ro

o er su n - r a ,

And t h e Mi n h i s ll d le the H eb i des c a a- azz to r ,

Th e y w i ll s ki m l n g l ik e s l m n y the i sh lde s
a o a o
o u ca n s e e r ou r

g le m a ,

And t h e sh i n g f the i n g e s i n the B l e M en s S t e m

a o r r u

r a .

But w h en t h e b l st i s v i n g d the wi ld t i de es a ra an ra c ,

T he B l e M en b e st h ig h w i th f m g e y f es
u a re r a -
oa -
r ac

T he y ll pl n g e l n g w i th f y wh i le the y sweep t h e sp y

u a o ur ra

b eh i nd ,

O h the y ll b ell w
,

the bi ll ws d w i l p n the w i nd
o o er

o an a u o .

And i f m y b t b e st m d d b e t i n g f the b y
oa or -
to s s

an a or a ,

T he y ll b e h wl i n g d b e g wl i n g the y d en h i t w i th h

o an ro as r c t e
sp y ra

For th y d l ik e h eel i t ve th e i l g hte when i t l i sts

e

to o r to r au r ,

O r cra c k the k eel b etween the m st ve i t w i th thei sts , or a r .

O h we y t h e B l e M en the i n g e d the i w i les !

,
ar on u ,
r a r an r

Th wh le d y l n g t h e wh l n ig ht l n g the y e s p l sh i n g
e o a o , o e o ,

r a

n d the i sles ;
ro u

T h e y ll f ll w eve y h

o h ! the y l l h nt t h e h
o r s er
a

au s er s

de m r a

When bi ll ws t ss O h wh w ld ss the B l e M en s S t e m !
o o , , o ou cro u

r a

I n days of old the B lue M e n s S tream was

somet i mes called The Current of D estruct i on

,

because s o many sh i ps we r e swamped i n i t The .

peopl e blamed th e Blue M en who dwelt i n caves , ,

 N i m b le M en ,
B lue M e n ,
&c . 81

they said at the bottom of the sea

,
The i r .

sent i nels were al ways on the look out and when -

,

a vessel came i n S i ght word was sent to the men

,

i n the caves to come u p S a i lors were afra i d o f

.

them and many sa i led round the Shant I slands

,

instead of tak i ng the short cut between these

and the big I sland of Lew i s .

When the ch i ef of the B lue M en had all h i s

men gathered about him ready to attack a sh i p , ,

he rose h i gh in the water and shouted to the

sk i pper two l ines of poetry and i f th e sk i pper did,

not repl y at o n ce by adding two l i nes to complete

the verse the Blue M en se i zed th e sh i p and upset
,

i t Many a S h i p was lost i n days of old b ecause

.

the skipper had no sk i ll at verse .

T rue is the Gael i c say i ng howeve r : The r e ,

comes with t i me what comes not w i th weather

.

O ne day when the wind was h i gh and the

,

b illows r ough and angry the B lue M en s a w a ,

stately sh i p com i ng towards their s e a stream unde r -

white sa i ls Royally she cleft her way through

.

the waves The sentinels called to the b lue

.

fellows w h o were on the s e a oor and as they ,

r ose they wondered to see the keel pass ove r

head s o sw i ftly S ome se i zed it and shook it as
.

if to try the i r strength and were aston i sh ed to

,

nd i t so steady and heavy I t carried on straight .

as a spear i n i ght .

The chief of the B l u e M en b o bb ed up in front

( 0 871 ) 6
82 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
of the ship and when wa i st h i gh amon g the
, ,
-

tumbling waves shouted to the S k i pper :,

Ma n the b l k p wh t d y y
o f ac ca ,
a o o u sa

As y p d sh i p le ves the b i ne ?
o ur ro u c a r

N o sooner were the words spoken than the

skipper answered
My s p eed y sh ip t k es the Sh test w y a or a ,

A nd I ll f ll w y l i ne by l i ne

o o ou .

This was at on ce an answer and a challenge ,

and the chief of the B lue M en cr i ed angr i ly

m en e g e m y m
My a re e dy a r, e n a re r a

T d g y o b l w the w ves
ra ou e o a

The sk i pper answered deantly i n a loud voice :

My sh i p i s speed y m y sh ip i s ste d y , a ,

If it s nk i t w ld w e k y
a ves ou r c o u r ca .

The ch ief of the B lue M en was worsted N ever .

before had a seaman answered h i m s o promptly

and s o well H e had no power to i nj ure the sh i p
.
,

because the skipper wa s as good a bard a s he was

h i mself and h e knew that if h e went on shout i ng
,

half verses until the storm spent itself the sk i pper

-

would al ways complete them H e s i gnalled to .

h is followers to dive ; and down below th e wave

r i dges they all van i shed l i ke b i rds that dive for ,

sh The b i g sh i p went on proudly and safely

.

under snow wh i te wind t i ght sa i ls wh il e

-
,

Th e w i nd th gh the d ge s n g
s ea - ro u co r a a

Wi th h ig h d wi nt y m e i m en t
an r rr .
 N i m b le M en ,
B l u e M en ,
85 c . 83

Once upon a time som e she r men who we r e

cross i ng the S ea stream of the Blue M en in
-

calm weather found one of the blue fellows sl eep

ing on the surface They se i zed h i m and l ift i ng
.
, ,

h i m into the boat bound h i m tightly w i th a rope

,
.

H e S lept s o sou ndly that although the she r men

let h i m fall out of the ir hands he d i d not awake .

They resolved to take h i m to the sho r e but ,

they had not gone far when two B lue M en bobbed

above the clear waters and shouted
n n w i ll b e
Du ca D n l d w i ll b e tw
o n e, o a o,

W i ll y need n the y e h th e s h e ?
ou a o r e re ou r ac or

The S k i pper of the boat w about to shout as

two l i nes i n reply but before he could speak the

, , ,

B lue M an i n the boat opened h i s eyes and w i th ,

a qu i ck movement he snapped the rope that bound

h i m as eas i ly as i f it had been only an oat straw ,

and answered
Du n n s v i e I he D n ld t i s e
ca

o c a r, o a oo n a r,

B need f h elpe s h st n g I M e
ut n o o r as ro an or .

AS he spoke h e leapt out of the boat into the

sea That was how th e shermen cam e to know
.

that all the Blue M en have names of the i r own .

The Green Ladies a r e different from the fair i es ,

w h o are called Wee Folk for l i ke the B lue

, ,

M en they are of human S ize S ome of them are

, .

withe r ed old hags r esembl in g B eira in the winter

,
84 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
season and some of them are as fa i r as B eira in
,

her summer gi rlhood They have powe r to change .

th eir forms at w i ll A G reen Lady may somet imes

.

deceive a t r aveller by appearing before h i m in the

form of his lady love and afte r speaking to hi m
-
, ,

for a time turn away with mock i ng laughter and

,

vanish fr om S i ght Perhaps too s h e may appear.

, ,

as a dog and torment shepherds by driv i ng thei r

,

sheep h i ther and th i the r i n w i ld co n q io n .

E ach Green Lady lives alone i n a sol itary place ,

either below a river or waterfall or in a green

knoll a forest or a deep ravine O ne i s ra r ely
, , .

seen in dayt i me The Green Lady wanders about

.

i n the dusk of late evening i n moonl i ght or in , ,

darkness S he i s ever a deceiver and woe to

.
,

the travelle r who has not the knowledge how to

overcom e her spells fo r s h e may drown him at a ,

r i ve r ford or lead hi m over the edge of a prec i

pice I t i s dif cul t to ght aga i nst her for i f
.
,

S he asks a man what weapon he has and he ,

names it she can by working magic make the

, , ,

weapon quite harmless .

O ne even i ng a s m i th was r iding homeward from

battle on h i s horse and when it was grow i ng dusk ,

he r eached a ford Suddenly a Green Lady rose .

out of the water i n front of h i m .

S top ! s h e cr i ed ; you cannot ride ac r oss

.

S a i d the man : B egone ! O evil one o r I shall ,

smite you .
 N i m b le M en ,
B lue M e n ,
85 c . 85

What have you to ght with ? s h e asked .

Sa i d the man : I have m y sword .

I mmediately he named h i s sword i t lost its

power to do her i nj ury .

The Green Lady laughed mock i ngly and then ,

asked : What else have you to ght w i th ?

Sa i d the man : I have my spear .

W hen he named the spea r it became as useless

as the sword .

The Green Lady laughed again a sh r ill mock ,

ing laugh H ave you r oom for a r ide r behind

.

you ? she asked .

Said the man : Yes and the r e is r oom also

,

fo r a ride r in front .

A s he spoke he seized the G r een Lady l ifted ,

her up i n front of h i m th r ew the reins ove r her ,

head and said : N ow I have you in my power
,

.

You w i ll never leave the ford S he answered ,

,

because your sword and spea r have been made

useless to you .

Sa i d the man : I have still one weapon le ft .

Wh i ch on e i s that ? s h e asked
.

S aid the smith : The sha r p br i ght weapon

aga i nst my leg .

H e meant the d i rk i n h is right stocking but as ,

he d i d not mention i ts name the G r een Lady ,

could not make it useless .

Then I will leave you c r ied the lady in ,

ala r m .
86 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
Said the s mith : You cannot leave me until

I choose to let you go The r eins are about you .

,

and you cannot move beyond them for the magic ,

powe r has now b een ta k en fr om you and has

passed to me .

The G reen Lady k new well that this was so .

S he knew also that S h e would have to do what

eve r the man o r dered he r to do b efore he would
s e t he r fr ee .

The horse was u rged forward by the smith and ,

the fo r d was crossed in safety Then the animal .

trotted across the moor as the moon rose ove r the

h i lls sh i n i ng fa i r and br i ght
, .

Let m e go the G reen Lady cried and I
, ,

S hall give you a herd of speckl ed cattle .

S aid the m an : You will have to give m e a

herd of cattle b ut still I shall not let you go

,
.

The ho r se went on and the Green Lady wept ,

tears of sorrow and anger .

Let me go s h e cr i ed and I shall bu i ld fo r
,

,

you to night a house which re will not burn no r

water or storm w i nd injure and it shall be charmed ,

against all ev i l beings .

The man re i ned up his horse and said : Full ,

you r prom i se and I shall s e t you free

, \
.

H e d i smounted and the Green Lady dismounted

,

also The sm i th t i ed the reins round her and re

.
,

e a te d h is command
p .

Your wish w i ll be fullled s h e said ,

.
 N i m b le M en ,
B lue M en ,
85 c . 87

Then the Green Lady uttered a loud cry wh i ch ,

was heard over seven h i lls The cry was repeated .

over and over aga i n by B i g Angus of the Rock

( E cho ) a lonely spirit
,
who i s at everyone s serv i ce
.

B i g Angus i s a s o n of B ei ra and i t i s told he was ,

wont to cause his mother much trouble by con

t ra d ictin g her orders and giving orders of his

o wn , for h e des i red to be K i ng of the U n ive rse ,

although he w a s weak m i nded and l i ght headed - -

.

To pun i sh him B eira shut h i m i nside a r ock and

, ,

compelled h i m ever after to repeat any words that

were sa i d i n h i s hear i ng E ve r since that day .

B i g Angus has had to repeat ove r and ove r again

everyth i ng he hears i n h is lonely rocky prison .

S o B i g Angus repeated the cry of the G r een

Lady which was a command to fairies and gobl i ns
,

to come to her a i d As these l i ttle people fear all

.

Green Lad i es they answered her cry without de

,

lay They came from the h ill tops and from i nside
.
-

cl i ffs from green knolls in lonely moo r s and deep

,

forests and from every other haunt they loved

, .

Those that were danc i n g ceased to dance and ,

those that were setting out on j ou r neys turned

back . They crossed the moors j umping l i ke
crickets and came throu g h the air l i ke b i rds
,

and gathered r ound the G r een Lad y waitin g to ,

obey he r .

S he s e t them to work at once to hew wood and

gather stones They cut down t r ees in the Rowan
.
88 Ta les from Sco t t is h My ths
Wood and qua r ried stones below a wate r fall
, .

As they went on working the G r een Lady c r ied ,

out
Two s t nes ve
o st ne
o r o ne o ,

O ne st ne ve w st nes
o o r t o o

W k speed i l y w k speed i l y
o r , or

B i n g eve y t i m b e f m the w d
r r r ro oo

B ut m l be y b t m l be y
u rr , u u rr .

The house was bu i l t very quickly A c r oss the .

m oo r the fair i es stood in two rows one row from

the house to th e waterfall and one from the house

to the Rowan Wood The stones that were qua r
.

ried were passed along from hand to hand and so ,

were the p i eces of t i mbe r that we r e h ewed down

and sawed and dressed .

When the dawn w a s beginnin g to appea r in the

eastern s k y the house w a s ready and all the fai r ies ,

and gobl i ns vanished from S i ght .

S et me free cr i ed the Green Lady
,

.

The smith said : I shall s e t you free when you

have promised not to do me any inj ury .

I prom ise that read i ly sa i d S he ,

.

Sa i d the sm i th : Promise also that neithe r I

nor my children will ever be drowned by you in

th e fords of the three r i vers .

H e named the r i vers he refe r red to Th ey all .

owed near h i s home .

The Green Lady promised that also Then the .

sm i th s e t her free and she cried : Yo u have not

,

 N i m b le M en ,
B l u e M en ,
&c . 89

named the fourth rive r Let you and you r chil

.

d r en beware !

A s s h e spoke S h e went past th e sm i th like

a g r een ame . H e never aga i n saw her but ,

seven years afterwards one of h i s sons w a s drowned

in the fo r d of the fourth river he had not named ,

and then he knew that the G reen Lady had

taken her revenge .

Other Green Ladies have made friends w i th

certain fam i l i es and have kept watch over their
,

houses sh i eld i ng them from harm O nce a poor

, .

sherman lost h i s boat and s a t down on the beach

,

at a r iver mouth lament i ng h i s fate A Green .

Lady appeared before h i m and sa i d : I f I give

,

you a new boat w i ll you div i de your sh w i th me ?

Said the sherman : I prom ise to do s o .

N ext morn i ng he found a new boat lying on

th e beach H e went out to s e a and caught many
.

sh When he returned to the shore h e left half

.

of h i s catch on a green knoll on the r i ver bank .

The G reen Lady was well pleased and helped the ,

man to prosper .

One even i ng however he left no sh for he r

, ,
.

H e went out to s e a n ext day as usual but did ,

not catch anything Sad was h i s heart when he

.

returned home empty handed but it w a s even

-
,

sadder next morning when he found that h i s boat

had been smashed to p i eces dur i ng the n i ght in
a sto r m which had r isen suddenly and raged until
90 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
daybreak H e never aga i n s a w the G reen Lady
.
,

and he had reason to be sorry that he had not

kept his barg a i n with her .

There was once a G reen Lady who r eceived

favours from a bold p i rate whose name was Mac
E an Ye e r S he kept watch over h i m on s e a and
.

land so that he was always able to escape from

,

those wh o pursued him The G reen Lady advised .

h im to pa i nt one s i de of h i s boat black and the

othe r s ide white s o that watchers on the shore
,

would see a black boat pass i ng to the north and

a white boat pass i ng to the south and thus be ,

deceived think i ng the boat wh i ch went out to

,

attack a galley was not the same one as they saw

r eturning I n time when the peopl e came to
.
,

know the trick the y said of dece i tful persons :

,

H e bl k

5 s i de
ac o n o ne and wh i te o n the the
o r,

Lik e h b t f M t e oa o ac E a n Ye e r .

M ac E an l ived to be an old man and when h e ,

died in I slay the G r een Lady shr i eked aloud and

passed northward The shr i ek was heard i n M ull
.
,

and ere the echoes died away S h e had r eached the

Cooli n H ills in S k y e .
 C H A PT E R VI

Co n a ll a nd the T h u nde r H ag

Among the hags wh o served B ei r a wa s the

Thunder H ag When Angus began to r eign she
.

ed across the ocean to a lonely island whe r e she ,

plotted to wreak vengeance by bringing disaste r

to man and beast because the y had rej oiced when
,

B eira w a s overcome .

One day i n m i dsummer when all the land was

,

bathed in wa r m bright sunsh i n e and the sea

,

was lulled to sl eep the Thunder H ag came ove r

,

S cotland in a black ch a riot drawn by erce r ed

hounds and surrounded by heavy clouds The .

sk
y was darkened and
,
as th e hag d r ew n ear th e ,

rattling o L th e chariot wheels and the bay i ng of

the hounds sounded loud and fearsome She .

r ode from s e a to s e a ove r hill and moor and

, ,

threw reballs at the deep forests which s e t them

,

ablaze Terror spread through the land as the

.

chariot passed in smoke and clouds .

O n the n ext day the hag came back She .

th r ew more reballs on forests of r and silve r

91
92 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
bi r ch and they burned e r cely D ry heather on
, .

the moors and the sun d r ied g rass we r e also -

swept by ame .

The king w a s greatly troubled and he sent ,

forth his ch i ef warriors to slay the hag ; but they

ed in terror when they s a w her com i ng near .

O n th e th i rd day s h e retu r ned Then the kin g .

called fo r Conall Cu r l ew the fearless hero and , ,

spoke to h i m saying : , M y kingdom will be

destroyed if the hag is not sla i n I need you r .

help O brave and noble one
,
.

Said Conall : I shall go out against the hag

,

O king and i f I d o n o t slay her to day I may

,

-
,

slay her on the morrow .

Conall went forth and when he s a w and hea r d

,

the chariot draw i ng near he went up to th e summ it

of a h i gh mountain and wa i ted to attack her B ut .

the hag kept herself hidden beh i nd a cloud which

surrounded the chariot Conall had to return to .

the k i ng w i thout havin g done anything .

I could n o t see the hag because of the dark
cloud he sa i d
,

.

I f she comes again to morrow the k in g said -

,

,

you may fare better .

Conall then made preparations fo r th e next

coming of the hag H e went out into the elds
.

that were n i gh to the royal castle and separated ,

all the lambs from the S heep all the calves fr om ,

the cows and all the foals fro m the m ares When
,
.
 Co n a ll a nd the T h u nde r H ag 93

mo r ning came on the r e was gr eat tu m ul t a m on g

the an i mals .

There neve r was hea r d before such a b leating

of sheep such a lowing of cattle or ne i gh i ng of
, ,

ma r es i n the land of Alba and it was p i teous to

, ,

hear the cries of the lambs and the calves and , ,

the foals wh i ch were taken from thei r mothers .

The m en were lled w i th wonde r at the th i ng

Conall had done nor could they understand w h y
,

he had done it and the hearts of the women we re

,

touched by the cries of the young animals and ,

they wept to hea r them .

I t wa s indeed a morn i ng o f so rr ow and wail

ing when the cloud i n wh i ch the hag s chariot

was h i dden came n i gh to the castle The cloud .

darkened the heavens and when it passed over

,

the wooded hill the re balls s e t the t r ees in-

ame and all the people ed before the cloud

,

and concealed themselves i n caves and in holes in

the ground all except the warriors who waited
, , ,

trembling w i th deep eyes and pale faces

,
.

Conall stood alone on a g r een knoll and h is ,

S pear wa s in his hand .

When the cloud came ove r the valley o f the

castle the hag heard the cries of the animals
,

that assa i led her ears and s o great was he r

,

curiosity that s h e peered over the ed g e of th e

b lack cloud .

G reat fea r fell on the hea r ts of the wa rr io r s

94 Ta l es from Sco tt i sh My th s
when they saw th e horrible face of the hoa ry
headed hag ; but Conall was a man without fear ,

and he was wa i ting for the hag to reveal hersel f .

A S soon as he s a w her he swung h is r ight a r m

,

over h is shoulder and he cast the spear towards

,

the cloud The swallow does not dart sw i fte r

.

than the spea r of Conall darted th r ough the air .

The hag was wounded and th rew wide he r

,

grisly paws and sank down with i n the chariot .

She called to the black hounds : Race qu i ckly !

and they ran swiftly towards the west The .

sound of the r attling of the chariot wheels g rew

fainte r and fa i nter as it passed out of sight .

The clouds which the hag passed over swiftly

in he r i ght were rent i n twa i n and rain fell in
,

to r rents quench i ng the res that we r e in the

,

woods and on the moors .

There was great rej o i cin g i n the land b ecause

o f the mighty deed done by Conall and the ki n g
,

honoured that noble hero by plac i ng a gold ring

on h i s nger a gold armlet on h i s arm and a
, ,

gol d necklet on his neck .

There was peace and p r ospe r ity in the land

after that The b a g d i d not retu r n aga i n s o
.
,

greatly d i d s h e dread Conall Curlew the he r o ,

of he r oes .
 C H A PT E R V I I

S t o ry o f F i nla y and the G ia n ts

F i nlay the hunte r l ived with his siste r in a lonely
little house among the mounta i ns and near at ,

hand there were g i ants who were descendants of

B e i ra Th i s g i ant clan was rul ed over by a hag
.

queen who was very old and erce and cunning .

She had great stores of s i lver and gold i n he r

cave and also a gold h i lted mag i c sword and a
,
-

magic wand When S he struck a stone pilla r

.

w i th th i s wand it became a warr i or and i f s h e put ,

the gold h i lted sword i nto h i s hand the greatest

-
,

and strongest hero in the world would be unable

to combat aga i nst h i m w i th success .

E very day that F i nlay went out to hunt he

warned h is s i ster say i ng : D o not open the
,

w i ndows on the no r th s i de of the house o r let the ,

r e go out .

H i s s i ster did not however heed his warning

, ,

always One day s h e shut the w i ndows on the

.

south s i de of the house and opened those on the ,

north s i de and allowed the re to go out

, .

S he wondered what would happen and she ,

95
96 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My th s
had not long to wa i t for a youn g g i ant came ,

towards the house and entered i t H e had as .

su med a comely form and spoke pleasantly to ,

Finlay s s ister They became very friendly and

.
,

the giant made the foolish g i rl prom i se not to tell

her brother of h i s v i sits Afte r that the g i rl b egan .

to quarrel with Finlay Th i s went on for a t i me . .

On e day when F i nlay was returning to h i s

home he s a w a l i ttl e sh i el ing i n a place where no
shiel ing used to be H e wondered who dwel t i n .

it and walked towa r ds the door and entered H e

, .

s a w an old woman sitting on the oor and s h e ,

b ade him welcome .

S it down s h e sa i d You r name is Finlay

,

.

.
I

That is true answered he ; who are y ou

,

and whence come you ?

I am called Wise Woman s h e answered

, .

I have come here to protect and gu i de you .

Alas ! you do not know that you are i n dange r

of your l ife A young g iant has bew i tched you r
.

s i ster and i s wa i t i ng to k i ll you th i s very day

,

w i th a S harp blue sword .

Alas ! cried F inlay who sorrowed to think

,

of his s ister .

B e i ng forewarned the hun ter was prepared , .

When he returned home h e s e t h i s erce dogs

on the giant and threw a pot of bo i l i ng wate r
,

over h i m The g i ant ed shriek i ng towards h is

.

cave and F i nlay s s i ster followed h im

,

.
 S t o ry o f F i nla y a nd the G i ants 97

Then th e hunter was left alone in the house .

H is heart shook with terror because he feared

that one of the older g i ants would come aga i nst
h i m to avenge the i nj ury done to the young g i ant .

H e had good reason to be afraid As soon as .

the young g i ant reached the cave h is brother ,

c r ied : I shall go forth and deal w i th the hunter .

I had better go myself h is father sa i d ercely

,

.

I t is I who should go growled the e r ce ,

grey hag .

I spoke r st u rged the young giant s brother

,

and sprang towards the mouth of the cave in the

g ather i ng dusk .

F i nlay wa i ted alone in his l ittl e house The .

door was S hut and secu r ely barred and the peat ,

re glowed br i ght and warm yet he shivered w i th ,

the coldness of terror H e l i stened long and

.

anxiously and at length heard a growing noise

,

l i ke d i stant thunder S tones rumbled down the

.

hillside as the giant r aced on and when he entered ,

a bog th e mud splashed heav i ly aga i nst the cl i ffs .

Finlay knew then that a g i ant was com i ng and ,

ere long he heard h is vo i ce roaring outside th e

door : F ith ! foth ! fo o g ie ! The door i s shut
aga i nst a stranger Open and let me i n
. H e did .

not wa i t for F i nlay to answer but burst the door ,

open w i th a blow Th e hunter stood behind th e

.

re wh i ch burned i n the m iddle of the room h i s ,

b ow in h is hand and an a r row r eady H e red .

( 0 87 1 ) 7
98 Ta le s fro m Sco t ti sh My ths
as the giant entered but did not k i ll h i m The, .

g i ant shr i eked and leapt towards F i nlay but the ,

dogs made erce attack Then the hunter shot .

another arrow from h i s bow and k i lled the g i ant .

