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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/37532-8.txt b/37532-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0270068 --- /dev/null +++ b/37532-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8121 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Scottish Fairy Book, by Elizabeth W. Grierson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scottish Fairy Book + +Author: Elizabeth W. Grierson + +Illustrator: Morris Meredith Williams + +Release Date: September 26, 2011 [EBook #37532] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + +THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK BOOKS IN THE "FAIRY SERIES" + + _The English Fairy Book_ + _The Welsh Fairy Book_ + _The Irish Fairy Book_ + _The Scottish Fairy Book_ + _The Italian Fairy Book_ + _The Hungarian Fairy Book_ + _The Indian Fairy Book_ + _The Spanish Fairy Book_ + _The Danish Fairy Book_ + _The Norwegian Fairy Book_ + _The Jewish Fairy Book_ + _The Swedish Fairy Book_ + _The Chinese Fairy Book_ + + THE SCOTTISH FAIRY + BOOK · BY ELIZABETH W. + GRIERSON · WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + BY MORRIS + MEREDITH WILLIAMS + + [Illustration] + + J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY + PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK + + Printed in U.S.A. + + "Of _Brownys and of Bogillis Full this Buke_." + + --GAVIN DOUGLAS + + + + +PREFACE + + +There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish Fairy Tales. + +There are what may be called "Celtic Stories," which were handed down +for centuries by word of mouth by professional story-tellers, who went +about from clachan to clachan in the "Highlands and Islands," earning a +night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now +been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others. + +These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild +and fantastic, and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are +strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who +sets out on some dangerous quest, and who is met by giants, generally +three in number, who appear one after the other; with whom they hold +quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay. Most of them are fairly +long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they +are quite distinct from the ordinary Fairy Tale. + +These latter, in Scotland, have also a character of their own, for there +is no country where the existence of Spirits and Goblins has been so +implicitly believed in up to a comparatively recent date. + +As a proof of this we can go to Hogg's tale of "The Wool-gatherer," and +see how the countryman, Barnaby, voices the belief of his day. "Ye had +need to tak care how ye dispute the existence of fairies, brownies, and +apparitions! Ye may as weel dispute the Gospel of Saint Matthew." + +Perhaps it was the bleak and stern character of their climate, and the +austerity of their religious beliefs which made our Scottish forefathers +think of the spirits in whom they so firmly believed, as being, for the +most part, mischievous and malevolent. + +Their Bogies, their Witches, their Kelpies, even their Fairy Queen +herself, were supposed to be in league with the Evil One, and to be +compelled, as Thomas of Ercildoune was near finding out to his cost, to +pay a "Tiend to Hell" every seven years; so it was not to be wondered +at, that these uncanny beings were dreaded and feared. + +But along with this dark and gloomy view, we find touches of delicate +playfulness and brightness. The Fairy Queen might be in league with +Satan, but her subjects were not all bound by the same law, and many +charming tales are told of the "sith" or silent folk, who were always +spoken of with respect, in case they might be within earshot, who made +their dwellings under some rocky knowe, and who came out and danced on +the dewy sward at midnight. + +Akin to them are the tales which are told about a mysterious region +under the sea, "far below the abode of fishes," where a strange race of +beings lived, who, in their own land closely resembled human beings, and +were of such surpassing beauty that they charmed the hearts of all who +looked on them. They were spoken of as Mermaids and Mermen, and as +their lungs were not adapted for breathing under water, they had the +extraordinary power of entering into the skin of some fish or sea +animal, and in this way passing from their own abode to our upper world, +where they held converse with mortal men, and, as often as not, tried to +lure them to destruction. + +The popular idea always represents Mer-folk as wearing the tails of +fishes; in Scottish Folklore they are quite as often found in the form +of seals. + +Then we frequently come across the Brownie, that strange, kindly, +lovable creature, with its shaggy, unkempt appearance, half man, half +beast, who was said to be the ordained helper of man in the drudgery +entailed by sin, and was therefore forbidden to receive wages; who +always worked when no one was looking, and who disappeared if any notice +were taken of him. + +There are also, as in all other countries, animal tales, where the +animals are endowed with the power of speech; and weird tales of +enchantment; and last, but not least, there are the legendary stories, +many of them half real, half mythical, which are to be found in the +pages of Hogg, and Leyden, and above all, in Sir Walter Scott's "Border +Minstrelsy." + +In preparing this book I have tried to make a representative collection +from these different classes of Scottish Folklore, taking, when +possible, the stories which are least well known, in the hope that some +of them, at least, may be new to the children of this generation. + +It may interest some of these children to know that when James IV was a +little boy, nearly four hundred years ago, he used to sit on his tutor, +Sir David Lindsay's, knee, and listen to some of the same stories that +are written here:--to the story of Thomas the Rhymer, of the Red-Etin, +and of The Black Bull of Norroway. + +Although in every case I have told the tale in my own words, I am +indebted for the originals to Campbell's "Popular Tales of the Western +Highlands," Leyden's Poems, Hogg's Poems, Scott's "Border Minstrelsy," +Chambers' "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," "The Folklore Journal," etc. + + ELIZABETH W. GRIERSON. + + _Whitchesters, Hawick, N.B., + 12th April, 1910._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + Thomas the Rhymer 1 + + Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree 17 + + Whippety-Stourie 33 + + The Red-Etin 42 + + The Seal Catcher and the Merman 58 + + The Page-boy and the Silver Goblet 67 + + The Black Bull of Norroway 74 + + The Wee Bannock 93 + + The Elfin Knight 101 + + What to say to the New Mune 114 + + Habetrot the Spinstress 115 + + Nippit Fit and Clippit Fit 130 + + The Fairies of Merlin's Crag 136 + + The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren 144 + + The Dwarfie Stone 150 + + Canonbie Dick and Thomas of Ercildoune 169 + + The Laird o' Co' 179 + + Poussie Baudrons 186 + + The Milk-white Doo 188 + + The Draiglin' Hogney 196 + + The Brownie o' Ferne-Den 204 + + The Witch of Fife 211 + + Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm 221 + + The Fox and the Wolf 245 + + Katherine Crackernuts 253 + + Times to Sneeze 268 + + The Well o' the World's End 272 + + Farquhar MacNeill 277 + + Peerifool 284 + + Birthdays 298 + + + + +THOMAS THE RHYMER + + +Of all the young gallants in Scotland in the thirteenth century, there +was none more gracious and debonair than Thomas Learmont, Laird of the +Castle of Ercildoune, in Berwickshire. + +He loved books, poetry, and music, which were uncommon tastes in those +days; and, above all, he loved to study nature, and to watch the habits +of the beasts and birds that made their abode in the fields and woods +round about his home. + +Now it chanced that, one sunny May morning, Thomas left his Tower of +Ercildoune, and went wandering into the woods that lay about the Huntly +Burn, a little stream that came rushing down from the slopes of the +Eildon Hills. It was a lovely morning--fresh, and bright, and warm, and +everything was so beautiful that it looked as Paradise might look. + +The tender leaves were bursting out of their sheaths, and covering all +the trees with a fresh soft mantle of green; and amongst the carpet of +moss under the young man's feet, yellow primroses and starry anemones +were turning up their faces to the morning sky. + +The little birds were singing like to burst their throats, and hundreds +of insects were flying backwards and forwards in the sunshine; while +down by the burnside the bright-eyed water-rats were poking their noses +out of their holes, as if they knew that summer had come, and wanted to +have a share in all that was going on. + +Thomas felt so happy with the gladness of it all, that he threw himself +down at the root of a tree, to watch the living things around him. + +As he was lying there, he heard the trampling of a horse's hooves, as it +forced its way through the bushes; and, looking up, he saw the most +beautiful lady that he had ever seen coming riding towards him on a grey +palfrey. + +She wore a hunting dress of glistening silk, the colour of the fresh +spring grass; and from her shoulders hung a velvet mantle, which matched +the riding-skirt exactly. Her yellow hair, like rippling gold, hung +loosely round her shoulders, and on her head sparkled a diadem of +precious stones, which flashed like fire in the sunlight. + +Her saddle was of pure ivory, and her saddle-cloth of blood-red satin, +while her saddle girths were of corded silk and her stirrups of cut +crystal. Her horse's reins were of beaten gold, all hung with little +silver bells, so that, as she rode along, she made a sound like fairy +music. + +Apparently she was bent on the chase, for she carried a hunting-horn and +a sheaf of arrows; and she led seven greyhounds along in a leash, while +as many scenting hounds ran loose at her horse's side. + +As she rode down the glen, she lilted a bit of an old Scotch song; and +she carried herself with such a queenly air, and her dress was so +magnificent, that Thomas was like to kneel by the side of the path and +worship her, for he thought that it must be the Blessed Virgin herself. + +But when the rider came to where he was, and understood his thoughts, +she shook her head sadly. + +"I am not that Blessed Lady, as thou thinkest," she said. "Men call me +Queen, but it is of a far other country; for I am the Queen of +Fairy-land, and not the Queen of Heaven." + +And certainly it seemed as if what she said were true; for, from that +moment, it was as if a spell were cast over Thomas, making him forget +prudence, and caution, and common-sense itself. + +For he knew that it was dangerous for mortals to meddle with Fairies, +yet he was so entranced with the Lady's beauty that he begged her to +give him a kiss. This was just what she wanted, for she knew that if she +once kissed him she had him in her power. + +And, to the young man's horror, as soon as their lips had met, an awful +change came over her. For her beautiful mantle and riding-skirt of silk +seemed to fade away, leaving her clad in a long grey garment, which was +just the colour of ashes. Her beauty seemed to fade away also, and she +grew old and wan; and, worst of all, half of her abundant yellow hair +went grey before his very eyes. She saw the poor man's astonishment and +terror, and she burst into a mocking laugh. + +"I am not so fair to look on now as I was at first," she said, "but that +matters little, for thou hast sold thyself, Thomas, to be my servant for +seven long years. For whoso kisseth the Fairy Queen must e'en go with +her to Fairy-land, and serve her there till that time is past." + +When he heard these words poor Thomas fell on his knees and begged for +mercy. But mercy he could not obtain. The Elfin Queen only laughed in +his face, and brought her dapple-grey palfrey close up to where he was +standing. + +"No, no," she said, in answer to his entreaties. "Thou didst ask the +kiss, and now thou must pay the price. So dally no longer, but mount +behind me, for it is full time that I was gone." + +So Thomas, with many a sigh and groan of terror, mounted behind her; and +as soon as he had done so, she shook her bridle rein, and the grey steed +galloped off. + +On and on they went, going swifter than the wind; till they left the +land of the living behind, and came to the edge of a great desert, which +stretched before them, dry, and bare, and desolate, to the edge of the +far horizon. + +At least, so it seemed to the weary eyes of Thomas of Ercildoune, and +he wondered if he and his strange companion had to cross this desert; +and, if so, if there were any chance of reaching the other side of it +alive. + +But the Fairy Queen suddenly tightened her rein, and the grey palfrey +stopped short in its wild career. + +"Now must thou descend to earth, Thomas," said the Lady, glancing over +her shoulder at her unhappy captive, "and lout down, and lay thy head on +my knee, and I will show thee hidden things, which cannot be seen by +mortal eyes." + +So Thomas dismounted, and louted down, and rested his head on the Fairy +Queen's knee; and lo, as he looked once more over the desert, everything +seemed changed. For he saw three roads leading across it now, which he +had not noticed before, and each of these three roads was different. + +One of them was broad, and level, and even, and it ran straight on +across the sand, so that no one who was travelling by it could possibly +lose his way. + +And the second road was as different from the first as it well could be. +It was narrow, and winding, and long; and there was a thorn hedge on one +side of it, and a briar hedge on the other; and those hedges grew so +high, and their branches were so wild and tangled, that those who were +travelling along that road would have some difficulty in persevering on +their journey at all. + +And the third road was unlike any of the others. It was a bonnie, +bonnie road, winding up a hillside among brackens, and heather, and +golden-yellow whins, and it looked as if it would be pleasant +travelling, to pass that way. + +"Now," said the Fairy Queen, "an' thou wilt, I shall tell thee where +these three roads lead to. The first road, as thou seest, is broad, and +even, and easy, and there be many that choose it to travel on. But +though it be a good road, it leadeth to a bad end, and the folk that +choose it repent their choice for ever. + +"And as for the narrow road, all hampered and hindered by the thorns and +the briars, there be few that be troubled to ask where that leadeth to. +But did they ask, perchance more of them might be stirred up to set out +along it. For that is the Road of Righteousness; and, although it be +hard and irksome, yet it endeth in a glorious City, which is called the +City of the Great King. + +"And the third road--the bonnie road--that runs up the brae among the +ferns, and leadeth no mortal kens whither, but I ken where it leadeth, +Thomas--for it leadeth unto fair Elf-land; and that road take we. + +"And, mark 'ee, Thomas, if ever thou hopest to see thine own Tower of +Ercildoune again, take care of thy tongue when we reach our journey's +end, and speak no single word to anyone save me--for the mortal who +openeth his lips rashly in Fairy-land must bide there for ever." + +Then she bade him mount her palfrey again, and they rode on. The ferny +road was not so bonnie all the way as it had been at first, however. For +they had not ridden along it very far before it led them into a narrow +ravine, which seemed to go right down under the earth, where there was +no ray of light to guide them, and where the air was dank and heavy. +There was a sound of rushing water everywhere, and at last the grey +palfrey plunged right into it; and it crept up, cold and chill, first +over Thomas's feet, and then over his knees. + +His courage had been slowly ebbing ever since he had been parted from +the daylight, but now he gave himself up for lost; for it seemed to him +certain that his strange companion and he would never come safe to their +journey's end. + +He fell forward in a kind of swoon; and, if it had not been that he had +tight hold of the Fairy's ash-grey gown, I warrant he had fallen from +his seat, and had been drowned. + +But all things, be they good or bad, pass in time, and at last the +darkness began to lighten, and the light grew stronger, until they were +back in broad sunshine. + +Then Thomas took courage, and looked up; and lo, they were riding +through a beautiful orchard, where apples and pears, dates and figs and +wine-berries grew in great abundance. And his tongue was so parched and +dry, and he felt so faint, that he longed for some of the fruit to +restore him. + +He stretched out his hand to pluck some of it; but his companion turned +in her saddle and forbade him. + +"There is nothing safe for thee to eat here," she said, "save an apple, +which I will give thee presently. If thou touch aught else thou art +bound to remain in Fairy-land for ever." + +So poor Thomas had to restrain himself as best he could; and they rode +slowly on, until they came to a tiny tree all covered with red apples. +The Fairy Queen bent down and plucked one, and handed it to her +companion. + +"This I can give thee," she said, "and I do it gladly, for these apples +are the Apples of Truth; and whoso eateth them gaineth this reward, that +his lips will never more be able to frame a lie." + +Thomas took the apple, and ate it; and for evermore the Grace of Truth +rested on his lips; and that is why, in after years, men called him +"True Thomas." + +They had only a little way to go after this, before they came in sight +of a magnificent Castle standing on a hillside. + +"Yonder is my abode," said the Queen, pointing to it proudly. "There +dwelleth my Lord and all the Nobles of his court; and, as my Lord hath +an uncertain temper and shows no liking for any strange gallant whom he +sees in my company, I pray thee, both for thy sake and mine, to utter no +word to anyone who speaketh to thee; and, if anyone should ask me who +and what thou art, I will tell them that thou art dumb. So wilt thou +pass unnoticed in the crowd." + +With these words the Lady raised her hunting-horn, and blew a loud and +piercing blast; and, as she did so, a marvellous change came over her +again; for her ugly ash-covered gown dropped off her, and the grey in +her hair vanished, and she appeared once more in her green riding-skirt +and mantle, and her face grew young and fair. + +And a wonderful change passed over Thomas also; for, as he chanced to +glance downwards, he found that his rough country clothes had been +transformed into a suit of fine brown cloth, and that on his feet he +wore satin shoon. + +Immediately the sound of the horn rang out, the doors of the Castle flew +open, and the King hurried out to meet the Queen, accompanied by such a +number of Knights and Ladies, Minstrels and Page-boys, that Thomas, who +had slid from his palfrey, had no difficulty in obeying her wishes and +passing into the Castle unobserved. + +Everyone seemed very glad to see the Queen back again, and they crowded +into the Great Hall in her train, and she spoke to them all graciously, +and allowed them to kiss her hand. Then she passed, with her husband, to +a dais at the far end of the huge apartment, where two thrones stood, on +which the Royal pair seated themselves to watch the revels which now +began. + +Poor Thomas, meanwhile, stood far away at the other end of the Hall, +feeling very lonely, yet fascinated by the extraordinary scene on which +he was gazing. + +For, although all the fine Ladies, and Courtiers, and Knights were +dancing in one part of the Hall, there were huntsmen coming and going in +another part, carrying in great antlered deer, which apparently they had +killed in the chase, and throwing them down in heaps on the floor. And +there were rows of cooks standing beside the dead animals, cutting them +up into joints, and bearing away the joints to be cooked. + +Altogether it was such a strange, fantastic scene that Thomas took no +heed of how the time flew, but stood and gazed, and gazed, never +speaking a word to anybody. This went on for three long days, then the +Queen rose from her throne, and, stepping from the dais, crossed the +Hall to where he was standing. + +"'Tis time to mount and ride, Thomas," she said, "if thou wouldst ever +see the fair Castle of Ercildoune again." + +Thomas looked at her in amazement. "Thou spokest of seven long years, +Lady," he exclaimed, "and I have been here but three days." + +The Queen smiled. "Time passeth quickly in Fairy-land, my friend," she +replied. "Thou thinkest that thou hast been here but three days. 'Tis +seven years since we two met. And now it is time for thee to go. I would +fain have had thy presence with me longer, but I dare not, for thine +own sake. For every seventh year an Evil Spirit cometh from the Regions +of Darkness, and carrieth back with him one of our followers, whomsoever +he chanceth to choose. And, as thou art a goodly fellow, I fear that he +might choose thee. + +"So, as I would be loth to let harm befall thee, I will take thee back +to thine own country this very night." + +Once more the grey palfrey was brought, and Thomas and the Queen mounted +it; and, as they had come, so they returned to the Eildon Tree near the +Huntly Burn. + +Then the Queen bade Thomas farewell; and, as a parting gift, he asked +her to give him something that would let people know that he had really +been to Fairy-land. + +"I have already given thee the Gift of Truth," she replied. "I will now +give thee the Gifts of Prophecy and Poesie; so that thou wilt be able to +foretell the future, and also to write wondrous verses. And, besides +these unseen gifts, here is something that mortals can see with their +own eyes--a Harp that was fashioned in Fairy-land. Fare thee well, my +friend. Some day, perchance, I will return for thee again." + +With these words the Lady vanished, and Thomas was left alone, feeling a +little sorry, if the truth must be told, at parting with such a radiant +Being and coming back to the ordinary haunts of men. + +After this he lived for many a long year in his Castle of Ercildoune, +and the fame of his poetry and of his prophecies spread all over the +country, so that people named him True Thomas, and Thomas the Rhymer. + +I cannot write down for you all the prophecies which Thomas uttered, and +which most surely came to pass, but I will tell you one or two. + +He foretold the Battle of Bannockburn in these words: + + "The Burn of Breid + Shall rin fou reid," + +which came to pass on that terrible day when the waters of the little +Bannockburn were reddened by the blood of the defeated English. + +He also foretold the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland, under +a Prince who was the son of a French Queen, and who yet bore the blood +of Bruce in his veins. + + "A French Quen shall bearre the Sonne; + Shall rule all Britainne to the sea, + As neere as is the ninth degree," + +which thing came true in 1603, when King James, son of Mary, Queen of +Scots, became Monarch of both countries. + + * * * * * + +Fourteen long years went by, and people were beginning to forget that +Thomas the Rhymer had ever been in Fairy-land; but at last a day came +when Scotland was at war with England, and the Scottish army was +resting by the banks of the Tweed, not far from the Tower of +Ercildoune. + +[Illustration] + +And the Master of the Tower determined to make a feast, and invite all +the Nobles and Barons who were leading the army to sup with him. + +That feast was long remembered. + +For the Laird of Ercildoune took care that everything was as magnificent +as it could possibly be; and when the meal was ended he rose in his +place, and, taking his Elfin Harp, he sang to his assembled guests song +after song of the days of long ago. + +The guests listened breathlessly, for they felt that they would never +hear such wonderful music again. And so it fell out. + +For that very night, after all the Nobles had gone back to their tents, +a soldier on guard saw, in the moonlight, a snow-white Hart and Hind +moving slowly down the road that ran past the camp. + +There was something so unusual about the animals that he called to his +officer to come and look at them. And the officer called to his brother +officers, and soon there was quite a crowd softly following the dumb +creatures, who paced solemnly on, as if they were keeping time to music +unheard by mortal ears. + +"There is something uncanny about this," said one soldier at last. "Let +us send for Thomas of Ercildoune, perchance he may be able to tell us if +it be an omen or no." + +"Ay, send for Thomas of Ercildoune," cried every one at once. So a +little page was sent in haste to the old Tower to rouse the Rhymer from +his slumbers. + +When he heard the boy's message, the Seer's face grew grave and wrapt. + +"'Tis a summons," he said softly, "a summons from the Queen of +Fairy-land. I have waited long for it, and it hath come at last." + +And when he went out, instead of joining the little company of waiting +men, he walked straight up to the snow-white Hart and Hind. As soon as +he reached them they paused for a moment as if to greet him. Then all +three moved slowly down a steep bank that sloped to the little river +Leader, and disappeared in its foaming waters, for the stream was in +full flood. + +And, although a careful search was made, no trace of Thomas of +Ercildoune was found; and to this day the country folk believe that the +Hart and the Hind were messengers from the Elfin Queen, and that he went +back to Fairy-land with them. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: And she set sail for her own Country.] + + + + +GOLD-TREE AND SILVER-TREE + + +In bygone days there lived a little Princess named Gold-Tree, and she +was one of the prettiest children in the whole world. + +Although her mother was dead, she had a very happy life, for her father +loved her dearly, and thought that nothing was too much trouble so long +as it gave his little daughter pleasure. But by and by he married again, +and then the little Princess's sorrows began. + +For his new wife, whose name, curious to say, was Silver-Tree, was very +beautiful, but she was also very jealous, and she made herself quite +miserable for fear that, some day, she should meet someone who was +better looking than she was herself. + +When she found that her step-daughter was so very pretty, she took a +dislike to her at once, and was always looking at her and wondering if +people would think her prettier than she was. And because, in her heart +of hearts, she was afraid that they would do so, she was very unkind +indeed to the poor girl. + +At last, one day, when Princess Gold-Tree was quite grown up, the two +ladies went for a walk to a little well which lay, all surrounded by +trees, in the middle of a deep glen. + +Now the water in this well was so clear that everyone who looked into it +saw his face reflected on the surface; and the proud Queen loved to come +and peep into its depths, so that she could see her own picture mirrored +in the water. + +But to-day, as she was looking in, what should she see but a little +trout, which was swimming quietly backwards and forwards not very far +from the surface. + +"Troutie, troutie, answer me this one question," said the Queen. "Am not +I the most beautiful woman in the world?" + +"No, indeed, you are not," replied the trout promptly, jumping out of +the water, as he spoke, in order to swallow a fly. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the disappointed Queen, +for she had expected a far different answer. + +"Thy step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, without a doubt," said the +little fish; then, frightened by the black look that came upon the +jealous Queen's face, he dived to the bottom of the well. + +It was no wonder that he did so, for the Queen's expression was not +pleasant to look at, as she darted an angry glance at her fair young +step-daughter, who was busy picking flowers some little distance away. + +Indeed, she was so annoyed at the thought that anyone should say that +the girl was prettier than she was, that she quite lost her +self-control; and when she reached home she went up, in a violent +passion, to her room, and threw herself on the bed, declaring that she +felt very ill indeed. + +It was in vain that Princess Gold-Tree asked her what the matter was, +and if she could do anything for her. She would not let the poor girl +touch her, but pushed her away as if she had been some evil thing. So at +last the Princess had to leave her alone, and go out of the apartment, +feeling very sad indeed. + +By and by the King came home from his hunting, and he at once asked for +the Queen. He was told that she had been seized with sudden illness, and +that she was lying on her bed in her own room, and that no one, not even +the Court Physician, who had been hastily summoned, could make out what +was wrong with her. + +In great anxiety--for he really loved her--the King went up to her +bedside, and asked the Queen how she felt, and if there was anything +that he could do to relieve her. + +"Yes, there is one thing that thou couldst do," she answered harshly, +"but I know full well that, even although it is the only thing that will +cure me, thou wilt not do it." + +"Nay," said the King, "I deserve better words at thy mouth than these; +for thou knowest that I would give thee aught thou carest to ask, even +if it be the half of my Kingdom." + +"Then give me thy daughter's heart to eat," cried the Queen, "for unless +I can obtain that, I will die, and that speedily." + +She spoke so wildly, and looked at him in such a strange fashion, that +the poor King really thought that her brain was turned, and he was at +his wits' end what to do. He left the room, and paced up and down the +corridor in great distress, until at last he remembered that that very +morning the son of a great King had arrived from a country far over the +sea, asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. + +"Here is a way out of the difficulty," he said to himself. "This +marriage pleaseth me well, and I will have it celebrated at once. Then, +when my daughter is safe out of the country, I will send a lad up the +hillside, and he shall kill a he-goat, and I will have its heart +prepared and dressed, and send it up to my wife. Perhaps the sight of it +will cure her of this madness." + +So he had the strange Prince summoned before him, and told him how the +Queen had taken a sudden illness that had wrought on her brain, and had +caused her to take a dislike to the Princess, and how it seemed as if it +would be a good thing if, with the maiden's consent, the marriage could +take place at once, so that the Queen might be left alone to recover +from her strange malady. + +Now the Prince was delighted to gain his bride so easily, and the +Princess was glad to escape from her step-mother's hatred, so the +marriage took place at once, and the newly wedded pair set off across +the sea for the Prince's country. + +Then the King sent a lad up the hillside to kill a he-goat; and when it +was killed he gave orders that its heart should be dressed and cooked, +and sent to the Queen's apartment on a silver dish. And the wicked woman +tasted it, believing it to be the heart of her step-daughter; and when +she had done so, she rose from her bed and went about the Castle looking +as well and hearty as ever. + +I am glad to be able to tell you that the marriage of Princess +Gold-Tree, which had come about in such a hurry, turned out to be a +great success; for the Prince whom she had wedded was rich, and great, +and powerful, and he loved her dearly, and she was as happy as the day +was long. + +So things went peacefully on for a year. Queen Silver-Tree was satisfied +and contented, because she thought that her step-daughter was dead; +while all the time the Princess was happy and prosperous in her new +home. + +But at the end of the year it chanced that the Queen went once more to +the well in the little glen, in order to see her face reflected in the +water. + +And it chanced also that the same little trout was swimming backwards +and forwards, just as he had done the year before. And the foolish Queen +determined to have a better answer to her question this time than she +had last. + +"Troutie, troutie," she whispered, leaning over the edge of the well, +"am not I the most beautiful woman in the world?" + +"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, in his very +straightforward way. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the Queen, her face +growing pale at the thought that she had yet another rival. + +"Why, your Majesty's step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, to be sure," +answered the trout. + +The Queen threw back her head with a sigh of relief. "Well, at any rate, +people cannot admire her now," she said, "for it is a year since she +died. I ate her heart for my supper." + +"Art thou sure of that, your Majesty?" asked the trout, with a twinkle +in his eye. "Methinks it is but a year since she married the gallant +young Prince who came from abroad to seek her hand, and returned with +him to his own country." + +When the Queen heard these words she turned quite cold with rage, for +she knew that her husband had deceived her; and she rose from her knees +and went straight home to the Palace, and, hiding her anger as best she +could, she asked him if he would give orders to have the Long Ship made +ready, as she wished to go and visit her dear step-daughter, for it was +such a very long time since she had seen her. + +The King was somewhat surprised at her request, but he was only too glad +to think that she had got over her hatred towards his daughter, and he +gave orders that the Long Ship should be made ready at once. + +Soon it was speeding over the water, its prow turned in the direction of +the land where the Princess lived, steered by the Queen herself; for she +knew the course that the boat ought to take, and she was in such haste +to be at her journey's end that she would allow no one else to take the +helm. + +Now it chanced that Princess Gold-Tree was alone that day, for her +husband had gone a-hunting. And as she looked out of one of the Castle +windows she saw a boat coming sailing over the sea towards the landing +place. She recognised it as her father's Long Ship, and she guessed only +too well whom it carried on board. + +She was almost beside herself with terror at the thought, for she knew +that it was for no good purpose that Queen Silver-Tree had taken the +trouble to set out to visit her, and she felt that she would have given +almost anything she possessed if her husband had but been at home. In +her distress she hurried into the servants' hall. + +"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming over the sea, and I know that my step-mother +is on board. And if she hath a chance she will kill me, for she hateth +me more than anything else upon earth." + +Now the servants worshipped the ground that their young Mistress trod +on, for she was always kind and considerate to them, and when they saw +how frightened she was, and heard her piteous words, they crowded round +her, as if to shield her from any harm that threatened her. + +"Do not be afraid, your Highness," they cried; "we will defend thee with +our very lives if need be. But in case thy Lady Step-Mother should have +the power to throw any evil spell over thee, we will lock thee in the +great Mullioned Chamber, then she cannot get nigh thee at all." + +Now the Mullioned Chamber was a strong-room, which was in a part of the +castle all by itself, and its door was so thick that no one could +possibly break through it; and the Princess knew that if she were once +inside the room, with its stout oaken door between her and her +step-mother, she would be perfectly safe from any mischief that that +wicked woman could devise. + +So she consented to her faithful servants' suggestion, and allowed them +to lock her in the Mullioned Chamber. + +So it came to pass that when Queen Silver-Tree arrived at the great door +of the Castle, and commanded the lackey who opened it to take her to his +Royal Mistress, he told her, with a low bow, that that was impossible, +because the Princess was locked in the strong-room of the Castle, and +could not get out, because no one knew where the key was. + +(Which was quite true, for the old butler had tied it round the neck of +the Prince's favourite sheep-dog, and had sent him away to the hills to +seek his master.) + +"Take me to the door of the apartment," commanded the Queen. "At least I +can speak to my dear daughter through it." And the lackey, who did not +see what harm could possibly come from this, did as he was bid. + +"If the key is really lost, and thou canst not come out to welcome me, +dear Gold-Tree," said the deceitful Queen, "at least put thy little +finger through the keyhole that I may kiss it." + +The Princess did so, never dreaming that evil could come to her through +such a simple action. But it did. For instead of kissing the tiny +finger, her step-mother stabbed it with a poisoned needle, and, so +deadly was the poison, that, before she could utter a single cry, the +poor Princess fell, as one dead, on the floor. + +When she heard the fall, a smile of satisfaction crept over Queen +Silver-Tree's face. "Now I can say that I am the handsomest woman in the +world," she whispered; and she went back to the lackey who stood waiting +at the end of the passage, and told him that she had said all that she +had to say to her daughter, and that now she must return home. + +So the man attended her to the boat with all due ceremony, and she set +sail for her own country; and no one in the Castle knew that any harm +had befallen their dear Mistress until the Prince came home from his +hunting with the key of the Mullioned Chamber, which he had taken from +his sheep-dog's neck, in his hand. + +[Illustration] + +He laughed when he heard the story of Queen Silver-Tree's visit, and +told the servants that they had done well; then he ran upstairs to open +the door and release his wife. + +But what was his horror and dismay, when he did so, to find her lying +dead at his feet on the floor. + +He was nearly beside himself with rage and grief; and, because he knew +that a deadly poison such as Queen Silver-Tree had used would preserve +the Princess's body so that it had no need of burial, he had it laid on +a silken couch and left in the Mullioned Chamber, so that he could go +and look at it whenever he pleased. + +He was so terribly lonely, however, that in a little time he married +again, and his second wife was just as sweet and as good as the first +one had been. This new wife was very happy, there was only one little +thing that caused her any trouble at all, and she was too sensible to +let it make her miserable. + +That one thing was that there was one room in the Castle--a room which +stood at the end of a passage by itself--which she could never enter, as +her husband always carried the key. And as, when she asked him the +reason of this, he always made an excuse of some kind, she made up her +mind that she would not seem as if she did not trust him, so she asked +no more questions about the matter. + +But one day the Prince chanced to leave the door unlocked, and as he had +never told her not to do so, she went in, and there she saw Princess +Gold-Tree lying on the silken couch, looking as if she were asleep. + +"Is she dead, or is she only sleeping?" she said to herself, and she +went up to the couch and looked closely at the Princess. And there, +sticking in her little finger, she discovered a curiously shaped needle. + +"There hath been evil work here," she thought to herself. "If that +needle be not poisoned, then I know naught of medicine." And, being +skilled in leechcraft, she drew it carefully out. + +In a moment Princess Gold-Tree opened her eyes and sat up, and presently +she had recovered sufficiently to tell the Other Princess the whole +story. + +Now, if her step-mother had been jealous, the Other Princess was not +jealous at all; for, when she heard all that had happened, she clapped +her little hands, crying, "Oh, how glad the Prince will be; for although +he hath married again, I know that he loves thee best." + +That night the Prince came home from hunting looking very tired and sad, +for what his second wife had said was quite true. Although he loved her +very much, he was always mourning in his heart for his first dear love, +Princess Gold-Tree. + +"How sad thou art!" exclaimed his wife, going out to meet him. "Is there +nothing that I can do to bring a smile to thy face?" + +"Nothing," answered the Prince wearily, laying down his bow, for he was +too heart-sore even to pretend to be gay. + +"Except to give thee back Gold-Tree," said his wife mischievously. "And +that can I do. Thou wilt find her alive and well in the Mullioned +Chamber." + +Without a word the Prince ran upstairs, and, sure enough, there was his +dear Gold-Tree, sitting on the couch ready to welcome him. + +He was so overjoyed to see her that he threw his arms round her neck and +kissed her over and over again, quite forgetting his poor second wife, +who had followed him upstairs, and who now stood watching the meeting +that she had brought about. + +She did not seem to be sorry for herself, however. "I always knew that +thy heart yearned after Princess Gold-Tree," she said. "And it is but +right that it should be so. For she was thy first love, and, since she +hath come to life again, I will go back to mine own people." + +"No, indeed thou wilt not," answered the Prince, "for it is thou who +hast brought me this joy. Thou wilt stay with us, and we shall all three +live happily together. And Gold-Tree and thee will become great +friends." + +And so it came to pass. For Princess Gold-Tree and the Other Princess +soon became like sisters, and loved each other as if they had been +brought up together all their lives. + +In this manner another year passed away, and one evening, in the old +country, Queen Silver-Tree went, as she had done before, to look at her +face in the water of the little well in the glen. + +And, as had happened twice before, the trout was there. "Troutie, +troutie," she whispered, "am not I the most beautiful woman in the +world?" + +"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, as he had answered on +the two previous occasions. + +"And who dost thou say is the most beautiful woman now?" asked the +Queen, her voice trembling with rage and vexation. + +"I have given her name to thee these two years back," answered the +trout. "The Princess Gold-Tree, of course." + +"But she is dead," laughed the Queen. "I am sure of it this time, for it +is just a year since I stabbed her little finger with a poisoned needle, +and I heard her fall down dead on the floor." + +"I would not be so sure of that," answered the trout, and without saying +another word he dived straight down to the bottom of the well. + +After hearing his mysterious words the Queen could not rest, and at last +she asked her husband to have the Long Ship prepared once more, so that +she could go and see her step-daughter. + +The King gave the order gladly; and it all happened as it had happened +before. + +She steered the Ship over the sea with her own hands, and when it was +approaching the land it was seen and recognised by Princess Gold-Tree. + +The Prince was out hunting, and the Princess ran, in great terror, to +her friend, the Other Princess, who was upstairs in her chamber. + +"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming, and I know that my cruel step-mother is on +board, and she will try to kill me, as she tried to kill me before. Oh! +come, let us escape to the hills." + +"Not at all," replied the Other Princess, throwing her arms round the +trembling Gold-Tree. "I am not afraid of thy Lady Step-Mother. Come with +me, and we will go down to the sea shore to greet her." + +So they both went down to the edge of the water, and when Queen +Silver-Tree saw her step-daughter coming she pretended to be very glad, +and sprang out of the boat and ran to meet her, and held out a silver +goblet full of wine for her to drink. + +"'Tis rare wine from the East," she said, "and therefore very precious. +I brought a flagon with me, so that we might pledge each other in a +loving cup." + +Princess Gold-Tree, who was ever gentle and courteous, would have +stretched out her hand for the cup, had not the Other Princess stepped +between her and her step-mother. + +"Nay, Madam," she said gravely, looking the Queen straight in the face; +"it is the custom in this land for the one who offers a loving cup to +drink from it first herself." + +"I will follow the custom gladly," answered the Queen, and she raised +the goblet to her mouth. But the Other Princess, who was watching for +closely, noticed that she did not allow the wine that it contained to +touch her lips. So she stepped forward and, as if by accident, struck +the bottom of the goblet with her shoulder. Part of its contents flew +into the Queen's face, and part, before she could shut her mouth, went +down her throat. + +So, because of her wickedness, she was, as the Good Book says, caught in +her own net. For she had made the wine so poisonous that, almost before +she had swallowed it, she fell dead at the two Princesses' feet. + +No one was sorry for her, for she really deserved her fate; and they +buried her hastily in a lonely piece of ground, and very soon everybody +had forgotten all about her. + +As for Princess Gold-Tree, she lived happily and peacefully with her +husband and her friend for the remainder of her life. + +[Illustration] + + + + +WHIPPETY-STOURIE + + +I am going to tell you a story about a poor young widow woman, who lived +in a house called Kittlerumpit, though whereabouts in Scotland the house +of Kittlerumpit stood nobody knows. + +Some folk think that it stood in the neighbourhood of the Debateable +Land, which, as all the world knows, was on the Borders, where the old +Border Reivers were constantly coming and going; the Scotch stealing +from the English, and the English from the Scotch. Be that as it may, +the widowed Mistress of Kittlerumpit was sorely to be pitied. + +For she had lost her husband, and no one quite knew what had become of +him. He had gone to a fair one day, and had never come back again, and +although everybody believed that he was dead, no one knew how he died. + +Some people said that he had been persuaded to enlist, and had been +killed in the wars; others, that he had been taken away to serve as a +sailor by the press-gang, and had been drowned at sea. + +At any rate, his poor young wife was sorely to be pitied, for she was +left with a little baby-boy to bring up, and, as times were bad, she had +not much to live on. + +But she loved her baby dearly, and worked all day amongst her cows, and +pigs, and hens, in order to earn enough money to buy food and clothes +for both herself and him. + +Now, on the morning of which I am speaking, she rose very early and went +out to feed her pigs, for rent-day was coming on, and she intended to +take one of them, a great, big, fat creature, to the market that very +day, as she thought that the price that it would fetch would go a long +way towards paying her rent. + +And because she thought so, her heart was light, and she hummed a little +song to herself as she crossed the yard with her bucket on one arm and +her baby-boy on the other. + +But the song was quickly changed into a cry of despair when she reached +the pig-stye, for there lay her cherished pig on its back, with its legs +in the air and its eyes shut, just as if it were going to breathe its +last breath. + +"What shall I do? What shall I do?" cried the poor woman, sitting down +on a big stone and clasping her boy to her breast, heedless of the fact +that she had dropped her bucket, and that the pig's-meat was running +out, and that the hens were eating it. + +"First I lost my husband, and now I am going to lose my finest pig. The +pig that I hoped would fetch a deal of money." + +Now I must explain to you that the house of Kittlerumpit stood on a +hillside, with a great fir wood behind it, and the ground sloping down +steeply in front. + +And as the poor young thing, after having a good cry to herself, was +drying her eyes, she chanced to look down the hill, and who should she +see coming up it but an Old Woman, who looked like a lady born. + +She was dressed all in green, with a white apron, and she wore a black +velvet hood on her head, and a steeple-crowned beaver hat over that, +something like those, as I have heard tell, that the women wear in +Wales. She walked very slowly, leaning on a long staff, and she gave a +bit hirple now and then, as if she were lame. + +As she drew near, the young widow felt it was becoming to rise and +curtsey to the Gentlewoman, for such she saw her to be. + +"Madam," she said, with a sob in her voice, "I bid you welcome to the +house of Kittlerumpit, although you find its Mistress one of the most +unfortunate women in the world." + +"Hout-tout," answered the old Lady, in such a harsh voice that the young +woman started, and grasped her baby tighter in her arms. "Ye have little +need to say that. Ye have lost your husband, I grant ye, but there were +waur losses at Shirra-Muir. And now your pig is like to die--I could, +maybe, remedy that. But I must first hear how much ye wad gie me if I +cured him." + +"Anything that your Ladyship's Madam likes to ask," replied the widow, +too much delighted at having the animal's life saved to think that she +was making rather a rash promise. + +"Very good," said the old Dame, and without wasting any more words she +walked straight into the pig-sty. + +She stood and looked at the dying creature for some minutes, rocking to +and fro and muttering to herself in words which the widow could not +understand; at least, she could only understand four of them, and they +sounded something like this: + + "Pitter-patter, + Haly water." + +Then she put her hand into her pocket and drew out a tiny bottle with a +liquid that looked like oil in it. She took the cork out, and dropped +one of her long lady-like fingers into it; then she touched the pig on +the snout and on his ears, and on the tip of his curly tail. + +No sooner had she done so than up the beast jumped, and, with a grunt of +contentment, ran off to its trough to look for its breakfast. + +A joyful woman was the Mistress of Kittlerumpit when she saw it do this, +for she felt that her rent was safe; and in her relief and gratitude she +would have kissed the hem of the strange Lady's green gown, if she +would have allowed it, but she would not. + +"No, no," said she, and her voice sounded harsher than ever. "Let us +have no fine meanderings, but let us stick to our bargain. I have done +my part, and mended the pig; now ye must do yours, and give me what I +like to ask--your son." + +Then the poor widow gave a piteous cry, for she knew now what she had +not guessed before--that the Green-clad Lady was a Fairy, and a Wicked +Fairy too, else had she not asked such a terrible thing. + +It was too late now, however, to pray, and beseech, and beg for mercy; +the Fairy stood her ground, hard and cruel. + +"Ye promised me what I liked to ask, and I have asked your son; and your +son I will have," she replied, "so it is useless making such a din about +it. But one thing I may tell you, for I know well that the knowledge +will not help you. By the laws of Fairy-land, I cannot take the bairn +till the third day after this, and if by that time you have found out my +name I cannot take him even then. But ye will not be able to find it +out, of that I am certain. So I will call back for the boy in three +days." + +And with that she disappeared round the back of the pig-sty, and the +poor mother fell down in a dead faint beside the stone. + +All that day, and all the next, she did nothing but sit in her kitchen +and cry, and hug her baby tighter in her arms; but on the day before +that on which the Fairy said that she was coming back, she felt as if +she must get a little breath of fresh air, so she went for a walk in the +fir wood behind the house. + +Now in this fir wood there was an old quarry hole, in the bottom of +which was a bonnie spring well, the water of which was always sweet and +pure. The young widow was walking near this quarry hole, when, to her +astonishment, she heard the whirr of a spinning-wheel and the sound of a +voice lilting a song. At first she could not think where the sound came +from; then, remembering the quarry, she laid down her child at a tree +root, and crept noiselessly through the bushes on her hands and knees to +the edge of the hole and peeped over. + +She could hardly believe her eyes! For there, far below her, at the +bottom of the quarry, beside the spring well, sat the cruel Fairy, +dressed in her green frock and tall felt hat, spinning away as fast as +she could at a tiny spinning-wheel. + +And what should she be singing but-- + + "Little kens our guid dame at hame, + Whippety-Stourie is my name." + +The widow woman almost cried aloud for joy, for now she had learned the +Fairy's secret, and her child was safe. But she dare not, in case the +wicked old Dame heard her and threw some other spell over her. + +So she crept softly back to the place where she had left her child; +then, catching him up in her arms, she ran through the wood to her +house, laughing, and singing, and tossing him in the air in such a state +of delight that, if anyone had met her, they would have been in danger +of thinking that she was mad. + +Now this young woman had been a merry-hearted maiden, and would have +been merry-hearted still, if, since her marriage, she had not had so +much trouble that it had made her grow old and sober-minded before her +time; and she began to think what fun it would be to tease the Fairy for +a few minutes before she let her know that she had found out her name. + +So next day, at the appointed time, she went out with her boy in her +arms, and seated herself on the big stone where she had sat before; and +when she saw the old Dame coming up the hill, she crumpled up her nice +clean cap, and screwed up her face, and pretended to be in great +distress and to be crying bitterly. + +The Fairy took no notice of this, however, but came close up to her, and +said, in her harsh, merciless voice, "Good wife of Kittlerumpit, ye ken +the reason of my coming; give me the bairn." + +Then the young mother pretended to be in sorer distress than ever, and +fell on her knees before the wicked old woman and begged for mercy. + +"Oh, sweet Madam Mistress," she cried, "spare me my bairn, and take, an' +thou wilt, the pig instead." + +"We have no need of bacon where I come from," answered the Fairy coldly; +"so give me the laddie and let me begone--I have no time to waste in +this wise." + +"Oh, dear Lady mine," pleaded the Goodwife, "if thou wilt not have the +pig, wilt thou not spare my poor bairn and take me myself?" + +The Fairy stepped back a little, as if in astonishment. "Art thou mad, +woman," she cried contemptuously, "that thou proposest such a thing? Who +in all the world would care to take a plain-looking, red-eyed, dowdy +wife like thee with them?" + +Now the young Mistress of Kittlerumpit knew that she was no beauty, and +the knowledge had never vexed her; but something in the Fairy's tone +made her feel so angry that she could contain herself no longer. + +"In troth, fair Madam, I might have had the wit to know that the like of +me is not fit to tie the shoe-string of the High and Mighty Princess, +WHIPPETY-STOURIE!" + +If there had been a charge of gunpowder buried in the ground, and if it +had suddenly exploded beneath her feet, the Wicked Fairy could not have +jumped higher into air. + +And when she came down again she simply turned round and ran down the +brae, shrieking with rage and disappointment, for all the world, as an +old book says, "like an owl chased by witches." + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE RED-ETIN + + +There were once two widows who lived in two cottages which stood not +very far from one another. And each of those widows possessed a piece of +land on which she grazed a cow and a few sheep, and in this way she made +her living. + +One of these poor widows had two sons, the other had one; and as these +three boys were always together, it was natural that they should become +great friends. + +At last the time arrived when the eldest son of the widow who had two +sons, must leave home and go out into the world to seek his fortune. And +the night before he went away his mother told him to take a can and go +to the well and bring back some water, and she would bake a cake for him +to carry with him. + +"But remember," she added, "the size of the cake will depend on the +quantity of water that thou bringest back. If thou bringest much, then +will it be large; and, if thou bringest little, then will it be small. +But, big or little, it is all that I have to give thee." + +The lad took the can and went off to the well, and filled it with +water, and came home again. But he never noticed that the can had a hole +in it, and was running out; so that, by the time that he arrived at +home, there was very little water left. So his mother could only bake +him a very little cake. + +But, small as it was, she asked him, as she gave it to him, to choose +one of two things. Either to take the half of it with her blessing, or +the whole of it with her malison. "For," said she, "thou canst not have +both the whole cake and a blessing along with it." + +The lad looked at the cake and hesitated. It would have been pleasant to +have left home with his mother's blessing upon him; but he had far to +go, and the cake was little; the half of it would be a mere mouthful, +and he did not know when he would get any more food. So at last he made +up his mind to take the whole of it, even if he had to bear his mother's +malison. + +Then he took his younger brother aside, and gave him his hunting-knife, +saying, "Keep this by thee, and look at it every morning. For as long as +the blade remains clear and bright, thou wilt know that it is well with +me; but should it grow dim and rusty, then know thou that some evil hath +befallen me." + +After this he embraced them both and set out on his travels. He +journeyed all that day, and all the next, and on the afternoon of the +third day he came to where an old shepherd was sitting beside a flock of +sheep. + +"I will ask the old man whose sheep they are," he said to himself, "for +mayhap his master might engage me also as a shepherd." So he went up to +the old man, and asked him to whom the sheep belonged. And this was all +the answer he got: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +"That does not tell me much; but somehow I do not fancy this Red-Etin +for a master," thought the youth, and he went on his way. + +He had not gone very far, however, when he saw another old man, with +snow-white hair, herding a flock of swine; and as he wondered to whom +the swine belonged, and if there was any chance of him getting a +situation as a swineherd, he went up to the countryman, and asked who +was the owner of the animals. + +He got the same answer from the swineherd that he had got from the +shepherd: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +"Plague on this old Red-Etin; I wonder when I will get out of his +domains," he muttered to himself; and he journeyed still further. + +Presently he came to a very, very old man--so old, indeed, that he was +quite bent with age--and he was herding a flock of goats. + +Once more the traveller asked to whom the animals belonged, and once +more he got the same answer: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +But this ancient goatherd added a piece of advice at the end of his +rhyme. "Beware, stranger," he said, "of the next herd of beasts that ye +shall meet. Sheep, and swine, and goats will harm nobody; but the +creatures ye shall now encounter are of a sort that ye have never met +before, and _they_ are not harmless." + +The young man thanked him for his counsel, and went on his way, and he +had not gone very far before he met a herd of very dreadful creatures, +unlike anything that he had ever dreamed of in all his life. + +For each of them had three heads, and on each of its three heads it had +four horns; and when he saw them he was so frightened that he turned and +ran away from them as fast as he could. + +Up hill and down dale he ran, until he was well-nigh exhausted; and, +just when he was beginning to feel that his legs would not carry him any +further, he saw a great Castle in front of him, the door of which was +standing wide open. + +He was so tired that he went straight in, and after wandering through +some magnificent halls, which appeared to be quite deserted, he reached +the kitchen, where an old woman was sitting by the fire. + +He asked her if he might have a night's lodging, as he had come a long +and weary journey, and would be glad of somewhere to rest. + +"You can rest here, and welcome, for me," said the old Dame, "but for +your own sake I warn you that this is an ill house to bide in; for it is +the Castle of the Red-Etin, who is a fierce and terrible Monster with +three heads, and he spareth neither man nor woman, if he can get hold of +them." + +Tired as he was, the young man would have made an effort to escape from +such a dangerous abode had he not remembered the strange and awful +beasts from which he had just been fleeing, and he was afraid that, as +it was growing dark, if he set out again he might chance to walk right +into their midst. So he begged the old woman to hide him in some dark +corner, and not to tell the Red-Etin that he was in the Castle. + +"For," thought he, "if I can only get shelter until the morning, I will +then be able to avoid these terrible creatures and go on my way in +peace." + +So the old Dame hid him in a press under the back stairs, and, as there +was plenty of room in it, he settled down quite comfortably for the +night. + +But just as he was going off to sleep he heard an awful roaring and +trampling overhead. The Red-Etin had come home, and it was plain that he +was searching for something. + +And the terrified youth soon found out what the "Something" was, for +very soon the horrible Monster came into the kitchen, crying out in a +voice like thunder: + + "Seek but, and seek ben, + I smell the smell of an earthly man! + Be he living, or be he dead, + His heart this night I shall eat with my bread." + +And it was not very long before he discovered the poor young man's +hiding-place and pulled him roughly out of it. + +Of course, the lad begged that his life might be spared, but the Monster +only laughed at him. + +"It will be spared if thou canst answer three questions," he said; "if +not, it is forfeited." + +The first of these three questions was, "Whether Ireland or Scotland was +first inhabited?" + +The second, "How old was the world when Adam was made?" + +And the third, "Whether men or beasts were created first?" + +The lad was not skilled in such matters, having had but little +book-learning, and he could not answer the questions. So the Monster +struck him on the head with a queer little hammer which he carried, and +turned him into a piece of stone. + +Now every morning since he had left home his younger brother had done as +he had promised, and had carefully examined his hunting-knife. + +On the first two mornings it was bright and clear, but on the third +morning he was very much distressed to find that it was dull and rusty. +He looked at it for a few moments in great dismay; then he ran straight +to his mother, and held it out to her. + +"By this token I know that some mischief hath befallen my brother," he +said, "so I must set out at once to see what evil hath come upon him." + +"First must thou go to the well and fetch me some water," said his +mother, "that I may bake thee a cake to carry with thee, as I baked a +cake for him who is gone. And I will say to thee what I said to him. +That the cake will be large or small according as thou bringest much or +little water back with thee." + +So the lad took the can, as his brother had done, and went off to the +well, and it seemed as if some evil spirit directed him to follow his +example in all things, for he brought home little water, and he chose +the whole cake and his mother's malison, instead of the half and her +blessing, and he set out and met the shepherd, and the swineherd, and +the goatherd, and they all gave the same answers to him which they had +given to his brother. And he also encountered the same fierce beasts, +and ran from them in terror, and took shelter from them in the Castle; +and the old woman hid him, and the Red-Etin found him, and, because he +could not answer the three questions, he, too, was turned into a pillar +of stone. + +And no more would ever have been heard of these two youths had not a +kind Fairy, who had seen all that had happened, appeared to the other +widow and her son, as they were sitting at supper one night in the +gloaming, and told them the whole story, and how their two poor young +neighbours had been turned into pillars of stone by a cruel enchanter +called Red-Etin. + +Now the third young man was both brave and strong, and he determined to +set out to see if he could in anywise help his two friends. And, from +the very first moment that he had made up his mind to do so, things went +differently with him than they had with them. I think, perhaps, that +this was because he was much more loving and thoughtful than they were. + +For, when his mother sent him to fetch water from the well so that she +might bake a cake for him, just as the other mother had done for her +sons, a raven, flying above his head, croaked out that his can was +leaking, and he, wishing to please his mother by bringing her a good +supply of water, patched up the hole with clay, and so came home with +the can quite full. + +Then, when his mother had baked a big bannock for him, and giving him +his choice between the whole cake and her malison, or half of it and her +blessing, he chose the latter, "for," said he, throwing his arms round +her neck, "I may light on other cakes to eat, but I will never light on +another blessing such as thine." + +And the curious thing was, that, after he had said this, the half cake +which he had chosen seemed to spread itself out, and widen, and broaden, +till it was bigger by far than it had been at first. + +Then he started on his journey, and, after he had gone a good way he +began to feel hungry. So he pulled it out of his pocket and began to eat +it. + +Just then he met an old woman, who seemed to be very poor, for her +clothing was thin, and worn, and old, and she stopped and spoke to him. + +"Of thy charity, kind Master," she said, stretching out one of her +withered hands, "spare me a bit of the cake that thou art eating." + +Now the youth was very hungry, and he could have eaten it all himself, +but his kind heart was touched by the woman's pinched face, so he broke +it in two, and gave her half of it. + +Instantly she was changed into the Fairy who had appeared to his mother +and himself as they had sat at supper the night before, and she smiled +graciously at the generous lad, and held out a little wand to him. + +"Though thou knowest it not, thy mother's blessing and thy kindness to +an old and poor woman hath gained thee many blessings, brave boy," he +said. "Keep that as thy reward; thou wilt need it ere thy errand be +done." Then, bidding him sit down on the grass beside her, she told him +all the dangers that he would meet on his travels, and the way in which +he could overcome them, and then, in a moment, before he could thank +her, she vanished out of his sight. + +But with the little wand, and all the instructions that she had given +him, he felt that he could face fearlessly any danger that he might be +called on to meet, so he rose from the grass and went his way, full of a +cheerful courage. + +After he had walked for many miles further, he came, as each of his +friends had done, to the old shepherd herding his sheep. And, like them, +he asked to whom the sheep belonged. And this time the old man answered: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "But now I fear his end is near, + And destiny at hand; + And you're to be, I plainly see, + The heir of all his land." + +Then the young man went on, and he came to the swineherd, and to the +goatherd; and each of them in turn repeated the same words to him. + +And, when he came to where the droves of monstrous beasts were, he was +not afraid of them, and when one came running up to him with its mouth +wide open to devour him, he just struck it with his wand, and it dropped +down dead at his feet. + +At last he arrived at the Red-Etin's Castle, and he knocked boldly at +the door. The old woman answered his knock, and, when he had told her +his errand, warned him gravely not to enter. + +"Thy two friends came here before thee," she said, "and they are now +turned into two pillars of stone; what advantage is it to thee to lose +thy life also?" + +But the young man only laughed. "I have knowledge of an art of which +they knew nothing," he said. "And methinks I can fight the Red-Etin with +his own weapons." + +So, much against her will, the old woman let him in, and hid him where +she had hid his friends. + +It was not long before the Monster arrived, and, as on former occasions, +he came into the kitchen in a furious rage, crying: + + "Seek but, and seek ben, + I smell the smell of an earthly man! + Be he living, or be he dead, + His heart this night I shall eat with my bread." + +Then he peered into the young man's hiding-place, and called to him to +come out. And after he had come out, he put to him the three questions, +never dreaming that he could answer them; but the Fairy had told the +youth what to say, and he gave the answers as pat as any book. + +Then the Red-Etin's heart sank within him for fear, for he knew that +someone had betrayed him, and that his power was gone. + +And gone in very truth it was. For when the youth took an axe and began +to fight with him, he had no strength to resist, and, before he knew +where he was, his heads were cut off. And that was the end of the +Red-Etin. + +As soon as he saw that his enemy was really dead, the young man asked +the old woman if what the shepherd, and the swineherd, and the goatherd +had told him were true, and if King Malcolm's daughter were really a +prisoner in the Castle. + +The old woman nodded. "Even with the Monster lying dead at my feet, I am +almost afraid to speak of it," she said. "But come with me, my gallant +gentleman, and thou wilt see what dule and misery the Red-Etin hath +caused to many a home." + +She took a huge bunch of keys, and led him up a long flight of stairs, +which ended in a passage with a great many doors on each side of it. She +unlocked these doors with her keys, and, as she opened them, she put her +head into every room and said, "Ye have naught to fear now, Madam, the +Predestinated Deliverer hath come, and the Red-Etin is dead." + +[Illustration: And that was the end of the Red-Etin] + +And behold, with a cry of joy, out of every room came a beautiful lady +who had been stolen from her home, and shut up there, by the Red-Etin. + +Among them was one who was more beautiful and stately than the rest, and +all the others bowed down to her and treated her with such great +reverence that it was clear to see that she was the Royal Princess, King +Malcolm's daughter. + +And when the youth stepped forward and did reverence to her also, she +spoke so sweetly to him, and greeted him so gladly, and called him her +Deliverer, in such a low, clear voice, that his heart was taken captive +at once. + +But, for all that, he did not forget his friends. He asked the old woman +where they were, and she took him into a room at the end of the passage, +which was so dark that one could scarcely see in it, and so low that one +could scarcely stand upright. + +In this dismal chamber stood two blocks of stone. + +"One can unlock doors, young Master," said the old woman, shaking her +head forebodingly, "but 'tis hard work to try to turn cauld stane back +to flesh and blood." + +"Nevertheless, I will do it," said the youth, and, lifting his little +wand, he touched each of the stone pillars lightly on the top. + +Instantly the hard stone seemed to soften and melt away, and the two +brothers started into life and form again. Their gratitude to their +friend, who had risked so much to save them, knew no bounds, while he, +on his part, was delighted to think that his efforts had been +successful. + +The next thing to do was to convey the Princess and the other ladies +(who were all noblemen's daughters) back to the King's Court, and this +they did next day. + +King Malcolm was so overjoyed to see his dearly loved daughter, whom he +had given up for dead, safe and sound, and so grateful to her deliverer, +that he said that he should become his son-in-law and marry the +Princess, and come and live with them at Court. Which all came to pass +in due time; while as for the two other young men, they married +noblemen's daughters, and the two old mothers came to live near their +sons, and everyone was as happy as they could possibly be. