Folktales of Ireland available in Paperback
- ISBN-10:
- 0226639983
- ISBN-13:
- 9780226639987
- Pub. Date:
- 03/15/1999
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- ISBN-10:
- 0226639983
- ISBN-13:
- 9780226639987
- Pub. Date:
- 03/15/1999
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780226639987 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Chicago Press |
| Publication date: | 03/15/1999 |
| Series: | Folktales of the World |
| Edition description: | First Edition |
| Pages: | 365 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Folktales of Ireland
By Sean O'Sullivan
The University of Chicago Press
Copyright © 1966 The University of ChicagoAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-226-64000-6
CHAPTER 1
The Fox and the Heron
Once upon a time long ago, the birds could talk. There was a wren living in the Glen of the Wrens, and it happened that he ran short of money. He had a large family to rear; so he asked the heron for the loan of twenty pounds at sixpence per pound per year interest. The loan was to be repaid at the end of a year and a day.
The heron lent the twenty pounds, but when the year and the day were over, the wren didn't come to pay the debt. So the heron had to go to the wren's house. When the heron looked in through the door, the two old wrens and their twelve young ones were hard at work threshing oats. The heron couldn't make out which of them was the old wren, for they were all the same size; so she had to return home disappointed.
On her way home, she met the fox, and he sunning himself outside his house. He asked her what business brought her that way, and she told him the whole story.
"Now, my friend," said the fox, "you must go back to the wren's house tomorrow, and when you see them all threshing, you must say, "Tis easy to know the strong blow of the old man!'"
Early next morning, the heron returned to the wren's house. The wrens were all inside threshing, and the heron called out, "'Tis easy to know the strong blow of the old man!"
Out from the threshers jumped the old wren and struck his fistful of oats against a stone, shouting, "I was even better when I was younger."
In rushed the heron and she caught him by the neck. "'Tis to you I gave the twenty pounds," said she, "and pay it back to me now, along with the interest."
The wren had to go to the chest and pay her the money. She went back home satisfied.
On her way home, she met the fox near his door again, and he asked her how she had got on.
"I got on well," said she, "and I'm very thankful to you for the advice you gave me. It was a good trick."
"I have another piece of advice to give you now," said the fox. "There are a lot of men working in the fields, and you must tell them that you lost your purse in that big pool over there. Ask them to dig a trench to drain the pool. It is full of eels, and as quickly as the men throw out the eels, you can be drawing them home, and you'll have enough fish for a year and a day."
"Very well," said the heron. "I'll do as you say."
She saw the men working in the fields and told them that she had lost a big purse of money in the pool beyond, and that it would be worth their while to dig a trench and drain the pool to find the purse. The men set to work until they had let every drop of water out of the pool. Then they started to throw the mud up on the bank. It was full of eels, and the heron dragged them home as quickly as she could. By evening, she had done a fine day's fishing, and she was very grateful to the fox for the advice he had given her.
Now at that time the heron had four milch cows, and she used to sell the butter to customers in the town. She thought to herself that it would be well for her to make a match with the fox and marry him. He was resourceful and keen and would mind the house well when she would be doing her business in town. She married the fox and soon afterward, she had four crocks of butter made up for sale. What did the fox do but turn out the butter from each crock, eat the bottom layer of each, and put the rest back again so that each crock appeared to be full. Then one day, he got worried. How would he explain it to his wife when the loss was discovered the day she sold the butter? Clever and all though he was, he couldn't think of any plan.
A few days later, the heron tackled the ass to the cart, and she and the fox loaded the crocks of butter. When she reached the town, she went to the store and the buyer and herself lifted the crocks onto a table which was covered with a linen cloth. When she saw that some of the butter was missing, she was surprised and ashamed.
"So that's what you have done to me," said she, thinking of the fox. "I'll get my own back on you."
On her way home, she met a shepherd in a field near the road. He had four score of young lambs. One of them was black, and he was more proud of this black one than of all the rest.
She stopped her cart and spoke to the shepherd. "You'll lose your black lamb tonight," said she.
"How is that?" asked the shepherd.
"The fox will take him," said she.
"At what time, do you think?" asked the shepherd.
"Oh, sometime after midnight," said the heron.
She went home, and when the cart reached the door, she pretended to be dying. The fox was in the house, and when he didn't hear her making any sound outside, he looked out. There she was, lying almost dead in the cart, speechless and lifeless.