N ext mo r ning Finlay hastened to the sh i el i ng

of Wise Woman ta k ing with h im the gi ant s
,

head .

Well val iant lad she exclaimed how fa r ed
, ,

,

it with you last night ?
Fi nlay told he r all that had taken place and ,

expla i ned that it was ow i ng to the help g i ven hi m

b y the dogs he wa s able to slay the g i ant .

There is need of the dogs W i se Woman ,

said ,
but the day of their great need has yet

to come .

That evening F inlay again s a t alone i n his

house wonder i n g what would happen next N o
, .

soone r d i d night come on than he heard a no i se

l i ke d i stant thunder but much louder than on th e
,

n i ght before Great b oulders rumbled down the

.

hill s i de and mud splashed on the cliffs Another

-
, .

and more te rr ible g i ant was com ing seeking to ,

be avenged .

Thoth ! Thoth ! F o o g ie ! roa r ed his heavy

voice outs i de the house I smell a man ins i de .

.

Open the door that I may enter Although you .

killed my s o n last n i ght you shall not slay me , .

H e burst the door open and a s he d i d s o the ,

house shook F i nlay feared the roof was about

.
 S t o ry o f F i n la y a nd the G i a n ts 99

to fall upon him b ut he fea r ed mo r e when h e ,

beheld the giant in the re ligh t fo r the m onste r ,

had ve heads .

H e drew h i s bow and shot an a rr ow The .

g i ant paused F inlay shot a second arrow which

.
, ,

l i ke the rst wounded the monste r b ut d i d not

, ,

ki ll h i m Then th e hunter drew his sword and

.

smote him heavily but his wounds were not ,

mortal The giant stretched out h i s g r isly hands

.

to seize F inlay but the dogs leapt at him and a

, ,

erce struggle took place but i n the end F inlay ,

triumphed and th e giant wa s sla i n

, .

N ext morn i ng the hunter went to the shiel ing

of W i se Woman and told her of the n i gh t o f ,

terror and the long and deadly combat The .

,

dogs he said helped me But fo r the dogs
,

.

I should have been overcome .

Said W i se Woman : The r e is need fo r the

dogs but the day of their greatest need has yet

,

to come T o night the erce grey hag will see k

to avenge the death of her hus b and and s o n .

B eware of her O val i ant lad ! She w i ll not come

,

raging and r oar ing l i ke the giants but gently and ,

mannerly She will call to you in a mee k and

.

mild voice asking you to let her in

,
B ut re .
,

m ember it is he r intent i on to take you r l i fe

, Do .

as I i nstruct you and all Wi ll be well .

Wise Woman then gave him instr u ctions and ,

he went home When n i ght came on there was

.
100 T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
silence all around F i nlay wa i ted alone listening
.
,

intently and the s i lence terr i ed him more than

,

the nois es l ike d i stant thunder he had heard on

the two previous n i ghts H e shook and sh i vered
.

b es i de the warm br i ght peat re wa i t i ng and ,

wa i t i ng and l i sten i ng At length h e sprang up

.

suddenly for he heard a rustl i ng sound l i ke the

,

wind stirring dead leaves A moment later a .

weak patient vo i ce outside the door called : I

am old and weary I have need of food and o f

.

shelter for the night Open and let m e i n

. .

Finlay went to the door and made answe r :

I shall let you in old woman if you promise

, ,

to be civil and mannerly and not do me an ,

inj ury .

Said the hag : Oh ! I S hall give no trou b le

.

I p r omise to be civ il and mannerly Let me .

enter you r house .

F i nlay opened the door and the hag walked in , .

She looked a poor fra i l old woman and seemed ,

to be very weary When s h e had curtsied to

.

Finlay s h e s a t down on one s i de of the re

,
.

Finlay sat down on the oppos i te side .

The hag stretched out he r hands to wa r m

them and began to look about he r F i nlay s
,
.

three dogs were prowl i ng up and down the room ,

snarl i ng angrily and showing the i r teeth .

These are erce dogs the widow said , .

A rise and t i e them with thongs

.
 S t o ry o f F i nla y and the G i a nts IO I

The dogs w i ll not do any ha r m to a peaceabl e

old woman sa i d F i nlay
,

.

T i e them up in any case I p ray you I ,
.

disl i ke angry dogs .

I cannot do that old woman b ecause I have
, ,

noth i ng to t i e them w i th .

S a i d the hag : I will give you three red ri b

bons fr om my cap They a r e st r ong enough to

.

hold a b ig sh i p at anchor .

Finlay took the red ribbons from her and pre

tended to t i e up the dogs B ut he only made .

them l i e down i n a co r ner .

H ave you t i ed up the do gs ? asked the hag

very softly .

You can s e e for you r self that they are lyin g
now w i th the i r necks close together Finlay ,

answered The hag looked at the dogs and

.
,

bel i eving they had been secured with her mag ic

ribbons s m i led to he r self
, .

Sh e s a t beside the re in silence fo r a time and ,

Finlay sat oppos i te her After a t i m e the hunte r

.

not i ced that s h e was growing bigger and bigger .

What means th i s ? cr i ed F i ndlay
You .

seem to be grow i ng bigger and b i gger .

Oh no my darl i ng ! she answered
, ,
The
.

col d of th e n i ght made me shrink and now I am ,

feeling more comfortable b eside your warm b r i ght

re .

The r e wa s s ilence again and F inlay watched ,

10 2 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
her fo r a time and then cried : You are growin g

bigger without d oubt You may be pleased o r

, .

displeased because I s a y so but you cannot ,

deny it .

The hag fr owned and answered angr i ly : I

am growing b i g g er as you s a y What of that ? ,

.

You fear me now and you have good reason to ,

.

You slew my husband last night and you slew ,

my s o n on the n ig ht before I shall certainly kill .

o u to nigh t
y
-
.

When she had spoken thus sh e sprang to he r

feet i n full heigh t and th e house shook about ,

her and a b ove Finlay sprang to his feet also

.
,

and as he d i d so th e hag seized h im by the hai r

of h i s head H av i n g prom i sed not to i nj ure h i m
.

inside the house a prom i se s h e coul d not break

s h e dragged him outs i de The three dogs rose .

,

and sprang th rough the door after her .

F inlay wrestled ercely w i th the hag and th e ,

two twisted and turned h ither and th i ther The .

mother of the young g i ant would have k i lled h im

without delay but the dogs kept attack i ng her
, ,

and gave he r much tro u bl e At length w i th the .

,

help o f the dogs F i nlay managed to throw her,

down S he lay upon one of her arms and the

.
,

dogs hel d the othe r .

Oh ! l et me r i se to my feet c r ied the hag ,

,

wh o had no power to st r u gg l e when she lay on

the gr ound .
 S t o ry o f F i nl ay a nd the G i a n ts 10 3

S a i d Finlay : I shall not allow you to r ise up .

Allow me to ransom mysel f the hag pleaded ,
.

Sa i d Finlay : What ransom w i ll you give ?

I have a trunk of gold and a trunk of s i lve r

in my cave You shall get both s h e answered
.
, .

Sa i d F i nlay : H aving ove r come you these are

,

mine al ready .

I will g i ve you a g old hilted swo r d which is -

in my cave the hag then promised
,
H e who .

w i elds th i s mag i c sword w i ll overcome any man

or any beast i n the world .

Sa i d F i nlay : The sword is m i n e al r eady

.

I w i ll g i ve you a mag i c rod if you spa r e me

,

the hag cr i ed then I t is a matchless weapon

. .

I t can also work wonders I f you str i ke a stone .

p i llar w i th i t the p i llar w i ll turn into a wa r rior and

, ,

i f you w i ll put the gold h i lted sword in th i s warrior s

-

hand he w i ll conquer th e world for you

, .

S a i d F i nlay : Your wand is m i ne already by

right of conquest What else have you to offe r .

for ransom ?

Alas ! the hag c r ied I have naught else to

,

g ive you .

S a i d F inlay : Then you shall die The world

.

will be well r i d of you .

H e slew th e erce hag and th en a rose qu ickly ,

and put red moss (sphagnum moss ) on h i s

wounds and sores s o that they m i ght be healed ,

speed i ly N ext morning he a r ose and went and

.
[04 T ales from S co tt i sh My ths
informed Wise Woman of what had taken place ,

saying : I t was ch i ey ow i ng to the do g s that

the hag was overcome .

S a i d W i se Woman : O valiant hero ! the dogs

have now had the i r day .

Then F i nlay told about the t r easu r e i n the cave ,

and sa i d : I know not how I can obta i n the gold

and s i lver the gold h i lted sword and the m a g ic
,
-
,

wand .

S a i d W i se Woman : To nigh t my dau ghte r

-

and I w i ll go w i th you to the giants cave I will

.

take my own mag i c wand with me .

When darkness came on the three went to

the cave They set to work and gathered arm
.

fuls of dry heather wh i ch they heaped up at the

,

cave mouth and s e t on re s o that the young ,

g i ant w i th i n m i ght b e choked by the fumes and

scorched by the ames S oon the g i ant crawled
.

to the mouth of th e cave pant i ng heavily H e , .

cam e thro u gh the smoke dazed and half blinded .

Suddenly a warning l i ght appeared on h is fore

head .

F i nlay drew h is bow and said : I will shoot .

D o not shoot W i se Woman warned h i m
,

.

A wound would only make h i m e rce r and the ,

dogs would be of no use to you among the re

I f he i s allowed to escape out of the are the ,

dogs would not s e e h i m i n the darkness I shall .

strike him with my mag i c wand I can strike .

 S t o ry o f F i nla y and the G i ants 10 5

once only and if I fa i l he w i ll str i ke the next blow

,

w i th the gold h i lted sword wh i ch i s in h i s hand

-
.

The g i ant scattered the re to get out of the

cave but ere he could r i se W i se Woman smote
,

h im on the head with her m agic wand and he ,

fell down dead .

When they ente r ed the cave they found that

F i nlay s sister was within B ut s h e was dead ;

.

she had per i shed i n her cave prison .

Finlay took out all the treasure that w a s in the

cave and carr i ed i t to the sh i el i ng of Wise Woman
, .

Then he tested the mag i c wand H e struck a .

stone p i llar w i th i t and the p i llar became a warrior

, .

Then he struck the warrio r and he became a stone ,

pillar again .

Th i s is wonderful Finlay exclaimed ,

.

I t i s indeed said W i se Woman Then s h e
,

.

told h i m that he must v i s i t the k i ng next day and

inform h i m of all that had taken place and she ,

made h i m take a vow not to enter the palace .

N ext day F inlay s e t out to the palace of the

king When he reached it he bade the royal
.

S ervants inform the k i ng that the great gi ants

had been sla i n .

Said the k i n g : Let th e valiant hero come

w i thin .

Finlay however decl ined to enter the palace

, , ,

and sent h im word say i ng : I dare not ente r ,

you r palace as I have a vow to full

, .

10 6 T ale s from Sco tt i sh My ths
Th e king came outs i de and spoke to Finlay ,

saying : Come w i th i n I shall g i ve you my

.

daughter the pr i ncess in marr i age You shall

, , .

also have half of my k i ngdom as long as I l ive ,

and the rema i nder shal l be yours when I d i e .

Said F i nlay : I give you thanks O king b ut

, ,

I cannot enter .

When he had spoken thus he walked towards ,

a grey stone p i llar and smote i t w i th the mag i c

wand The p i llar became a noble warrior Then
. .

he smote the warr i or and h e became a pillar aga i n

,
.

The king was greatly aston i shed and excla i med : ,

I have never seen anything l ike th is before .

H e went i nto th e palace to g i ve orders about

Finlay whom he w i shed to deta i n but when he
, ,

came ou t ag a i n h e found that the hunter had

gone .

The k i ng s ent out foot runners and horsemen -

to make search throughout the kingdom for F i nlay ,

but they returned without having seen aught of

him .

Finlay married th e daughter of Wise Woman ,

and he prospered Years went past Finlay had

. .

a family of three sons H e loved th e boys very

.

dearly and spent happy days roam ing w i th them

,

among the mounta i ns All we nt well w i th h i m

.

until W i se Woman d i ed Then m i sfortune over .

took h i m H i s wife d i ed and all h i s wealth was

.
,

stol en fr om him by n ight ro b bers who were in

 S t o ry o f F i nl ay and th e G i a nts 10 7

league with the g i ants H e lost also the mag i c .

wand but he kept possess i on of the gold h i lted

,
-

sword N or d i d h is troubles have end when he

.

became poor again for a witch cast spells on h i s ,

three youn g sons and s mote them w i th a mag i c

wand Then the boys were transformed i nto th r ee
.

beautiful wh i te dogs and ed away .

F inlay w a s str i cken w i th sorrow and s e t out ,

to search fo r his ch i ldren H e crossed mou nta i ns .

and moors following in the tracks of the three

,

white dogs but w i thout ava i l The day went

, .

past and evening came on and st i ll he hastened ,

onward When darkness had fallen he came to

.

a small glen and s a w a l i ght H e walked towards .

the l i ght and found it shone from the w i ndow of

,

a house At th i s house he asked for a night s

.

lodg i ngs and i t w a s given to h i m The old man

,
.

of the house spoke to h i m say i ng : You are s a d ,

and tearful O stranger Are you search i ng for

, .

your th ree sons ?
Sa i d F i nlay : Oh ye s ! H ave you seen them ?

,

They are travell i ng over mountain and moor ,

said the old man I cannot do anyth i ng to help

.

you To morrow night you w i ll reach the house

.
-

of a brother of min e and i f he w i ll not help you , ,

I do not know what you should do .

F inlay resumed h i s j ourney next day and when ,

darkness came on he reached the house of the

old man s b r other w h o sa i d :

Your sons are ,

10 8 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
t ravellin g over mountain and moor as th r ee white
dogs T hey cannot rest or stay for they must
.
,

travel by day and by n i ght I cannot do any .

thing for you To morrow n i ght you w i ll reach

.
-

the house of my elde r b r other and he will g ive ,

you advice .

N ext n i ght F i nlay reached the house of the

elder brother and he said : Your sons w i ll re
,

main u nde r spells until D oomsday i f you will not

do one thing .

What is that ? F inlay asked .

You must have three garments made of bo g
cotton and leave them on a h i ll wh i ch your sons
,

i n dog fo r m are now runn i ng round When they .

see the white garments they w i ll put them on .

Each one of the garments w i ll take you a year

to make unless you get a band of women to
,

collect the bog cotton and a band of women to -

,

sp i n and weave .

Alas ! Finlay exclaimed
I cannot h i re ,

workers because I have lost all I possessed
, .

Yo u st i ll have the gold h i lted sword

the -
,

man sa i d I t may be of serv i ce to you

.

.

N ext morn i ng F i nlay resumed h i s j ourney w i th

a heavy heart i ndeed H e went on unt i l dusk . .

Then he heard cr i es of sorrow and despa i r I n .

another moment he beheld a great g i ant com ing

towards him dragg i ng a young man whom he
,

had taken capt i ve F inlay dre w h is gold hilted .

-
 S t o ry o f F i nl ay a nd t he G i a n t s 10 9

swo r d and spoke boldly to the giant say ing :

, ,

Let your captive go free or I shall smite you , .

H o ho ! laughed the giant
,

You r swo r d .

will bend like a g rass blade when it st r i k es my

b o d yf

As he spoke h e st r etched out his r ight hand

to s e i ze F i nlay and take him captive also B ut .

Finlay smote the g i ant with the gold hilted m ag i c -

swo r d and slew him

, .

The young man was ove rj oyed and thanked

F inlay prais i ng h i m for his valour
,
Come with .

m e to my father s house he sa i d
H e is the ,

.

k i ng of th i s country and w i ll reward you

.

, .

Th e young p r ince had many sores and wounds ,

and F inlay put red moss (sphagnum )on them
.

Then th e two went together to th e palace and

entered it When the k i ng heard h i s son s sto r y
.

he sa i d to F inlay : You shall stay h e r e O

,

wanderer and I shall make y ou r ich and p r os

,

e ro u s
p .

Alas ! Finlay exclaimed
I cannot ta rr y .

here except fo r one night .

Th e queen came for wa r d and said : You a r e

sad and unhappy O st range r ! W hat is the cause

,

of you r grief ?

F i nlay told the queen a b out his lost sons and

h is weary and fruitless search fo r them .

S a i d the queen : One of th e king s shephe rds

has told me that eve r y mo r nin g when he goes out

n o Tale s fro m Sco tt i sh My t h s
he sees three beautiful white dogs on the gr een
hill n i gh to the palace .

Ah ! these a r e my sons Finlay cried Then ,

.

he told the queen what the elder of the th r ee old

m en had sa i d .

Th e queen listened intently and then spo k e , ,

saying : I shal l give you mine a i d

U ntil I .

have had made the garments of bo g cotton the r e -

,

will be no r est fo r me O stranger because you

, ,

have rescued my s o n fr o m death .

N ext morn i n g the queen sent women to col

lect bog cotton and women to sp i n and weave
-
.

The bog cotton w a s collected speedily for hun

-
,

dreds of women wen t out to obey th e queen s
command Then th e yarn was spun ; it w a s put
.

into the weaver s loom and woven Then women .

sewed the garments wh i ch were afterwa r ds washed

,

and bleached until they were as wh i te and soft as

new fallen snow on a mounta i n top The gar
-
.

m ents were laid on the green hill when the s u n

wa s settin g .

N ext mornin g Fi nlay went out early to look

for his sons and the prince whom h e had r escued
,

went with h im They found that the white gar

.

ments had b een taken away b u t the boys could ,

not be seen anywhere Finlay and th e prince

.

sea r ched far and w i de for them i n vain and then ,

r eturned to the palace .

A week went past and Finlay so rr owed greatly

, .
 S t o ry o f F i nl ay and t he G i ants In

Each mo r n ing he as k ed the shephe r d if he had

seen e i the r the boys o r the white dogs and the ,

shepherd answered saying : N o I have not seen ,

the white dogs on the green h i ll .

On th e seventh day three youths appeared at the

doo r of the palace and asked to s e e the st r an g e r
w h o res i ded there . F inlay came towa r ds the m
with tears fall i ng from h i s eyes .

What a i ls you ? on e of the youths as k ed

.

Said Finlay :
I am mourn i ng fo r my th r ee
b eloved sons whom I shall never behold again .

We are your sons O fathe r ! the youths
,

excla i med togeth er .

F i nlay dried h i s tea r s which blinded him and ,

then recogn i zed h i s lost sons H e embraced

.

them and k i ssed them and took them b efo r e the

,

k i ng and the queen who bade th em welcome

, .

After that Finlay dwelt i n the palace of the

k i ng and h i s th r ee sons gr ew up and b ecame
,

might y wa rr io r s
.
 C H A P TE R VI I I

H e ro es o n the G reen I sle

The r e wa s once a prince who found himself in
the Green I sle of th e West and this is how the ,

story of his adventures are told

The Prince of the K i ngdom of Level Plains -

s e t out on h i s travels to s e e the world and he ,

went no r thward and westward u ntil he came to

a red gl en surrounded by mou nta i ns The r e h e .

met with a proud hero wh o spoke to him s a y

, ,

ing : Whence come you and wh i the r are you

,

going ?
Sa i d th e p r ince : I am sea r chin g fo r my

equal and as he spoke he drew h i s sword

,

.

H e w a s a bold and fool i sh young man .

I have n o des i re to ght w i th you the proud ,

hero answered .Go your way i n peace .

The prince was j ealous of the hero w h o spoke

thus s o calmly and proudly and said : D raw ,

your sword or d i e .

Then he darted fo r wa r d The hero swe r ved .

aside to escape th e sword thrust and next moment

-
,

he l eapt upon the pr i nce whom he ove r came after

,

112
 H e ro e s o n the G reen I sl e 1 13

a b r ie f struggle and bound with a r ope Then

,
.

he ca r ried h i m to the top of a cl i ff and sa i d : ,

You are not t to be among men Go and .

dwell among the b i rds of prey .

H e ung h i m over the cl i ff The prince fell .

h eavily into a large nest on a ledge of rock the ,

nest of the queen of eagles a g i ant bird of g r eat

strength .

For a time he lay stunned by h is fall When .

he came to h i mself he regretted h i s folly and ,

sa i d : I f ever I escape from this place I shall

behave wisely and challenge no man without

,

cause .

H e found hi m sel f in the g r eat nest w i th th r ee

y oung eagles in it The b i rds were hungry and
.
,

when the prince held h i s wr i sts towards one it ,

pecked th e rope that bo u nd them unt i l it w a s

seve r ed ; s o then he stretched h i s legs towards
anothe r bird and it severed the r ope a b out his
,

ankles H e was thus s e t free H e r ose up and

. .

looked about him The ledge j utted out in m id

.

a i r on the cl i ff s i de and the prince s a w it was

-
,

imposs i ble either to ascend o r descend the S l i ppery

rocks B eh i nd the nest there was a deep cave
.
,

into which he crept The r e he c r ouched waiting

.
,

to s e e what would happen next .

The young b i rds shr i eked with hunger and the ,

prince w a s hungry also E re long the queen of.

eagles ca m e to the nest H e r g r eat body and .

( 0 87 1 ) 8
u 4 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
outstretched wings cast a shadow l i ke that of a
thunder cloud and when s h e perched on the ledg e
,

of rock it shook u nder her we i ght

, .

The eagl e brought a b a re for her youn g and

la i d i t in the nest Then s h e ew away The
. .

pr i nce at once crept out of the cave and seized

the hare H e gathered together a bundle of dry
.

twigs from the s i de of the nest and kindl ed a re

in the cave and cooked the ha r e and ate i t The
,
.

s moke fro m the re smothered the young b i rds ,

and when the queen of eagles retu r ned she found

that they were dead S he knew at once that an .

enemy must be near at hand and looked i nto ,

the cave There s h e saw the prince who at

.
,

once drew h i s sword bravely and fought long and

e r cely aga i nst her in i ct i n g many wounds to
,

defend h i msel f B ut he was no good match for

.

that erce b i rd and at length s h e seized hi m i n

,

he r talons and spr i n g in g off the ledge of rock

, ,

ew th r ough the air w i th h i m H i s body was .

soon torn by the eagle s claws and sore w i th

wounds The eagle also sorely wounded rose

.
, ,

up among th e clouds and turning westward ew ,

hurr i edly over the s e a H er shadow blotted out .

the sunsh i ne on th e waters as s h e passed i n her

i ght and boatmen lowered the i r sa i ls think i n g
, ,

that a sudden gust of w i nd w a s sweepin g down

upon them .

The prince swooned and regained conscious ,

 H e ro e s o n the G reen I sle 1 1 5

ness and swooned aga i n As the bi r d ew o u

, .

wards the s u n scorched him Then s h e dropped .

h i m into the s e a and he found the waters cold as

,

A las ! h e thou g ht I shall b e d r owned

ice.

,

.

H e rose to the surface and began to sw i m towards

an island near at hand but the eag le pounced down, ,

and se i zin g h i m again r ose high in the a i r Once

,
.

again sh e dropped him and then h e swooned and ,

r emembered no mo r e until he fou nd himself lying

,

on a green ba n k on a pl easant sho r e The sun .

w a s shining b i rds sang sweetly amon g b lossom i n g

,

trees of g reat beauty and the s e a waves made ,

-

music on the beach S omewhere nea r he could .

hea r a r i ver fairy singing a sum mer son g .

N ext he heard beh i nd him a splashing of wate r ,

and a shower of pearly drops fell upon his right

a r m as he lay the r e weak and helpless B ut .

n o soone r d i d the water touch his arm than i t

b ecame strong aga i n The splashing continued .
,

and he tw i sted hi mself this wa y and that until

the pearly sp ray had drenched every pa r t of h i s
body Then he felt st r ong and active again and
.
,

sprang to his feet H e looked r o u nd and s a w

.
,

that the showers of spray had come fr om a well

in which the wounded queen of eagles wa s b ath
in g hersel f The p r ince knew then that th is was
.

a Well of H eal in g .

H e r emembe r ed how e r cely the eag le had

deal t with hi m and wished he still had his swo r d
, .
: 16 Ta les fro m Sco tt i sh My th s
H aving no swo r d he d r ew h is dirk and crept
,

softly towa r ds the well H e waited a moment .

,

crouching behind a bush and then ra i s i ng h is , ,

dirk st r uck off the eagle s head B ut he found

,

.

it wa s not easy to kill the monster i n the Well

of H eal ing N 0 soone r was the head st r uck o ff
.

than it sprang on aga i n Thrice he beheaded the .

eagle and thr i ce the head was restored When

, .
,

howeve r he struck off the head a fourth t i m e h e

, ,

held th e blade of his dirk between the head and

neck unt i l the eagle w a s dead Then he dragged .

the body out of the well and b uried the head in ,

the ground H aving done s o he bathed in the

.
,

well and when he came out of i t all h i s wounds

, ,

were healed and he found himself as act i ve and

,

abl e as i f he had just awakened from a long sleep .