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE SEAL CATCHER AND THE MERMAN + + +Once upon a time there was a man who lived not very far from John o' +Groat's house, which, as everyone knows, is in the very north of +Scotland. He lived in a little cottage by the sea-shore, and made his +living by catching seals and selling their fur, which is very valuable. + +He earned a good deal of money in this way, for these creatures used to +come out of the sea in large numbers, and lie on the rocks near his +house basking in the sunshine, so that it was not difficult to creep up +behind them and kill them. + +Some of those seals were larger than others, and the country people used +to call them "Roane," and whisper that they were not seals at all, but +Mermen and Merwomen, who came from a country of their own, far down +under the ocean, who assumed this strange disguise in order that they +might pass through the water, and come up to breathe the air of this +earth of ours. + +But the seal catcher only laughed at them, and said that those seals +were most worth killing, for their skins were so big that he got an +extra price for them. + +Now it chanced one day, when he was pursuing his calling, that he +stabbed a seal with his hunting-knife, and whether the stroke had not +been sure enough or not, I cannot say, but with a loud cry of pain the +creature slipped off the rock into the sea, and disappeared under the +water, carrying the knife along with it. + +The seal catcher, much annoyed at his clumsiness, and also at the loss +of his knife, went home to dinner in a very downcast frame of mind. On +his way he met a horseman, who was so tall and so strange-looking and +who rode on such a gigantic horse, that he stopped and looked at him in +astonishment, wondering who he was, and from what country he came. + +The stranger stopped also, and asked him his trade and on hearing that +he was a seal catcher, he immediately ordered a great number of seal +skins. The seal catcher was delighted, for such an order meant a large +sum of money to him. But his face fell when the horseman added that it +was absolutely necessary that the skins should be delivered that +evening. + +"I cannot do it," he said in a disappointed voice, "for the seals will +not come back to the rocks again until to-morrow morning." + +"I can take you to a place where there are any number of seals," +answered the stranger, "if you will mount behind me on my horse and come +with me." + +The seal catcher agreed to this, and climbed up behind the rider, who +shook his bridle rein, and off the great horse galloped at such a pace +that he had much ado to keep his seat. + +On and on they went, flying like the wind, until at last they came to +the edge of a huge precipice, the face of which went sheer down to the +sea. Here the mysterious horseman pulled up his steed with a jerk. + +"Get off now," he said shortly. + +The seal catcher did as he was bid, and when he found himself safe on +the ground, he peeped cautiously over the edge of the cliff, to see if +there were any seals lying on the rocks below. + +To his astonishment he saw no rocks, only the blue sea, which came right +up to the foot of the cliff. + +"Where are the seals that you spoke of?" he asked anxiously, wishing +that he had never set out on such a rash adventure. + +"You will see presently," answered the stranger, who was attending to +his horse's bridle. + +The seal catcher was now thoroughly frightened, for he felt sure that +some evil was about to befall him, and in such a lonely place he knew +that it would be useless to cry out for help. + +And it seemed as if his fears would prove only too true, for the next +moment the stranger's hand was laid upon his shoulder, and he felt +himself being hurled bodily over the cliff, and then he fell with a +splash into the sea. + +He thought that his last hour had come, and he wondered how anyone could +work such a deed of wrong upon an innocent man. + +But, to his astonishment, he found that some change must have passed +over him, for instead of being choked by the water, he could breathe +quite easily, and he and his companion, who was still close at his side, +seemed to be sinking as quickly down through the sea as they had flown +through the air. + +Down and down they went, nobody knows how far, till at last they came to +a huge arched door, which appeared to be made of pink coral, studded +over with cockle-shells. It opened, of its own accord, and when they +entered they found themselves in a huge hall, the walls of which were +formed of mother-of-pearl, and the floor of which was of sea-sand, +smooth, and firm, and yellow. + +The hall was crowded with occupants, but they were seals, not men, and +when the seal catcher turned to his companion to ask him what it all +meant, he was aghast to find that he, too, had assumed the form of a +seal. He was still more aghast when he caught sight of himself in a +large mirror that hung on the wall, and saw that he also no longer bore +the likeness of a man, but was transformed into a nice, hairy, brown +seal. + +"Ah, woe to me," he said to himself, "for no fault of mine own this +artful stranger hath laid some baneful charm upon me, and in this awful +guise will I remain for the rest of my natural life." + +At first none of the huge creatures spoke to him. For some reason or +other they seemed to be very sad, and moved gently about the hall, +talking quietly and mournfully to one another, or lay sadly upon the +sandy floor, wiping big tears from their eyes with their soft furry +fins. + +But presently they began to notice him, and to whisper to one another, +and presently his guide moved away from him, and disappeared through a +door at the end of the hall. When he returned he held a huge knife in +his hand. + +"Didst thou ever see this before?" he asked, holding it out to the +unfortunate seal catcher, who, to his horror, recognised his own hunting +knife with which he had struck the seal in the morning, and which had +been carried off by the wounded animal. + +At the sight of it he fell upon his face and begged for mercy, for he at +once came to the conclusion that the inhabitants of the cavern, enraged +at the harm which had been wrought upon their comrade, had, in some +magic way, contrived to capture him, and to bring him down to their +subterranean abode, in order to wreak their vengeance upon him by +killing him. + +But, instead of doing so, they crowded round him, rubbing their soft +noses against his fur to show their sympathy, and implored him not to +put himself about, for no harm would befall him, and they would love him +all their lives long if he would only do what they asked him. + +"Tell me what it is," said the seal catcher, "and I will do it, if it +lies within my power." + +"Follow me," answered his guide, and he led the way to the door through +which he had disappeared when he went to seek the knife. + +The seal catcher followed him. And there, in a smaller room, he found a +great brown seal lying on a bed of pale pink sea-weed, with a gaping +wound in his side. + +"That is my father," said his guide, "whom thou wounded this morning, +thinking that he was one of the common seals who live in the sea, +instead of a Merman who hath speech, and understanding, as you mortals +have. I brought thee hither to bind up his wounds, for no other hand +than thine can heal him." + +"I have no skill in the art of healing," said the seal catcher, +astonished at the forbearance of these strange creatures, whom he had so +unwittingly wronged; "but I will bind up the wound to the best of my +power, and I am only sorry that it was my hands that caused it." + +He went over to the bed, and, stooping over the wounded Merman, washed +and dressed the hurt as well as he could; and the touch of his hands +appeared to work like magic, for no sooner had he finished than the +wound seemed to deaden and die, leaving only the scar, and the old seal +sprang up, as well as ever. + +Then there was great rejoicing throughout the whole Palace of the Seals. +They laughed, and they talked, and they embraced each other in their own +strange way, crowding round their comrade, and rubbing their noses +against his, as if to show him how delighted they were at his recovery. + +But all this while the seal catcher stood alone in a corner, with his +mind filled with dark thoughts, for although he saw now that they had no +intention of killing him, he did not relish the prospect of spending the +rest of his life in the guise of a seal, fathoms deep under the ocean. + +But presently, to his great joy, his guide approached him, and said, +"Now you are at liberty to return home to your wife and children. I will +take you to them, but only on one condition." + +"And what is that?" asked the seal catcher eagerly, overjoyed at the +prospect of being restored safely to the upper world, and to his family. + +"That you will take a solemn oath never to wound a seal again." + +"That will I do right gladly," he replied, for although the promise +meant giving up his means of livelihood, he felt that if only he +regained his proper shape he could always turn his hand to something +else. + +So he took the required oath with all due solemnity, holding up his fin +as he swore, and all the other seals crowded round him as witnesses. And +a sigh of relief went through the halls when the words were spoken, for +he was the most noted seal catcher in the North. + +Then he bade the strange company farewell, and, accompanied by his +guide, passed once more through the outer doors of coral, and up, and +up, and up, through the shadowy green water, until it began to grow +lighter and lighter and at last they emerged into the sunshine of earth. + +Then, with one spring, they reached the top of the cliff, where the +great black horse was waiting for them, quietly nibbling the green turf. + +When they left the water their strange disguise dropped from them, and +they were now as they had been before, a plain seal catcher and a tall, +well-dressed gentleman in riding clothes. + +"Get up behind me," said the latter, as he swung himself into his +saddle. The seal catcher did as he was bid, taking tight hold of his +companion's coat, for he remembered how nearly he had fallen off on his +previous journey. + +Then it all happened as it happened before. The bridle was shaken, and +the horse galloped off, and it was not long before the seal catcher +found himself standing in safety before his own garden gate. + +He held out his hand to say "good-bye," but as he did so the stranger +pulled out a huge bag of gold and placed it in it. + +"Thou hast done thy part of the bargain--we must do ours," he said. "Men +shall never say that we took away an honest man's work without making +reparation for it, and here is what will keep thee in comfort to thy +life's end." + +Then he vanished, and when the astonished seal catcher carried the bag +into his cottage, and turned the gold out on the table, he found that +what the stranger had said was true, and that he would be a rich man for +the remainder of his days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE PAGE-BOY AND THE SILVER GOBLET + + +There was once a little page-boy, who was in service in a stately +Castle. He was a very good-natured little fellow, and did his duties so +willingly and well that everybody liked him, from the great Earl whom he +served every day on bended knee, to the fat old butler whose errands he +ran. + +Now the Castle stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, and +although the walls at that side were very thick, in them there was a +little postern door, which opened on to a narrow flight of steps that +led down the face of the cliff to the sea shore, so that anyone who +liked could go down there in the pleasant summer mornings and bathe in +the shimmering sea. + +On the other side of the Castle were gardens and pleasure grounds, +opening on to a long stretch of heather-covered moorland, which, at +last, met a distant range of hills. + +The little page-boy was very fond of going out on this moor when his +work was done, for then he could run about as much as he liked, chasing +bumble-bees, and catching butterflies, and looking for birds' nests when +it was nesting time. + +And the old butler was very pleased that he should do so, for he knew +that it was good for a healthy little lad to have plenty of fun in the +open air. But before the boy went out the old man always gave him one +warning. + +"Now, mind my words, laddie, and keep far away from the Fairy Knowe, for +the Little Folk are not to trust to." + +This Knowe of which he spoke was a little green hillock, which stood on +the moor not twenty yards from the garden gate, and folk said that it +was the abode of Fairies, who would punish any rash mortal who came too +near them. And because of this the country people would walk a good +half-mile out of their way, even in broad daylight, rather than run the +risk of going too near the Fairy Knowe and bringing down the Little +Folks' displeasure upon them. And at night they would hardly cross the +moor at all, for everyone knows that Fairies come abroad in the +darkness, and the door of their dwelling stands open, so that any +luckless mortal who does not take care may find himself inside. + +Now, the little page-boy was an adventurous wight, and instead of being +frightened of the Fairies, he was very anxious to see them, and to visit +their abode, just to find out what it was like. + +So one night, when everyone else was asleep, he crept out of the Castle +by the little postern door, and stole down the stone steps, and along +the sea shore, and up on to the moor, and went straight to the Fairy +Knowe. + +To his delight he found that what everyone said was true. The top of the +Knowe was tipped up, and from the opening that was thus made, rays of +light came streaming out. + +His heart was beating fast with excitement, but, gathering his courage, +he stooped down and slipped inside the Knowe. + +He found himself in a large room lit by numberless tiny candles, and +there, seated round a polished table, were scores of the Tiny Folk, +Fairies, and Elves, and Gnomes, dressed in green, and yellow, and pink; +blue, and lilac, and scarlet; in all the colours, in fact, that you can +think of. + +He stood in a dark corner watching the busy scene in wonder, thinking +how strange it was that there should be such a number of these tiny +beings living their own lives all unknown to men, at such a little +distance from them, when suddenly someone--he could not tell who it +was--gave an order. + +"Fetch the Cup," cried the owner of the unknown voice, and instantly two +little Fairy pages, dressed all in scarlet livery, darted from the table +to a tiny cupboard in the rock, and returned staggering under the weight +of a most beautiful silver cup, richly embossed and lined inside with +gold. + +He placed it in the middle of the table, and, amid clapping of hands and +shouts of joy, all the Fairies began to drink out of it in turn. And +the page could see, from where he stood, that no one poured wine into +it, and yet it was always full, and that the wine that was in it was not +always the same kind, but that each Fairy, when he grasped its stem, +wished for the wine that he loved best, and lo! in a moment the cup was +full of it. + +"'Twould be a fine thing if I could take that cup home with me," thought +the page. "No one will believe that I have been here except I have +something to show for it." So he bided his time, and watched. + +Presently the Fairies noticed him, and, instead of being angry at his +boldness in entering their abode, as he expected that they would be, +they seemed very pleased to see him, and invited him to a seat at the +table. But by and by they grew rude and insolent, and jeered at him for +being content to serve mere mortals, telling him that they saw +everything that went on at the Castle, and making fun of the old butler, +whom the page loved with all his heart. And they laughed at the food he +ate, saying that it was only fit for animals; and when any fresh dainty +was set on the table by the scarlet-clad pages, they would push the dish +across to him, saying: "Taste it, for you will not have the chance of +tasting such things at the Castle." + +At last he could stand their teasing remarks no longer; besides, he knew +that if he wanted to secure the cup he must lose no time in doing so. + +So he suddenly stood up, and grasped the stem of it tightly in his hand. +"I'll drink to you all in water," he cried, and instantly the ruby wine +was turned to clear cold water. + +[Illustration] + +He raised the cup to his lips, but he did not drink from it. With a +sudden jerk he threw the water over the candles, and instantly the room +was in darkness. Then, clasping the precious cup tightly in his arms, he +sprang to the opening of the Knowe, through which he could see the stars +glimmering clearly. + +He was just in time, for it fell to with a crash behind him; and soon he +was speeding along the wet, dew-spangled moor, with the whole troop of +Fairies at his heels. They were wild with rage, and from the shrill +shouts of fury which they uttered, the page knew well that, if they +overtook him, he need expect no mercy at their hands. + +And his heart began to sink, for, fleet of foot though he was, he was no +match for the Fairy Folk, who gained on him steadily. + +All seemed lost, when a mysterious voice sounded out of the darkness: + + "If thou wouldst gain the Castle door, + Keep to the black stones on the shore." + +It was the voice of some poor mortal, who, for some reason or other, had +been taken prisoner by the Fairies--who were really very malicious +Little Folk--and who did not want a like fate to befall the adventurous +page-boy; but the little fellow did not know this. + +He had once heard that if anyone walked on the wet sands, where the +waves had come over them, the Fairies could not touch him, and this +mysterious sentence brought the saying into his mind. + +So he turned, and dashed panting down to the shore. His feet sank in the +dry sand, his breath came in little gasps, and he felt as if he must +give up the struggle; but he persevered, and at last, just as the +foremost Fairies were about to lay hands on him, he jumped across the +water-mark on to the firm, wet sand, from which the waves had just +receded, and then he knew that he was safe. + +For the Little Folk could go no step further, but stood on the dry sand +uttering cries of rage and disappointment, while the triumphant page-boy +ran safely along the shore, his precious cup in his arms, and climbed +lightly up the steps in the rock and disappeared through the postern. +And for many years after, long after the little page-boy had grown up +and become a stately butler, who trained other little page-boys to +follow in his footsteps, the beautiful cup remained in the Castle as a +witness of his adventure. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE BLACK BULL OF NORROWAY + + +In bygone days, long centuries ago, there lived a widowed Queen who had +three daughters. And this widowed Queen was so poor, and had fallen upon +such evil days, that she and her daughters had often much ado to get +enough to eat. + +So the eldest Princess determined that she would set out into the world +to seek her fortune. And her mother was quite willing that she should do +so. "For," said she, "'tis better to work abroad than to starve at +home." + +But as there was an old hen-wife living near the Castle who was said to +be a witch, and to be able to foretell the future, the Queen sent the +Princess to her cottage, before she set out on her travels, to ask her +in which of the Four Airts she ought to go, in order to find the best +fortune. + +"Thou needst gang nae farther than my back door, hinnie," answered the +old Dame, who had always felt very sorry for the Queen and her pretty +daughters, and was glad to do them a good turn. + +So the Princess ran through the passage to the hen-wife's back door and +peeped out, and what should she see but a magnificent coach, drawn by +six beautiful cream-coloured horses, coming along the road. + +Greatly excited at this unusual sight, she hurried back to the kitchen, +and told the hen-wife what she had seen. + +"Aweel, aweel, ye've seen your fortune," said the old woman, in a tone +of satisfaction, "for that coach-and-six is coming for thee." + +Sure enough, the coach-and-six stopped at the gate of the Castle, and +the second Princess came running down to the cottage to tell her sister +to make haste, because it was waiting for her. Delighted beyond measure +at the wonderful luck that had come to her, she hurried home, and, +saying farewell to her mother and sisters, took her seat within, and the +horses galloped off immediately. + +And I've heard tell that they drew her to the Palace of a great and +wealthy Prince, who married her; but that is outside my story. + +A few weeks afterwards, the second Princess thought that she would do as +her sister had done, and go down to the hen-wife's cottage, and tell her +that she, too, was going out into the world to seek her fortune. And, of +course, in her heart of hearts she hoped that what had happened to her +sister would happen to her also. + +And, curious to say, it did. For the old hen-wife sent her to look out +at her back door, and she went, and, lo and behold! another +coach-and-six was coming along the road. And when she went and told the +old woman, she smiled upon her kindly, and told her to hurry home, for +the coach-and-six was her fortune also, and that it had come for her. + +So she, too, ran home, and got into her grand carriage, and was driven +away. And, of course, after all these lucky happenings, the youngest +Princess was anxious to try what her fortune might be; so the very +night, in high good humour, she tripped away down to the old witch's +cottage. + +She, too, was told to look out at the back door, and she was only too +glad to do so; for she fully expected to see a third coach-and-six +coming rolling along the high road, straight for the Castle door. + +But, alas and alack! no such sight greeted her eager eyes, for the high +road was quite deserted, and in great disappointment she ran back to the +hen-wife to tell her so. + +"Then it is clear that thy fortune is not coming to meet thee this day," +said the old Dame, "so thou must e'en come back to-morrow." + +So the little Princess went home again, and next day she turned up +once more at the old wife's cottage. + +But once more she was disappointed, for although she looked out long and +eagerly, no glad sight of a coach-and-six, or of any other coach, +greeted her eyes. On the third day, however, what should she see but a +great Black Bull coming rushing along the road, bellowing as it came, +and tossing its head fiercely in the air. + +In great alarm, the little Princess shut the door, and ran to the +hen-wife to tell her about the furious animal that was approaching. + +"Hech, hinnie," cried the old woman, holding up her hands in dismay, +"and who would have thocht that the Black Bull of Norroway wad be your +fate!" + +At the words, the poor little maiden grew pale. She had come out to seek +her fortune, but it had never dawned upon her that her fortune could be +anything so terrible as this. + +"But the Bull cannot be my fortune," she cried in terror. "I cannot go +away with a bull." + +"But ye'll need tae," replied the hen-wife calmly. "For you lookit out +of my door with the intent of meeting your fortune; and when your +fortune has come tae ye, you must just thole it." + +And when the poor Princess ran weeping to her mother, to beg to be +allowed to stay at home, she found her mother of the same mind as the +Wise Woman; and so she had to allow herself to be lifted up on to the +back of the enormous Black Bull that had come up to the door of the +Castle, and was now standing there quietly enough. And when she was +settled, he set off again on his wild career, while she sobbed and +trembled with terror, and clung to his horns with all her might. + +On and on they went, until at last the poor maiden was so faint with +fear and hunger that she could scarce keep her seat. + +Just as she was losing her hold of the great beast's horns, however, and +feeling that she must fall to the ground, he turned his massive head +round a little, and, speaking in a wonderfully soft and gentle voice, +said: "Eat out of my right ear, and drink out of my left ear, so wilt +thou be refreshed for thy journey." + +So the Princess put a trembling hand into the Bull's right ear, and drew +out some bread and meat, which, in spite of her terror, she was glad to +swallow; then she put her hand into his left ear, and found there a tiny +flagon of wine, and when she had drunk that, her strength returned to +her in a wonderful way. + +Long they went, and sore they rode, till, just as it seemed to the +Princess that they must be getting near the World's End, they came in +sight of a magnificent Castle. + +"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull of Norroway, +"for that is the house of one of my brothers." + +The Princess was greatly surprised at these words; but by this time she +was too tired to wonder very much at anything, so she did not answer, +but sat still where she was, until the Bull ran into the courtyard of +the Castle and knocked his great head against the door. + +[Illustration: They came in sight of a Magnificent Castle] + +The door was opened at once by a very splendid footman, who treated the +Black Bull with great respect, and helped the Princess to alight from +his back. Then he ushered her into a magnificent hall, where the Lord of +the Castle, and his Lady, and a great and noble company were assembled; +while the Black Bull trotted off quite contentedly to the grassy park +which stretched all round the building, to spend the night there. + +The Lord and his Lady were very kind to the Princess, and gave her her +supper, and led her to a richly furnished bedroom, all hung round with +golden mirrors, and left her to rest there; and in the morning, just as +the Black Bull came trotting up to the front door, they handed her a +beautiful apple, telling her not to break it, but to put it in her +pocket, and keep it till she was in the greatest strait that mortal +could be in. Then she was to break it, and it would bring her out of it. + +So she put the apple in her pocket, and they lifted her once more on to +the Black Bull's back, and she and her strange companion continued on +their journey. + +All that day they travelled, far further than I can tell you, and at +night they came in sight of another Castle, which was even bigger and +grander than the first. + +"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull, "for that +is the home of another of my brothers." + +And here the Princess rested for the night in a very fine bedroom +indeed, all hung with silken curtains; and the Lord and Lady of the +Castle did everything to please her and make her comfortable. + +And in the morning, before she left, they presented her with the largest +pear that she had ever seen, and warned her that she must not break it +until she was in the direst strait that she had ever been in, and then, +if she broke it, it would bring her out of it. + +The third day was the same as the other two had been. The Princess and +the Black Bull of Norroway rode many a weary mile, and at sundown they +came to another Castle, more splendid by far than the other two. + +This Castle belonged to the Black Bull's youngest brother, and here the +Princess abode all night; while the Bull, as usual, lay outside in the +park. And this time, when they departed, the Princess received a most +lovely plum, with the warning not to break it till she was in the +greatest strait that mortal could be in. Then she was to break it, and +it would set her free. + +On the fourth day, however, things were changed. For there was no fine +Castle waiting for them at the end of their journey; on the contrary, as +the shadows began to lengthen, they came to a dark, deep glen, which was +so gloomy and so awesome-looking that the poor Princess felt her courage +sinking as they approached it. + +At the entrance the Black Bull stopped. "Light down here, Lady," he +said, "for in this glen a deadly conflict awaits me, which I must face +unaided and alone. For the dark and gloomy region that lies before us is +the abode of a great Spirit of Darkness, who worketh much ill in the +world. I would fain fight with him and overcome him; and, by my troth, +I have good hope that I shall do so. As for thee, thou must seat thyself +on this stone, and stir neither hand, nor foot, nor tongue till I +return. For, if thou but so much as move, then the Evil Spirit of the +Glen will have thee in his power." + +"But how shall I know what is happening to thee?" asked the Princess +anxiously, for she was beginning to grow quite fond of the huge black +creature that had carried her so gallantly these last four days, "if I +have neither to move hand nor foot, nor yet to speak." + +"Thou wilt know by the signs around thee," answered the Bull. "For if +everything about thee turn blue, then thou wilt know that I have +vanquished the Evil Spirit; but if everything about thee turn red, then +the Evil Spirit hath vanquished me." + +With these words he departed, and was soon lost to sight in the dark +recesses of the glen, leaving the little Princess sitting motionless on +her stone, afraid to move so much as her little finger, in case some +unknown evil fell upon her. + +At last, when she had sat there for well-nigh an hour, a curious change +began to pass over the landscape. First it turned grey, and then it +turned a deep azure blue, as if the sky had descended on the earth. + +"The Bull hath conquered," thought the Princess. "Oh! what a noble +animal he is!" And in her relief and delight she moved her position and +crossed one leg over the other. + +Oh, woe-a-day! In a moment a mystic spell fell upon her, which caused +her to become invisible to the eyes of the Prince of Norroway, who, +having vanquished the Evil Spirit, was loosed from the spell which had +lain over him, and had transformed him into the likeness of a great +Black Bull, and who returned in haste down the glen to present himself, +in his rightful form, to the maiden whom he loved, and whom he hoped to +win for his bride. + +Long, long he sought, but he could not find her, while all the time she +was sitting patiently waiting on the stone; but the spell was on her +eyes also, and hindered her seeing him, as it hindered him seeing her. + +So she sat on and on, till at last she became so wearied, and lonely, +and frightened, that she burst out crying, and cried herself to sleep; +and when she woke in the morning she felt that it was no use sitting +there any longer, so she rose and took her way, hardly knowing whither +she was going. + +And she went, and she went, till at last she came to a great hill made +all of glass, which blocked her way and prevented her going any further. +She tried time after time to climb it, but it was all of no avail, for +the surface of the hill was so slippery that she only managed to climb +up a few feet, to slide down again the next moment. + +So she began to walk round the bottom of the hill, in the hope of +finding some path that would lead her over it, but the hill was so big, +and she was so tired, that it seemed almost a hopeless quest, and her +spirit died completely within her. And as she went slowly along, sobbing +with despair, she felt that if help did not come soon she must lie down +and die. + +About mid-day, however, she came to a little cottage, and beside the +cottage there was a smithy, where an old smith was working at his anvil. + +She entered, and asked him if he could tell her of any path that would +lead her over the mountain. The old man laid down his hammer and looked +at her, slowly shaking his head as he did so. + +"Na, na, lassie," he said, "there is no easy road over the Mountain of +Glass. Folk maun either walk round it, which is not an easy thing to do, +for the foot of it stretches out for hundreds of miles, and the folk who +try to do so are almost sure to lose their way; or they maun walk over +the top of it, and that can only be done by those who are shod with iron +shoon." + +"And how am I to get these iron shoon?" cried the Princess eagerly. +"Couldst thou fashion me a pair, good man? I would gladly pay thee for +them." Then she stopped suddenly, for she remembered that she had no +money. + +"These shoon cannot be made for siller," said the old man solemnly. +"They can only be earned by service. I alone can make them, and I make +them for those who are willing to serve me." + +"And how long must I serve thee ere thou makest them for me?" asked the +Princess faintly. + +"Seven years," replied the old man, "for they be magic shoon, and that +is the magic number." + +So, as there seemed nothing else for it, the Princess hired herself to +the smith for seven long years: to clean his house, and cook his food, +and make and mend his clothes. + +At the end of that time he fashioned her a pair of iron shoon, with +which she climbed the Mountain of Glass with as much ease as if it had +been covered with fresh green turf. + +When she had reached the summit, and descended to the other side, the +first house that she came to was the house of an old washerwoman, who +lived there with her only daughter. And as the Princess was now very +tired, she went up to the door, and knocked, and asked if she might be +allowed to rest there for the night. + +The washerwoman, who was old and ugly, with a sly and evil face, said +that she might--on one condition--and that was that she should try to +wash a white mantle that the Black Knight of Norroway had brought to her +to wash, as he had got it stained in a deadly fight. + +"Yestreen I spent the lee-long day washing it," went on the old Dame, +"and I might as well have let it lie on the table. For at night, when I +took it out of the wash-tub, the stains were there as dark as ever. +Peradventure, maiden, if thou wouldst try thy hand upon it thou mightest +be more successful. For I am loth to disappoint the Black Knight of +Norroway, who is an exceeding great and powerful Prince." + +"Is he in any way connected with the Black Bull of Norroway?" asked the +Princess; for at the name her heart had leaped for joy, for it seemed +that mayhap she was going to find once more him whom she had lost. + +The old woman looked at her suspiciously. "The two are one," she +answered; "for the Black Knight chanced to have a spell thrown over him, +which turned him into a Black Bull, and which could not be lifted until +he had fought with, and overcome, a mighty Spirit of Evil that lived in +a dark glen. He fought with the Spirit, and overcame it and once more +regained his true form; but 'tis said that his mind is somewhat clouded +at times, for he speaketh ever of a maiden whom he would fain have +wedded, and whom he hath lost. Though who, or what she was, no living +person kens. But this story can have no interest to a stranger like +thee," she added slowly, as if she were sorry for having said so much. +"I have no more time to waste in talking. But if thou wilt try and wash +the mantle, thou art welcome to a night's lodging; and if not, I must +ask thee to go on thy way." + +Needless to say, the Princess said that she would try to wash the +mantle; and it seemed as if her fingers had some magic power in them, +for as soon as she put it into water the stains vanished, and it became +as white and clean as when it was new. + +Of course, the old woman was delighted, but she was very suspicious +also, for it appeared to her that there must be some mysterious link +between the maiden and the Knight, if his mantle became clean so easily +when she washed it, when it had remained soiled and stained in spite of +all the labour which she and her daughter had bestowed upon it. + +So, as she knew that the young Gallant intended returning for it that +very night, and as she wanted her daughter to get the credit of washing +it, she advised the Princess to go to bed early, in order to get a good +night's rest after all her labours. And the Princess followed her +advice, and thus it came about that she was sound asleep, safely hidden +in the big box-bed in the corner, when the Black Knight of Norroway came +to the cottage to claim his white mantle. + +Now you must know that the young man had carried about this mantle with +him for the last seven years--ever since his encounter with the Evil +Spirit of the Glen--always trying to find someone who could wash it for +him, and never succeeding. + +For it had been revealed to him by a wise woman that she who could make +it white and clean was destined to be his wife--be she bonnie or ugly, +old or young. And that, moreover, she would prove a loving, a faithful, +and a true helpmeet. + +So when he came to the washerwoman's cottage, and received back his +mantle white as the driven snow, and heard that it was the washerwoman's +daughter who had wrought this wondrous change, he said at once that he +would marry her, and that the very next day. + +When the Princess awoke in the morning and heard all that had befallen, +and how the Black Knight had come to the cottage while she was asleep, +and had received his mantle, and had promised to marry the washerwoman's +daughter that very day, her heart was like to break. For now she felt +that she never would have the chance of speaking to him and telling him +who she really was. + +And in her sore distress she suddenly remembered the beautiful fruit +which she had received on her journey seven long years before, and which +she had carried with her ever since. + +"Surely I will never be in a sorer strait than I am now," she said to +herself; and she drew out the apple and broke it. And, lo and behold! it +was filled with the most beautiful precious stones that she had ever +seen; and at the sight of them a plan came suddenly into her head. + +She took the precious stones out of the apple, and, putting them into a +corner of her kerchief, carried them to the washerwoman. + +"See," said she, "I am richer than mayhap thou thoughtest I was. And if +thou wilt, all these riches may be thine." + +"And how could that come about?" asked the old woman eagerly, for she +had never seen so many precious stones in her life before, and she had a +great desire to become the possessor of them. + +"Only put off thy daughter's wedding for one day," replied the Princess. +"And let me watch beside the Black Knight as he sleeps this night, for I +have long had a great desire to see him." + +To her astonishment the washerwoman agreed to this request; for the wily +old woman was very anxious to get the jewels, which would make her rich +for life, and it did not seem to her that there was any harm in the +Princess's request; for she had made up her mind that she would give the +Black Knight a sleeping-draught, which would effectually prevent him as +much as speaking to this strange maiden. + +So she took the jewels and locked them up in her kist, and the wedding +was put off, and that night the little Princess slipped into the Black +Knight's apartment when he was asleep, and watched all through the long +hours by his bedside, singing this song to him in the hope that he would +awake and hear it: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee. + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +But although she sang it over and over again, as if her heart would +burst, he neither listened nor stirred, for the old washerwoman's potion +had made sure of that. + +Next morning, in her great trouble, the little Princess broke open the +pear, hoping that its contents would help her better than the contents +of the apple had done. But in it she found just what she had found +before--a heap of precious stones; only they were richer and more +valuable than the others had been. + +So, as it seemed the only thing to do, she carried them to the old +woman, and bribed her to put the wedding off for yet another day, and +allow her to watch that night also by the Black Prince's bedside. + +And the washerwoman did so; "for," said she, as she locked away the +stones, "I shall soon grow quite rich at this rate." + +But, alas! it was all in vain that the Princess spent the long hours +singing with all her might: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee, + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +for the young Prince whom she watched so tenderly, remained deaf and +motionless as a stone. + +By the morning she had almost lost hope, for there was only the plum +remaining now, and if that failed her last chance had gone. With +trembling fingers she broke it open, and found inside another +collection of precious stones, richer and rarer than all the others. + +She ran with these to the washerwoman, and, throwing them into her lap, +told her she could keep them all and welcome if she would put off the +wedding once again, and let her watch by the Prince for one more night. +And, greatly wondering, the old woman consented. + +Now it chanced that the Black Knight, tired with waiting for his +wedding, went out hunting that day with all his attendants behind him. +And as the servants rode they talked together about something that had +puzzled them sorely these two nights gone by. At last an old huntsman +rode up to the Knight, with a question upon his lips. + +"Master," he said, "we would fain ken who the sweet singer is who +singeth through the night in thy chamber?" + +"Singer!" he repeated. "There is no singer. My chamber hath been as quiet +as the grave, and I have slept a dreamless sleep ever since I came to +live at the cottage." + +The old huntsman shook his head. "Taste not the old wife's draught this +night, Master," he said earnestly; "then wilt thou hear what other ears +have heard." + +At other times the Black Knight would have laughed at his words, but +to-day the man spoke with such earnestness that he could not but listen +to them. So that evening, when the washerwoman, as was her wont, brought +his sleeping-draught of spiced ale to his bedside, he told her that it +was not sweet enough for his liking. And when she turned and went to the +kitchen to fetch some honey to sweeten it, he jumped out of bed and +poured it all out of the window, and when she came back he pretended +that he had drunk it. + +So it came to pass that he lay awake that night and heard the Princess +enter his room, and listened to her plaintive little song, sung in a +voice that was full of sobs: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee, + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +And when he heard it, he understood it all; and he sprang up and took +her in his arms and kissed her, and asked her to tell him the whole +story. + +And when he heard it, he was so angry with the old washerwoman and her +deceitful daughter that he ordered them to leave the country at once; +and he married the little Princess, and they lived happily all their +days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE WEE BANNOCK + + "Some tell about their sweethearts, + How they tirled them to the winnock, + But I'll tell you a bonnie tale + About a guid oatmeal bannock." + + +There was once an old man and his wife, who lived in a dear little +cottage by the side of a burn. They were a very canty and contented +couple, for they had enough to live on, and enough to do. Indeed, they +considered themselves quite rich, for, besides their cottage and their +garden, they possessed two sleek cows, five hens and a cock, an old cat, +and two kittens. + +The old man spent his time looking after the cows, and the hens, and the +garden; while the old woman kept herself busy spinning. + +One day, just after breakfast, the old woman thought that she would like +an oatmeal bannock for her supper that evening, so she took down her +bakeboard, and put on her girdle, and baked a couple of fine cakes, and +when they were ready she put them down before the fire to harden. + +While they were toasting, her husband came in from the byre, and sat +down to take a rest in his great arm-chair. Presently his eyes fell on +the bannocks, and, as they looked very good, he broke one through the +middle and began to eat it. + +When the other bannock saw this it determined that it should not have +the same fate, so it ran across the kitchen and out of the door as fast +as it could. And when the old woman saw it disappearing, she ran after +it as fast as her legs would carry her, holding her spindle in one hand +and her distaff in the other. + +But she was old, and the bannock was young, and it ran faster than she +did, and escaped over the hill behind the house. It ran, and it ran, and +it ran, until it came to a large newly thatched cottage, and, as the +door was open, it took refuge inside, and ran right across the floor to +a blazing fire, which was burning in the first room that it came to. + +Now, it chanced that this house belonged to a tailor, and he and his two +apprentices were sitting cross-legged on the top of a big table by the +window, sewing away with all their might, while the tailor's wife was +sitting beside the fire carding lint. + +When the wee bannock came trundling across the floor, all three tailors +got such a fright that they jumped down from the table and hid behind +the Master Tailor's wife. + +"Hoot," she said, "what a set of cowards ye be! 'Tis but a nice wee +bannock. Get hold of it and divide it between you, and I'll fetch you +all a drink of milk." + +So she jumped up with her lint and her lint cards, and the tailor jumped +up with his great shears, and one apprentice grasped the line measure, +while another took up the saucer full of pins; and they all tried to +catch the wee bannock. But it dodged them round and round the fire, and +at last it got safely out of the door and ran down the road, with one of +the apprentices after it, who tried to snip it in two with his shears. + +It ran too quickly for him, however, and at last he stopped and went +back to the house, while the wee bannock ran on until it came to a tiny +cottage by the roadside. It trundled in at the door, and there was a +weaver sitting at his loom, with his wife beside him, winding a clue of +yarn. + +"What's that, Tibby?" said the weaver, with a start as the little cake +flew past him. + +"Oh!" cried she in delight, jumping to her feet, "'tis a wee bannock. I +wonder where it came from?" + +"Dinna bother your head about that, Tibby," said her man, "but grip it, +my woman, grip it." + +But it was not so easy to get hold of the wee bannock. It was in vain +that the Goodwife threw her clue at it, and that the Goodman tried to +chase it into a corner and knock it down with his shuttle. It dodged, +and turned, and twisted, like a thing bewitched, till at last it flew +out at the door again, and vanished down the hill, "for all the world," +as the old woman said, "like a new tarred sheep, or a daft cow." + +In the next house that it came to it found the Goodwife in the kitchen, +kirning. She had just filled her kirn, and there was still some cream +standing in the bottom of her cream jar. + +"Come away, little bannock," she cried when she saw it. "Thou art come +in just the nick of time, for I am beginning to feel hungry, and I'll +have cakes and cream for my dinner." + +But the wee bannock hopped round to the other side of the kirn, and the +Goodwife after it. And she was in such a hurry that she nearly upset the +kirn; and by the time that she had put it right again, the wee bannock +was out at the door and half-way down the brae to the mill. + +The miller was sifting meal in the trough, but he straightened himself +up when he saw the little cake. + +"It's a sign of plenty when bannocks are running about with no one to +look after them," he said; "but I like bannocks and cheese, so just come +in, and I will give thee a night's lodging." + +But the little bannock had no wish to be eaten up by the miller, so it +turned and ran out of the mill, and the miller was so busy that he did +not trouble himself to run after it. + +After this it ran on, and on, and on, till it came to the smithy, and +it popped in there to see what it could see. + +The smith was busy at the anvil making horse-shoe nails, but he looked +up as the wee bannock entered. + +"If there be one thing I am fond of, it is a glass of ale and a +well-toasted cake," he cried. "So come inbye here, and welcome to ye." + +But as soon as the little bannock heard of the ale, it turned and ran +out of the smithy as fast as it could, and the disappointed smith picked +up his hammer and ran after it. And when he saw that he could not catch +it, he flung his heavy hammer at it, in the hope of knocking it down, +but, luckily for the little cake, he missed his aim. + +After this the bannock came to a farmhouse, with a great stack of peats +standing at the back of it. In it went, and ran to the fireside. In this +house the master had all the lint spread out on the floor, and was +cloving[1] it with an iron rod, while the mistress was heckling[2] what +he had already cloven. + +"Oh, Janet," cried the Goodman in surprise, "here comes in a little +bannock. It looks rare and good to eat. I'll have one half of it." + +"And I'll have the other half," cried the Goodwife. "Hit it over the +back with your cloving-stick, Sandy, and knock it down. Quick, or it +will be out at the door again." + +But the bannock played "jook-about," and dodged behind a chair. "Hoot!" +cried Janet contemptuously, for she thought that her husband might +easily have hit it, and she threw her heckle at it. + +But the heckle missed it, just as her husband's cloving-rod had done, +for it played "jook-about" again, and flew out of the house. + +This time it ran up a burnside till it came to a little cottage standing +among the heather. + +Here the Goodwife was making porridge for the supper in a pot over the +fire, and her husband was sitting in a corner plaiting ropes of straw +with which to tie up the cow. + +"Oh, Jock! come here, come here," cried the Goodwife. "Thou art aye +crying for a little bannock for thy supper; come here, histie, quick, +and help me to catch it." + +"Ay, ay," assented Jock, jumping to his feet and hurrying across the +little room. "But where is it? I cannot see it." + +"There, man, there," cried his wife, "under that chair. Run thou to that +side; I will keep to this." + +So Jock ran into the dark corner behind the chair; but, in his hurry, he +tripped and fell, and the wee bannock jumped over him and flew laughing +out at the door. + +Through the whins and up the hillside it ran, and over the top of the +hill, to a shepherd's cottage on the other side. + +The inmates were just sitting down to their porridge, and the Goodwife +was scraping the pan. + +"Save us and help us," she exclaimed, stopping with the spoon half-way +to her mouth. "There's a wee bannock come in to warm itself at our +fireside." + +"Sneck the door," cried the husband, "and we'll try to catch it. It +would come in handy after the porridge." + +But the bannock did not wait until the door was sneckit. It turned and +ran as fast as it could, and the shepherd and his wife and all the +bairns ran after it, with their spoons in their hands, in hopes of +catching it. + +And when the shepherd saw that it could run faster than they could, he +threw his bonnet at it, and almost struck it; but it escaped all these +dangers, and soon it came to another house, where the folk were just +going to bed. + +The Goodman was half undressed, and the Goodwife was raking the cinders +carefully out of the fire. + +"What's that?" said he, "for the bowl of brose that I had at supper-time +wasna' very big." + +"Catch it, then," answered his wife, "and I'll have a bit, too. Quick! +quick! Throw your coat over it or it will be away." + +So the Goodman threw his coat right on the top of the little bannock, +and almost managed to smother it; but it struggled bravely, and got out, +breathless and hot, from under it. Then it ran out into the grey light +again, for night was beginning to fall, and the Goodman ran out after +it, without his coat. He chased it and chased it through the stackyard +and across a field, and in amongst a fine patch of whins. Then he lost +it; and, as he was feeling cold without his coat, he went home. + +As for the poor little bannock, it thought that it would creep under a +whin bush and lie there till morning, but it was so dark that it never +saw that there was a fox's hole there. So it fell down the fox's hole, +and the fox was very glad to see it, for he had had no food for two +days. + +"Oh, welcome, welcome," he cried; and he snapped it through the middle +with his teeth, and that was the end of the poor wee bannock. + +And if a moral be wanted for this tale, here it is: That people should +never be too uplifted or too cast down over anything, for all the good +folk in the story thought that they were going to get the bannock, and, +lo and behold! the fox got it after all. + + +Footnotes: + +[Footnote 1: Separating the lint from the stalk.] + +[Footnote 2: Combing.] + + + + +THE ELFIN KNIGHT + + +There is a lone moor in Scotland, which, in times past, was said to be +haunted by an Elfin Knight. This Knight was only seen at rare intervals, +once in every seven years or so, but the fear of him lay on all the +country round, for every now and then someone would set out to cross the +moor and would never be heard of again. + +And although men might search every inch of the ground, no trace of him +would be found, and with a thrill of horror the searching party would go +home again, shaking their heads and whispering to one another that he +had fallen into the hands of the dreaded Knight. + +So, as a rule, the moor was deserted, for nobody dare pass that way, +much less live there; and by and by it became the haunt of all sorts of +wild animals, which made their lairs there, as they found that they +never were disturbed by mortal huntsmen. + +Now in that same region lived two young earls, Earl St. Clair and Earl +Gregory, who were such friends that they rode, and hunted, and fought +together, if need be. + +And as they were both very fond of the chase, Earl Gregory suggested one +day that they should go a-hunting on the haunted moor, in spite of the +Elfin King. + +"Certes, I hardly believe in him at all," cried the young man, with a +laugh. "Methinks 'tis but an old wife's tale to frighten the bairns +withal, lest they go straying amongst the heather and lose themselves. +And 'tis pity that such fine sport should be lost because we--two +bearded men--pay heed to such gossip." + +But Earl St. Clair looked grave. "'Tis ill meddling with unchancy +things," he answered, "and 'tis no bairn's tale that travellers have set +out to cross that moor who have vanished bodily, and never mair been +heard of; but it is, as thou sayest, a pity that so much good sport be +lost, all because an Elfin Knight choosest to claim the land as his, and +make us mortals pay toll for the privilege of planting a foot upon it. + +"I have heard tell, however, that one is safe from any power that the +Knight may have if one wearest the Sign of the Blessed Trinity. So let +us bind That on our arm and ride forth without fear." + +Sir Gregory burst into a loud laugh at these words. "Dost thou think +that I am one of the bairns," he said, "'first to be frightened by an +idle tale, and then to think that a leaf of clover will protect me? No, +no, carry that Sign if thou wilt; I will trust to my good bow and +arrow." + +But Earl St. Clair did not heed his companion's words, for he remembered +how his mother had told him, when he was a little lad at her knee that +whoso carried the Sign of the Blessed Trinity need never fear any spell +that might be thrown over him by Warlock or Witch, Elf or Demon. + +So he went out to the meadow and plucked a leaf of clover, which he +bound on his arm with a silken scarf; then he mounted his horse and rode +with Earl Gregory to the desolate and lonely moorland. + +For some hours all went well; and in the heat of the chase the young men +forgot their fears. Then suddenly both of them reined in their steeds +and sat gazing in front of them with affrighted faces. + +For a horseman had crossed their track, and they both would fain have +known who he was and whence he came. + +"By my troth, but he rideth in haste, whoever he may be," said Earl +Gregory at last, "and tho' I always thought that no steed on earth could +match mine for swiftness, I reckon that for every league that mine +goeth, his would go seven. Let us follow him, and see from what part of +the world he cometh." + +"The Lord forbid that thou shouldst stir thy horse's feet to follow +him," said Earl St. Clair devoutly. "Why, man, 'tis the Elfin Knight! +Canst thou not see that he doth not ride on the solid ground, but flieth +through the air, and that, although he rideth on what seemeth a mortal +steed, he is really craried by mighty pinions, which cleave the air like +those of a bird? Follow him forsooth! It will be an evil day for thee +when thou seekest to do that." + +But Earl St. Clair forgot that he carried a Talisman which his companion +lacked, that enabled him to see things as they really were, while the +other's eyes were holden, and he was startled and amazed when Earl +Gregory said sharply, "Thy mind hath gone mad over this Elfin King. I +tell thee he who passed was a goodly Knight, clad in a green vesture, +and riding on a great black jennet. And because I love a gallant +horseman, and would fain learn his name and degree, I will follow him +till I find him, even if it be at the world's end." + +And without another word he put spurs to his horse and galloped off in +the direction which the mysterious stranger had taken, leaving Earl St. +Clair alone upon the moorland, his fingers touching the sacred Sign and +his trembling lips muttering prayers for protection. + +For he knew that his friend had been bewitched, and he made up his mind, +brave gentleman that he was, that he would follow him to the world's +end, if need be, and try to deliver him from the spell that had been +cast over him. + +Meanwhile Earl Gregory rode on and on, ever following in the wake of the +Knight in green, over moor, and burn, and moss, till he came to the +most desolate region that he had ever been in in his life; where the +wind blew cold, as if from snow-fields, and where the hoar-frost lay +thick and white on the withered grass at his feet. + +And there, in front of him, was a sight from which mortal man might well +shrink back in awe and dread. For he saw an enormous Ring marked out on +the ground, inside of which the grass, instead of being withered and +frozen, was lush, and rank, and green, where hundreds of shadowy Elfin +figures were dancing, clad in loose transparent robes of dull blue, +which seemed to curl and twist round their wearers like snaky wreaths of +smoke. + +These weird Goblins were shouting and singing as they danced, and waving +their arms above their heads, and throwing themselves about on the +ground, for all the world as if they had gone mad; and when they saw +Earl Gregory halt on his horse just outside the Ring they beckoned to +him with their skinny fingers. + +"Come hither, come hither," they shouted; "come tread a measure with us, +and afterwards we will drink to thee out of our Monarch's loving cup." + +And, strange as it may seem, the spell that had been cast over the young +Earl was so powerful that, in spite of his fear, he felt that he must +obey the eldrich summons, and he threw his bridle on his horse's neck +and prepared to join them. + +But just then an old and grizzled Goblin stepped out from among his +companions and approached him. + +Apparently he dare not leave the charmed Circle, for he stopped at the +edge of it; then, stooping down and pretending to pick up something, he +whispered in a hoarse whisper: + +"I know not whom thou art, nor from whence thou comest, Sir Knight, but +if thou lovest thy life, see to it that thou comest not within this +Ring, nor joinest with us in our feast. Else wilt thou be for ever +undone." + +But Earl Gregory only laughed. "I vowed that I would follow the Green +Knight," he replied, "and I will carry out my vow, even if the venture +leadeth me close to the nethermost world." + +And with these words he stepped over the edge of the Circle, right in +amongst the ghostly dancers. + +At his coming they shouted louder than ever, and danced more madly, and +sang more lustily; then, all at once, a silence fell upon them, and they +parted into two companies, leaving a way through their midst, up which +they signed to the Earl to pass. + +He walked through their ranks till he came to the middle of the Circle; +and there, seated at a table of red marble, was the Knight whom he had +come so far to seek, clad in his grass-green robes. And before him, on +the table, stood a wondrous goblet, fashioned from an emerald, and set +round the rim with blood-red rubies. + +And this cup was filled with heather ale, which foamed up over the brim; +and when the Knight saw Sir Gregory, he lifted it from the table, and +handed it to him with a stately bow, and Sir Gregory, being very +thirsty, drank. + +And as he drank he noticed that the ale in the goblet never grew less, +but ever foamed up to the edge; and for the first time his heart misgave +him, and he wished that he had never set out on this strange adventure. + +But, alas! the time for regrets had passed, for already a strange +numbness was stealing over his limbs, and a chill pallor was creeping +over his face, and before he could utter a single cry for help the +goblet dropped from his nerveless fingers, and he fell down before the +Elfin King like a dead man. + +Then a great shout of triumph went up from all the company; for if there +was one thing which filled their hearts with joy, it was to entice some +unwary mortal into their Ring and throw their uncanny spell over him, so +that he must needs spend long years in their company. + +But soon their shouts of triumphs began to die away, and they muttered +and whispered to each other with looks of something like fear on their +faces. + +For their keen ears heard a sound which filled their hearts with dread. +It was the sound of human footsteps, which were so free and untrammelled +that they knew at once that the stranger, whoever he was, was as yet +untouched by any charm. And if this were so he might work them ill, and +rescue their captive from them. + +And what they dreaded was true; for it was the brave Earl St. Clair who +approached, fearless and strong because of the Holy Sign he bore. + +And as soon as he saw the charmed Ring and the eldrich dancers, he was +about to step over its magic border, when the little grizzled Goblin who +had whispered to Earl Gregory, came and whispered to him also. + +"Alas! alas!" he exclaimed, with a look of sorrow on his wrinkled face, +"hast thou come, as thy companion came, to pay thy toll of years to the +Elfin King? Oh! if thou hast wife or child behind thee, I beseech thee, +by all that thou holdest sacred, to turn back ere it be too late." + +"Who art thou, and from whence hast thou come?" asked the Earl, looking +kindly down at the little creature in front of him. + +"I came from the country that thou hast come from," wailed the Goblin. +"For I was once a mortal man, even as thou. But I set out over the +enchanted moor, and the Elfin King appeared in the guise of a beauteous +Knight, and he looked so brave, and noble, and generous that I followed +him hither, and drank of his heather ale, and now I am doomed to bide +here till seven long years be spent. + +"As for thy friend, Sir Earl, he, too, hath drunk of the accursed +draught, and he now lieth as dead at our lawful Monarch's feet. He will +wake up, 'tis true, but it will be in such a guise as I wear, and to the +bondage with which I am bound." + +"Is there naught that I can do to rescue him!" cried Earl St. Clair +eagerly, "ere he taketh on him the Elfin shape? I have no fear of the +spell of his cruel captor, for I bear the Sign of One Who is stronger +than he. Speak speedily, little man, for time presseth." + +"There is something that thou couldst do, Sir Earl," whispered the +Goblin, "but to essay it were a desperate attempt. For if thou failest, +then could not even the Power of the Blessed Sign save thee." + +"And what is that?" asked the Earl impatiently. + +"Thou must remain motionless," answered the old man, "in the cold and +frost till dawn break and the hour cometh when they sing Matins in the +Holy Church. Then must thou walk slowly nine times round the edge of the +enchanted Circle, and after that thou must walk boldly across it to the +red marble table where sits the Elfin King. On it thou wilt see an +emerald goblet studded with rubies and filled with heather ale. That +must thou secure and carry away; but whilst thou art doing so let no +word cross thy lips. For this enchanted ground whereon we dance may look +solid to mortal eyes, but in reality it is not so. 