"What has happened to you at all?" cried the fox. "Or is there anything in the world that will cure you?"
He took her in near the fire and put a warm iron to the soles of her feet. He heated milk for her, but she wouldn't taste even a spoonful of it or anything else. When midnight came, she spoke some word, but he couldn't understand it.
"Is there anything in the world that will cure you?" said he. "If there is, I'll get it for you."
"If I had the shepherd's black lamb, I'd be all right on the spot," said she.
"If that's all, you won't be sick much longer," said the fox.
Out he rushed and ran across the fields. The shepherd and his neighbors were watching the lambs, and they had hounds and dogs with them. They set the hounds after him. Off through the field ran the fox, twisting and turning, to escape them, but he only ran into the dogs, and they started to tear him into pieces. The heron was in the air above him while this was happening, and when he caught sight of her, he screamed for her help.
But her answer was, "'Tisn't eating my butter you are now, you rogue. You have enough to attend to."
CHAPTER 2The Fox and the Eagle
There came a very bad year one time. One day the fox was near the shore of the Lakes of Killarney, and he couldn't find a bird or anything else to eat. Then he spied three ducks a bit out from the shore and thought to himself that if he could catch hold of them, he would have a fine meal. There was some water parsnip with very large leaves growing by the shore, and he swam out to it and cut off two big leaves of it with his teeth. He held one of them at each side of his mouth and swam toward the ducks. They never felt anything until he had taken one of them off with him.
Very satisfied with himself, he brought her ashore, laid her down, and decided to try and catch the other two as well — 'tis seldom they would be on offer!
He caught a second duck by the same trick and left her dead near the first. Then out he swam for the third and brought her in. But, if he did, there was no trace of the other two where he had left them.
"May God help me!" said he. "I have only the one by my day's work. What'll I do? I wonder who is playing tricks on me."
He looked all around but couldn't see an enemy anywhere. Then he looked toward the cliff that was nearby, and what did he spy but the nest of an eagle high up on it.
"No one ever took my two ducks but the eagle," said he. "As good as I am at thieving, there's a bigger thief above my head."
He didn't know how to get at the eagle. Then he saw a fire smoldering not far away, where men had been working at a quarry a few days before. They had a fire and it was still burning slowly under the surface of the ground. He dragged the duck to the fire and pulled her hither and thither through the embers. Then he left her down on the grass and hid. The eagle must have been watching out for the third duck too, for down he swooped and snatched her up to his nest. No sooner did the dead duck's body touch the dry nest than the nest caught fire — there were live embers stuck in the duck's feathers. Down fell the blazing nest with the three dead ducks as well as the eagle's three young ones inside it, so the fox had six birds for his supper. Didn't he get his own back well on the eagle?
CHAPTER 3The Fox in Inishkea
Long, long ago, this district was pillaged by a fox. One day he would be west at Falmore, the next day below in Ballyglass. On a fine, warm summer's day, a man from this place was going to town with a donkey load of fish. Who should be coming toward him near the strand, but the fox! The fox knew that there was something in the baskets on the donkey's back; so he lay down and pretended to be dead. The poor man thought that he was dead; so he caught him and threw him on top of one of the baskets.
"Your skin is worth a good deal of money," said he. "Wasn't I lucky to find you?"
The man, little thinking that the fox was doing him any harm, and his donkey travelled on. The fox was throwing out a fish now and again, until there wasn't a single one left in the baskets.
When they were near the town, all that the fox did was to jump out of the basket. He upset the straddle and baskets, and it was then the poor man saw what had happened. The fox went back and picked up the fishes and had a fine meal.
The fox went as far as Léim Lake. He saw a fine flock of geese out on the water. He started to whistle at them until he drove them onto dry land. Then he caught one of them by the neck, threw her across his back and went off with her. That's the way he was robbing the people, and they couldn't catch him. He used to steal geese, ducks, hens, and lambs.
Some men from the island of Inishkea came to the mainland one day and left their boat on the strand at Falmore. They went shopping to Blacksod. The fox came to where the boat was. He kept looking toward Inishkea and thinking that if he could go out to the island, it would be easy for him to get plenty to eat. He knew that his skin was valuable, so he made up his mind to stretch himself out on the strand as if he were dead, and when the captain of the boat found him, he would throw him on board and take him to the island. So down he lay, from ear to tail, and when the boatmen found him, they put him into one of their bags that contained a few loaves of bread. It wasn't long before they reached Inishkea. When they took the bags out of the boat and opened the one the fox was in, out he jumped and ran off. When they looked into the bag, not a loaf was left.