H e looked about h i m and saw fru i t grow i ng ,

on a blossom i ng tree H e wondered at that but .

,

being ve ry hung r y he plucked the fru i t and ate it .

N ever before had he tasted fru i t of such S weet

avou r Feel i ng refreshed and at the same t i me
.
,

happy and contented he turned to walk through ,

the fo r est of beaut i ful trees and s i ng i ng b i rds ,

when he s a w three m en com i ng towards h i m .

H e spoke to them say i ng : Who are you and ,

,

whence come you ? They answered : There is

no t i me to tell I f you are not a dweller on th i s

.

island come w i th us wh i le the r e is yet tim e to

,

escape .
 H e ro e s o n the G reen I sle 1 1 7

The p r ince wondered to hea r them speak thus ,

b ut having learned w i sdom he followed them i n

, ,

s i lence They went down the beach and entered

.

a boat The prince stepped in also Two of the

. .

m e n laid oars i n the rowlocks and one s a t at ,

the ste r n to steer I n another moment the boat

.

darted forward cleaving the waves ; but not unt i l

,

it had gone half a league did the man at the hel m

speak to the pr i nce H e said s i mply : . Look

b ehind and tell me what you see .

The prince looked and all he s a w was a gr een

,

speck on the ho r izon A c r y o f wonde r escaped

.

h is l ips .

The speck you see said th e stee rs m an is ,

,

the Green I sle I t is now oating westwa r d to

.

the edge of the ocean .

Then the prince unde rstood wh y the men

had hu rr ied to escape and he r ealized that if ,

he had not taken the i r advice he would have ,

been ca r ried away beyond the r each of hu m a n

aid.

Said the stee rsman : N ow w e can speak

.

Who are you an d whence come you ?
,

The prince told the sto r y of his adventu r e with

the queen of eag les and the m en i n the boat ,

l istened i ntently When he was done the steers

.
,

man sa i d : N ow listen and hea r what we have ,

gone through .

This wa s the sto r y told b y the stee rs m an whose ,

1 18 Ta les fro m Sco tt i sh My th s
name was Conall Curlew the na m es o f the r owe r s
,

b eing Ga r na and C o o im e r .

Yeste r day at dawn we beheld the G reen I sle

lying no farther distant fro m the shore than a
league The fourth man who w a s w i th us is
.

named Mac a moir and he spoke saying : Let

- -
, ,

us visit the Green ISle and explore i t I am told .

that the king has a daughter named S unbeam ,

w h o i s of peerless beauty and that h e will give ,

her as a bride to the bravest hero who vis i ts his

castle H e who is b old enough will come with
.

me .

We all went down to th e beach with Mac a moi r - -

,

and launched a boat to cross over to the Green

I sland The tide favoured u s and we soon
.
,

reached it We moored the boat in a shelte r ed

.

creek and landed

,
The beauties of the forest
.

tempted us to l i nger and eat fru i t and listen to

,

the melod i ous songs of numerous birds but Mac ,

a moi r p r essed us to hasten on

-
S oon we came .

to a green valley in which there was a castle I .

,

Conall knocked at the gate and a sentinel asked

, ,

what I sought and I answered : I have come to

,

ask fo r S unbea m daughter of the K ing of G reen

,

I sl e to be the br i de of M ac a moir
,
- -
.

Word was sent to th e k i ng who said : H e ,

wh o seeks my daughter S unbeam must r st hold

combat with my wa r riors .

 H e ro es o n the G reen I sl e 1 19

I am ready fo r c o mbat ,

M ac -
a -
moi r de
cla re d .

The gate was opened and the heroes ente r ed ,

.

M ac a mo i r drew h i s S word and the rst warr i o r

- -
,

came aga i nst him E re long M ac a mo i r struck

.
- -

h i m down A second warr i o r and then a th i rd

.
, ,

fought and fell also in tu r n .

Sa i d th e k i ng when th e th i r d wa rr io r fell : You

,

have overcome the champion of Green I sle .

B r i ng forth the next best Mac a moir called ,

- -
.

Sa i d the k i ng : I fear my hero that you w i sh

, ,

to slay all my wa rr iors on e by one You have .

proved you r worth N ow let us test you i n.

another manner M y daughte r dwells in a high

.

tower on the summit of a steep hill H e w h o .

can take her out w i ll have h er fo r h is bride H e .

will also receive two th i rds of my kin g dom while -

I l i ve and the whole of my kin g dom when I

,

die .

All w h o were p r esent then went towa r ds the

tower which stood on three h igh pillars
, .

Who will try r st to take out the k in g s

daughter ? I asked .

S a i d Mac a moir : I shall try rst

- -

.

H e tried but he failed H e could neithe r cl i m b

, .

the pillars nor throw the m down .

Sa i d the k i ng : Many a man has t r ied to take

my daughter out of th i s tower but each one has ,

fa i led to do so You had bette r all return home

.
'
.

[ 20 Ta les from Sco tt is h My t hs
The othe r two Garna and C o o im e r made a t , ,

tempts to shake down the tower but without ,

success .

Sa i d the king : I t is no use t r yin g M y

.

daughte r cannot be taken out .

Then I Conall stepped forwa r d I seized one

, , .

of the p i llars and S hook it until it broke The .

tower toppled over and as it cam e down I grasped ,

the Princess S unbeam i n my arms and placed ,

her standing bes i de me .

You r daughte r is now won I called to the

,

k ing .

The Princess S unbeam smiled sweetly and the ,

king sa i d : Yes i ndeed s h e has been won

, , .

I have won her I Conall rem i nded him

,

, , ,

for M ac a moir - -
.

S a i d the king : H e who will ma rr y S u n b eam

m ust r emain on Green I sl e .

S o be it Mac a mo i r answered hi m as he

,

- -

took Sunbeam s hand i n h is and walked towards

the castle following the k i ng

, .

A great feast was held in the castle and M ac ,

a mo i r and the pr i ncess were marr i ed

-
.

S a i d the k i ng : 1 am well pleased with Mac

a mo i r
-
I t i s my des i re that his three companions
.

should rema i n w i th h i m and be my warr i ors .

I Conall told h i m : I t is ou r des i re to r etu r n

, ,

to our own country .

The king did not answer H e sat gloomily at .

 H e ro es o n the G reen I sle 121

the board and when the wedding feast wa s ended

,

he walked from the feast i ng hall .

M ac a moir came and spoke to us soon afte r

- -

wa r ds say i ng : I f it is your des i re to go away

, ,

make haste and do so now for the king is about

,

to move Green I sle far westward towa r ds the

r ealms of the sett i ng s u n .

We bade h i m farewell and took ou r departure

, .

You met us as we hastened towards the boat and ,

it i s as well that you came with us .

The prince dwelt a time with Conall and his

companions Then he returned to h i s own land
.
,

and related all that had taken place to h is fathe r ,

the K in g of Level Plains-

.
 C H A PT E R I!

A Vi s i o n o f the De a d

The r e once dwelt in N ithsdale a woman who

wa s enabled by fa i ry a i d to s e e the sp i r i ts of the
dead in the Other World This was how i t came .

about One day S h e s a t sp i nn i ng wool in her

.

house H er baby lay in a cradle bes i de her

.
,

l i stening to the soft hum m i ng sound of the spinn i ng

wheel and her mothe r s sweet song
S uddenly .

a rustling l i ke the rustl i ng of dead leaves in the

,

wind was heard at the door The woman looked

, .

up and s a w a beaut i ful lady clad i n green and ,

carry i n g a baby She entered and s mil i ng

.
,

sweetly spoke and said :

,
W i ll you nurse my

bonnie baby until I return ?

The woman answered : Yes I shall do that
,
.

S he took the baby i n her arms and the lady ,

went away prom i sing to return

,
B ut the day .

went past and night came on and still s h e d i d not ,

come back for her child The woman wondered.

greatly bu t she wonde r ed even more next morn

,

ing when s h e awoke to nd bes i de her bed

beautiful new clothes for her ch i ldren and some ,

1 22
 A Vi s i o n o f the D ead 1 23

delicious cakes B e i ng very poor s h e was glad

.

to dress he r children in the new clothes and to ,

nd that they tted well The cakes were o f .

W heaten bread and had a honey avour I t was .

a great del ight to the ch i ldren to eat them .

The lady d i d not return that day or the next

day Weeks went past and the woman nursed
.
,

the strange ch i ld M onths went past and st i ll

.
,

the lady stayed away On many a morning .

W heaten cakes with honey avou r were found i n

the house and when th e ch i ldren s clothes were
,

nearly worn out n e w cloth i ng was p r ovided for

,

them as mysteriously as before .

Summer came on and one evening the lady , ,

clad i n green aga i n entered the house A ch i ld

i

.
,

wh o was playing on the oo r stretched forth her

h ands to grasp the shini ng s i l ver spangl es that
ado r ned her gown but to h i s surpr i se h i s hands
, , ,

passed th r ough them as if they were sunbeams .

The woman perce i ved th i s and knew that her ,

visito r w a s a fa i ry .

Sa i d the fairy lady : You have been kind to

my bonn i e baby ; I will now take her away .

The woman was sorry to part with the ch i ld ,

and sa i d : You have a r i ght to her but I love

,

her dearly .

Said th e fairy : Come with me and I shall

,

S how you my house .

The woman went outside with the fairy They .

: 24 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
walked th r ough a wood together and then began ,

to cl i mb a green h i ll on the sunny s i de When .

they were hal f way to the top the fa i ry sa i d

-
,

something wh i ch the woman d i d not understand .

N o sooner had sh e spoken than the turf on a

bank in front of them lifted up and revealed a
door This door opened and the two entered
.
,

throu g h th e doorway When they d i d s o the .

,

turf came down and the door was shut .

The woman fou nd herself i n a b are chambe r

which was dimly l i ghted .

N ow you S hall s e e my home said the fa i ry ,

woman w h o took from her waist belt a g oblet

,
-

contain ing a g r een l i quid She dropped three .

drops of th i s liquid in the woman s l eft eye and

said : Look now

.

The woman looked and was lled with wonder

, ,
.

A beautiful country stretched out in front of he r .

There were green h i lls fr i nged by trees crystal ,

streams ash i ng i n sunshine and a lake that ,

shone l ike burn i shed sil ver B etween the hills .

there lay a eld of r i pe barley .

The fairy then dropped three drops of the

green l i qu i d i n the woman s ri g ht eye and said :

Look now .

The woman looked and s h e s a w men and ,

women she had known i n tim es past cutting the ,

barley and gathering fruit from the trees .

She cried out : I s e e many wh o once l ived on

 A Vi s i o n o f the De a d 1 25

earth and have long been dead What are they .

do i ng here ?

S a i d the fa i ry : These people are su ffe r in g

pun i shment for the i r ev i l deeds .

When S he had spoken thus the fa i ry woman

-
,

passed her hand over the woman s eyes and th e ,

vis i on of green h i lls and harvest elds and reapers

van i shed at once She found herself stand i ng
.

once more in th e bare d i mly l i ghted chamber ,

-
.

Then the fa i ry gave her g i fts of cloth and healing

o i ntments and leading her to the door bade her
, , ,

farewell The door opened the turf w a s l i fted

.
,

up and th e woman l eft the fa i ry s dwelling an d

,

r eturned to her own home .

For a t i me she kept the power of seeing the

fa i ries as they went to and fro nea r her house .

B ut one day she spoke to one of them and the ,

fa i ry asked : W i th which eye do you see me ?

S aid the woman : I see you with both my

e es f
y
The fairy breathed on her eyes and then w a s ,

lost to s i ght N ever again d i d the woman behold

.

the fa i r i es for the power that had been g i ven he r

,

w a s taken away from he r e y es by this fairy to

whom s h e had spo k en
 C H A PT E R !

T h e S t o ry o f M i c hael Sco tt
M ichael S cott who l ived during the thi r teenth
,

century was known far and near as a great

,

schola r and it is told that he had deal i ngs w i th

,

the fa i ries and other spirits When he wanted to .

erect a house or a br i dge he called the w e e folk

to h i s a i d and they d i d the work fo r him in a s i ngle

,

n i ght H e had great sk i ll as a heal er of wounds

.

and curer of d i seases and the people called h im a

,

magic i an .

When M ichael was a young man he set out on

a j ourney to E dinburgh with two companions .

They travelled on foot and one day when they

, ,

w ere cl i mb i ng a h i gh h i ll they s a t down to r est

, .

N o sooner had they don e s o than they heard a

loud hiss i ng sound They looked in the direct i on
.

whence the sound came and s a w w i th horror a

,

great wh i te serpent curved i n wheel shape roll ing

, ,

towards them at a rap i d speed I t w a s ev i dent .

that the monster was going to attack them and ,

when i t began to r oll up the h ill side as swiftly as -

1 26
 T he S t o ry o f M i c h a el Sco tt 1 27

it had crossed the moor M i chael s two companions

,

sprang to the i r feet and ran away shout i ng with ,

terror M ichael was a man who knew no fea r

.
,

and he made up h i s m i nd to attack th e serpent .

H e stood wa i t i ng for i t w i th h i s staff rmly grasped

,

in h i s r i ght hand .

When the serpent came close to M ichael it u n

curved its body and throw i ng i tsel f i nto a coil
, ,

raised its head to str i ke its j aws gap i n g wide

,

and i ts forked tongue thrust out l i ke an arro w .

M i chael at once ra i sed h i s sta ff and struck the ,

monste r s o erce a blow that he cut its body into

three parts Then he turned away and called
.
,

upon h i s friends to wait fo r h i m They heard .

h i s vo i ce stopped runn i ng and gazed upon him

, ,

with wonder as he walked towards them very

cal mly and at an easy pace I t was a great r el ie f
.

to them to l earn from M i chael that he had slain

the fearsome m onster .

They walked on together and had not g one ,

far when they came to a house in which l ived a

wise old woman As the s u n was beginning to
.

s e t and it woul d soon be dark they asked her ,

for a n i ght s lodg i ng and s h e i nv i ted them to

enter the house One of the men then told he r

.

of their adventure with the wheel i n g se rpent

wh i ch M i chael had slain .

Said th e Wise Woman : A r e you su r e the

wh i te serpent is dead ?
: 28 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
I t must be dead M i chael answered because
,

,

I cut its body into th ree parts .

Sa i d the W i se Woman : This wh ite serpent

is no o r dinary serpent I t has power to un i te the

.

severed parts of its body again Once before it .

w a s attacked by a brave man who cut i t in two , .

The head part of i ts body however crawl ed to, ,

a stream After bath i ng i n the stream i t crawled

.

back and j o i ned i tself to the ta i l part The s e r .

pent then became whole aga i n and once mo r e it ,

bathed in the healing waters of the stream All .

serpents do this after attack i ng a human being .

I f a man who has been stung by a serpent should

hasten to the stream before the serpent can reach
it he will be cu r ed and the serpent w i ll d i e
,
.

You have great knowledge of the mysteries ,

M ichael excla i med w i th wonder .

Said the W i se Woman : You have ove r come

the white serpent th i s t i me but you may not be

,

so fortunate when next it come s against you .

B e assured of this : the serpent w i ll after it has ,

been he a l ed l i e i n wa i t for you to take vengeance

, .

When next i t attacks you w i ll r eceive no warning

,

that it i s near .

I shall never c r oss the h i gh mounta i n again ,

M ichael declared .

Said the W i se Woman : The serpent w i ll

search for you and nd you no matter where ,

you may be .
 T he S t o ry o f M i c h a el Sco tt 12
9

Alas ! M ichael exclaimed evil is my fate ,

.

What can I do to protect myself against the s e r

pent ?
S a i d the Wise Woman : Go now to the place
where you smote the serpent and carry away the ,

m i ddle part of i ts body M ake haste lest you .

,

be too late .

M ichael took her adv i ce and asked his com ,

pan i ons to go with h i m ; but they were afraid to

do s o and h e set out alone
,
.

H e walked qu i ckly and soon came to the place

,

where he had struck down the monster He .

found the m i ddle part and the ta i l part of the

wh i te serpent s body but the head part was no

where to be seen H e knew then that the woman

.

had spoken truly and as darkness was com i ng

, ,

on he d i d not care to search for the stream to

,

which the head part had gon e L i ft i ng up the .

m i ddle part of the body wh i ch still qu i vered he , ,

hastened back towards the house of the W i se

Woman The s k y darkened and the stars began
.
,

to appear M ichael grew uneasy H e felt su r e

. .

that someth ing was following h i m at a d i stance ,

s o he quickened his steps and n ever looked back .

At length he reached the house in safety and h e ,

w a s glad to nd that there were charms above

the door which prevented any ev i l sp i rit from
enter i ng .

The Wise Woman welco m ed M ichael and ,

( 0 87 1 ) 9
1 30 T ale s fro m Sc ot ti sh My ths

asked him to give her the part of th e serpent s
body wh ich he had brought w i th h i m H e d i d .

so w i ll i ngly and S h e thanked h i m and sa i d

, ,

N ow I shall prepa r e a meal for you and you r

companions .

The woman at once set to work and cooked

an excellent meal M i chael began to wonder why .

s h e showed h im and h is friends s o much k i ndness

and w h y s h e was in such high sp i rits She .

laughed and talked as merr i ly as a g i rl and h e ,

suspected s h e had been made happy because he

had brought her the m i ddle part of the wh i te s e r
pent s body H e resolved to watch her and nd

.

out if poss i ble what s h e was go i ng to do w i th i t

, ,
.

After eat i ng his supper M i chael pretended that

he suffered from pa i n and went into the k i tchen ,

to s it bes i de the re H e told the woman that .

the heat took away the pain and asked her to ,

allow him to sl eep in a cha i r i n front of the re .

She sa i d Very well s o h e sat down wh i le h i s

,

,

,

weary compan i ons went to bed The woman put .

a pot o n th e re and placed i n i t the m i ddle part

x
,

of the serpent s body .

M i chael took note of this but said noth ing ,

.

H e pretended to sleep The part of the s e r .

pent began to fr i zzle i n the pot and the woman ,

came from another room l i fted off th e l i d and , ,

looked in Th en s h e touched the cut of the s e r

.

pent with her right n g e r When s h e d i d s o a .

 T he S t o ry o f M i c hael Sco tt 1 31

cock crew on the roof of the house M ichael was .

startled H e opened his eyes and looked round

. .

Said th e Wise Woman : I thou g ht you we r e

fast asleep .

I cannot sleep b ecause o f the pain I su ffe r

,

M ichael told he r .

S a i d the W i se Woman : I f you cannot sleep

,

y ou may be of service to me I am very wea r y .

and wish to sleep I am cook i ng the part of the

.

serpent Watch the pot for me and s e e that the

.
,

pa r t does not burn Call me when it i s prope rly

.

cooked but be sure not to touch it before you do

,

so.

I shall not sleep M i chael said s o I may a s

,

,

well have someth i ng to do .

The W i se Woman sm i led and said : A fte r ,

y ou call me I shall cure your trouble Then

, .

s h e went to her bed and lay down to sleep .

M i chael sat watching the pot and when he found ,

that the port i on of the serpent s b ody was fully

cooked he l i fted the pot off the re B efore call

, .

ing the ol d woman h e thought he would rst

,

do what s h e had done when she lifted the l id o ff

th e pot H e dipped his nger into the j uice of
.

the se rpent s body The t i p of his r ight nger

.

w a s badly b urned s o he thrust it into his mouth

, .

The cock on the roof a p p e d its wings at once ,

and crowed so loudly that the old woman woke

up i n bed and sc r eamed .
[ 32 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My th s
M ichael felt that there must be magic in th e
j u i ce of the serpent N ew l i ght and knowledge
.

broke i n upon h i m and he discovered that he had

,

the power to foretell events to work magic cures , ,

and to read the m i nds of other peopl e .

The old woman came out of her room You .

did not call me s h e sa i d in a s a d voice

,

.

M i chael knew what she m eant H ad he called .

her s h e would have been the rst to taste the

,

j uice of the wh i te serpent and rece i ve fr om it the

g r eat power he now h i mself possessed .

I slew th e serpent he sa i d and had the ,

,

r st r ight to taste of its j uice .

S a i d th e W i se Woman : I dare not scold you

now N or need I tell you what powers you pos

.

s ess for you have becom e w i ser than I am You

,
.

can cu re diseases you can foretell and fo r esee

,

what i s to take place you have powe r to make ,

the fairies obey your commands and you can ,

obta i n greater knowledge about the h idden mys

te rie s than any other man al ive All that I as k .

of you i s your friendship .

I give you my fr i endship will ingly M ichael ,

sa i d to her Then the Wise Woman sat down

.

bes i de h i m and asked him ma n y questions about

hidden th i ngs and M i chael found h i mself able to
,

answe r each one They sat togethe r talk i ng until

.

dawn Then M i chael awoke his companions

.
,

and the woman coo k ed a b r ea k fast When .

 T he S t o ry o f M i c h a e l Sco tt 1 33

M ichael bade her good bye s h e sa i d : D o not -

,

forg et m e for you owe much to me

,
.

I shall never forget you he prom ised he r ,

.

M ichael and h i s companions resumed thei r

journey They wal ked until sunset b ut did not
.
,

reach a house .

To night one o f the men said
-
,

w e m ust ,

S l ee p on the heathe r .

M i chael smiled To n ight said he we

.

-
,

,

shall sleep i n E d i nburgh .

I t is st i ll a day s j ourney from he r e the

man rem i nded h i m .

M i chael la i d h i s staff on the ground and said :

Let us three s it on th i s staff and see how we

fare .

H i s companions laughed and sat down as he ,

asked th em to do They thought it a great .

j oke .

H old tight ! M i chael advised them Th e

.

men st i ll amused g rasped the staff in thei r hands

, ,

and held it t i ghtly .

S taff of m i ne ! M ichael c r ied ca rr y us to
,

E dinbu rgh .

N o sooner did he speak than the staff rose

high in the air The men were terror stricken
.

as the staff ew towards the clouds and then

went forward w i th the speed of l i ghtn i ng They .

sh ivered w i th fear and with cold S now a k e s .

-

fell on them as the sta ff ew ac r oss th e s k y fo r ,

I 34 Ta les fro m Sco tt is h My ths
they we r e hi ghe r up than the peak of B en N evis .

When n ight was fall i ng and the stars came out

one by one the staff began to descend H appy
, .

we r e M ichael s companions wh en th ey came down

safely on the outskirts of E d i n burgh .

They walked into the town i n s i lence and the ,

rst man they met stood and gazed with wonde r

upon them in the lamplight .

W hy do you stare at strange r s ? M ichael

asked .

Sa i d the man : There is snow on you r caps

and your shoulde rs .

H aving spoken thus a sudden fear overcame ,

him and he turned and ed bel ieving that the

, ,

th r ee st rangers were e i ther wizards or fairies .

M ichael shook the s now off h i s cap and

shoulders and h is compan i ons d i d the same
, .

They then sought out a lodg i ng and hav i ng eaten ,

their suppers went to bed

, .

N ext mo r n ing M ichael fou nd that h i s com

panions had r isen early and gone away H e .

knew that they we r e afr aid of h im s o he sm i l ed ,

and said to himself : I bea r them no ill w i ll

-
.

I prefe r n o w to b e alone

.

M ichael soon b ecame famo u s as a b uilder .

W hen he wa s asked to bu i l d a house he called ,

the fairies to h is aid and th ey did the work i n

,

the n i ght time for h im

-
.

O nc e he was t r avell in g towa r ds I nve r ness and ,

 T h e S t o ry o f M i c hael Sco tt 1 35

came to a river wh i ch w a s in ood The ford .

could not be crossed and several men stood

,

bes i de i t look i ng across th e deep turb i d waters .

I t i s a p i ty one sa i d to M ichael there is no

,

,

br i dge here .

Sa i d M i chael : I have come to bu i ld a bridge ,

and my workers w i ll beg i n to erect i t to n i ght -

.

Those who heard h i m laughed and turned away ,

but great was their surpr i se next morn i ng to nd

that a bridge had been bu i lt They crossed ove r
.

i t w i th the i r horses and cattle and as they went

,

on the i r way they spread the fame of M ichael fa r

and w i de .

A S t i me went on M i chael found that his fairy

workers w i shed to do more than he requ i red of
them They began to v i s i t h i m every even i ng
.
,

cry i ng out : Work ! work ! work !

S o M i chael though t one day that he would s e t

them to perform a task beyond the i r powers and ,

when next they came to h i m cry i ng out : Work !

work ! work ! he told them to close up th e I nver
ness rth and cut i t off from the s e a The fa i ries .

at once hastened away to obey h i s command .