'Tis but a quaking +bog, and under it is a great lake, wherein dwelleth a fearsome Monster, +and if thou so much as utter a word while thy foot resteth upon it, thou +wilt fall through the bog and perish in the waters beneath." + +[Illustration: Two coal-black Ravens Rose in the Air] + +So saying the Grisly Goblin stepped back among his companions, leaving +Earl St. Clair standing alone on the outskirts of the charmed Ring. + +There he waited, shivering with cold, through the long, dark hours, till +the grey dawn began to break over the hill tops, and, with its coming, +the Elfin forms before him seemed to dwindle and fade away. + +And at the hour when the sound of the Matin Bell came softly pealing +from across the moor, he began his solemn walk. Round and round the Ring +he paced, keeping steadily on his way, although loud murmurs of anger, +like distant thunder, rose from the Elfin Shades, and even the very +ground seemed to heave and quiver, as if it would shake this bold +intruder from its surface. + +But through the power of the Blessed Sign on his arm Earl St. Clair went +on unhurt. + +When he had finished pacing round the Ring he stepped boldly on to the +enchanted ground, and walked across it; and what was his astonishment to +find that all the ghostly Elves and Goblins whom he had seen, were lying +frozen into tiny blocks of ice, so that he was sore put to it to walk +amongst them without treading upon them. + +And as he approached the marble table the very hairs rose on his head at +the sight of the Elfin King sitting behind it, stiff and stark like his +followers; while in front of him lay the form of Earl Gregory, who had +shared the same fate. + +Nothing stirred, save two coal-black ravens, who sat, one on each side +of the table, as if to guard the emerald goblet, flapping their wings, +and croaking hoarsely. + +When Earl St. Clair lifted the precious cup, they rose in the air and +circled round his head, screaming with rage, and threatening to dash it +from his hands with their claws; while the frozen Elves, and even their +mighty King himself stirred in their sleep, and half sat up, as if to +lay hands on this presumptuous intruder. But the Power of the Holy Sign +restrained them, else had Earl St. Clair been foiled in his quest. + +As he retraced his steps, awesome and terrible were the sounds that he +heard around him. The ravens shrieked, and the frozen Goblins screamed; +and up from the hidden lake below came the sound of the deep breathing +of the awful Monster who was lurking there, eager for prey. + +But the brave Earl heeded none of these things, but kept steadily +onwards, trusting in the Might of the Sign he bore. And it carried him +safely through all the dangers; and just as the sound of the Matin Bell +was dying away in the morning air he stepped on to solid ground once +more, and flung the enchanted goblet from him. + +And lo! every one of the frozen Elves vanished, along with their King +and his marble table, and nothing was left on the rank green grass save +Earl Gregory, who slowly woke from his enchanted slumber, and stretched +himself, and stood up, shaking in every limb. He gazed vaguely round +him, as if he scarce remembered where he was. + +And when, after Earl St. Clair had run to him and had held him in his +arms till his senses returned and the warm blood coursed through his +veins, the two friends returned to the spot where Earl St. Clair had +thrown down the wondrous goblet, they found nothing but a piece of rough +grey whinstone, with a drop of dew hidden in a little crevice which was +hollowed in its side. + +[Illustration] + + + + +WHAT TO SAY TO THE NEW MUNE + + + New Mune, true Mune, + Tell unto me, + If my ane true love + He will marry me. + + If he marry me in haste, + Let me see his bonny face; + + If he marry me betide, + Let me see his bonnie side; + + Gin he marry na me ava', + Turn his back and gae awa.' + + + + +HABETROT THE SPINSTRESS + + +In byegone days, in an old farmhouse which stood by a river, there lived +a beautiful girl called Maisie. She was tall and straight, with auburn +hair and blue eyes, and she was the prettiest girl in all the valley. +And one would have thought that she would have been the pride of her +mother's heart. + +But, instead of this, her mother used to sigh and shake her head +whenever she looked at her. And why? + +Because, in those days, all men were sensible; and instead of looking +out for pretty girls to be their wives, they looked out for girls who +could cook and spin, and who gave promise of becoming notable +housewives. + +Maisie's mother had been an industrious spinster; but, alas! to her sore +grief and disappointment, her daughter did not take after her. + +The girl loved to be out of doors, chasing butterflies and plucking wild +flowers, far better than sitting at her spinning-wheel. So when her +mother saw one after another of Maisie's companions, who were not nearly +so pretty as she was, getting rich husbands, she sighed and said: + +"Woe's me, child, for methinks no brave wooer will ever pause at our +door while they see thee so idle and thoughtless." But Maisie only +laughed. + +At last her mother grew really angry, and one bright Spring morning she +laid down three heads of lint on the table, saying sharply, "I will have +no more of this dallying. People will say that it is my blame that no +wooer comes to seek thee. I cannot have thee left on my hands to be +laughed at, as the idle maid who would not marry. So now thou must work; +and if thou hast not these heads of lint spun into seven hanks of thread +in three days, I will e'en speak to the Mother at St. Mary's Convent, +and thou wilt go there and learn to be a nun." + +Now, though Maisie was an idle girl, she had no wish to be shut up in a +nunnery; so she tried not to think of the sunshine outside, but sat down +soberly with her distaff. + +But, alas! she was so little accustomed to work that she made but slow +progress; and although she sat at the spinning-wheel all day, and never +once went out of doors, she found at night that she had only spun half a +hank of yarn. + +The next day it was even worse, for her arms ached so much she could +only work very slowly. That night she cried herself to sleep; and next +morning, seeing that it was quite hopeless to expect to get her task +finished, she threw down her distaff in despair, and ran out of doors. + +Near the house was a deep dell, through which ran a tiny stream. Maisie +loved this dell, the flowers grew so abundantly there. + +This morning she ran down to the edge of the stream, and seated herself +on a large stone. It was a glorious morning, the hazel trees were newly +covered with leaves, and the branches nodded over her head, and showed +like delicate tracery against the blue sky. The primroses and +sweet-scented violets peeped out from among the grass, and a little +water wagtail came and perched on a stone in the middle of the stream, +and bobbed up and down, till it seemed as if he were nodding to Maisie, +and as if he were trying to say to her, "Never mind, cheer up." + +But the poor girl was in no mood that morning to enjoy the flowers and +the birds. Instead of watching them, as she generally did, she hid her +face in her hands, and wondered what would become of her. She rocked +herself to and fro, as she thought how terrible it would be if her +mother fulfilled her threat and shut her up in the Convent of St. Mary, +with the grave, solemn-faced sisters, who seemed as if they had +completely forgotten what it was like to be young, and run about in the +sunshine, and laugh, and pick the fresh Spring flowers. + +"Oh, I could not do it, I could not do it," she cried at last. "It would +kill me to be a nun." + +"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun?" asked a +queer, cracked voice quite close to her. + +Maisie jumped up, and stood staring in front of her as if she had been +moonstruck. For, just across the stream from where she had been sitting, +there was a curious boulder, with a round hole in the middle of it--for +all the world like a big apple with the core taken out. + +[Illustration: Seated on this stone was the queerest Little old Woman.] + +Maisie knew it well; she had often sat upon it, and wondered how the +funny hole came to be there. + +It was no wonder that she stared, for, seated on this stone, was the +queerest little old woman that she had ever seen in her life. Indeed, +had it not been for her silver hair, and the white mutch with the big +frill that she wore on her head, Maisie would have taken her for a +little girl, she wore such a very short skirt, only reaching down to her +knees. + +Her face, inside the frill of her cap, was round, and her cheeks were +rosy, and she had little black eyes, which twinkled merrily as she +looked at the startled maiden. On her shoulders was a black and white +checked shawl, and on her legs, which she dangled over the edge of the +boulder, she wore black silk stockings and the neatest little shoes, +with great silver buckles. + +In fact, she would have been quite a pretty old lady had it not been for +her lips, which were very long and very thick, and made her look quite +ugly in spite of her rosy cheeks and black eyes. Maisie stood and looked +at her for such a long time in silence that she repeated her question. + +"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun? More likely +that some gallant gentleman should want to make a bride of thee." + +"Oh, no," answered Maisie, "my mother says no gentleman would look at me +because I cannot spin." + +"Nonsense," said the tiny woman. "Spinning is all very well for old +folks like me--my lips, as thou seest, are long and ugly because I have +spun so much, for I always wet my fingers with them, the easier to draw +the thread from the distaff. No, no, take care of thy beauty, child; do +not waste it over the spinning-wheel, nor yet in a nunnery." + +"If my mother only thought as thou dost," replied the girl sadly; and, +encouraged by the old woman's kindly face, she told her the whole story. + +"Well," said the old Dame, "I do not like to see pretty girls weep; what +if I were able to help thee, and spin the lint for thee?" + +Maisie thought that this offer was too good to be true; but her new +friend bade her run home and fetch the lint; and I need not tell you +that she required no second bidding. + +When she returned she handed the bundle to the little lady, and was +about to ask her where she should meet her in order to get the thread +from her when it was spun, when a sudden noise behind her made her look +round. + +She saw nothing; but what was her horror and surprise when she turned +back again, to find that the old woman had vanished entirely, lint and +all. + +She rubbed her eyes, and looked all round, but she was nowhere to be +seen. The girl was utterly bewildered. She wondered if she could have +been dreaming, but no that could not be, there were her footprints +leading up the bank and down again, where she had gone for the lint, and +brought it back, and there was the mark of her foot, wet with dew, on a +stone in the middle of the stream, where she had stood when she had +handed the lint up to the mysterious little stranger. + +What was she to do now? What would her mother say when, in addition to +not having finished the task that had been given her, she had to confess +to having lost the greater part of the lint also? She ran up and down +the little dell, hunting amongst the bushes, and peeping into every nook +and cranny of the bank where the little old woman might have hidden +herself. It was all in vain; and at last, tired out with the search, she +sat down on the stone once more, and presently fell fast asleep. + +When she awoke it was evening. The sun had set, and the yellow glow on +the western horizon was fast giving place to the silvery light of the +moon. She was sitting thinking of the curious events of the day, and +gazing at the great boulder opposite, when it seemed to her as if a +distant murmur of voices came from it. + +With one bound she crossed the stream, and clambered on to the stone. +She was right. + +Someone was talking underneath it, far down in the ground. She put her +ear close to the stone, and listened. + +The voice of the queer little old woman came up through the hole. "Ho, +ho, my pretty little wench little knows that my name is Habetrot." + +Full of curiosity, Maisie put her eye to the opening, and the strangest +sight that she had ever seen met her gaze. She seemed to be looking +through a telescope into a wonderful little valley. The trees there were +brighter and greener than any that she had ever seen before and there +were beautiful flowers, quite different from the flowers that grew in +her country. The little valley was carpeted with the most exquisite +moss, and up and down it walked her tiny friend, busily engaged in +spinning. + +She was not alone, for round her were a circle of other little old +women, who were seated on large white stones, and they were all spinning +away as fast as they could. + +Occasionally one would look up, and then Maisie saw that they all seemed +to have the same long, thick lips that her friend had. She really felt +very sorry, as they all looked exceedingly kind, and might have been +pretty had it not been for this defect. + +One of the Spinstresses sat by herself, and was engaged in winding the +thread, which the others had spun, into hanks. Maisie did not think that +this little lady looked so nice as the others. She was dressed entirely +in grey, and had a big hooked nose, and great horn spectacles. She +seemed to be called Slantlie Mab, for Maisie heard Habetrot address her +by that name, telling her to make haste and tie up all the thread, for +it was getting late, and it was time that the young girl had it to +carry home to her mother. + +Maisie did not quite know what to do, or how she was to get the thread, +for she did not like to shout down the hole in case the queer little old +woman should be angry at being watched. + +However, Habetrot, as she had called herself, suddenly appeared on the +path beside her, with the hanks of thread in her hand. + +"Oh, thank you, thank you," cried Maisie. "What can I do to show you how +thankful I am?" + +"Nothing," answered the Fairy. "For I do not work for reward. Only do +not tell your mother who span the thread for thee." + +It was now late, and Maisie lost no time in running home with the +precious thread upon her shoulder. When she walked into the kitchen she +found that her mother had gone to bed. She seemed to have had a busy +day, for there, hanging up in the wide chimney, in order to dry, were +seven large black puddings. + +The fire was low, but bright and clear; and the sight of it and the +sight of the puddings suggested to Maisie that she was very hungry, and +that fried black puddings were very good. + +Flinging the thread down on the table, she hastily pulled off her shoes, +so as not to make a noise and awake her mother; and, getting down the +frying-pan from the wall, she took one of the black puddings from the +chimney, and fried it, and ate it. + +Still she felt hungry, so she took another, and then another, till they +were all gone. Then she crept upstairs to her little bed and fell fast +asleep. + +Next morning her mother came downstairs before Maisie was awake. In +fact, she had not been able to sleep much for thinking of her daughter's +careless ways, and had been sorrowfully making up her mind that she must +lose no time in speaking to the Abbess of St. Mary's about this idle +girl of hers. + +What was her surprise to see on the table the seven beautiful hanks of +thread, while, on going to the chimney to take down a black pudding to +fry for breakfast, she found that every one of them had been eaten. She +did not know whether to laugh for joy that her daughter had been so +industrious, or to cry for vexation because all her lovely black +puddings--which she had expected would last for a week at least--were +gone. In her bewilderment she sang out: + + "My daughter's spun se'en, se'en, se'en, + My daughter's eaten se'en, se'en, se'en, + And all before daylight." + +Now I forgot to tell you that, about half a mile from where the old +farmhouse stood, there was a beautiful Castle, where a very rich young +nobleman lived. He was both good and brave, as well as rich; and all +the mothers who had pretty daughters used to wish that he would come +their way, some day, and fall in love with one of them. But he had never +done so, and everyone said, "He is too grand to marry any country girl. +One day he will go away to London Town and marry a Duke's daughter." + +Well, this fine spring morning it chanced that this young nobleman's +favourite horse had lost a shoe, and he was so afraid that any of the +grooms might ride it along the hard road, and not on the soft grass at +the side, that he said that he would take it to the smithy himself. + +So it happened that he was riding along by Maisie's garden gate as her +mother came into the garden singing these strange lines. + +He stopped his horse, and said good-naturedly, "Good day, Madam; and may +I ask why you sing such a strange song?" + +Maisie's mother made no answer, but turned and walked into the house; +and the young nobleman, being very anxious to know what it all meant, +hung his bridle over the garden gate, and followed her. + +She pointed to the seven hanks of thread lying on the table, and said, +"This hath my daughter done before breakfast." + +Then the young man asked to see the Maiden who was so industrious, and +her mother went and pulled Maisie from behind the door, where she had +hidden herself when the stranger came in; for she had come downstairs +while her mother was in the garden. + +She looked so lovely in her fresh morning gown of blue gingham, with her +auburn hair curling softly round her brow, and her face all over blushes +at the sight of such a gallant young man, that he quite lost his heart, +and fell in love with her on the spot. + +"Ah," said he, "my dear mother always told me to try and find a wife who +was both pretty and useful, and I have succeeded beyond my expectations. +Do not let our marriage, I pray thee, good Dame, be too long deferred." + +Maisie's mother was overjoyed, as you may imagine, at this piece of +unexpected good fortune, and busied herself in getting everything ready +for the wedding; but Maisie herself was a little perplexed. + +She was afraid that she would be expected to spin a great deal when she +was married and lived at the Castle, and if that were so, her husband +was sure to find out that she was not really such a good spinstress as +he thought she was. + +In her trouble she went down, the night before her wedding, to the great +boulder by the stream in the glen, and, climbing up on it, she laid her +head against the stone, and called softly down the hole, "Habetrot, dear +Habetrot." + +The little old woman soon appeared, and, with twinkling eyes, asked her +what was troubling her so much just when she should have been so happy. +And Maisie told her. + +"Trouble not thy pretty head about that," answered the Fairy, "but come +here with thy bridegroom next week, when the moon is full, and I warrant +that he will never ask thee to sit at a spinning-wheel again." + +Accordingly, after all the wedding festivities were over and the couple +had settled down at the Castle, on the appointed evening Maisie +suggested to her husband that they should take a walk together in the +moonlight. + +She was very anxious to see what the little Fairy would do to help her; +for that very day he had been showing her all over her new home, and he +had pointed out to her the beautiful new spinning-wheel made of ebony, +which had belonged to his mother, saying proudly, "To-morrow, little +one, I shall bring some lint from the town, and then the maids will see +what clever little fingers my wife has." + +Maisie had blushed as red as a rose as she bent over the lovely wheel, +and then felt quite sick, as she wondered whatever she would do if +Habetrot did not help her. + +So on this particular evening, after they had walked in the garden, she +said that she should like to go down to the little dell and see how the +stream looked by moonlight. So to the dell they went. + +As soon as they came to the boulder Maisie put her head against it and +whispered, "Habetrot, dear Habetrot"; and in an instant the little old +woman appeared. + +She bowed in a stately way, as if they were both strangers to her, and +said, "Welcome, Sir and Madam, to the Spinsters' Dell." And then she +tapped on the root of a great oak tree with a tiny wand which she held +in her hand, and a green door, which Maisie never remembered having +noticed before, flew open, and they followed the Fairy through it into +the other valley which Maisie had seen through the hole in the great +stone. + +All the little old women were sitting on their white chucky stones busy +at work, only they seemed far uglier than they had seemed at first; and +Maisie noticed that the reason for this was, that, instead of wearing +red skirts and white mutches as they had done before, they now wore caps +and dresses of dull grey, and instead of looking happy, they all seemed +to be trying who could look most miserable, and who could push out their +long lips furthest, as they wet their fingers to draw the thread from +their distaffs. + +"Save us and help us! What a lot of hideous old witches," exclaimed her +husband. "Whatever could this funny old woman mean by bringing a pretty +child like thee to look at them? Thou wilt dream of them for a week and +a day. Just look at their lips"; and, pushing Maisie behind him, he went +up to one of them and asked her what had made her mouth grow so ugly. + +She tried to tell him, but all the sound that he could hear was +something that sounded like SPIN-N-N. + +He asked another one, and her answer sounded like this: SPAN-N-N. He +tried a third, and hers sounded like SPUN-N-N. + +He seized Maisie by the hand and hurried her through the green door. "By +my troth," he said, "my mother's spinning-wheel may turn to gold ere I +let thee touch it, if this is what spinning leads to. Rather than that +thy pretty face should be spoilt, the linen chests at the Castle may get +empty, and remain so for ever!" + +So it came to pass that Maisie could be out of doors all day wandering +about with her husband, and laughing and singing to her heart's content. +And whenever there was lint at the Castle to be spun, it was carried +down to the big boulder in the dell and left there, and Habetrot and her +companions spun it, and there was no more trouble about the matter. + +[Illustration] + + + + +NIPPIT FIT AND CLIPPIT FIT + + +In a country, far across the sea, there once dwelt a great and mighty +Prince. He lived in a grand Castle, which was full of beautiful +furniture, and curious and rare ornaments. And among them was a lovely +little glass shoe, which would only fit the tiniest foot imaginable. + +And as the Prince was looking at it one day, it struck him what a dainty +little lady she would need to be who wore such a very small shoe. And, +as he liked dainty people, he made up his mind that he would never marry +until he found a maiden who could wear the shoe, and that, when he found +her, he would ask her to be his wife. + +And he called all his Lords and Courtiers to him, and told them of the +determination that he had come to, and asked them to help him in his +quest. + +And after they had taken counsel together they summoned a trusty Knight, +and appointed him the Prince's Ambassador; and told him to take the +slipper, and mount a fleet-footed horse, and ride up and down the whole +of the Kingdom until he found a lady whom it would fit. + +So the Ambassador put the little shoe carefully in his pocket and set +out on his errand. + +He rode, and he rode, and he rode, going to every town and castle that +came in his way, and summoning all the ladies to appear before him to +try on the shoe. And, as he caused a Proclamation to be made that +whoever could wear it should be the Prince's Bride, I need not tell you +that all the ladies in the country-side flocked to wherever the +Ambassador chanced to be staying, and begged leave to try on the +slipper. + +But they were all disappointed, for not one of them, try as she would, +could make her foot small enough to go into the Fairy Shoe; and there +were many bitter tears shed in secret, when they returned home, by +countless fair ladies who prided themselves on the smallness of their +feet, and who had set out full of lively expectation that they would be +the successful competitors. + +At last the Ambassador arrived at a house where a well-to-do Laird had +lived. But the Laird was dead now, and there was nobody left but his +wife and two daughters, who had grown poor of late, and who had to work +hard for their living. + +One of the daughters was haughty and insolent; the other was little, and +young, and modest, and sweet. + +When the Ambassador rode into the courtyard of this house, and, holding +out the shoe, asked if there were any fair ladies there who would like +to try it on, the elder sister, who always thought a great deal of +herself, ran forward, and said that she would do so, while the younger +girl just shook her head and went on with her work. "For," said she to +herself, "though my feet are so little that they might go into the +slipper, what would I do as the wife of a great Prince? Folk would just +laugh at me, and say that I was not fit for the position. No, no, I am +far better to bide as I am." + +So the Ambassador gave the glass shoe to the elder sister, who carried +it away to her own room; and presently, to every one's astonishment, +came back wearing it on her foot. + +It is true that her face was very white, and that she walked with a +little limp; but no one noticed these things except her younger sister, +and she only shook her wise little head, and said nothing. + +The Prince's Ambassador was delighted that he had at last found a wife +for his master, and he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed to +tell him the good news. + +When the Prince heard of the success of his errand, he ordered all his +Courtiers to be ready to accompany him next day when he went to bring +home his Bride. + +You can fancy what excitement there was at the Laird's house when the +gallant company arrived, with their Prince at their head, to greet the +lady who was to be their Princess. + +The old mother and the plain-looking maid-of-all-work ran hither and +thither, fetching such meat and drink as the house could boast to set +before their high-born visitors, while the bonnie little sister went and +hid herself behind a great pot which stood in the corner of the +courtyard, and which was used for boiling hen's meat. + +[Illustration] + +She knew that her foot was the smallest in the house; and something told +her that if the Prince once got a glimpse of her he would not be content +till she had tried on the slipper. + +Meanwhile, the selfish elder sister did not help at all, but ran up to +her chamber, and decked herself out in all the fine clothes that she +possessed before she came downstairs to meet the Prince. + +And when all the Knights and Courtiers had drunk a stirrup-cup, and +wished Good Luck to their Lord and his Bride, she was lifted up behind +the Prince on his horse, and rode off so full of her own importance, +that she even forgot to say good-bye to her mother and sister. + +Alas! alas! pride must have a fall. For the cavalcade had not proceeded +very far when a little bird which was perched on a branch of a bush by +the roadside sang out: + + "Nippit fit, and clippit fit, behind the King rides, + But pretty fit, and little fit, ahint the caldron hides." + +"What is this that the birdie says?" cried the Prince, who, if the truth +be told, did not feel altogether satisfied with the Bride whom fortune +had bestowed upon him. "Hast thou another sister, Madam?" + +"Only a little one," murmured the lady, who liked ill the way in which +things seemed to be falling out. + +"We will go back and find her," said the Prince firmly, "for when I sent +out the slipper I had no mind that its wearer should nip her foot, and +clip her foot, in order to get it on." + +So the whole party turned back; and when they reached the Laird's house +the Prince ordered a search to be made in the courtyard. And the bonnie +little sister was soon discovered and brought out, all blushes and +confusion, from her hiding-place behind the caldron. + +"Give her the slipper, and let her try it on," said the Prince, and the +eldest sister was forced to obey. And what was the horror of the +bystanders, as she drew it off, to see that she had cut off the tops of +her toes in order to get it on. + +But it fitted her little sister's foot exactly, without either paring or +clipping; and when the Prince saw that it was so, he lifted the elder +sister down from his horse and lifted the little one up in her place, +and carried her home to his Palace, where the wedding was celebrated +with great rejoicing; and for the rest of their lives they were the +happiest couple in the whole kingdom. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE FAIRIES OF MERLIN'S CRAG + + +About two hundred years ago there was a poor man working as a labourer +on a farm in Lanarkshire. He was what is known as an "Orra Man"; that +is, he had no special work mapped out for him to do, but he was expected +to undertake odd jobs of any kind that happened to turn up. + +One day his master sent him out to cast peats on a piece of moorland +that lay on a certain part of the farm. Now this strip of moorland ran +up at one end to a curiously shaped crag, known as Merlin's Crag, +because, so the country folk said, that famous Enchanter had once taken +up his abode there. + +The man obeyed, and, being a willing fellow, when he arrived at the moor +he set to work with all his might and main. He had lifted quite a +quantity of peat from near the Crag, when he was startled by the +appearance of the very smallest woman that he had ever seen in his life. +She was only about two feet high, and she was dressed in a green gown +and red stockings, and her long yellow hair was not bound by any +ribbon, but hung loosely round her shoulders. + +She was such a dainty little creature that the astonished countryman +stopped working, stuck his spade into the ground, and gazed at her in +wonder. + +His wonder increased when she held up one of her tiny fingers and +addressed him in these words: "What wouldst thou think if I were to send +my husband to uncover thy house? You mortals think that you can do aught +that pleaseth you." + +Then, stamping her tiny foot, she added in a voice of command, "Put back +that turf instantly, or thou shalt rue this day." + +Now the poor man had often heard of the Fairy Folk and of the harm that +they could work to unthinking mortals who offended them, so in fear and +trembling he set to work to undo all his labour, and to place every +divot in the exact spot from which he had taken it. + +When he was finished he looked round for his strange visitor, but she +had vanished completely; he could not tell how, nor where. Putting up +his spade, he wended his way homewards, and going straight to his +master, he told him the whole story, and suggested that in future the +peats should be taken from the other end of the moor. + +[Illustration: A large band of Fairies dancing Round and Round] + +But the master only laughed. He was a strong, hearty man, and had no +belief in Ghosts, or Elves, or Fairies, or any other creature that he +could not see; but although he laughed, he was vexed that his servant +should believe in such things, so to cure him, as he thought, of his +superstition, he ordered him to take a horse and cart and go back at +once, and lift all the peats and bring them to dry in the farm steading. + +The poor man obeyed with much reluctance; and was greatly relieved, as +weeks went on, to find that, in spite of his having done so, no harm +befell him. + +In fact, he began to think that his master was right, and that the whole +thing must have been a dream. + +So matters went smoothly on. Winter passed, and spring, and summer, +until autumn came round once more, and the very day arrived on which the +peats had been lifted the year before. + +That day, as the sun went down, the orra man left the farm to go home to +his cottage, and as his master was pleased with him because he had been +working very hard lately, he had given him a little can of milk as a +present to carry home to his wife. + +So he was feeling very happy, and as he walked along he was humming a +tune to himself. His road took him by the foot of Merlin's Crag, and as +he approached it he was astonished to find himself growing strangely +tired. His eyelids dropped over his eyes as if he were going to sleep, +and his feet grew as heavy as lead. + +"I will sit down and take a rest for a few minutes," he said to +himself; "the road home never seemed so long as it does to-day." + +So he sat down on a tuft of grass right under the shadow of the Crag, +and before he knew where he was he had fallen into a deep and heavy +slumber. + +When he awoke it was near midnight, and the moon had risen on the Crag. +And he rubbed his eyes, when by its soft light he became aware of a +large band of Fairies who were dancing round and round him, singing and +laughing, pointing their tiny fingers at him, and shaking their wee +fists in his face. + +The bewildered man rose and tried to walk away from them, but turn in +whichever direction he would the Fairies accompanied him, encircling him +in a magic ring, out of which he could in no wise go. + +At last they stopped, and, with shrieks of elfin laughter, led the +prettiest and daintiest of their companions up to him, and cried, "Tread +a measure, tread a measure, Oh, Man! Then wilt thou not be so eager to +escape from our company." + +Now the poor labourer was but a clumsy dancer, and he held back with a +shamefaced air; but the Fairy who had been chosen to be his partner +reached up and seized his hands, and lo! some strange magic seemed to +enter into his veins, for in a moment he found himself waltzing and +whirling, sliding and bowing, as if he had done nothing else but dance +all his life. + +And, strangest thing of all! he forgot about his home and his children; +and he felt so happy that he had no longer the slightest desire to leave +the Fairies' company. + +All night long the merriment went on. The Little Folk danced and danced +as if they were mad, and the farm man danced with them, until at last a +shrill sound came over the moor. It was the cock from the farmyard +crowing its loudest to welcome the dawn. + +In an instant the revelry ceased, and the Fairies, with cries of alarm, +crowded together and rushed towards the Crag, dragging the countryman +along in their midst. As they reached the rock, a mysterious door, which +he never remembered having seen before, opened in it of its own accord, +and shut again with a crash as soon as the Fairy Host had all trooped +through. + +The door led into a large, dimly lighted hall full of tiny couches, and +here the Little Folk sank to rest, tired out with their exertions, while +the good man sat down on a piece of rock in the corner, wondering what +would happen next. + +But there seemed to be some kind of spell thrown over his senses, for +even when the Fairies awoke and began to go about their household +occupations, and to carry out certain curious practices which he had +never seen before, and which, as you will hear, he was forbidden to +speak of afterwards, he was content to sit and watch them, without in +any way attempting to escape. + +As it drew toward evening someone touched his elbow, and he turned round +with a start to see the little woman with the green dress and scarlet +stockings, who had remonstrated with him for lifting the turf the year +before, standing by his side. + +"The divots which thou took'st from the roof of my house have grown once +more," she said, "and once more it is covered with grass; so thou canst +go home again, for justice is satisfied--thy punishment hath lasted long +enough. But first must thou take thy solemn oath never to tell to mortal +ears what thou hast seen whilst thou hast dwelt among us." + +The countryman promised gladly, and took the oath with all due +solemnity. Then the door was opened, and he was at liberty to depart. + +His can of milk was standing on the green, just where he had laid it +down when he went to sleep; and it seemed to him as if it were only +yesternight that the farmer had given it to him. + +But when he reached his home he was speedily undeceived. For his wife +looked at him as if he were a ghost, and the children whom he had left +wee, toddling things were now well-grown boys and girls, who stared at +him as if he had been an utter stranger. + +"Where hast thou been these long, long years?" cried his wife when she +had gathered her wits and seen that it was really he, and not a spirit. +"And how couldst thou find it in thy heart to leave the bairns and me +alone?" + +And then he knew that the one day he had passed in Fairy-land had lasted +seven whole years, and he realised how heavy the punishment had been +which the Wee Folk had laid upon him. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE WEDDING OF ROBIN REDBREAST AND JENNY WREN + + +There was once an old grey Pussy Baudrons, and she went out for a stroll +one Christmas morning to see what she could see. And as she was walking +down the burnside she saw a little Robin Redbreast hopping up and down +on the branches of a briar bush. + +"What a tasty breakfast he would make," thought she to herself. "I must +try to catch him." + +So, "Good morning, Robin Redbreast," quoth she, sitting down on her tail +at the foot of the briar bush and looking up at him. "And where mayest +thou be going so early on this cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin cheerily, "to sing +him a song this merry Yule morning." + +"That's a pious errand to be travelling on, and I wish you good +success," replied Pussy slyly; "but just hop down a minute before thou +goest, and I will show thee what a bonnie white ring I have round my +neck. 'Tis few cats that are marked like me." + +Then Robin cocked his head on one side, and looked down on Pussy +Baudrons with a twinkle in his eye. "Ha, ha! grey Pussy Baudrons," he +said. "Ha, ha! for I saw thee worry the little grey mouse, and I have no +wish that thou shouldst worry me." + +And with that he spread his wings and flew away. And he flew, and he +flew, till he lighted on an old sod dyke; and there he saw a greedy old +gled sitting, with all his feathers ruffled up as if he felt cold. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," cried the greedy old gled, who had had +no food since yesterday, and was therefore very hungry. "And where +mayest thou be going to, this cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin, "to sing to him a +song this merry Yule morning." And he hopped away a yard or two from the +gled, for there was a look in his eye that he did not quite like. + +"Thou art a friendly little fellow," remarked the gled sweetly, "and I +wish thee good luck on thine errand; but ere thou go on, come nearer me, +I prith'ee, and I will show thee what a curious feather I have in my +wing. 'Tis said that no other gled in the country-side hath one like +it." + +"Like enough," rejoined Robin, hopping still further away; "but I will +take thy word for it, without seeing it. For I saw thee pluck the +feathers from the wee lintie, and I have no wish that thou shouldst +pluck the feathers from me. So I will bid thee good day, and go on my +journey." + +The next place on which he rested was a piece of rock that overhung a +dark, deep glen, and here he saw a sly old fox looking out of his hole +not two yards below him. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," said the sly old fox, who had tried to +steal a fat duck from a farmyard the night before, and had barely +escaped with his life. "And where mayest thou be going so early on this +cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace, to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, giving the same answer that he had given to +the grey Pussy Baudrons and the greedy gled. + +"Thou wilt get a right good welcome, for His Majesty is fond of music," +said the wily fox. "But ere thou go, just come down and have a look at a +black spot which I have on the end of my tail. 'Tis said that there is +not a fox 'twixt here and the Border that hath a spot on his tail like +mine." + +"Very like, very like," replied Robin; "but I chanced to see thee +worrying the wee lambie up on the braeside yonder, and I have no wish +that thou shouldst try thy teeth on me. So I will e'en go on my way to +the King's Palace, and thou canst show the spot on thy tail to the next +passer-by." + +So the little Robin Redbreast flew away once more, and never rested +till he came to a bonnie valley with a little burn running through it, +and there he saw a rosy-cheeked boy sitting on a log eating a piece of +bread and butter. And he perched on a branch and watched him. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast; and where mayest thou be going so early +on this cold winter's day?" asked the boy eagerly; for he was making a +collection of stuffed birds, and he had still to get a Robin Redbreast. + +"I'm on my way to the King's Palace to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, hopping down to the ground, and keeping one +eye fixed on the bread and butter. + +"Come a bit nearer, Robin," said the boy, "and I will give thee some +crumbs." + +"Na, na, my wee man," chirped the cautious little bird; "for I saw thee +catch the goldfinch, and I have no wish to give thee the chance to catch +me." + +At last he came to the King's Palace and lighted on the window-sill, and +there he sat and sang the very sweetest song that he could sing; for he +felt so happy because it was the Blessed Yuletide, that he wanted +everyone else to be happy too. And the King and the Queen were so +delighted with his song, as he peeped in at them at their open window, +that they asked each other what they could give him as a reward for his +kind thought in coming so far to greet them. + +"We can give him a wife," replied the Queen, "who will go home with him +and help him to build his nest." + +"And who wilt thou give him for a bride?" asked the King. "Methinks +'twould need to be a very tiny lady to match his size." + +[Illustration] + +"Why, Jenny Wren, of course," answered the Queen. "She hath looked +somewhat dowie of late, this will be the very thing to brighten her +up." + +Then the King clapped his hands, and praised his wife for her happy +thought, and wondered that the idea had not struck him before. + +So Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren were married, amid great rejoicings, +at the King's Palace; and the King and Queen and all the fine Nobles and +Court Ladies danced at their wedding. Then they flew away home to +Robin's own country-side, and built their nest in the roots of the briar +bush, where he had spoken to Pussie Baudrons. And you will be glad to +hear that Jenny Wren proved the best little housewife in the world. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE DWARFIE STONE + + +Far up in a green valley in the Island of Hoy stands an immense boulder. +It is hollow inside, and the natives of these northern islands call it +the Dwarfie Stone, because long centuries ago, so the legend has it, +Snorro the Dwarf lived there. + +Nobody knew where Snorro came from, or how long he had dwelt in the dark +chamber inside the Dwarfie Stone. All that they knew about him was that +he was a little man, with a queer, twisted, deformed body and a face of +marvellous beauty, which never seemed to look any older, but was always +smiling and young. + +Men said that this was because Snorro's father had been a Fairy, and not +a denizen of earth, who had bequeathed to his son the gift of perpetual +youth, but nobody knew whether this were true or not, for the Dwarf had +inhabited the Dwarfie Stone long before the oldest man or woman in Hoy +had been born. + +One thing was certain, however: he had inherited from his mother, whom +all men agreed had been mortal, the dangerous qualities of vanity and +ambition. And the longer he lived the more vain and ambitious did he +become, until at last he always carried a mirror of polished steel round +his neck, into which he constantly looked in order to see the reflection +of his handsome face. + +And he would not attend to the country people who came to seek his help, +unless they bowed themselves humbly before him and spoke to him as if he +were a King. + +I say that the country people sought his help, for he spent his time, or +appeared to spend it, in collecting herbs and simples on the hillsides, +which he carried home with him to his dark abode, and distilled +medicines and potions from them, which he sold to his neighbours at +wondrous high prices. + +He was also the possessor of a wonderful leathern-covered book, clasped +with clasps of brass, over which he would pore for hours together, and +out of which he would tell the simple Islanders their fortunes, if they +would. + +For they feared the book almost as much as they feared Snorro himself, +for it was whispered that it had once belonged to Odin, and they crossed +themselves for protection as they named the mighty Enchanter. + +But all the time they never guessed the real reason why Snorro chose to +live in the Dwarfie Stone. + +I will tell you why he did so. Not very far from the Stone there was a +curious hill, shaped exactly like a wart. It was known as the Wart Hill +of Hoy, and men said that somewhere in the side of it was hidden a +wonderful carbuncle, which, when it was found, would bestow on its +finder marvellous magic gifts--Health, Wealth, and Happiness. +Everything, in fact, that a human being could desire. + +And the curious thing about this carbuncle was, that it was said that it +could be seen at certain times, if only the people who were looking for +it were at the right spot at the right moment. + +Now Snorro had made up his mind that he would find this wonderful stone, +so, while he pretended to spend all his time in reading his great book +or distilling medicines from his herbs, he was really keeping a keen +look-out during his wanderings, noting every tuft of grass or piece of +rock under which it might be hidden. And at night, when everyone else +was asleep, he would creep out, with pickaxe and spade, to turn over the +rocks or dig over the turf, in the hope of finding the long-sought-for +treasure underneath them. + +He was always accompanied on these occasions by an enormous grey-headed +Raven, who lived in the cave along with him, and who was his bosom +friend and companion. The Islanders feared this bird of ill omen as +much, perhaps, as they feared its Master; for, although they went to +consult Snorro in all their difficulties and perplexities, and bought +medicines and love-potions from him, they always looked upon him with a +certain dread, feeling that there was something weird and uncanny about +him. + +Now, at the time we are speaking of, Orkney was governed by two Earls, +who were half-brothers. Paul, the elder, was a tall, handsome man, with +dark hair, and eyes like sloes. All the country people loved him, for he +was so skilled in knightly exercises, and had such a sweet and loving +nature, that no one could help being fond of him. Old people's eyes +would brighten at the sight of him, and the little children would run +out to greet him as he rode by their mothers' doors. + +And this was the more remarkable because, with all his winning manner, +he had such a lack of conversation that men called him Paul the Silent, +or Paul the Taciturn. + +Harold, on the other hand, was as different from his brother as night is +from day. He was fair-haired and blue-eyed, and he had gained for +himself the name of Harold the Orator, because he was always free of +speech and ready with his tongue. + +But for all this he was not a favourite. For he was haughty, and +jealous, and quick-tempered, and the old folks' eyes did not brighten at +the sight of him, and the babes, instead of toddling out to greet him, +hid their faces in their mothers' skirts when they saw him coming. + +Harold could not help knowing that the people liked his silent brother +best, and the knowledge made him jealous of him, so a coldness sprang up +between them. + +Now it chanced, one summer, that Earl Harold went on a visit to the King +of Scotland, accompanied by his mother, the Countess Helga, and her +sister, the Countess Fraukirk. + +And while he was at Court he met a charming young Irish lady, the Lady +Morna, who had come from Ireland to Scotland to attend upon the Scottish +Queen. She was so sweet, and good, and gentle that Earl Harold's heart +was won, and he made up his mind that she, and only she, should be his +bride. + +But although he had paid her much attention, Lady Morna had sometimes +caught glimpses of his jealous temper; she had seen an evil expression +in his eyes, and had heard him speak sharply to his servants, and she +had no wish to marry him. So, to his great amazement, she refused the +honour which he offered her, and told him that she would prefer to +remain as she was. + +Earl Harold ground his teeth in silent rage, but he saw that it was no +use pressing his suit at that moment. So what he could not obtain by his +own merits he determined to obtain by guile. + +Accordingly he begged his mother to persuade the Lady Morna to go back +with them on a visit, hoping that when she was alone with him in Orkney, +he would be able to overcome her prejudice against him, and induce her +to become his wife. And all the while he never remembered his brother +Paul; or, if he did, he never thought it possible that he could be his +rival. + +But that was just the very thing that happened. The Lady Morna, thinking +no evil, accepted the Countess Helga's invitation, and no sooner had the +party arrived back in Orkney than Paul, charmed with the grace and +beauty of the fair Irish Maiden, fell head over ears in love with her. +And the Lady Morna, from the very first hour that she saw him, returned +his love. + +Of course this state of things could not long go on hidden, and when +Harold realised what had happened his anger and jealousy knew no bounds. +Seizing a dagger, he rushed up to the turret where his brother was +sitting in his private apartments, and threatened to stab him to the +heart if he did not promise to give up all thoughts of winning the +lovely stranger. + +But Paul met him with pleasant words. + +"Calm thyself, Brother," he said. "It is true that I love the lady, but +that is no proof that I shall win her. Is it likely that she will choose +me, whom all men name Paul the Silent, when she hath the chance of +marrying you, whose tongue moves so swiftly that to you is given the +proud title of Harold the Orator?" + +At these words Harold's vanity was flattered, and he thought that, after +all, his step-brother was right, and that he had a very small chance, +with his meagre gift of speech, of being successful in his suit. So he +threw down his dagger, and, shaking hands with him, begged him to +pardon his unkind thoughts, and went down the winding stair again in +high good-humour with himself and all the world. + +By this time it was coming near to the Feast of Yule, and at that +Festival it was the custom for the Earl and his Court to leave Kirkwall +for some weeks, and go to the great Palace of Orphir, nine miles +distant. And in order to see that everything was ready, Earl Paul took +his departure some days before the others. + +The evening before he left he chanced to find the Lady Morna sitting +alone in one of the deep windows of the great hall. She had been +weeping, for she was full of sadness at the thought of his departure; +and at the sight of her distress the kind-hearted young Earl could no +longer contain himself, but, folding her in his arms, he whispered to +her how much he loved her, and begged her to promise to be his wife. + +She agreed willingly. Hiding her rosy face on his shoulder, she +confessed that she had loved him from the very first day that she had +seen him; and ever since that moment she had determined that, if she +could not wed him, she would wed no other man. + +For a little time they sat together, rejoicing in their new-found +happiness. Then Earl Paul sprang to his feet. + +"Let us go and tell the good news to my mother and my brother," he said. +"Harold may be disappointed at first, for I know, Sweetheart, he would +fain have had thee for his own. But his good heart will soon overcome +all that, and he will rejoice with us also." + +But the Lady Morna shook her head. She knew, better than her lover, what +Earl Harold's feeling would be; and she would fain put off the evil +hour. + +"Let us hold our peace till after Yule," she pleaded. "It will be a joy +to keep our secret to ourselves for a little space; there will be time +enough then to let all the world know." + +Rather reluctantly, Earl Paul agreed; and next day he set off for the +Palace at Orphir, leaving his lady-love behind him. + +Little he guessed the danger he was in! For, all unknown to him, his +step-aunt, Countess Fraukirk, had chanced to be in the hall, the evening +before, hidden behind a curtain, and she had overheard every word that +Morna and he had spoken, and her heart was filled with black rage. + +For she was a hard, ambitious woman, and she had always hated the young +Earl, who was no blood-relation to her, and who stood in the way of his +brother, her own nephew; for, if Paul were only dead, Harold would be +the sole Earl of Orkney. + +And now that he had stolen the heart of the Lady Morna, whom her own +nephew loved, her hate and anger knew no bounds. She had hastened off to +her sister's chamber as soon as the lovers had parted; and there the two +women had remained talking together till the chilly dawn broke in the +sky. + +[Illustration: M. Meredith Williams + +Countess Fraukirk ... hidden behind a curtain ... overheard every +word.] + +Next day a boat went speeding over the narrow channel of water that +separates Pomona (on the mainland) from Hoy. In it sat a woman, but who +she was, or what she was like, no one could say, for she was covered +from head to foot with a black cloak, and her face was hidden behind a +thick, dark veil. + +Snorro the Dwarf knew her, even before she laid aside her trappings, for +Countess Fraukirk was no stranger to him. In the course of her long life +she had often had occasion to seek his aid to help her in her evil +deeds, and she had always paid him well for his services in yellow gold. +He therefore welcomed her gladly; but when he had heard the nature of +her errand his smiling face grew grave again, and he shook his head. + +"I have served thee well, Lady, in the past," he said, "but methinks +that this thing goeth beyond my courage. For to compass an Earl's death +is a weighty matter, especially when he is so well beloved as is the +Earl Paul. + +"Thou knowest why I have taken up my abode in this lonely spot--how I +hope some day to light upon the magic carbuncle. Thou knowest also how +the people fear me, and hate me too, forsooth. And if the young Earl +died, and suspicion fell on me, I must needs fly the Island, for my life +would not be worth a grain of sand. Then my chance of success would be +gone. Nay! I cannot do it, Lady; I cannot do it." + +[Illustration] + +But the wily Countess offered him much gold, and bribed him higher and +higher, first with wealth, then with success, and lastly she promised to +obtain for him a high post at the Court of the King of Scotland; and at +that his ambition stirred within him, his determination gave way, and he +consented to do what she asked. + +"I will summon my magic loom," he said, "and weave a piece of cloth of +finest texture and of marvellous beauty; and before I weave it I will so +poison the thread with a magic potion that, when it is fashioned into a +garment, whoever puts it on will die ere he hath worn it many minutes." + +"Thou art a clever knave," answered the Countess, a cruel smile lighting +up her evil face, "and thou shalt be rewarded. Let me have a couple of +yards of this wonderful web, and I will make a bonnie waistcoat for my +fine young Earl and give it to him as a Yuletide gift. Then I reckon +that he will not see the year out." + +"That will he not," said Dwarf Snorro, with a malicious grin; and the +two parted, after arranging that the piece of cloth should be delivered +at the Palace of Orphir on the day before Christmas Eve. + +Now, when the Countess Fraukirk had been away upon her wicked errand, +strange things were happening at the Castle at Kirkwall. For Harold, +encouraged by his brother's absence, offered his heart and hand once +more to the Lady Morna. Once more she refused him, and in order to make +sure that the scene should not be repeated, she told him that she had +plighted her troth to his brother. When he heard that this was so, rage +and fury were like to devour him. Mad with anger, he rushed from her +presence, flung himself upon his horse, and rode away in the direction +of the sea shore. + +While he was galloping wildly along, his eyes fell on the snow-clad +hills of Hoy rising up across the strip of sea that divided the one +island from the other. And his thoughts flew at once to Snorro the +Dwarf, who he had had occasion, as well as his step-aunt, to visit in +bygone days. + +"I have it," he cried. "Stupid fool that I was not to think of it at +once. I will go to Snorro, and buy from him a love-potion, which will +make my Lady Morna hate my precious brother and turn her thoughts kindly +towards me." + +So he made haste to hire a boat, and soon he was speeding over the +tossing waters on his way to the Island of Hoy. When he arrived there he +hurried up the lonely valley to where the Dwarfie Stone stood, and he +had no difficulty in finding its uncanny occupant, for Snorro was +standing at the hole that served as a door, his raven on his shoulder, +gazing placidly at the setting sun. + +A curious smile crossed his face when, hearing the sound of approaching +footsteps, he turned round and his eyes fell on the young noble. + +"What bringeth thee here, Sir Earl?" he asked gaily, for he scented more +gold. + +"I come for a love-potion," said Harold; and without more ado he told +the whole story to the Wizard. "I will pay thee for it," he added, "if +thou wilt give it to me quickly." + +Snorro looked at him from head to foot. "Blind must the maiden be, Sir +Orator," he said, "who needeth a love-potion to make her fancy so +gallant a Knight." + +Earl Harold laughed angrily. "It is easier to catch a sunbeam than a +woman's roving fancy," he replied. "I have no time for jesting. For, +hearken, old man, there is a proverb that saith, 'Time and tide wait for +no man,' so I need not expect the tide to wait for me. The potion I must +have, and that instantly." + +Snorro saw that he was in earnest, so without a word he entered his +dwelling, and in a few minutes returned with a small phial in his hand, +which was full of a rosy liquid. + +"Pour the contents of this into the Lady Morna's wine-cup," he said, +"and I warrant thee that before four-and-twenty hours have passed she +will love thee better than thou lovest her now." + +Then he waved his hand, as if to dismiss his visitor, and disappeared +into his dwelling-place. + +Earl Harold made all speed back to the Castle; but it was not until one +or two days had elapsed that he found a chance to pour the love-potion +into the Lady Morna's wine-cup. But at last, one night at supper, he +found an opportunity of doing so, and, waving away the little page-boy, +he handed it to her himself. + +She raised it to her lips, but she only made a pretence at drinking, for +she had seen the hated Earl fingering the cup, and she feared some deed +of treachery. When he had gone back to his seat she managed to pour the +whole of the wine on the floor, and smiled to herself at the look of +satisfaction that came over Harold's face as she put down the empty +cup. + +His satisfaction increased, for from that moment she felt so afraid of +him that she treated him with great kindness, hoping that by doing so +she would keep in his good graces until the Court moved to Orphir, and +her own true love could protect her. + +Harold, on his side, was delighted with her graciousness, for he felt +certain that the charm was beginning to work, and that his hopes would +soon be fulfilled. + +A week later the Court removed to the Royal Palace at Orphir, where Earl +Paul had everything in readiness for the reception of his guests. + +Of course he was overjoyed to meet Lady Morna again, and she was +overjoyed to meet him, for she felt that she was now safe from the +unwelcome attentions of Earl Harold. + +But to Earl Harold the sight of their joy was as gall and bitterness, +and he could scarcely contain himself, although he still trusted in the +efficacy of Snorro the Dwarf's love-potion. + +As for Countess Fraukirk and Countess Helga, they looked forward eagerly +to the time when the magic web would arrive, out of which they hoped to +fashion a fatal gift for Earl Paul. + +At last, the day before Christmas Eve, the two wicked women were sitting +in the Countess Helga's chamber talking of the time when Earl Harold +would rule alone in Orkney, when a tap came to the window, and on +looking round they saw Dwarf Snorro's grey-headed Raven perched on the +sill, a sealed packet in its beak. + +They opened the casement, and with a hoarse croak the creature let the +packet drop on to the floor; then it flapped its great wings and rose +slowly into the air again its head turned in the direction of Hoy. + +With fingers that trembled with excitement they broke the seals and +undid the packet. It contained a piece of the most beautiful material +that anyone could possibly imagine, woven in all the colours of the +rainbow, and sparkling with gold and jewels. + +"'Twill make a bonnie waistcoat," exclaimed Countess Fraukirk, with an +unholy laugh. "The Silent Earl will be a braw man when he gets it on." + +Then, without more ado, they set to work to cut out and sew the garment. +All that night they worked, and all next day, till, late in the +afternoon, when they were putting in the last stitches, hurried +footsteps were heard ascending the winding staircase, and Earl Harold +burst open the door. + +His cheeks were red with passion, and his eyes were bright, for he could +not but notice that, now that she was safe at Orphir under her true +love's protection, the Lady Morna's manner had grown cold and distant +again, and he was beginning to lose faith in Snorro's charm. + +Angry and disappointed, he had sought his mother's room to pour out his +story of vexation to her. + +He stopped short, however, when he saw the wonderful waistcoat lying on +the table, all gold and silver and shining colours. It was like a fairy +garment, and its beauty took his breath away. + +"For whom hast thou purchased that?" he asked, hoping to hear that it +was intended for him. + +"'Tis a Christmas gift for thy brother Paul," answered his mother, and +she would have gone on to tell him how deadly a thing it was, had he +given her time to speak. But her words fanned his fury into madness, for +it seemed to him that this hated brother of his was claiming everything. + +"Everything is for Paul! I am sick of his very name," he cried. "By my +troth, he shall not have this!" and he snatched the vest from the table. + +It was in vain that his mother and his aunt threw themselves at his +feet, begging him to lay it down, and warning him that there was not a +thread in it which was not poisoned. He paid no heed to their words, but +rushed from the room, and, drawing it on, ran downstairs with a reckless +laugh, to show the Lady Morna how fine he was. + +Alas! alas! Scarce had he gained the hall than he fell to the ground in +great pain. + +Everyone crowded round him, and the two Countesses, terrified now by +what they had done, tried in vain to tear the magic vest from his body. +But he felt that it was too late, the deadly poison had done its work, +and, waving them aside, he turned to his brother, who, in great +distress, had knelt down and taken him tenderly in his arms. + +"I wronged thee, Paul," he gasped. "For thou hast ever been true and +kind. Forgive me in thy thoughts, and," he added, gathering up his +strength for one last effort, and pointing to the two wretched women who +had wrought all this misery, "_Beware of those two women_, for they +seek to take thy life." Then his head sank back on his brother's +shoulder, and, with one long sigh, he died. + +When he learned what had happened, and understood where the waistcoat +came from, and for what purpose it had been intended, the anger of the +Silent Earl knew no bounds. He swore a great oath that he would be +avenged, not only on Snorro the Dwarf, but also on his wicked +step-mother and her cruel sister. + +His vengeance was baulked, however, for in the panic and confusion that +followed Harold's death, the two Countesses slipped out of the Palace +and fled to the coast, and took boat in haste to Scotland, where they +had great possessions, and where they were much looked up to, and where +no one would believe a word against them. + +But retribution fell on them in the end, as it always does fall, sooner +or later, on everyone who is wicked, or selfish, or cruel; for the +Norsemen invaded the land, and their Castle was set on fire, and they +perished miserably in the flames. + +When Earl Paul found that they had escaped, he set out in hot haste for +the Island of Hoy, for he was determined that the Dwarf, at least, +should not escape. But when he came to the Dwarfie Stone he found it +silent and deserted, all trace of its uncanny occupants having +disappeared. + +No one knew what had become of them; a few people were inclined to think +that the Dwarf and his Raven had accompanied the Countess Fraukirk and +the Countess Helga on their flight, but the greater part of the +Islanders held to the belief, which I think was the true one, that the +Powers of the Air spirited Snorro away, and shut him up in some unknown +place as a punishment for his wickedness, and that his Raven accompanied +him. + +At any rate, he was never seen again by any living person, and wherever +he went, he lost all chance of finding the magic carbuncle. + +As for the Silent Earl and his Irish Sweetheart, they were married as +soon as Earl Harold's funeral was over; and for hundreds of years +afterwards, when the inhabitants of the Orkney Isles wanted to express +great happiness, they said, "As happy as Earl Paul and the Countess +Morna." + + + + +CANONBIE DICK AND THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE + + +It chanced, long years ago, that a certain horse-dealer lived in the +South of Scotland, near the Border, not very far from Longtown. He was +known as Canonbie Dick; and as he went up and down the country, he +almost always had a long string of horses behind him, which he bought at +one fair and sold at another, generally managing to turn a good big +penny by the transaction. + +He was a very fearless man, not easily daunted; and the people who knew +him used to say that if Canonbie Dick dare not attempt a thing, no one +else need be asked to do it. + +One evening, as he was returning from a fair at some distance from his +home with a pair of horses which he had not succeeded in selling, he was +riding over Bowden Moor, which lies to the west of the Eildon Hills. +These hills are, as all men know, the scene of some of the most famous +of Thomas the Rhymer's prophecies; and also, so men say, they are the +sleeping-place of King Arthur and his Knights, who rest under the three +high peaks, waiting for the mystic call that shall awake them. + +But little recked the horse-dealer of Arthur and his Knights, nor yet of +Thomas the Rhymer. He was riding along at a snail's pace, thinking over +the bargains which he had made at the fair that day, and wondering when +he was likely to dispose of his two remaining horses. + +All at once he was startled by the approach of a venerable man, with +white hair and an old-world dress, who seemed almost to start out of the +ground, so suddenly did he make his appearance. + +When they met, the stranger stopped, and, to Canonbie Dick's great +amazement, asked him for how much he would be willing to part with his +horses. + +The wily horse-dealer thought that he saw a chance of driving a good +bargain, for the stranger looked a man of some consequence; so he named +a good round sum. + +The old man tried to bargain with him; but when he found that he had not +much chance of succeeding--for no one ever did succeed in inducing +Canonbie Dick to sell a horse for a less sum than he named for it at +first--he agreed to buy the animals, and, pulling a bag of gold from the +pocket of his queerly cut breeches, he began to count out the price. + +As he did so, Canonbie Dick got another shock of surprise, for the +gold that the stranger gave him was not the gold that was in use at the +time, but was fashioned into Unicorns, and Bonnet-pieces, and other +ancient coins, which would be of no use to the horse-dealer in his +everyday transactions. But it was good, pure gold; and he took it +gladly, for he knew that he was selling his horses at about half as much +again as they were worth. "So," thought he to himself, "surely I cannot +be the loser in the long run." + +Then the two parted, but not before the old man had commissioned Dick to +get him other good horses at the same price, the only stipulation he +made being that Dick should always bring them to the same spot, after +dark, and that he should always come alone. + +And, as time went on, the horse-dealer found that he had indeed met a +good customer. + +For, whenever he came across a suitable horse, he had only to lead it +over Bowden Moor after dark, and he was sure to meet the mysterious, +white-headed stranger, who always paid him for the animal in +old-fashioned golden pieces. + +And he might have been selling horses to him yet, for aught I know, had +it not been for his one failing. + +Canonbie Dick was apt to get very thirsty, and his ordinary customers, +knowing this, took care always to provide him with something to drink. +The old man never did so; he paid down his money and led away his +horses, and there was an end of the matter. + +But one night, Dick, being even more thirsty than usual, and feeling +sure that his mysterious friend must live somewhere in the +neighbourhood, seeing that he was always wandering about the hillside +when everyone else was asleep, hinted that he would be very glad to go +home with him and have a little refreshment. + +"He would need to be a brave man who asks to go home with me," returned +the stranger; "but, if thou wilt, thou canst follow me. Only, remember +this--if thy courage fail thee at that which thou wilt behold, thou wilt +rue it all thy life." + +Canonbie Dick laughed long and loud. "My courage hath never failed me +yet," he cried. "Beshrew me if I will let it fail now. So lead on, old +man, and I will follow." + +Without a word the stranger turned and began to ascend a narrow path +which led to a curious hillock, which from its shape, was called by the +country-folk the "Lucken Hare." + +It was supposed to be a great haunt of Witches; and, as a rule, nobody +passed that way after dark, if they could possibly help it. + +Canonbie Dick was not afraid of Witches, however, so he followed his +guide with a bold step up the hillside; but it must be confessed that he +felt a little startled when he saw him turn down what seemed to be an +entrance to a cavern, especially as he never remembered having seen any +opening in the hillside there before. + +He paused for a moment, looking round him in perplexity, wondering where +he was being taken; and his conductor glanced at him scornfully. + +"You can go back if you will," he said. "I warned thee thou wert going +on a journey that would try thy courage to the uttermost." There was a +jeering note in his voice that touched Dick's pride. + +"Who said that I was afraid?" he retorted. "I was just taking note of +where this passage stands on the hillside, so as to know it another +time." + +The stranger shrugged his shoulders. "Time enough to look for it when +thou wouldst visit it again," he said. And then he pursued his way, with +Dick following closely at his heels. + +After the first yard or two they were enveloped in thick darkness, and +the horse-dealer would have been sore put to it to keep near his guide +had not the latter held out his hand for him to grasp. But after a +little space a faint glimmering of light began to appear, which grew +clearer and clearer, until at last they found themselves in an enormous +cavern lit by flaming torches, which were stuck here and there in +sconces in the rocky walls, and which, although they served to give +light enough to see by, yet threw such ghostly shadows on the floor that +they only seemed to intensify the gloom that hung over the vast +apartment. + +And the curious thing about this mysterious cave was that, along one +side of it, ran a long row of horse stalls, just like what one would +find in a stable, and in each stall stood a coal-black charger, saddled +and bridled, as if ready for the fray; and on the straw, by every +horse's side, lay the gallant figure of a knight, clad from head to foot +in coal-black armour, with a drawn sword in his mailed hand. + +But not a horse moved, not a chain rattled. Knights and steeds alike +were silent and motionless, looking exactly as if some strange +enchantment had been thrown over them, and they had been suddenly turned +into black marble. + +There was something so awesome in the still, cold figures and in the +unearthly silence that brooded over everything that Canonbie Dick, +reckless and daring though he was, felt his courage waning and his knees +beginning to shake under him. + +In spite of these feelings, however, he followed the old man up the hall +to the far end of it, where there was a table of ancient workmanship, on +which was placed a glittering sword and a curiously wrought +hunting-horn. + +When they reached this table the stranger turned to him, and said, with +great dignity, "Thou hast heard, good man, of Thomas of +Ercildoune--Thomas the Rhymer, as men call him--he who went to dwell for +a time with the Queen of Fairy-land, and from her received the Gifts of +Truth and Prophecy?" + +Canonbie Dick nodded; for as the wonderful Soothsayer's name fell on his +ears, his heart sank within him and his tongue seemed to cleave to the +roof of his mouth. If he had been brought there to parley with Thomas +the Rhymer, then had he laid himself open to all the eldrich Powers of +Darkness. + +"I that speak to thee am he," went on the white-haired stranger. "And I +have permitted thee thus to have thy desire and follow me hither in +order that I may try of what stuff thou art made. Before thee lies a +Horn and a Sword. He that will sound the one, or draw the other, shall, +if his courage fail not, be King over the whole of Britain. I, Thomas +the Rhymer, have spoken it, and, as thou knowest, my tongue cannot lie. +But list ye, the outcome of it all depends on thy bravery; and it will +be a light task, or a heavy, according as thou layest hand on Sword or +Horn first." + +Now Dick was more versed in giving blows than in making music, and his +first impulse was to seize the Sword, then, come what might, he had +something in his hand to defend himself with. But just as he was about +to lift it the thought struck him that, if the place were full of +spirits, as he felt sure that it must be, this action of him might be +taken to mean defiance, and might cause them to band themselves together +against him. + +[Illustration] + +So, changing his mind, he picked up the Horn with a trembling hand, and +blew a blast upon it, which, however, was so weak and feeble that it +could scarce be heard at the other end of the hall. + +The result that followed was enough to appal the stoutest heart. Thunder +rolled in crashing peals through the immense hall. The charmed Knights +and their horses woke in an instant from their enchanted sleep. The +Knights sprang to their feet and seized their swords, brandishing them +round their heads, while their great black chargers stamped, and +snorted, and ground their bits, as if eager to escape from their stalls. +And where a moment before all had been stillness and silence, there was +now a scene of wild din and excitement. + +Now was the time for Canonbie Dick to play the man. If he had done so +all the rest of his life might have been different. + +But his courage failed him, and he lost his chance. Terrified at seeing +so many threatening faces turned towards him, he dropped the Horn and +made one weak, undecided effort to pick up the Sword. + +But, ere he could do so, a mysterious voice sounded from somewhere in +the hall, and these were the words that it uttered: + + "Woe to the coward, that ever he was born, + Who did not draw the Sword before he blew the Horn." + +And, before Dick knew what he was about, a perfect whirlwind of cold, +raw air tore through the cavern, carrying the luckless horse-dealer +along with it; and, hurrying him along the narrow passage through which +he had entered, dashed him down outside on a bank of loose stones and +shale. He fell right to the bottom, and was found, with little life left +in him, next morning, by some shepherds, to whom he had just strength +enough left to whisper the story of his weird and fearful adventure. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LAIRD O' CO' + + +It was a fine summer morning, and the Laird o' Co' was having a dander +on the green turf outside the Castle walls. His real name was the Laird +o' Colzean, and his descendants to-day bear the proud title of Marquises +of Ailsa, but all up and down Ayrshire nobody called him anything else +than the Laird o' Co'; because of the Co's, or caves, which were to be +found in the rock on which his Castle was built. + +He was a kind man, and a courteous, always ready to be interested in the +affairs of his poorer neighbours, and willing to listen to any tale of +woe. + +So when a little boy came across the green, carrying a small can in his +hand, and, pulling his forelock, asked him if he might go to the Castle +and get a little ale for his sick mother, the Laird gave his consent at +once, and, patting the little fellow on the head, told him to go to the +kitchen and ask for the butler, and tell him that he, the Laird, had +given orders that his can was to be filled with the best ale that was in +the cellar. + +Away the boy went, and found the old butler, who, after listening to +his message, took him down into the cellar, and proceeded to carry out +his Master's orders. + +There was one cask of particularly fine ale, which was kept entirely for +the Laird's own use, which had been opened some time before, and which +was now about half full. + +"I will fill the bairn's can out o' this," thought the old man to +himself. "'Tis both nourishing and light--the very thing for sick folk." +So, taking the can from the child's hand, he proceeded to draw the ale. + +But what was his astonishment to find that, although the ale flowed +freely enough from the barrel, the little can, which could not have held +more than a quarter of a gallon, remained always just half full. + +The ale poured into it in a clear amber stream, until the big cask was +quite empty, and still the quantity that was in the little can did not +seem to increase. + +The butler could not understand it. He looked at the cask, and then he +looked at the can; then he looked down at the floor at his feet to see +if he had not spilt any. + +No, the ale had not disappeared in that way, for the cellar floor was as +white, and dry, and clean, as possible. + +"Plague on the can; it must be bewitched," thought the old man, and his +short, stubby hair stood up like porcupine quills round his bald head, +for if there was anything on earth of which he had a mortal dread, it +was Warlocks, and Witches, and such like Bogles. + +"I'm not going to broach another barrel," he said gruffly, handing back +the half-filled can to the little lad. "So ye may just go home with what +is there; the Laird's ale is too good to waste on a smatchet like thee." + +But the boy stoutly held his ground. A promise was a promise, and the +Laird had both promised, and sent orders to the butler that the can was +to be filled, and he would not go home till it was filled. + +It was in vain that the old man first argued, and then grew angry--the +boy would not stir a step. + +"The Laird had said that he was to get the ale, and the ale he must +have." + +At last the perturbed butler left him standing there, and hurried off to +his master to tell him he was convinced that the can was bewitched, for +it had swallowed up a whole half cask of ale, and after doing so it was +only half full; and to ask if he would come down himself, and order the +lad off the premises. + +"Not I," said the genial Laird, "for the little fellow is quite right. I +promised that he should have his can full of ale to take home to his +sick mother, and he shall have it if it takes all the barrels in my +cellar to fill it. So haste thee to the house again, and open another +cask." + +The butler dare not disobey; so he reluctantly retraced his steps, but, +as he went, he shook his head sadly, for it seemed to him that not only +the boy with the can, but his master also, was bewitched. + +When he reached the cellar he found the bairn waiting patiently where he +had left him, and, without wasting further words, he took the can from +his hand and broached another barrel. + +If he had been astonished before, he was more astonished now. Scarce had +a couple of drops fallen from the tap, than the can was full to the +brim. + +"Take it, laddie, and begone, with all the speed thou canst," he said, +glad to get the can out of his fingers; and the boy did not wait for a +second bidding. Thanking the butler most earnestly for his trouble, and +paying no attention to the fact that the old man had not been so civil +to him as he might have been, he departed. Nor, though the butler took +pains to ask all round the country-side, could he ever hear of him again, +nor of anyone who knew anything about him, or anything about his sick +mother. + +Years passed by, and sore trouble fell upon the House o' Co'. For the +Laird went to fight in the wars in Flanders, and, chancing to be taken +prisoner, he was shut up in prison, and condemned to death. Alone, in a +foreign country, he had no friends to speak for him, and escape seemed +hopeless. + +It was the night before his execution, and he was sitting in his lonely +cell, thinking sadly of his wife and children, whom he never expected to +see again. At the thought of them the picture of his home rose clearly +in his mind--the grand old Castle standing on its rock, and the bonnie +daisy-spangled stretch of greensward which lay before its gates, where +he had been wont to take a dander in the sweet summer mornings. Then, +all unbidden, a vision of the little lad carrying the can, who had come +to beg ale for his sick mother, and whom he had long ago forgotten, rose +up before him. + +[Illustration] + +The vision was so clear and distinct that he felt almost as if he were +acting the scene over again, and he rubbed his eyes to get rid of it, +feeling that, if he had to die to-morrow, it was time that he turned +his thoughts to better things. + +But as he did so the door of his cell flew noiselessly open, and there, +on the threshold, stood the self-same little lad, looking not a day +older, with his finger on his lip, and a mysterious smile upon his face. + + "Laird o' Co', + Rise and go!" + +he whispered, beckoning to him to follow him. Needless to say, the Laird +did so, too much amazed to think of asking questions. + +Through the long passages of the prison the little lad went, the Laird +close at his heels; and whenever he came to a locked door, he had but to +touch it, and it opened before them, so that in no long time they were +safe outside the walls. + +The overjoyed Laird would have overwhelmed his little deliverer with +words of thanks had not the boy held up his hand to stop him. "Get on my +back," he said shortly, "for thou are not safe till thou art out of this +country." + +The Laird did as he was bid, and, marvellous as it seems, the boy was +quite able to bear his weight. As soon as he was comfortably seated the +pair set off, over sea and land, and never stopped till, in almost less +time than it takes to tell it, the boy set him down, in the early dawn, +on the daisy-spangled green in front of his Castle, just where he had +spoken first to him so many years before. + +Then he turned, and laid his little hand on the Laird's big one: + + "Ae gude turn deserves anither, + Tak' ye that for being sae kind to my auld mither," + +he said, and vanished. + +And from that day to this he has never been seen again. + +[Illustration] + + + + +POUSSIE BAUDRONS + + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + Where hae ye been?" + "I've been at London, + Seeing the Queen!" + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + What got ye there?" + "I got a guid fat mousikie, + Rinning up a stair." + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + What did ye do wi't?" + "I put it in my meal-poke + To eat it to my bread." + +[Illustration: I got a guid fat mousikie Rinning up a stair] + + + + +THE MILK-WHITE DOO + + +There was once a man who got his living by working in the fields. He had +one little son, called Curly-Locks, and one little daughter, called +Golden-Tresses; but his wife was dead, and, as he had to be out all day, +these children were often left alone. So, as he was afraid that some +evil might befall them when there was no one to look after them, he, in +an ill day, married again. + +I say, "in an ill day," for his second wife was a most deceitful woman, +who really hated children, although she pretended, before her marriage, +to love them. And she was so unkind to them, and made the house so +uncomfortable with her bad temper, that her poor husband often sighed to +himself, and wished that he had let well alone, and remained a widower. + +But it was no use crying over spilt milk; the deed was done, and he had +just to try to make the best of it. So things went on for several years, +until the children were beginning to run about the doors and play by +themselves. + +Then one day the Goodman chanced to catch a hare, and he brought it +home and gave it to his wife to cook for the dinner. + +Now his wife was a very good cook, and she made the hare into a pot of +delicious soup; but she was also very greedy, and while the soup was +boiling she tasted it, and tasted it, till at last she discovered that +it was almost gone. Then she was in a fine state of mind, for she knew +that her husband would soon be coming home for his dinner, and that she +would have nothing to set before him. + +So what do you think the wicked woman did? She went out to the door, +where her little step-son, Curly-Locks, was playing in the sun, and told +him to come in and get his face washed. And while she was washing his +face, she struck him on the head with a hammer and stunned him, and +popped him into the pot to make soup for his father's dinner. + +By and by the Goodman came in from his work, and the soup was dished up; +and he, and his wife, and his little daughter, Golden-Tresses, sat down +to sup it. + +"Where's Curly-Locks?" asked the Goodman. "It's a pity he is not here as +long as the soup is hot." + +"How should I ken?" answered his wife crossly. "I have other work to do +than to run about after a mischievous laddie all the morning." + +The Goodman went on supping his soup in silence for some minutes; then +he lifted up a little foot in his spoon. + +"This is Curly-Locks' foot," he cried in horror. "There hath been ill +work here." + +"Hoots, havers," answered his wife, laughing, pretending to be very much +amused. "What should Curly-Locks' foot be doing in the soup? 'Tis the +hare's forefoot, which is very like that of a bairn." + +[Illustration] + +But presently the Goodman took something else up in his spoon. + +"This is Curly-Locks' hand," he said shrilly. "I ken it by the crook in +its little finger." + +"The man's demented," retorted his wife, "not to ken the hind foot of a +hare when he sees it!" + +So the poor father did not say any more, but went away out to his work, +sorely perplexed in his mind; while his little daughter, +Golden-Tresses, who had a shrewd suspicion of what had happened, +gathered all the bones from the empty plates, and, carrying them away in +her apron, buried them beneath a flat stone, close by a white rose tree +that grew by the cottage door. + +And, lo and behold! those poor bones, which she buried with such care: + + "Grew and grew, + To a milk-white Doo, + That took its wings, + And away it flew." + +And at last it lighted on a tuft of grass by a burnside, where two women +were washing clothes. It sat there cooing to itself for some time; then +it sang this song softly to them: + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The women stopped washing and looked at one another in astonishment. It +was not every day that they came across a bird that could sing a song +like that, and they felt that there was something not canny about it. + +"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird," said one of them at last, "and +we'll give thee all these clothes!" + +So the bird sang its song over again, and the washerwomen gave it all +the clothes, and it tucked them under its right wing, and flew on. + +[Illustration] + +Presently it came to a house where all the windows were open, and it +perched on one of the window-sills, and inside it saw a man counting out +a great heap of silver. + +And, sitting on the window-sill, it sang its song to him: + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The man stopped counting his silver, and listened. He felt, like the +washerwomen, that there was something not canny about this Doo. When it +had finished its song, he said: + +"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird, and I'll give thee a' this siller +in a bag." + +So the Doo sang its song over again, and got the bag of silver, which it +tucked under its left wing. Then it flew on. + +It had not flown very far, however, before it came to a mill where two +millers were grinding corn. And it settled down on a sack of meal and +sang its song to them. + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The millers stopped their work, and looked at one another, scratching +their heads in amazement. + +"Sing that song over again, my bonnie bird!" exclaimed both of them +together when the Doo had finished, "and we will give thee this +millstone." + +So the Doo repeated its song, and got the millstone, which it asked one +of the millers to lift on its back; then it flew out of the mill, and up +the valley, leaving the two men staring after it dumb with astonishment. + +As you may think, the Milk-White Doo had a heavy load to carry, but it +went bravely on till it came within sight of its father's cottage, and +lighted down at last on the thatched roof. + +Then it laid its burdens on the thatch, and, flying down to the +courtyard, picked up a number of little chuckie stones. With them in its +beak it flew back to the roof, and began to throw them down the chimney. + +By this time it was evening, and the Goodman and his wife, and his +little daughter, Golden-Tresses, were sitting round the table eating +their supper. And you may be sure that they were all very much startled +when the stones came rattling down the chimney, bringing such a cloud of +soot with them that they were like to be smothered. They all jumped up +from their chairs, and ran outside to see what the matter was. + +And Golden-Tresses, being the littlest, ran the fastest, and when she +came out at the door the Milk-White Doo flung the bundle of clothes down +at her feet. + +And the father came out next, and the Milk-White Doo flung the bag of +silver down at his feet. + +But the wicked step-mother, being somewhat stout came out last, and the +Milk-White Doo threw the millstone right down on her head and killed +her. + +Then it spread its wings and flew away, and has never been seen again; +but it had made the Goodman and his daughter rich for life, and it had +rid them of the cruel step-mother, so that they lived in peace and +plenty for the remainder of their days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE DRAIGLIN' HOGNEY + + +There was once a man who had three sons, and very little money to +provide for them. So, when the eldest had grown into a lad, and saw that +there was no means of making a livelihood at home, he went to his father +and said to him: + +"Father, if thou wilt give me a horse to ride on, a hound to hunt with, +and a hawk to fly, I will go out into the wide world and seek my +fortune." + +His father gave him what he asked for; and he set out on his travels. He +rode and he rode, over mountain and glen, until, just at nightfall, he +came to a thick, dark wood. He entered it, thinking that he might find a +path that would lead him through it; but no path was visible, and after +wandering up and down for some time, he was obliged to acknowledge to +himself that he was completely lost. + +There seemed to be nothing for it but to tie his horse to a tree, and +make a bed of leaves for himself on the ground; but just as he was about +to do so he saw a light glimmering in the distance, and, riding on in +the direction in which it was, he soon came to a clearing in the wood, +in which stood a magnificent Castle. + +The windows were all lit up, but the great door was barred; and, after +he had ridden up to it, and knocked, and received no answer, the young +man raised his hunting horn to his lips and blew a loud blast in the +hope of letting the inmates know that he was without. + +Instantly the door flew open of its own accord, and the young man +entered, wondering very much what this strange thing would mean. And he +wondered still more when he passed from room to room, and found that, +although fires were burning brightly everywhere, and there was a +plentiful meal laid out on the table in the great hall, there did not +seem to be a single person in the whole of the vast building. + +However, as he was cold, and tired, and wet, he put his horse in one of +the stalls of the enormous stable, and taking his hawk and hound along +with him, went into the hall and ate a hearty supper. After which he sat +down by the side of the fire, and began to dry his clothes. + +By this time it had grown late, and he was just thinking of retiring to +one of the bedrooms which he had seen upstairs and going to bed, when a +clock which was hanging on the wall struck twelve. + +Instantly the door of the huge apartment opened, and a most +awful-looking Draiglin' Hogney entered. His hair was matted and his +beard was long, and his eyes shone like stars of fire from under his +bushy eyebrows, and in his hands he carried a queerly shaped club. + +He did not seem at all astonished to see his unbidden guest; but, coming +across the hall, he sat down upon the opposite side of the fireplace, +and, resting his chin on his hands, gazed fixedly at him. + +"Doth thy horse ever kick any?" he said at last, in a harsh, rough +voice. + +"Ay, doth he," replied the young man; for the only steed that his father +had been able to give him was a wild and unbroken colt. + +"I have some skill in taming horses," went on the Draiglin' Hogney, +"and I will give thee something to tame thine withal. Throw this over +him"--and he pulled one of the long, coarse hairs out of his head and +gave it to the young man. And there was something so commanding in the +Hogney's voice that he did as he was bid, and went out to the stable and +threw the hair over the horse. + +Then he returned to the hall, and sat down again by the fire. The moment +that he was seated the Draiglin' Hogney asked another question. + +"Doth thy hound ever bite any?" + +"Ay, verily," answered the youth; for his hound was so fierce-tempered +that no man, save his master, dare lay a hand on him. + +"I can cure the wildest tempered dog in Christendom," replied the +Draiglin' Hogney. "Take that, and throw it over him." And he pulled +another hair out of his head and gave it to the young man, who lost no +time in flinging it over his hound. + +There was still a third question to follow. "Doth ever thy hawk peck +any?" + +The young man laughed. "I have ever to keep a bandage over her eyes, +save when she is ready to fly," said he; "else were nothing safe within +her reach." + +"Things will be safe now," said the Hogney, grimly. "Throw that over +her." And for the third time he pulled a hair from his head and handed +it to his companion. And as the other hairs had been thrown over the +horse and the hound, so this one was thrown over the hawk. + +Then, before the young man could draw breath, the fiercesome Draiglin' +Hogney had given him such a clout on the side of his head with his +queer-shaped club that he fell down in a heap on the floor. + +And very soon his hawk and his hound tumbled down still and motionless +beside him; and, out in the stable, his horse became stark and stiff, as +if turned to stone. For the Draiglin's words had meant more than at +first appeared when he said that he could make all unruly animals quiet. + +Some time afterwards the second of the three sons came to his father in +the old home with the same request that his brother had made. That he +should be provided with a horse, a hawk, and a hound, and be allowed to +go out to seek his fortune. And his father listened to him, and gave him +what he asked, as he had given his brother. + +[Illustration: So he set out on his Quest] + +And the young man set out, and in due time came to the wood, and lost +himself in it, just as his brother had done; then he saw the light, and +came to the Castle, and went in, and had supper, and dried his clothes, +just as it all had happened before. + +And the Draiglin' Hogney came in, and asked him the three questions, and +he gave the same three answers, and received three hairs--one to throw +over his horse, one to throw over his hound, and one to throw over his +hawk; then the Hogney killed him, just as he had killed his brother. + +Time passed, and the youngest son, finding that his two elder brothers +never returned, asked his father for a horse, a hawk, and a hound, in +order that he might go and look for them. And the poor old man, who was +feeling very desolate in his old age, gladly gave them to him. + +So he set out on his quest, and at nightfall he came, as the others had +done, to the thick wood and the Castle. But, being a wise and cautious +youth, he liked not the way in which he found things. He liked not the +empty house; he liked not the spread-out feast; and, most of all, he +liked not the look of the Draiglin' Hogney when he saw him. And he +determined to be very careful what he said or did as long as he was in +his company. + +So when the Draiglin' Hogney asked him if his horse kicked, he replied +that it did, in very few words; and when he got one of the Hogney's +hairs to throw over him, he went out to the stable, and pretended to do +so, but he brought it back, hidden in his hand, and, when his unchancy +companion was not looking, he threw it into the fire. It fizzled up like +a tongue of flame with a little hissing sound like that of a serpent. + +"What's that fizzling?" asked the Giant suspiciously. + +"'Tis but the sap of the green wood," replied the young man carelessly, +as he turned to caress his hound. + +The answer satisfied the Draiglin' Hogney, and he paid no heed to the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hound, or the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hawk, made, +when the young man threw them into the fire; and they fizzled up in the +same way that the first had done. + +Then, thinking that he had the stranger in his power, he whisked across +the hearthstone to strike him with his club, as he had struck his +brothers; but the young man was on the outlook, and when he saw him +coming he gave a shrill whistle. And his horse, which loved him dearly, +came galloping in from the stable, and his hound sprang up from the +hearthstone where he had been sleeping; and his hawk, who was sitting on +his shoulder, ruffled up her feathers and screamed harshly; and they all +fell on the Draiglin' Hogney at once, and he found out only too well how +the horse kicked, and the hound bit, and the hawk pecked; for they +kicked him, and bit him, and pecked him, till he was as dead as a door +nail. + +When the young man saw that he was dead, he took his little club from +his hand, and, armed with that, he set out to explore the Castle. + +As he expected, he found that there were dark and dreary dungeons under +it, and in one of them he found his two brothers, lying cold and stiff +side by side. He touched them with the club, and instantly they came to +life again, and sprang to their feet as well as ever. + +Then he went into another dungeon; and there were the two horses, and +the two hawks, and the two hounds, lying as if dead, exactly as their +Masters had lain. He touched them with his magic club, and they, too, +came to life again. + +Then he called to his two brothers, and the three young men searched the +other dungeons, and they found great stores of gold and silver hidden in +them, enough to make them rich for life. + +So they buried the Draiglin' Hogney, and took possession of the Castle; +and two of them went home and brought their old father back with them, +and they all were as prosperous and happy as they could be; and, for +aught that I know, they are living there still. + + + + +THE BROWNIE O' FERNE-DEN + + +There have been many Brownies known in Scotland; and stories have been +written about the Brownie o' Bodsbeck and the Brownie o' Blednock, but +about neither of them has a prettier story been told than that which I +am going to tell you about the Brownie o' Ferne-Den. + +Now, Ferne-Den was a farmhouse, which got its name from the glen, or +"den," on the edge of which it stood, and through which anyone who +wished to reach the dwelling had to pass. + +And this glen was believed to be the abode of a Brownie, who never +appeared to anyone in the daytime, but who, it was said, was sometimes +seen at night, stealing about, like an ungainly shadow, from tree to +tree, trying to keep from observation, and never, by any chance, harming +anybody. + +Indeed, like all Brownies that are properly treated and let alone, so +far was he from harming anybody that he was always on the look-out to do +a good turn to those who needed his assistance. The farmer often said +that he did not know what he would do without him; for if there was any +work to be finished in a hurry at the farm--corn to thrash, or winnow, +or tie up into bags, turnips to cut, clothes to wash, a kirn to be +kirned, a garden to be weeded--all that the farmer and his wife had to +do was to leave the door of the barn, or the turnip shed, or the milk +house open when they went to bed, and put down a bowl of new milk on the +doorstep for the Brownie's supper, and when they woke the next morning +the bowl would be empty, and the job finished better than if it had been +done by mortal hands. + +In spite of all this, however, which might have proved to them how +gentle and kindly the Creature really was, everyone about the place was +afraid of him, and would rather go a couple of miles round about in the +dark, when they were coming home from Kirk or Market, than pass through +the glen, and run the risk of catching a glimpse of him. + +I said that they were all afraid of him, but that was not true, for the +farmer's wife was so good and gentle that she was not afraid of anything +on God's earth, and when the Brownie's supper had to be left outside, +she always filled his bowl with the richest milk, and added a good +spoonful of cream to it, for, said she, "He works so hard for us, and +asks no wages, he well deserves the very best meal that we can give +him." + +One night this gentle lady was taken very ill, and everyone was afraid +that she was going to die. Of course, her husband was greatly +distressed, and so were her servants, for she had been such a good +Mistress to them that they loved her as if she had been their mother. +But they were all young, and none of them knew very much about illness, +and everyone agreed that it would be better to send off for an old woman +who lived about seven miles away on the other side of the river, who was +known to be a very skilful nurse. + +But who was to go? That was the question. For it was black midnight, and +the way to the old woman's house lay straight through the glen. And +whoever travelled that road ran the risk of meeting the dreaded Brownie. + +The farmer would have gone only too willingly, but he dare not leave his +wife alone; and the servants stood in groups about the kitchen, each one +telling the other that he ought to go, yet no one offering to go +themselves. + +Little did they think that the cause of all their terror, a queer, wee, +misshapen little man, all covered with hair, with a long beard, +red-rimmed eyes, broad, flat feet, just like the feet of a paddock, and +enormous long arms that touched the ground, even when he stood upright, +was within a yard or two of them, listening to their talk, with an +anxious face, behind the kitchen door. + +For he had come up as usual, from his hiding-place in the glen, to see +if there were any work for him to do, and to look for his bowl of milk. +And he had seen, from the open door and lit-up windows, that there was +something wrong inside the farmhouse, which at that hour was wont to be +dark, and still, and silent; and he had crept into the entry to try and +find out what the matter was. + +When he gathered from the servants' talk that the Mistress, whom he +loved so dearly, and who had been so kind to him, was ill, his heart +sank within him; and when he heard that the silly servants were so taken +up with their own fears that they dared not set out to fetch a nurse for +her, his contempt and anger knew no bounds. + +"Fools, idiots, dolts!" he muttered to himself, stamping his queer, +misshapen feet on the floor. "They speak as if a body were ready to take +a bite off them as soon as ever he met them. If they only knew the +bother it gives me to keep out of their road they wouldna be so silly. +But, by my troth, if they go on like this, the bonnie lady will die +amongst their fingers. So it strikes me that Brownie must e'en gang +himself." + +So saying, he reached up his hand, and took down a dark cloak which +belonged to the farmer, which was hanging on a peg on the wall, and, +throwing it over his head and shoulders, or as somewhat to hide his +ungainly form, he hurried away to the stable, and saddled and bridled +the fleetest-footed horse that stood there. + +When the last buckle was fastened, he led it to the door and scrambled +on its back. "Now, if ever thou travelledst fleetly, travel fleetly +now," he said; and it was as if the creature understood him, for it gave +a little whinny and pricked up its ears; then it darted out into the +darkness like an arrow from the bow. + +In less time than the distance had ever been ridden in before, the +Brownie drew rein at the old woman's cottage. + +She was in bed, fast asleep; but he rapped sharply on the window, and +when she rose and put her old face, framed in its white mutch, close to +the pane to ask who was there, he bent forward and told her his errand. + +"Thou must come with me, Goodwife, and that quickly," he commanded, in +his deep, harsh voice, "if the Lady of Ferne-Den's life is to be saved; +for there is no one to nurse her up-bye at the farm there, save a lot of +empty-headed servant wenches." + +"But how am I to get there? Have they sent a cart for me?" asked the old +woman anxiously; for, as far as she could see, there was nothing at the +door save a horse and its rider. + +"No, they have sent no cart," replied the Brownie, shortly. "So you must +just climb up behind me on the saddle, and hang on tight to my waist, +and I'll promise to land ye at Ferne-Den safe and sound." + +His voice was so masterful that the old woman dare not refuse to do as +she was bid; besides, she had often ridden pillion-wise when she was a +lassie, so she made haste to dress herself, and when she was ready she +unlocked her door, and, mounting the louping-on stane that stood beside +it, she was soon seated behind the dark-cloaked stranger, with her arms +clasped tightly round him. + +Not a word was spoken till they approached the dreaded glen, then the +old woman felt her courage giving way. "Do ye think that there will be +any chance of meeting the Brownie?" she asked timidly. "I would fain not +run the risk, for folk say that he is an unchancy creature." + +[Illustration] + +Her companion gave a curious laugh. "Keep up your heart, and dinna talk +havers," he said, "for I promise ye ye'll see naught uglier this night +than the man whom ye ride behind." + +"Oh, then, I'm fine and safe," replied the old woman, with a sigh of +relief; "for although I havena' seen your face, I warrant that ye are a +true man, for the care you have taken of a poor old woman." + +She relapsed into silence again till the glen was passed and the good +horse had turned into the farmyard. Then the horseman slid to the +ground, and, turning round, lifted her carefully down in his long, +strong arms. As he did so the cloak slipped off him, revealing his +short, broad body and his misshapen limbs. + +"In a' the world, what kind o' man are ye?" she asked, peering into his +face in the grey morning light, which was just dawning. "What makes your +eyes so big? And what have ye done to your feet? They are more like +paddock's webs than aught else." + +The queer little man laughed again. "I've wandered many a mile in my +time without a horse to help me, and I've heard it said that ower much +walking makes the feet unshapely," he replied. "But waste no time in +talking, good Dame. Go thy way into the house; and, hark'ee, if anyone +asks thee who brought thee hither so quickly, tell them that there was a +lack of men, so thou hadst e'en to be content to ride behind the BROWNIE +O' FERNE-DEN." + + + + +THE WITCH OF FIFE + + +In the Kingdom of Fife, in the days of long ago, there lived an old man +and his wife. The old man was a douce, quiet body, but the old woman was +lightsome and flighty, and some of the neighbours were wont to look at +her askance, and whisper to each other that they sorely feared that she +was a Witch. + +And her husband was afraid of it, too, for she had a curious habit of +disappearing in the gloaming and staying out all night; and when she +returned in the morning she looked quite white and tired, as if she had +been travelling far, or working hard. + +He used to try and watch her carefully, in order to find out where she +went, or what she did, but he never managed to do so, for she always +slipped out of the door when he was not looking, and before he could +reach it to follow her, she had vanished utterly. + +At last, one day, when he could stand the uncertainty no longer, he +asked her to tell him straight out whether she were a Witch or no. And +his blood ran cold when, without the slightest hesitation, she answered +that she was; and if he would promise not to let anyone know, the next +time that she went on one of her midnight expeditions she would tell him +all about it. + +The Goodman promised; for it seemed to him just as well that he should +know all about his wife's cantrips. + +He had not long to wait before he heard of them. For the very next week +the moon was new, which is, as everybody knows, the time of all others +when Witches like to stir abroad; and on the first night of the new moon +his wife vanished. Nor did she return till daybreak next morning. + +And when he asked her where she had been, she told him, in great glee, +how she and four like-minded companions had met at the old Kirk on the +moor and had mounted branches of the green bay tree and stalks of +hemlock, which had instantly changed into horses, and how they had +ridden, swift as the wind, over the country, hunting the foxes, and the +weasels, and the owls; and how at last they had swam the Forth and come +to the top of Bell Lomond. And how there they had dismounted from their +horses, and drunk beer that had been brewed in no earthly brewery, out +of horn cups that had been fashioned by no mortal hands. + +And how, after that, a wee, wee man had jumped up from under a great +mossy stone, with a tiny set of bagpipes under his arm, and how he had +piped such wonderful music, that, at the sound of it, the very trouts +jumped out of the Loch below, and the stoats crept out of their holes, +and the corby crows and the herons came and sat on the trees in the +darkness, to listen. And how all the Witches danced until they were so +weary that, when the time came for them to mount their steeds again, if +they would be home before cock-crow, they could scarce sit on them for +fatigue. + +[Illustration: Ridden and Ridden--Till they Reached the land of the +Lapps] + +The Goodman listened to this long story in silence, shaking his head +meanwhile, and, when it was finished, all that he answered was: "And +what the better are ye for all your dancing? Ye'd have been a deal more +comfortable at home." + +At the next new moon the old wife went off again for the night; and when +she returned in the morning she told her husband how, on this occasion, +she and her friends had taken cockle-shells for boats, and had sailed +away over the stormy sea till they reached Norway. And there they had +mounted invisible horses of wind, and had ridden and ridden, over +mountains and glens, and glaciers, till they reached the land of the +Lapps lying under its mantle of snow. + +And here all the Elves, and Fairies, and Mermaids of the North were +holding festival with Warlocks, and Brownies, and Pixies, and even the +Phantom Hunters themselves, who are never looked upon by mortal eyes. +And the Witches from Fife held festival with them, and danced, and +feasted, and sang with them, and, what was of more consequence, they +learned from them certain wonderful words, which, when they uttered +them, would bear them through the air, and would undo all bolts and +bars, and so gain them admittance to any place soever where they wanted +to be. And after that they had come home again, delighted with the +knowledge which they had acquired. + +"What took ye to siccan a land as that?" asked the old man, with a +contemptuous grunt. "Ye would hae been a sight warmer in your bed." + +But when his wife returned from her next adventure, he showed a little +more interest in her doings. + +For she told him how she and her friends had met in the cottage of one +of their number, and how, having heard that the Lord Bishop of Carlisle +had some very rare wine in his cellar, they had placed their feet on the +crook from which the pot hung, and had pronounced the magic words which +they had learned from the Elves of Lappland. And, lo and behold! they +flew up the chimney like whiffs of smoke, and sailed through the air +like little wreathes of cloud, and in less time than it takes to tell +they landed at the Bishop's Palace at Carlisle. + +And the bolts and the bars flew loose before them, and they went down to +his cellar and sampled his wine, and were back in Fife, fine, sober, old +women by cock-crow. + +When he heard this, the old man started from his chair in right earnest, +for he loved good wine above all things, and it was but seldom that it +came his way. + +"By my troth, but thou art a wife to be proud of!" he cried. "Tell me +the words, Woman! and I will e'en go and sample his Lordship's wine for +myself." + +But the Goodwife shook her head. "Na, na! I cannot do that," she said, +"for if I did, an' ye telled it over again, 'twould turn the whole world +upside down. For everybody would be leaving their own lawful work, and +flying about the world after other folk's business and other folk's +dainties. So just bide content, Goodman. Ye get on fine with the +knowledge ye already possess." + +And although the old man tried to persuade her with all the soft words +he could think of, she would not tell him her secret. + +But he was a sly old man, and the thought of the Bishop's wine gave him +no rest. So night after night he went and hid in the old woman's +cottage, in the hope that his wife and her friends would meet there; and +although for a long time it was all in vain, at last his trouble was +rewarded. For one evening the whole five old women assembled, and in low +tones and with chuckles of laughter they recounted all that had befallen +them in Lappland. Then, running to the fireplace, they, one after +another, climbed on a chair and put their feet on the sooty crook. Then +they repeated the magic words, and, hey, presto! they were up the lum +and away before the old man could draw his breath. + +"I can do that, too," he said to himself; and he crawled out of his +hiding-place and ran to the fire. He put his foot on the crook and +repeated the words, and up the chimney he went, and flew through the air +after his wife and her companions, as if he had been a Warlock born. + +And, as Witches are not in the habit of looking over their shoulders, +they never noticed that he was following them, until they reached the +Bishop's Palace and went down into his cellar, then, when they found +that he was among them, they were not too well pleased. + +However, there was no help for it, and they settled down to enjoy +themselves. They tapped this cask of wine, and they tapped that, +drinking a little of each, but not too much; for they were cautious old +women, and they knew that if they wanted to get home before cock-crow it +behoved them to keep their heads clear. + +But the old man was not so wise, for he sipped, and he sipped, until at +last he became quite drowsy, and lay down on the floor and fell fast +asleep. + +And his wife, seeing this, thought that she would teach him a lesson not +to be so curious in the future. So, when she and her four friends +thought that it was time to be gone, she departed without waking him. + +He slept peacefully for some hours, until two of the Bishop's servants, +coming down to the cellar to draw wine for their Master's table, almost +fell over him in the darkness. Greatly astonished at his presence there, +for the cellar door was fast locked, they dragged him up to the light +and shook him, and cuffed him, and asked him how he came to be there. + +And the poor old man was so confused at being awakened in this rough +way, and his head seemed to whirl round so fast, that all he could +stammer out was, "that he came from Fife, and that he had travelled on +the midnight wind." + +As soon as they heard that, the men servants cried out that he was a +Warlock, and they dragged him before the Bishop, and, as Bishops in +those days had a holy horror of Warlocks and Witches, he ordered him to +be burned alive. + +When the sentence was pronounced, you may be very sure that the poor old +man wished with all his heart that he had stayed quietly at home in bed, +and never hankered after the Bishop's wine. + +But it was too late to wish that now, for the servants dragged him out +into the courtyard, and put a chain round his waist, and fastened it to +a great iron stake, and they piled faggots of wood round his feet and +set them alight. + +As the first tiny little tongue of flame crept up, the poor old man +thought that his last hour had come. But when he thought that, he forgot +completely that his wife was a Witch. + +[Illustration: His chains fell off, and he mounted in the air,--up and +up--] + +For, just as the little tongue of flame began to singe his +breeches, there was a swish and a flutter in the air, and a great Grey +Bird, with outstretched wings, appeared in the sky, and swooped down +suddenly, and perched for a moment on the old man's shoulder. + +And in this Grey Bird's mouth was a little red pirnie, which, to +everyone's amazement, it popped on to the prisoner's head. Then it gave +one fierce croak, and flew away again, but to the old man's ears that +croak was the sweetest music that he had ever heard. + +For to him it was the croak of no earthly bird, but the voice of his +wife whispering words of magic to him. And when he heard them he jumped +for joy, for he knew that they were words of deliverance, and he shouted +them aloud, and his chains fell off, and he mounted in the air--up and +up--while the onlookers watched him in awestruck silence. + +He flew right away to the Kingdom of Fife, without as much as saying +good-bye to them; and when he found himself once more safely at home, +you may be very sure that he never tried to find out his wife's secrets +again, but left her alone to her own devices. + + + + +ASSIPATTLE AND THE MESTER STOORWORM + + +In far bygone days, in the North, there lived a well-to-do farmer, who +had seven sons and one daughter. And the youngest of these seven sons +bore a very curious name; for men called him Assipattle, which means, +"He who grovels among the ashes." + +Perhaps Assipattle deserved his name, for he was rather a lazy boy, who +never did any work on the farm as his brothers did, but ran about the +doors with ragged clothes and unkempt hair, and whose mind was ever +filled with wondrous stories of Trolls and Giants, Elves and Goblins. + +When the sun was hot in the long summer afternoons, when the bees droned +drowsily and even the tiny insects seemed almost asleep, the boy was +content to throw himself down on the ash-heap amongst the ashes, and lie +there, lazily letting them run through his fingers, as one might play +with sand on the sea-shore, basking in the sunshine and telling stories +to himself. + +And his brothers, working hard in the fields, would point to him with +mocking fingers, and laugh, and say to each other how well the name +suited him, and of how little use he was in the world. + +And when they came home from their work, they would push him about and +tease him, and even his mother would make him sweep the floor, and draw +water from the well, and fetch peats from the peat-stack, and do all the +little odd jobs that nobody else would do. + +So poor Assipattle had rather a hard life of it, and he would often have +been very miserable had it not been for his sister, who loved him +dearly, and who would listen quite patiently to all the stories that he +had to tell; who never laughed at him or told him that he was telling +lies, as his brothers did. + +But one day a very sad thing happened--at least, it was a sad thing for +poor Assipattle. + +For it chanced that the King of these parts had one only daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, whom he loved dearly, and to whom he denied +nothing. And Princess Gemdelovely was in want of a waiting-maid, and as +she had seen Assipattle's sister standing by the garden gate as she was +riding by one day, and had taken a fancy to her, she asked her father if +she might ask her to come and live at the Castle and serve her. + +Her father agreed at once, as he always did agree to any of her wishes; +and sent a messenger in haste to the farmer's house to ask if his +daughter would come to the Castle to be the Princess's waiting-maid. + +And, of course, the farmer was very pleased at the piece of good fortune +which had befallen the girl, and so was her mother, and so were her six +brothers, all except poor Assipattle, who looked with wistful eyes after +his sister as she rode away, proud of her new clothes and of the rivlins +which her father had made her out of cowhide, which she was to wear in +the Palace when she waited on the Princess, for at home she always ran +barefoot. + +Time passed, and one day a rider rode in hot haste through the country +bearing the most terrible tidings. For the evening before, some +fishermen, out in their boats, had caught sight of the Mester Stoorworm, +which, as everyone knows, was the largest, and the first, and the +greatest of all Sea-Serpents. It was that beast which, in the Good Book, +is called the Leviathan, and if it had been measured in our day, its +tail would have touched Iceland, while its snout rested on the North +Cape. + +And the fishermen had noticed that this fearsome Monster had its head +turned towards the mainland, and that it opened its mouth and yawned +horribly, as if to show that it was hungry, and that, if it were not +fed, it would kill every living thing upon the land, both man and beast, +bird and creeping thing. + +For 'twas well known that its breath was so poisonous that it consumed +as with a burning fire everything that it lighted on. So that, if it +pleased the awful creature to lift its head and put forth its breath, +like noxious vapour, over the country, in a few weeks the fair land +would be turned into a region of desolation. + +As you may imagine, everyone was almost paralysed with terror at this +awful calamity which threatened them; and the King called a solemn +meeting of all his Counsellors, and asked them if they could devise any +way of warding off the danger. + +And for three whole days they sat in Council, these grave, bearded men, +and many were the suggestions which were made, and many the words of +wisdom which were spoken; but, alas! no one was wise enough to think of +a way by which the Mester Stoorworm might be driven back. + +At last, at the end of the third day, when everyone had given up hope of +finding a remedy, the door of the Council Chamber opened and the Queen +appeared. + +Now the Queen was the King's second wife, and she was not a favourite in +the Kingdom, for she was a proud, insolent woman, who did not behave +kindly to her step-daughter, the Princess Gemdelovely, and who spent +much more of her time in the company of a great Sorcerer, whom everyone +feared and dreaded, than she did in that of the King, her husband. + +So the sober Counsellors looked at her disapprovingly as she came boldly +into the Council Chamber and stood up beside the King's Chair of State, +and, speaking in a loud, clear voice, addressed them thus: + +"Ye think that ye are brave men and strong, oh, ye Elders, and fit to be +the Protectors of the People. And so it may be, when it is mortals that +ye are called on to face. But ye be no match for the foe that now +threatens our land. Before him your weapons be but as straw. 'Tis not +through strength of arm, but through sorcery, that he will be overcome. +So listen to my words, even though they be but those of a woman, and +take counsel with the great Sorcerer, from whom nothing is hid, but who +knoweth all the mysteries of the earth, and of the air, and of the sea." + +Now the King and his Counsellors liked not this advice, for they hated +the Sorcerer, who had, as they thought, too much influence with the +Queen; but they were at their wits' end, and knew not to whom to turn +for help, so they were fain to do as she said and summon the Wizard +before them. + +And when he obeyed the summons and appeared in their midst, they liked +him none the better for his looks. For he was long, and thin, and +awesome, with a beard that came down to his knee, and hair that wrapped +him about like a mantle, and his face was the colour of mortar, as if he +had always lived in darkness, and had been afraid to look on the sun. + +But there was no help to be found in any other man, so they laid the +case before him, and asked him what they should do. And he answered +coldly that he would think over the matter, and come again to the +Assembly the following day and give them his advice. + +And his advice, when they heard it, was like to turn their hair white +with horror. + +For he said that the only way to satisfy the Monster, and to make it +spare the land, was to feed it every Saturday with seven young maidens, +who must be the fairest who could be found; and if, after this remedy +had been tried once or twice, it did not succeed in mollifying the +Stoorworm and inducing him to depart, there was but one other measure +that he could suggest, but that was so horrible and dreadful that he +would not rend their hearts by mentioning it in the meantime. + +And as, although they hated him, they feared him also, the Council had +e'en to abide by his words, and pronounced the awful doom. + +And so it came about that, every Saturday, seven bonnie, innocent +maidens were bound hand and foot and laid on a rock which ran into the +sea, and the Monster stretched out his long, jagged tongue, and swept +them into his mouth; while all the rest of the folk looked on from the +top of a high hill--or, at least, the men looked--with cold, set faces, +while the women hid theirs in their aprons and wept aloud. + +"Is there no other way," they cried, "no other way than this, to save +the land?" + +But the men only groaned and shook their heads. "No other way," they +answered; "no other way." + +Then suddenly a boy's indignant voice rang out among the crowd. "Is +there no grown man who would fight that Monster, and kill him, and save +the lassies alive? I would do it; I am not feared for the Mester +Stoorworm." + +It was the boy Assipattle who spoke, and everyone looked at him in +amazement as he stood staring at the great Sea-Serpent, his fingers +twitching with rage, and his great blue eyes glowing with pity and +indignation. + +"The poor bairn's mad; the sight hath turned his head," they whispered +one to another; and they would have crowded round him to pet and comfort +him, but his elder brother came and gave him a heavy clout on the side +of his head. + +"Thou fight the Stoorworm!" he cried contemptuously. "A likely story! Go +home to thy ash-pit, and stop speaking havers;" and, taking his arm, he +drew him to the place where his other brothers were waiting, and they +all went home together. + +But all the time Assipattle kept on saying that he meant to kill the +Stoorworm; and at last his brothers became so angry at what they thought +was mere bragging, that they picked up stones and pelted him so hard +with them that at last he took to his heels and ran away from them. + +That evening the six brothers were threshing corn in the barn, and +Assipattle, as usual, was lying among the ashes thinking his own +thoughts, when his mother came out and bade him run and tell the others +to come in for their supper. + +The boy did as he was bid, for he was a willing enough little fellow; +but when he entered the barn his brothers, in revenge for his having run +away from them in the afternoon, set on him and pulled him down, and +piled so much straw on top of him that, had his father not come from the +house to see what they were all waiting for, he would, of a surety, have +been smothered. + +But when, at supper-time, his mother was quarrelling with the other lads +for what they had done, and saying to them that it was only cowards who +set on bairns littler and younger than themselves, Assipattle looked up +from the bicker of porridge which he was supping. + +"Vex not thyself, Mother," he said, "for I could have fought them all if +I liked; ay, and beaten them, too." + +"Why didst thou not essay it then?" cried everybody at once. + +"Because I knew that I would need all my strength when I go to fight the +Giant Stoorworm," replied Assipattle gravely. + +And, as you may fancy, the others laughed louder than before. + +Time passed, and every Saturday seven lassies were thrown to the +Stoorworm, until at last it was felt that this state of things could not +be allowed to go on any longer; for if it did, there would soon be no +maidens at all left in the country. + +So the Elders met once more, and, after long consultation, it was +agreed that the Sorcerer should be summoned, and asked what his other +remedy was. "For, by our troth," said they, "it cannot be worse than +that which we are practising now." + +But, had they known it, the new remedy was even more dreadful than the +old. For the cruel Queen hated her step-daughter, Gemdelovely, and the +wicked Sorcerer knew that she did, and that she would not be sorry to +get rid of her, and, things being as they were, he thought that he saw a +way to please the Queen. So he stood up in the Council, and, pretending +to be very sorry, said that the only other thing that could be done was +to give the Princess Gemdelovely to the Stoorworm, then would it of a +surety depart. + +When they heard this sentence a terrible stillness fell upon the +Council, and everyone covered his face with his hands, for no man dare +look at the King. + +But although his dear daughter was as the apple of his eye, he was a +just and righteous Monarch, and he felt that it was not right that other +fathers should have been forced to part with their daughters, in order +to try and save the country, if his child was to be spared. + +So, after he had had speech with the Princess, he stood up before the +Elders, and declared, with trembling voice, that both he and she were +ready to make the sacrifice. + +"She is my only child," he said, "and the last of her race. Yet it +seemeth good to both of us that she should lay down her life, if by so +doing she may save the land that she loves so well." + +Salt tears ran down the faces of the great bearded men as they heard +their King's words, for they all knew how dear the Princess Gemdelovely +was to him. But it was felt that what he said was wise and true, and +that the thing was just and right; for 'twere better, surely, that one +maiden should die, even although she were of Royal blood, than that +bands of other maidens should go to their death week by week, and all to +no purpose. + +So, amid heavy sobs, the aged Lawman--he who was the chief man of the +Council--rose up to pronounce the Princess's doom. But, ere he did so, +the King's Kemper--or Fighting-man--stepped forward. + +"Nature teaches us that it is fitting that each beast hath a tail," he +said; "and this Doom, which our Lawman is about to pronounce, is in very +sooth a venomous beast. And, if I had my way, the tail which it would +bear after it is this, that if the Mester Stoorworm doth not depart, and +that right speedily, after he have devoured the Princess, the next thing +that is offered to him be no tender young maiden, but that tough, lean +old Sorcerer." + +And at his words there was such a great shout of approval that the +wicked Sorcerer seemed to shrink within himself, and his pale face grew +paler than it was before. + +Now, three weeks were allowed between the time that the Doom was +pronounced upon the Princess and the time that it was carried out, so +that the King might send Ambassadors to all the neighbouring Kingdoms to +issue proclamations that, if any Champion would come forward who was +able to drive away the Stoorworm and save the Princess, he should have +her for his wife. + +And with her he should have the Kingdom, as well as a very famous sword +that was now in the King's possession, but which had belonged to the +great god Odin, with which he had fought and vanquished all his foes. + +The sword bore the name of Sickersnapper, and no man had any power +against it. + +The news of all these things spread over the length and breadth of the +land, and everyone mourned for the fate that was like to befall the +Princess Gemdelovely. And the farmer, and his wife, and their six sons +mourned also;--all but Assipattle, who sat amongst the ashes and said +nothing. + +When the King's Proclamation was made known throughout the neighbouring +Kingdoms, there was a fine stir among all the young Gallants, for it +seemed but a little thing to slay a Sea-Monster; and a beautiful wife, a +fertile Kingdom, and a trusty sword are not to be won every day. + +So six-and-thirty Champions arrived at the King's Palace, each hoping to +gain the prize. + +But the King sent them all out to look at the Giant Stoorworm lying in +the sea with its enormous mouth open, and when they saw it, twelve of +them were seized with sudden illness, and twelve of them were so afraid +that they took to their heels and ran, and never stopped till they +reached their own countries; and so only twelve returned to the King's +Palace, and as for them, they were so downcast at the thought of the +task that they had undertaken that they had no spirit left in them at +all. + +And none of them dare try to kill the Stoorworm; so the three weeks +passed slowly by, until the night before the day on which the Princess +was to be sacrificed. On that night the King, feeling that he must do +something to entertain his guests, made a great supper for them. + +But, as you may think, it was a dreary feast, for everyone was thinking +so much about the terrible thing that was to happen on the morrow, that +no one could eat or drink. + +And when it was all over, and everybody had retired to rest, save the +King and his old Kemperman, the King returned to the great hall, and +went slowly up to his Chair of State, high up on the dais. It was not +like the Chairs of State that we know nowadays; it was nothing but a +massive Kist, in which he kept all the things which he treasured most. + +The old Monarch undid the iron bolts with trembling fingers, and lifted +the lid, and took out the wondrous sword Sickersnapper, which had +belonged to the great god Odin. + +His trusty Kemperman, who had stood by him in a hundred fights, watched +him with pitying eyes. + +"Why lift ye out the sword," he said softly, "when thy fighting days are +done? Right nobly hast thou fought thy battles in the past, oh, my Lord! +when thine arm was strong and sure. But when folk's years number four +score and sixteen, as thine do, 'tis time to leave such work to other +and younger men." + +The old King turned on him angrily, with something of the old fire in +his eyes. "Wheest," he cried, "else will I turn this sword on thee. Dost +thou think that I can see my only bairn devoured by a Monster, and not +lift a finger to try and save her when no other man will? I tell +thee--and I will swear it with my two thumbs crossed on +Sickersnapper--that both the sword and I will be destroyed before so +much as one of her hairs be touched. So go, an' thou love me, my old +comrade, and order my boat to be ready, with the sail set and the prow +pointed out to sea. I will go myself and fight the Stoorworm; and if I +do not return, I will lay it on thee to guard my cherished daughter. +Peradventure, my life may redeem hers." + +Now that night everybody at the farm went to bed betimes, for next +morning the whole family was to set out early, to go to the top of the +hill near the sea, to see the Princess eaten by the Stoorworm. All +except Assipattle, who was to be left at home to herd the geese. + +The lad was so vexed at this--for he had great schemes in his head--that +he could not sleep. And as he lay tossing and tumbling about in his +corner among the ashes, he heard his father and mother talking in the +great box-bed. And, as he listened, he found that they were having an +argument. + +"'Tis such a long way to the hill overlooking the sea, I fear me I shall +never walk it," said his mother. "I think I had better bide at home." + +"Nay," replied her husband, "that would be a bonny-like thing, when all +the country-side is to be there. Thou shalt ride behind me on my good +mare Go-Swift." + +"I do not care to trouble thee to take me behind thee," said his wife, +"for methinks thou dost not love me as thou wert wont to do." + +"The woman's havering," cried the Goodman of the house impatiently. +"What makes thee think that I have ceased to love thee?" + +"Because thou wilt no longer tell me thy secrets," answered his wife. +"To go no further, think of this very horse, Go-Swift. For five long +years I have been begging thee to tell me how it is that, when thou +ridest her, she flies faster than the wind, while if any other man mount +her, she hirples along like a broken-down nag." + +The Goodman laughed. "'Twas not for lack of love, Goodwife," he said, +"though it might be lack of trust. For women's tongues wag but loosely; +and I did not want other folk to ken my secret. But since my silence +hath vexed thy heart, I will e'en tell it thee. + +"When I want Go-Swift to stand, I give her one clap on the left +shoulder. When I would have her go like any other horse, I give her two +claps on the right. But when I want her to fly like the wind, I whistle +through the windpipe of a goose. And, as I never ken when I want her to +gallop like that, I aye keep the bird's thrapple in the left-hand pocket +of my coat." + +"So that is how thou managest the beast," said the farmer's wife, in a +satisfied tone; "and that is what becomes of all my goose thrapples. Oh! +but thou art a clever fellow, Goodman; and now that I ken the way of it +I may go to sleep." + +Assipattle was not tumbling about in the ashes now; he was sitting up in +the darkness, with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes. + +His opportunity had come at last, and he knew it. + +He waited patiently till their heavy breathing told him that his parents +were asleep; then he crept over to where his father's clothes were, and +took the goose's windpipe out of the pocket of his coat, and slipped +noiselessly out of the house. Once he was out of it, he ran like +lightning to the stable. He saddled and bridled Go-Swift, and threw a +halter round her neck, and led her to the stable door. + +The good mare, unaccustomed to her new groom, pranced, and reared, and +plunged; but Assipattle, knowing his father's secret, clapped her once +on the left shoulder, and she stood as still as a stone. Then he mounted +her, and gave her two claps on the right shoulder, and the good horse +trotted off briskly, giving a loud neigh as she did so. + +The unwonted sound, ringing out in the stillness of the night, roused +the household, and the Goodman and his six sons came tumbling down the +wooden stairs, shouting to one another in confusion that someone was +stealing Go-Swift. + +The farmer was the first to reach the door; and when he saw, in the +starlight, the vanishing form of his favourite steed, he cried at the +top of his voice: + + "Stop thief, ho! + Go-Swift, whoa!" + +And when Go-Swift heard that she pulled up in a moment. All seemed lost, +for the farmer and his sons could run very fast indeed, and it seemed to +Assipattle, sitting motionless on Go-Swift's back, that they would very +soon make up on him. + +But, luckily, he remembered the goose's thrapple, and he pulled it out +of his pocket and whistled through it. In an instant the good mare +bounded forward, swift as the wind, and was over the hill and out of +reach of its pursuers before they had taken ten steps more. + +Day was dawning when the lad came within sight of the sea; and there, in +front of him, in the water, lay the enormous Monster whom he had come so +far to slay. Anyone would have said that he was mad even to dream of +making such an attempt, for he was but a slim, unarmed youth, and the +Mester Stoorworm was so big that men said it would reach the fourth part +round the world. And its tongue was jagged at the end like a fork, and +with this fork it could sweep whatever it chose into its mouth, and +devour it at its leisure. + +For all this, Assipattle was not afraid, for he had the heart of a hero +underneath his tattered garments. "I must be cautious," he said to +himself, "and do by my wits what I cannot do by my strength." + +He climbed down from his seat on Go-Swift's back, and tethered the good +steed to a tree, and walked on, looking well about him, till he came to +a little cottage on the edge of a wood. + +The door was not locked, so he entered, and found its occupant, an old +woman, fast asleep in bed. He did not disturb her, but he took down an +iron pot from the shelf, and examined it closely. + +"This will serve my purpose," he said; "and surely the old dame would +not grudge it if she knew 'twas to save the Princess's life." + +Then he lifted a live peat from the smouldering fire, and went his way. + +Down at the water's edge he found the King's boat lying, guarded by a +single boatman, with its sails set and its prow turned in the direction +of the Mester Stoorworm. + +"It's a cold morning," said Assipattle. "Art thou not well-nigh frozen +sitting there? If thou wilt come on shore, and run about, and warm +thyself, I will get into the boat and guard it till thou returnest." + +"A likely story," replied the man. "And what would the King say if he +were to come, as I expect every moment he will do, and find me playing +myself on the sand, and his good boat left to a smatchet like thee? +'Twould be as much as my head is worth." + +"As thou wilt," answered Assipattle carelessly, beginning to search +among the rocks. "In the meantime, I must be looking for a wheen mussels +to roast for my breakfast." And after he had gathered the mussels, he +began to make a hole in the sand to put the live peat in. The boatman +watched him curiously, for he, too, was beginning to feel hungry. + +Presently the lad gave a wild shriek, and jumped high in the air. "Gold, +gold!" he cried. "By the name of Thor, who would have looked to find +gold here?" + +This was too much for the boatman. Forgetting all about his head and the +King, he jumped out of the boat, and, pushing Assipattle aside, began to +scrape among the sand with all his might. + +[Illustration: Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea] + +While he was doing so, Assipattle seized his pot, jumped into the boat, +pushed her off, and was half a mile out to sea before the outwitted man, +who, needless to say, could find no gold, noticed what he was about. + +And, of course, he was very angry, and the old King was more angry still +when he came down to the shore, attended by his Nobles and carrying the +great sword Sickersnapper, in the vain hope that he, poor feeble old man +that he was, might be able in some way to defeat the Monster and save +his daughter. + +But to make such an attempt was beyond his power now that his boat was +gone. So he could only stand on the shore, along with the fast +assembling crowd of his subjects, and watch what would befall. + +And this was what befell! + +Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea, and watching the Mester +Stoorworm intently, noticed that the terrible Monster yawned +occasionally, as if longing for his weekly feast. And as it yawned a +great flood of sea-water went down its throat, and came out again at its +huge gills. + +So the brave lad took down his sail, and pointed the prow of his boat +straight at the Monster's mouth, and the next time it yawned he and his +boat were sucked right in, and, like Jonah, went straight down its +throat into the dark regions inside its body. On and on the boat +floated; but as it went the water grew less, pouring out of the +Stoorworm's gills, till at last it stuck, as it were, on dry land. And +Assipattle jumped out, his pot in his hand, and began to explore. + +Presently he came to the huge creature's liver, and having heard that +the liver of a fish is full of oil, he made a hole in it and put in the +live peat. + +Woe's me! but there was a conflagration! And Assipattle just got back to +his boat in time; for the Mester Stoorworm, in its convulsions, threw +the boat right out of its mouth again, and it was flung up, high and +dry, on the bare land. + +The commotion in the sea was so terrible that the King and his +daughter--who by this time had come down to the shore dressed like a +bride, in white, ready to be thrown to the Monster--and all his +Courtiers, and all the country-folk, were fain to take refuge on the +hill top, out of harm's way, and stand and see what happened next. + +And this was what happened next. + +The poor, distressed creature--for it was now to be pitied, even +although it was a great, cruel, awful Mester Stoorworm--tossed itself to +and fro, twisting and writhing. + +And as it tossed its awful head out of the water its tongue fell out, +and struck the earth with such force that it made a great dent in it, +into which the sea rushed. And that dent formed the crooked Straits +which now divide Denmark from Norway and Sweden. + +Then some of its teeth fell out and rested in the sea, and became the +Islands that we now call the Orkney Isles; and a little afterwards some +more teeth dropped out, and they became what we now call the Shetland +Isles. + +After that the creature twisted itself into a great lump and died; and +this lump became the Island of Iceland; and the fire which Assipattle +had kindled with his live peat still burns on underneath it, and that is +why there are mountains which throw out fire in that chilly land. + +When at last it was plainly seen that the Mester Stoorworm was dead, the +King could scarce contain himself with joy. He put his arms round +Assipattle's neck, and kissed him, and called him his son. And he took +off his own Royal Mantle and put it on the lad, and girded his good +sword Sickersnapper round his waist. And he called his daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, to him, and put her hand in his, and declared that +when the right time came she should be his wife, and that he should be +ruler over all the Kingdom. + +Then the whole company mounted their horses again, and Assipattle rode +on Go-Swift by the Princess's side; and so they returned, with great +joy, to the King's Palace. + +But as they were nearing the gate Assipattle's sister, she who was the +Princess's maid, ran out to meet him, and signed to the Princess to lout +down, and whispered something in her ear. + +The Princess's face grew dark, and she turned her horse's head and rode +back to where her father was, with his Nobles. She told him the words +that the maiden had spoken; and when he heard them his face, too, grew +as black as thunder. + +For the matter was this: The cruel Queen, full of joy at the thought +that she was to be rid, once for all, of her step-daughter, had been +making love to the wicked Sorcerer all the morning in the old King's +absence. + +"He shall be killed at once," cried the Monarch. "Such behaviour cannot +be overlooked." + +"Thou wilt have much ado to find him, your Majesty," said the girl, "for +'tis more than an hour since he and the Queen fled together on the +fleetest horses that they could find in the stables." + +"But I can find him," cried Assipattle; and he went off like the wind on +his good horse Go-Swift. + +It was not long before he came within sight of the fugitives, and he +drew his sword and shouted to them to stop. + +They heard the shout, and turned round, and they both laughed aloud in +derision when they saw that it was only the boy who grovelled in the +ashes who pursued them. + +"The insolent brat! I will cut off his head for him! I will teach him a +lesson!" cried the Sorcerer; and he rode boldly back to meet Assipattle. +For although he was no fighter, he knew that no ordinary weapon could +harm his enchanted body; therefore he was not afraid. + +But he did not count on Assipattle having the Sword of the great god +Odin, with which he had slain all his enemies; and before this magic +weapon he was powerless. And, at one thrust, the young lad ran it +through his body as easily as if he had been any ordinary man, and he +fell from his horse, dead. + +Then the Courtiers of the King, who had also set off in pursuit, but +whose steeds were less fleet of foot than Go-Swift, came up, and seized +the bridle of the Queen's horse, and led it and its rider back to the +Palace. + +She was brought before the Council, and judged, and condemned to be shut +up in a high tower for the remainder of her life. Which thing surely +came to pass. + +As for Assipattle, when the proper time came he was married to the +Princess Gemdelovely, with great feasting and rejoicing. And when the +old King died they ruled the Kingdom for many a long year. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE FOX AND THE WOLF + + +There was once a Fox and a Wolf, who set up house together in a cave +near the sea-shore. Although you may not think so, they got on very well +for a time, for they went out hunting all day, and when they came back +at night they were generally too tired to do anything but to eat their +supper and go to bed. + +They might have lived together always had it not been for the slyness +and greediness of the Fox, who tried to over-reach his companion, who +was not nearly so clever as he was. + +And this was how it came about. + +It chanced, one dark December night, that there was a dreadful storm at +sea, and in the morning the beach was all strewn with wreckage. So as +soon as it was daylight the two friends went down to the shore to see +if they could find anything to eat. + +They had the good fortune to light on a great Keg of Butter, which had +been washed overboard from some ship on its way home from Ireland, +where, as all the world knows, folk are famous for their butter. + +The simple Wolf danced with joy when he saw it. "Marrowbones and +trotters! but we will have a good supper this night," cried he, licking +his lips. "Let us set to work at once and roll it up to the cave." + +But the wily Fox was fond of butter, and he made up his mind that he +would have it all to himself. So he put on his wisest look, and shook +his head gravely. + +"Thou hast no prudence, my friend," he said reproachfully, "else wouldst +thou not talk of breaking up a Keg of Butter at this time of year, when +the stackyards are full of good grain, which can be had for the eating, +and the farmyards are stocked with nice fat ducks and poultry. No, no. +It behoveth us to have foresight, and to lay up in store for the spring, +when the grain is all threshed, and the stackyards are bare, and the +poultry have gone to market. So we will e'en bury the Keg, and dig it up +when we have need of it." + +Very reluctantly, for he was thinner and hungrier than the Fox, the Wolf +agreed to this proposal. So a hole was dug, and the Keg was buried, and +the two animals went off hunting as usual. + +About a week passed by: then one day the Fox came into the cave, and +flung himself down on the ground as if he were very much exhausted. But +if anyone had looked at him closely they would have seen a sly twinkle +in his eye. + +"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" he sighed. "Life is a heavy burden." + +"What hath befallen thee?" asked the Wolf, who was ever kind and +soft-hearted. + +"Some friends of mine, who live over the hills yonder, are wanting me to +go to a christening to-night. Just think of the distance that I must +travel." + +"But needst thou go?" asked the Wolf. "Canst thou not send an excuse?" + +[Illustration] + +"I doubt that no excuse would be accepted," answered the Fox, "for they +asked me to stand god-father. Therefore it behoveth me to do my duty, +and pay no heed to my own feelings." + +So that evening the Fox was absent, and the Wolf was alone in the cave. +But it was not to a christening that the sly Fox went; it was to the Keg +of Butter that was buried in the sand. About midnight he returned, +looking fat and sleek, and well pleased with himself. + +The Wolf had been dozing, but he looked up drowsily as his companion +entered. "Well, how did they name the bairn?" he asked. + +"They gave it a queer name," answered the Fox. "One of the queerest +names that I ever heard." + +"And what was that?" questioned the Wolf. + +"Nothing less than 'Blaisean' (Let-me-taste)," replied the Fox, throwing +himself down in his corner. And if the Wolf could have seen him in the +darkness he would have noticed that he was laughing to himself. + +Some days afterwards the same thing happened. The Fox was asked to +another christening; this time at a place some twenty-five miles along +the shore. And as he had grumbled before, so he grumbled again; but he +declared that it was his duty to go, and he went. + +At midnight he came back, smiling to himself and with no appetite for +his supper. And when the Wolf asked him the name of the child, he +answered that it was a more extraordinary name than the other--"Be na +Inheadnon" (Be in its middle). + +The very next week, much to the Wolf's wonder, the Fox was asked to yet +another christening. And this time the name of the child was "Sgriot an +Clar" (Scrape the staves). After that the invitations ceased. + +Time went on, and the hungry spring came, and the Fox and the Wolf had +their larder bare, for food was scarce, and the weather was bleak and +cold. + +"Let us go and dig up the Keg of Butter," said the Wolf. "Methinks that +now is the time we need it." + +The Fox agreed--having made up his mind how he would act--and the two +set out to the place where the Keg had been hidden. They scraped away +the sand, and uncovered it; but, needless to say, they found it empty. + +"This is thy work," said the Fox angrily, turning to the poor, innocent +Wolf. "Thou hast crept along here while I was at the christenings, and +eaten it up by stealth." + +"Not I," replied the Wolf. "I have never been near the spot since the +day that we buried it together." + +"But I tell thee it must have been thou," insisted the Fox, "for no +other creature knew it was there except ourselves. And, besides, I can +see by the sleekness of thy fur that thou hast fared well of late." + +Which last sentence was both unjust and untrue, for the poor Wolf looked +as lean and badly nourished as he could possibly be. + +So back they both went to the cave, arguing all the way. The Fox +declaring that the Wolf _must_ have been the thief, and the Wolf +protesting his innocence. + +"Art thou ready to swear to it?" said the Fox at last; though why he +asked such a question, dear only knows. + +"Yes, I am," replied the Wolf firmly; and, standing in the middle of +the cave, and holding one paw up solemnly he swore this awful oath: + + "If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be-- + May a fateful, fell disease fall on me, fall on me." + +When he was finished, he put down his paw and, turning to the Fox, +looked at him keenly; for all at once it struck him that his fur looked +sleek and fine. + +"It is thy turn now," he said. "I have sworn, and thou must do so also." + +The Fox's face fell at these words, for although he was both untruthful +and dishonest now, he had been well brought up in his youth, and he knew +that it was a terrible thing to perjure oneself and swear falsely. + +So he made one excuse after another, but the Wolf, who was getting more +and more suspicious every moment, would not listen to him. + +So, as he had not courage to tell the truth, he was forced at last to +swear an oath also, and this was what he swore: + + "If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be-- + Then let some most deadly punishment fall on me, fall on me-- + Whirrum wheeckam, whirrum wheeckam, + Whirram whee, whirram whee!" + +After he had heard him swear this terrible oath, the Wolf thought that +his suspicions must be groundless, and he would have let the matter +rest; but the Fox, having an uneasy conscience, could not do so. So he +suggested that as it was clear that one of them must have eaten the Keg +of Butter, they should both stand near the fire; so that when they +became hot, the butter would ooze out of the skin of whichever of them +was guilty. And he took care that the Wolf should stand in the hottest +place. + +But the fire was big and the cave was small; and while the poor lean +Wolf showed no sign of discomfort, he himself, being nice and fat and +comfortable, soon began to get unpleasantly warm. + +As this did not suit him at all, he next proposed that they should go +for a walk, "for," said he, "it is now quite plain that neither of us +can have taken the butter. It must have been some stranger who hath +found out our secret." + +But the Wolf had seen the Fox beginning to grow greasy, and he knew now +what had happened, and he determined to have his revenge. So he waited +until they came to a smithy which stood at the side of the road, where a +horse was waiting just outside the door to be shod. + +Then, keeping at a safe distance, he said to his companion, "There is +writing on that smithy door, which I cannot read, as my eyes are +failing; do thou try to read it, for perchance it may be something +'twere good for us to know." + +And the silly Fox, who was very vain, and did not like to confess that +his eyes were no better than those of his friend, went close up to the +door to try and read the writing. And he chanced to touch the horse's +fetlock, and, it being a restive beast, lifted its foot and struck out +at once, and killed the Fox as dead as a door-nail. + +And so, you see, the old saying in the Good Book came true after all: +"Be sure your sin will find you out." + +[Illustration] + + + + +KATHERINE CRACKERNUTS + + +There was once a King whose wife died, leaving him with an only +daughter, whom he dearly loved. The little Princess's name was +Velvet-Cheek, and she was so good, and bonnie, and kind-hearted that all +her father's subjects loved her. But as the King was generally engaged +in transacting the business of the State, the poor little maiden had +rather a lonely life, and often wished that she had a sister with whom +she could play, and who would be a companion to her. + +The King, hearing this, made up his mind to marry a middle-aged +Countess, whom he had met at a neighbouring Court, who had one daughter, +named Katherine, who was just a little younger than the Princess +Velvet-Cheek, and who, he thought, would make a nice play-fellow for +her. + +He did so, and in one way the arrangement turned out very well, for the +two girls loved one another dearly, and had everything in common, just +as if they had really been sisters. + +But in another way it turned out very badly, for the new Queen was a +cruel and ambitious woman, and she wanted her own daughter to do as she +had done, and make a grand marriage, and perhaps even become a Queen. +And when she saw that Princess Velvet-Cheek was growing into a very +beautiful young woman--more beautiful by far than her own daughter--she +began to hate her, and to wish that in some way she would lose her good +looks. + +"For," thought she, "what suitor will heed my daughter as long as her +step-sister is by her side?" + +Now, among the servants and retainers at her husband's Castle there was +an old Hen-wife, who, men said, was in league with the Evil Spirits of +the air, and who was skilled in the knowledge of charms, and philtres, +and love potions. + +"Perhaps she could help me to do what I seek to do," said the wicked +Queen; and one night, when it was growing dusk, she wrapped a cloak +round her, and set out to this old Hen-wife's cottage. + +"Send the lassie to me to-morrow morning ere she hath broken her fast," +replied the old Dame when she heard what her visitor had to say. "I will +find out a way to mar her beauty." And the wicked Queen went home +content. + +Next morning she went to the Princess's room while she was dressing, and +told her to go out before breakfast and get the eggs that the Hen-wife +had gathered. "And see," added she, "that thou dost not eat anything ere +thou goest, for there is nothing that maketh the roses bloom on a young +maiden's cheeks like going out fasting in the fresh morning air." + +Princess Velvet-Cheek promised to do as she was bid, and go and fetch +the eggs; but as she was not fond of going out of doors before she had +had something to eat, and as, moreover, she suspected that her +step-mother had some hidden reason for giving her such an unusual order, +and she did not trust her step-mother's hidden reasons, she slipped into +the pantry as she went downstairs and helped herself to a large slice of +cake. Then, after she had eaten it, she went straight to the Hen-wife's +cottage and asked for the eggs. + +"Lift the lid of that pot there, your Highness, and you will see them," +said the old woman, pointing to the big pot standing in the corner in +which she boiled her hens' meat. + +The Princess did so, and found a heap of eggs lying inside, which she +lifted into her basket, while the old woman watched her with a curious +smile. + +"Go home to your Lady Mother, Hinny," she said at last, "and tell her +from me to keep the press door better snibbit." + +The Princess went home, and gave this extraordinary message to her +step-mother, wondering to herself the while what it meant. + +But if she did not understand the Hen-wife's words, the Queen understood +them only too well. For from them she gathered that the Princess had in +some way prevented the old Witch's spell doing what she intended it to +do. + +So next morning, when she sent her step-daughter once more on the same +errand, she accompanied her to the door of the Castle herself, so that +the poor girl had no chance of paying a visit to the pantry. But as she +went along the road that led to the cottage, she felt so hungry that, +when she passed a party of country-folk picking peas by the roadside, +she asked them to give her a handful. + +They did so, and she ate the peas; and so it came about that the same +thing happened that had happened yesterday. + +The Hen-wife sent her to look for the eggs; but she could work no spell +upon her, because she had broken her fast. So the old woman bade her go +home again and give the same message to the Queen. + +The Queen was very angry when she heard it, for she felt that she was +being outwitted by this slip of a girl, and she determined that, +although she was not fond of getting up early, she would accompany her +next day herself, and make sure that she had nothing to eat as she went. + +So next morning she walked with the Princess to the Hen-wife's cottage, +and, as had happened twice before, the old woman sent the Royal maiden +to lift the lid off the pot in the corner in order to get the eggs. + +And the moment that the Princess did so off jumped her own pretty head, +and on jumped that of a sheep. + +[Illustration: Off jumped her own pretty head and on jumped that of a +sheep] + +Then the wicked Queen thanked the cruel old Witch for the service that +she had rendered to her, and went home quite delighted with the success +of her scheme; while the poor Princess picked up her own head and put it +into her basket along with the eggs, and went home crying, keeping +behind the hedge all the way, for she felt so ashamed of her sheep's +head that she was afraid that anyone saw her. + +Now, as I told you, the Princess's step-sister Katherine loved her +dearly, and when she saw what a cruel deed had been wrought on her she +was so angry that she declared that she would not remain another hour in +the Castle. "For," said she, "if my Lady Mother can order one such deed +to be done, who can hinder her ordering another. So, methinks, 'twere +better for us both to be where she cannot reach us." + +So she wrapped a fine shawl round her poor step-sister's head, so that +none could tell what it was like, and, putting the real head in the +basket, she took her by the hand, and the two set out to seek their +fortunes. + +They walked and they walked, till they reached a splendid Palace, and +when they came to it Katherine made as though she would go boldly up and +knock at the door. + +"I may perchance find work here," she explained, "and earn enough money +to keep us both in comfort." + +But the poor Princess would fain have pulled her back. "They will have +nothing to do with thee," she whispered, "when they see that thou hast a +sister with a sheep's head." + +"And who is to know that thou hast a sheep's head?" asked Katherine. "If +thou hold thy tongue, and keep the shawl well round thy face, and leave +the rest to me." + +So up she went and knocked at the kitchen door, and when the housekeeper +came to answer it she asked her if there was any work that she could +give her to do. "For," said she, "I have a sick sister, who is sore +troubled with the migraine in her head, and I would fain find a quiet +lodging for her where she could rest for the night." + +"Dost thou know aught of sickness?" asked the housekeeper, who was +greatly struck by Katherine's soft voice and gentle ways. + +"Ay, do I," replied Katherine, "for when one's sister is troubled with +the migraine, one has to learn to go about softly and not to make a +noise." + +Now it chanced that the King's eldest son, the Crown Prince, was lying +ill in the Palace of a strange disease, which seemed to have touched his +brain. For he was so restless, especially at nights, that someone had +always to be with him to watch that he did himself no harm; and this +state of things had gone on so long that everyone was quite worn out. + +And the old housekeeper thought that it would be a good chance to get a +quiet night's sleep if this capable-looking stranger could be trusted to +sit up with the Prince. + +So she left her at the door, and went and consulted the King; and the +King came out and spoke to Katherine and he, too, was so pleased with +her voice and her appearance that he gave orders that a room should be +set apart in the Castle for her sick sister and herself, and he promised +that, if she would sit up that night with the Prince, and see that no +harm befell him, she would have, as her reward, a bag of silver Pennies +in the morning. + +Katherine agreed to the bargain readily, "for," thought she, "'twill +always be a night's lodging for the Princess; and, forbye that, a bag of +silver Pennies is not to be got every day." + +So the Princess went to bed in the comfortable chamber that was set +apart for her, and Katherine went to watch by the sick Prince. + +He was a handsome, comely young man, who seemed to be in some sort of +fever, for his brain was not quite clear, and he tossed and tumbled from +side to side, gazing anxiously in front of him, and stretching out his +hands as if he were in search of something. + +And at twelve o'clock at night, just when Katherine thought that he was +going to fall into a refreshing sleep, what was her horror to see him +rise from his bed, dress himself hastily, open the door, and slip +downstairs, as if he were going to look for somebody. + +"There be something strange in this," said the girl to herself. +"Methinks I had better follow him and see what happens." + +So she stole out of the room after the Prince and followed him safely +downstairs; and what was her astonishment to find that apparently he was +going some distance, for he put on his hat and riding-coat, and, +unlocking the door crossed the courtyard to the stable, and began to +saddle his horse. + +When he had done so, he led it out, and mounted, and, whistling softly +to a hound which lay asleep in a corner, he prepared to ride away. + +"I must go too, and see the end of this," said Katherine bravely; "for +methinks he is bewitched. These be not the actions of a sick man." + +So, just as the horse was about to start, she jumped lightly on its +back, and settled herself comfortably behind its rider, all unnoticed by +him. + +Then this strange pair rode away through the woods, and, as they went, +Katherine pulled the hazel-nuts that nodded in great clusters in her +face. "For," said she to herself, "Dear only knows where next I may get +anything to eat." + +On and on they rode, till they left the greenwood far behind them and +came out on an open moor. Soon they reached a hillock, and here the +Prince drew rein, and, stooping down, cried in a strange, uncanny +whisper, "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the Prince, and his horse, and +his hound enter." + +"And," whispered Katherine quickly, "let his lady enter behind him." + +Instantly, to her great astonishment, the top of the knowe seemed to tip +up, leaving an aperture large enough for the little company to enter; +then it closed gently behind them again. + +They found themselves in a magnificent hall, brilliantly lighted by +hundreds of candles stuck in sconces round the walls. In the centre of +this apartment was a group of the most beautiful maidens that Katherine +had ever seen, all dressed in shimmering ball-gowns, with wreaths of +roses and violets in their hair. And there were sprightly gallants also, +who had been treading a measure with these beauteous damsels to the +strains of fairy music. + +When the maidens saw the Prince, they ran to him, and led him away to +join their revels. And at the touch of their hands all his languor +seemed to disappear, and he became the gayest of all the throng, and +laughed, and danced, and sang as if he had never known what it was to be +ill. + +As no one took any notice of Katherine, she sat down quietly on a bit of +rock to watch what would befall. And as she watched, she became aware of +a wee, wee bairnie, playing with a tiny wand, quite close to her feet. + +He was a bonnie bit bairn, and she was just thinking of trying to make +friends with him when one of the beautiful maidens passed, and, looking +at the wand, said to her partner, in a meaning tone, "Three strokes of +that wand would give Katherine's sister back her pretty face." + +Here was news indeed! Katherine's breath came thick and fast; and with +trembling fingers she drew some of the nuts out of her pocket, and began +rolling them carelessly towards the child. Apparently he did not get +nuts very often, for he dropped his little wand at once, and stretched +out his tiny hands to pick them up. + +This was just what she wanted; and she slipped down from her seat to the +ground, and drew a little nearer to him. Then she threw one or two more +nuts in his way, and, when he was picking these up, she managed to lift +the wand unobserved, and to hide it under her apron. After this, she +crept cautiously back to her seat again; and not a moment too soon, for +just then a cock crew, and at the sound the whole of the dancers +vanished--all but the Prince, who ran to mount his horse, and was in +such a hurry to be gone that Katherine had much ado to get up behind him +before the hillock opened, and he rode swiftly into the outer world once +more. + +But she managed it, and, as they rode homewards in the grey morning +light, she sat and cracked her nuts and ate them as fast as she could, +for her adventures had made her marvellously hungry. + +When she and her strange patient had once more reached the Castle, she +just waited to see him go back to bed, and begin to toss and tumble as +he had done before; then she ran to her step-sister's room, and, finding +her asleep, with her poor misshapen head lying peacefully on the +pillow, she gave it three sharp little strokes with the fairy wand and, +lo and behold! the sheep's head vanished, and the Princess's own pretty +one took its place. + +In the morning the King and the old housekeeper came to inquire what +kind of night the Prince had had. Katherine answered that he had had a +very good night; for she was very anxious to stay with him longer, for +now that she had found out that the Elfin Maidens who dwelt in the Green +Knowe had thrown a spell over him, she was resolved to find out also how +that spell could be loosed. + +And Fortune favoured her; for the King was so pleased to think that such +a suitable nurse had been found for the Prince, and he was also so +charmed with the looks of her step-sister, who came out of her chamber +as bright and bonnie as in the old days, declaring that her migraine was +all gone, and that she was now able to do any work that the housekeeper +might find for her, that he begged Katherine to stay with his son a +little longer, adding that if she would do so, he would give her a bag +of gold Bonnet Pieces. + +So Katherine agreed readily; and that night she watched by the Prince as +she had done the night before. And at twelve o'clock he rose and dressed +himself, and rode to the Fairy Knowe, just as she had expected him to +do, for she was quite certain that the poor young man was bewitched, and +not suffering from a fever, as everyone thought he was. + +And you may be sure that she accompanied him, riding behind him all +unnoticed, and filling her pockets with nuts as she rode. + +When they reached the Fairy Knowe, he spoke the same words that he had +spoken the night before. "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the young +Prince in with his horse and his hound." And when the Green Hill opened, +Katherine added softly, "And his lady behind him." So they all passed in +together. + +Katherine seated herself on a stone, and looked around her. The same +revels were going on as yesternight, and the Prince was soon in the +thick of them, dancing and laughing madly. The girl watched him +narrowly, wondering if she would ever be able to find out what would +restore him to his right mind; and, as she was watching him, the same +little bairn who had played with the magic wand came up to her again. +Only this time he was playing with a little bird. + +And as he played, one of the dancers passed by, and, turning to her +partner, said lightly, "Three bites of that birdie would lift the +Prince's sickness, and make him as well as he ever was." Then she joined +in the dance again, leaving Katherine sitting upright on her stone +quivering with excitement. + +If only she could get that bird the Prince might be cured! Very +carefully she began to shake some nuts out of her pocket, and roll them +across the floor towards the child. + +He picked them up eagerly, letting go the bird as he did so; and, in an +instant, Katherine caught it, and hid it under her apron. + +In no long time after that the cock crew, and the Prince and she set out +on their homeward ride. But this morning, instead of cracking nuts, she +killed and plucked the bird, scattering its feathers all along the road; +and the instant she gained the Prince's room, and had seen him safely +into bed, she put it on a spit in front of the fire and began to roast +it. + +And soon it began to frizzle, and get brown, and smell deliciously, and +the Prince, in his bed in the corner, opened his eyes and murmured +faintly, "How I wish I had a bite of that birdie." + +When she heard the words Katherine's heart jumped for joy, and as soon +as the bird was roasted she cut a little piece from its breast and +popped it into the Prince's mouth. + +When he had eaten it his strength seemed to come back somewhat, for he +rose on his elbow and looked at his nurse. "Oh! if I had but another +bite of that birdie!" he said. And his voice was certainly stronger. + +So Katherine gave him another piece, and when he had eaten that he sat +right up in bed. + +"Oh! if I had but a third bite o' that birdie!" he cried. And now the +colour was coming back into his face, and his eyes were shining. + +This time Katherine brought him the whole of the rest of the bird; and +he ate it up greedily, picking the bones quite clean with his fingers; +and when it was finished, he sprang out of bed and dressed himself, and +sat down by the fire. + +And when the King came in the morning, with his old housekeeper at his +back, to see how the Prince was, he found him sitting cracking nuts with +his nurse, for Katherine had brought home quite a lot in her apron +pocket. + +The King was so delighted to find his son cured that he gave all the +credit to Katherine Crackernuts, as he called her, and he gave orders at +once that the Prince should marry her. "For," said he, "a maiden who is +such a good nurse is sure to make a good Queen." + +The Prince was quite willing to do as his father bade him; and, while +they were talking together, his younger brother came in, leading +Princess Velvet-Cheek by the hand, whose acquaintance he had made but +yesterday, declaring that he had fallen in love with her, and that he +wanted to marry her immediately. + +So it all fell out very well, and everybody was quite pleased; and the +two weddings took place at once, and, unless they be dead sinsyne, the +young couples are living yet. + + + + +[Illustration: Times To Sneeze] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Monanday Sneeze for a Letter] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Tuesday Something Better] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Wednesday Kiss a Stranger] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Feersday Sneeze for Danger] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Friday Sneeze for Sorrow] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Saturday see your Sweetheart Tomorrow] + + + + +THE WELL O' THE WORLD'S END + + +There was once an old widow woman, who lived in a little cottage with +her only daughter, who was such a bonnie lassie that everyone liked to +look at her. + +One day the old woman took a notion into her head to bake a girdleful of +cakes. So she took down her bakeboard, and went to the girnel and +fetched a basinful of meal; but when she went to seek a jug of water to +mix the meal with, she found that there was none in the house. + +So she called to her daughter, who was in the garden; and when the girl +came she held out the empty jug to her, saying, "Run, like a good +lassie, to the Well o' the World's End and bring me a jug of water, for +I have long found that water from the Well o' the World's End makes the +best cakes." + +So the lassie took the jug and set out on her errand. + +Now, as its name shows, it is a long road to that well, and many a weary +mile had the poor maid to go ere she reached it. + +But she arrived there at last; and what was her disappointment to find +it dry. + +She was so tired and so vexed that she sat down beside it and began to +cry; for she did not know where to get any more water, and she felt that +she could not go back to her mother with an empty jug. + +While she was crying, a nice yellow Paddock, with very bright eyes, came +jump-jump-jumping over the stones of the well, and squatted down at her +feet, looking up into her face. + +"And why are ye greeting, my bonnie maid?" he asked. "Is there aught +that I can do to help thee?" + +"I am greeting because the well is empty," she answered, "and I cannot +get any water to carry home to my mother." + +"Listen," said the Paddock softly. "I can get thee water in plenty, if +so be thou wilt promise to be my wife." + +Now the lassie had but one thought in her head, and that was to get the +water for her mother's oat-cakes, and she never for a moment thought +that the Paddock was in earnest, so she promised gladly enough to be his +wife, if he would get her a jug of water. + +No sooner had the words passed her lips than the beastie jumped down the +mouth of the well, and in another moment it was full to the brim with +water. + +The lassie filled her jug and carried it home, without troubling any +more about the matter. But late that night, just as her mother and she +were going to bed, something came with a faint "thud, thud," against +the cottage door, and then they heard a tiny little wee voice singing: + + "Oh, open the door, my hinnie, my heart, + Oh, open the door, my ain true love; + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Wheesht," said the old woman, raising her head. "What noise is that at +the door?" + +"Oh," said her daughter, who was feeling rather frightened, "it's only a +yellow Paddock." + +"Poor bit beastie," said the kind-hearted old mother. "Open the door and +let him in. It's cold work sitting on the doorstep." + +So the lassie, very unwillingly opened the door, and the Paddock came +jump-jump-jumping across the kitchen, and sat down at the fireside. + +And while he sat there he began to sing this song: + + "Oh, gie me my supper, my hinnie, my heart, + Oh, gie me my supper, my ain true love; + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Gie the poor beast his supper," said the old woman. "He's an uncommon +Paddock that can sing like that." + +"Tut," replied her daughter crossly, for she was growing more and more +frightened as she saw the creature's bright black eyes fixed on her +face. "I'm not going to be so silly as to feed a wet, sticky Paddock." + +"Don't be ill-natured and cruel," said her mother. "Who knows how far +the little beastie has travelled? And I warrant that it would like a +saucerful of milk." + +Now, the lassie could have told her that the Paddock had travelled from +the Well o' the World's End; but she held her tongue, and went ben to +the milk-house, and brought back a saucerful of milk, which she set down +before the strange little visitor. + + "Now chap off my head, my hinnie, my heart, + Now chap off my head, my ain true love, + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Hout, havers, pay no heed, the creature's daft," exclaimed the old +woman, running forward to stop her daughter, who was raising the axe to +chop off the Paddock's head. But she was too late; down came the axe, +off went the head; and lo, and behold! on the spot where the little +creature had sat, stood the handsomest young Prince that had ever been +seen. + +He wore such a noble air, and was so richly dressed, that the astonished +girl and her mother would have fallen on their knees before him had he +not prevented them by a movement of his hand. + +"'Tis I that should kneel to thee, Sweetheart," he said, turning to the +blushing girl, "for thou hast delivered me from a fearful spell, which +was cast over me in my infancy by a wicked Fairy, who at the same time +slew my father. For long years I have lived in that well, the Well o' +the World's End, waiting for a maiden to appear, who should take pity on +me, even in my loathsome disguise, and promise to be my wife, and who +would also have the kindness to let me into her house, and the courage, +at my bidding, to cut off my head. + +"Now I can return and claim my father's Kingdom, and thou, most gracious +maiden, will go with me, and be my bride, for thou well deserv'st the +honour." + +And this was how the lassie who went to fetch water from the Well o' the +World's End became a Princess. + +[Illustration] + + + + +FARQUHAR MACNEILL + + +Once upon a time there was a young man named Farquhar MacNeill. He had +just gone to a new situation, and the very first night after he went to +it his mistress asked him if he would go over the hill to the house of a +neighbour and borrow a sieve, for her own was all in holes, and she +wanted to sift some meal. + +Farquhar agreed to do so, for he was a willing lad, and he set out at +once upon his errand, after the farmer's wife had pointed out to him the +path that he was to follow, and told him that he would have no +difficulty in finding the house, even though it was strange to him, for +he would be sure to see the light in the window. + +He had not gone very far, however, before he saw what he took to be the +light from a cottage window on his left hand, some distance from the +path, and, forgetting his Mistress's instructions that he was to follow +the path right over the hill, he left it, and walked towards the light. + +It seemed to him that he had almost reached it when his foot tripped, +and he fell down, down, down, into a Fairy Parlour, far under the +ground. + +[Illustration: They bowed gravely] + +It was full of Fairies, who were engaged in different occupations. + +Close by the door, or rather the hole down which he had so +unceremoniously tumbled, two little elderly women, in black aprons and +white mutches, were busily engaged in grinding corn between two flat +millstones. Other two Fairies, younger women, in blue print gowns and +white kerchiefs, were gathering up the freshly ground meal, and baking +it into bannocks, which they were toasting on a girdle over a peat fire, +which was burning slowly in a corner. + +In the centre of the large apartment a great troop of Fairies, Elves, +and Sprites were dancing reels as hard as they could to the music of a +tiny set of bagpipes which were being played by a brown-faced Gnome, who +sat on a ledge of rock far above their heads. + +They all stopped their various employments when Farquhar came suddenly +down in their midst, and looked at him in alarm; but when they saw that +he was not hurt, they bowed gravely and bade him be seated. Then they +went on with their work and with their play as if nothing had happened. + +But Farquhar, being very fond of dancing, and being in no wise anxious +to be seated, thought that he would like to have a reel first, so he +asked the Fairies if he might join them. And they, although they looked +surprised at his request, allowed him to do so, and in a few minutes +the young man was dancing away as gaily as any of them. + +And as he danced a strange change came over him. He forgot his errand, +he forgot his home, he forgot everything that had ever happened to him, +he only knew that he wanted to remain with the Fairies all the rest of +his life. + +And he did remain with them--for a magic spell had been cast over him, +and he became like one of themselves, and could come and go at nights +without being seen, and could sip the dew from the grass and honey from +the flowers as daintily and noiselessly as if he had been a Fairy born. + +Time passed by, and one night he and a band of merry companions set out +for a long journey through the air. They started early, for they +intended to pay a visit to the Man in the Moon and be back again before +cock-crow. + +All would have gone well if Farquhar had only looked where he was going, +but he did not, being deeply engaged in making love to a young Fairy +Maiden by his side, so he never saw a cottage that was standing right in +his way, till he struck against the chimney and stuck fast in the +thatch. + +His companions sped merrily on, not noticing what had befallen him, and +he was left to disentangle himself as best he could. + +As he was doing so he chanced to glance down the wide chimney, and in +the cottage kitchen he saw a comely young woman dandling a rosy-cheeked +baby. + +Now, when Farquhar had been in his mortal state, he had been very fond +of children, and a word of blessing rose to his lips. + +"God shield thee," he said, as he looked at the mother and child, little +guessing what the result of his words would be. + +For scarce had the Holy Name crossed his lips than the spell which had +held him so long was broken, and he became as he had been before. + +Instantly his thoughts flew to his friends at home, and to the new +Mistress whom he had left waiting for her sieve; for he felt sure that +some weeks must have elapsed since he set out to fetch it. So he made +haste to go to the farm. + +When he arrived in the neighbourhood everything seemed strange. There +were woods where no woods used to be, and walls where no walls used to +be. To his amazement, he could not find his way to the farm, and, worst +of all, in the place where he expected to find his father's house he +found nothing but a crop of rank green nettles. + +In great distress he looked about for someone to tell him what it all +meant, and at last he found an old man thatching the roof of a cottage. + +This old man was so thin and grey that at first Farquhar took him for a +patch of mist, but as he went nearer he saw that he was a human being, +and, going close up to the wall and shouting with all his might, for he +felt sure that such an ancient man would be deaf, he asked him if he +could tell him where his friends had gone to, and what had happened to +his father's dwelling. + +The old man listened, then he shook his head. "I never heard of him," he +answered slowly; "but perhaps my father might be able to tell you." + +"Your father!" said Farquhar, in great surprise. "Is it possible that +your father is alive?" + +"Aye he is," answered the old man, with a little laugh. "If you go into +the house you'll find him sitting in the arm-chair by the fire." + +Farquhar did as he was bid, and on entering the cottage found another +old man, who was so thin and withered and bent that he looked as if he +must at least be a hundred years old. He was feebly twisting ropes to +bind the thatch on the roof. + +"Can ye tell me aught of my friends, or where my father's cottage is?" +asked Farquhar again, hardly expecting that this second old man would be +able to answer him. + +"I cannot," mumbled this ancient person; "but perhaps my father can tell +you." + +"Your father!" exclaimed Farquhar, more astonished than ever. "But +surely he must be dead long ago." + +The old man shook his head with a weird grimace. + +"Look there," he said, and pointed with a twisted finger, to a leathern +purse, or sporran, which was hanging to one of the posts of a wooden +bedstead in the corner. + +Farquhar approached it, and was almost frightened out of his wits by +seeing a tiny shrivelled face crowned by a red pirnie, looking over the +edge of the sporran. + +"Tak' him out; he'll no touch ye," chuckled the old man by the fire. + +So Farquhar took the little creature out carefully between his finger +and thumb, and set him on the palm of his left hand. He was so +shrivelled with age that he looked just like a mummy. + +"Dost know anything of my friends, or where my father's cottage is gone +to?" asked Farquhar for the third time, hardly expecting to get an +answer. + +"They were all dead long before I was born," piped out the tiny figure. +"I never saw any of them, but I have heard my father speak of them." + +"Then I must be older than you!" cried Farquhar, in great dismay. And he +got such a shock at the thought that his bones suddenly dissolved into +dust, and he fell, a heap of grey ashes, on the floor. + + + + +PEERIFOOL + + +There was once a King and a Queen in Rousay who had three daughters. +When the young Princesses were just grown up, the King died, and the +Crown passed to a distant cousin, who had always hated him, and who paid +no heed to the widowed Queen and her daughters. + +So they were left very badly off, and they went to live in a tiny +cottage, and did all the housework themselves. They had a kailyard in +front of the cottage, and a little field behind it, and they had a cow +that grazed in the field, and which they fed with the cabbages that grew +in the kailyard. For everyone knows that to feed cows with cabbages +makes them give a larger quantity of milk. + +But they soon discovered that some one was coming at night and stealing +the cabbages, and, of course, this annoyed them very much. For they knew +that if they had not cabbages to give to the cow, they would not have +enough milk to sell. + +So the eldest Princess said she would take out a three-legged stool, and +wrap herself in a blanket, and sit in the kailyard all night to see if +she could catch the thief. And, although it was very cold and very dark, +she did so. + +At first it seemed as if all her trouble would be in vain, for hour +after hour passed and nothing happened. But in the small hours of the +morning, just as the clock was striking two, she heard a stealthy +trampling in the field behind, as if some very heavy person were trying +to tread very softly, and presently a mighty Giant stepped right over +the wall into the kailyard. + +He carried an enormous creel on his arm, and a large, sharp knife in his +hand; and he began to cut the cabbages, and to throw them into the creel +as fast as he could. + +Now the Princess was no coward, so, although she had not expected to +face a Giant, she gathered up her courage, and cried out sharply, "Who +gave thee liberty to cut our cabbages? Leave off this minute, and go +away." + +The Giant paid no heed, but went on steadily with what he was doing. + +"Dost thou not hear me?" cried the girl indignantly; for she was the +Princess Royal, and had always been accustomed to be obeyed. + +"If thou be not quiet I will take thee too," said the Giant grimly, +pressing the cabbages down into the creel. + +"I should like to see thee try," retorted the Princess, rising from her +stool and stamping her foot; for she felt so angry that she forgot for +a moment that she was only a weak maiden and he was a great and powerful +Giant. + +And, as if to show her how strong he was, he seized her by her arm and +her leg, and put her in his creel on the top of the cabbages, and +carried her away bodily. + +When he reached his home, which was in a great square house on a lonely +moor, he took her out, and set her down roughly on the floor. + +"Thou wilt be my servant now," he said, "and keep my house, and do my +errands for me. I have a cow, which thou must drive out every day to the +hillside; and see, here is a bag of wool, when thou hast taken out the +cow, thou must come back and settle thyself at home, as a good housewife +should, and comb, and card it, and spin it into yarn, with which to +weave a good thick cloth for my raiment. I am out most of the day, but +when I come home I shall expect to find all this done, and a great +bicker of porridge boiled besides for my supper." + +The poor Princess was very dismayed when she heard these words, for she +had never been accustomed to work hard, and she had always had her +sisters to help her; but the Giant took no notice of her distress, but +went out as soon as it was daylight, leaving her alone in the house to +begin her work. + +As soon as he had gone she drove the cow to the pasture, as he had told +her to do; but she had a good long walk over the moor before she reached +the hill, and by the time that she got back to the house she felt very +tired. + +So she thought that she would put on the porridge pot, and make herself +some porridge before she began to card and comb the wool. She did so, +and just as she was sitting down to sup them the door opened, and a +crowd of wee, wee Peerie Folk came in. + +They were the tiniest men and women that the Princess had ever seen; not +one of them would have reached half-way to her knee; and they were +dressed in dresses fashioned out of all the colours of the +rainbow--scarlet and blue, green and yellow, orange and violet; and the +funny thing was, that every one of them had a shock of straw-coloured +yellow hair. + +They were all talking and laughing with one another; and they hopped up, +first on stools, then on chairs, till at last they reached the top of +the table, where they clustered round the bowl, out of which the +Princess was eating her porridge. + +"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried, in their tiny shrill voices. +"Spare a little porridge for the Peerie Folk." + +But the Princess was hungry also; and, besides being hungry, she was +both tired and cross; so she shook her head and waved them impatiently +away with her spoon, + + "Little for one, and less for two, + And never a grain have I for you." + +she said sharply, and, to her great delight, for she did not feel quite +comfortable with all the Peerie Folk standing on the table looking at +her, they vanished in a moment. + +After this she finished her porridge in peace; then she took the wool +out of the bag, and she set to work to comb and card it. But it seemed +as if it were bewitched; it curled and twisted and coiled itself round +her fingers so that, try as she would, she could not do anything with +it. And when the Giant came home he found her sitting in despair with it +all in confusion round her, and the porridge, which she had left for him +in the pot, burned to a cinder. + +As you may imagine, he was very angry, and raged, and stamped, and used +the most dreadful words; and at last he took her by the heels, and beat +her until all her back was skinned and bleeding; then he carried her out +to the byre, and threw her up on the joists among the hens. And, +although she was not dead, she was so stunned and bruised that she could +only lie there motionless, looking down on the backs of the cows. + +Time went on, and in the kailyard at home the cabbages were disappearing +as fast as ever. So the second Princess said that she would do as her +sister had done, and wrap herself in a blanket, and go and sit on a +three-legged stool all night, to see what was becoming of them. + +She did so, and exactly the same fate befell her that had befallen her +elder sister. The Giant appeared with his creel, and he carried her +off, and set her to mind the cow and the house, and to make his porridge +and to spin; and the little yellow-headed Peerie Folk appeared and asked +her for some supper, and she refused to give it to them; and after that, +she could not comb or card her wool, and the Giant was angry, and he +scolded her, and beat her, and threw her up, half dead, on the joists +beside her sister and the hens. + +Then the youngest Princess determined to sit out in the kailyard all +night, not so much to see what was becoming of the cabbages, as to +discover what had happened to her sisters. + +And when the Giant came and carried her off, she was not at all sorry, +but very glad, for she was a brave and loving little maiden; and now she +felt that she had a chance of finding out where they were, and whether +they were dead or alive. + +So she was quite cheerful and happy, for she felt certain that she was +clever enough to outwit the Giant, if only she were watchful and +patient; so she lay quite quietly in her creel above the cabbages, but +she kept her eyes very wide open to see by which road he was carrying +her off. + +And when he set her down in his kitchen, and told her all that he +expected her to do, she did not look downcast like her sisters, but +nodded her head brightly, and said that she felt sure that she could do +it. + +And she sang to herself as she drove the cow over the moor to pasture, +and she ran the whole way back, so that she should have a good long +afternoon to work at the wool, and, although she would not have told the +Giant this, to search the house. + +Before she set to work, however, she made herself some porridge, just as +her sisters had done; and, just as she was going to sup them, all the +little yellow-haired Peerie Folk trooped in, and climbed up on the +table, and stood and stared at her. + +"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried. "Spare a little porridge for +the Peerie Folk." + +"With all my heart," replied the good-natured Princess. "If you can find +dishes little enough for you to sup out of, I will fill them for you. +But, methinks, if I were to give you all porringers, you would smother +yourselves among the porridge." + +At her words the Peerie Folk shouted with laughter, till their +straw-coloured hair tumbled right over their faces; then they hopped on +to the floor and ran out of the house, and presently they came trooping +back holding cups of blue-bells, and foxgloves, and saucers of primroses +and anemones in their hands; and the Princess put a tiny spoonful of +porridge into each saucer, and a tiny drop of milk into each cup, and +they ate it all up as daintily as possible with neat little grass +spoons, which they had brought with them in their pockets. + +When they had finished they all cried out, "Thank you! Thank you!" and +ran out of the kitchen again, leaving the Princess alone. And, being +alone, she went all over the house to look for her sisters, but, of +course, she could not find them. + +"Never mind, I will find them soon," she said to herself. "To-morrow I +will search the byre and the outhouses; in the meantime, I had better +get on with my work." So she went back to the kitchen, and took out the +bag of wool, which the Giant had told her to make into cloth. + +But just as she was doing so the door opened once more, and a +Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy entered. He was exactly like the other Peerie +Folk who had eaten the Princess's porridge, only he was bigger, and he +wore a very rich dress of grass-green velvet. He walked boldly into the +middle of the kitchen and looked round him. + +"Hast thou any work for me to do?" he asked. "I ken grand how to handle +wool and turn it into fine thick cloth." + +"I have plenty of work for anybody who asks it," replied the Princess; +"but I have no money to pay for it, and there are but few folk in this +world who will work without wages." + +"All the wages that I ask is that thou wilt take the trouble to find out +my name, for few folk ken it, and few folk care to ken. But if by any +chance thou canst not find it out, then must thou pay toll of half of +thy cloth." + +The Princess thought that it would be quite an easy thing to find out +the Boy's name, so she agreed to the bargain, and, putting all the wool +back into the bag, she gave it to him, and he swung it over his shoulder +and departed. + +She ran to the door to see where he went, for she had made up her mind +that she would follow him secretly to his home, and find out from the +neighbours what his name was. + +But, to her great dismay, though she looked this way and that, he had +vanished completely, and she began to wonder what she should do if the +Giant came back and found that she had allowed someone, whose name she +did not even know, to carry off all the wool. + +And, as the afternoon wore on, and she could think of no way of finding +out who the boy was, or where he came from, she felt that she had made a +great mistake, and she began to grow very frightened. + +Just as the gloaming was beginning to fall a knock came at the door, +and, when she opened it, she found an old woman standing outside, who +begged for a night's lodging. + +Now, as I have told you, the Princess was very kind-hearted, and she +would fain have granted the poor old Dame's request, but she dared not, +for she did not know what the Giant would say. So she told the old woman +that she could not take her in for the night, as she was only a servant, +and not the mistress of the house; but she made her sit down on a bench +beside the door, and brought her out some bread and milk, and gave her +some water to bathe her poor, tired feet. + +She was so bonnie, and gentle, and kind, and she looked so sorry when +she told her that she would need to turn her away, that the old woman +gave her her blessing, and told her not to vex herself, as it was a +fine, dry night, and now that she had had a meal she could easily sit +down somewhere and sleep in the shelter of the outhouses. + +And, when she had finished her bread and milk, she went and laid down by +the side of a green knowe, which rose out of the moor not very far from +the byre door. + +And, strange to say, as she lay there she felt the earth beneath her +getting warmer and warmer, until she was so hot that she was fain to +crawl up the side of the hillock, in the hope of getting a mouthful of +fresh air. + +And as she got near the top she heard a voice, which seemed to come from +somewhere beneath her, saying, "TEASE, TEASENS, TEASE; CARD, CARDENS, +CARD; SPIN, SPINNENS, SPIN; for PEERIFOOL PEERIFOOL, PEERIFOOL is what +men call me." And when she got to the very top, she found that there was +a crack in the earth, through which rays of light were coming; and when +she put her eye to the crack, what should she see down below her but a +brilliantly lighted chamber, in which all the Peerie Folk were sitting +in a circle, working away as hard as they could. + +Some of them were carding wool, some of them were combing it, some of +them were spinning it, constantly wetting their fingers with their lips, +in order to twist the yarn fine as they drew it from the distaff, and +some of them were spinning the yarn into cloth. + +While round and round the circle, cracking a little whip, and urging +them to work faster, was a Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy. + +"This is a strange thing, and these be queer on-goings," said the old +woman to herself, creeping hastily down to the bottom of the hillock +again. "I must e'en go and tell the bonnie lassie in the house yonder. +Maybe the knowledge of what I have seen will stand her in good stead +some day. When there be Peerie Folk about, it is well to be on one's +guard." + +So she went back to the house and told the Princess all that she had +seen and heard, and the Princess was so delighted with what she had told +her that she risked the Giant's wrath and allowed her to go and sleep in +the hayloft. + +It was not very long after the old woman had gone to rest before the +door opened, and the Peerie Boy appeared once more with a number of webs +of cloth upon his shoulder. "Here is thy cloth," he said, with a sly +smile, "and I will put it on the shelf for thee the moment that thou +tellest me what my name is." + +Then the Princess, who was a merry maiden, thought that she would tease +the little follow for a time ere she let him know that she had found out +his secret. + +So she mentioned first one name and then another, always pretending to +think that she had hit upon the right one; and all the time the Peerie +Boy jumped from side to side with delight, for he thought that she would +never find out the right name, and that half of the cloth would be his. + +But at last the Princess grew tired of joking, and she cried out, with a +little laugh of triumph, "Dost thou by any chance ken anyone called +PEERIFOOL, little Mannikin?" + +Then he knew that in some way she had found out what men called him, and +he was so angry and disappointed that he flung the webs of cloth down in +a heap on the floor, and ran out at the door, slamming it behind him. + +Meanwhile the Giant was coming down the hill in the darkening, and, to +his astonishment, he met a troop of little Peerie Folk toiling up it, +looking as if they were so tired that they could hardly get along. Their +eyes were dim and listless, their heads were hanging on their breasts, +and their lips were so long and twisted that the poor little people +looked quite hideous. + +The Giant asked how this was, and they told him that they had to work so +hard all day, spinning for their Master that they were quite exhausted; +and that the reason why their lips were so distorted was that they used +them constantly to wet their fingers, so that they might pull the wool +in very fine strands from the distaff. + +"I always thought a great deal of women who could spin," said the Giant, +"and I looked out for a housewife that could do so. But after this I +will be more careful, for the housewife that I have now is a bonnie +little woman, and I would be loth to have her spoil her face in that +manner." + +And he hurried home in a great state of mind in case he should find that +his new servant's pretty red lips had grown long and ugly in his +absence. + +Great was his relief to see her standing by the table, bonnie and +winsome as ever, with all the webs of cloth in a pile in front of her. + +"By my troth, thou art an industrious maiden," he said, in high good +humour, "and, as a reward for working so diligently, I will restore thy +sisters to thee." And he went out to the byre, and lifted the two other +Princesses down from the rafters, and brought them in and laid them on +the settle. + +Their little sister nearly screamed aloud when she saw how ill they +looked and how bruised their backs were, but, like a prudent maiden, she +held her tongue, and busied herself with applying a cooling ointment to +their wounds, and binding them up, and by and by her sisters revived, +and, after the Giant had gone to bed, they told her all that had +befallen them. + +"I will be avenged on him for his cruelty," said the little Princess +firmly; and when she spoke like that her sisters knew that she meant +what she said. + +So next morning, before the Giant was up, she fetched his creel, and put +her eldest sister into it, and covered her with all the fine silken +hangings and tapestry that she could find, and on the top of all she put +a handful of grass, and when the Giant came downstairs she asked him, in +her sweetest tone, if he would do her a favour. + +And the Giant, who was very pleased with her because of the quantity of +cloth which he thought she had spun, said that he would. + +"Then carry that creelful of grass home to my mother's cottage for her +cow to eat," said the Princess. "'Twill help to make up for all the +cabbages which thou hast stolen from her kailyard." + +And, wonderful to relate, the Giant did as he was bid, and carried the +creel to the cottage. + +Next morning she put her second sister into another creel, and covered +her with all the fine napery she could find in the house, and put an +armful of grass on the top of it, and at her bidding the Giant, who was +really getting very fond of her, carried it also home to her mother. + +The next morning the little Princess told him that she thought that she +would go for a long walk after she had done her housework, and that she +might not be in when he came home at night, but that she would have +another creel of grass ready for him, if he would carry it to the +cottage as he had done on the two previous evenings. He promised to do +so; then, as usual, he went out for the day. + +In the afternoon the clever little maiden went through the house, +gathering together all the lace, and silver, and jewellery that she +could find, and brought them and placed them beside the creel. Then she +went out and cut an armful of grass, and brought it in and laid it +beside them. + +Then she crept into the creel herself, and pulled all the fine things in +above her, and then she covered everything up with the grass, which was +a very difficult thing to do, seeing she herself was at the bottom of +the basket. Then she lay quite still and waited. + +Presently the Giant came in, and, obedient to his promise, he lifted the +creel and carried it off to the old Queen's cottage. + +No one seemed to be at home, so he set it down in the entry, and turned +to go away. But the little Princess had told her sisters what to do, and +they had a great can of boiling water ready in one of the rooms +upstairs, and when they heard his steps coming round that side of the +house, they threw open the window and emptied it all over his head; and +that was the end of him. + + + + +[Illustration: Birthdays] + +[Illustration: A Monanday's Child His a Bonnie Face] + +[Illustration: A Tyesdays Child is Fou O' Grace] + +[Illustration: A Wednesday's Child is the Child o' Woe] + +[Illustration: A Feersday's Child Hiz Far To Go] + +[Illustration: A Friday's Child is Lovin and Givin] + +[Illustration: A Saitirday's Child Works hard for his Livin] + +[Illustration: But them thats Born On Sunday Is happy, blithe, and Gay] + +[Illustration] + + + + +GLOSSARY + + + A body a person + + Airt direction + + Ahint behind + + Bairn child + + Baudrons Scotch name for a cat + + Ben in towards an inner room + + Ben a mountain peak + + Bicker to argue in a petty way + + Bonnet-piece an old Scottish coin + + Byre cowhouse + + Canty kindly, cheerful + + Cantrip a freak, or wilful piece of trickery + + Chuckie-stone a small white pebble + + Clout a blow + + Cloving separating lint from its stalk + + Clue a ball of worsted + + Creel a large hand-made basket + + Cutty-pipe a short clay pipe + + Daft silly, weak-minded + + Dander to walk aimlessly + + Darkening the twilight + + Divot a sod + + Doo a dove + + Douce sedate + + Dowie dull, low-spirited + + Dyke a wall + + Eldritch weird + + Emprise an enterprise + + Entry a passage + + Fain gladly + + Feared afraid + + Forbye besides + + Gang go + + Girnel a meal-chest + + Gled a hawk + + Gloaming the twilight + + Greeting crying + + Hantle very much, a considerable number + + Havers nonsense + + Heckle to comb + + Hinnie a term of endearment + + Hirple to limp + + Histie "haste thee" + + Inbye inside + + Ingle neuk the corner by the fire + + Joists the beams in a roof + + Kailyard a kitchen garden + + Ken know + + Kirn a churn, to churn + + Kist a chest + + Knowe a little hillock + + Lift the sky, the air + + Light alight + + Lintie a linnet + + Lout to stoop + + Lum chimney + + Louping-on-stane a stone from which to mount a horse + + Malison a curse + + Meat food + + Migraine a pain affecting one half of the head + + Mutch a cap + + Onstead farm buildings + + Paddock a toad or frog + + Pirnie a woollen nightcap + + Poke a bag + + Rivlins shoes made of cowhide + + Sen' night a week + + Shoon shoes + + Siccan such + + Siller money + + Sinsyne since + + Smatchet small boy + + Sneck to latch or shut a door + + Snibbit bolted, _snib_, a bolt + + Thrapple throat + + Thole to bear + + Unchancy uncanny + + Wheen a few + + Wheesht be quiet! + + Wight a person + + Winnock a window + + Winnow to separate the chaff from the grain by wind + + Yestreen yesterday + + Yule Christmas + + Unicorns Ancient Scottish coins + + + * * * * * + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + Transcriber's notes: + + Taken out hypen in 'Mer-maids' and 'Mer-men' in Preface as not in text. + Leaving the two words 'tomorrow' and 'tomorrow' as is. + P.76. Taken out extra 'day' from 'day day'. + P.80. Taken out extra 'the' from 'the the'. + P.104. 'craried' is found in another version of this book, leaving as is. + P.124. Taken out extra 'did' from 'did did'. + P.144. Taken out hyphen in 'burn-side'. + P.161. Taken out hyphen in 'Yule-tide'. + P.263. Taken out hyphen in 'mis-shapen'. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Scottish Fairy Book, by Elizabeth W. Grierson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 37532-8.txt or 37532-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/5/3/37532/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Grierson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scottish Fairy Book + +Author: Elizabeth W. Grierson + +Illustrator: Morris Meredith Williams + +Release Date: September 26, 2011 [EBook #37532] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="398" height="600" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<hr class="r65" /> +<h1>THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK</h1> + +<p class="center"><b>BY</b></p> + +<h2>ELIZABETH W. GRIERSON</h2> + +<h5>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</h5> + +<p class="center"><b>BY</b></p> + +<h4>MORRIS MEREDITH WILLIAMS</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 245px;"> +<img src="images/003.png" width="245" height="250" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h4>J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</h4> + +<p class="center"><b>PHILADELPHIA<span style="margin-left: 5em;">NEW YORK</span></b></p> + +<p class="center"><b>Printed in U.S.A.</b></p> + +<p class="center"><b>"Of <i>Brownys and of Bogillis Full this Buke</i>."<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">—GAVIN DOUGLAS</span></b></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + +<p>There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish Fairy Tales.</p> + +<p>There are what may be called "Celtic Stories," which were handed down +for centuries by word of mouth by professional story-tellers, who went +about from clachan to clachan in the "Highlands and Islands," earning a +night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now +been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others.</p> + +<p>These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild +and fantastic, and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are +strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who +sets out on some dangerous quest, and who is met by giants, generally +three in number, who appear one after the other; with whom they hold +quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay. Most of them are fairly +long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they +are quite distinct from the ordinary Fairy Tale.</p> + +<p>These latter, in Scotland, have also a character of their own, for there +is no country where the existence of Spirits and Goblins has been so +implicitly believed in up to a comparatively recent date.</p> + +<p>As a proof of this we can go to Hogg's tale of "The Wool-gatherer," and +see how the countryman, Barnaby, voices the belief of his day. "Ye had +need to tak care how ye dispute the existence of fairies, brownies, and +apparitions! Ye may as weel dispute the Gospel of Saint Matthew."</p> + +<p>Perhaps it was the bleak and stern character of their climate, and the +austerity of their religious beliefs which made our Scottish forefathers +think of the spirits in whom they so firmly believed, as being, for the +most part, mischievous and malevolent.</p> + +<p>Their Bogies, their Witches, their Kelpies, even their Fairy Queen +herself, were supposed to be in league with the Evil One, and to be +compelled, as Thomas of Ercildoune was near finding out to his cost, to +pay a "Tiend to Hell" every seven years; so it was not to be wondered +at, that these uncanny beings were dreaded and feared.</p> + +<p>But along with this dark and gloomy view, we find touches of delicate +playfulness and brightness. The Fairy Queen might be in league with +Satan, but her subjects were not all bound by the same law, and many +charming tales are told of the "sith" or silent folk, who were always +spoken of with respect, in case they might be within earshot, who made +their dwellings under some rocky knowe, and who came out and danced on +the dewy sward at midnight.</p> + +<p>Akin to them are the tales which are told about a mysterious region +under the sea, "far below the abode of fishes," where a strange race of +beings lived, who, in their own land closely resembled human beings, and +were of such surpassing beauty that they charmed the hearts of all who +looked on them. They were spoken of as <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Mer-maids'">Mermaids</ins> and <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Mer-men'">Mermen</ins>, and as +their lungs were not adapted for breathing under water, they had the +extraordinary power of entering into the skin of some fish or sea +animal, and in this way passing from their own abode to our upper world, +where they held converse with mortal men, and, as often as not, tried to +lure them to destruction.</p> + +<p>The popular idea always represents Mer-folk as wearing the tails of +fishes; in Scottish Folklore they are quite as often found in the form +of seals.</p> + +<p>Then we frequently come across the Brownie, that strange, kindly, +lovable creature, with its shaggy, unkempt appearance, half man, half +beast, who was said to be the ordained helper of man in the drudgery +entailed by sin, and was therefore forbidden to receive wages; who +always worked when no one was looking, and who disappeared if any notice +were taken of him.</p> + +<p>There are also, as in all other countries, animal tales, where the +animals are endowed with the power of speech; and weird tales of +enchantment; and last, but not least, there are the legendary stories, +many of them half real, half mythical, which are to be found in the +pages of Hogg, and Leyden, and above all, in Sir Walter Scott's "Border +Minstrelsy."</p> + +<p>In preparing this book I have tried to make a representative collection +from these different classes of Scottish Folklore, taking, when +possible, the stories which are least well known, in the hope that some +of them, at least, may be new to the children of this generation.</p> + +<p>It may interest some of these children to know that when James IV was a +little boy, nearly four hundred years ago, he used to sit on his tutor, +Sir David Lindsay's, knee, and listen to some of the same stories that +are written here:—to the story of Thomas the Rhymer, of the Red-Etin, +and of The Black Bull of Norroway.</p> + +<p>Although in every case I have told the tale in my own words, I am +indebted for the originals to Campbell's "Popular Tales of the Western +Highlands," Leyden's Poems, Hogg's Poems, Scott's "Border Minstrelsy," +Chambers' "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," "The Folklore Journal," etc.</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><span class="smcap">Elizabeth W. Grierson.</span></span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Whitchesters, Hawick, N.B.,</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>12th April, 1910.</i></span><br /> +</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Thomas the Rhymer </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Whippety-Stourie </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Red-Etin </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Seal Catcher and the Merman </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Page-boy and the Silver Goblet </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Black Bull of Norroway </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Wee Bannock </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Elfin Knight </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">What to say to the New Mune </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Habetrot the Spinstress </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Nippit Fit and Clippit Fit </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Fairies of Merlin's Crag </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Dwarfie Stone </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Canonbie Dick and Thomas of Ercildoune </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Laird o' Co' </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Poussie Baudrons </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Milk-white Doo </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Draiglin' Hogney </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Brownie o' Ferne-Den </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Witch of Fife </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Fox and the Wolf </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Katherine Crackernuts </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Times to Sneeze </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Well o' the World's End </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Farquhar MacNeill </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Peerifool </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Birthdays </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><a href="#Page_307">Glossary and Footnotes</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THOMAS THE RHYMER</h2> + +<p>Of all the young gallants in Scotland in the thirteenth century, there +was none more gracious and debonair than Thomas Learmont, Laird of the +Castle of Ercildoune, in Berwickshire.</p> + +<p>He loved books, poetry, and music, which were uncommon tastes in those +days; and, above all, he loved to study nature, and to watch the habits +of the beasts and birds that made their abode in the fields and woods +round about his home.</p> + +<p>Now it chanced that, one sunny May morning, Thomas left his Tower of +Ercildoune, and went wandering into the woods that lay about the Huntly +Burn, a little stream that came rushing down from the slopes of the +Eildon Hills. It was a lovely morning—fresh, and bright, and warm, and +everything was so beautiful that it looked as Paradise might look.</p> + +<p>The tender leaves were bursting out of their sheaths, and covering all +the trees with a fresh soft mantle of green; and amongst the carpet of +moss under the young man's feet, yellow primroses and starry anemones +were turning up their faces to the morning sky.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> + +<p>The little birds were singing like to burst their throats, and hundreds +of insects were flying backwards and forwards in the sunshine; while +down by the burnside the bright-eyed water-rats were poking their noses +out of their holes, as if they knew that summer had come, and wanted to +have a share in all that was going on.</p> + +<p>Thomas felt so happy with the gladness of it all, that he threw himself +down at the root of a tree, to watch the living things around him.</p> + +<p>As he was lying there, he heard the trampling of a horse's hooves, as it +forced its way through the bushes; and, looking up, he saw the most +beautiful lady that he had ever seen coming riding towards him on a grey +palfrey.</p> + +<p>She wore a hunting dress of glistening silk, the colour of the fresh +spring grass; and from her shoulders hung a velvet mantle, which matched +the riding-skirt exactly. Her yellow hair, like rippling gold, hung +loosely round her shoulders, and on her head sparkled a diadem of +precious stones, which flashed like fire in the sunlight.</p> + +<p>Her saddle was of pure ivory, and her saddle-cloth of blood-red satin, +while her saddle girths were of corded silk and her stirrups of cut +crystal. Her horse's reins were of beaten gold, all hung with little +silver bells, so that, as she rode along, she made a sound like fairy +music.</p> + +<p>Apparently she was bent on the chase, for she carried a hunting-horn and +a sheaf of arrows; and she led seven greyhounds along in a leash, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +as many scenting hounds ran loose at her horse's side.