He made his den in a high cliff and sallied out whenever he got the chance and caught something to eat. The den was just under the edge of the cliff at the top, and a briar which grew beside it reached up to the top of the cliff. He could get up from the den and back again by catching hold of the briar. The Inishkea men often chased him with their dogs, but it was useless for them. When they hunted him to the top of the cliff, the fox would swing himself down to the den by the briar. But the dogs would be running so fast after him that they would go head over heels over the cliff and break their necks on the rocks below.
Many's a fine dog was killed in that way!
At long last, the people of the island noticed how the fox was saving himself. It was time they did. One day they cut the briar with a knife, leaving it in the same position. If the fox caught it then, down he would go. They chased him over the island, and when he caught hold of the briar to escape, it gave way. Down he fell and he was killed. That was the end of the fox on Inishkea.
CHAPTER 4The Magpie and the Fox
The magpie had a nest in a holly bush. The fox robbed it and killed the young ones, so the magpie had a grudge against him. One day when the fox had nothing to eat, he met the magpie.
"Fine day," said the magpie.
"Fine day," said the fox, "but I'm fasting."
"You won't be so; you'll have enough to eat soon," said the magpie.
Two girls, carrying keelers on their heads, came toward them. They were on their way to the turf bog. One of them carried slices of bread and butter for the turf cutters, and the other had a keelerful of curds.
"You'll soon have plenty of food now," said the magpie to the fox. "I'll throw down some of the food for you."
The magpie flew up into the keeler that contained the bread and butter and started to throw slices down to the fox. After awhile, he flew to the other keeler, took up mouthfuls of the curds, and threw them down also. It wasn't long until the fox had to stretch out on his belly.
"Oh," said he, "I fear I have eaten too much. I'll burst. I'll die. I have eaten too much. What'll I do?"
"I'll tell you what must be done," said the magpie after awhile. "I know where a doctor lives, and I'll go and steal a purgative from him."
"Please do or I'll die," said the fox, "I have eaten too much."
Instead of going to the doctor, the magpie went to a man who kept hounds. "There's a fox in a certain place," said the magpie, "and he has eaten too much. Bring your hounds and kill him."
The magpie returned to the fox. "Did you bring me the purgative?" asked the fox.
"I didn't," said the magpie, "but the doctor himself is coming, and he has made up a purgative for you."
It wasn't long until one of the hounds bayed. The fox cocked his ears.
"There are dogs coming!" he cried.
"Only small dogs running after sheep," said the magpie.
Two hounds rushed up, and the fox shook himself.
"Here's your purgative now, and try it," said the magpie.
The fox shook and stretched himself, but it was no use. The hounds caught him and tore him to pieces. That's the purgative he got.
CHAPTER 5Two Women or Twelve Men
There was a fox that had three young ones, and when the time came to teach them how to fend for themselves, the old fox took them to a house. There was great talk going on inside the house. He asked the first two young ones if they could tell him who was in the house. They couldn't. Then he tried the third.
"Who is inside?" asked the old fox.
"Either two women or twelve men," said the young one.
"You'll do well in the world," said the old fox.
CHAPTER 6The Grateful Weasel
There was a man in this townland long ago, and one morning in the springtime, he set out to drive his cattle to the pasture. It was the time of sowing the potatoes, and the rest of the family had gone to the potato field. The man took off his shoes, as he had a good distance to travel with the cows and calves. He could travel more quickly barefoot, and it would not take him long to put on the shoes again when he returned. He was anxious to join the others at the potatoes, as the season was running late.
When he had driven the cattle to the commonage, he set out for home. While passing a small garden near the house in which potatoes and turnips were stored in "pits," what did he see in the garden but a huge rat fighting a weasel! The rat was winning the fight. He rested his two hands on the fence, watching them.
"I won't let that rat kill the weasel," said he, jumping over the fence.
The two were fighting viciously, screaming, and whining. He went close to them, but they must not have noticed him, for they never looked at him. He drew close to them and tried to put his foot on the rat to give the weasel a chance of killing it. What did the rat do but bite the back of his foot and cut it deeply! When he felt the bite, he aimed a blow at the rat with his stick. The weasel then attacked the rat still more fiercely and never stopped until she had it killed. Then she licked herself clean, got rid of the hairs of the rat that were stuck in her teeth and claws, and went through a hole in the fence. The man saw her no more.