M i chael thought of th e sw i ft t i des and of the

great volume of water owing down from the
r i vers by n i ght and by day and w a s certa i n that
,

th e fa i r i es woul d not be able to close the rth .

N ext morning however h e found that th e

, ,

r iver N ess was ris i ng rapidly and threatening to

,
[ 36 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
ood th e town of I nverness H e cl i mbed a hil l
.

and looked seaward Then he found that the

.

fa i r i es had very nearly n i shed the work he had

s e t them to do They had made two long p r o
.

m o n to rie s wh ich j utted across th e rth and there ,

rema i ned only a narrow space through wh i ch the

water surged The incom i ng tide kept back the
.

waters ow i ng from the r i ver and that was why ,

the N ess was r i s i ng i n ood N ot until after

.

the t i de turned did the waters of the rive r b egin

to fall .

M ichael su mmoned his fairy workers that even

ing and ordered them to open u p the rth aga i n
,
.

They hastened away to obey h i m and afte r ,

darkness came on they began to destroy the

promontories The moon rose as they went on
.

w i th their work A holy man walk i ng along the

.

shore saw the fa i r i es and prayed for protection

,

against them When he d i d so the fa i ries ed

.

away and were unabl e aga i n to v i s i t the p r o

,

m o n to rie s and s o th ese st i ll l ie j utting across th e

,

rth l i ke crab s toes The one has been named

.

C h a n o n ry Point and on the pen i nsula oppos i te it

,

there now stands Fort George wh i ch w a s placed ,

there to prevent enemy sh i ps from sa i l i ng up to

I nverness .

When the fa i ries found they were unable to

complete their task they returned to M ichael cry ,

ing out again : Work ! work ! work !

 T he S t o ry o f M i c h a el Sco tt 1 37

M ichael then thought of an impossibl e task

wh i ch would keep them busy H e sa i d .Go

and make rope ladders that w i ll reach to the back

-

of the moon They must be made of s e a sand

.

and wh i te foam .

The fa i r i es hastened away to obey h is command .

They could not however make the r opes fo r

, ,

M i chael try a s they m i ght

,
.

S ome s a y that M i chael s worke r s a r e still a t

te m pting to carry out th e work he last set them

to do and that i s why wreaths of foam and r opes
,

of twisted sand are sometimes found on the s e a

shore t i ll this day .

I t is told that one weak minded and clumsy old

-

fairy man used to spend night after night trying

to make ropes of sand and foam on the shore o f
K irkcaldy B ay . When he grew weary he lay
down to rest h i mself and on cold n i ghts he could
,

be heard moaning : M y toes a r e cold my toes

,

a r e cold .

 C H A PT E R ! I

I n t he K i n g d om o f S e a ls
Th e sea fairies have grey skin cover i ngs and -

r
e semble seals They dwell i n cave houses on
.

the borders of Land unde r Waves w here they

- -
,

have a kingdom of the i r own They love mus i c .

and the dance l i ke the green land fa i ries and

, ,

when harper or p i per plays on the beach they

come up to l i sten the i r sloe black eyes sparkl i ng
,
-

with j oy . O n moonl i ght n i ghts they hear the

m erma i ds s i ng i ng on the rocks when hu man
b e i ngs are fast asleep and they call to them :
,

S i ng aga i n the ol d s e a croons ; s i ng aga i n !

A ll n i ght long the s e a fa i ries call thus when mer

maids cease to s ing and the merma i ds s i ng aga i n
,

and aga i n to them When the wind p i pes loud

.

and free and the sea leaps and wh i rls and sw i ngs
,

and cries aloud w i th w i ntry merr i ment the s e a ,

fa i ries dance with th e danc i ng waves toss i ng ,

wh i te petals of foam over the i r heads and tw i n i ng ,

pearls of spray about the i r necks They love to .

hunt the s i lvern salmon in the fo r ests of s e a

1 38
 I n th e K i n g d om o f S eals I 39

tangl e and in ocean s deep blue glens and far

up dark ravines through wh i ch ow r i vers of

sweet mounta i n waters gem med w i th stars .

The s e a fair i es have a language of their o w n ,

and they are also sk i lled i n human speech When .

they com e ashore they can take the forms of men

or women and turn b i llows into dark horses with
,

g rey manes and long grey tails and on these the y ,

ri de over mountai n and moor .

There was once a sherm an w h o visited the

palace of the queen of s e a fa i r i es and told on h i s ,

return a ll he had seen and all he had heard H e .

dwelt in a l i ttl e townsh i p n i gh to j ohn o G r oat s -

-

H ouse and was wont to catch sh and seals

,
.

When h e found that h e could earn m u ch money

by hunt i ng seals whose sk i ns make warm w i nter
,

cloth i ng he troubled l i ttle about catch i ng sal mon

,

or cod and worked constantly as a seal hunter

,
-
.

H e crept among the rocks search i ng for h i s prey ,

a n d vis i ted lonely seal haunted i slands across the

-

Pentland F i rth where he often found the strange

,

sea prowlers ly i ng on smooth at led g es of rock

-

fast asleep in the warm sunsh i ne .

I n h i s house he had great bundles of dried

sealsk i ns and peopl e came from a d i stance to
,

pu rchase them from h i m H is fame as a seal .

hunter went fa r and wide .

O ne evening a dark stranger rode up to his

house mounted on a black spirited mare with grey
, ,
: 46 Tale s from Sco tt i sh My ths
mane and g r ey ta i l H e called to the sher m an .

who came out and then said : M ake haste and

,

ride with m e towards the east M y master desires .

to do business with you .

I have no ho r se the sherman answe r ed ,

,

b ut I S hall wal k to your master s house on the

morrow .

Sa i d the st r ange r : Come now Ride with

.

m e M y good mare is e e t footed and strong

.
-
.

As you w i ll answered the sherman wh o at

,

,

once mounted the mare beh i nd the strange r .

The ma r e turned round and right about and -

,

g alloped eastward faster than the w i nd of M a rch .

Shingle rose in front of her l i ke rock strewn sea -

spray and a sand cloud gathered and swept out

,
-

beh i nd l i ke mountain m i sts that are scattered

befo r e a gale The sherman gasped for breath
.
,

for although the w i nd was blow i ng aga i nst his

back when he mounted the mare i t blew ercely ,

i n h i s face a s he rode on The mare went fast .

and far unt i l s h e drew n i gh to a precipice N ear .

th e edge of i t she halted suddenly Th e s h e r .

man found then that the w i nd was st i ll blow i ng

seaward although h e had thought i t had veered
,

round as he rode N ever before had he s a t on

.

the back of s o e e t footed a mare -

.

Sa i d the stranger : We have almost reached

m y master s dwell i ng
.

The sherman looked r ound about him w ith

 I n the K i n g d om o f S eals I4 !

su rp r ise and s a w ne i ther house nor the smoke of

,

one . Where i s your master ? he asked

.

Sa i d the strange r : You shall s e e hi m p r e

s e n tly Come w i th me
. .

As he spoke he walked towards the ed g e o f the

p r ec i p i ce and looked over The sherman d i d .

the same and s a w noth i ng but the g r ey lonely

,

s e a heaving i n a lon g slow swell and s e a b irds ,

-

wheel i ng and sl i ding down the w i nd .

Where is your master ? he asked once
again .

With that the stranger suddenly clasped the

seal hunte r i n h i s arms and cry i ng Come w i th
-
, ,

m e leapt ove r the edge of the precip i ce The

,

.

ma r e leapt with her master .

D own down they fell through th e ai r scatter

, ,

in g the startled sea b i rds S cream i ng and u tte r

-
.

ing the bi r ds rose in clouds about and above

,

them and down ever down the men and the mare
,

continued to fall t i ll they plunged into the sea ,

and sank and sank wh i le the l i ght around the m

,

faded into darkness deepe r than n ight Th e .

sherman wondered to nd h i mself still al ive as

he passed through the s e a depths seeing naught , ,

hearing naught and st i ll m oving sw i ftl y

, At .

length h e ceased to s i nk and went forward H e

, .

suffered no pa i n or d i scomfort nor was he afra i d , .

H i s only feel i n g was of wonder and in the th ick , ,

cool da r kness he wonde r ed g reatly what would

1 42 Ta les from Sco tt is h My ths
happen next At length he s a w a fa i nt gr een
.

l i ght and as he went onward the l i gh t grew

,

br i ghter and br i ghter u nt i l the glens and bens ,

and forests of the sea k i ngdom arose before his

eyes Then he d i scovered that he was sw i mm ing
.

bes i de the stranger and that they had both been

changed i nto seals .

S a i d the stran g er : Yonde r is my m aste r s

house .

The she r man looked and s a w a township o f ,

foam wh i te houses on the edge of a g reat s e a

-

fo r est and fronted by a bank of s e a moss wh i ch -

w a s green as grass but more beaut i ful and very ,

bright There were crowds of seal fol k in the

.
-

township H e saw them moving about to and

.

fr o and heard the i r vo i ces but he could not

, ,

understand their speech M others nursed thei r .

babes and young ch i ldren played games on banks

,

of green sea moss and from the b r own and golden

-
,

s e a fores t came sounds of music and the shouts

-

of dancers .

S a i d the stran g e r : H e r e is my maste r s house

.

Let us enter .

H e led the she r man towards th e doo r of a

great foam wh i te palace w i th its many b ri ght
-

w i ndows I t was thatched w i th red tangle and

.
,

the doo r was of green stone The door opened as .

s moothly as a sum mer wave that moves across a

r i ver mouth and the she r man ente r ed with h is
,
 I n the K i n g d o m o f S e a ls I 43

gu i de H e found hi mself in a dimly l i ghted r oom

.
-
,

and s a w an old grey seal stretched on a bed and ,

heard h i m moan i ng with pa i n B es i de the bed .

lay a blood stained kn i fe and the sherman knew

-
,

at a glance that i t was h i s o wn Then he r emem .

bered that not many hours before he had stabbed

, ,

a seal and that i t had escaped by plungin g into

,

the sea ca r rying the kn i fe i n its back

,
.

The sherman was startled to real i ze that the

old seal on the bed was the very one he had tried
to k i ll and his heart w a s lled with fea r H e
, .

threw h i mself down and begged for forgiveness

and me r cy fo r h e feared that he would be put to
,

death .

The guide lifted up the knife and asked : H ave

you eve r seen th i s knife before ? H e spo k e in

human lan g uage .

That is my knife alas ! exclaimed th e s h e r ,

man .

Said th e g uide : The wounded seal is my

father Our doctors a re unable to cure hi m

. .

They can do naught without you r help That is .

w h y I vis i ted you r house and urged you to com e

w i th m e I ask your pardon for deceiving you
.
,

O man ! but as I love my father gr eatly I had to ,

do as I have done .

Do not ask my pardon the she r man said ; ,

I have need of yours I am sorry and ashamed .

fo r havin g stab b ed your father .

: 44 Tal e s fro m Sco tti sh My ths
S aid the guide : Lay you r hand on th e wound
and wish i t to be healed .

The she r man laid his hand on th e wound an d ,

the pain that the seal suffered passed into h i s

hand but did not remain long As i f by mag i c
, .
,

the wound w a s healed at once Then th e old .

g r ey seal rose up strong and well again .

S aid the guide : Yo u have se r ved us well this

day O man !
,

When the sh erman had ente r ed the house all ,

the seals th a t were with i n were weeping tears of

so r row b ut they ceased to weep as soon as he
,

had laid his hand on the wound and when the ,

old seal r ose up they all became me rr y and

br ight .

The she r man wondered what would happen

n ext For a t i me the seals seemed to forget h i s
.

presence but at length h is gu i de spoke to him

,

and said : N ow O man ! you can return to you r

,

own home where your w i fe and ch i ldren awa i t

you I shall lead you through the s e a depths
.
,

and take you on my mare across the plain which

we crossed when com i ng h i ther .

I g i ve you thanks the sherman exclaimed ,

.

Said the guide : B efore you leave there is

one thing you must do ; you must take a vow

neve r aga i n to hunt seals .

The sherman answered : S urely I promise

,

neve r ag ai n to hunt fo r seals .

C 87 :

S EA L FO LK
- LI S T EN I N G TO A M E R MA I D
S S O NG

F ro m a d ra w z n g by Jo h n D u n ca n
,
 I n the K i n g d om o f S e als 1 45

Said the gu i de : I f ever you b r eak your

prom i se you shall d i e I counsel you to keep i t

.
,

and as long a s you do so you w i ll prosper E very .

t i me you s e t l i nes or cast a net you w i ll catch

, ,

much sh Our seal servants w i ll help you and

.
-
,

if you wish to reward them for the i r serv i ces take ,

w i th you in your boat a harp or p i pe and play

sweet music fo r mus ic i s the del i ght of all seals
,
.

The sherman vowed he would never break

h is p r omise and the guide then led h i m back to
,

dry land As soon as he reached the shore he

.

ceased to be a seal and became a man once

again The gu l de w h o had also changed shape
.
, ,

breathed over a great wave and immed i ately i t , ,

became a dark mare with g rey mane and g r ey

ta i l H e then mounted the mare and bade the
.
,

sherman mount beh i nd h i m The mare rose i n .

the air as lightly as w i nd tossed spray and passing

-
,

through the clouds of startled sea b i rds reached

the top of the prec i p i ce On s h e raced at once .

,

ra i s i ng the sh i ngle i n front and a cloud of sand

beh i nd Th e n i ght was fall i ng and the stars began
.

to appear but it was not qu i te dark when the

,

s h e rm a n s house was reached

.

The sherman d i smounted and h is guide spoke ,

and said : Take th i s from me and may you l ive

,

happily .

H e handed the sherman a small bag and ,

crying : Farewell ! Remembe r you r vow he

,

( 0 87 1 ) 10
I4 O T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths
wheeled h i s mare r i g ht r ound and passed swiftly
out of s i ght .

The sherman entered his house and found h i s ,

w i fe st i ll there. Yo u have returned s h e said

,

.

H ow d i d you fare ?

I know not yet he answered Then h e sat
,
.

down and opened the bag and to h i s surprise and

,

del i ght found i t was full of pearls .

H is wife uttered a cry of wonder and said : ,

From whom d i d you rece i ve th i s treasure ?

T he sherman then related all that had taken

place and h i s w i fe wondered to hear h im
,
.

N ever aga i n will I hunt seals he exclaimed
,

.

And he kept h is word and prospered and l ived ,

happily until the day of h i s death .

 C H A PT E R ! II

S t o ry o f T h om as the R h y m er

At the beginning of each summer when the ,

m i lk wh i te hawthorn is in bloom a noint i ng the

-
,

a i r w i th its sweet odour and m i les and m i l es o f

,

golden whin ado r n th e glens and hill slopes the -

,

fa i ries come fo r th in grand procession headed by ,

the Fa i ry Queen They a r e mounted on l ittle

.

wh i te horses and when on a n i ght of clea r soft

,

moonlight the peopl e hear the clatte r of many

hoofs th e j ingl ing of bridles and the sound of
, ,

laughter and sweet music coming sweetly dow n

the w i nd they wh i sper one to anothe r :
,
T is the

Fairy Folks Raid o r H e r e come the R i ders

,

of the Shee .

The Fa i ry Q ueen wh o r ides in fr ont is gowned

, ,

in grass green s i lk and wears ove r her shoulders

-
,

a mantle of green velvet adorned with s ilver

spangles S he is of g reat beauty H e r eyes are
. .

l i ke wood v i olets her teeth l ike pearls her b row

, ,

and neck are swan white and her cheeks bloom -

,

like ripe apples H er long cluster i ng hair of rich

.

au b u r n gold which falls ove r he r shoulders and

1 47
I 4S Ta les from Sco ttis h My th s
down her back i s bound round about w i th a snood
,

that gl ints w i th star l i ke gems and there i s one

-
,

great ashing j ewel above her brow On each .

lock of her horse s mane hang sweet toned silve r

-

bells that tinkle m err i ly as s h e rides on .

The riders who follow her in couples are like

wise clad i n green and wear l i ttle red caps bright
,

as the am i ng popp i es in wav i ng elds of yellow

barley The i r horses manes are hung w i th s i lve r
.

wh i stles upon wh i ch the soft winds play S ome .

fa i ries twang harps of gold some make sweet ,

music on oaten pipes and some s i ng with bi r d

,

l ike voices in the moonl i ght When song and .

music cease they chat and laugh merrily as they

,

ride on their way Over h i lls and down glens

.

they go but no hoof mark is left by the i r horses

,
-
.

S o l i ghtly do the l i ttle wh i te c r eatures trot that

not a grass blade is b r oken by their tread nor i s ,

the honey dew spilled from blue harebells and

-

yellow buttercups S ometim es the fa i r i es r i de

.

over tree tops or through the air on edd i es of

-

western wind Th e Riders o f the Shee always

.

come from the west .

When the S umme r Fai r y Raid is com i ng the ,

people hang branches of rowan over their doors

and round the i r rooms and when the W i nter ,

Raid i s coming they hang up holly and m i stletoe

a s protect i on from attack ; for somet i mes the fa i ries

steal pretty ch i ldren wh i le they l i e fast asleep and ,

 S t o ry o f T h o ma s the R h ym e r I 49

ca rr y them off to Fairyland and somet i mes they ,

lu r e away p i pers and ba r ds and women who have ,

sweet s i ng i ng voices .

Once there w a s a great bard who was called

Thomas the Rhymer H e l i ved at E rcild o u n e
.

( Earlston ) i n,
B erw i cksh i re dur i ng the thirteenth ,

century I t is told that he van i shed for seven

.

years and that when he reappeared he had the

,

gift of p r ophecy B ecause he was abl e to fore

.

tell events he was g i ven the na m e o f True

,

Thomas .

All th r ough S cotland fr om th e Cheviot H i lls,

to the Pentland F i rth th e story of Tho m as the,

Rhyme r has long been known .

D uring h i s seven years absence fro m home he

is sa i d to have dwelt i n fairyland One even i n g .

,

so runs the tale he w a s walking alone on the

,

banks of Leader Water when he s a w rid i ng

towa r ds him the Fa i ry Q ueen on her m i lk wh i te -

steed the s i l ver bells tinkling on its mane and

, ,

th e s i lver br i dle j i ngling sweet and clear He .

w a s amazed at her beauty and thinking s h e was ,

the Q ueen of H eave n bared h is head and knel t ,

before her as s h e d i smounted saying : All ha i l ,

,

m i ghty Q ueen of H eaven ! I have neve r befo r e

seen you r equal .

Sa i d the g r een clad lady : -

Ah ! Thomas you
,

hav e named me wrongl y I am the Q ueen of .

Fairyland and have come to visit you
, .
1 50 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My th s

What seek you w i th me ? Thomas asked
.

S aid the Fairy Q ueen : You must hasten at

once to Fai ryland and se r ve me the r e for seven

,

years .

Then s h e laid a spell upon h im and he had to ,

obey her will S he mounted her m i lk white steed

.
-

and Thomas mounted beh i nd he r and they rode ,

off together They crossed the Leade r Water

.
,

and the ho rs e went swifter than the w i nd ove r

hill and dale unt i l a great wide dese r t w a s
r eached N o house nor human being could be
.

seen anywhere E ast and west north and south

.
, ,

the level desert stretched as far as eye could s e e .

They r ode on and on unt i l at length the Fa i ry

Q ueen spoke and said : D ismount O Thomas
, , ,

and I shall show you three wonders .

Thomas dismounted and the Fa i ry Q ueen dis

mounted also S aid s h e : Look yonder is a
.

,

narrow road full of tho r ns and b riers That is .

the path to H eaven Yonder i s a broad highway .

wh ich r u ns ac r oss a l ily lea That i s the path of .

wickedness Yonder is another road I t tw i nes

. .

round the hill s i de towards the west That i s the

-
.

w a y to Fairyland and you and I must r i de ,

thither .

Again she mounted he r m ilk white steed and -

Thomas mounted behind They r ode on and on .

,

crossing many rivers N or s u n or moon could be .

seen no r any stars and in the silence and thick

,
 S t o ry o f T h oma s the R h ym e r 1 51

darkness they heard the deep voice of the roarin g

s ea .

At length a l i ght appeared i n front of them ,

wh i ch grew larger and br i ghter as they rode on .

Then Thomas s a w a beaut i ful country The .

horse halted and he found himsel f i n the m i dst

of a green garden When they had d i smounted
.
,

the Fa i ry Queen plucked an apple and gave it to

Thomas say i ng : Th i s i s you r r eward for com i ng
,

w i th me Afte r you have eaten of i t you will

.

have powe r to speak t r uly of com i n g events and ,

men w i ll know you as True Thomas

Thomas ate the apple and then followed the

queen to her palace H e was g i ven cloth i ng of
.

green s i l k and shoes of green velvet and he ,

dwelt among the fa i r i es for seven years The .

time passed s o qu i ckly that the seven years

see med no longer than seven hours .

After h i s return to E rcild o u n e whe r e he l ived

,

in a castle Thomas made many songs and ballads

,

and pronounced i n rhym e many prophec i es H e .

travelled up and down th e country and wherever,

he went he foretold events some of which took

,

place wh i le yet he lived among men but others ,

d i d not happen unt i l long years afterwards There .

are still some p r ophecies which are as yet u n fu l

lled .

I t is said that when Thomas was an old man

the Fairy Q ueen returned fo r him O ne day as .
,
I5 2 Tale s from Sco tt i sh My ths
h e stood chatting w i th knights and lad i es she ,

r ode from the r i ver s i de and called : True

-

Thomas your time has come
, .

Thomas cr i ed to h i s fr i ends : Farewell all of ,

y ou I shall return no more Then he mounted

,
.

the m i lk wh i te steed beh i nd th e Fa i ry Q ueen

-
,

and galloped across the ford S everal kn i ghts

.

leapt i nto the i r saddles and follo wed the R i der of

the S hee but when they reached the oppos i te
,

bank of the river they could s e e naught of Thomas

and the Fairy Queen .

I t i s sa i d that Thomas still dwells in Fa i ryland ,

and that he goes about among the R i ders of the

S hee when they come forth at the beg i nn i ng of
each summer Those w h o have seen h i m ride
.

past tell that he looks very old and that h i s hair ,

and long beard are wh ite as dr i ven snow At .

othe r times he goes about i nv i s i ble except when ,

he attends a market to buy horses for a fairy

army which i s to take part i n a great battle H e .

dr i ves the horses to Fa i ryland and keeps them

there When h e has collected a sufc i ent number
.
,

it is told he w i ll return aga i n to wage war against

,

the i nvaders of h is country whom he w i ll defeat

,

on the banks of the Clyde .

Thomas wanders far and wide through S cotland .

H e has been seen folks have told rid i ng out of a

, ,

fa i ry dwell i ng below E i ldon H ills from another ,

fairy dwell i ng below Du m b u ck H ill near D um ,

 S t o ry o f T h o m a s t he R h ym e r [ 53

barton and from a third fairy dwellin g b elow

,

the boat shaped mound of T om na b u r ich at

- - -

I nverness .

Once a man w h o cl imbed Du m b u ck H ill came

to an Open door and entered through it I n a .

d i m chamber he saw a l i ttle old man r est i ng on

h i s elbow who spoke to him and said : H as the
,

t i me come ?

The man was st r icken with fea r and ed away .

When he pressed through the doorway the doo r ,

shut beh i nd h i m and turf closed over it

,
.

Another story about Thomas i s told at I nve r

ness Two d d le rs n amed Farquhar G ran t and
.
,

Thomas Cumm i ng nat i ves of S trathspey who

, ,

l i ved over three hundred years ago once vis i ted

,

I nverness duri ng the Ch r i stmas season They .

h oped to ea r n money by the ir music and as soon,

as they arrived in the town began to show the ir

skill i n th e streets Although they had great
.

fame as d dle rs i n S trathspey they found that

,

the townspeople took l i ttle not i ce of them When .

n i ght fell they had not collected enough money

,

to buy food for supper and to pay for a night s

lodg i ng They stopped play i ng and went with

.
,

the i r d d le s under the i r r i ght arms towards the

,

wooden bridge that then crossed the Rive r N e s s .

J ust as th ey were about to walk over the br i dge

they s a w a l ittle old man com i ng towards them i n
the dusk H i s beard wa s very lon g and ver y
.
1 54 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
wh i te but although h i s back was bent his step
,

was easy and l i ght H e stopped i n front of the

.

d d le rs and much to their surpr i se ha i led them

, , ,

b y their names say i ng : H ow fares it with you ,

my m erry dd le rs ?

B adly badly ! answered Grant
, .

Very badly indeed ! Cum m i ng sa i d
.