</p> + +<p>As she rode down the glen, she lilted a bit of an old Scotch song; and +she carried herself with such a queenly air, and her dress was so +magnificent, that Thomas was like to kneel by the side of the path and +worship her, for he thought that it must be the Blessed Virgin herself.</p> + +<p>But when the rider came to where he was, and understood his thoughts, +she shook her head sadly.</p> + +<p>"I am not that Blessed Lady, as thou thinkest," she said. "Men call me +Queen, but it is of a far other country; for I am the Queen of +Fairy-land, and not the Queen of Heaven."</p> + +<p>And certainly it seemed as if what she said were true; for, from that +moment, it was as if a spell were cast over Thomas, making him forget +prudence, and caution, and common-sense itself.</p> + +<p>For he knew that it was dangerous for mortals to meddle with Fairies, +yet he was so entranced with the Lady's beauty that he begged her to +give him a kiss. This was just what she wanted, for she knew that if she +once kissed him she had him in her power.</p> + +<p>And, to the young man's horror, as soon as their lips had met, an awful +change came over her. For her beautiful mantle and riding-skirt of silk +seemed to fade away, leaving her clad in a long grey garment, which was +just the colour of ashes. Her beauty seemed to fade away also, and she +grew old and wan; and, worst of all, half of her abundant yellow hair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +went grey before his very eyes. She saw the poor man's astonishment and +terror, and she burst into a mocking laugh.</p> + +<p>"I am not so fair to look on now as I was at first," she said, "but that +matters little, for thou hast sold thyself, Thomas, to be my servant for +seven long years. For whoso kisseth the Fairy Queen must e'en go with +her to Fairy-land, and serve her there till that time is past."</p> + +<p>When he heard these words poor Thomas fell on his knees and begged for +mercy. But mercy he could not obtain. The Elfin Queen only laughed in +his face, and brought her dapple-grey palfrey close up to where he was +standing.</p> + +<p>"No, no," she said, in answer to his entreaties. "Thou didst ask the +kiss, and now thou must pay the price. So dally no longer, but mount +behind me, for it is full time that I was gone."</p> + +<p>So Thomas, with many a sigh and groan of terror, mounted behind her; and +as soon as he had done so, she shook her bridle rein, and the grey steed +galloped off.</p> + +<p>On and on they went, going swifter than the wind; till they left the +land of the living behind, and came to the edge of a great desert, which +stretched before them, dry, and bare, and desolate, to the edge of the +far horizon.</p> + +<p>At least, so it seemed to the weary eyes of Thomas of Ercildoune, and +he wondered if he and his strange companion had to cross this desert;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +and, if so, if there were any chance of reaching the other side of it +alive.</p> + +<p>But the Fairy Queen suddenly tightened her rein, and the grey palfrey +stopped short in its wild career.</p> + +<p>"Now must thou descend to earth, Thomas," said the Lady, glancing over +her shoulder at her unhappy captive, "and lout down, and lay thy head on +my knee, and I will show thee hidden things, which cannot be seen by +mortal eyes."</p> + +<p>So Thomas dismounted, and louted down, and rested his head on the Fairy +Queen's knee; and lo, as he looked once more over the desert, everything +seemed changed. For he saw three roads leading across it now, which he +had not noticed before, and each of these three roads was different.</p> + +<p>One of them was broad, and level, and even, and it ran straight on +across the sand, so that no one who was travelling by it could possibly +lose his way.</p> + +<p>And the second road was as different from the first as it well could be. +It was narrow, and winding, and long; and there was a thorn hedge on one +side of it, and a briar hedge on the other; and those hedges grew so +high, and their branches were so wild and tangled, that those who were +travelling along that road would have some difficulty in persevering on +their journey at all.</p> + +<p>And the third road was unlike any of the others. It was a bonnie, +bonnie road, winding up a hillside among brackens, and heather, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +golden-yellow whins, and it looked as if it would be pleasant +travelling, to pass that way.</p> + +<p>"Now," said the Fairy Queen, "an' thou wilt, I shall tell thee where +these three roads lead to. The first road, as thou seest, is broad, and +even, and easy, and there be many that choose it to travel on. But +though it be a good road, it leadeth to a bad end, and the folk that +choose it repent their choice for ever.</p> + +<p>"And as for the narrow road, all hampered and hindered by the thorns and +the briars, there be few that be troubled to ask where that leadeth to. +But did they ask, perchance more of them might be stirred up to set out +along it. For that is the Road of Righteousness; and, although it be +hard and irksome, yet it endeth in a glorious City, which is called the +City of the Great King.</p> + +<p>"And the third road—the bonnie road—that runs up the brae +among the ferns, and leadeth no mortal kens whither, but I ken where it +leadeth, Thomas—for it leadeth unto fair Elf-land; and that road +take we.</p> + +<p>"And, mark 'ee, Thomas, if ever thou hopest to see thine own Tower of +Ercildoune again, take care of thy tongue when we reach our journey's +end, and speak no single word to anyone save me—for the mortal who +openeth his lips rashly in Fairy-land must bide there for ever."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then she bade him mount her palfrey again, and they rode on. The ferny +road was not so bonnie all the way as it had been at first, however. For +they had not ridden along it very far before it led them into a narrow +ravine, which seemed to go right down under the earth, where there was +no ray of light to guide them, and where the air was dank and heavy. +There was a sound of rushing water everywhere, and at last the grey +palfrey plunged right into it; and it crept up, cold and chill, first +over Thomas's feet, and then over his knees.</p> + +<p>His courage had been slowly ebbing ever since he had been parted from +the daylight, but now he gave himself up for lost; for it seemed to him +certain that his strange companion and he would never come safe to their +journey's end.</p> + +<p>He fell forward in a kind of swoon; and, if it had not been that he had +tight hold of the Fairy's ash-grey gown, I warrant he had fallen from +his seat, and had been drowned.</p> + +<p>But all things, be they good or bad, pass in time, and at last the +darkness began to lighten, and the light grew stronger, until they were +back in broad sunshine.</p> + +<p>Then Thomas took courage, and looked up; and lo, they were riding +through a beautiful orchard, where apples and pears, dates and figs and +wine-berries grew in great abundance. And his tongue was so parched and +dry, and he felt so faint, that he longed for some of the fruit to +restore him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> + +<p>He stretched out his hand to pluck some of it; but his companion turned +in her saddle and forbade him.</p> + +<p>"There is nothing safe for thee to eat here," she said, "save an apple, +which I will give thee presently. If thou touch aught else thou art +bound to remain in Fairy-land for ever."</p> + +<p>So poor Thomas had to restrain himself as best he could; and they rode +slowly on, until they came to a tiny tree all covered with red apples. +The Fairy Queen bent down and plucked one, and handed it to her +companion.</p> + +<p>"This I can give thee," she said, "and I do it gladly, for these apples +are the Apples of Truth; and whoso eateth them gaineth this reward, that +his lips will never more be able to frame a lie."</p> + +<p>Thomas took the apple, and ate it; and for evermore the Grace of Truth +rested on his lips; and that is why, in after years, men called him +"True Thomas."</p> + +<p>They had only a little way to go after this, before they came in sight +of a magnificent Castle standing on a hillside.</p> + +<p>"Yonder is my abode," said the Queen, pointing to it proudly. "There +dwelleth my Lord and all the Nobles of his court; and, as my Lord hath +an uncertain temper and shows no liking for any strange gallant whom he +sees in my company, I pray thee, both for thy sake and mine, to utter no +word to anyone who speaketh to thee; and, if anyone should ask me who +and what thou art, I will tell them that thou art dumb. So wilt thou<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +pass unnoticed in the crowd."</p> + +<p>With these words the Lady raised her hunting-horn, and blew a loud and +piercing blast; and, as she did so, a marvellous change came over her +again; for her ugly ash-covered gown dropped off her, and the grey in +her hair vanished, and she appeared once more in her green riding-skirt +and mantle, and her face grew young and fair.</p> + +<p>And a wonderful change passed over Thomas also; for, as he chanced to +glance downwards, he found that his rough country clothes had been +transformed into a suit of fine brown cloth, and that on his feet he +wore satin shoon.</p> + +<p>Immediately the sound of the horn rang out, the doors of the Castle flew +open, and the King hurried out to meet the Queen, accompanied by such a +number of Knights and Ladies, Minstrels and Page-boys, that Thomas, who +had slid from his palfrey, had no difficulty in obeying her wishes and +passing into the Castle unobserved.</p> + +<p>Everyone seemed very glad to see the Queen back again, and they crowded +into the Great Hall in her train, and she spoke to them all graciously, +and allowed them to kiss her hand. Then she passed, with her husband, to +a dais at the far end of the huge apartment, where two thrones stood, on +which the Royal pair seated themselves to watch the revels which now +began.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> + +<p>Poor Thomas, meanwhile, stood far away at the other end of the Hall, +feeling very lonely, yet fascinated by the extraordinary scene on which +he was gazing.</p> + +<p>For, although all the fine Ladies, and Courtiers, and Knights were +dancing in one part of the Hall, there were huntsmen coming and going in +another part, carrying in great antlered deer, which apparently they had +killed in the chase, and throwing them down in heaps on the floor. And +there were rows of cooks standing beside the dead animals, cutting them +up into joints, and bearing away the joints to be cooked.</p> + +<p>Altogether it was such a strange, fantastic scene that Thomas took no +heed of how the time flew, but stood and gazed, and gazed, never +speaking a word to anybody. This went on for three long days, then the +Queen rose from her throne, and, stepping from the dais, crossed the +Hall to where he was standing.</p> + +<p>"'Tis time to mount and ride, Thomas," she said, "if thou wouldst ever +see the fair Castle of Ercildoune again."</p> + +<p>Thomas looked at her in amazement. "Thou spokest of seven long years, +Lady," he exclaimed, "and I have been here but three days."</p> + +<p>The Queen smiled. "Time passeth quickly in Fairy-land, my friend," she +replied. "Thou thinkest that thou hast been here but three days. 'Tis +seven years since we two met. And now it is time for thee to go. I would +fain have had thy presence with me longer, but I dare not, for thine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +own sake. For every seventh year an Evil Spirit cometh from the Regions +of Darkness, and carrieth back with him one of our followers, whomsoever +he chanceth to choose. And, as thou art a goodly fellow, I fear that he +might choose thee.</p> + +<p>"So, as I would be loth to let harm befall thee, I will take thee back +to thine own country this very night."</p> + +<p>Once more the grey palfrey was brought, and Thomas and the Queen mounted +it; and, as they had come, so they returned to the Eildon Tree near the +Huntly Burn.</p> + +<p>Then the Queen bade Thomas farewell; and, as a parting gift, he asked +her to give him something that would let people know that he had really +been to Fairy-land.</p> + +<p>"I have already given thee the Gift of Truth," she replied. "I will now +give thee the Gifts of Prophecy and Poesie; so that thou wilt be able to +foretell the future, and also to write wondrous verses. And, besides +these unseen gifts, here is something that mortals can see with their +own eyes—a Harp that was fashioned in Fairy-land. Fare thee well, my +friend. Some day, perchance, I will return for thee again."</p> + +<p>With these words the Lady vanished, and Thomas was left alone, feeling a +little sorry, if the truth must be told, at parting with such a radiant +Being and coming back to the ordinary haunts of men.</p> + +<p>After this he lived for many a long year in his Castle of Ercildoune, +and the fame of his poetry and of his prophecies spread all over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +country, so that people named him True Thomas, and Thomas the Rhymer.</p> + +<p>I cannot write down for you all the prophecies which Thomas uttered, and +which most surely came to pass, but I will tell you one or two.</p> + +<p>He foretold the Battle of Bannockburn in these words:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The Burn of Breid</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Shall rin fou reid,"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>which came to pass on that terrible day when the waters of the little +Bannockburn were reddened by the blood of the defeated English.</p> + +<p>He also foretold the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland, under +a Prince who was the son of a French Queen, and who yet bore the blood +of Bruce in his veins.</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"A French Quen shall bearre the Sonne;</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Shall rule all Britainne to the sea,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">As neere as is the ninth degree,"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>which thing came true in 1603, when King James, son of Mary, Queen of +Scots, became Monarch of both countries.</p> + +<hr class="hr2" /> + +<p>Fourteen long years went by, and people were beginning to forget that +Thomas the Rhymer had ever been in Fairy-land; but at last a day came +when Scotland was at war with England, and the Scottish army was +resting by the banks of the Tweed, not far from the Tower of +Ercildoune.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/025.png" width="450" height="369" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>And the Master of the Tower determined to make a feast, and invite all +the Nobles and Barons who were leading the army to sup with him.</p> + +<p>That feast was long remembered.</p> + +<p>For the Laird of Ercildoune took care that everything was as magnificent +as it could possibly be; and when the meal was ended he rose in his +place, and, taking his Elfin Harp, he sang to his assembled guests song +after song of the days of long ago.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> + +<p>The guests listened breathlessly, for they felt that they would never +hear such wonderful music again. And so it fell out.</p> + +<p>For that very night, after all the Nobles had gone back to their tents, +a soldier on guard saw, in the moonlight, a snow-white Hart and Hind +moving slowly down the road that ran past the camp.</p> + +<p>There was something so unusual about the animals that he called to his +officer to come and look at them. And the officer called to his brother +officers, and soon there was quite a crowd softly following the dumb +creatures, who paced solemnly on, as if they were keeping time to music +unheard by mortal ears.</p> + +<p>"There is something uncanny about this," said one soldier at last. "Let +us send for Thomas of Ercildoune, perchance he may be able to tell us if +it be an omen or no."</p> + +<p>"Ay, send for Thomas of Ercildoune," cried every one at once. So a +little page was sent in haste to the old Tower to rouse the Rhymer from +his slumbers.</p> + +<p>When he heard the boy's message, the Seer's face grew grave and wrapt.</p> + +<p>"'Tis a summons," he said softly, "a summons from the Queen of +Fairy-land. I have waited long for it, and it hath come at last."</p> + +<p>And when he went out, instead of joining the little company of waiting +men, he walked straight up to the snow-white Hart and Hind. As soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> +as he reached them they paused for a moment as if to greet him. Then all +three moved slowly down a steep bank that sloped to the little river +Leader, and disappeared in its foaming waters, for the stream was in +full flood.</p> + +<p>And, although a careful search was made, no trace of Thomas of +Ercildoune was found; and to this day the country folk believe that the +Hart and the Hind were messengers from the Elfin Queen, and that he went +back to Fairy-land with them.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/027.png" width="450" height="406" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> +<img src="images/028.png" width="416" height="600" alt="Country." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +And she set sail for her own Country.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>GOLD-TREE AND SILVER-TREE</h2> + +<p>In bygone days there lived a little Princess named Gold-Tree, and she +was one of the prettiest children in the whole world.</p> + +<p>Although her mother was dead, she had a very happy life, for her father +loved her dearly, and thought that nothing was too much trouble so long +as it gave his little daughter pleasure. But by and by he married again, +and then the little Princess's sorrows began.</p> + +<p>For his new wife, whose name, curious to say, was Silver-Tree, was very +beautiful, but she was also very jealous, and she made herself quite +miserable for fear that, some day, she should meet someone who was +better looking than she was herself.</p> + +<p>When she found that her step-daughter was so very pretty, she took a +dislike to her at once, and was always looking at her and wondering if +people would think her prettier than she was. And because, in her heart +of hearts, she was afraid that they would do so, she was very unkind +indeed to the poor girl.</p> + +<p>At last, one day, when Princess Gold-Tree was quite grown up, the two +ladies went for a walk to a little well which lay, all surrounded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> +by trees, in the middle of a deep glen.</p> + +<p>Now the water in this well was so clear that everyone who looked into it +saw his face reflected on the surface; and the proud Queen loved to come +and peep into its depths, so that she could see her own picture mirrored +in the water.</p> + +<p>But to-day, as she was looking in, what should she see but a little +trout, which was swimming quietly backwards and forwards not very far +from the surface.</p> + +<p>"Troutie, troutie, answer me this one question," said the Queen. "Am not +I the most beautiful woman in the world?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed, you are not," replied the trout promptly, jumping out of +the water, as he spoke, in order to swallow a fly.</p> + +<p>"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the disappointed Queen, +for she had expected a far different answer.</p> + +<p>"Thy step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, without a doubt," said the +little fish; then, frightened by the black look that came upon the +jealous Queen's face, he dived to the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>It was no wonder that he did so, for the Queen's expression was not +pleasant to look at, as she darted an angry glance at her fair young +step-daughter, who was busy picking flowers some little distance away.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> + +<p>Indeed, she was so annoyed at the thought that anyone should say that +the girl was prettier than she was, that she quite lost her +self-control; and when she reached home she went up, in a violent +passion, to her room, and threw herself on the bed, declaring that she +felt very ill indeed.</p> + +<p>It was in vain that Princess Gold-Tree asked her what the matter was, +and if she could do anything for her. She would not let the poor girl +touch her, but pushed her away as if she had been some evil thing. So at +last the Princess had to leave her alone, and go out of the apartment, +feeling very sad indeed.</p> + +<p>By and by the King came home from his hunting, and he at once asked for +the Queen. He was told that she had been seized with sudden illness, and +that she was lying on her bed in her own room, and that no one, not even +the Court Physician, who had been hastily summoned, could make out what +was wrong with her.</p> + +<p>In great anxiety—for he really loved her—the King went up to her +bedside, and asked the Queen how she felt, and if there was anything +that he could do to relieve her.</p> + +<p>"Yes, there is one thing that thou couldst do," she answered harshly, +"but I know full well that, even although it is the only thing that will +cure me, thou wilt not do it."</p> + +<p>"Nay," said the King, "I deserve better words at thy mouth than these; +for thou knowest that I would give thee aught thou carest to ask,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +even if it be the half of my Kingdom."</p> + +<p>"Then give me thy daughter's heart to eat," cried the Queen, "for unless +I can obtain that, I will die, and that speedily."</p> + +<p>She spoke so wildly, and looked at him in such a strange fashion, that +the poor King really thought that her brain was turned, and he was at +his wits' end what to do. He left the room, and paced up and down the +corridor in great distress, until at last he remembered that that very +morning the son of a great King had arrived from a country far over the +sea, asking for his daughter's hand in marriage.</p> + +<p>"Here is a way out of the difficulty," he said to himself. "This +marriage pleaseth me well, and I will have it celebrated at once. Then, +when my daughter is safe out of the country, I will send a lad up the +hillside, and he shall kill a he-goat, and I will have its heart +prepared and dressed, and send it up to my wife. Perhaps the sight of it +will cure her of this madness."</p> + +<p>So he had the strange Prince summoned before him, and told him how the +Queen had taken a sudden illness that had wrought on her brain, and had +caused her to take a dislike to the Princess, and how it seemed as if it +would be a good thing if, with the maiden's consent, the marriage could +take place at once, so that the Queen might be left alone to recover +from her strange malady.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now the Prince was delighted to gain his bride so easily, and the +Princess was glad to escape from her step-mother's hatred, so the +marriage took place at once, and the newly wedded pair set off across +the sea for the Prince's country.</p> + +<p>Then the King sent a lad up the hillside to kill a he-goat; and when it +was killed he gave orders that its heart should be dressed and cooked, +and sent to the Queen's apartment on a silver dish. And the wicked woman +tasted it, believing it to be the heart of her step-daughter; and when +she had done so, she rose from her bed and went about the Castle looking +as well and hearty as ever.</p> + +<p>I am glad to be able to tell you that the marriage of Princess +Gold-Tree, which had come about in such a hurry, turned out to be a +great success; for the Prince whom she had wedded was rich, and great, +and powerful, and he loved her dearly, and she was as happy as the day +was long.</p> + +<p>So things went peacefully on for a year. Queen Silver-Tree was satisfied +and contented, because she thought that her step-daughter was dead; +while all the time the Princess was happy and prosperous in her new +home.</p> + +<p>But at the end of the year it chanced that the Queen went once more to +the well in the little glen, in order to see her face reflected in the +water.</p> + +<p>And it chanced also that the same little trout was swimming backwards +and forwards, just as he had done the year before. And the foolish Queen +determined to have a better answer to her question this time than she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +had last.</p> + +<p>"Troutie, troutie," she whispered, leaning over the edge of the well, +"am not I the most beautiful woman in the world?"</p> + +<p>"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, in his very +straightforward way.</p> + +<p>"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the Queen, her face +growing pale at the thought that she had yet another rival.</p> + +<p>"Why, your Majesty's step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, to be sure," +answered the trout.</p> + +<p>The Queen threw back her head with a sigh of relief. "Well, at any rate, +people cannot admire her now," she said, "for it is a year since she +died. I ate her heart for my supper."</p> + +<p>"Art thou sure of that, your Majesty?" asked the trout, with a twinkle +in his eye. "Methinks it is but a year since she married the gallant +young Prince who came from abroad to seek her hand, and returned with +him to his own country."</p> + +<p>When the Queen heard these words she turned quite cold with rage, for +she knew that her husband had deceived her; and she rose from her knees +and went straight home to the Palace, and, hiding her anger as best she +could, she asked him if he would give orders to have the Long Ship made +ready, as she wished to go and visit her dear step-daughter, for it was +such a very long time since she had seen her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> + +<p>The King was somewhat surprised at her request, but he was only too glad +to think that she had got over her hatred towards his daughter, and he +gave orders that the Long Ship should be made ready at once.</p> + +<p>Soon it was speeding over the water, its prow turned in the direction of +the land where the Princess lived, steered by the Queen herself; for she +knew the course that the boat ought to take, and she was in such haste +to be at her journey's end that she would allow no one else to take the +helm.</p> + +<p>Now it chanced that Princess Gold-Tree was alone that day, for her +husband had gone a-hunting. And as she looked out of one of the Castle +windows she saw a boat coming sailing over the sea towards the landing +place. She recognised it as her father's Long Ship, and she guessed only +too well whom it carried on board.</p> + +<p>She was almost beside herself with terror at the thought, for she knew +that it was for no good purpose that Queen Silver-Tree had taken the +trouble to set out to visit her, and she felt that she would have given +almost anything she possessed if her husband had but been at home. In +her distress she hurried into the servants' hall.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming over the sea, and I know that my step-mother +is on board. And if she hath a chance she will kill me, for she hateth +me more than anything else upon earth."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now the servants worshipped the ground that their young Mistress trod +on, for she was always kind and considerate to them, and when they saw +how frightened she was, and heard her piteous words, they crowded round +her, as if to shield her from any harm that threatened her.</p> + +<p>"Do not be afraid, your Highness," they cried; "we will defend thee with +our very lives if need be. But in case thy Lady Step-Mother should have +the power to throw any evil spell over thee, we will lock thee in the +great Mullioned Chamber, then she cannot get nigh thee at all."</p> + +<p>Now the Mullioned Chamber was a strong-room, which was in a part of the +castle all by itself, and its door was so thick that no one could +possibly break through it; and the Princess knew that if she were once +inside the room, with its stout oaken door between her and her +step-mother, she would be perfectly safe from any mischief that that +wicked woman could devise.</p> + +<p>So she consented to her faithful servants' suggestion, and allowed them +to lock her in the Mullioned Chamber.</p> + +<p>So it came to pass that when Queen Silver-Tree arrived at the great door +of the Castle, and commanded the lackey who opened it to take her to his +Royal Mistress, he told her, with a low bow, that that was impossible, +because the Princess was locked in the strong-room of the Castle, and +could not get out, because no one knew where the key was.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + +<p>(Which was quite true, for the old butler had tied it round the neck of +the Prince's favourite sheep-dog, and had sent him away to the hills to +seek his master.)</p> + +<p>"Take me to the door of the apartment," commanded the Queen. "At least I +can speak to my dear daughter through it." And the lackey, who did not +see what harm could possibly come from this, did as he was bid.</p> + +<p>"If the key is really lost, and thou canst not come out to welcome me, +dear Gold-Tree," said the deceitful Queen, "at least put thy little +finger through the keyhole that I may kiss it."</p> + +<p>The Princess did so, never dreaming that evil could come to her through +such a simple action. But it did. For instead of kissing the tiny +finger, her step-mother stabbed it with a poisoned needle, and, so +deadly was the poison, that, before she could utter a single cry, the +poor Princess fell, as one dead, on the floor.</p> + +<p>When she heard the fall, a smile of satisfaction crept over Queen +Silver-Tree's face. "Now I can say that I am the handsomest woman in the +world," she whispered; and she went back to the lackey who stood waiting +at the end of the passage, and told him that she had said all that she +had to say to her daughter, and that now she must return home.</p> + +<p>So the man attended her to the boat with all due ceremony, and she set +sail for her own country; and no one in the Castle knew that any harm +had befallen their dear Mistress until the Prince came home from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +hunting with the key of the Mullioned Chamber, which he had taken from +his sheep-dog's neck, in his hand.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/038.png" width="600" height="453" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>He laughed when he heard the story of Queen Silver-Tree's visit, and +told the servants that they had done well; then he ran upstairs to open +the door and release his wife.</p> + +<p>But what was his horror and dismay, when he did so, to find her lying +dead at his feet on the floor.</p> + +<p>He was nearly beside himself with rage and grief; and, because he knew +that a deadly poison such as Queen Silver-Tree had used would preserve +the Princess's body so that it had no need of burial, he had it laid on +a silken couch and left in the Mullioned Chamber, so that he could go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +and look at it whenever he pleased.</p> + +<p>He was so terribly lonely, however, that in a little time he married +again, and his second wife was just as sweet and as good as the first +one had been. This new wife was very happy, there was only one little +thing that caused her any trouble at all, and she was too sensible to +let it make her miserable.</p> + +<p>That one thing was that there was one room in the Castle—a room which +stood at the end of a passage by itself—which she could never enter, as +her husband always carried the key. And as, when she asked him the +reason of this, he always made an excuse of some kind, she made up her +mind that she would not seem as if she did not trust him, so she asked +no more questions about the matter.</p> + +<p>But one day the Prince chanced to leave the door unlocked, and as he had +never told her not to do so, she went in, and there she saw Princess +Gold-Tree lying on the silken couch, looking as if she were asleep.</p> + +<p>"Is she dead, or is she only sleeping?" she said to herself, and she +went up to the couch and looked closely at the Princess. And there, +sticking in her little finger, she discovered a curiously shaped needle.</p> + +<p>"There hath been evil work here," she thought to herself. "If that +needle be not poisoned, then I know naught of medicine." And, being +skilled in leechcraft, she drew it carefully out.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> + +<p>In a moment Princess Gold-Tree opened her eyes and sat up, and presently +she had recovered sufficiently to tell the Other Princess the whole +story.</p> + +<p>Now, if her step-mother had been jealous, the Other Princess was not +jealous at all; for, when she heard all that had happened, she clapped +her little hands, crying, "Oh, how glad the Prince will be; for although +he hath married again, I know that he loves thee best."</p> + +<p>That night the Prince came home from hunting looking very tired and sad, +for what his second wife had said was quite true. Although he loved her +very much, he was always mourning in his heart for his first dear love, +Princess Gold-Tree.</p> + +<p>"How sad thou art!" exclaimed his wife, going out to meet him. "Is there +nothing that I can do to bring a smile to thy face?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," answered the Prince wearily, laying down his bow, for he was +too heart-sore even to pretend to be gay.</p> + +<p>"Except to give thee back Gold-Tree," said his wife mischievously. "And +that can I do. Thou wilt find her alive and well in the Mullioned +Chamber."</p> + +<p>Without a word the Prince ran upstairs, and, sure enough, there was his +dear Gold-Tree, sitting on the couch ready to welcome him.</p> + +<p>He was so overjoyed to see her that he threw his arms round her neck and +kissed her over and over again, quite forgetting his poor second wife,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +who had followed him upstairs, and who now stood watching the meeting +that she had brought about.</p> + +<p>She did not seem to be sorry for herself, however. "I always knew that +thy heart yearned after Princess Gold-Tree," she said. "And it is but +right that it should be so. For she was thy first love, and, since she +hath come to life again, I will go back to mine own people."</p> + +<p>"No, indeed thou wilt not," answered the Prince, "for it is thou who +hast brought me this joy. Thou wilt stay with us, and we shall all three +live happily together. And Gold-Tree and thee will become great +friends."</p> + +<p>And so it came to pass. For Princess Gold-Tree and the Other Princess +soon became like sisters, and loved each other as if they had been +brought up together all their lives.</p> + +<p>In this manner another year passed away, and one evening, in the old +country, Queen Silver-Tree went, as she had done before, to look at her +face in the water of the little well in the glen.</p> + +<p>And, as had happened twice before, the trout was there. "Troutie, +troutie," she whispered, "am not I the most beautiful woman in the +world?"</p> + +<p>"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, as he had answered on +the two previous occasions.</p> + +<p>"And who dost thou say is the most beautiful woman now?" asked the +Queen, her voice trembling with rage and vexation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I have given her name to thee these two years back," answered the +trout. "The Princess Gold-Tree, of course."</p> + +<p>"But she is dead," laughed the Queen. "I am sure of it this time, for it +is just a year since I stabbed her little finger with a poisoned needle, +and I heard her fall down dead on the floor."</p> + +<p>"I would not be so sure of that," answered the trout, and without saying +another word he dived straight down to the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>After hearing his mysterious words the Queen could not rest, and at last +she asked her husband to have the Long Ship prepared once more, so that +she could go and see her step-daughter.</p> + +<p>The King gave the order gladly; and it all happened as it had happened +before.</p> + +<p>She steered the Ship over the sea with her own hands, and when it was +approaching the land it was seen and recognised by Princess Gold-Tree.</p> + +<p>The Prince was out hunting, and the Princess ran, in great terror, to +her friend, the Other Princess, who was upstairs in her chamber.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming, and I know that my cruel step-mother is on +board, and she will try to kill me, as she tried to kill me before.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> +Oh! come, let us escape to the hills."</p> + +<p>"Not at all," replied the Other Princess, throwing her arms round the +trembling Gold-Tree. "I am not afraid of thy Lady Step-Mother. Come with +me, and we will go down to the sea shore to greet her."</p> + +<p>So they both went down to the edge of the water, and when Queen +Silver-Tree saw her step-daughter coming she pretended to be very glad, +and sprang out of the boat and ran to meet her, and held out a silver +goblet full of wine for her to drink.</p> + +<p>"'Tis rare wine from the East," she said, "and therefore very precious. +I brought a flagon with me, so that we might pledge each other in a +loving cup."</p> + +<p>Princess Gold-Tree, who was ever gentle and courteous, would have +stretched out her hand for the cup, had not the Other Princess stepped +between her and her step-mother.</p> + +<p>"Nay, Madam," she said gravely, looking the Queen straight in the face; +"it is the custom in this land for the one who offers a loving cup to +drink from it first herself."</p> + +<p>"I will follow the custom gladly," answered the Queen, and she raised +the goblet to her mouth. But the Other Princess, who was watching for +closely, noticed that she did not allow the wine that it contained to +touch her lips. So she stepped forward and, as if by accident, struck +the bottom of the goblet with her shoulder. Part of its contents flew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +into the Queen's face, and part, before she could shut her mouth, went +down her throat.</p> + +<p>So, because of her wickedness, she was, as the Good Book says, caught in +her own net. For she had made the wine so poisonous that, almost before +she had swallowed it, she fell dead at the two Princesses' feet.</p> + +<p>No one was sorry for her, for she really deserved her fate; and they +buried her hastily in a lonely piece of ground, and very soon everybody +had forgotten all about her.</p> + +<p>As for Princess Gold-Tree, she lived happily and peacefully with her +husband and her friend for the remainder of her life.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/044.png" width="450" height="176" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>WHIPPETY-STOURIE</h2> + +<p>I am going to tell you a story about a poor young widow woman, who lived +in a house called Kittlerumpit, though whereabouts in Scotland the house +of Kittlerumpit stood nobody knows.</p> + +<p>Some folk think that it stood in the neighbourhood of the Debateable +Land, which, as all the world knows, was on the Borders, where the old +Border Reivers were constantly coming and going; the Scotch stealing +from the English, and the English from the Scotch. Be that as it may, +the widowed Mistress of Kittlerumpit was sorely to be pitied.</p> + +<p>For she had lost her husband, and no one quite knew what had become of +him. He had gone to a fair one day, and had never come back again, and +although everybody believed that he was dead, no one knew how he died.</p> + +<p>Some people said that he had been persuaded to enlist, and had been +killed in the wars; others, that he had been taken away to serve as a +sailor by the press-gang, and had been drowned at sea.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> + +<p>At any rate, his poor young wife was sorely to be pitied, for she was +left with a little baby-boy to bring up, and, as times were bad, she had +not much to live on.</p> + +<p>But she loved her baby dearly, and worked all day amongst her cows, and +pigs, and hens, in order to earn enough money to buy food and clothes +for both herself and him.</p> + +<p>Now, on the morning of which I am speaking, she rose very early and went +out to feed her pigs, for rent-day was coming on, and she intended to +take one of them, a great, big, fat creature, to the market that very +day, as she thought that the price that it would fetch would go a long +way towards paying her rent.</p> + +<p>And because she thought so, her heart was light, and she hummed a little +song to herself as she crossed the yard with her bucket on one arm and +her baby-boy on the other.</p> + +<p>But the song was quickly changed into a cry of despair when she reached +the pig-stye, for there lay her cherished pig on its back, with its legs +in the air and its eyes shut, just as if it were going to breathe its +last breath.</p> + +<p>"What shall I do? What shall I do?" cried the poor woman, sitting down +on a big stone and clasping her boy to her breast, heedless of the fact +that she had dropped her bucket, and that the pig's-meat was running +out, and that the hens were eating it.</p> + +<p>"First I lost my husband, and now I am going to lose my finest pig. The +pig that I hoped would fetch a deal of money."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now I must explain to you that the house of Kittlerumpit stood on a +hillside, with a great fir wood behind it, and the ground sloping down +steeply in front.</p> + +<p>And as the poor young thing, after having a good cry to herself, was +drying her eyes, she chanced to look down the hill, and who should she +see coming up it but an Old Woman, who looked like a lady born.</p> + +<p>She was dressed all in green, with a white apron, and she wore a black +velvet hood on her head, and a steeple-crowned beaver hat over that, +something like those, as I have heard tell, that the women wear in +Wales. She walked very slowly, leaning on a long staff, and she gave a +bit hirple now and then, as if she were lame.</p> + +<p>As she drew near, the young widow felt it was becoming to rise and +curtsey to the Gentlewoman, for such she saw her to be.</p> + +<p>"Madam," she said, with a sob in her voice, "I bid you welcome to the +house of Kittlerumpit, although you find its Mistress one of the most +unfortunate women in the world."</p> + +<p>"Hout-tout," answered the old Lady, in such a harsh voice that the young +woman started, and grasped her baby tighter in her arms. "Ye have little +need to say that. Ye have lost your husband, I grant ye, but there were +waur losses at Shirra-Muir. And now your pig is like to die—I could, +maybe, remedy that. But I must first hear how much ye wad gie me if I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +cured him."</p> + +<p>"Anything that your Ladyship's Madam likes to ask," replied the widow, +too much delighted at having the animal's life saved to think that she +was making rather a rash promise.</p> + +<p>"Very good," said the old Dame, and without wasting any more words she +walked straight into the pig-sty.</p> + +<p>She stood and looked at the dying creature for some minutes, rocking to +and fro and muttering to herself in words which the widow could not +understand; at least, she could only understand four of them, and they +sounded something like this:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Pitter-patter,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Haly water."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>Then she put her hand into her pocket and drew out a tiny bottle with a +liquid that looked like oil in it. She took the cork out, and dropped +one of her long lady-like fingers into it; then she touched the pig on +the snout and on his ears, and on the tip of his curly tail.</p> + +<p>No sooner had she done so than up the beast jumped, and, with a grunt of +contentment, ran off to its trough to look for its breakfast.</p> + +<p>A joyful woman was the Mistress of Kittlerumpit when she saw it do this, +for she felt that her rent was safe; and in her relief and gratitude she +would have kissed the hem of the strange Lady's green gown, if she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +would have allowed it, but she would not.</p> + +<p>"No, no," said she, and her voice sounded harsher than ever. "Let us +have no fine meanderings, but let us stick to our bargain. I have done +my part, and mended the pig; now ye must do yours, and give me what I +like to ask—your son."</p> + +<p>Then the poor widow gave a piteous cry, for she knew now what she had +not guessed before—that the Green-clad Lady was a Fairy, and a Wicked +Fairy too, else had she not asked such a terrible thing.</p> + +<p>It was too late now, however, to pray, and beseech, and beg for mercy; +the Fairy stood her ground, hard and cruel.</p> + +<p>"Ye promised me what I liked to ask, and I have asked your son; and your +son I will have," she replied, "so it is useless making such a din about +it. But one thing I may tell you, for I know well that the knowledge +will not help you. By the laws of Fairy-land, I cannot take the bairn +till the third day after this, and if by that time you have found out my +name I cannot take him even then. But ye will not be able to find it +out, of that I am certain. So I will call back for the boy in three +days."</p> + +<p>And with that she disappeared round the back of the pig-sty, and the +poor mother fell down in a dead faint beside the stone.</p> + +<p>All that day, and all the next, she did nothing but sit in her kitchen +and cry, and hug her baby tighter in her arms; but on the day before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> +that on which the Fairy said that she was coming back, she felt as if +she must get a little breath of fresh air, so she went for a walk in the +fir wood behind the house.</p> + +<p>Now in this fir wood there was an old quarry hole, in the bottom of +which was a bonnie spring well, the water of which was always sweet and +pure. The young widow was walking near this quarry hole, when, to her +astonishment, she heard the whirr of a spinning-wheel and the sound of a +voice lilting a song. At first she could not think where the sound came +from; then, remembering the quarry, she laid down her child at a tree +root, and crept noiselessly through the bushes on her hands and knees to +the edge of the hole and peeped over.</p> + +<p>She could hardly believe her eyes! For there, far below her, at the +bottom of the quarry, beside the spring well, sat the cruel Fairy, +dressed in her green frock and tall felt hat, spinning away as fast as +she could at a tiny spinning-wheel.</p> + +<p>And what should she be singing but—</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Little kens our guid dame at hame,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Whippety-Stourie is my name."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>The widow woman almost cried aloud for joy, for now she had learned the +Fairy's secret, and her child was safe. But she dare not, in case the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +wicked old Dame heard her and threw some other spell over her.</p> + +<p>So she crept softly back to the place where she had left her child; +then, catching him up in her arms, she ran through the wood to her +house, laughing, and singing, and tossing him in the air in such a state +of delight that, if anyone had met her, they would have been in danger +of thinking that she was mad.</p> + +<p>Now this young woman had been a merry-hearted maiden, and would have +been merry-hearted still, if, since her marriage, she had not had so +much trouble that it had made her grow old and sober-minded before her +time; and she began to think what fun it would be to tease the Fairy for +a few minutes before she let her know that she had found out her name.</p> + +<p>So next day, at the appointed time, she went out with her boy in her +arms, and seated herself on the big stone where she had sat before; and +when she saw the old Dame coming up the hill, she crumpled up her nice +clean cap, and screwed up her face, and pretended to be in great +distress and to be crying bitterly.</p> + +<p>The Fairy took no notice of this, however, but came close up to her, and +said, in her harsh, merciless voice, "Good wife of Kittlerumpit, ye ken +the reason of my coming; give me the bairn."</p> + +<p>Then the young mother pretended to be in sorer distress than ever, and +fell on her knees before the wicked old woman and begged for mercy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, sweet Madam Mistress," she cried, "spare me my bairn, and take, an' +thou wilt, the pig instead."</p> + +<p>"We have no need of bacon where I come from," answered the Fairy coldly; +"so give me the laddie and let me begone—I have no time to waste in +this wise."</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear Lady mine," pleaded the Goodwife, "if thou wilt not have the +pig, wilt thou not spare my poor bairn and take me myself?"</p> + +<p>The Fairy stepped back a little, as if in astonishment. "Art thou mad, +woman," she cried contemptuously, "that thou proposest such a thing? Who +in all the world would care to take a plain-looking, red-eyed, dowdy +wife like thee with them?"</p> + +<p>Now the young Mistress of Kittlerumpit knew that she was no beauty, and +the knowledge had never vexed her; but something in the Fairy's tone +made her feel so angry that she could contain herself no longer.</p> + +<p>"In troth, fair Madam, I might have had the wit to know that the like of +me is not fit to tie the shoe-string of the High and Mighty Princess, +WHIPPETY-STOURIE!"</p> + +<p>If there had been a charge of gunpowder buried in the ground, and if it +had suddenly exploded beneath her feet, the Wicked Fairy could not have +jumped higher into air.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> + +<p>And when she came down again she simply turned round and ran down the +brae, shrieking with rage and disappointment, for all the world, as an +old book says, "like an owl chased by witches."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 242px;"> +<img src="images/318.png" width="242" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE RED-ETIN</h2> + +<p>There were once two widows who lived in two cottages which stood not +very far from one another. And each of those widows possessed a piece of +land on which she grazed a cow and a few sheep, and in this way she made +her living.</p> + +<p>One of these poor widows had two sons, the other had one; and as these +three boys were always together, it was natural that they should become +great friends.</p> + +<p>At last the time arrived when the eldest son of the widow who had two +sons, must leave home and go out into the world to seek his fortune. And +the night before he went away his mother told him to take a can and go +to the well and bring back some water, and she would bake a cake for him +to carry with him.</p> + +<p>"But remember," she added, "the size of the cake will depend on the +quantity of water that thou bringest back. If thou bringest much, then +will it be large; and, if thou bringest little, then will it be small. +But, big or little, it is all that I have to give thee."</p> + +<p>The lad took the can and went off to the well, and filled it with +water, and came home again. But he never noticed that the can had a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +hole in it, and was running out; so that, by the time that he arrived at +home, there was very little water left. So his mother could only bake +him a very little cake.</p> + +<p>But, small as it was, she asked him, as she gave it to him, to choose +one of two things. Either to take the half of it with her blessing, or +the whole of it with her malison. "For," said she, "thou canst not have +both the whole cake and a blessing along with it."</p> + +<p>The lad looked at the cake and hesitated. It would have been pleasant to +have left home with his mother's blessing upon him; but he had far to +go, and the cake was little; the half of it would be a mere mouthful, +and he did not know when he would get any more food. So at last he made +up his mind to take the whole of it, even if he had to bear his mother's +malison.</p> + +<p>Then he took his younger brother aside, and gave him his hunting-knife, +saying, "Keep this by thee, and look at it every morning. For as long as +the blade remains clear and bright, thou wilt know that it is well with +me; but should it grow dim and rusty, then know thou that some evil hath +befallen me."</p> + +<p>After this he embraced them both and set out on his travels. He +journeyed all that day, and all the next, and on the afternoon of the +third day he came to where an old shepherd was sitting beside a flock of +sheep.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I will ask the old man whose sheep they are," he said to himself, "for +mayhap his master might engage me also as a shepherd." So he went up to +the old man, and asked him to whom the sheep belonged. And this was all +the answer he got:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The Red-Etin of Ireland</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Ance lived in Ballygan,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And stole King Malcolm's daughter,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The King of fair Scotland.</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He beats her, he binds her,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He lays her on a band,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And every day he dings her</span><br /> + <span class="i2">With a bright silver wand.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">Like Julian the Roman,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">He's one that fears no man.</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"It's said there's ane predestinate</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To be his mortal foe,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">But that man is yet unborn,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And lang may it be so."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"That does not tell me much; but somehow I do not fancy this Red-Etin +for a master," thought the youth, and he went on his way.</p> + +<p>He had not gone very far, however, when he saw another old man, with +snow-white hair, herding a flock of swine; and as he wondered to whom +the swine belonged, and if there was any chance of him getting a +situation as a swineherd, he went up to the countryman, and asked who +was the owner of the animals.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> + +<p>He got the same answer from the swineherd that he had got from the +shepherd:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The Red-Etin of Ireland</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Ance lived in Ballygan,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And stole King Malcolm's daughter,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The King of fair Scotland.</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He beats her, he binds her,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He lays her on a band,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And every day he dings her</span><br /> + <span class="i2">With a bright silver wand.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">Like Julian the Roman,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">He's one that fears no man.</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"It's said there's ane predestinate</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To be his mortal foe,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">But that man is yet unborn,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And lang may it be so."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"Plague on this old Red-Etin; I wonder when I will get out of his +domains," he muttered to himself; and he journeyed still further.</p> + +<p>Presently he came to a very, very old man—so old, indeed, that he was +quite bent with age—and he was herding a flock of goats.</p> + +<p>Once more the traveller asked to whom the animals belonged, and once +more he got the same answer:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The Red-Etin of Ireland</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Ance lived in Ballygan,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And stole King Malcolm's daughter,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The King of fair Scotland.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> + <span class="i2">He beats her, he binds her,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He lays her on a band,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And every day he dings her</span><br /> + <span class="i2">With a bright silver wand.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">Like Julian the Roman,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">He's one that fears no man.</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"It's said there's ane predestinate</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To be his mortal foe,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">But that man is yet unborn,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And lang may it be so."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>But this ancient goatherd added a piece of advice at the end of his +rhyme. "Beware, stranger," he said, "of the next herd of beasts that ye +shall meet. Sheep, and swine, and goats will harm nobody; but the +creatures ye shall now encounter are of a sort that ye have never met +before, and <i>they</i> are not harmless."</p> + +<p>The young man thanked him for his counsel, and went on his way, and he +had not gone very far before he met a herd of very dreadful creatures, +unlike anything that he had ever dreamed of in all his life.</p> + +<p>For each of them had three heads, and on each of its three heads it had +four horns; and when he saw them he was so frightened that he turned and +ran away from them as fast as he could.</p> + +<p>Up hill and down dale he ran, until he was well-nigh exhausted; and, +just when he was beginning to feel that his legs would not carry him any +further, he saw a great Castle in front of him, the door of which was +standing wide open.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> + +<p>He was so tired that he went straight in, and after wandering through +some magnificent halls, which appeared to be quite deserted, he reached +the kitchen, where an old woman was sitting by the fire.</p> + +<p>He asked her if he might have a night's lodging, as he had come a long +and weary journey, and would be glad of somewhere to rest.</p> + +<p>"You can rest here, and welcome, for me," said the old Dame, "but for +your own sake I warn you that this is an ill house to bide in; for it is +the Castle of the Red-Etin, who is a fierce and terrible Monster with +three heads, and he spareth neither man nor woman, if he can get hold of +them."</p> + +<p>Tired as he was, the young man would have made an effort to escape from +such a dangerous abode had he not remembered the strange and awful +beasts from which he had just been fleeing, and he was afraid that, as +it was growing dark, if he set out again he might chance to walk right +into their midst. So he begged the old woman to hide him in some dark +corner, and not to tell the Red-Etin that he was in the Castle.</p> + +<p>"For," thought he, "if I can only get shelter until the morning, I will +then be able to avoid these terrible creatures and go on my way in +peace."</p> + +<p>So the old Dame hid him in a press under the back stairs, and, as there +was plenty of room in it, he settled down quite comfortably for the +night.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> + +<p>But just as he was going off to sleep he heard an awful roaring and +trampling overhead. The Red-Etin had come home, and it was plain that he +was searching for something.</p> + +<p>And the terrified youth soon found out what the "Something" was, for +very soon the horrible Monster came into the kitchen, crying out in a +voice like thunder:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Seek but, and seek ben,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">I smell the smell of an earthly man!</span><br /> + <span class="i1">Be he living, or be he dead,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">His heart this night I shall eat with my bread."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>And it was not very long before he discovered the poor young man's +hiding-place and pulled him roughly out of it.</p> + +<p>Of course, the lad begged that his life might be spared, but the Monster +only laughed at him.</p> + +<p>"It will be spared if thou canst answer three questions," he said; "if +not, it is forfeited."</p> + +<p>The first of these three questions was, "Whether Ireland or Scotland was +first inhabited?"</p> + +<p>The second, "How old was the world when Adam was made?"</p> + +<p>And the third, "Whether men or beasts were created first?"</p> + +<p>The lad was not skilled in such matters, having had but little +book-learning, and he could not answer the questions. So the Monster +struck him on the head with a queer little hammer which he carried,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +and turned him into a piece of stone.</p> + +<p>Now every morning since he had left home his younger brother had done as +he had promised, and had carefully examined his hunting-knife.</p> + +<p>On the first two mornings it was bright and clear, but on the third +morning he was very much distressed to find that it was dull and rusty. +He looked at it for a few moments in great dismay; then he ran straight +to his mother, and held it out to her.</p> + +<p>"By this token I know that some mischief hath befallen my brother," he +said, "so I must set out at once to see what evil hath come upon him."</p> + +<p>"First must thou go to the well and fetch me some water," said his +mother, "that I may bake thee a cake to carry with thee, as I baked a +cake for him who is gone. And I will say to thee what I said to him. +That the cake will be large or small according as thou bringest much or +little water back with thee."</p> + +<p>So the lad took the can, as his brother had done, and went off to the +well, and it seemed as if some evil spirit directed him to follow his +example in all things, for he brought home little water, and he chose +the whole cake and his mother's malison, instead of the half and her +blessing, and he set out and met the shepherd, and the swineherd, and +the goatherd, and they all gave the same answers to him which they had +given to his brother. And he also encountered the same fierce beasts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +and ran from them in terror, and took shelter from them in the Castle; +and the old woman hid him, and the Red-Etin found him, and, because he +could not answer the three questions, he, too, was turned into a pillar +of stone.</p> + +<p>And no more would ever have been heard of these two youths had not a +kind Fairy, who had seen all that had happened, appeared to the other +widow and her son, as they were sitting at supper one night in the +gloaming, and told them the whole story, and how their two poor young +neighbours had been turned into pillars of stone by a cruel enchanter +called Red-Etin.</p> + +<p>Now the third young man was both brave and strong, and he determined to +set out to see if he could in anywise help his two friends. And, from +the very first moment that he had made up his mind to do so, things went +differently with him than they had with them. I think, perhaps, that +this was because he was much more loving and thoughtful than they were.</p> + +<p>For, when his mother sent him to fetch water from the well so that she +might bake a cake for him, just as the other mother had done for her +sons, a raven, flying above his head, croaked out that his can was +leaking, and he, wishing to please his mother by bringing her a good +supply of water, patched up the hole with clay, and so came home with +the can quite full.</p> + +<p>Then, when his mother had baked a big bannock for him, and giving him +his choice between the whole cake and her malison, or half of it and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +her blessing, he chose the latter, "for," said he, throwing his arms +round her neck, "I may light on other cakes to eat, but I will never +light on another blessing such as thine."</p> + +<p>And the curious thing was, that, after he had said this, the half cake +which he had chosen seemed to spread itself out, and widen, and broaden, +till it was bigger by far than it had been at first.</p> + +<p>Then he started on his journey, and, after he had gone a good way he +began to feel hungry. So he pulled it out of his pocket and began to eat +it.</p> + +<p>Just then he met an old woman, who seemed to be very poor, for her +clothing was thin, and worn, and old, and she stopped and spoke to him.</p> + +<p>"Of thy charity, kind Master," she said, stretching out one of her +withered hands, "spare me a bit of the cake that thou art eating."</p> + +<p>Now the youth was very hungry, and he could have eaten it all himself, +but his kind heart was touched by the woman's pinched face, so he broke +it in two, and gave her half of it.</p> + +<p>Instantly she was changed into the Fairy who had appeared to his mother +and himself as they had sat at supper the night before, and she smiled +graciously at the generous lad, and held out a little wand to him.</p> + +<p>"Though thou knowest it not, thy mother's blessing and thy kindness to +an old and poor woman hath gained thee many blessings, brave boy," he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +said. "Keep that as thy reward; thou wilt need it ere thy errand be +done." Then, bidding him sit down on the grass beside her, she told him +all the dangers that he would meet on his travels, and the way in which +he could overcome them, and then, in a moment, before he could thank +her, she vanished out of his sight.</p> + +<p>But with the little wand, and all the instructions that she had given +him, he felt that he could face fearlessly any danger that he might be +called on to meet, so he rose from the grass and went his way, full of a +cheerful courage.</p> + +<p>After he had walked for many miles further, he came, as each of his +friends had done, to the old shepherd herding his sheep. And, like them, +he asked to whom the sheep belonged. And this time the old man answered:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"The Red-Etin of Ireland</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Ance lived in Ballygan,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And stole King Malcolm's daughter,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The King of fair Scotland.</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He beats her, he binds her,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">He lays her on a band,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And every day he dings her</span><br /> + <span class="i2">With a bright silver wand.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">Like Julian the Roman,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">He's one that fears no man.</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"But now I fear his end is near,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And destiny at hand;</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And you're to be, I plainly see,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The heir of all his land."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then the young man went on, and he came to the swineherd, and to the +goatherd; and each of them in turn repeated the same words to him.</p> + +<p>And, when he came to where the droves of monstrous beasts were, he was +not afraid of them, and when one came running up to him with its mouth +wide open to devour him, he just struck it with his wand, and it dropped +down dead at his feet.</p> + +<p>At last he arrived at the Red-Etin's Castle, and he knocked boldly at +the door. The old woman answered his knock, and, when he had told her +his errand, warned him gravely not to enter.</p> + +<p>"Thy two friends came here before thee," she said, "and they are now +turned into two pillars of stone; what advantage is it to thee to lose +thy life also?"</p> + +<p>But the young man only laughed. "I have knowledge of an art of which +they knew nothing," he said. "And methinks I can fight the Red-Etin with +his own weapons."</p> + +<p>So, much against her will, the old woman let him in, and hid him where +she had hid his friends.</p> + +<p>It was not long before the Monster arrived, and, as on former occasions, +he came into the kitchen in a furious rage, crying:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Seek but, and seek ben,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">I smell the smell of an earthly man!</span><br /> + <span class="i1">Be he living, or be he dead,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">His heart this night I shall eat with my bread."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then he peered into the young man's hiding-place, and called to him to +come out. And after he had come out, he put to him the three questions, +never dreaming that he could answer them; but the Fairy had told the +youth what to say, and he gave the answers as pat as any book.</p> + +<p>Then the Red-Etin's heart sank within him for fear, for he knew that +someone had betrayed him, and that his power was gone.</p> + +<p>And gone in very truth it was. For when the youth took an axe and began +to fight with him, he had no strength to resist, and, before he knew +where he was, his heads were cut off. And that was the end of the +Red-Etin.</p> + +<p>As soon as he saw that his enemy was really dead, the young man asked +the old woman if what the shepherd, and the swineherd, and the goatherd +had told him were true, and if King Malcolm's daughter were really a +prisoner in the Castle.</p> + +<p>The old woman nodded. "Even with the Monster lying dead at my feet, I am +almost afraid to speak of it," she said. "But come with me, my gallant +gentleman, and thou wilt see what dule and misery the Red-Etin hath +caused to many a home."</p> + +<p>She took a huge bunch of keys, and led him up a long flight of stairs, +which ended in a passage with a great many doors on each side of it. She +unlocked these doors with her keys, and, as she opened them, she put her +head into every room and said, "Ye have naught to fear now, Madam, the +Predestinated Deliverer hath come, and the Red-Etin is dead."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 416px;"> +<img src="images/067.png" width="416" height="600" alt="Red-Etin" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +And that was the end of the Red-Etin</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> + +<p>And behold, with a cry of joy, out of every room came a beautiful lady +who had been stolen from her home, and shut up there, by the Red-Etin.</p> + +<p>Among them was one who was more beautiful and stately than the rest, and +all the others bowed down to her and treated her with such great +reverence that it was clear to see that she was the Royal Princess, King +Malcolm's daughter.</p> + +<p>And when the youth stepped forward and did reverence to her also, she +spoke so sweetly to him, and greeted him so gladly, and called him her +Deliverer, in such a low, clear voice, that his heart was taken captive +at once.</p> + +<p>But, for all that, he did not forget his friends. He asked the old woman +where they were, and she took him into a room at the end of the passage, +which was so dark that one could scarcely see in it, and so low that one +could scarcely stand upright.</p> + +<p>In this dismal chamber stood two blocks of stone.</p> + +<p>"One can unlock doors, young Master," said the old woman, shaking her +head forebodingly, "but 'tis hard work to try to turn cauld stane back +to flesh and blood."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, I will do it," said the youth, and, lifting his little +wand, he touched each of the stone pillars lightly on the top.</p> + +<p>Instantly the hard stone seemed to soften and melt away, and the two +brothers started into life and form again. Their gratitude to their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +friend, who had risked so much to save them, knew no bounds, while he, +on his part, was delighted to think that his efforts had been +successful.</p> + +<p>The next thing to do was to convey the Princess and the other ladies +(who were all noblemen's daughters) back to the King's Court, and this +they did next day.