He left the garden and went home with his foot dripping blood. On reaching the house, he washed the wound and bandaged it, and put on his shoes. He went off to the potato field, and his foot was very sore. The others were hard at work, and he didn't tell them anything about what had happened. The pain was so great that he had to return to the house before long. He took off his shoe and saw that his foot was very swollen.
When he didn't return to the field, his son went to the house to see what was wrong and found him stretched in the corner near the fire. His foot was swollen and bleeding. He then told the son what had happened.
"You'll do no more spring work this season, I'm thinking," said the son. "Your foot is very swollen, and it will swell more."
"It can't be helped now," said the father. "Let ye keep on with the potato seed, and I may be all right tomorrow."
When they came home at dinner time, the foot had turned blue and even the toes were swollen. They bathed it with warm water and put on a poultice of dearg-laoch, which was said to be good for a swelling. Still, the foot kept on swelling, and he spent the evening and night wide awake, complaining of the pain. They didn't know what to do. Doctors were not as plentiful then as they are now, and people tried cures with herbs and things like that.
Next morning the rest of the family went off to the potato field, and the man of the house remained at home, feeling worse than ever. The door was open. He had just taken off the bandage and poultice to bathe his foot again, when what did he see coming in the door but the weasel! She came toward the fireplace where he was seated on a small stool and laid a small green leaf that she had in her mouth on the flagstone in front of the fire. When she had done that, she went out the door. After a little while, she came back again with another little leaf of a different kind, which she laid beside the first. She did this a third time, bringing a new kind of leaf once more. Then she went out the door for the last time, and the man saw her no more. He knew that she had brought the leaves to him to cure his foot; so he laid them on the wound and bound them up with a bandage. Then he fell asleep and, when he awoke, the swelling had left his foot and it was cured.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Folktales of Ireland by Sean O'Sullivan. Copyright © 1966 The University of Chicago. Excerpted by permission of The University of Chicago Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
I. Animals and Birds1. The Fox and the Heron
2. The Fox and the Eagle
3. The Fox in Inishkea
4. The Magpie and the Fox
5. Two Women or Twelve Men
6. The Grateful Weasel
7. The Man Who Swallowed the Mouse
8. The Cat and the Dog
9. The Sow and Her Banbb
10. The Old Crow Teaches the Young Crow
11. The Cold May Night
II. Kings and Warriors
12. The King Who Could Not Sleep
13. Céatach
14. Fionn in Search of His Youth
15. The Coming of Oscar
16. Cúchulainn and the Smith's Wife
17. Young Conall of Howth
18. Art, King of Leinster
19. The Speckled Bull
III. Saints and Sinners
20. The Boy Who Became Pope
21. The Man Who Struck His Father
22. The Friar on Errigal
23. How God's Wheel Turns
24. The Man Who Was Rescued from Hell
25. The Hour of Death
IV. People of the Otherworld
26. The Fairy Frog
27. The Fairy Wife
28. Fairy Money
29. The Children of the Dead Woman
30. The Three Laughs of the Leipreachán
31. The Man Who Had No Story
32. Doctor Lee and Little Aran
33. The Child from the Sea
34. The Big Cat and the Big Rat
35. The March Cock and the Coffin
36. Seán na Bánóige
37. The Queen of the Planets
38. Seán Palmer's Voyage to America with the Fairies
V. Magicians and Witches
39. The Sailor and the Rat
40. The Girl and the Sailor
41. The Four-leafed Shamrock and the Cock
42. The Black Art
VI. Historical Characters
43. Daniel O'Connell and the Trickster
44. O'Connell Wears His Hat in Parliament
45. The Smell of Money for the Smell of Food
46. The Heather Beer
47. The Man Who Lost His Shadow
48. Cromwell and the Friar
49. Damer's Gold
VII. The Wise, the Foolish, and the Strong
50. Secret Tokens Prove Ownership
51. The Cow That Ate the Piper
52. Seán na Scuab
53. The Great Liar
54. The Uglier Foot
55. The Blacksmith and the Horseman
Notes to the Tables
Glossary
Bibliography
Index of Motifs
Index of Tale Types
General Index