Come w i th me sa i d the old man ,

I have .

need of d d le rs to night and w i ll reward you -

,

well A great ball i s to be held in my castle and

.
,

there a r e no mus i c i ans .

G rant and Cum ming were glad to get the

chance of ea r ning money by play i ng their dd le s
and sa i d they would go Then follow me and .

make haste said th e old man

,

The dd le rs .

followed him across the wooden b r idge and across

the darkening moor beyond H e walked w i th .

rap i d strides and somet i mes the dd le rs had to

,

break i nto a r un to keep up w i th h i m N ow and .

again that stran g e nimble old man would turn

,

round and cry : Are you com i ng my merry

,

d d le rs ?

We are doin g our best Grant would answer ,

,

while Cumming muttered : B y my fa i th old

,

man but you walk qu i ckly !

,

M ake haste Grant ; make h aste Cumm i ng
, , ,

the old man would then excla i m ; my g uests w i ll

be grow i ng impat i ent .

I n time they reached the big boat shaped -

 S t o ry o f T h om as the R h ym e r 1 55

mound called Tom na b ur i ch and the old man

- -
,

began to cl i mb i t The d d le rs followed at a

.

short d i stance Then he stopped suddenly and

.

stamped the ground three t i mes w i th h i s r i ght

foot A doo r opened and a bright l ight st r eamed
.

forth .

H ere is my castl e Cu mm ing ; here is my ,

castle G rant excla i med the old m a n who was

, ,

,

no other than Thomas the Rhyme r Come .

with i n and m ake merry .

The dd le rs paused for a mo m ent at the open

doo r but Thomas the Rhymer drew from h i s bel t
,

a purse of g old and made i t j i ngle Th i s purse .

holds your wages he told them ,

F i rst you .

w i ll get you r sha r e o f the feast then y ou will give ,

us ne music .

As the dd le rs were a s hung r y as they we r e

poor they could not resist the offer made to the m
, ,

and entered the fa i ry castle As soon as they .

entered the doo r was shut behind them

, .

They found themselves in a great hall which ,

w a s lled w i th br i ll i ant l i ght Tables were spread .

w i t h all k i nds of food and guests s a t round them

,

eating and chatt i ng and laugh i ng merrily .

Thomas led the ddle rs to a s i de table and ,

two graceful ma i dens clad i n green came forward

w i th d i shes of food and bottles of w i ne and sa i d : ,

E at and drink to your hearts content Farquhar ,

G rant and Thomas Cumming Fa r quha r o F e s h ie

1 56 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths

and Thomas 0 Tom a n Torran You are wel - -
.

come here to n ight -
.

The dd le rs wondered greatly that the maidens

knew not only the i r personal names but even the
names of th e i r homes They began to eat and .
, ,

no matter how much they ate the food on the ,

table did not seem to grow less They poured .

out w i ne but they could not empty the bottles

, .

Sa i d Cumm i ng : Th i s is a feast indeed

.

Said Grant : The r e was never such a feast in

S trathspey .

When the feast was ended the d d le rs were led

to the ballroom and there they began to play
,

merry music for the gayest and br i ghtest and

happ i est dancers they ever saw before They .

played reels and j i gs and strathspeys and yet ,

never grew weary The dancers praised thei r

.

music and fa i r g i rls brought them fruit and w i ne

,

at the end of each dance I f th e guests were .

happy the m usicians were happ i er st i ll and they

, ,

were sorry to nd at length that the ball was

com i ng to an end H ow long it had lasted they
.

could not tell When the dancers began to go

.

away they were st i ll unwearied and w i lling to go

on play i ng .

Thomas the Rhymer entered th e ballroom and ,

spoke to the dd le rs say i ng : You have done ,

well my merry men I w i ll lead you to the door

, .
,

and pay you fo r your ne music .

 S t o ry o f T h oma s the R h ym e r 1 57

The d d le rs were sorry to go away At the .

door Thomas the Rhymer d i v i ded the purse of

gold between them and asked : A r e you sat i s ,

e d ?

Satised ! Cum m i ng repeated

Oh yes .

, ,

fo r you and you r guests have been very k i nd !

We should gladly come back ag ain Grant ,

said .

When they had l eft the castle the dd le rs found

that it was bright day The sun shone from an .

unclouded s k y and the a i r was warm As they

,
.

walked on they were surpr i sed to s e e elds of

ripe corn wh i ch was a strange s i ght at the
,

C h r istmas season Then they came to the river

.

s ide an d found i nstead of a wooden bridge a new

,

stone b r idge with seven arches .

Th i s stone br i dge was not he r e last ni g ht ,

Cumming said .

N ot that I s a w said Grant , .

When they crossed the br i dge they found that

the town of I nverness had changed greatly .

Many new houses had been built ; there we r e

even new streets The peopl e they s a w moving
.

about wore strange clothing O ne spoke to the .

dd le rs and asked : Who are you and whence

,

,

come you ?
They told him thei r names and said that on ,

th e prev i ous n i ght they had played the i r dd le s

at a g reat ball in a castle near the town .
1 58 T ales from Sco tt i sh My th s
The man sm iled Then Farquhar said : The
.

br i dge we crossed over last even i ng was made of

wood N ow you have a br i dge of stone H ave
. .

the fa i r i es bu i lt it for you ?

The man laugh ed and excla i med as h e tu r ned

, ,

away : You are mad The stone b r idge was

.

built before I w a s born .

B oys began to collect rou nd the dd le rs They .

j ee r ed at the i r cloth i ng and cr i ed : Go b ack to ,

the madhouse you have escaped from .

The d d le rs hastened out of the town and ,

took the road wh i ch leads to S trathspey M en .

wh o passed them stopped and looked back but ,

they spoke to no one and scarcely spoke indeed, , ,

to one anothe r .

Darkness came on and th ey crept into an ,

empty half ruined house by the wayside and

,
-

slept the r e H ow lon g they slept they knew not

.
,

but when they came out aga i n they s a w that the

harvesting had begun F i elds were partly cut
.
,

but no worke r s could be seen in them although ,

the s u n was already h i gh i n the heavens The y .

drank water fr om a well and went on thei r way , ,

until at length they reached the i r nat i ve village .

They entered i t j oyfully but were unable to nd ,

the i r homes There too n ew houses had been

.
, ,

bu i lt and strange faces were seen They heard

, .

a bell r i ng i ng and then knew it was Sabbath day

, ,

and they walked towa r ds the chu r ch A m an .

 S t o ry o f T h oma s the R h ym e r 1 59

spoke to them near the gate of the chu r chya r d

and sa i d : You are strangers here

.

N o indeed we are not strangers G rant

, , ,

assured h i m Th i s i s our native v i llag e

.

.

You must have left i t long ago said the man ,

,

for I have l ived here all my life and I do not ,

know you .

Then Grant told h is name and that of his com

pan i on and the names of the i r fathe rs and mothe r s
, .

We are ne d d le rs he added ; our equal is ,

not to be found north of the Gramp i ans .

Sa i d th e man : Ah ! you a r e the two men my

grandfather used to speak o f H e neve r saw you .

,

but he heard his father tell that you had b een

decoyed by Thomas the Rhymer who took you ,

to Tom na h u rich -
You r fr iends mourned for
-
.

you greatly but now you are qu i te fo rgotten fo r

, ,

i t i s fully a hund r ed yea r s since you went away

from he r e .

The dd le rs thought that the man wa s moc k ing

them and turned their backs upon him They
, .

went i nto the churchyard and began to r ead the ,

names on the gravestones They s a w stones .

erected to their w i ves and ch i ldren and to the i r ,

ch i ldren s children and gazed on them with amaze

ment tak i ng no not i ce of the people wh o passed

,

by to the chu r ch doo r .

At length they entered the chu r ch hand in

hand with thei r dd le s unde r thei r a r ms The y
, .
[ 60 Tales from Sco tt i sh My ths
s tood fo r a brief space at the doo r way gaz i n g at
,

the congre gation but were unabl e to recognize

,

a singl e face among the people wh o looked r ound

at them .

The m inister was i n the pulpit H e had been

.

told wh o the strangers were and after gaz i ng fo r

, ,

a moment i n s ilence he began to pray

, .No
soone r d i d he do so than the two d d le rs crum b led
i nto dust .

S uch i s th e sto r y o f the two dd le rs who spent

a hundred years in a fairy dwelling th i nk i ng they
,

had pla y ed mus ic the r e fo r b ut a single n ight .

 C H A PT E R ! III

The Ma i d -
o f the W a ve
-

The mermaid o r as s h e is called in Gaelic

, , ,

Ma i d o f the Wave has great b eauty and is sweet

- - -
,

voiced . H alf her body i s of s h shape and ,

gl itters l i k e a salmon in sunshine and she has ,

long copper coloured hair which S he loves to

-

com b as s h e sits on a r ock on a lonely sho r e ,

gazing i n a mir r o r o f s ilver and sing i ng a son g ,

in praise of her own great beauty S omet i mes .

,

on moonl i ght n ights s h e takes o ff he r skin cover

,

ing and puts on s e a blue garments and then she-

,

s eems fa i rer than any lady in the land .

O nce a young crofter w a s wande r in g b elow the

cliffs on a beaut i ful summer n i gh t when the w i nd
w a s still and the s i lver moon shone th r ough the
clear depths of ocean cast i ng a ood of l i ght ,

through Land unde r Waves H e heard sounds

- -
.

of song and laughte r H e crept softly towards .

a shadowy rock and climb i ng it looked down on

, , ,

a bank of white sand There he beheld a company

.

of me r ma i ds danc i ng i n a r i ng r ound a maid who

w a s fa ir est of the fa i r They had taken off thei r
.

( 0 87 1 ) 1 61 U
1 62 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My t hs
s kin coverings and were gowned in pale b lue and
, , ,

as they wheeled round about the i r copper tresses ,

streamed out behind the ir backs gl i sten i ng i n th e ,

moonl i ght H e w a s del i ghted by the i r s i nging

.

and amazed at the i r beauty .

At length h e crept stealth i ly down the rock ,

and ran towards the ski n cover i ngs ly i ng on the

sand H e seized one and ran off w i th i t When
. .

the merma i ds saw him they screamed and scattered

in confusion and snatch i ng up their sk i n cover
,

ings leapt into th e sea and van i shed from S ight

,
.

One ma i d rema i ned behind Th i s was the fa i r .

one round whom the others had been da n c i ng .

H er skin covering was gone and so s h e could ,

not r etu r n to her s e a home .

M eanwhile the crofter ran to h is house and hid

the sk i n cover i ng i n a box which he locked plac i ng, ,

the key i n h i s pocket H e wondered what would

.

happen next and he had not long to wa i t S ome

, .

one came to his door and knocked softly H e .

stood l istening in s i lence Then he heard the .

knocki n g aga i n and opened the door A M a i d

, .

o f the Wave clad i n pale s e a blue garments stood

- -
,
-
,

b efore h i m the moonl i ght gl i sten i ng on her wet

,

copper ha i r Tea r s stood i n her soft blue eyes

.

as s h e spoke sweetly saying : man have p i ty ,

and give me back my sk i n covering s o that I may

return to my s e a home .

She was s o gentle and s o beaut iful that th e

 Th e M a i d -
o f the W a ve
-
I6 3

c r ofte r did not w i sh her to go away so he answe r ed : ,

What I have got I keep Do not sorrow O .

,

fa i r on e Rema i n here and be my br i de

. .

The mermaid turned away and wandered alon g

the shore but the crofter d i d not leave h is house
, .

I n the morn i ng s h e retu r ned again and the c r ofter ,

sa i d to h e r B e my bride .

The merma i d consented saying : I cannot

return to my fa i r s e a home I must l i ve now .

among human be i ngs and I know no one except

,

you alone B e k i nd to me but do not tell man

.
,

o r woman who I am or whence I came .

The crofter prom i sed to keep her secret and ,

that day they W ere marr i ed All the people o f .

the townsh i p loved Ma i d o f the Wave and re - - -

,

ce d to ha v e her among them They thought

j o i .

s h e wa s a pr i ncess from a far country w h o had

been carried away by th e fair i es .

For seven years the crofter and his wife lived

happily togethe r They had three ch i ldren two
.
,

boys and a girl and M a i d o f the Wave loved

,
- - -

them dearly .

When the seventh yea r was d r awing to a close

the crofter s e t out on a j ou r ney to B ig Town ,

having business to do there H is w i fe was lonely .

w i thout h im and s a t often on the shore s i nging

,

songs to her baby g i rl and gaz i ng over th e s e a .

One even i ng a s s h e wandered am i dst the rocks

, ,

h e r eldest b oy whose name was K enneth came

, ,
1 64 Ta les from Sco tti sh My th s
to he r and said I fo u nd a key which opened :

Father s box and i n the box I saw a sk i n l ike the

sk i n of a sal mon but br i g hte r and m o r e beautiful

, ,

and very large .

H is mother gasped with surprise and secret j oy ,

and asked softly : Will you give me the key ?
K enneth handed the key to her and s h e hid i t ,

in her bosom Then s h e sa i d :. I t i s gett i n g

l ate The moon will not r i se till nea r midnight

. .

Com e home l i ttle K enneth and I shall make

, ,

supper and put you to bed and s in g you to

, ,

sleep .

As s h e spoke s h e b e g an to s in g a j oyous son g ,

and K enneth was glad that his mother w a s no

longer s a d because his father was from home H e .

grasped his mothe r s hand and tripped l i ghtly b y

her s i de as they went homeward togethe r .

When the two boys had suppe r and we r e ,

slumbering i n bed the c r ofte r s wi fe hushed he r ,

girl baby to sleep and laid h e r In he r cradle

-
, .

Then she took the key from he r bosom and

opened the box There s h e found her lon g lost .
-

S k i n covering She w i shed to r etu r n to he r fai r

.

s ea home yet she d i d not ca r e to leave her

,

ch i ldren S he sat by the re fo r a time wonde r ing

.
,

if s h e should put on the S k i n co verin g o r place it

in the box again At length howeve r sh e heard .

, ,

the sound of s i nging com i ng ove r the waves and ,

the song she heard was like this

 T he M a i d o f the W a v e 65 - -
I

M i d f the W ve the dew m i st i s f ll i n g

a -
o - -
a ,
a ,

T h y s i ste s ll i n g d l n gi n g f thee ;
r a re ca an o or

M i d f the W ve the wh i te st s gle m i n g

a -
o -
a ,
ar a re a ,

T he i b ig ht y s st e m i n g ss the d k
r r ra a re r a a cro ar s ea .

M i d f the W ve w l d th we t ne
a -
o - -
a ,
!o u ou r ar us

C me o w he
no Oh he to c e ! O h he !
r us

, ar us , a r us

M i d f th e W ve
a -
o - -
w i nd i s b l wi n g
a , a s ea - o ,

T he t i de i ts w i n g h th b ne
at o th ; a or us to ee

M i d f the W ve the t i de i s w t n i n g
a -
o - -
a , no ur

O h ! we ll y e n i n g
a re a s i ste see ar o ur r to .

M i d f the W ve m e b k d ne e le ve
a -
o -
a , co ac an

r a u s,

T he l ss f thee g i eves
o o b el i eve ! b el i eve !
r u s us us

M i d f the W ve wh t d th i n h i l d h d
a -
o - -
a , a ca re st ou c oo

F m l nd w i l d w d ? th y h m e w the
or oora or oo o as s ea .

M i d f the W ve th i ne e i le d s w
a -
o - -
a ,
x an o rro

W i ll end the m w d th sh lt b e f ee
e re o rro , an ou a r .

M i d f the W ve n ig ht f m
a -
o - -
a , h lls
to - ro o u r s ea - a

A he t spell ar -
thee f l l s h on lls ! the ll ! a
t e s e a ca s ea ca s

S he k i ssed th e two boys and wept ove r the m .

Then h kn elt bes i de her l i ttl e baby g irl wh o

s e ,

sm iled i n her sleep and sang , :

S leep h ! sleep m y f i m y
,
o a r, ra re o n e ,

S leep h ! slee p s ig h f et t h ee
,
o nor nor r .

T h g h I le ve thee i t d th g i eve m e
ou a o r

Ne h ! ne e w i ll I f g t t h ee

e r, o r or e .

S leep h ! sleep m y w h i te m y b ig ht
, o , ,
r o n e,

S leep h ! sleep d kn w
, o s w an o no o rro .

S ft I ki ss thee I wh 11 m i ss thee

o , o

A nd th y s i e wh 11 m e m w r o

co to - o rro .

S leep h ! sleep m y ne
, o m y de a r, a r o n e,

Wh i le th y b the s sleep b es i de the ro r e .

T he y w i ll w k en ll f s k en a a or a

F thee well d w b et i de m !
a re - -
, an oe e
I 66 Ta le s fro m Sco tt i sh My t hs
When s he had su ng th is song s h e heard voices
fro m the s ea call i ng low and call i ng sweet :
M i d f the W ve h ! l i st t
a -
o - -
a s i n gi n g ;
, o o o ur

T he wh i te m n i s w i n gi n g i ts w y the
oo a

o er s ea .

M i d f the W ve the wh i te m n i s sh i n i n g
a -
o - -
a , oo ,

And we ll p i n i n g sweet s i ste f

a re a thee
, r, or .

M i d f t h e W ve w ld th we t ne
a o
- -
a , ou ! ou r ar us

C m o wt h ee
e no O h he
o c ! Oh he
r u s , ar us , a r us !

The weeping mother kissed her boys and her

b aby girl once aga i n Then s h e put on her skin
-
.

cover i n g and hasten in g down the beach plunged

, ,

into the s e a E re long sounds of j oy and lau ghte r

.
,

we r e heard far out amongst the b i llows and ,

they g rew fa i nter and fainter until they were

heard no more The moon rose h i gh and fa ir
.
,

and shone ove r th e wide sol i tary ocean and ,

whithe r the me r ma i ds had gone no one could tell .

W hen the crofte r r eturned next morning h e

found the ch i ldren fast asleep H e wakened .

K enneth who tol d h i m about nd i ng th e key and

,

opening the box .

Whe r e is the key now ? the c r ofter asked
.

I g ave it to M othe r sa i d the b oy ,

.

The c r ofter went towards the box I t was .

open and the skin covering w a s gone

,
Then .

h e k new what had happened a nd s a t down and ,

sor r owed because M aid o f the Wave had gone - - -

.

I t is told that the lost mother often returned

at night time to g aze th r ough the cottage windows
-
 T h e M ai d
o f the Wave

1 67

on her ch i ldren as th ey lay asleep She left trout .

and sal mon for them outs i de the door When .

th e boys found the sh they wondered greatly ,

and the i r father wept and sa i d : Your mothe r

i s far away but s h e has not fo rgotten you

, .

W i ll M other return again ? the boys would

ask .

N 0 M other w i ll not return the i r fathe r would

, ,

sa
y . She

now dwells i n the home of he r people ,

to wh i ch you and I can never go .

When the boys grew up they became b old and

dar i ng seamen and no harm ever cam e to them,

i n storm or darkness for the i r mother Maid o f , ,

-

the Wave followed the i r sh i p and protected i t

-
,

from all per i l .

A merma i d has power to grant three wishes ,

for s h e i s one of the fa i ry folk of ocean and a

subj ect of Q ueen B e i ra s
.

O nce a seaman saw a Ma i d o f the Wave s i tt i ng - -

on a rock H e crept towards her unheard and

.

u nseen and se i zed her i n h is arms

, .

Let me go ! the merma i d cried or I shall
,

drag you into the s e a .

I shall not let you go sa i d th e seaman who ,

,

was very strong unt i l you have granted me ,

three w i shes .

What are your w i shes ? asked the merma i d
.

H ealth w ealth and prosper i ty

, , .

Your w i shes are granted exclaimed the mer ,

I6S Ta le s from Sco t tis h My th s
maid w h o being then released plun g ed into th e
, , ,

s e a and vanished from sight .

S omet i mes a me r maid will give g ood advice

to human beings The r e was once a man in.

Galloway who had skill as a cure r of diseases ,

and it was said that he r eceived some of h i s

knowledge fr o m a mermaid A beau t i ful gi r l .

named May was ill w i th consumption The .

Galloway herbal i st tried in vain to cure he r and ,

as he loved her dearly and wished to ma r ry her ,

his hea r t was very s a d when he found that his

her b s did not do her any g ood One evenin g .

as he s a t sor r owin g on the S ho r e a mer m aid ,

raised her head above the waves and sang :

W ld y let b nn i e M y d i e i n y h nd
ou ou o a o ur a

And h m g w t w i n g i n the l nd ?
t e u or
1
o er a

Then s h e vanished The man went at once .

and gathered th e owers of the mugwo r t and ,

made a medicine This he gave to May who .

,

wa s soon restored to health .

A mermaid may be offended by anyone who

interfe r es with her and if s h e i s offended s h e may
,

do harm .

An old family once lived in a house called K nock

d o lio n wh i ch stood on the banks o f the Water o f
,

G irvan in Ayrshire There was a black stone at .

1
A l s o ca ll d
e so u th w d
e rn oo It i s a n a ro t l t lli d
ma ic p an a e to w m
or

w d
oo
 T he Mai d -
o f the Wave
-
1 69

the end of the house and a merma i d used to come

,

and s it on i t comb i ng her ha i r and s i ng i ng fo r

,

hours on end The lady of the house could not

.

get he r baby to sleep because of the loud s i nging

of the merma i d s o s h e told her m en servants to
,
-

break up the stone Th i s they d i d and when the

.
,

mermaid came on the n i ght that followed s h e

foun d n o stone to s it upon S he at once e w .

into a r ag e and c ri ed to the lady of the house

,

Ye think y
may d le on o u r cra

I th i n k m y st ne ;on a

T he e w i ll ne e b e he i
r

r an r

T K kd li
o g in
noc o an a a .

N ot long after th is the baby d i ed H e was the .

only child i n the house and when h i father and ,

s

mother died the fam i ly became ext i nct .

Once a Forfarsh i re landowne r nearly lost his

l ife by rushing i nto a lake towards a mermaid .

H e thought she was a young lady wh o had got

beyond her depths wh i le bath i ng As s h e strug .

gled in th e water s h e called to h i m : H elp ! help !

o r I ll drown

When the landowne r entered the
.

lake his man servant followed h i m and hauled

-

h i m back . That wa i ling woman the servant

,

sa i d is not a human be i ng but a merma i d I f

,

.

you had touched her s h e would have dragged ,

you down and drowned you As he spoke th e .

sound of laughter came over the lake and the ,

m e r maid was seen swi m ming away i n the dusk .

 C H A PT E R ! IV

E x i le s from F a i ry l a nd
Th e Fairy Q ueen banishes from Fairyland any
fairy wh o d i sobeys her orders Then the exile .

wanders about alone through the land in S earch

of companions As the queen s subj ects S hun the
.

banished fa i ry man or woman he or s h e must ,

needs make frie n ds w i th human be i ngs .

The Go o n a is the name g i ven to one class of

1

fairy exiles A G o o n a i s v ery k i ndly and harm

.

less and goes about at n i ght try i ng to be of service

,

to mank i nd H e herds the cattle on th e hills and

.
,

ke eps them away from dangerous places Often .

he i s seen sitt i ng on th e edge of a cl i ff and when ,

cattle come near he dr i ves them back I n the .

summer and autumn seasons he watches the corn

elds and if a cow should try to enter one he
, ,

se i zes it by a horn and leads it to h i ll pasture .

I n winte r time when the cattl e are kept in byres

, ,

the Goo ma feels very lonely h av i ng no work ,

to do .

Crofters speak kindly of the Go o n a and con ,

1
Pro n o u n ce d Go o

na . Spe ll ed Gu n n a in Ga e li c.

170
 E x i les from Fa iryla rd 1 7 1

s i der themselves lucky when one haunts their

countrys i de They tell that he i s a l i ttle fa i ry
.

man with long golden ha i r that falls down over

h i s shoulders and back H e is clad i n a fox s .

skin and i n wintry weather he suffers much from

,

cold for that is part of h i s pun i shment The

, .

crofters pity him and w i sh that he would come

,

i nto a house and s it bes i de a warm re but th i s ,

he i s forb i dden to do I f a crofter were to offe r

.

a Go o n a any cloth i ng the l i ttle lonely fellow would

have to go away and he co u ld never r eturn aga i n .

The only food the exiled fa i ry can get are scraps

and bones ung away by human be i ngs There .

a r e son g s about the Go o n a One tells : .

H e w ill w t h the l n g we i d n ight

a c o r ,

When the st s w i ll sh k e w th f ig h t
ar a i r ,

O the g h stl y m n le p s b ig ht
r o o o a r

O the h l ik e B elt ne

er en a re .

If m y ki ne sh ld see k the ou n co r

H e w i ll t n the m by the h n
ur or ,

A d I ll d the m ll m n

n n a a t or

L w i n g sweet b es i de t h e by e
o r .