</p> + +<p>King Malcolm was so overjoyed to see his dearly loved daughter, whom he +had given up for dead, safe and sound, and so grateful to her deliverer, +that he said that he should become his son-in-law and marry the +Princess, and come and live with them at Court. Which all came to pass +in due time; while as for the two other young men, they married +noblemen's daughters, and the two old mothers came to live near their +sons, and everyone was as happy as they could possibly be.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"> +<img src="images/069.png" width="325" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE SEAL CATCHER AND THE MERMAN</h2> + +<p>Once upon a time there was a man who lived not very far from John o' +Groat's house, which, as everyone knows, is in the very north of +Scotland. He lived in a little cottage by the sea-shore, and made his +living by catching seals and selling their fur, which is very valuable.</p> + +<p>He earned a good deal of money in this way, for these creatures used to +come out of the sea in large numbers, and lie on the rocks near his +house basking in the sunshine, so that it was not difficult to creep up +behind them and kill them.</p> + +<p>Some of those seals were larger than others, and the country people used +to call them "Roane," and whisper that they were not seals at all, but +Mermen and Merwomen, who came from a country of their own, far down +under the ocean, who assumed this strange disguise in order that they +might pass through the water, and come up to breathe the air of this +earth of ours.</p> + +<p>But the seal catcher only laughed at them, and said that those seals +were most worth killing, for their skins were so big that he got an +extra price for them.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now it chanced one day, when he was pursuing his calling, that he +stabbed a seal with his hunting-knife, and whether the stroke had not +been sure enough or not, I cannot say, but with a loud cry of pain the +creature slipped off the rock into the sea, and disappeared under the +water, carrying the knife along with it.</p> + +<p>The seal catcher, much annoyed at his clumsiness, and also at the loss +of his knife, went home to dinner in a very downcast frame of mind. On +his way he met a horseman, who was so tall and so strange-looking and +who rode on such a gigantic horse, that he stopped and looked at him in +astonishment, wondering who he was, and from what country he came.</p> + +<p>The stranger stopped also, and asked him his trade and on hearing that +he was a seal catcher, he immediately ordered a great number of seal +skins. The seal catcher was delighted, for such an order meant a large +sum of money to him. But his face fell when the horseman added that it +was absolutely necessary that the skins should be delivered that +evening.</p> + +<p>"I cannot do it," he said in a disappointed voice, "for the seals will +not come back to the rocks again until to-morrow morning."</p> + +<p>"I can take you to a place where there are any number of seals," +answered the stranger, "if you will mount behind me on my horse and come +with me."</p> + +<p>The seal catcher agreed to this, and climbed up behind the rider, who +shook his bridle rein, and off the great horse galloped at such a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +pace that he had much ado to keep his seat.</p> + +<p>On and on they went, flying like the wind, until at last they came to +the edge of a huge precipice, the face of which went sheer down to the +sea. Here the mysterious horseman pulled up his steed with a jerk.</p> + +<p>"Get off now," he said shortly.</p> + +<p>The seal catcher did as he was bid, and when he found himself safe on +the ground, he peeped cautiously over the edge of the cliff, to see if +there were any seals lying on the rocks below.</p> + +<p>To his astonishment he saw no rocks, only the blue sea, which came right +up to the foot of the cliff.</p> + +<p>"Where are the seals that you spoke of?" he asked anxiously, wishing +that he had never set out on such a rash adventure.</p> + +<p>"You will see presently," answered the stranger, who was attending to +his horse's bridle.</p> + +<p>The seal catcher was now thoroughly frightened, for he felt sure that +some evil was about to befall him, and in such a lonely place he knew +that it would be useless to cry out for help.</p> + +<p>And it seemed as if his fears would prove only too true, for the next +moment the stranger's hand was laid upon his shoulder, and he felt +himself being hurled bodily over the cliff, and then he fell with a +splash into the sea.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> + +<p>He thought that his last hour had come, and he wondered how anyone could +work such a deed of wrong upon an innocent man.</p> + +<p>But, to his astonishment, he found that some change must have passed +over him, for instead of being choked by the water, he could breathe +quite easily, and he and his companion, who was still close at his side, +seemed to be sinking as quickly down through the sea as they had flown +through the air.</p> + +<p>Down and down they went, nobody knows how far, till at last they came to +a huge arched door, which appeared to be made of pink coral, studded +over with cockle-shells. It opened, of its own accord, and when they +entered they found themselves in a huge hall, the walls of which were +formed of mother-of-pearl, and the floor of which was of sea-sand, +smooth, and firm, and yellow.</p> + +<p>The hall was crowded with occupants, but they were seals, not men, and +when the seal catcher turned to his companion to ask him what it all +meant, he was aghast to find that he, too, had assumed the form of a +seal. He was still more aghast when he caught sight of himself in a +large mirror that hung on the wall, and saw that he also no longer bore +the likeness of a man, but was transformed into a nice, hairy, brown +seal.</p> + +<p>"Ah, woe to me," he said to himself, "for no fault of mine own this +artful stranger hath laid some baneful charm upon me, and in this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +awful guise will I remain for the rest of my natural life."</p> + +<p>At first none of the huge creatures spoke to him. For some reason or +other they seemed to be very sad, and moved gently about the hall, +talking quietly and mournfully to one another, or lay sadly upon the +sandy floor, wiping big tears from their eyes with their soft furry +fins.</p> + +<p>But presently they began to notice him, and to whisper to one another, +and presently his guide moved away from him, and disappeared through a +door at the end of the hall. When he returned he held a huge knife in +his hand.</p> + +<p>"Didst thou ever see this before?" he asked, holding it out to the +unfortunate seal catcher, who, to his horror, recognised his own hunting +knife with which he had struck the seal in the morning, and which had +been carried off by the wounded animal.</p> + +<p>At the sight of it he fell upon his face and begged for mercy, for he at +once came to the conclusion that the inhabitants of the cavern, enraged +at the harm which had been wrought upon their comrade, had, in some +magic way, contrived to capture him, and to bring him down to their +subterranean abode, in order to wreak their vengeance upon him by +killing him.</p> + +<p>But, instead of doing so, they crowded round him, rubbing their soft +noses against his fur to show their sympathy, and implored him not to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +put himself about, for no harm would befall him, and they would love him +all their lives long if he would only do what they asked him.</p> + +<p>"Tell me what it is," said the seal catcher, "and I will do it, if it +lies within my power."</p> + +<p>"Follow me," answered his guide, and he led the way to the door through +which he had disappeared when he went to seek the knife.</p> + +<p>The seal catcher followed him. And there, in a smaller room, he found a +great brown seal lying on a bed of pale pink sea-weed, with a gaping +wound in his side.</p> + +<p>"That is my father," said his guide, "whom thou wounded this morning, +thinking that he was one of the common seals who live in the sea, +instead of a Merman who hath speech, and understanding, as you mortals +have. I brought thee hither to bind up his wounds, for no other hand +than thine can heal him."</p> + +<p>"I have no skill in the art of healing," said the seal catcher, +astonished at the forbearance of these strange creatures, whom he had so +unwittingly wronged; "but I will bind up the wound to the best of my +power, and I am only sorry that it was my hands that caused it."</p> + +<p>He went over to the bed, and, stooping over the wounded Merman, washed +and dressed the hurt as well as he could; and the touch of his hands +appeared to work like magic, for no sooner had he finished than the +wound seemed to deaden and die, leaving only the scar, and the old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +seal sprang up, as well as ever.</p> + +<p>Then there was great rejoicing throughout the whole Palace of the Seals. +They laughed, and they talked, and they embraced each other in their own +strange way, crowding round their comrade, and rubbing their noses +against his, as if to show him how delighted they were at his recovery.</p> + +<p>But all this while the seal catcher stood alone in a corner, with his +mind filled with dark thoughts, for although he saw now that they had no +intention of killing him, he did not relish the prospect of spending the +rest of his life in the guise of a seal, fathoms deep under the ocean.</p> + +<p>But presently, to his great joy, his guide approached him, and said, +"Now you are at liberty to return home to your wife and children. I will +take you to them, but only on one condition."</p> + +<p>"And what is that?" asked the seal catcher eagerly, overjoyed at the +prospect of being restored safely to the upper world, and to his family.</p> + +<p>"That you will take a solemn oath never to wound a seal again."</p> + +<p>"That will I do right gladly," he replied, for although the promise +meant giving up his means of livelihood, he felt that if only he +regained his proper shape he could always turn his hand to something +else.</p> + +<p>So he took the required oath with all due solemnity, holding up his fin +as he swore, and all the other seals crowded round him as witnesses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +And a sigh of relief went through the halls when the words were spoken, +for he was the most noted seal catcher in the North.</p> + +<p>Then he bade the strange company farewell, and, accompanied by his +guide, passed once more through the outer doors of coral, and up, and +up, and up, through the shadowy green water, until it began to grow +lighter and lighter and at last they emerged into the sunshine of earth.</p> + +<p>Then, with one spring, they reached the top of the cliff, where the +great black horse was waiting for them, quietly nibbling the green turf.</p> + +<p>When they left the water their strange disguise dropped from them, and +they were now as they had been before, a plain seal catcher and a tall, +well-dressed gentleman in riding clothes.</p> + +<p>"Get up behind me," said the latter, as he swung himself into his +saddle. The seal catcher did as he was bid, taking tight hold of his +companion's coat, for he remembered how nearly he had fallen off on his +previous journey.</p> + +<p>Then it all happened as it happened before. The bridle was shaken, and +the horse galloped off, and it was not long before the seal catcher +found himself standing in safety before his own garden gate.</p> + +<p>He held out his hand to say "good-bye," but as he did so the stranger +pulled out a huge bag of gold and placed it in it.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Thou hast done thy part of the bargain—we must do ours," he said. "Men +shall never say that we took away an honest man's work without making +reparation for it, and here is what will keep thee in comfort to thy +life's end."</p> + +<p>Then he vanished, and when the astonished seal catcher carried the bag +into his cottage, and turned the gold out on the table, he found that +what the stranger had said was true, and that he would be a rich man for +the remainder of his days.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/078.png" width="450" height="399" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE PAGE-BOY AND THE SILVER GOBLET</h2> + +<p>There was once a little page-boy, who was in service in a stately +Castle. He was a very good-natured little fellow, and did his duties so +willingly and well that everybody liked him, from the great Earl whom he +served every day on bended knee, to the fat old butler whose errands he +ran.</p> + +<p>Now the Castle stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, and +although the walls at that side were very thick, in them there was a +little postern door, which opened on to a narrow flight of steps that +led down the face of the cliff to the sea shore, so that anyone who +liked could go down there in the pleasant summer mornings and bathe in +the shimmering sea.</p> + +<p>On the other side of the Castle were gardens and pleasure grounds, +opening on to a long stretch of heather-covered moorland, which, at +last, met a distant range of hills.</p> + +<p>The little page-boy was very fond of going out on this moor when his +work was done, for then he could run about as much as he liked, chasing +bumble-bees, and catching butterflies, and looking for birds' nests when +it was nesting time.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> + +<p>And the old butler was very pleased that he should do so, for he knew +that it was good for a healthy little lad to have plenty of fun in the +open air. But before the boy went out the old man always gave him one +warning.</p> + +<p>"Now, mind my words, laddie, and keep far away from the Fairy Knowe, for +the Little Folk are not to trust to."</p> + +<p>This Knowe of which he spoke was a little green hillock, which stood on +the moor not twenty yards from the garden gate, and folk said that it +was the abode of Fairies, who would punish any rash mortal who came too +near them. And because of this the country people would walk a good +half-mile out of their way, even in broad daylight, rather than run the +risk of going too near the Fairy Knowe and bringing down the Little +Folks' displeasure upon them. And at night they would hardly cross the +moor at all, for everyone knows that Fairies come abroad in the +darkness, and the door of their dwelling stands open, so that any +luckless mortal who does not take care may find himself inside.</p> + +<p>Now, the little page-boy was an adventurous wight, and instead of being +frightened of the Fairies, he was very anxious to see them, and to visit +their abode, just to find out what it was like.</p> + +<p>So one night, when everyone else was asleep, he crept out of the Castle +by the little postern door, and stole down the stone steps, and along +the sea shore, and up on to the moor, and went straight to the Fairy +Knowe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> + +<p>To his delight he found that what everyone said was true. The top of the +Knowe was tipped up, and from the opening that was thus made, rays of +light came streaming out.</p> + +<p>His heart was beating fast with excitement, but, gathering his courage, +he stooped down and slipped inside the Knowe.</p> + +<p>He found himself in a large room lit by numberless tiny candles, and +there, seated round a polished table, were scores of the Tiny Folk, +Fairies, and Elves, and Gnomes, dressed in green, and yellow, and pink; +blue, and lilac, and scarlet; in all the colours, in fact, that you can +think of.</p> + +<p>He stood in a dark corner watching the busy scene in wonder, thinking +how strange it was that there should be such a number of these tiny +beings living their own lives all unknown to men, at such a little +distance from them, when suddenly someone—he could not tell who it +was—gave an order.</p> + +<p>"Fetch the Cup," cried the owner of the unknown voice, and instantly two +little Fairy pages, dressed all in scarlet livery, darted from the table +to a tiny cupboard in the rock, and returned staggering under the weight +of a most beautiful silver cup, richly embossed and lined inside with +gold.</p> + +<p>He placed it in the middle of the table, and, amid clapping of hands and +shouts of joy, all the Fairies began to drink out of it in turn. And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> +the page could see, from where he stood, that no one poured wine into +it, and yet it was always full, and that the wine that was in it was not +always the same kind, but that each Fairy, when he grasped its stem, +wished for the wine that he loved best, and lo! in a moment the cup was +full of it.</p> + +<p>"'Twould be a fine thing if I could take that cup home with me," thought +the page. "No one will believe that I have been here except I have +something to show for it." So he bided his time, and watched.</p> + +<p>Presently the Fairies noticed him, and, instead of being angry at his +boldness in entering their abode, as he expected that they would be, +they seemed very pleased to see him, and invited him to a seat at the +table. But by and by they grew rude and insolent, and jeered at him for +being content to serve mere mortals, telling him that they saw +everything that went on at the Castle, and making fun of the old butler, +whom the page loved with all his heart. And they laughed at the food he +ate, saying that it was only fit for animals; and when any fresh dainty +was set on the table by the scarlet-clad pages, they would push the dish +across to him, saying: "Taste it, for you will not have the chance of +tasting such things at the Castle."</p> + +<p>At last he could stand their teasing remarks no longer; besides, he knew +that if he wanted to secure the cup he must lose no time in doing so.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> + +<p>So he suddenly stood up, and grasped the stem of it tightly in his hand. +"I'll drink to you all in water," he cried, and instantly the ruby wine +was turned to clear cold water.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/083.png" width="600" height="520" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>He raised the cup to his lips, but he did not drink from it. With a +sudden jerk he threw the water over the candles, and instantly the room +was in darkness. Then, clasping the precious cup tightly in his arms, he +sprang to the opening of the Knowe, through which he could see the stars +glimmering clearly.</p> + +<p>He was just in time, for it fell to with a crash behind him; and soon he +was speeding along the wet, dew-spangled moor, with the whole troop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> +of Fairies at his heels. They were wild with rage, and from the shrill +shouts of fury which they uttered, the page knew well that, if they +overtook him, he need expect no mercy at their hands.</p> + +<p>And his heart began to sink, for, fleet of foot though he was, he was no +match for the Fairy Folk, who gained on him steadily.</p> + +<p>All seemed lost, when a mysterious voice sounded out of the darkness:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"If thou wouldst gain the Castle door,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">Keep to the black stones on the shore."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>It was the voice of some poor mortal, who, for some reason or other, had +been taken prisoner by the Fairies—who were really very malicious +Little Folk—and who did not want a like fate to befall the adventurous +page-boy; but the little fellow did not know this.</p> + +<p>He had once heard that if anyone walked on the wet sands, where the +waves had come over them, the Fairies could not touch him, and this +mysterious sentence brought the saying into his mind.</p> + +<p>So he turned, and dashed panting down to the shore. His feet sank in the +dry sand, his breath came in little gasps, and he felt as if he must +give up the struggle; but he persevered, and at last, just as the +foremost Fairies were about to lay hands on him, he jumped across the +water-mark on to the firm, wet sand, from which the waves had just +receded, and then he knew that he was safe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> + +<p>For the Little Folk could go no step further, but stood on the dry sand +uttering cries of rage and disappointment, while the triumphant page-boy +ran safely along the shore, his precious cup in his arms, and climbed +lightly up the steps in the rock and disappeared through the postern. +And for many years after, long after the little page-boy had grown up +and become a stately butler, who trained other little page-boys to +follow in his footsteps, the beautiful cup remained in the Castle as a +witness of his adventure.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/085.png" width="450" height="252" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE BLACK BULL OF NORROWAY</h2> + +<p>In bygone days, long centuries ago, there lived a widowed Queen who had +three daughters. And this widowed Queen was so poor, and had fallen upon +such evil days, that she and her daughters had often much ado to get +enough to eat.</p> + +<p>So the eldest Princess determined that she would set out into the world +to seek her fortune. And her mother was quite willing that she should do +so. "For," said she, "'tis better to work abroad than to starve at +home."</p> + +<p>But as there was an old hen-wife living near the Castle who was said to +be a witch, and to be able to foretell the future, the Queen sent the +Princess to her cottage, before she set out on her travels, to ask her +in which of the Four Airts she ought to go, in order to find the best +fortune.</p> + +<p>"Thou needst gang nae farther than my back door, hinnie," answered the +old Dame, who had always felt very sorry for the Queen and her pretty +daughters, and was glad to do them a good turn.</p> + +<p>So the Princess ran through the passage to the hen-wife's back door and +peeped out, and what should she see but a magnificent coach, drawn by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +six beautiful cream-coloured horses, coming along the road.</p> + +<p>Greatly excited at this unusual sight, she hurried back to the kitchen, +and told the hen-wife what she had seen.</p> + +<p>"Aweel, aweel, ye've seen your fortune," said the old woman, in a tone +of satisfaction, "for that coach-and-six is coming for thee."</p> + +<p>Sure enough, the coach-and-six stopped at the gate of the Castle, and +the second Princess came running down to the cottage to tell her sister +to make haste, because it was waiting for her. Delighted beyond measure +at the wonderful luck that had come to her, she hurried home, and, +saying farewell to her mother and sisters, took her seat within, and the +horses galloped off immediately.</p> + +<p>And I've heard tell that they drew her to the Palace of a great and +wealthy Prince, who married her; but that is outside my story.</p> + +<p>A few weeks afterwards, the second Princess thought that she would do as +her sister had done, and go down to the hen-wife's cottage, and tell her +that she, too, was going out into the world to seek her fortune. And, of +course, in her heart of hearts she hoped that what had happened to her +sister would happen to her also.</p> + +<p>And, curious to say, it did. For the old hen-wife sent her to look out +at her back door, and she went, and, lo and behold! another +coach-and-six was coming along the road. And when she went and told the +old woman, she smiled upon her kindly, and told her to hurry home, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +the coach-and-six was her fortune also, and that it had come for her.</p> + +<p>So she, too, ran home, and got into her grand carriage, and was driven +away. And, of course, after all these lucky happenings, the youngest +Princess was anxious to try what her fortune might be; so the very +night, in high good humour, she tripped away down to the old witch's +cottage.</p> + +<p>She, too, was told to look out at the back door, and she was only too +glad to do so; for she fully expected to see a third coach-and-six +coming rolling along the high road, straight for the Castle door.</p> + +<p>But, alas and alack! no such sight greeted her eager eyes, for the high +road was quite deserted, and in great disappointment she ran back to the +hen-wife to tell her so.</p> + +<p>"Then it is clear that thy fortune is not coming to meet thee this day," +said the old Dame, "so thou must e'en come back to-morrow."</p> + +<p>So the little Princess went home again, and next <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'day day'">day</ins> she turned up +once more at the old wife's cottage.</p> + +<p>But once more she was disappointed, for although she looked out long and +eagerly, no glad sight of a coach-and-six, or of any other coach, +greeted her eyes. On the third day, however, what should she see but a +great Black Bull coming rushing along the road, bellowing as it came, +and tossing its head fiercely in the air.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> + +<p>In great alarm, the little Princess shut the door, and ran to the +hen-wife to tell her about the furious animal that was approaching.</p> + +<p>"Hech, hinnie," cried the old woman, holding up her hands in dismay, +"and who would have thocht that the Black Bull of Norroway wad be your +fate!"</p> + +<p>At the words, the poor little maiden grew pale. She had come out to seek +her fortune, but it had never dawned upon her that her fortune could be +anything so terrible as this.</p> + +<p>"But the Bull cannot be my fortune," she cried in terror. "I cannot go +away with a bull."</p> + +<p>"But ye'll need tae," replied the hen-wife calmly. "For you lookit out +of my door with the intent of meeting your fortune; and when your +fortune has come tae ye, you must just thole it."</p> + +<p>And when the poor Princess ran weeping to her mother, to beg to be +allowed to stay at home, she found her mother of the same mind as the +Wise Woman; and so she had to allow herself to be lifted up on to the +back of the enormous Black Bull that had come up to the door of the +Castle, and was now standing there quietly enough. And when she was +settled, he set off again on his wild career, while she sobbed and +trembled with terror, and clung to his horns with all her might.</p> + +<p>On and on they went, until at last the poor maiden was so faint with +fear and hunger that she could scarce keep her seat.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> + +<p>Just as she was losing her hold of the great beast's horns, however, and +feeling that she must fall to the ground, he turned his massive head +round a little, and, speaking in a wonderfully soft and gentle voice, +said: "Eat out of my right ear, and drink out of my left ear, so wilt +thou be refreshed for thy journey."</p> + +<p>So the Princess put a trembling hand into the Bull's right ear, and drew +out some bread and meat, which, in spite of her terror, she was glad to +swallow; then she put her hand into his left ear, and found there a tiny +flagon of wine, and when she had drunk that, her strength returned to +her in a wonderful way.</p> + +<p>Long they went, and sore they rode, till, just as it seemed to the +Princess that they must be getting near the World's End, they came in +sight of a magnificent Castle.</p> + +<p>"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull of Norroway, +"for that is the house of one of my brothers."</p> + +<p>The Princess was greatly surprised at these words; but by this time she +was too tired to wonder very much at anything, so she did not answer, +but sat still where she was, until the Bull ran into the courtyard of +the Castle and knocked his great head against the door.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 424px;"> +<img src="images/091.png" width="424" height="600" alt="They came in sight of a Magnificent Castle" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +They came in sight of a Magnificent Castle</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> + +<p>The door was opened at once by a very splendid footman, who treated the +Black Bull with great respect, and helped the Princess to alight from +his back. Then he ushered her into a magnificent hall, where the Lord of +the Castle, and his Lady, and a great and noble company were assembled; +while the Black Bull trotted off quite contentedly to the grassy park +which stretched all round <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'the the'">the</ins> building, to spend the night there.</p> + +<p>The Lord and his Lady were very kind to the Princess, and gave her her +supper, and led her to a richly furnished bedroom, all hung round with +golden mirrors, and left her to rest there; and in the morning, just as +the Black Bull came trotting up to the front door, they handed her a +beautiful apple, telling her not to break it, but to put it in her +pocket, and keep it till she was in the greatest strait that mortal +could be in. Then she was to break it, and it would bring her out of it.</p> + +<p>So she put the apple in her pocket, and they lifted her once more on to +the Black Bull's back, and she and her strange companion continued on +their journey.</p> + +<p>All that day they travelled, far further than I can tell you, and at +night they came in sight of another Castle, which was even bigger and +grander than the first.</p> + +<p>"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull, "for that +is the home of another of my brothers."</p> + +<p>And here the Princess rested for the night in a very fine bedroom +indeed, all hung with silken curtains; and the Lord and Lady of the +Castle did everything to please her and make her comfortable.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> + +<p>And in the morning, before she left, they presented her with the largest +pear that she had ever seen, and warned her that she must not break it +until she was in the direst strait that she had ever been in, and then, +if she broke it, it would bring her out of it.</p> + +<p>The third day was the same as the other two had been. The Princess and +the Black Bull of Norroway rode many a weary mile, and at sundown they +came to another Castle, more splendid by far than the other two.</p> + +<p>This Castle belonged to the Black Bull's youngest brother, and here the +Princess abode all night; while the Bull, as usual, lay outside in the +park. And this time, when they departed, the Princess received a most +lovely plum, with the warning not to break it till she was in the +greatest strait that mortal could be in. Then she was to break it, and +it would set her free.</p> + +<p>On the fourth day, however, things were changed. For there was no fine +Castle waiting for them at the end of their journey; on the contrary, as +the shadows began to lengthen, they came to a dark, deep glen, which was +so gloomy and so awesome-looking that the poor Princess felt her courage +sinking as they approached it.</p> + +<p>At the entrance the Black Bull stopped. "Light down here, Lady," he +said, "for in this glen a deadly conflict awaits me, which I must face +unaided and alone. For the dark and gloomy region that lies before us is +the abode of a great Spirit of Darkness, who worketh much ill in the +world. I would fain fight with him and overcome him; and, by my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> +troth, I have good hope that I shall do so. As for thee, thou must seat +thyself on this stone, and stir neither hand, nor foot, nor tongue till +I return. For, if thou but so much as move, then the Evil Spirit of the +Glen will have thee in his power."</p> + +<p>"But how shall I know what is happening to thee?" asked the Princess +anxiously, for she was beginning to grow quite fond of the huge black +creature that had carried her so gallantly these last four days, "if I +have neither to move hand nor foot, nor yet to speak."</p> + +<p>"Thou wilt know by the signs around thee," answered the Bull. "For if +everything about thee turn blue, then thou wilt know that I have +vanquished the Evil Spirit; but if everything about thee turn red, then +the Evil Spirit hath vanquished me."</p> + +<p>With these words he departed, and was soon lost to sight in the dark +recesses of the glen, leaving the little Princess sitting motionless on +her stone, afraid to move so much as her little finger, in case some +unknown evil fell upon her.</p> + +<p>At last, when she had sat there for well-nigh an hour, a curious change +began to pass over the landscape. First it turned grey, and then it +turned a deep azure blue, as if the sky had descended on the earth.</p> + +<p>"The Bull hath conquered," thought the Princess. "Oh! what a noble +animal he is!" And in her relief and delight she moved her position and +crossed one leg over the other.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> + +<p>Oh, woe-a-day! In a moment a mystic spell fell upon her, which caused +her to become invisible to the eyes of the Prince of Norroway, who, +having vanquished the Evil Spirit, was loosed from the spell which had +lain over him, and had transformed him into the likeness of a great +Black Bull, and who returned in haste down the glen to present himself, +in his rightful form, to the maiden whom he loved, and whom he hoped to +win for his bride.</p> + +<p>Long, long he sought, but he could not find her, while all the time she +was sitting patiently waiting on the stone; but the spell was on her +eyes also, and hindered her seeing him, as it hindered him seeing her.</p> + +<p>So she sat on and on, till at last she became so wearied, and lonely, +and frightened, that she burst out crying, and cried herself to sleep; +and when she woke in the morning she felt that it was no use sitting +there any longer, so she rose and took her way, hardly knowing whither +she was going.</p> + +<p>And she went, and she went, till at last she came to a great hill made +all of glass, which blocked her way and prevented her going any further. +She tried time after time to climb it, but it was all of no avail, for +the surface of the hill was so slippery that she only managed to climb +up a few feet, to slide down again the next moment.</p> + +<p>So she began to walk round the bottom of the hill, in the hope of +finding some path that would lead her over it, but the hill was so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> +big, and she was so tired, that it seemed almost a hopeless quest, and +her spirit died completely within her. And as she went slowly along, +sobbing with despair, she felt that if help did not come soon she must +lie down and die.</p> + +<p>About mid-day, however, she came to a little cottage, and beside the +cottage there was a smithy, where an old smith was working at his anvil.</p> + +<p>She entered, and asked him if he could tell her of any path that would +lead her over the mountain. The old man laid down his hammer and looked +at her, slowly shaking his head as he did so.</p> + +<p>"Na, na, lassie," he said, "there is no easy road over the Mountain of +Glass. Folk maun either walk round it, which is not an easy thing to do, +for the foot of it stretches out for hundreds of miles, and the folk who +try to do so are almost sure to lose their way; or they maun walk over +the top of it, and that can only be done by those who are shod with iron +shoon."</p> + +<p>"And how am I to get these iron shoon?" cried the Princess eagerly. +"Couldst thou fashion me a pair, good man? I would gladly pay thee for +them." Then she stopped suddenly, for she remembered that she had no +money.</p> + +<p>"These shoon cannot be made for siller," said the old man solemnly. +"They can only be earned by service. I alone can make them, and I make +them for those who are willing to serve me."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And how long must I serve thee ere thou makest them for me?" asked the +Princess faintly.</p> + +<p>"Seven years," replied the old man, "for they be magic shoon, and that +is the magic number."</p> + +<p>So, as there seemed nothing else for it, the Princess hired herself to +the smith for seven long years: to clean his house, and cook his food, +and make and mend his clothes.</p> + +<p>At the end of that time he fashioned her a pair of iron shoon, with +which she climbed the Mountain of Glass with as much ease as if it had +been covered with fresh green turf.</p> + +<p>When she had reached the summit, and descended to the other side, the +first house that she came to was the house of an old washerwoman, who +lived there with her only daughter. And as the Princess was now very +tired, she went up to the door, and knocked, and asked if she might be +allowed to rest there for the night.</p> + +<p>The washerwoman, who was old and ugly, with a sly and evil face, said +that she might—on one condition—and that was that she should try to +wash a white mantle that the Black Knight of Norroway had brought to her +to wash, as he had got it stained in a deadly fight.</p> + +<p>"Yestreen I spent the lee-long day washing it," went on the old Dame, +"and I might as well have let it lie on the table. For at night, when I +took it out of the wash-tub, the stains were there as dark as ever.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +Peradventure, maiden, if thou wouldst try thy hand upon it thou mightest +be more successful. For I am loth to disappoint the Black Knight of +Norroway, who is an exceeding great and powerful Prince."</p> + +<p>"Is he in any way connected with the Black Bull of Norroway?" asked the +Princess; for at the name her heart had leaped for joy, for it seemed +that mayhap she was going to find once more him whom she had lost.</p> + +<p>The old woman looked at her suspiciously. "The two are one," she +answered; "for the Black Knight chanced to have a spell thrown over him, +which turned him into a Black Bull, and which could not be lifted until +he had fought with, and overcome, a mighty Spirit of Evil that lived in +a dark glen. He fought with the Spirit, and overcame it and once more +regained his true form; but 'tis said that his mind is somewhat clouded +at times, for he speaketh ever of a maiden whom he would fain have +wedded, and whom he hath lost. Though who, or what she was, no living +person kens. But this story can have no interest to a stranger like +thee," she added slowly, as if she were sorry for having said so much. +"I have no more time to waste in talking. But if thou wilt try and wash +the mantle, thou art welcome to a night's lodging; and if not, I must +ask thee to go on thy way."</p> + +<p>Needless to say, the Princess said that she would try to wash the +mantle; and it seemed as if her fingers had some magic power in them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> +for as soon as she put it into water the stains vanished, and it became +as white and clean as when it was new.</p> + +<p>Of course, the old woman was delighted, but she was very suspicious +also, for it appeared to her that there must be some mysterious link +between the maiden and the Knight, if his mantle became clean so easily +when she washed it, when it had remained soiled and stained in spite of +all the labour which she and her daughter had bestowed upon it.</p> + +<p>So, as she knew that the young Gallant intended returning for it that +very night, and as she wanted her daughter to get the credit of washing +it, she advised the Princess to go to bed early, in order to get a good +night's rest after all her labours. And the Princess followed her +advice, and thus it came about that she was sound asleep, safely hidden +in the big box-bed in the corner, when the Black Knight of Norroway came +to the cottage to claim his white mantle.</p> + +<p>Now you must know that the young man had carried about this mantle with +him for the last seven years—ever since his encounter with the Evil +Spirit of the Glen—always trying to find someone who could wash it for +him, and never succeeding.</p> + +<p>For it had been revealed to him by a wise woman that she who could make +it white and clean was destined to be his wife—be she bonnie or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +ugly, old or young. And that, moreover, she would prove a loving, a +faithful, and a true helpmeet.</p> + +<p>So when he came to the washerwoman's cottage, and received back his +mantle white as the driven snow, and heard that it was the washerwoman's +daughter who had wrought this wondrous change, he said at once that he +would marry her, and that the very next day.</p> + +<p>When the Princess awoke in the morning and heard all that had befallen, +and how the Black Knight had come to the cottage while she was asleep, +and had received his mantle, and had promised to marry the washerwoman's +daughter that very day, her heart was like to break. For now she felt +that she never would have the chance of speaking to him and telling him +who she really was.</p> + +<p>And in her sore distress she suddenly remembered the beautiful fruit +which she had received on her journey seven long years before, and which +she had carried with her ever since.</p> + +<p>"Surely I will never be in a sorer strait than I am now," she said to +herself; and she drew out the apple and broke it. And, lo and behold! it +was filled with the most beautiful precious stones that she had ever +seen; and at the sight of them a plan came suddenly into her head.</p> + +<p>She took the precious stones out of the apple, and, putting them into a +corner of her kerchief, carried them to the washerwoman.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> + +<p>"See," said she, "I am richer than mayhap thou thoughtest I was. And if +thou wilt, all these riches may be thine."</p> + +<p>"And how could that come about?" asked the old woman eagerly, for she +had never seen so many precious stones in her life before, and she had a +great desire to become the possessor of them.</p> + +<p>"Only put off thy daughter's wedding for one day," replied the Princess. +"And let me watch beside the Black Knight as he sleeps this night, for I +have long had a great desire to see him."</p> + +<p>To her astonishment the washerwoman agreed to this request; for the wily +old woman was very anxious to get the jewels, which would make her rich +for life, and it did not seem to her that there was any harm in the +Princess's request; for she had made up her mind that she would give the +Black Knight a sleeping-draught, which would effectually prevent him as +much as speaking to this strange maiden.</p> + +<p>So she took the jewels and locked them up in her kist, and the wedding +was put off, and that night the little Princess slipped into the Black +Knight's apartment when he was asleep, and watched all through the long +hours by his bedside, singing this song to him in the hope that he would +awake and hear it:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Seven lang years I served for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The glassy hill I clamb for thee.</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The mantle white I washed for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> + +<p>But although she sang it over and over again, as if her heart would +burst, he neither listened nor stirred, for the old washerwoman's potion +had made sure of that.</p> + +<p>Next morning, in her great trouble, the little Princess broke open the +pear, hoping that its contents would help her better than the contents +of the apple had done. But in it she found just what she had found +before—a heap of precious stones; only they were richer and more +valuable than the others had been.</p> + +<p>So, as it seemed the only thing to do, she carried them to the old +woman, and bribed her to put the wedding off for yet another day, and +allow her to watch that night also by the Black Prince's bedside.</p> + +<p>And the washerwoman did so; "for," said she, as she locked away the +stones, "I shall soon grow quite rich at this rate."</p> + +<p>But, alas! it was all in vain that the Princess spent the long hours +singing with all her might:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Seven lang years I served for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The glassy hill I clamb for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The mantle white I washed for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>for the young Prince whom she watched so tenderly, remained deaf and +motionless as a stone.</p> + +<p>By the morning she had almost lost hope, for there was only the plum +remaining now, and if that failed her last chance had gone. With +trembling fingers she broke it open, and found inside another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> +collection of precious stones, richer and rarer than all the others.</p> + +<p>She ran with these to the washerwoman, and, throwing them into her lap, +told her she could keep them all and welcome if she would put off the +wedding once again, and let her watch by the Prince for one more night. +And, greatly wondering, the old woman consented.</p> + +<p>Now it chanced that the Black Knight, tired with waiting for his +wedding, went out hunting that day with all his attendants behind him. +And as the servants rode they talked together about something that had +puzzled them sorely these two nights gone by. At last an old huntsman +rode up to the Knight, with a question upon his lips.</p> + +<p>"Master," he said, "we would fain ken who the sweet singer is who +singeth through the night in thy chamber?"</p> + +<p>"Singer!" he repeated. "There is no singer. My chamber hath been as quiet +as the grave, and I have slept a dreamless sleep ever since I came to +live at the cottage."</p> + +<p>The old huntsman shook his head. "Taste not the old wife's draught this +night, Master," he said earnestly; "then wilt thou hear what other ears +have heard."</p> + +<p>At other times the Black Knight would have laughed at his words, but +to-day the man spoke with such earnestness that he could not but listen +to them. So that evening, when the washerwoman, as was her wont, brought +his sleeping-draught of spiced ale to his bedside, he told her that it +was not sweet enough for his liking. And when she turned and went to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +the kitchen to fetch some honey to sweeten it, he jumped out of bed and +poured it all out of the window, and when she came back he pretended +that he had drunk it.</p> + +<p>So it came to pass that he lay awake that night and heard the Princess +enter his room, and listened to her plaintive little song, sung in a +voice that was full of sobs:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Seven lang years I served for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The glassy hill I clamb for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">The mantle white I washed for thee,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>And when he heard it, he understood it all; and he sprang up and took +her in his arms and kissed her, and asked her to tell him the whole +story.</p> + +<p>And when he heard it, he was so angry with the old washerwoman and her +deceitful daughter that he ordered them to leave the country at once; +and he married the little Princess, and they lived happily all their +days.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/104.png" width="450" height="158" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE WEE BANNOCK</h2> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Some tell about their sweethearts,</span><br /> + <span class="i3">How they tirled them to the winnock,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">But I'll tell you a bonnie tale</span><br /> + <span class="i3">About a guid oatmeal bannock."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>There was once an old man and his wife, who lived in a dear little +cottage by the side of a burn. They were a very canty and contented +couple, for they had enough to live on, and enough to do. Indeed, they +considered themselves quite rich, for, besides their cottage and their +garden, they possessed two sleek cows, five hens and a cock, an old cat, +and two kittens.</p> + +<p>The old man spent his time looking after the cows, and the hens, and the +garden; while the old woman kept herself busy spinning.</p> + +<p>One day, just after breakfast, the old woman thought that she would like +an oatmeal bannock for her supper that evening, so she took down her +bakeboard, and put on her girdle, and baked a couple of fine cakes, and +when they were ready she put them down before the fire to harden.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> + +<p>While they were toasting, her husband came in from the byre, and sat +down to take a rest in his great arm-chair. Presently his eyes fell on +the bannocks, and, as they looked very good, he broke one through the +middle and began to eat it.</p> + +<p>When the other bannock saw this it determined that it should not have +the same fate, so it ran across the kitchen and out of the door as fast +as it could. And when the old woman saw it disappearing, she ran after +it as fast as her legs would carry her, holding her spindle in one hand +and her distaff in the other.</p> + +<p>But she was old, and the bannock was young, and it ran faster than she +did, and escaped over the hill behind the house. It ran, and it ran, and +it ran, until it came to a large newly thatched cottage, and, as the +door was open, it took refuge inside, and ran right across the floor to +a blazing fire, which was burning in the first room that it came to.</p> + +<p>Now, it chanced that this house belonged to a tailor, and he and his two +apprentices were sitting cross-legged on the top of a big table by the +window, sewing away with all their might, while the tailor's wife was +sitting beside the fire carding lint.</p> + +<p>When the wee bannock came trundling across the floor, all three tailors +got such a fright that they jumped down from the table and hid behind +the Master Tailor's wife.</p> + +<p>"Hoot," she said, "what a set of cowards ye be! 'Tis but a nice wee<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> +bannock. Get hold of it and divide it between you, and I'll fetch you +all a drink of milk."</p> + +<p>So she jumped up with her lint and her lint cards, and the tailor jumped +up with his great shears, and one apprentice grasped the line measure, +while another took up the saucer full of pins; and they all tried to +catch the wee bannock. But it dodged them round and round the fire, and +at last it got safely out of the door and ran down the road, with one of +the apprentices after it, who tried to snip it in two with his shears.</p> + +<p>It ran too quickly for him, however, and at last he stopped and went +back to the house, while the wee bannock ran on until it came to a tiny +cottage by the roadside. It trundled in at the door, and there was a +weaver sitting at his loom, with his wife beside him, winding a clue of +yarn.</p> + +<p>"What's that, Tibby?" said the weaver, with a start as the little cake +flew past him.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried she in delight, jumping to her feet, "'tis a wee bannock. I +wonder where it came from?"</p> + +<p>"Dinna bother your head about that, Tibby," said her man, "but grip it, +my woman, grip it."</p> + +<p>But it was not so easy to get hold of the wee bannock. It was in vain +that the Goodwife threw her clue at it, and that the Goodman tried to +chase it into a corner and knock it down with his shuttle. It dodged, +and turned, and twisted, like a thing bewitched, till at last it flew +out at the door again, and vanished down the hill, "for all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> +world," as the old woman said, "like a new tarred sheep, or a daft cow."</p> + +<p>In the next house that it came to it found the Goodwife in the kitchen, +kirning. She had just filled her kirn, and there was still some cream +standing in the bottom of her cream jar.</p> + +<p>"Come away, little bannock," she cried when she saw it. "Thou art come +in just the nick of time, for I am beginning to feel hungry, and I'll +have cakes and cream for my dinner."</p> + +<p>But the wee bannock hopped round to the other side of the kirn, and the +Goodwife after it. And she was in such a hurry that she nearly upset the +kirn; and by the time that she had put it right again, the wee bannock +was out at the door and half-way down the brae to the mill.</p> + +<p>The miller was sifting meal in the trough, but he straightened himself +up when he saw the little cake.</p> + +<p>"It's a sign of plenty when bannocks are running about with no one to +look after them," he said; "but I like bannocks and cheese, so just come +in, and I will give thee a night's lodging."</p> + +<p>But the little bannock had no wish to be eaten up by the miller, so it +turned and ran out of the mill, and the miller was so busy that he did +not trouble himself to run after it.</p> + +<p>After this it ran on, and on, and on, till it came to the smithy, and +it popped in there to see what it could see.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> + +<p>The smith was busy at the anvil making horse-shoe nails, but he looked +up as the wee bannock entered.</p> + +<p>"If there be one thing I am fond of, it is a glass of ale and a +well-toasted cake," he cried. "So come inbye here, and welcome to ye."</p> + +<p>But as soon as the little bannock heard of the ale, it turned and ran +out of the smithy as fast as it could, and the disappointed smith picked +up his hammer and ran after it. And when he saw that he could not catch +it, he flung his heavy hammer at it, in the hope of knocking it down, +but, luckily for the little cake, he missed his aim.</p> + +<p>After this the bannock came to a farmhouse, with a great stack of peats +standing at the back of it. In it went, and ran to the fireside. In this +house the master had all the lint spread out on the floor, and was +cloving<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> it with an iron rod, while the mistress was heckling<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> what +he had already cloven.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Janet," cried the Goodman in surprise, "here comes in a little +bannock. It looks rare and good to eat. I'll have one half of it."</p> + +<p>"And I'll have the other half," cried the Goodwife. "Hit it over the +back with your cloving-stick, Sandy, and knock it down. Quick, or it +will be out at the door again."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> + +<p>But the bannock played "jook-about," and dodged behind a chair. "Hoot!" +cried Janet contemptuously, for she thought that her husband might +easily have hit it, and she threw her heckle at it.</p> + +<p>But the heckle missed it, just as her husband's cloving-rod had done, +for it played "jook-about" again, and flew out of the house.</p> + +<p>This time it ran up a burnside till it came to a little cottage standing +among the heather.</p> + +<p>Here the Goodwife was making porridge for the supper in a pot over the +fire, and her husband was sitting in a corner plaiting ropes of straw +with which to tie up the cow.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Jock! come here, come here," cried the Goodwife. "Thou art aye +crying for a little bannock for thy supper; come here, histie, quick, +and help me to catch it."</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay," assented Jock, jumping to his feet and hurrying across the +little room. "But where is it? I cannot see it."</p> + +<p>"There, man, there," cried his wife, "under that chair. Run thou to that +side; I will keep to this."</p> + +<p>So Jock ran into the dark corner behind the chair; but, in his hurry, he +tripped and fell, and the wee bannock jumped over him and flew laughing +out at the door.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> + +<p>Through the whins and up the hillside it ran, and over the top of the +hill, to a shepherd's cottage on the other side.</p> + +<p>The inmates were just sitting down to their porridge, and the Goodwife +was scraping the pan.</p> + +<p>"Save us and help us," she exclaimed, stopping with the spoon half-way +to her mouth. "There's a wee bannock come in to warm itself at our +fireside."</p> + +<p>"Sneck the door," cried the husband, "and we'll try to catch it. It +would come in handy after the porridge."</p> + +<p>But the bannock did not wait until the door was sneckit. It turned and +ran as fast as it could, and the shepherd and his wife and all the +bairns ran after it, with their spoons in their hands, in hopes of +catching it.</p> + +<p>And when the shepherd saw that it could run faster than they could, he +threw his bonnet at it, and almost struck it; but it escaped all these +dangers, and soon it came to another house, where the folk were just +going to bed.</p> + +<p>The Goodman was half undressed, and the Goodwife was raking the cinders +carefully out of the fire.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" said he, "for the bowl of brose that I had at supper-time +wasna' very big."</p> + +<p>"Catch it, then," answered his wife, "and I'll have a bit, too. Quick! +quick! Throw your coat over it or it will be away."</p> + +<p>So the Goodman threw his coat right on the top of the little bannock, +and almost managed to smother it; but it struggled bravely, and got<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +out, breathless and hot, from under it. Then it ran out into the grey +light again, for night was beginning to fall, and the Goodman ran out +after it, without his coat. He chased it and chased it through the +stackyard and across a field, and in amongst a fine patch of whins. Then +he lost it; and, as he was feeling cold without his coat, he went home.</p> + +<p>As for the poor little bannock, it thought that it would creep under a +whin bush and lie there till morning, but it was so dark that it never +saw that there was a fox's hole there. So it fell down the fox's hole, +and the fox was very glad to see it, for he had had no food for two +days.</p> + +<p>"Oh, welcome, welcome," he cried; and he snapped it through the middle +with his teeth, and that was the end of the poor wee bannock.</p> + +<p>And if a moral be wanted for this tale, here it is: That people should +never be too uplifted or too cast down over anything, for all the good +folk in the story thought that they were going to get the bannock, and, +lo and behold! the fox got it after all.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE ELFIN KNIGHT</h2> + +<p>There is a lone moor in Scotland, which, in times past, was said to be +haunted by an Elfin Knight. This Knight was only seen at rare intervals, +once in every seven years or so, but the fear of him lay on all the +country round, for every now and then someone would set out to cross the +moor and would never be heard of again.</p> + +<p>And although men might search every inch of the ground, no trace of him +would be found, and with a thrill of horror the searching party would go +home again, shaking their heads and whispering to one another that he +had fallen into the hands of the dreaded Knight.</p> + +<p>So, as a rule, the moor was deserted, for nobody dare pass that way, +much less live there; and by and by it became the haunt of all sorts of +wild animals, which made their lairs there, as they found that they +never were disturbed by mortal huntsmen.</p> + +<p>Now in that same region lived two young earls, Earl St. Clair and Earl +Gregory, who were such friends that they rode, and hunted, and fought +together, if need be.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> + +<p>And as they were both very fond of the chase, Earl Gregory suggested one +day that they should go a-hunting on the haunted moor, in spite of the +Elfin King.</p> + +<p>"Certes, I hardly believe in him at all," cried the young man, with a +laugh. "Methinks 'tis but an old wife's tale to frighten the bairns +withal, lest they go straying amongst the heather and lose themselves. +And 'tis pity that such fine sport should be lost because we—two +bearded men—pay heed to such gossip."</p> + +<p>But Earl St. Clair looked grave. "'Tis ill meddling with unchancy +things," he answered, "and 'tis no bairn's tale that travellers have set +out to cross that moor who have vanished bodily, and never mair been +heard of; but it is, as thou sayest, a pity that so much good sport be +lost, all because an Elfin Knight choosest to claim the land as his, and +make us mortals pay toll for the privilege of planting a foot upon it.</p> + +<p>"I have heard tell, however, that one is safe from any power that the +Knight may have if one wearest the Sign of the Blessed Trinity. So let +us bind That on our arm and ride forth without fear."</p> + +<p>Sir Gregory burst into a loud laugh at these words. "Dost thou think +that I am one of the bairns," he said, "'first to be frightened by an +idle tale, and then to think that a leaf of clover will protect me? No, +no, carry that Sign if thou wilt; I will trust to my good bow and +arrow."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> + +<p>But Earl St. Clair did not heed his companion's words, for he remembered +how his mother had told him, when he was a little lad at her knee that +whoso carried the Sign of the Blessed Trinity need never fear any spell +that might be thrown over him by Warlock or Witch, Elf or Demon.</p> + +<p>So he went out to the meadow and plucked a leaf of clover, which he +bound on his arm with a silken scarf; then he mounted his horse and rode +with Earl Gregory to the desolate and lonely moorland.</p> + +<p>For some hours all went well; and in the heat of the chase the young men +forgot their fears. Then suddenly both of them reined in their steeds +and sat gazing in front of them with affrighted faces.</p> + +<p>For a horseman had crossed their track, and they both would fain have +known who he was and whence he came.</p> + +<p>"By my troth, but he rideth in haste, whoever he may be," said Earl +Gregory at last, "and tho' I always thought that no steed on earth could +match mine for swiftness, I reckon that for every league that mine +goeth, his would go seven. Let us follow him, and see from what part of +the world he cometh."</p> + +<p>"The Lord forbid that thou shouldst stir thy horse's feet to follow +him," said Earl St. Clair devoutly. "Why, man, 'tis the Elfin Knight! +Canst thou not see that he doth not ride on the solid ground, but flieth +through the air, and that, although he rideth on what seemeth a mortal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +steed, he is really craried by mighty pinions, which cleave the air like +those of a bird? Follow him forsooth! It will be an evil day for thee +when thou seekest to do that."</p> + +<p>But Earl St. Clair forgot that he carried a Talisman which his companion +lacked, that enabled him to see things as they really were, while the +other's eyes were holden, and he was startled and amazed when Earl +Gregory said sharply, "Thy mind hath gone mad over this Elfin King. I +tell thee he who passed was a goodly Knight, clad in a green vesture, +and riding on a great black jennet. And because I love a gallant +horseman, and would fain learn his name and degree, I will follow him +till I find him, even if it be at the world's end."</p> + +<p>And without another word he put spurs to his horse and galloped off in +the direction which the mysterious stranger had taken, leaving Earl St. +Clair alone upon the moorland, his fingers touching the sacred Sign and +his trembling lips muttering prayers for protection.</p> + +<p>For he knew that his friend had been bewitched, and he made up his mind, +brave gentleman that he was, that he would follow him to the world's +end, if need be, and try to deliver him from the spell that had been +cast over him.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Earl Gregory rode on and on, ever following in the wake of the +Knight in green, over moor, and burn, and moss, till he came to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +most desolate region that he had ever been in in his life; where the +wind blew cold, as if from snow-fields, and where the hoar-frost lay +thick and white on the withered grass at his feet.</p> + +<p>And there, in front of him, was a sight from which mortal man might well +shrink back in awe and dread. For he saw an enormous Ring marked out on +the ground, inside of which the grass, instead of being withered and +frozen, was lush, and rank, and green, where hundreds of shadowy Elfin +figures were dancing, clad in loose transparent robes of dull blue, +which seemed to curl and twist round their wearers like snaky wreaths of +smoke.</p> + +<p>These weird Goblins were shouting and singing as they danced, and waving +their arms above their heads, and throwing themselves about on the +ground, for all the world as if they had gone mad; and when they saw +Earl Gregory halt on his horse just outside the Ring they beckoned to +him with their skinny fingers.</p> + +<p>"Come hither, come hither," they shouted; "come tread a measure with us, +and afterwards we will drink to thee out of our Monarch's loving cup."</p> + +<p>And, strange as it may seem, the spell that had been cast over the young +Earl was so powerful that, in spite of his fear, he felt that he must +obey the eldrich summons, and he threw his bridle on his horse's neck +and prepared to join them.</p> + +<p>But just then an old and grizzled Goblin stepped out from among his +companions and approached him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> + +<p>Apparently he dare not leave the charmed Circle, for he stopped at the +edge of it; then, stooping down and pretending to pick up something, he +whispered in a hoarse whisper:</p> + +<p>"I know not whom thou art, nor from whence thou comest, Sir Knight, but +if thou lovest thy life, see to it that thou comest not within this +Ring, nor joinest with us in our feast. Else wilt thou be for ever +undone."</p> + +<p>But Earl Gregory only laughed. "I vowed that I would follow the Green +Knight," he replied, "and I will carry out my vow, even if the venture +leadeth me close to the nethermost world."</p> + +<p>And with these words he stepped over the edge of the Circle, right in +amongst the ghostly dancers.</p> + +<p>At his coming they shouted louder than ever, and danced more madly, and +sang more lustily; then, all at once, a silence fell upon them, and they +parted into two companies, leaving a way through their midst, up which +they signed to the Earl to pass.</p> + +<p>He walked through their ranks till he came to the middle of the Circle; +and there, seated at a table of red marble, was the Knight whom he had +come so far to seek, clad in his grass-green robes. And before him, on +the table, stood a wondrous goblet, fashioned from an emerald, and set +round the rim with blood-red rubies.</p> + +<p>And this cup was filled with heather ale, which foamed up over the brim; +and when the Knight saw Sir Gregory, he lifted it from the table, and +handed it to him with a stately bow, and Sir Gregory, being very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +thirsty, drank.</p> + +<p>And as he drank he noticed that the ale in the goblet never grew less, +but ever foamed up to the edge; and for the first time his heart misgave +him, and he wished that he had never set out on this strange adventure.</p> + +<p>But, alas! the time for regrets had passed, for already a strange +numbness was stealing over his limbs, and a chill pallor was creeping +over his face, and before he could utter a single cry for help the +goblet dropped from his nerveless fingers, and he fell down before the +Elfin King like a dead man.</p> + +<p>Then a great shout of triumph went up from all the company; for if there +was one thing which filled their hearts with joy, it was to entice some +unwary mortal into their Ring and throw their uncanny spell over him, so +that he must needs spend long years in their company.</p> + +<p>But soon their shouts of triumphs began to die away, and they muttered +and whispered to each other with looks of something like fear on their +faces.</p> + +<p>For their keen ears heard a sound which filled their hearts with dread. +It was the sound of human footsteps, which were so free and untrammelled +that they knew at once that the stranger, whoever he was, was as yet +untouched by any charm. And if this were so he might work them ill, and +rescue their captive from them.</p> + +<p>And what they dreaded was true; for it was the brave Earl St. Clair who +approached, fearless and strong because of the Holy Sign he bore.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> + +<p>And as soon as he saw the charmed Ring and the eldrich dancers, he was +about to step over its magic border, when the little grizzled Goblin who +had whispered to Earl Gregory, came and whispered to him also.</p> + +<p>"Alas! alas!" he exclaimed, with a look of sorrow on his wrinkled face, +"hast thou come, as thy companion came, to pay thy toll of years to the +Elfin King? Oh! if thou hast wife or child behind thee, I beseech thee, +by all that thou holdest sacred, to turn back ere it be too late."</p> + +<p>"Who art thou, and from whence hast thou come?" asked the Earl, looking +kindly down at the little creature in front of him.</p> + +<p>"I came from the country that thou hast come from," wailed the Goblin. +"For I was once a mortal man, even as thou. But I set out over the +enchanted moor, and the Elfin King appeared in the guise of a beauteous +Knight, and he looked so brave, and noble, and generous that I followed +him hither, and drank of his heather ale, and now I am doomed to bide +here till seven long years be spent.</p> + +<p>"As for thy friend, Sir Earl, he, too, hath drunk of the accursed +draught, and he now lieth as dead at our lawful Monarch's feet. He will +wake up, 'tis true, but it will be in such a guise as I wear, and to the +bondage with which I am bound."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Is there naught that I can do to rescue him!" cried Earl St. Clair +eagerly, "ere he taketh on him the Elfin shape? I have no fear of the +spell of his cruel captor, for I bear the Sign of One Who is stronger +than he. Speak speedily, little man, for time presseth."</p> + +<p>"There is something that thou couldst do, Sir Earl," whispered the +Goblin, "but to essay it were a desperate attempt. For if thou failest, +then could not even the Power of the Blessed Sign save thee."</p> + +<p>"And what is that?" asked the Earl impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Thou must remain motionless," answered the old man, "in the cold and +frost till dawn break and the hour cometh when they sing Matins in the +Holy Church. Then must thou walk slowly nine times round the edge of the +enchanted Circle, and after that thou must walk boldly across it to the +red marble table where sits the Elfin King. On it thou wilt see an +emerald goblet studded with rubies and filled with heather ale. That +must thou secure and carry away; but whilst thou art doing so let no +word cross thy lips. For this enchanted ground whereon we dance may look +solid to mortal eyes, but in reality it is not so. 'Tis but a quaking +bog, and under it is a great lake, wherein dwelleth a fearsome Monster, +and if thou so much as utter a word while thy foot resteth upon it, thou +wilt fall through the bog and perish in the waters beneath."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/122.png" width="404" height="600" alt="Ravens_Rose" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Two coal-black Ravens Rose in the Air</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> + +<p>So saying the Grisly Goblin stepped back among his companions, leaving +Earl St. Clair standing alone on the outskirts of the charmed Ring.</p> + +<p>There he waited, shivering with cold, through the long, dark hours, till +the grey dawn began to break over the hill tops, and, with its coming, +the Elfin forms before him seemed to dwindle and fade away.</p> + +<p>And at the hour when the sound of the Matin Bell came softly pealing +from across the moor, he began his solemn walk. Round and round the Ring +he paced, keeping steadily on his way, although loud murmurs of anger, +like distant thunder, rose from the Elfin Shades, and even the very +ground seemed to heave and quiver, as if it would shake this bold +intruder from its surface.</p> + +<p>But through the power of the Blessed Sign on his arm Earl St. Clair went +on unhurt.</p> + +<p>When he had finished pacing round the Ring he stepped boldly on to the +enchanted ground, and walked across it; and what was his astonishment to +find that all the ghostly Elves and Goblins whom he had seen, were lying +frozen into tiny blocks of ice, so that he was sore put to it to walk +amongst them without treading upon them.</p> + +<p>And as he approached the marble table the very hairs rose on his head at +the sight of the Elfin King sitting behind it, stiff and stark like his +followers; while in front of him lay the form of Earl Gregory, who had +shared the same fate.