O nly those w h o have second sight that i s

,

the power to see supernatural be i ngs and future

events can behold a G o o n a S o the song tells :

.

Do n l d B h se nd Sig ht
a an as co ,

And he ll m n the G

pl ig ht
oa o o na s

W h en the f sts i k e i n g wh i te
ro a re c r ,

And h k i ne h sed t i l l d y;
t e a re ou a
I7 2 Ta le s from Sco t t i sh My ths
F h e ll see h i m p hed l ne
or

e rc a o

O n h i ll y ld g e y st ne
a c o r o ,

Nibb l i n g n ibb l i n g b ne, at a o

T h t we ve m yb e th wn w y
a

a ro a a .

H e h n g y he th i n

5 so u r ,

s so ,

If he d m e w d let h i m i n ;

co e

F g ff
o r a ra s s ki n o ox

I the nl y th i n g he 11 we

s o ar .

H 11 b e h i tte i n g i n the ld

e c r co

A s he h ve s n d the f ld o r ro u o ,

W i th h i s l k s f g l i mm e i n g g l d
oc o r o

T w i ne d b t h i s sh l d e s b e a ou o u r ar .

Another ex i led fa i ry i s called Th e Little Old

'

M an of the Barn H e l i ves to a great age

.

some say unt i l he is over two hundred years ol d

but h e rema i ns strong and active although his

back i s bent and h i s long grey beard reaches to
h i s ankles . H e wears grey cl othing and the ,

buttons of h i s coat are of s i l ver O n h i s hi g h .

peaked cap there is a white owl s feather The .

face of the l i ttl e old man i s covered with wrinkles ,

b ut his eyes are br i ght and k i ndly H e is always .

in a hurry and hobbl es about l eaning on h i s staff

, , ,

but he walks s o quickly that the strongest man

can hardly keep up w i th h i m W h en he begins .

to work he works very hard and very qu i ckly .

H e will not hold a conversatio n w i th anyone once

he begins to perform a task I f a m a n who has .

second s i ght should address h i m say i ng H ow ,

:

are you old man ? he w i ll answer :

,

I m busy

,
 E x i les from Fa i ry l a nd I 73

b usy , busy
I f he should be asked : What are
.

you doing ? he w i ll g i ve the same answer re

,

p e a tin
g i t over and over aga i n I t is no use .

try i ng to chat with the little old man .

There was once an old crofter whose name was

Callum H e had seven strong sons but one by
.
,

one they left h i m to serve as keepers of the dee r .

Callum wa s left to do all the work on the c r oft .

H e had to cut the corn and thresh i t afterwa r ds ,

and had it not been for the ass i stance g i ven him

by the Little Old Man of th e Barn he woul d

.
,

never have been abl e to get the threshing done .

E ach n i ght the fa i ry man entered the barn and

worked ve r y hard The follow i ng ve rses a r e .

fr om a song about Callum :

When ll the big l ds w i ll b e h nt i n g the de
a a u e r,

And f
no help i n g ld C ll m m es ne
o ne or o a u co a r,

O h wh w i ll b e b s y th esh i n g h i s n ?
,
o u at r co r

Wh w i ll m e i n the n ig ht d b e g i n g m n ?
o co an o at or

Th Li ttle O ld M e f the B n an o ar .

Y L i ttle O ld M
ou an

S t ig ht od b w he w i ll b ndl th s t w
an so ra , u e e ra ,

Th Li ttle O l d M e f the B n an o ar .

When t h e pe t w i ll t n g ey d the sh d ws f l l deep

a ur r , an a o a ,

A nd we y ld C ll m i s sn i n g sleep ;
ar o a u or a

When y p l nt by the d w i ll k eep f i i es w y

on a oor a r a a ,

And the h sesh e sets w i t hes w nde i n g t i l l d y

or o c a- a r a ,

T he Li ttle O ld M f t h e B n an o ar ,

Y Li ttle O ld M
on an

W i ll th sh w i th l ig ht i n th e m th f th n ig ht
ra no ou o e

T he Li ttle O ld M f t h e B n an o ar .
: 74 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
The r e was once a fairy exile who l ived in a
wood i n Ga i rloch Ross shire H e was called
,
-
.

G i ll i e Dhu wh i ch means dark servant because

,

,

h e had dark ha i r and dark eyes H e wore a .

green garment made of moss and the leaves of

trees N obody feared h i m fo r he never did any
.
,

harm .

O nce a l i ttl e girl whose name was J ess i e ,

M acrae was wander i ng i n the wood and lost her

,

way I t was i n su mmer tim e and the a i r was

.
,

wa r m When even i ng came on J ess i e began to

.

grow afra i d but althou g h s h e hastened her steps

,

s h e could not nd her way out of the wood At .

length wea r y and footsore she s a t do w n below a

, ,

r t r ee and began to weep A voice spoke to .

her suddenly from beh i nd say i ng : Why are ,

you crying l i ttl e girl ? ,

J ess i e looked rou nd and saw the Gill i e Dhu .

H e had ha i r black as the w i ng of a raven eyes ,

brown as hazel nuts i n S eptember and h is mouth-

,

was large ; he had a hundred teeth which were as ,

small as herring bones The G i llie Dhu was .

sm i l i ng : h i s cream yellow cheeks had merry -

dimples and his eyes were soft and kindly H ad

,
.

J ess i e s een h i m at a d i stance w i th h i s cloth i ng ,

of moss and leaves s h e would have run away i n ,

terror but as h e seemed s o k i n dly and fr i endly

,

s h e d i d not feel the least afra i d .

Why are you cry i ng little g irl ? the G i llie ,

 E x i les from F a i ry l a nd 1 75

a sked again . Your tear d rops are fall ing l ike

-

dew on the l ittle blue owe r s at you r feet .

I have lost my way said J ess i e in a low ,

voice ,
and the n i ght is coming on

.

S a i d the G i llie : D o not cry l i ttle girl ; I

,

shall lead you th rough the wood I know every .

path the r abb i t s path the hare s path the fox s

path the goat s path the path of the dee r and

,

, ,

the path of men .

Oh thank you thank you ! J essie said S he
, , .

looked the fa i ry up and down and wonde r ed to ,

see h i s strange cloth i ng .

Where do you dwell l ittle g irl ? asked Gill ie ,

Dhu .

J essie told him and he said : You have b een

,

walking every way but the right way Follow .

me and you l l reach home before the little stars
,

come out to pee r at me th r ou g h the trees .

The G ill i e turned round about and began to ,

tr i p l i ghtly in front of the g i rl H e went s o fast .

that s h e feared s h e woul d lose s i gh t of him but ,

he turned round aga i n and aga i n an d when he ,

found she wa s far behind he danced a pretty ,

dance u nt i l s h e came up to h i m Then he scam .

pered on as befo r e .

At length J ess i e reached the edg e of the wood ,

and s a w he r home beside th e loch Th e G illie .

bade her good bye and said : H ave I not led

-
,

you well ? D o not forg et m e I am the G illie .

I 7O Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
Dhu and I love l ittle girls and little boys I f
,
.

eve r you get lost in the wood again I shall come ,

to your a i d Good bye l i ttle gi rl good bye

.
-
, ,
-
.

H e laughed merrily and then trotted away ,

and wa s soon lost to s i ght amon g the trees .

T he r e was once a fairy exile who was a dum m y .

The Fairy Q ueen had pun ished h i m fo r some

offence b y tak i ng away h i s powers of speech and
hearing and fo r bade any other fairy to go nea r
,

him H e wo r e a bright r ed j acket and gr een

.

breeches and fr om beneath his l i ttle r ed cap his

,

lon g curl i ng hair which was yellow as broom

, ,

dropped down on h i s shoulde rs The dummy .

had cheeks r ed as rowan be r ries and laughing

blue eyes and he was al ways sm i l i ng I t made
, .

one happy to look at h i m H e was always so .

contented and pleased and playful although he ,

was deaf and dumb that he put eve r yone who ,

met h i m in good humou r .

Fo r a long time the fairy du m my l i ved all alone

beneath a great heap of stones called the G r ey ,

Cairn on a lonely moo r in the Black I sle i n

, ,

Ross shi re Th i s cairn is i n a r wood which

-
.

sk i rts the highway .

When a cart came along the h i ghway the fairy

dummy u sed to steal out from beh i nd a b i g grey

stone sm i l i ng and sm i l i ng Then he would j ump

,
.

on the axle of a wheel and wh i rl round and r ound ; ,

and th e faste r the cart would go the better he

JE S S I E M A C R A E A ND TH E G I LL I E DHU

F ro m a dra w zn
g by Jo /m D u n ca n
,
 E x i les from F a i ry land 1 77

would be pleased H e would d r op off the axl e

.

at the edge of the wood but he n ever forgot to ,

turn round and sm i le to the driver as he ran away .

The people l i ked to see the l i ttle fa i ry du mmy

whirl i ng round and round on the cart wheel -
,

because they believed he always brought them

luck .

One day a farmer and h is wife we r e goin g to

the Fai r of S t N orman at C romarty to sell thei r
.

butter and eggs but when they reached the big

,

grey stone the Littl e Red Dummy did not come

in s i ght .

The fa r me r wh o was ill te m pered that day

,
-
,

wanted to go on w i thout giv i ng the l ittle fellow

a whirl on the cart wheel but his w i fe said : -
,

N o no ; i f you w i ll not wait for him I ll get

, ,

down and wal k home ; for we would have no luck

at the Fair i f we m ls s e d the bonn i e w e e red man .

The woman was lookin g through th e t r ees and ,

suddenl ysh e b egan to laugh .

Look S andy dear look ! she cried
, , the r e
,

comes the Littl e Red D ummy the bonnie wee

man oh the dear little fa i ry !

The farmer was fr owning and ill tempered bu t -

,

when he looked round he began to s m i l e for th e ,

l i ttle r ed fa i ry was sm i l i ng so sweetly to h i m .

H e whipped up h i s mare and cried over h i s ,

S houlder to his w i fe Is he on the wheel yet

:
,

K i rsty dear ; is he on the wheel ?

( 0 87 1 ) 12
I 7S T ales from Sco tt i sh My ths

Yes yes S andy dear ,
K irsty answe r ed
, ,

,

h e s on now

Go faster Sandy the faster you

.
,

go the better he ll be pleased .

The farmer cried to the mare : Gee u p J enny -

, ,

gee u p my lass ! and the old mare went trott i ng

,

along the h i ghway wh i le the l i ttl e red fa i ry s a t ,

on the axle wh i rl i ng round and round with the

,

wheel and s miling and s m i l i ng all the time

, .

When he dropped off at the edge of th e wood ,

his bright yellow hair w a s streaming over h i s

laugh i ng eyes and his cheeks were redder than ,

hazel berries -
Th e fa i ry sm i led to S andy and
.

smiled to K irsty looking over h is shoulder as he ,

r an away .

The dear w e e man ! c r ied the farmer s wife
.

The happy l i ttle chap cried the farmer ,

.

They both looked back to s e e th e gl i nt of the

fairy s red j acket as he ran merr i ly through th e

trees They both felt very happy and they were

.
,

happie r still w h en they were on the i r way home

ward because they h a d secured good prices for
,

thei r butter and eggs at the Fa i r .

There was a m i ller w h o had a m i ll w i th a water

wheel in a woody dell not far from the Grey Ca i rn .

The l i ttle fa i ry dummy w a s fond of h i m because ,

he got many a ne wh i rl o n the m i ll wheel -

.

E very morn i ng and every evening th e m i lle r left

a l i ttle cog of oatmeal porr i d ge on the w i ndow s i ll -

for the wee red man S omet i mes when he was .

,
 E x i le s from Fa i ry land I 79

b usy tying the bags of meal the fa i ry would look

,

in at the doo r and smile and sm i le unt i l the m i lle r

,

felt s o happy that he forgot he was old and began ,

to wh i stle or s i ng l i ke a young lad on a bri ght

M ay morn i ng .

When the m i ller was getting frail the l ittle r ed

,

fa i ry used to help h i m at his work E very now

.

and then he would run out to whirl round the

mill wheel and he would come back with the
-
,

spray clin g in g to his hai r like dew d r ops on wh in

-

blosso m .
 C H A PT E R ! V

F ri ends a nd F o e s o f Ma n
I n ancient days the do g was looked upon as
man s best friend and the enemy of all supe r

natural bein gs : fa i r i es g i ants hags and monsters

, , ,

of the sea and the U nderworld When the s e a .

sons changed o n the four qua r te r days o f the

year and the whole world as the folks bel ieved

, , ,

w a s thrown into confusion the fair i es and othe r ,

sp i rits b roke loose and went about plundering

houses and barns and stealing child r en At such .

times the d o gs were watchful and active and ,

howled wa r n i ng when they saw any of the supe r

natural creatu r es They even attacked the fa i ries
.
,

and somet i mes after such ghts they returned

home w i th all the hair scraped off thei r bod i es .

A story is st i ll current i n E d i nbu rgh about a

piper and his dog and their meet i ng w i th a mon
,

ste r of the U nde r world Th i s monster haunted

.

an underground passage wh i ch is said to run ,

from E dinburgh Castle to H olyrood Palace and ,

was called Great H and fo r no one ever s a w

-
,

aught of it except i ts g i gantic grisly hand with

nails l ike an eagle s claw .

1 80
 F ri ends a nd F o e s o f Ma n 181

I n days of long ago the underground passage

was used by soldiers when the enem i es of the
K in g of S cotland invaded the k i ngdom and laid
s iege to E dinburgh Castle h is ch i ef stronghold , .

The soldiers could leave the castle and fall upon

the besiegers from behind and through i t reinforce ,

ments could be s ent to the castle When however .

, ,

the spiri t called Great H and began to haunt the

-

tunnel it could not be used any longer for every

, ,

man wh o entered it perished i n the darkness .

The piper was a brave man and he r esolved ,

to explore the tunnel with his dog I shall play .

my bagpipe all the way th r ough he said to his ,

friends ,
and you can follow the sound o f the

piping a b ove the ground .

The r e is a cave below th e castle which leads

to the tunnel and the p i pe r ente r ed it on e mo r n
,

in g playing a me r ry tune H is faith ful dog fol

, .

lowed him The people hea r d the sound of the

.

bagp i pe as they wal ked down H i gh S treet l isten ,

in g i ntently but when they reached the spot which

,

is called the H ea r t of M i dloth i an the piping

stopped ab r uptly as if the p i pes had been torn sud

,

d e n ly from the piper s hands The piper wa s neve r

.

seen again but h is dog without a ha i r on its body

, , ,

came r unn ing out of the cave below th e castle .

The r e are o ther strange passages below hills ,

and even below the s e a a b out which sto r ies have

,

b een told The lon g est of these is one that is

.
1 82 Ta le s fro m Sco tt is h My th s
supposed to stretch from a cave in Oban to anothe r
cave in the I sland of M ull A Gael i c legend tells
.

that a piper once en tered the cave at Oban to

explore the tunnel but was never seen again, .

H i s dog return ed with every hair torn fr om its

b ody and d i ed soon afterwards
, .

I t is sa i d that most of these passages have been

made b y fai r i es fo r the monster w i th the g i gantic
grisly H and and there are two stories about men
,

w h o once caught gl impses of the H and inside

caves and yet managed to escape from it
,
.

The rst story is about an underground passage ,

over three m i les lon g that is sa i d to connect the

,

D ropp i ng Cave near C ro m arty with another

, ,

cave i n the fa i ry haunted dell of E athie which is

-
,

s i tuated beside Na v ity M oor where in ancient ,

t i mes the E arth Goddess was worshipped w i thin

a grove I t is told that when res are l i t in one
.

of the caves the smoke comes out of the other .

The D ropping Cave is s o called because drops

of wate r are constantly fall i ng from its ce i l i ng ,

wh ich b ristles with long tapering stalact i tes that

look l i ke icicles There are lots of strange stor i es
.

about this cave F isherm en have told that they

.

have seen blue lights hover i ng near it in the

darkness and also that often on moonl i ght n i ghts
, , ,

a merma i d s i ts on a rock below it combing he r ,

long yellow hai r with he r ngers and s ingin g a

low s a d song .
 F ri ends a nd F o es o f M an 1 83

Once upon a t i me a l i ttle old man with a pale ,

wrinkled face and long grey beard was seen sitt i ng ,

nea r the cave gaz ing over the sea H e did not
, .

move for three days People c rept alo n g the

.

lonely shore to watch h i m from a distance and ,

shermen passing i n the ir boats stared at h i m

, ,

w i th wonder i n g eyes N 0 one dared to go near h i m

.

except a half w i tted lad who rst walked round

-
,

the l i ttle old man and then spoke saying : Wh y

, ,

are you s i tting here ? Are you not tired yet ?

The l i ttle old man made no answe r but shive r ed ,

all over Terried by h i s appearance the lad

.
,

turned at once and ed homeward cryin g : H e ,

is sh i vering now he i s S hiverin g now

, .

On the even i ng of the th i rd day the l ittl e old

man d i sappeared S oon afterwards a terrible
.

storm broke out I t raged ercely fo r s everal

.

days and when it was over the shores were

, , ,

strewn with wreckage and the bodies of drowned

sa i lors The peopl e bel i eved that the littl e old
.

man w a s one of the i nhabitants of the U nde r

world and some have declared he was no oth e r
,

tha n Th omas the Rhymer .

A C romarty man named William M illar who

, ,

l i ved over a hundred years ago is said to have ,

entered the D ropp i ng Cave an d explo r ed part o f

the u nderground passage Wh en he retu r ned he .

told that h e had caught a glimpse o f the great

H and .
1 84 Tales fro m Sco tt i sh My ths
B efore he entered the cave M illar sewed sprigs ,

o f r owan and w i tch hazel in th e he m of his vest .

I nto one of his pockets he put a B ible and in his ,

r ight hand he held a staff of blackthorn wh ich he

had cut on a cal m n i ght when the moon wa s full ,

and had d r essed without using anyth i ng made o f

i r on . W i th the aid of these charms he hoped
to be a b le to protect himsel f ag ainst the spi r it s
of the U nde r world -
.

H avin g l i t a torch M illa r cli m b ed up to the

,

m outh of the dark wet cave and entered i t j ust ,

as the sun was beginn ing to r ise H e walked .

fo r ward until the passage became so low and

na rr ow that he had to crawl on his hands and
knees H e c r awled fo r some d i stance until the
.

cave b egan to widen and at length he found hi m

,

self in a big unde r g r ound chamber which w a s full

o f blue mist A small and beautiful rainbow a p
.

e a re d r ound his am i ng torch Fo r a time he

p .

stood gazing around h i m and above The r oof .

seemed to b e ve r y h i gh and the rocky walls we r e

,

r ough and b a r e H e walked onwa r d and as he

.
,

did so the sound of his footsteps awoke many

echoes loud and fa i nt I t seemed as i f a hund r ed
.

people were walk i ng th rough th e cave .

S uddenly M i llar heard a cur i ous h um min g noise .

H e stopped to l isten and when he did so the ,

hum ming grew louder H e peered th r ough the .

blue m i st for a time fearing to advance farth e r

,
 F ri ends a nd F o e s o f Ma n 1 85

into the depths of that fearsome place Then a .

erce gust of wind blew in h i s face The ames .

o f the torch were swept backward i ckered and , ,

went out .J ust as th i s happened M i llar caught ,

a gl impse of m any d i m fo r ms i tt i ng round a b out

h im A cry of fea r came from h i s lips and he
.
,

turned to run away but stumbled ove r a stone

, ,

fell heavily and became unconsc i ous

,
.

H ow long h e lay there he never could tell .

When he woke th e chamber was no longer dark

, ,

for a r ed light shone through it The humm i ng .

no i se had grown very loud and seemed to be the ,

no i se of fall i ng water Th i nk i ng he was not fa r

.

from the waterfalls of E ath i e burn he rose up and ,

hastened forward T he passage g r ew na rr ow

.
,

and led to another large chambe r whe r e h e s a w ,

a great re of r logs burn i ng e r cely and a ,

waterfall dash i ng over a rock into a deep pool

beneath I n front of the pool w a s a big stone
.

chest The oor o f the r ock y chambe r wa s st r ewn

.

w i th human bones .

M i lla r crept forward cautiously until he saw a

b i g i ron mace red with rust and blood lying at
, ,

one end of the stone chest and a horn dangl ing on

a chain which came down from the rocky ceil i ng .

H e gazed at th e ho r n fo r a m inute ; then he

grasped it in his hands and blew a s i ngle b last
which awoke a hundred echoes .

N o soone r did he do so than the wate r s ceased

1 86 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My ths
to fall M i lla r w a s astonished and thought he
.
,

woul d blow the ho r n once aga i n to s e e what

would happen B ut when he leaned forward to
.

grasp it he s a w the l id of the stone chest ris i ng

,

slowl y H e stepped back at once for a sudden

.
,

fea r st r uck hi m and he be g an to trem b l e l ike an

,

aspen lea f .

The lid r ose and r ose and suddenly fell back ,

ward with a c r ash Then out of the chest came .

a g igantic grisly H and which grasped the b i g

rusty mace M illar shr i eked and ed out of the
.

r ocky chamber A erce yell broke out beh i nd

.

him and turn ing round he s a w the H and throw

, , ,

ing down the mace the l id of the chest r i sing , ,

and th e waterfall beginn ing to pour again over

the r ocks into the deep pool .

With hasty steps he ran into the chamber in

wh i ch h e had lain i n a swoon and hav i ng found ,

h i s torch l it it again and crept forward unt i l he

, ,

r eached the narrow passage through which he

had crawled When at length he got out of the
.

D ropp i ng Cave he found that the s u n was sett i n g

,

over the western hills H e vowed never aga i n .

to attempt to explo r e the u nderg r ound passage to

E athie .

Anothe r cave sto r y is told a b out a west coast -

man named Ma c F a d ye n who had a wonderful ,

black dog which he had got from a fa i ry This .

animal was ve r y laz y and used to sleep a great ,

 F ri ends and F o es o f Ma n 18 7

deal ,and eat huge quant i t i es of food M ac .

F a d ye n s w i fe hated i t and often sa i d to her

husband : Your black dog i s quite useless ; i t

eats much food and nev er does anything to help

,

you I th i nk i t should be drowned

. .

M ac F a d ye n would not drown it howeve r , .

Leave i t alone he would s a y ; the dog will

,

have its day .

One morning many of the village r s went out to

hunt the w i l d deer on the mountains They r oused .

a great e e t footed stag which r an towards the

-

village All the dogs were beh i nd i t i n full chase

.
,

except Mac F a d ye n s dog wh i ch lay S leeping i n

the sunsh i ne at the corne r of h i s house The .

stag was head i ng for the loch over which it could ,

sw i m and s o escape from i ts pursuers but it had

, ,

rst to pass Mac F a d ye n s dog S omeone said : .

N ow the dog s great day has come at last .

The hunters shouted and their dogs bayed

aloud M ac F a d ye n s dog was awakened by the
.

tumult and r i s i ng u p stretched itsel f and looked

, , ,

rou nd about I t s a w the great stag but never

.
,

moved to attack I nstead i t j ust lay down aga i n

.
,

and closed its eyes and the stag entered the water ,

and swam across the loch .

K i ll that lazy dog of yours M ac F a d ye n the , ,

hunters cr i ed out ; i t is of no u s e
.

Sa i d Ma c F a d ye n : Leave the dog alone ; the

dog w i ll have i ts day .

1 88 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
One morning Ma c F a d ye n and other two men
wen t out to sh round the shores of a lonely
island When the boat was launched the dog
walked down the beach and leap i ng into it , ,

stretched i tself at Mac Fa d ye n s feet and went

to sleep .

We do not r equire a dog when we go shing ,

one of the men said Put you r dog asho r e

.

,

Mac Fa d ye n .

S aid Ma c F a d ye n : Leave the dog alone ; the

do g will have i ts day .

The m e n shed round the island all day and ,

when even i ng was coming on they landed and

went to a cave They l i t a re there and cooked
.

some sh M ac F a d ye n s do g ate as much sh as

.

did the three men togethe r .

N ight came on and the men lay down to sleep

,
.

Ma c F a d ye n had his do g beside h im and in the ,

m iddl e of the n ight the dog woke h i m with its

g rowl i n g Ma c Fa d ye n s a t up The re was
. .

burn ing low and i n the silence he heard a dr i pp i ng

,

sound H e threw some dry tw i gs on the r e

.
,

and when the ames from them l i t up the cave ,

he saw that both his friends were dead The .

d r ipping he heard was the dr i pping of thei r blood

ow i ng ove r the at stones Th e light went out .
,

and Ma c F a d ye n sat trembl i ng in the darkness

while the dog kept growl i ng ang r ily Then
Ma c F a d ye n hea r d a r ustlin g sound and s a w , ,
 F ri ends a nd F o e s o f Ma n : 89

passin g over the embers of th e low r e a great ,

grisly H and I t was feel i ng round about the

.

cave fo r someth i ng and Mac F a d ye n shrank back

,

to escape from i t S uddenly h is dog leapt up

.

and attacked the g i ant H and A erce struggle .

followed The H and tried to grasp the dog and

.
,

the d o g tried to tear the H and to pieces Fo r .

several minutes the ght was waged with fury ,

and th en the H and w a s withdrawn The dog .

followed it a n d scampered out of the cave an d

, ,

Ma c F a d ye n trembl i ng i n the darkness hea r d a

, ,

g reat stamp i ng overhead .

H e waited unt i l the dawn began to b r eak .

Then he r ose and left the cave and r an down the ,

beach W i th a great effort he launched the boat

.
,

and leap i ng i nto it began to row away fr om the

, ,

haunted i sland .

H e had not r owed a hund r ed ya r ds when he

s a w two b r i ght l i ghts following him i n the dusk

of the dawn Terr i ed by the l i ghts he bent

.
,

himself to the oars and rowed faster and faster .

The boat went qu i ckly through the water but the ,

l i ghts came qu i ckly after him I n the grow i ng .

br i ghtness of early morn i ng Mac F a d ye n saw at

,

le n gth that the l i ghts he dreaded we r e the am i ng

eyes of h i s dog wh i ch was swimm i ng from the
,

island and endeavouring to reach the boat The .

fury of the ght had roused all the slumbering

energy of the do g and M ac F a dye n was afra i d
,
[ 90 Ta les from Sco tt i sh My t hs
of i t H e did not wait for it but kept on r ow
.
,

ing unt i l the dog becam e exhausted and s i nk i ng ,

below the waves was drowned , .

The dog has had i ts day said Mac F a dye n ,

.

I t saved my l i fe .

There are many Gael i c stor i es about fa i thful

dogs and some examples of these are as follows
, .

A man named Col i n Cameron had once a great

e e t footed greyhound
-
H e went out to hunt
.

w i th i t on a S eptember morn i ng and lost h i s way ,

among the mounta i ns N i ght came on and he .

,

allowed the dog to go ahead and followed it I n .

t i me he came to a lonely sh i el i n g on a h i ll s i de -
,

and s a w a l i ght i ssu i ng from i t The door was .

open and he looked i n H e s a w an ol d woman

,
.

clad i n green s i tt i ng on the oor She looked up .

and spoke saying : , A r e you not com i ng in

,

Colin Came r on ?

Col i n suspected that the wo m an was an evil

spir i t and answered : N ot j ust now
,

.

You have lost your w a y she said , .

Perhaps I shall nd i t ere long he told her ,

.

I f you do not come i n s h e sa i d next I had ,

,

better go with you and show you the way to your

house .

D o not t r ouble yo u rs e lf h e answe r ed ; I

i

shall nd my way mysel f .

H av i ng spoken thus Col in tu r ned and ran ,

down the hill side S oon he found that h i s dog

-
.
 F ri ends and F o e s of M an 191

was not following h i m and he stopped to call it , .

As he did s o the sound of a erce st r uggle fell

,

on h i s ears and h e began to run again H e ran

, .

a great d i stance Then the moon r ose up and

.
,

h e found h i mself in a glen he knew and turned ,

h i s face homewards H e reached his own house

.

in safety and soon after he entered it his dog

,

ca m e in The an i mal had not a hai r left on its

.

body except on its ears I t w a s panting with .

exhaustion and pa i n Ly i ng down at Col i n s feet

.

it l i cked h i s hand and then fell ove r on its r i g ht

,

s ide and d i ed .

Col i n real ized at once what had happened H is .

faithful greyhound had waited beh ind at the shiel

ing to prevent the g reen woman fr om followin g
him .

Anothe r sto r y is told a b out th r ee men wh o once

crossed a lonely moo r in the night time They -
.

had a dog with them and when they were half ,

way o u their j ourney it began to run round and

round them in ever widen i ng c ir cl es At length
-
.

the men heard th e sound of fa i ry music and one ,

said to another The wee folk are dancing and

:

making merry so m ewhere nea r us .

They hastened on the i r way fearing to meet ,

the fai r ies . At length the sound of th e do g

howl i ng and barking m ingled w i th the music .

S uddenly the music stopped abruptly and they ,

hea r d the trampl in g of m any feet on the da rk

: 92 Ta les fro m Sco tt i sh My ths
m oo r They ran as fast as they were abl e until
.

the sounds d i ed away i n the d i stance and they ,

r eached in safety the house to which they we r e

going E arly next morn i ng the dog made its
.

appea rance All the hai r on i ts body had been

.

scraped off as i f with long na i ls and soon afte r ,

it entered the house it lay down and died .

A man named M alcol m Mac Ph e e was once

wal king along a lonely r ocky beach in I slay when
a mermaid seized h i m She th r ust h i m into a .

cave and there kept hi m a pr i sone r

, .

N ow Mac Ph e e had a b i g black dog and his ,

w i fe sent it out to search for its maste r The .

wise an i mal at once ran towa r ds the cave on the

b each where i t found M ac Ph e e N o soone r d i d
, .

it a rr ive however than the merma i d rose out of

, ,

the sea to prevent he r pr i soner escap i ng The .

dog growled e r cely when it s a w her and she ,

tried to drive i t away .

S aid M ac Ph e e : You had bette r let me go

,

o r my dog w i ll attack you .

The merma i d laughed and answered : I S hall ,

keep you here unt i l you d i e .

N o soon er did s h e s a y that than the dog sprang

at her A erce struggle took place and the
.
,

merma i d tried to escape by lea p i ng back i nto the

s ea .The dog followed her and fought until it ,

k i lled the merma i d but was itself s o severely

,

wounded that i t w a s drowned befo r e it r eached

 F ri ends a nd Foes o f Ma n 1 93

the sho r e Mac Ph e e hastened hom ewa r d lament

.
,

ing the loss of his fa i thful dog .

I t is told that dogs can s e e th e spirit messenge r

o f death coming nigh i n the darkness When .

they catch sight of it they beg i n to howl People .

w h o hear dogs howl ing at n i ght fea r that someone

they know w i ll meet with a fatal accident o r die
suddenly while asleep .

The B anshee i s d r eaded by dogs S he is a .

fairy woman who washes white sheets in a ford

by night when someone near at hand is about to
d i e I t is sa i d s h e has the power to appear during
.

day tim e in the form of a black dog or a raven

-
, ,

o r a hood i e crow -
.

T he followi n g is a H ig hland poem about the

Banshee who is supposed to s i ng a mournful song
,

while s h e washes the death clothes of one w h o is -

doomed to m eet w ith a sudden and unexpected

death
K n deep she w ded i n the p l
ee- a oo

The B nshee b ed i n g een

a ro r

S i n gi n g h s n g the wh le n ight l n g
er o o o ,

S he w shed the l i nen le n ;

a c a

Th l i nen th t m st w p the de d
e a u ra a

S h e b eetled st ne ; o n a o

S h e w shed w i th d i pp i n g h nds b l d
a r a , oo -
re d ,

L w s i n gi n g ll l ne
o a a o :

Th e B a n s /z ee I w i t/z s eco n d r a err

,

S i ng i n g i n tb e ge:

co la s i a ra

I w a s /z t/z e d ea t/ lo z lz es p u r e a n d w /z i te,
z -c

F o r Fergu s Mo re m u s t d i e i o -m g/z t .

( o 87 1 ) 13
: 94 Ta le s fro m Sco tt i sh My th s
T w Fe g s M e

de the h i ll
as r u or ro o er ,

C m e b k f m f e ig n w s ;
o ac ro o r ar

H i s h se s feet we e l tte i n g sweet

or

r c a r

B el w the p i t iless st s ;
o ar

And i n h i s he t he w l d epe t ar o u r a :

0 neve g i n I ll m ; r a a

ro a

All we y i s the g i n g f th
ar o or ,

B sweet the m i n g h m e
ut co o .

T/ze B a n s /z ee I wi th s eco n d s zg/z l,

S i ngin g i n #26 co ld s ta rlzg/z z ;

I w a s /z t/z e d ea t/z clo t/z es p u re -

a n d zo ni te,
F o r F erg u s Mo re m u s ! d ie to
nz g/z t.

H e w t h e b l e p n h i s he t
sa az u o ar

B ig ht gle m i n g d wn the g len ;

r -
a o

0 he w f i n f h m e g i n
, as a or o a a

H d p ted w i th h i s m en

e ar .

T is m ny we y d y he d s ig h

a a ar a , ,

S i n e I d i d le ve h

c s i de ; a er

I ll n ve m e le ve S tl nd s sh

e r or a co a o re

And U B m y b i d e na an, r .

T/z e B a n s nee I wi ll: s eco n d s zg/J ,

S i ngi ng i n tile co ld s ta rlzg/z l;
I w a s }; l/ze d ea l/z clo l/zes p u re -
a n d zo /z i ie,
F o r F erg u s M o re m u s t die i o -
n ig/z l .

Wi t h th g ht f U n s tende l ve
ou o a

r o

S ft te s h i s e y es d id b l i n d
o ar ,

When p the e ept d sw i ftl y le pt

u r cr an a

A m wh st bb ed b eh i nd
an o a .

T is y he i e d wh st le m y b i de

o u, cr , o o r .

Th i s n ig ht sh ll b e y l st
a o ur a .

As Fe g s fell the w m d t i de
r u ,
ar ,
re

O f l i fe m e e bbi n g f st
ca a .

Tne B a n s /tee I w i t/z s eco n d s zglz z ,

S i ngi ng i n tile co ld s la rlig b t ;

I w a s li i /z e d ea t/z clo z nes p u re a n d w /z i z e,

-

F o r Fergu s M o re m u s t d ie i o
 C H A PT E R ! VI

T he La nd o f G re en Mou nt a i ns
Ronald B ooe had r ebelled aga i nst h is ch i e f
1

b ut w a s defeated in battl e Then all h is followers .

deserted him and he found that h e would have to

,

ee from h i s nat i ve land I t chanced that he had .

hea r d tell of the wonder ful Land of Green M oun

ta i ns n i gh to the worl d s end in which the r e were

great he r ds of w i ld an i mals wh i l e sh could be ,

caught i n plenty round its sho r es and i n its r ive r s .

H e made up h i s mind to go there and l ive happ i ly

and at ease As he had no ch i ldren it wa s not
.
,

d i fcult for h i m and h i s wife to depart i n sec r et .

'
One fa i r m o rn in g th e y launched a boat and s e t
sail Ronald s hea r t was made glad when he
.

found h i mself fa r out on the w i de blue sea The .

broad grey sa i l swallowed the wind and the ,

creaking of the r ope s wa s l i ke sweet mus i c in h i s

ears Ronald loved the shrill c ry of the breeze
.

that blew s o stead i ly and tossed the sparkling

brine spray throu g h the a i r i n br i ght sunsh i ne
-
.

1
Pro n o u n ce dB
o o e. Th e na m e m ea n s Ye ll w h i d
o - a re Ro n a ld
.

1 95
1 96 T ale s from Sco tt i sh M y ths
The whisperings and mutter i ngs of the wa ves
that went past the boat seemed to repeat ove r
and over again the old song of the s e a :
S weet m e O h sw et m e
to , , e to
I l i fe
s a i s l i fe !
a t s ea , a a t s ea

When the sho r e melted from sight Ronald s

wife felt very lonely and sad I w i sh s h e sa i d .

,

,

I could s e e the hi g h b r own hills of my own

country .

S aid Ronald : T he r e is no voyage so long

that it w i ll not come to an end Speak not of .

b rown h ills fo r w e are voyag ing to the wonde rful

,

Land of G r een M ountains .

They sa i led on and on for s ix days and six

n ights and wh i le the one slept the othe r s a t at
,

the helm On th e mo r ning of the seventh day

.

A las the woman cried

a storm arose .

the , ,

boat will be dashed to pieces and we shall pe r ish !

S a i d Ronald H ave no fear M o r ag daughte r

:
, ,

of D onald ; am I not a sk i lled seaman ? I n storm

and cal m I am a k i ng of the s e a M y boat .

bounds ove r the waves l i ke a spray b right bird -

,

and the r e is j o y in my heart even in the midst of

dange r .

The S ky da r kened and the wind b lew e rce r ,

and louder wh i le the bounding waves gaped and

,

bellowed l i ked ang r y monsters seekin g for their

p r ey C r ouching low the wo m an m oaned and
.
,
 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 1 97

wept with fea r u ntil at length Ronald called to

,

her saying : I s e e land ahead
,

.

H is w i fe rose up and gazed towards the horizon .

W i th glad eyes she s a w befo r e her the wonde r ful

Land of Green M ounta i ns Thereupon she dr i ed .

he r tears and sm i led .

I t was not unt i l late evening howeve r that the , ,

boat drew n i gh to the shore Ronald tried to .

stee r towards a safe land i ng place but wh i le yet -

, ,

some d i stance from i t the boat struck a h i dden

,

rock and began to s i nk Ronald grasped an oar .

with one hand and h i s w i fe with the other and ,

l eapt into the rag i n g s e a H e w a s a strong .

sw i mmer and after a hard struggle he managed

, , ,

to r each shallow wate r and then wade ashore ,

.

There w a s a cave nea r where he landed and ,

he carried h i s wife to it Then he gathered dry .

sticks and withe r ed grass and l it a r e by usin g

int and steel S oon the ames we r e leap i ng
.

high and Ronald and h i s wife were abl e to dry

,

the i r clothes Then they lay down to S leep and

.
, ,

al though the s e a roa r ed all n ight lon g they slept ,

soundly .

N ext m o r ning Ronald found on the b each a

keg of salt herring a keg of meal and a pot, ,

which had been washed ashore from the boat .

H is wife cooked the herr i ng and baked oatmeal ,

cakes and afte r the two had eaten o f these the y

,

fel t quite happy .

1 98 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My th s
A day or two went past and th en their sto r e ,

of food ran short Ronald had no weapons w i th

.

wh ich to hunt game and no hooks w i th whi ch

,

to catch s h s o he said to his w i fe : I w i ll go

,

inland and explore this strange Land of Green

M ou ntains Do not be anx i ous o r afraid
. .

You may lose your way h i s w i fe sa i d ,

.

There is no fear of that Ronald answe r ed ,

.

I ll put marks on the trees as I go through

forests and s e t up stones on the plains I cross
,
.

E arly next morning Ronald s e t out on his

jou r ney .As he passed through the wood he
chipped the b ar k off trees and on the pla i n he ,

set up stones A fte r leaving the wood he saw

.
,

a high green mountain a n d wal ked towa r ds it , .

W hen I r each the top he sa i d to himself I ,

,

shall g et a better view of th i s strange land .

The sun was b eg i nning to s e t when he found

himself on the c r est of the green mou n tain H e .

looked round about and could see many other

green mountains but there was no sign of human
b eings and his h eart grew very s a d Although
,
.

he w a s very tired and very hungry h e d i d not

despai r howeve r I ll go down the other s i de
.

of this g reen mountain he sa i d to h i mself and

,

,

perhaps I shall have bette r luc

H e began to descend i n the dusk and before ,

long he s a w a l ight I t cam e from a l i ttle house

.

a m ong trees on the lowe r slope of the mountain ,

 T he L and O f G reen Mou n t a i ns 1 99

and he walked towards it Darkness was coming .

on when he reached the house and as the doo r ,

was open he walked i n '

.

To h i s su rpr i se he found no one inside A .

br i ght re w a s burn i ng and near i t stood a tabl e ,

and two cha i rs The table was covered w ith a

.

green cloth and on i t were two dishes of food

, .

I am very hungry said Ronald and must , ,

eat I hope I shall not be found fault w i th fo r

.

help i ng myself .

H e S at down and ate all the food that was on

one of the plates Then he felt happy and con .

tented S uddenly he heard the sound of footsteps

.
,

and look i ng up h e s a w an old g rey b ea r ded man

, ,
-

enter i ng th e house .

Well stranger th i s man said w h o a r e you
, ,

,

,

and where have you come from ?
Ronald said : M y boat was wrecked on the

shore I have been wander i ng about all day

.

search i ng for food and found naught until I came ,

here I hope you are not angry w i th me for eating

.

w i thout leave .

Sa i d the old man : You are welcome to my

food You can stay here to n i ght

. I l ive all -
.

alone and always keep enough food to give to

,

any vis i to r w h o may come hithe r as you have

do n e f

Ronald thanked the old man for his k i ndness ,

and sa i d : I shall tell you all about myself in

20 0 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My ths
the hope that you may help m e with g ood

advice .

The old man s a t down and as he ate his meal , , ,

Ronald told the sto r y of his l ife When he had .

nished the othe r as k ed : H ave y ou an y chil

dren ?
N Ronald said I have no child r en ,

.

That is a pity the old man s i ghed ,

.

N ext morning the old man wakened Ronald

and sai d B reakfast is ready I t is time you

.

we r e on you r wa y bac k to the cave fo r you r wife ,

is anxious and afraid .

When Ronald had eaten an excellent breakfast

he said : I wish I had food to carry to my

wi fe .

S aid the old man : What w i ll you g ive m e

for this g r een table cloth When you want food

? -

all you have to do is to shake i t three times and

lay it down As soon as you lay it down you
.

w i ll g et all the food you need .

Ronald was surpr i sed to hear this H e loo k ed .

at the g r een cloth and S igh i ng made answe r : , , ,

A las ! I am very poor having lost everything I ,

possessed I am not able to o ffer you anything

.

for the green cloth .

Sa i d the old man : Will you p r omise to g ive

me you r eldest s o n for it ?

H aving no son Ronald prom i sed r ead i ly ,

.

Ve r y well the old man said ; come b ac k
,

 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nt a i n s 20 !

he r e i n seven y ea r s and br in g y ou r s o n with

,

y ou .

Ronal d took the cloth and b ade good b y e to ,

-

the old man H e cl imbed the g r een mountain

.

and went down the other side o f it Then he .

c r ossed the plain past the stones he had s e t up

, ,

and walked through the wood guiding himsel f ,

by the marks he had made on the trees H e had .

no di fculty in nding h is wa y The sun wa s .

be gi nnin g to s e t as he r eached the sho r e and

h a s te n e d to w a rd s the cave whe r e he found h is

w ife s i tting beside the re moan ing and weepi n g .

She feared that he r hus b and had b een devou r ed

by w i ld beasts .

H ere I a m M o r ag daughte r o f D onald he
, , ,

said as he ente r ed the cave .

H is wife rose to her feet and kissed h i m j oy

ful ly .

I have brou g ht food fo r you said Ronald ,

.

As he spoke he shook the g r een cloth th r ee

times and la i d it on the oor of the cave beside
,

the re As soon as he did that two dishes o f

.
,

hot stea m in g food appea r ed b e fo r e their wonde r

,

ing eyes .

They sat down and ate the food Where did .

you nd th i s wonderful green cloth ? asked M o rag

.

I t w a s given to me by an old grey bearded -

,

man Ronald told her Are we not in luc k now ?
.

We s hal l neve r want fo r food as lon g as we l ive .

20 2 Ta le s from Sco t t i sh My ths
S everal days went past Then Ronald and his .

wife thought they would go i nland and explore

the country They felt lonely and wish ed to nd
.
,

out where the people who inhabited i t had the i r

dwellings .

Fo r s ix days they t r avelled inland and on the ,

mo r n i n g of the seventh day they reached a village .

The peopl e were kindly and hospitabl e and in

v ite d them to stay Ronald thought he m i gh t
.

as well do so and next morning began to bu i ld

,

a house H e got every assistance from the vil

.

lage r s and soon had a home of h is own among

,

his newly found friends B efore the year was out

-
.

a bab y boy was bo r n and Ronald and Mo ra g s ,

hea r ts we r e lled with j oy They called the baby .

I an .

Yea r s went past and I an g r ew up to be a hand

,

some b oy with curly golden hai r sea grey eyes ,

-
,

and red cheeks E veryone in the village loved

.

h i m and he was very dea r to his father and

,

mother .

Ronald Booe r emembe r ed the prom ise he had

made to the grey old man but he neve r tol d ,

M orag his w i fe about it until the seventh year

was nearly at an e nd Then one day he sa i d : .

O n th e morrow I must g o to the mounta i n house

with I an because I p r omised the grey old man
, ,

when I w a s given the green cloth to do s o ,
.

M o rag cried : Alas ! alas ! and b e g an to m oan

 T he L and o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 29 3

and weep I t was fool i sh and wicked of you

.

,

s he s aid to make such a p r omise

.
,

Said Ronald : What can I do ? M y hea r t

bleeds to part w i th ou r boy but I must g o and , ,

he must go w i th me .

N ext morning he bade h is wife good bye and -

,

S he kissed I an and wept over h i m Fathe r and .

son then set out on thei r j ourney and in t i me ,

they reached the dwell i ng of the grey old man ,

w h o spoke say i ng : S o you have come as you

, ,

sa i d you would .

Ye s Ronald answered sadly

,
I have come , .

Do you nd it hard to part with your boy ?

I ndeed I do M y w i fe i s hea r t b r oken
,
.
-
.

S a i d the grey old man : You can take him

home aga i n i f you prom i se me to come bac k when

another seven yea r s have gon e past .

Ronald thanked the grey ol d man and havin g , ,

prom i sed h e retu rned home with I an H is w i fe

,
.

welcomed h i m w i th sm i l i ng face and bright eyes ,

and k i ssed her ch i ld say i ng : I f you had stayed

,

away from me I shoul d have died w i th sorrow .

I an grew and grew and when he was twelve ,

years old h e was nearly as tall as h i s father and

nearly as st r ong H e had great sk i ll as a hunter
.

and as a sherman and coul d work in the elds ,

l ike a man .

When the second te r m of seven years was

drawing to a close his father g r ew sadder and
29 4 Ta le s fro m Sc o t t i sh My t h s
sadder and one day he said to his wife : O n the
,

morrow I must go to the mountain house w i th

I an .

Alas ! alas ! c r ied his wi fe ; I cannot l ive

without him .

S aid Ronald : You cannot have your s o n

b eside you always To every youth comes the .

day when he must leave h is parents .

Wait for a few years pleaded M orag I ,
.

have not lon g to l ive and I would fain have hi m ,

b eside m e u ntil I die .

Said Ronald : I t cannot be as you wish .

Perhaps his wife si g hed the g rey old man
,

,

will s end h i m back for anothe r seven years .

S aid Ronald : H e may and h e may not , .

N ext mo r ning fathe r and s o n s e t out on foot

towa r ds the mountain house and when they ,

r eached it the grey old man said : S o you have

come as you prom i sed I t is well D o you nd . .

it hard to part w i th the lad ?

S aid Ronald : I ndeed I do I nd it ha r de r

, .

now than I did seven yea r s ago .

H as the b oy b een well tau g ht ? asked the

old man .

S aid Ronald H e can sh he can shoot he

:
, ,

can work in the elds I h ave t r ained h i m .

m ysel f .

You have t rained h is body but I will tra i n his ,

m ind the grey old man told Ronald

,

K now .
 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nta i ns 29 5

ledge is bette r than st r ength You will b e p roud .

of I an some day .

Th e boy s father was stricken with so rr ow when

he found that the old man intended to keep I an .

H e retu r ned home alone M o rag wept bitterly .

when he ente r ed the house and all Ronald could ,

sa
y to comfo r t he r was : The grey old man p r o

m is e d that we should be proud of I an some day .

M orag r efused to be comfo r ted fo r she knew ,

well that many yea r s m ust pass befo r e s h e would

s e e her son again .

The grey old man was l ike a fathe r to I an .

H e spent six years i n teaching th e lad and on ,

the seventh he sa i d : N ow you have passed you r

twentieth year You are strong and you are well
.
,

educated I t is time you began to wo r k for you r

.

sel f B efore you go to look for a s ituation how

.
,

eve r I shall take you on a long j ou r ney so that

, ,

you may m eet fr iends who may help you in time

of need I t is b ette r to make fr iends than to
.

make enemies .

Said I an : I am r eady to do as y ou advise

H
me .

Well spo k en ! the old man exclaimed
You .

have lea r ned to o b ey H e wh o learns h o w to .

obey w i ll rise to com m and Come w i th m e to .

the mountain top B ehind the doo r han g s a s ilve r

-
.

br idle Take it w i th you

. .

I an took the b r idle and followed the old m an

. .
20 6 Ta le s fro m Sco tt i sh My ths
O n the mountain top the old man said : I f y ou
-

w i ll shake the bridle over me I shall become a

grey horse You can then j ump on my back and
.
,

w e shall go forward qu i ckly

.

I an shook the br i dle as he w a s asked to do .

The man changed at once into a grey horse and ,

as soon as I an mounted the hors e galloped away,

at a rap i d pace O ve r hill and over moo r went

.

the horse N or did it pause until seven hours

.

went past Then I an heard the old man s vo i ce

.

saying : D ismount and sha k e the bridle over

me .

I an did as he was o r de r ed and the grey man ,

at once returned to his own form again H e .

spoke saying : Go and gather red moss and ll

, ,

your water stoup at the well below yonde r r ed

ro ck f

I an gathe r ed the moss and lled his wate r ,

stoup and retu r ned to the old man who sa i d :

, ,

G o now to the cave wh ich opens b eh ind the

waterfall I nside it you will nd a wounded g i ant
. .

D ress h is wounds with the red moss and g i ve ,

h i m three d r aughts from your water stoup -

.

I an cl imbed down the s ide o f the waterfall over

sl i ppery rocks and when he entered the cave he
,

saw the wounded g i ant H e p u t red moss on

.
\

the g i ant s wounds and bound i t round w i th

cords made of dr i ed r eeds Then h e gave the .

suffe r e r three draughts from his water stoup A S -

.
 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 20 7

soon as he did that the giant sat up and cried ,

out : I am feel ing bette r now E re lon g I shall

.

be well aga i n .

Remembe r me and be m y fr iend said I an ,

.

Your friend I shall be the giant answered ,
.

I an then returned to the ol d man who asked ,

h i m at once : H ave you done as I o r de r ed y ou

to do ?

Yes I an answe r ed
,

.

I t is well the old man told h im ,
S ha k e

.

your br i dle over me again and then leap on my ,

back s o th at we may go forward quickly
, .

The old grey man in horse shape went ga110 p

ing on and on until a lonely shore was reached ,
.

O nce more he called : Shake the bridle over

me and when I an had done so the m a n appeared
, ,

in his own form and said : Go down the ebb

u nt i l you reach a at brown stone B ehind that .

stone l ies the K i ng of Fish Lift him up and put .

h i m i nto the sea for this is a day of m isfo r tune

,

for h i m and he is in need of help

, .

I an ran down the lon g dreary sands until he

reached the at b r own stone H e found the sh .

ly i ng gasp i ng and tw i tching and helpless Lift .

ing h i m up I an put him i nto th e sea and as he

, ,

d i d s o cried out :
, Remember me and b e m y

friend .

The sh answered him saying : You r fr iend ,

I shall be and then vanished
,
.
20 8 Ta le s from Sco t t i sh My ths
I an r eturned to the old man and once again
changed him into a horse They went onward .

together and ere long reached a bronze castle on

,

a lonely headland overlook i ng the sea I t was .

now late even i ng The old man said : . E nter

the bronze castle in wh i ch dwells a fa i r lady

, .

Yo u will s e e r ooms full of s i lver and gold and

ashing ge m s Look on everythin g but touch
.

nothin g .

I an went th r ough the castl e H e wonde r ed .

to s e e so m uch treasure but althou g h i t seemed ,

to be unp r otected for he did not s e e the fa i r lady

,

even he never touched a s ingle p i ece of gold or

,

silve r When however he was leavi n g the castle

.
, , ,

his eyes fell on a heap of goose feathers H e .

pulled out a single feather and put i t in h is

pocket but he d i d not tell the old man that he
,

had done so .

H e mounted the ho rse and r etu r ned to the ,

grey old man s hut i n the gather i ng da r kness

and there the two rested for the night .

N ext morn i ng the ol d man became a horse

ag ain and ca r r i ed I an to the cap i tal of the country
,

a lar g e and b eautiful c i ty in the midst of which

the king s castl e stood on a h i gh rock

.

O utside the c i ty wall I an shook the bridle ove r

the ho r se and the ol d man stood before h i m and
,

said '
H ere we must part You will go towards .

the castle and ask for a situation The king is

,
.
 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nta i ns 26 9

in need of a sc r ibe I f he o ffe r s to employ y ou

.
,

accept his offer .

I an then bade good bye to the old man wh o-

,

sa i d : I f eve r you are i n trouble think of me

,

and I shall come to you .

They pa r ted at the western gate of the city ,

and I an walked towards the castle H e tol d the .

guards that he wa s look i ng fo r a situation and ,

after a t i me they took him befo r e the ch ie f scribe ,

w h o said : I am i n need of an assistant Will

.

you ente r the kin g s service ?

I an accepted the offe r and next m o r nin g b egan

,

to work H e thou g ht of the g oose feathe r he

.

had ta k en fr om the b r onze castle and made a pen ,

o f it When he began to use it he fou nd that

.
,

it w r ote b eautifully and he wa s del ig hted at his

,

own ne penmansh i p .

The h ead sc r ibe was gr eatl y su rp r ised at the

sk i ll shown by the young man and g r ew j ealous ,

of h im Afte r a fe w days he asked I an fo r the

.

loan of his pen and when he t r ied it he dis

,

covered that h e could write j ust as well as I an .

This is a magic pen he said to himsel f H e,

.

then went before th e king and told hi m a b out it ,

and the kin g t r ied the pen also B r ing this .

young sc r ibe before me he com m anded ,

.

I an wa s called fo r and when h e stood b e fo r e

,

the king he was asked : Whe r e did you g et this

magic pen ?
( 0 87 1 ) 14
2 10 T ales from Sco tt i sh My th s
S aid I an : I found it i n a bronze castl e

.

The king gazed at h i m in S i lence fo r a moment ,

and then spoke saying : There is a beaut i ful

,

lady in that castle and s h e cannot leave it B r in g ,

.

her he r e for I wish her for my bride

,
.

S aid I an : Alas ! O k i ng I am not able to

,

obey you r command I do not kno w where the .

castl e is for I was taken to it at late even i ng

, ,

and retu r ned home in the darkness .

I f you fa i l to do as I com mand said the ,

k ing you shall be put to death

,

.

I an went to h i s bed r oom and there wept ,

tea r s of so r row H e knew well that th i s trouble

.

wh i ch had befallen h i m was due to his havin g

disobeyed the old man who had warned him not ,

to touch anythin g he saw in the bronze castle .

A fter a tim e h e said aloud : I wish th e g rey old

man we r e he r e now H e heard a no i se beh ind .

him and tu r n ing round he saw the grey old man

, , , ,

w h o spoke say i ng : What a i ls you now I an ?

, ,

Alas ! cr i ed I an
I have done wrong ,

.

Then he told the ol d man how h e had taken a

goose feather from th e bronze castle and made
a quill of it and that the king had d i scovered his
,

s ecret and ordered h i m to fetch the capt i ve lady

,

fr om the castl e to be the king s br i de

.

You S hould not have touched the feather

,

the old man sa i d I t is as w i cked to steal a .

small thing as a great thin g Theft is dishonou r .

 T he L and o f G reen Mou nta i n s 21 1

able even the theft of tri e s I placed my trus t

,
.

in you and you promised to obey me B ecause

, .

you have fa i led in that trust and don e this thing ,

you now nd yourself i n troubl e .

Alas ! I an cr i ed I know I have done w r on g

,

,

and am so r ry for it .

Let this be a lesson to you the old man ,

sa i d. B ecause you a r e so rr y for you r w r ong

doing I shall help you once again Let us go

, .

outside I have the s i lver br i dle with me W e

. .

shall v i sit the b r onze castle once aga i n .

I an walked w i th th e old man to a sol i ta r y place

outs i de the c i ty wall There he shook the b ridle .
,

and h is fr i end became a grey horse H e mounted .

and rode away sw i ftly towards the seaside Then .

he shook the br i dle aga i n and his friend appeared ,

i n human fo r m and spoke to him saying : I ,

have a mag i c rod Take it and st r ike me with it . .

When you do s o I shall becom e a ship E nte r .

the ship and it w i ll sa i l to the harbour below the

,

bronze castle Cast ancho r the r e and wait until

.

the lady looks out of a w i ndow and asks you

whence you have come S ay : I have come from .

a d i stant land
Then she will a s k : What cargo
.

have you on boa r d ? S ay to he r : I have a cargo

of ne s i lk S he w i ll ask you to ente r the castle

.

w i th samples of the silk but you will s a y : Would ,

i t not be better i f you came on bo a r d and ex

a m in e d the rolls of s ilk ? She will answe r : Very

2 I2 Ta les from S C O ttIS Il My ths
well and co m e on boa r d your vessel Ta k e he r
,

.

down to the cabin and spread out the rolls o f

,

sil k you w i ll nd lyin g there .

I an se i zed the magic rod and struc k the g r ey

old man w h o at once becam e a large and nobl e
,

ship aoat bes i de the rock I an got on boa r d the

,
.

ship cast off from the rock and s e t sail I t had

, , .

a c r ew of little men clad in green with r ed peaked ,

caps on thei r heads The sk i ppe r who steered the

.

vessel had a lon g gr ey beard and sharp beady

eyes H e neve r spoke a wo r d but gave orde rs
.
,

to the c r ew by making si g ns .

The ship sailed swiftly towards the b ronze

castle on the lonely headland When the anchor .

was d r opped in the littl e harbou r I an walked up

and down the deck until an uppe r window in th e
castle Opened and the b eautiful lady looked out
,

and spoke to h i m saying : ,Whe r e have you

come from my merry sailo r man ?

,

F r om a distant land I an answered ,

.

What ca rgo have you on b oa r d ?

A carg o of ne silk .

Come up i nto the castle and brin g with you
samples of you r s il k and I pe r chance may buy
,

a few rolls from you .

Sa i d I an I have so many kinds of s i lk that

!

I cannot ca r ry samples to you Would i t not be .

better if you came on board and examined the

cargo O fai r lady ?
,

 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 2 13

Very well the lady answe r ed
,

I shall do ,

as you suggest .

S he came down from the castl e and came on

board the ship I an led her to the cabin where
.
,

he spread out be fo r e he r the r olls of ne silk that

he found the r e .

S he exam i ned them all ca r efully Then hear .

ing the splashing of waves aga i nst the s i des of the

ship she ran up the cabin ladder to the deck and
, ,

d i scove r ed that the vessel was fa r away fr o m the

b ronze castle .

Alas ! s h e cried what is the m eanin g o f
,

this ?
Said I an : The kin g my maste r has o r de r ed

, ,

m e to bring you befo r e him I t is his wish that .

you should become h i s queen .

I t is you r duty to obey you r m aste r and I do ,

not blame you the lady said ,
B ut I do not .

w i sh to be the king s bride

I should much .

r athe r have stayed yet a while in m y br onze

castle .

As sh e spo k e she too k a b undle o f k e y s fr om

,

her waist belt and ung it into the s e a

-
.

The r e go my keys ! s h e told I an
N 0 one .

else can now ente r the br onze castle .

The ship sa i led back to the place fr o m which

it had sta r ted and drew up alongside the r ock
, ,

and I an and the lady went asho r e Then I an .

waved the m ag ic r od th r ee ti m es W hen h e did .

214 Ta le s fro m Sc ott i sh My th s
so the ship vanished and the grey old man ,

appea r ed by h i s side and spoke say i ng : S hake ,

the silve r bridle ove r me s o that I may becom e ,

a horse M ount m e then and take the lady with

.
,

you .

I an S hoo k the b ridle and his friend became a ,

g r ey ho rse H e mounted the horse and the lady

.
,

mounted behind him They r ode away very .

swiftly and when n i ght was coming on they

,

reached the c i ty I an shook the br i dle aga i n

.
,

and the old man appeared by h i s side and they ,

bade one anothe r good bye I an led the lady to -

.

the castle and b r ought he r to the k i ng H is .

maj esty than k ed hi m fo r his service and bade ,

the lady welcom e H e called for ma i dservants to

.

attend to her and she was taken to her room

,
.

N ext mo r nin g th e k i ng had the lady b rought

before him and said : O fai r one be my br i de
,

,
.

Said the lady : I shall not be your br i de unt i l

my bronze castle is br ou g ht here and placed beside

you rs .

N 0 one can do that but I an the king said , .

Then he called to a se r vant sayin g : B r ing I an ,

be fore me .

I an had r etu r ned to his place in the room of

the chief scri b e and w a s bus yat h is work when
,

he was ordered to appear before h i s maj esty .

H e obeyed the summons and the k i ng sa i d to ,

him : You must b ring the b r onze castle from the

 T he L and o f G reen Mou nta i ns 21 5

lonely headland and have it placed beside my

,

castle .

Alas ! I an c r ied I cannot do that

,

.

Sa i d the king : I f you fa i l to car r y out my

command you S hall be put to death .

I an went to h i s room and paced i t up and down,

fo r a time lamenting h i s fate Then he cried out :

, .

I wish the grey old man we r e he r e .

N o sooner had he w i shed that wish than the

grey old man appeared in the room and spoke to \

him saying : What is wrong now I an ?
, ,

S a i d I an : The king has s e t me an impossible

task H e wants me to have the bronze castl e

.

car r ied h ere and placed bes i de h i s own castl e .

Come w i th me the old man said
,

.

Together they went outs i de the c i ty wall Ia n .

shook the br i dle over h i s fr i end who at once ,

became a grey horse H e mounted the horse .

,

and rode away u nt i l he r eached the waterfall b e

h i nd wh i ch was the g i ant s cave Then he shook
.

the br i dl e aga i n and the old man appeared bes i de

,

h i m and sa i d : E nter the cave and speak to the

g i ant whose wounds you helped to heal Tell .

h i m you are in need of h is a i d and ask h i m to ,

carry away the bronz e castle and place it b eside

the castle of your k i ng .

I an went down the sl i ppery r oc k s and ente r ed

the cave H e found the g i ant ly i ng asleep on the
.

oor and walked towards him As soon as he

,
.
2 16 Tales from Sco tt is h My ths
touched him th e giant sat up and asked : Who

are you and what brings you here l ittle fellow ?

, ,

I an wa s at rs t too terried to spea k fo r the ,

g iant scowled at him At length h e said : I am

.

he wh o dressed your wounds with r ed moss and ,

gave you th r ee draughts of the healing wate r I .

a m now i n need o f you r help .

S aid th e g iant : I r emem b e r you I wa s in

.

gr eat pain and you gave me healing What do

, .

y ou wish me to do ? Speak and I shall obey even ,

s hould you ask me to r emove a mountain fr om

its place and cast it into the s e a .

I an laughed aloud and the g iant laughed also

, ,

b ut the g i ant s laugh was terr i b le to hear fo r it

sounded like thunde r .

I an then told the g iant that the king wished

to have the bronze castle carried from the lonely
headland and placed bes ide his own castle on the
r oc k in the midst of his capital .

S aid the giant : The work shall be done to

n i ght I shall call all my st ron g men togethe r

. .

B egone ! or it may not go well with you .

I an thanked th e g iant and returned to the

,

grey old man w h o said : We m ust ma k e haste

,

.

There i s no t i me to be lost .

As the g r ey horse the old m a n t ravelled ag ain

,

swiftly unt i l he reached the capital Then h e .

b ade I an good bye -

.

That night as I an lay in his b ed a gr eat thunde r !

 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 21 7

sto r m arose and r aged fu r iously H e could not .

sleep and lay trembling w ith fear for it seemed

, ,

as i f the whole world would be set on re by the

ashes of lightn i ng When the thunder storm was
.
-

at i ts he i ght there came an earthquake The r ock .

beneath the castle trembled and the castle swayed ,

l i ke a sh i p at s e a I an was te r ried and he hea r d

.
,

th e sh r ieks of those w h o we r e even mo r e afraid

than he was At length the storm died down
.
,

and he slept .

N ext morning when I an looked th r ough the

window of h i s room he saw the bronze castle
bes i de the k i ng s castle Then he knew that the

.

thunde r storm had been caused by the g i ants and

-
,

that the ea r th shook when they s e t down the

castle upon the rock .

The k i ng was g r eatly pleased and spoke to the ,

fair lady say i ng : Your bronze castle has b een

,

brought hither N ow you w i ll be my queen

. .

S aid the lady : I cannot marry u ntil I a m

given the bundle of keys I threw into the s e a .

The castle doo r cannot be Opened without the

keys .

I an shall nd the keys the king told he r ,

.

Then he called for I an and sa i d to hi m : You

must nd the bundle of keys wh ich this fai r lady

threw into the sea .

Alas ! I an moaned you s e t me a ta s k I ,

cannot full .
2 18 Ta les fro m Sco tt i sh My ths

I f y ou do not brin g the keys to me said the ,

k in g you shall b e put to death

,

.

I an turned away and went to h i s room H e .

felt sure that his end was near at hand because i t

did not seem possibl e that the keys could be
found I wish the old g rey m an were he r e he
.

,

cried out .

The old g r ey m a n appeared in the r oom and

asked softly : What does the king ask for now

,

I an ?
Said I an : H e has ordered me to nd th e

b undle of keys wh ich the fair lady threw i nto the

sea.

Come with me the grey old man sa i d ; w e
,

have a long j ourney b efore us .

I an rode again on the g r ey horse until he

r eached the shore whe r e he had found the K ing
of Fish H e then shook the silver br i dle and the
.

old man appeared beside him Go out on th e .

ebb he advised I an
,
and call for the K ing of
,

Fish When he comes ask him to sea r ch fo r

.
,

the ke y s and b ring them to you .

I an walked down the sands and called for the

K in g of F ish Three times h e called before the
.

sh appeared Then it rose and aske d

. Who

are you that you should call upon me ?
Said I an : I am the one who found you lying

behind the at brown stone on a day of misfortune

when y ou we r e i n need of help I lifted you up .
 T he La nd o f G reen Mou nta i ns 2 19

and put you into the s e a and you p r o m ised to ,

remember me and be m y friend .

You speak truly the sh sa i d What is ,

.

your w i sh ? I am ready to grant it .

Said I an : S ea r ch for the keys which the fa ir

lady of the bronze castle threw into the s e a when

I took he r away in my sh i p When you have .

found the keys bring them to me ,

.

The sh van i shed and returned soon afterwa r ds .

H ave you found the keys ? he asked .

I have answered the s h
,

.

Give them to me .

I w i ll give them if you p r omise one thin g .

What i s that ?

Promise that you will not call fo r m e aga i n .

I prom i se said I an ,

.

The s h then gave h im the keys and van i shed

at once .

I an w a s overj oyed H e ran up the beach .

towards the old man wh o as k ed : H ave y o u got ,

the keys ?

Oh yes ! ,

I t is well Shake the br idle ove r me and
.

mount .

I an did so and r ode back to the capital on

,

the back of the grey horse H aving bidden .

good bye to h i s friend he hastened before the

-
,

k i ng and handed the keys o f the b ronze castle to

him .
2 26 Tales from Sco tt i sh My th s

I t is good fo r you that you found the keys ,

the king sa i d H ad you come back without

.

them you would have been put to death .

I an bowed and turned away hopin g that h is ,

t r oubles were at an end .

The king sent fo r the lady of the castle and

sa i d :
H ere are the keys of the bronze castle
wh i ch my servant found for me .

H e is a brave and nobl e lad the lady c r ied ,

out .

N ow y ou will marry m e said the king ,

.

I cannot prom i se to marry you O king u ntil , ,

I g et a stoup of water from the H eal ing Well

.

Said the king : I shall o r der I an to bring the

wate r without delay .

H e sent fo r I an and spoke to hi m harshly , ,

saying : B ring h i ther without delay a stoup of

wate r fr om the H ealing Well .

Where is that well O king ? asked I an , .

I know not was the answer ,
B ut this I .

know : if you do not br i n g the water you w i ll be

put to death .

I an went to his room and wished for th e grey

old man who appeared at once and asked : What
,

ails you now my poor lad ?
,

Alas ! I an exclaimed th e k i ng has asked ,

for a stoup of water from the H eal ing Well but ,

he does not know where it i s .

W e had b ette r make haste and sea r ch fo r it .

 T he L and o f G reen Mou nt a i ns 22 1

A wa y
went I an again on the back of the gr ey
hors e All day long he rode over h i ll and dale
.
,

through forests and across bogs over rivers and ,

through lochs u ntil at le n gth a lonely glen was

,

r eached .

Shake the bridle called the horse ,
.

I an shook it and the old man stood beside him

,

and sa i d : S tr i ke me with the magic wand and I

shall fall down dead .

I cannot do that I an answe r ed at once,

.

You must do it When I am dead three .

ravens will y hither S peak to them saying : .

I shall k i ll you w i th my wand unless you take

me to the H eal i ng Well They will then show .

you wh ere it is When you nd it ll tw o stoups

.
,

and bring them to th i s spot Sprinkle a few .

d r ops of th e water i n my mouth in my eyes and , ,

in my ears When you do so I shall co m e to life

.
,

aga i n .

I an struck the old m an with the magic wand

and he fell down dead H e lay so still that the .

youn g man s heart was lled w i th sorrow and he

began to weep Would that the r avens were

.

here ! he cried out as he looked r ound a b out To

, .

h i s amaze he s a w no s i gn of the r avens coming .

For ove r an hour he s a t the r e bes i de his dead

fr iend fear i ng that he woul d never be a b le to
,

b r ing him back to life again .

B ut at length the r avens ca m e and I an stood ,

222 T al e s from Sco tt i sh My th s
up and called out : I shall k i ll you with m y

mag i c wand if you do not do as I b i d you .

What is you r wish ? the ravens asked him

in turn .

S a i d I an : Lead me to the H eal ing Well .

The ravens ew round about above him th r ee

times and then cried out one after the oth er :
, ,

Follow follow me, .

I an followed them and was l ed to a d a r k and ,

lonely r avine in which there was a deep cave .

The ravens entered the cave and I an followed ,

them I nside h e hea r d the dr i pp i ng of wate r but

.
,

he s a w naught for the place was very dark

, .

Sa i d one of the ravens : D ip you r stoups i n

the pool beside which you stand .

I an did so and he l i fted them up full of wate r

,
.

J oyfully he hastened out of the cave and returned ,

to the spot where he had left the old man H e .

sprinkled water drops i n h i s eyes in his ears and , ,

in his mouth When he had done s o the old man

.

rose up and said : Shake the br i dle over me

.

I an was soon again on the back of the grey

horse When he returned to the castle it was
.

n i gh to midn i ght H e carr i ed the stoups to his

.

room and in the morning g ave one of them to

,

the k i ng .

The king called for the fair lady and he handed ,

he r the stoup of water and said : N ow you will

ma r ry m e .

 T he L and o f G reen M o u n t a i ns 33
2

Said the lady : I cannot ma rr y you until you

have fought a duel w i th I an H e has done what .

you cannot do and is now m o r e powerful than

,

you are .

You speak t ruly the kin g answe r ed ,

This .

duel must be fought at once .

H e ca lled a court i er and told h im to hasten to

I an and bid h im to make ready fo r the duel .

I an wa s amazed to hear this command and ,

when he was alone he w i shed for the g r ey ol d

man w h o appeared and asked at once : What is
,

wrong now I an ? ,

I an told h i m that the k in g e s ire d to ght a

due l
S aid the grey old man : Wash all you r b ody

with the water from the H eal i ng Well No .

weapon can wound you when you have done that .

I have brought a sword for you .

H e handed a small swo r d to I an and then

van i shed .

I an washed h i mself with the wate r fro m the

H eal ing Well and then went fo r th to ght the
,

duel with the king .

Said the fa i r lady : H e wh o wins the duel will

mar r y me and r e i gn over the Land of G r een
,

M ounta i ns I s that not so O king ?

.
,

The k i ng w a s very vain and was certain that ,

she expected h i m to win the duel H e despised .

I an with his s mall swo r d and r ais ed h is o w n to

,
2 24 Ta le s from Sco tt i sh My th s
s trike him B ut althou g h he st r uck I an three
.

ti mes he could not wound him Then I an st r uck .

once and the k i ng fell dead .

H ail to the new king ! called the lady o f the

b r onze castl e .

All the people called out : H a i l to the king !

S o I an was crowned king and he marr i ed the ,

fai r lady H is friend the g r ey old man came to

.
, ,

the weddin g br ingin g I an s fathe r and mothe r

,

with him .

D id I not p r om ise you that y ou would be
p r oud of I an some day ? said th e grey old m a n

to Ronald B ooe and M o r ag daug h te r of Donald , .

E re th ey could make answer I an came fo r ward , .

H e emb raced and k i ssed his mothe r and shook ,

h is fathe r s r i ght hand and then said : You shall

stay here with m e fo r the rest of you r days .

I an was a w i se and good king and he and h is ,

queen were g reatly beloved by thei r people I n .

deed there was n ever such a king in the Land o f

,

G r een M ountains as I an son of Ronald Booe

,

and o f M o r a g dau ghter of D onald

,
.