</p> + +<p>Nothing stirred, save two coal-black ravens, who sat, one on each side +of the table, as if to guard the emerald goblet, flapping their wings,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +and croaking hoarsely.</p> + +<p>When Earl St. Clair lifted the precious cup, they rose in the air and +circled round his head, screaming with rage, and threatening to dash it +from his hands with their claws; while the frozen Elves, and even their +mighty King himself stirred in their sleep, and half sat up, as if to +lay hands on this presumptuous intruder. But the Power of the Holy Sign +restrained them, else had Earl St. Clair been foiled in his quest.</p> + +<p>As he retraced his steps, awesome and terrible were the sounds that he +heard around him. The ravens shrieked, and the frozen Goblins screamed; +and up from the hidden lake below came the sound of the deep breathing +of the awful Monster who was lurking there, eager for prey.</p> + +<p>But the brave Earl heeded none of these things, but kept steadily +onwards, trusting in the Might of the Sign he bore. And it carried him +safely through all the dangers; and just as the sound of the Matin Bell +was dying away in the morning air he stepped on to solid ground once +more, and flung the enchanted goblet from him.</p> + +<p>And lo! every one of the frozen Elves vanished, along with their King +and his marble table, and nothing was left on the rank green grass save +Earl Gregory, who slowly woke from his enchanted slumber, and stretched +himself, and stood up, shaking in every limb. He gazed vaguely round +him, as if he scarce remembered where he was.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> + +<p>And when, after Earl St. Clair had run to him and had held him in his +arms till his senses returned and the warm blood coursed through his +veins, the two friends returned to the spot where Earl St. Clair had +thrown down the wondrous goblet, they found nothing but a piece of rough +grey whinstone, with a drop of dew hidden in a little crevice which was +hollowed in its side.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 215px;"> +<img src="images/125.png" width="215" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>WHAT TO SAY TO THE NEW MUNE</h2> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">New Mune, true Mune,</span><br /> + <span class="i5">Tell unto me,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">If my ane true love</span><br /> + <span class="i5">He will marry me.</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">If he marry me in haste,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Let me see his bonny face;</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">If he marry me betide,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Let me see his bonnie side;</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">Gin he marry na me ava',</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Turn his back and gae awa.'</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>HABETROT THE SPINSTRESS</h2> + +<p>In byegone days, in an old farmhouse which stood by a river, there lived +a beautiful girl called Maisie. She was tall and straight, with auburn +hair and blue eyes, and she was the prettiest girl in all the valley. +And one would have thought that she would have been the pride of her +mother's heart.</p> + +<p>But, instead of this, her mother used to sigh and shake her head +whenever she looked at her. And why?</p> + +<p>Because, in those days, all men were sensible; and instead of looking +out for pretty girls to be their wives, they looked out for girls who +could cook and spin, and who gave promise of becoming notable +housewives.</p> + +<p>Maisie's mother had been an industrious spinster; but, alas! to her sore +grief and disappointment, her daughter did not take after her.</p> + +<p>The girl loved to be out of doors, chasing butterflies and plucking wild +flowers, far better than sitting at her spinning-wheel. So when her +mother saw one after another of Maisie's companions, who were not nearly +so pretty as she was, getting rich husbands, she sighed and said:</p> + +<p>"Woe's me, child, for methinks no brave wooer will ever pause at our +door while they see thee so idle and thoughtless." But Maisie only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> +laughed.</p> + +<p>At last her mother grew really angry, and one bright Spring morning she +laid down three heads of lint on the table, saying sharply, "I will have +no more of this dallying. People will say that it is my blame that no +wooer comes to seek thee. I cannot have thee left on my hands to be +laughed at, as the idle maid who would not marry. So now thou must work; +and if thou hast not these heads of lint spun into seven hanks of thread +in three days, I will e'en speak to the Mother at St. Mary's Convent, +and thou wilt go there and learn to be a nun."</p> + +<p>Now, though Maisie was an idle girl, she had no wish to be shut up in a +nunnery; so she tried not to think of the sunshine outside, but sat down +soberly with her distaff.</p> + +<p>But, alas! she was so little accustomed to work that she made but slow +progress; and although she sat at the spinning-wheel all day, and never +once went out of doors, she found at night that she had only spun half a +hank of yarn.</p> + +<p>The next day it was even worse, for her arms ached so much she could +only work very slowly. That night she cried herself to sleep; and next +morning, seeing that it was quite hopeless to expect to get her task +finished, she threw down her distaff in despair, and ran out of doors.</p> + +<p>Near the house was a deep dell, through which ran a tiny stream. Maisie +loved this dell, the flowers grew so abundantly there.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> + +<p>This morning she ran down to the edge of the stream, and seated herself +on a large stone. It was a glorious morning, the hazel trees were newly +covered with leaves, and the branches nodded over her head, and showed +like delicate tracery against the blue sky. The primroses and +sweet-scented violets peeped out from among the grass, and a little +water wagtail came and perched on a stone in the middle of the stream, +and bobbed up and down, till it seemed as if he were nodding to Maisie, +and as if he were trying to say to her, "Never mind, cheer up."</p> + +<p>But the poor girl was in no mood that morning to enjoy the flowers and +the birds. Instead of watching them, as she generally did, she hid her +face in her hands, and wondered what would become of her. She rocked +herself to and fro, as she thought how terrible it would be if her +mother fulfilled her threat and shut her up in the Convent of St. Mary, +with the grave, solemn-faced sisters, who seemed as if they had +completely forgotten what it was like to be young, and run about in the +sunshine, and laugh, and pick the fresh Spring flowers.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I could not do it, I could not do it," she cried at last. "It would +kill me to be a nun."</p> + +<p>"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun?" asked a +queer, cracked voice quite close to her.</p> + +<p>Maisie jumped up, and stood staring in front of her as if she had been +moonstruck. For, just across the stream from where she had been sitting, +there was a curious boulder, with a round hole in the middle of it—for +all the world like a big apple with the core taken out.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 418px;"> +<img src="images/130.png" width="418" height="600" alt="Seated on this stone was the queerest Little old Woman." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Seated on this stone was the queerest Little old Woman.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> + +<p>Maisie knew it well; she had often sat upon it, and wondered how the +funny hole came to be there.</p> + +<p>It was no wonder that she stared, for, seated on this stone, was the +queerest little old woman that she had ever seen in her life. Indeed, +had it not been for her silver hair, and the white mutch with the big +frill that she wore on her head, Maisie would have taken her for a +little girl, she wore such a very short skirt, only reaching down to her +knees.</p> + +<p>Her face, inside the frill of her cap, was round, and her cheeks were +rosy, and she had little black eyes, which twinkled merrily as she +looked at the startled maiden. On her shoulders was a black and white +checked shawl, and on her legs, which she dangled over the edge of the +boulder, she wore black silk stockings and the neatest little shoes, +with great silver buckles.</p> + +<p>In fact, she would have been quite a pretty old lady had it not been for +her lips, which were very long and very thick, and made her look quite +ugly in spite of her rosy cheeks and black eyes. Maisie stood and looked +at her for such a long time in silence that she repeated her question.</p> + +<p>"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun? More likely +that some gallant gentleman should want to make a bride of thee."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, no," answered Maisie, "my mother says no gentleman would look at me +because I cannot spin."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense," said the tiny woman. "Spinning is all very well for old +folks like me—my lips, as thou seest, are long and ugly because I have +spun so much, for I always wet my fingers with them, the easier to draw +the thread from the distaff. No, no, take care of thy beauty, child; do +not waste it over the spinning-wheel, nor yet in a nunnery."</p> + +<p>"If my mother only thought as thou dost," replied the girl sadly; and, +encouraged by the old woman's kindly face, she told her the whole story.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the old Dame, "I do not like to see pretty girls weep; what +if I were able to help thee, and spin the lint for thee?"</p> + +<p>Maisie thought that this offer was too good to be true; but her new +friend bade her run home and fetch the lint; and I need not tell you +that she required no second bidding.</p> + +<p>When she returned she handed the bundle to the little lady, and was +about to ask her where she should meet her in order to get the thread +from her when it was spun, when a sudden noise behind her made her look +round.</p> + +<p>She saw nothing; but what was her horror and surprise when she turned +back again, to find that the old woman had vanished entirely, lint and +all.</p> + +<p>She rubbed her eyes, and looked all round, but she was nowhere to be +seen. The girl was utterly bewildered. She wondered if she could have +been dreaming, but no that could not be, there were her footprints<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +leading up the bank and down again, where she had gone for the lint, and +brought it back, and there was the mark of her foot, wet with dew, on a +stone in the middle of the stream, where she had stood when she had +handed the lint up to the mysterious little stranger.</p> + +<p>What was she to do now? What would her mother say when, in addition to +not having finished the task that had been given her, she had to confess +to having lost the greater part of the lint also? She ran up and down +the little dell, hunting amongst the bushes, and peeping into every nook +and cranny of the bank where the little old woman might have hidden +herself. It was all in vain; and at last, tired out with the search, she +sat down on the stone once more, and presently fell fast asleep.</p> + +<p>When she awoke it was evening. The sun had set, and the yellow glow on +the western horizon was fast giving place to the silvery light of the +moon. She was sitting thinking of the curious events of the day, and +gazing at the great boulder opposite, when it seemed to her as if a +distant murmur of voices came from it.</p> + +<p>With one bound she crossed the stream, and clambered on to the stone. +She was right.</p> + +<p>Someone was talking underneath it, far down in the ground. She put her +ear close to the stone, and listened.</p> + +<p>The voice of the queer little old woman came up through the hole. "Ho, +ho, my pretty little wench little knows that my name is Habetrot."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> + +<p>Full of curiosity, Maisie put her eye to the opening, and the strangest +sight that she had ever seen met her gaze. She seemed to be looking +through a telescope into a wonderful little valley. The trees there were +brighter and greener than any that she had ever seen before and there +were beautiful flowers, quite different from the flowers that grew in +her country. The little valley was carpeted with the most exquisite +moss, and up and down it walked her tiny friend, busily engaged in +spinning.</p> + +<p>She was not alone, for round her were a circle of other little old +women, who were seated on large white stones, and they were all spinning +away as fast as they could.</p> + +<p>Occasionally one would look up, and then Maisie saw that they all seemed +to have the same long, thick lips that her friend had. She really felt +very sorry, as they all looked exceedingly kind, and might have been +pretty had it not been for this defect.</p> + +<p>One of the Spinstresses sat by herself, and was engaged in winding the +thread, which the others had spun, into hanks. Maisie did not think that +this little lady looked so nice as the others. She was dressed entirely +in grey, and had a big hooked nose, and great horn spectacles. She +seemed to be called Slantlie Mab, for Maisie heard Habetrot address her +by that name, telling her to make haste and tie up all the thread, for +it was getting late, and it was time that the young girl had it to +carry home to her mother.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> + +<p>Maisie did not quite know what to do, or how she was to get the thread, +for she did not like to shout down the hole in case the queer little old +woman should be angry at being watched.</p> + +<p>However, Habetrot, as she had called herself, suddenly appeared on the +path beside her, with the hanks of thread in her hand.</p> + +<p>"Oh, thank you, thank you," cried Maisie. "What can I do to show you how +thankful I am?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," answered the Fairy. "For I do not work for reward. Only do +not tell your mother who span the thread for thee."</p> + +<p>It was now late, and Maisie lost no time in running home with the +precious thread upon her shoulder. When she walked into the kitchen she +found that her mother had gone to bed. She seemed to have had a busy +day, for there, hanging up in the wide chimney, in order to dry, were +seven large black puddings.</p> + +<p>The fire was low, but bright and clear; and the sight of it and the +sight of the puddings suggested to Maisie that she was very hungry, and +that fried black puddings were very good.</p> + +<p>Flinging the thread down on the table, she hastily pulled off her shoes, +so as not to make a noise and awake her mother; and, getting down the +frying-pan from the wall, she took one of the black puddings from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +chimney, and fried it, and ate it.</p> + +<p>Still she felt hungry, so she took another, and then another, till they +were all gone. Then she crept upstairs to her little bed and fell fast +asleep.</p> + +<p>Next morning her mother came downstairs before Maisie was awake. In +fact, she had not been able to sleep much for thinking of her daughter's +careless ways, and had been sorrowfully making up her mind that she must +lose no time in speaking to the Abbess of St. Mary's about this idle +girl of hers.</p> + +<p>What was her surprise to see on the table the seven beautiful hanks of +thread, while, on going to the chimney to take down a black pudding to +fry for breakfast, she found that every one of them had been eaten. She +<ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'did did'">did</ins> not know whether to laugh for joy that her daughter had been so +industrious, or to cry for vexation because all her lovely black +puddings—which she had expected would last for a week at least—were +gone. In her bewilderment she sang out:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"My daughter's spun se'en, se'en, se'en,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">My daughter's eaten se'en, se'en, se'en,</span><br /> + <span class="i3">And all before daylight."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>Now I forgot to tell you that, about half a mile from where the old +farmhouse stood, there was a beautiful Castle, where a very rich young +nobleman lived. He was both good and brave, as well as rich; and all +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> mothers who had pretty daughters used to wish that he would come +their way, some day, and fall in love with one of them. But he had never +done so, and everyone said, "He is too grand to marry any country girl. +One day he will go away to London Town and marry a Duke's daughter."</p> + +<p>Well, this fine spring morning it chanced that this young nobleman's +favourite horse had lost a shoe, and he was so afraid that any of the +grooms might ride it along the hard road, and not on the soft grass at +the side, that he said that he would take it to the smithy himself.</p> + +<p>So it happened that he was riding along by Maisie's garden gate as her +mother came into the garden singing these strange lines.</p> + +<p>He stopped his horse, and said good-naturedly, "Good day, Madam; and may +I ask why you sing such a strange song?"</p> + +<p>Maisie's mother made no answer, but turned and walked into the house; +and the young nobleman, being very anxious to know what it all meant, +hung his bridle over the garden gate, and followed her.</p> + +<p>She pointed to the seven hanks of thread lying on the table, and said, +"This hath my daughter done before breakfast."</p> + +<p>Then the young man asked to see the Maiden who was so industrious, and +her mother went and pulled Maisie from behind the door, where she had +hidden herself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> when the stranger came in; for she had come downstairs +while her mother was in the garden.</p> + +<p>She looked so lovely in her fresh morning gown of blue gingham, with her +auburn hair curling softly round her brow, and her face all over blushes +at the sight of such a gallant young man, that he quite lost his heart, +and fell in love with her on the spot.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said he, "my dear mother always told me to try and find a wife who +was both pretty and useful, and I have succeeded beyond my expectations. +Do not let our marriage, I pray thee, good Dame, be too long deferred."</p> + +<p>Maisie's mother was overjoyed, as you may imagine, at this piece of +unexpected good fortune, and busied herself in getting everything ready +for the wedding; but Maisie herself was a little perplexed.</p> + +<p>She was afraid that she would be expected to spin a great deal when she +was married and lived at the Castle, and if that were so, her husband +was sure to find out that she was not really such a good spinstress as +he thought she was.</p> + +<p>In her trouble she went down, the night before her wedding, to the great +boulder by the stream in the glen, and, climbing up on it, she laid her +head against the stone, and called softly down the hole, "Habetrot, dear +Habetrot."</p> + +<p>The little old woman soon appeared, and, with twinkling eyes, asked her +what was troubling her so much just when she should have been so happy. +And Maisie told her.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Trouble not thy pretty head about that," answered the Fairy, "but come +here with thy bridegroom next week, when the moon is full, and I warrant +that he will never ask thee to sit at a spinning-wheel again."</p> + +<p>Accordingly, after all the wedding festivities were over and the couple +had settled down at the Castle, on the appointed evening Maisie +suggested to her husband that they should take a walk together in the +moonlight.</p> + +<p>She was very anxious to see what the little Fairy would do to help her; +for that very day he had been showing her all over her new home, and he +had pointed out to her the beautiful new spinning-wheel made of ebony, +which had belonged to his mother, saying proudly, "To-morrow, little +one, I shall bring some lint from the town, and then the maids will see +what clever little fingers my wife has."</p> + +<p>Maisie had blushed as red as a rose as she bent over the lovely wheel, +and then felt quite sick, as she wondered whatever she would do if +Habetrot did not help her.</p> + +<p>So on this particular evening, after they had walked in the garden, she +said that she should like to go down to the little dell and see how the +stream looked by moonlight. So to the dell they went.</p> + +<p>As soon as they came to the boulder Maisie put her head against it and +whispered, "Habetrot, dear Habetrot"; and in an instant the little old +woman appeared.</p> + +<p>She bowed in a stately way, as if they were both strangers to her, and +said, "Welcome, Sir and Madam, to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> Spinsters' Dell." And then she +tapped on the root of a great oak tree with a tiny wand which she held +in her hand, and a green door, which Maisie never remembered having +noticed before, flew open, and they followed the Fairy through it into +the other valley which Maisie had seen through the hole in the great +stone.</p> + +<p>All the little old women were sitting on their white chucky stones busy +at work, only they seemed far uglier than they had seemed at first; and +Maisie noticed that the reason for this was, that, instead of wearing +red skirts and white mutches as they had done before, they now wore caps +and dresses of dull grey, and instead of looking happy, they all seemed +to be trying who could look most miserable, and who could push out their +long lips furthest, as they wet their fingers to draw the thread from +their distaffs.</p> + +<p>"Save us and help us! What a lot of hideous old witches," exclaimed her +husband. "Whatever could this funny old woman mean by bringing a pretty +child like thee to look at them? Thou wilt dream of them for a week and +a day. Just look at their lips"; and, pushing Maisie behind him, he went +up to one of them and asked her what had made her mouth grow so ugly.</p> + +<p>She tried to tell him, but all the sound that he could hear was +something that sounded like SPIN-N-N.</p> + +<p>He asked another one, and her answer sounded like this: SPAN-N-N. He +tried a third, and hers sounded like SPUN-N-N.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> + +<p>He seized Maisie by the hand and hurried her through the green door. "By +my troth," he said, "my mother's spinning-wheel may turn to gold ere I +let thee touch it, if this is what spinning leads to. Rather than that +thy pretty face should be spoilt, the linen chests at the Castle may get +empty, and remain so for ever!"</p> + +<p>So it came to pass that Maisie could be out of doors all day wandering +about with her husband, and laughing and singing to her heart's content. +And whenever there was lint at the Castle to be spun, it was carried +down to the big boulder in the dell and left there, and Habetrot and her +companions spun it, and there was no more trouble about the matter.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 193px;"> +<img src="images/141.png" width="193" height="250" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>NIPPIT FIT AND CLIPPIT FIT</h2> + +<p>In a country, far across the sea, there once dwelt a great and mighty +Prince. He lived in a grand Castle, which was full of beautiful +furniture, and curious and rare ornaments. And among them was a lovely +little glass shoe, which would only fit the tiniest foot imaginable.</p> + +<p>And as the Prince was looking at it one day, it struck him what a dainty +little lady she would need to be who wore such a very small shoe. And, +as he liked dainty people, he made up his mind that he would never marry +until he found a maiden who could wear the shoe, and that, when he found +her, he would ask her to be his wife.</p> + +<p>And he called all his Lords and Courtiers to him, and told them of the +determination that he had come to, and asked them to help him in his +quest.</p> + +<p>And after they had taken counsel together they summoned a trusty Knight, +and appointed him the Prince's Ambassador; and told him to take the +slipper, and mount a fleet-footed horse, and ride up and down the whole +of the Kingdom until he found a lady whom it would fit.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> + +<p>So the Ambassador put the little shoe carefully in his pocket and set +out on his errand.</p> + +<p>He rode, and he rode, and he rode, going to every town and castle that +came in his way, and summoning all the ladies to appear before him to +try on the shoe. And, as he caused a Proclamation to be made that +whoever could wear it should be the Prince's Bride, I need not tell you +that all the ladies in the country-side flocked to wherever the +Ambassador chanced to be staying, and begged leave to try on the +slipper.</p> + +<p>But they were all disappointed, for not one of them, try as she would, +could make her foot small enough to go into the Fairy Shoe; and there +were many bitter tears shed in secret, when they returned home, by +countless fair ladies who prided themselves on the smallness of their +feet, and who had set out full of lively expectation that they would be +the successful competitors.</p> + +<p>At last the Ambassador arrived at a house where a well-to-do Laird had +lived. But the Laird was dead now, and there was nobody left but his +wife and two daughters, who had grown poor of late, and who had to work +hard for their living.</p> + +<p>One of the daughters was haughty and insolent; the other was little, and +young, and modest, and sweet.</p> + +<p>When the Ambassador rode into the courtyard of this house, and, holding +out the shoe, asked if there were any fair ladies there who would like +to try it on, the elder sister, who always thought a great deal of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> +herself, ran forward, and said that she would do so, while the younger +girl just shook her head and went on with her work. "For," said she to +herself, "though my feet are so little that they might go into the +slipper, what would I do as the wife of a great Prince? Folk would just +laugh at me, and say that I was not fit for the position. No, no, I am +far better to bide as I am."</p> + +<p>So the Ambassador gave the glass shoe to the elder sister, who carried +it away to her own room; and presently, to every one's astonishment, +came back wearing it on her foot.</p> + +<p>It is true that her face was very white, and that she walked with a +little limp; but no one noticed these things except her younger sister, +and she only shook her wise little head, and said nothing.</p> + +<p>The Prince's Ambassador was delighted that he had at last found a wife +for his master, and he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed to +tell him the good news.</p> + +<p>When the Prince heard of the success of his errand, he ordered all his +Courtiers to be ready to accompany him next day when he went to bring +home his Bride.</p> + +<p>You can fancy what excitement there was at the Laird's house when the +gallant company arrived, with their Prince at their head, to greet the +lady who was to be their Princess.</p> + +<p>The old mother and the plain-looking maid-of-all-work ran hither and +thither, fetching such meat and drink as the house could boast to set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +before their high-born visitors, while the bonnie little sister went and +hid herself behind a great pot which stood in the corner of the +courtyard, and which was used for boiling hen's meat.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 423px;"> +<img src="images/145.png" width="423" height="400" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>She knew that her foot was the smallest in the house; and something told +her that if the Prince once got a glimpse of her he would not be content +till she had tried on the slipper.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the selfish elder sister did not help at all, but ran up to +her chamber, and decked herself out in all the fine clothes that she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +possessed before she came downstairs to meet the Prince.</p> + +<p>And when all the Knights and Courtiers had drunk a stirrup-cup, and +wished Good Luck to their Lord and his Bride, she was lifted up behind +the Prince on his horse, and rode off so full of her own importance, +that she even forgot to say good-bye to her mother and sister.</p> + +<p>Alas! alas! pride must have a fall. For the cavalcade had not proceeded +very far when a little bird which was perched on a branch of a bush by +the roadside sang out:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Nippit fit, and clippit fit, behind the King rides,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">But pretty fit, and little fit, ahint the caldron hides."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"What is this that the birdie says?" cried the Prince, who, if the truth +be told, did not feel altogether satisfied with the Bride whom fortune +had bestowed upon him. "Hast thou another sister, Madam?"</p> + +<p>"Only a little one," murmured the lady, who liked ill the way in which +things seemed to be falling out.</p> + +<p>"We will go back and find her," said the Prince firmly, "for when I sent +out the slipper I had no mind that its wearer should nip her foot, and +clip her foot, in order to get it on."</p> + +<p>So the whole party turned back; and when they reached the Laird's house +the Prince ordered a search to be made in the courtyard. And the bonnie +little sister was soon discovered and brought out, all blushes and +confusion, from her hiding-place behind the caldron.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Give her the slipper, and let her try it on," said the Prince, and the +eldest sister was forced to obey. And what was the horror of the +bystanders, as she drew it off, to see that she had cut off the tops of +her toes in order to get it on.</p> + +<p>But it fitted her little sister's foot exactly, without either paring or +clipping; and when the Prince saw that it was so, he lifted the elder +sister down from his horse and lifted the little one up in her place, +and carried her home to his Palace, where the wedding was celebrated +with great rejoicing; and for the rest of their lives they were the +happiest couple in the whole kingdom.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"> +<img src="images/147.png" width="325" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE FAIRIES OF MERLIN'S CRAG</h2> + +<p>About two hundred years ago there was a poor man working as a labourer +on a farm in Lanarkshire. He was what is known as an "Orra Man"; that +is, he had no special work mapped out for him to do, but he was expected +to undertake odd jobs of any kind that happened to turn up.</p> + +<p>One day his master sent him out to cast peats on a piece of moorland +that lay on a certain part of the farm. Now this strip of moorland ran +up at one end to a curiously shaped crag, known as Merlin's Crag, +because, so the country folk said, that famous Enchanter had once taken +up his abode there.</p> + +<p>The man obeyed, and, being a willing fellow, when he arrived at the moor +he set to work with all his might and main. He had lifted quite a +quantity of peat from near the Crag, when he was startled by the +appearance of the very smallest woman that he had ever seen in his life. +She was only about two feet high, and she was dressed in a green gown +and red stockings, and her long yellow hair was not bound by any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> +ribbon, but hung loosely round her shoulders.</p> + +<p>She was such a dainty little creature that the astonished countryman +stopped working, stuck his spade into the ground, and gazed at her in +wonder.</p> + +<p>His wonder increased when she held up one of her tiny fingers and +addressed him in these words: "What wouldst thou think if I were to send +my husband to uncover thy house? You mortals think that you can do aught +that pleaseth you."</p> + +<p>Then, stamping her tiny foot, she added in a voice of command, "Put back +that turf instantly, or thou shalt rue this day."</p> + +<p>Now the poor man had often heard of the Fairy Folk and of the harm that +they could work to unthinking mortals who offended them, so in fear and +trembling he set to work to undo all his labour, and to place every +divot in the exact spot from which he had taken it.</p> + +<p>When he was finished he looked round for his strange visitor, but she +had vanished completely; he could not tell how, nor where. Putting up +his spade, he wended his way homewards, and going straight to his +master, he told him the whole story, and suggested that in future the +peats should be taken from the other end of the moor.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 455px;"> +<img src="images/150.png" width="455" height="600" alt="band of Fairies" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A large band of Fairies dancing Round and Round</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> + +<p>But the master only laughed. He was a strong, hearty man, and had no +belief in Ghosts, or Elves, or Fairies, or any other creature that he +could not see; but although he laughed, he was vexed that his servant +should believe in such things, so to cure him, as he thought, of his +superstition, he ordered him to take a horse and cart and go back at +once, and lift all the peats and bring them to dry in the farm steading.</p> + +<p>The poor man obeyed with much reluctance; and was greatly relieved, as +weeks went on, to find that, in spite of his having done so, no harm +befell him.</p> + +<p>In fact, he began to think that his master was right, and that the whole +thing must have been a dream.</p> + +<p>So matters went smoothly on. Winter passed, and spring, and summer, +until autumn came round once more, and the very day arrived on which the +peats had been lifted the year before.</p> + +<p>That day, as the sun went down, the orra man left the farm to go home to +his cottage, and as his master was pleased with him because he had been +working very hard lately, he had given him a little can of milk as a +present to carry home to his wife.</p> + +<p>So he was feeling very happy, and as he walked along he was humming a +tune to himself. His road took him by the foot of Merlin's Crag, and as +he approached it he was astonished to find himself growing strangely +tired. His eyelids dropped over his eyes as if he were going to sleep, +and his feet grew as heavy as lead.</p> + +<p>"I will sit down and take a rest for a few minutes," he said to +himself; "the road home never seemed so long as it does to-day."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> + +<p>So he sat down on a tuft of grass right under the shadow of the Crag, +and before he knew where he was he had fallen into a deep and heavy +slumber.</p> + +<p>When he awoke it was near midnight, and the moon had risen on the Crag. +And he rubbed his eyes, when by its soft light he became aware of a +large band of Fairies who were dancing round and round him, singing and +laughing, pointing their tiny fingers at him, and shaking their wee +fists in his face.</p> + +<p>The bewildered man rose and tried to walk away from them, but turn in +whichever direction he would the Fairies accompanied him, encircling him +in a magic ring, out of which he could in no wise go.</p> + +<p>At last they stopped, and, with shrieks of elfin laughter, led the +prettiest and daintiest of their companions up to him, and cried, "Tread +a measure, tread a measure, Oh, Man! Then wilt thou not be so eager to +escape from our company."</p> + +<p>Now the poor labourer was but a clumsy dancer, and he held back with a +shamefaced air; but the Fairy who had been chosen to be his partner +reached up and seized his hands, and lo! some strange magic seemed to +enter into his veins, for in a moment he found himself waltzing and +whirling, sliding and bowing, as if he had done nothing else but dance +all his life.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> + +<p>And, strangest thing of all! he forgot about his home and his children; +and he felt so happy that he had no longer the slightest desire to leave +the Fairies' company.</p> + +<p>All night long the merriment went on. The Little Folk danced and danced +as if they were mad, and the farm man danced with them, until at last a +shrill sound came over the moor. It was the cock from the farmyard +crowing its loudest to welcome the dawn.</p> + +<p>In an instant the revelry ceased, and the Fairies, with cries of alarm, +crowded together and rushed towards the Crag, dragging the countryman +along in their midst. As they reached the rock, a mysterious door, which +he never remembered having seen before, opened in it of its own accord, +and shut again with a crash as soon as the Fairy Host had all trooped +through.</p> + +<p>The door led into a large, dimly lighted hall full of tiny couches, and +here the Little Folk sank to rest, tired out with their exertions, while +the good man sat down on a piece of rock in the corner, wondering what +would happen next.</p> + +<p>But there seemed to be some kind of spell thrown over his senses, for +even when the Fairies awoke and began to go about their household +occupations, and to carry out certain curious practices which he had +never seen before, and which, as you will hear, he was forbidden to +speak of afterwards, he was content to sit and watch them, without in +any way attempting to escape.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p> + +<p>As it drew toward evening someone touched his elbow, and he turned round +with a start to see the little woman with the green dress and scarlet +stockings, who had remonstrated with him for lifting the turf the year +before, standing by his side.</p> + +<p>"The divots which thou took'st from the roof of my house have grown once +more," she said, "and once more it is covered with grass; so thou canst +go home again, for justice is satisfied—thy punishment hath lasted long +enough. But first must thou take thy solemn oath never to tell to mortal +ears what thou hast seen whilst thou hast dwelt among us."</p> + +<p>The countryman promised gladly, and took the oath with all due +solemnity. Then the door was opened, and he was at liberty to depart.</p> + +<p>His can of milk was standing on the green, just where he had laid it +down when he went to sleep; and it seemed to him as if it were only +yesternight that the farmer had given it to him.</p> + +<p>But when he reached his home he was speedily undeceived. For his wife +looked at him as if he were a ghost, and the children whom he had left +wee, toddling things were now well-grown boys and girls, who stared at +him as if he had been an utter stranger.</p> + +<p>"Where hast thou been these long, long years?" cried his wife when she +had gathered her wits and seen that it was really he, and not a spirit. +"And how couldst thou find it in thy heart to leave the bairns and me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +alone?"</p> + +<p>And then he knew that the one day he had passed in Fairy-land had lasted +seven whole years, and he realised how heavy the punishment had been +which the Wee Folk had laid upon him.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 190px;"> +<img src="images/155.png" width="190" height="250" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE WEDDING OF ROBIN REDBREAST AND JENNY WREN</h2> + +<p>There was once an old grey Pussy Baudrons, and she went out for a stroll +one Christmas morning to see what she could see. And as she was walking +down the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'burn-side'">burnside</ins> she saw a little Robin Redbreast hopping up and down +on the branches of a briar bush.</p> + +<p>"What a tasty breakfast he would make," thought she to herself. "I must +try to catch him."</p> + +<p>So, "Good morning, Robin Redbreast," quoth she, sitting down on her tail +at the foot of the briar bush and looking up at him. "And where mayest +thou be going so early on this cold winter's day?"</p> + +<p>"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin cheerily, "to sing +him a song this merry Yule morning."</p> + +<p>"That's a pious errand to be travelling on, and I wish you good +success," replied Pussy slyly; "but just hop down a minute before thou +goest, and I will show thee what a bonnie white ring I have round my +neck. 'Tis few cats that are marked like me."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then Robin cocked his head on one side, and looked down on Pussy +Baudrons with a twinkle in his eye. "Ha, ha! grey Pussy Baudrons," he +said. "Ha, ha! for I saw thee worry the little grey mouse, and I have no +wish that thou shouldst worry me."</p> + +<p>And with that he spread his wings and flew away. And he flew, and he +flew, till he lighted on an old sod dyke; and there he saw a greedy old +gled sitting, with all his feathers ruffled up as if he felt cold.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," cried the greedy old gled, who had had +no food since yesterday, and was therefore very hungry. "And where +mayest thou be going to, this cold winter's day?"</p> + +<p>"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin, "to sing to him a +song this merry Yule morning." And he hopped away a yard or two from the +gled, for there was a look in his eye that he did not quite like.</p> + +<p>"Thou art a friendly little fellow," remarked the gled sweetly, "and I +wish thee good luck on thine errand; but ere thou go on, come nearer me, +I prith'ee, and I will show thee what a curious feather I have in my +wing. 'Tis said that no other gled in the country-side hath one like +it."</p> + +<p>"Like enough," rejoined Robin, hopping still further away; "but I will +take thy word for it, without seeing it. For I saw thee pluck the +feathers from the wee lintie, and I have no wish that thou shouldst +pluck the feathers from me. So I will bid thee good day, and go on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +my journey."</p> + +<p>The next place on which he rested was a piece of rock that overhung a +dark, deep glen, and here he saw a sly old fox looking out of his hole +not two yards below him.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," said the sly old fox, who had tried to +steal a fat duck from a farmyard the night before, and had barely +escaped with his life. "And where mayest thou be going so early on this +cold winter's day?"</p> + +<p>"I'm on my road to the King's Palace, to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, giving the same answer that he had given to +the grey Pussy Baudrons and the greedy gled.</p> + +<p>"Thou wilt get a right good welcome, for His Majesty is fond of music," +said the wily fox. "But ere thou go, just come down and have a look at a +black spot which I have on the end of my tail. 'Tis said that there is +not a fox 'twixt here and the Border that hath a spot on his tail like +mine."</p> + +<p>"Very like, very like," replied Robin; "but I chanced to see thee +worrying the wee lambie up on the braeside yonder, and I have no wish +that thou shouldst try thy teeth on me. So I will e'en go on my way to +the King's Palace, and thou canst show the spot on thy tail to the next +passer-by."</p> + +<p>So the little Robin Redbreast flew away once more, and never rested +till he came to a bonnie valley with a little burn running through it,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> +and there he saw a rosy-cheeked boy sitting on a log eating a piece of +bread and butter. And he perched on a branch and watched him.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Robin Redbreast; and where mayest thou be going so early +on this cold winter's day?" asked the boy eagerly; for he was making a +collection of stuffed birds, and he had still to get a Robin Redbreast.</p> + +<p>"I'm on my way to the King's Palace to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, hopping down to the ground, and keeping one +eye fixed on the bread and butter.</p> + +<p>"Come a bit nearer, Robin," said the boy, "and I will give thee some +crumbs."</p> + +<p>"Na, na, my wee man," chirped the cautious little bird; "for I saw thee +catch the goldfinch, and I have no wish to give thee the chance to catch +me."</p> + +<p>At last he came to the King's Palace and lighted on the window-sill, and +there he sat and sang the very sweetest song that he could sing; for he +felt so happy because it was the Blessed Yuletide, that he wanted +everyone else to be happy too. And the King and the Queen were so +delighted with his song, as he peeped in at them at their open window, +that they asked each other what they could give him as a reward for his +kind thought in coming so far to greet them.</p> + +<p>"We can give him a wife," replied the Queen, "who will go home with him +and help him to build his nest."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And who wilt thou give him for a bride?" asked the King. "Methinks +'twould need to be a very tiny lady to match his size."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 401px;"> +<img src="images/160.png" width="401" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>"Why, Jenny Wren, of course," answered the Queen. "She hath looked +somewhat dowie of late, this will be the very thing to brighten her +up."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then the King clapped his hands, and praised his wife for her happy +thought, and wondered that the idea had not struck him before.</p> + +<p>So Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren were married, amid great rejoicings, +at the King's Palace; and the King and Queen and all the fine Nobles +and Court Ladies danced at their wedding. Then they flew away home to +Robin's own country-side, and built their nest in the roots of the briar +bush, where he had spoken to Pussie Baudrons. And you will be glad to +hear that Jenny Wren proved the best little housewife in the world.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 172px;"> +<img src="images/161.png" width="172" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE DWARFIE STONE</h2> + +<p>Far up in a green valley in the Island of Hoy stands an immense boulder. +It is hollow inside, and the natives of these northern islands call it +the Dwarfie Stone, because long centuries ago, so the legend has it, +Snorro the Dwarf lived there.</p> + +<p>Nobody knew where Snorro came from, or how long he had dwelt in the dark +chamber inside the Dwarfie Stone. All that they knew about him was that +he was a little man, with a queer, twisted, deformed body and a face of +marvellous beauty, which never seemed to look any older, but was always +smiling and young.</p> + +<p>Men said that this was because Snorro's father had been a Fairy, and not +a denizen of earth, who had bequeathed to his son the gift of perpetual +youth, but nobody knew whether this were true or not, for the Dwarf had +inhabited the Dwarfie Stone long before the oldest man or woman in Hoy +had been born.</p> + +<p>One thing was certain, however: he had inherited from his mother, whom +all men agreed had been mortal, the dangerous qualities of vanity and +ambition. And the longer he lived the more vain and ambitious did he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> +become, until at last he always carried a mirror of polished steel round +his neck, into which he constantly looked in order to see the reflection +of his handsome face.</p> + +<p>And he would not attend to the country people who came to seek his help, +unless they bowed themselves humbly before him and spoke to him as if he +were a King.</p> + +<p>I say that the country people sought his help, for he spent his time, or +appeared to spend it, in collecting herbs and simples on the hillsides, +which he carried home with him to his dark abode, and distilled +medicines and potions from them, which he sold to his neighbours at +wondrous high prices.</p> + +<p>He was also the possessor of a wonderful leathern-covered book, clasped +with clasps of brass, over which he would pore for hours together, and +out of which he would tell the simple Islanders their fortunes, if they +would.</p> + +<p>For they feared the book almost as much as they feared Snorro himself, +for it was whispered that it had once belonged to Odin, and they crossed +themselves for protection as they named the mighty Enchanter.</p> + +<p>But all the time they never guessed the real reason why Snorro chose to +live in the Dwarfie Stone.</p> + +<p>I will tell you why he did so. Not very far from the Stone there was a +curious hill, shaped exactly like a wart. It was known as the Wart Hill +of Hoy, and men said that somewhere in the side of it was hidden a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +wonderful carbuncle, which, when it was found, would bestow on its +finder marvellous magic gifts—Health, Wealth, and Happiness. +Everything, in fact, that a human being could desire.</p> + +<p>And the curious thing about this carbuncle was, that it was said that it +could be seen at certain times, if only the people who were looking for +it were at the right spot at the right moment.</p> + +<p>Now Snorro had made up his mind that he would find this wonderful stone, +so, while he pretended to spend all his time in reading his great book +or distilling medicines from his herbs, he was really keeping a keen +look-out during his wanderings, noting every tuft of grass or piece of +rock under which it might be hidden. And at night, when everyone else +was asleep, he would creep out, with pickaxe and spade, to turn over the +rocks or dig over the turf, in the hope of finding the long-sought-for +treasure underneath them.</p> + +<p>He was always accompanied on these occasions by an enormous grey-headed +Raven, who lived in the cave along with him, and who was his bosom +friend and companion. The Islanders feared this bird of ill omen as +much, perhaps, as they feared its Master; for, although they went to +consult Snorro in all their difficulties and perplexities, and bought +medicines and love-potions from him, they always looked upon him with a +certain dread, feeling that there was something weird and uncanny<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +about him.</p> + +<p>Now, at the time we are speaking of, Orkney was governed by two Earls, +who were half-brothers. Paul, the elder, was a tall, handsome man, with +dark hair, and eyes like sloes. All the country people loved him, for he +was so skilled in knightly exercises, and had such a sweet and loving +nature, that no one could help being fond of him. Old people's eyes +would brighten at the sight of him, and the little children would run +out to greet him as he rode by their mothers' doors.</p> + +<p>And this was the more remarkable because, with all his winning manner, +he had such a lack of conversation that men called him Paul the Silent, +or Paul the Taciturn.</p> + +<p>Harold, on the other hand, was as different from his brother as night is +from day. He was fair-haired and blue-eyed, and he had gained for +himself the name of Harold the Orator, because he was always free of +speech and ready with his tongue.</p> + +<p>But for all this he was not a favourite. For he was haughty, and +jealous, and quick-tempered, and the old folks' eyes did not brighten at +the sight of him, and the babes, instead of toddling out to greet him, +hid their faces in their mothers' skirts when they saw him coming.</p> + +<p>Harold could not help knowing that the people liked his silent brother +best, and the knowledge made him jealous of him, so a coldness sprang up +between them.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now it chanced, one summer, that Earl Harold went on a visit to the King +of Scotland, accompanied by his mother, the Countess Helga, and her +sister, the Countess Fraukirk.</p> + +<p>And while he was at Court he met a charming young Irish lady, the Lady +Morna, who had come from Ireland to Scotland to attend upon the Scottish +Queen. She was so sweet, and good, and gentle that Earl Harold's heart +was won, and he made up his mind that she, and only she, should be his +bride.</p> + +<p>But although he had paid her much attention, Lady Morna had sometimes +caught glimpses of his jealous temper; she had seen an evil expression +in his eyes, and had heard him speak sharply to his servants, and she +had no wish to marry him. So, to his great amazement, she refused the +honour which he offered her, and told him that she would prefer to +remain as she was.</p> + +<p>Earl Harold ground his teeth in silent rage, but he saw that it was no +use pressing his suit at that moment. So what he could not obtain by his +own merits he determined to obtain by guile.</p> + +<p>Accordingly he begged his mother to persuade the Lady Morna to go back +with them on a visit, hoping that when she was alone with him in Orkney, +he would be able to overcome her prejudice against him, and induce her +to become his wife. And all the while he never remembered his brother +Paul; or, if he did, he never thought it possible that he could be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +his rival.</p> + +<p>But that was just the very thing that happened. The Lady Morna, thinking +no evil, accepted the Countess Helga's invitation, and no sooner had the +party arrived back in Orkney than Paul, charmed with the grace and +beauty of the fair Irish Maiden, fell head over ears in love with her. +And the Lady Morna, from the very first hour that she saw him, returned +his love.</p> + +<p>Of course this state of things could not long go on hidden, and when +Harold realised what had happened his anger and jealousy knew no bounds. +Seizing a dagger, he rushed up to the turret where his brother was +sitting in his private apartments, and threatened to stab him to the +heart if he did not promise to give up all thoughts of winning the +lovely stranger.</p> + +<p>But Paul met him with pleasant words.</p> + +<p>"Calm thyself, Brother," he said. "It is true that I love the lady, but +that is no proof that I shall win her. Is it likely that she will choose +me, whom all men name Paul the Silent, when she hath the chance of +marrying you, whose tongue moves so swiftly that to you is given the +proud title of Harold the Orator?"</p> + +<p>At these words Harold's vanity was flattered, and he thought that, after +all, his step-brother was right, and that he had a very small chance, +with his meagre gift of speech, of being successful in his suit. So he +threw down his dagger, and, shaking hands with him, begged him to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +pardon his unkind thoughts, and went down the winding stair again in +high good-humour with himself and all the world.</p> + +<p>By this time it was coming near to the Feast of Yule, and at that +Festival it was the custom for the Earl and his Court to leave Kirkwall +for some weeks, and go to the great Palace of Orphir, nine miles +distant. And in order to see that everything was ready, Earl Paul took +his departure some days before the others.</p> + +<p>The evening before he left he chanced to find the Lady Morna sitting +alone in one of the deep windows of the great hall. She had been +weeping, for she was full of sadness at the thought of his departure; +and at the sight of her distress the kind-hearted young Earl could no +longer contain himself, but, folding her in his arms, he whispered to +her how much he loved her, and begged her to promise to be his wife.</p> + +<p>She agreed willingly. Hiding her rosy face on his shoulder, she +confessed that she had loved him from the very first day that she had +seen him; and ever since that moment she had determined that, if she +could not wed him, she would wed no other man.</p> + +<p>For a little time they sat together, rejoicing in their new-found +happiness. Then Earl Paul sprang to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Let us go and tell the good news to my mother and my brother," he said. +"Harold may be disappointed at first, for I know, Sweetheart, he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +fain have had thee for his own. But his good heart will soon overcome +all that, and he will rejoice with us also."</p> + +<p>But the Lady Morna shook her head. She knew, better than her lover, what +Earl Harold's feeling would be; and she would fain put off the evil +hour.</p> + +<p>"Let us hold our peace till after Yule," she pleaded. "It will be a joy +to keep our secret to ourselves for a little space; there will be time +enough then to let all the world know."</p> + +<p>Rather reluctantly, Earl Paul agreed; and next day he set off for the +Palace at Orphir, leaving his lady-love behind him.</p> + +<p>Little he guessed the danger he was in! For, all unknown to him, his +step-aunt, Countess Fraukirk, had chanced to be in the hall, the evening +before, hidden behind a curtain, and she had overheard every word that +Morna and he had spoken, and her heart was filled with black rage.</p> + +<p>For she was a hard, ambitious woman, and she had always hated the young +Earl, who was no blood-relation to her, and who stood in the way of his +brother, her own nephew; for, if Paul were only dead, Harold would be +the sole Earl of Orkney.</p> + +<p>And now that he had stolen the heart of the Lady Morna, whom her own +nephew loved, her hate and anger knew no bounds. She had hastened off to +her sister's chamber as soon as the lovers had parted; and there the two +women had remained talking together till the chilly dawn broke in the +sky.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 405px;"> +<img src="images/170.png" width="405" height="600" alt="Meredith Williams." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +M. Meredith Williams.<br /> +Countess Fraukirk ... hidden behind a curtain ... overheard every +word.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> + +<p>Next day a boat went speeding over the narrow channel of water that +separates Pomona (on the mainland) from Hoy. In it sat a woman, but who +she was, or what she was like, no one could say, for she was covered +from head to foot with a black cloak, and her face was hidden behind a +thick, dark veil.</p> + +<p>Snorro the Dwarf knew her, even before she laid aside her trappings, for +Countess Fraukirk was no stranger to him. In the course of her long life +she had often had occasion to seek his aid to help her in her evil +deeds, and she had always paid him well for his services in yellow gold. +He therefore welcomed her gladly; but when he had heard the nature of +her errand his smiling face grew grave again, and he shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I have served thee well, Lady, in the past," he said, "but methinks +that this thing goeth beyond my courage. For to compass an Earl's death +is a weighty matter, especially when he is so well beloved as is the +Earl Paul.</p> + +<p>"Thou knowest why I have taken up my abode in this lonely spot—how I +hope some day to light upon the magic carbuncle. Thou knowest also how +the people fear me, and hate me too, forsooth. And if the young Earl +died, and suspicion fell on me, I must needs fly the Island, for my life +would not be worth a grain of sand. Then my chance of success would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +gone. Nay! I cannot do it, Lady; I cannot do it."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/172.png" width="600" height="519" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>But the wily Countess offered him much gold, and bribed him higher and +higher, first with wealth, then with success, and lastly she promised to +obtain for him a high post at the Court of the King of Scotland; and at +that his ambition stirred within him, his determination gave way, and he +consented to do what she asked.</p> + +<p>"I will summon my magic loom," he said, "and weave a piece of cloth of +finest texture and of marvellous beauty; and before I weave it I will so +poison the thread with a magic potion that, when it is fashioned into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> +a garment, whoever puts it on will die ere he hath worn it many minutes."</p> + +<p>"Thou art a clever knave," answered the Countess, a cruel smile lighting +up her evil face, "and thou shalt be rewarded. Let me have a couple of +yards of this wonderful web, and I will make a bonnie waistcoat for my +fine young Earl and give it to him as a <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Yule-tide'">Yuletide</ins> gift. Then I reckon +that he will not see the year out."</p> + +<p>"That will he not," said Dwarf Snorro, with a malicious grin; and the +two parted, after arranging that the piece of cloth should be delivered +at the Palace of Orphir on the day before Christmas Eve.</p> + +<p>Now, when the Countess Fraukirk had been away upon her wicked errand, +strange things were happening at the Castle at Kirkwall. For Harold, +encouraged by his brother's absence, offered his heart and hand once +more to the Lady Morna. Once more she refused him, and in order to make +sure that the scene should not be repeated, she told him that she had +plighted her troth to his brother. When he heard that this was so, rage +and fury were like to devour him. Mad with anger, he rushed from her +presence, flung himself upon his horse, and rode away in the direction +of the sea shore.</p> + +<p>While he was galloping wildly along, his eyes fell on the snow-clad +hills of Hoy rising up across the strip of sea that divided the one +island from the other. And his thoughts flew at once to Snorro the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +Dwarf, who he had had occasion, as well as his step-aunt, to visit in +bygone days.</p> + +<p>"I have it," he cried. "Stupid fool that I was not to think of it at +once. I will go to Snorro, and buy from him a love-potion, which will +make my Lady Morna hate my precious brother and turn her thoughts kindly +towards me."</p> + +<p>So he made haste to hire a boat, and soon he was speeding over the +tossing waters on his way to the Island of Hoy. When he arrived there he +hurried up the lonely valley to where the Dwarfie Stone stood, and he +had no difficulty in finding its uncanny occupant, for Snorro was +standing at the hole that served as a door, his raven on his shoulder, +gazing placidly at the setting sun.</p> + +<p>A curious smile crossed his face when, hearing the sound of approaching +footsteps, he turned round and his eyes fell on the young noble.</p> + +<p>"What bringeth thee here, Sir Earl?" he asked gaily, for he scented more +gold.</p> + +<p>"I come for a love-potion," said Harold; and without more ado he told +the whole story to the Wizard. "I will pay thee for it," he added, "if +thou wilt give it to me quickly."</p> + +<p>Snorro looked at him from head to foot. "Blind must the maiden be, Sir +Orator," he said, "who needeth a love-potion to make her fancy so +gallant a Knight."</p> + +<p>Earl Harold laughed angrily. "It is easier to catch a sunbeam than a +woman's roving fancy," he replied. "I have no time for jesting. For,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> +hearken, old man, there is a proverb that saith, 'Time and tide wait for +no man,' so I need not expect the tide to wait for me. The potion I must +have, and that instantly."</p> + +<p>Snorro saw that he was in earnest, so without a word he entered his +dwelling, and in a few minutes returned with a small phial in his hand, +which was full of a rosy liquid.</p> + +<p>"Pour the contents of this into the Lady Morna's wine-cup," he said, +"and I warrant thee that before four-and-twenty hours have passed she +will love thee better than thou lovest her now."</p> + +<p>Then he waved his hand, as if to dismiss his visitor, and disappeared +into his dwelling-place.</p> + +<p>Earl Harold made all speed back to the Castle; but it was not until one +or two days had elapsed that he found a chance to pour the love-potion +into the Lady Morna's wine-cup. But at last, one night at supper, he +found an opportunity of doing so, and, waving away the little page-boy, +he handed it to her himself.</p> + +<p>She raised it to her lips, but she only made a pretence at drinking, for +she had seen the hated Earl fingering the cup, and she feared some deed +of treachery. When he had gone back to his seat she managed to pour the +whole of the wine on the floor, and smiled to herself at the look of +satisfaction that came over Harold's face as she put down the empty +cup.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span></p> + +<p>His satisfaction increased, for from that moment she felt so afraid of +him that she treated him with great kindness, hoping that by doing so +she would keep in his good graces until the Court moved to Orphir, and +her own true love could protect her.</p> + +<p>Harold, on his side, was delighted with her graciousness, for he felt +certain that the charm was beginning to work, and that his hopes would +soon be fulfilled.</p> + +<p>A week later the Court removed to the Royal Palace at Orphir, where Earl +Paul had everything in readiness for the reception of his guests.</p> + +<p>Of course he was overjoyed to meet Lady Morna again, and she was +overjoyed to meet him, for she felt that she was now safe from the +unwelcome attentions of Earl Harold.</p> + +<p>But to Earl Harold the sight of their joy was as gall and bitterness, +and he could scarcely contain himself, although he still trusted in the +efficacy of Snorro the Dwarf's love-potion.</p> + +<p>As for Countess Fraukirk and Countess Helga, they looked forward eagerly +to the time when the magic web would arrive, out of which they hoped to +fashion a fatal gift for Earl Paul.</p> + +<p>At last, the day before Christmas Eve, the two wicked women were sitting +in the Countess Helga's chamber talking of the time when Earl Harold +would rule alone in Orkney, when a tap came to the window, and on +looking round they saw Dwarf Snorro's grey-headed Raven perched on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> +the sill, a sealed packet in its beak.</p> + +<p>They opened the casement, and with a hoarse croak the creature let the +packet drop on to the floor; then it flapped its great wings and rose +slowly into the air again its head turned in the direction of Hoy.</p> + +<p>With fingers that trembled with excitement they broke the seals and +undid the packet. It contained a piece of the most beautiful material +that anyone could possibly imagine, woven in all the colours of the +rainbow, and sparkling with gold and jewels.</p> + +<p>"'Twill make a bonnie waistcoat," exclaimed Countess Fraukirk, with an +unholy laugh. "The Silent Earl will be a braw man when he gets it on."</p> + +<p>Then, without more ado, they set to work to cut out and sew the garment. +All that night they worked, and all next day, till, late in the +afternoon, when they were putting in the last stitches, hurried +footsteps were heard ascending the winding staircase, and Earl Harold +burst open the door.</p> + +<p>His cheeks were red with passion, and his eyes were bright, for he could +not but notice that, now that she was safe at Orphir under her true +love's protection, the Lady Morna's manner had grown cold and distant +again, and he was beginning to lose faith in Snorro's charm.</p> + +<p>Angry and disappointed, he had sought his mother's room to pour out his +story of vexation to her.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> + +<p>He stopped short, however, when he saw the wonderful waistcoat lying on +the table, all gold and silver and shining colours. It was like a fairy +garment, and its beauty took his breath away.</p> + +<p>"For whom hast thou purchased that?" he asked, hoping to hear that it +was intended for him.</p> + +<p>"'Tis a Christmas gift for thy brother Paul," answered his mother, and +she would have gone on to tell him how deadly a thing it was, had he +given her time to speak. But her words fanned his fury into madness, for +it seemed to him that this hated brother of his was claiming everything.</p> + +<p>"Everything is for Paul! I am sick of his very name," he cried. "By my +troth, he shall not have this!" and he snatched the vest from the table.</p> + +<p>It was in vain that his mother and his aunt threw themselves at his +feet, begging him to lay it down, and warning him that there was not a +thread in it which was not poisoned. He paid no heed to their words, but +rushed from the room, and, drawing it on, ran downstairs with a reckless +laugh, to show the Lady Morna how fine he was.</p> + +<p>Alas! alas! Scarce had he gained the hall than he fell to the ground in +great pain.</p> + +<p>Everyone crowded round him, and the two Countesses, terrified now by +what they had done, tried in vain to tear the magic vest from his body. +But he felt that it was too late, the deadly poison had done its work, +and, waving them aside, he turned to his brother, who, in great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> +distress, had knelt down and taken him tenderly in his arms.</p> + +<p>"I wronged thee, Paul," he gasped. "For thou hast ever been true and +kind. Forgive me in thy thoughts, and," he added, gathering up his +strength for one last effort, and pointing to the two wretched women who +had wrought all this misery, "<i>Beware of those two women</i>, for they +seek to take thy life." Then his head sank back on his brother's +shoulder, and, with one long sigh, he died.</p> + +<p>When he learned what had happened, and understood where the waistcoat +came from, and for what purpose it had been intended, the anger of the +Silent Earl knew no bounds. He swore a great oath that he would be +avenged, not only on Snorro the Dwarf, but also on his wicked +step-mother and her cruel sister.</p> + +<p>His vengeance was baulked, however, for in the panic and confusion that +followed Harold's death, the two Countesses slipped out of the Palace +and fled to the coast, and took boat in haste to Scotland, where they +had great possessions, and where they were much looked up to, and where +no one would believe a word against them.</p> + +<p>But retribution fell on them in the end, as it always does fall, sooner +or later, on everyone who is wicked, or selfish, or cruel; for the +Norsemen invaded the land, and their Castle was set on fire, and they +perished miserably in the flames.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> + +<p>When Earl Paul found that they had escaped, he set out in hot haste for +the Island of Hoy, for he was determined that the Dwarf, at least, +should not escape. But when he came to the Dwarfie Stone he found it +silent and deserted, all trace of its uncanny occupants having +disappeared.</p> + +<p>No one knew what had become of them; a few people were inclined to think +that the Dwarf and his Raven had accompanied the Countess Fraukirk +and the Countess Helga on their flight, but the greater part of the +Islanders held to the belief, which I think was the true one, that the +Powers of the Air spirited Snorro away, and shut him up in some unknown +place as a punishment for his wickedness, and that his Raven accompanied +him.</p> + +<p>At any rate, he was never seen again by any living person, and wherever +he went, he lost all chance of finding the magic carbuncle.</p> + +<p>As for the Silent Earl and his Irish Sweetheart, they were married as +soon as Earl Harold's funeral was over; and for hundreds of years +afterwards, when the inhabitants of the Orkney Isles wanted to express +great happiness, they said, "As happy as Earl Paul and the Countess +Morna."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>CANONBIE DICK AND THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE</h2> + +<p>It chanced, long years ago, that a certain horse-dealer lived in the +South of Scotland, near the Border, not very far from Longtown. He was +known as Canonbie Dick; and as he went up and down the country, he +almost always had a long string of horses behind him, which he bought at +one fair and sold at another, generally managing to turn a good big +penny by the transaction.</p> + +<p>He was a very fearless man, not easily daunted; and the people who knew +him used to say that if Canonbie Dick dare not attempt a thing, no one +else need be asked to do it.</p> + +<p>One evening, as he was returning from a fair at some distance from his +home with a pair of horses which he had not succeeded in selling, he was +riding over Bowden Moor, which lies to the west of the Eildon Hills. +These hills are, as all men know, the scene of some of the most famous +of Thomas the Rhymer's prophecies; and also, so men say, they are the +sleeping-place of King Arthur and his Knights, who rest under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +three high peaks, waiting for the mystic call that shall awake them.</p> + +<p>But little recked the horse-dealer of Arthur and his Knights, nor yet of +Thomas the Rhymer. He was riding along at a snail's pace, thinking over +the bargains which he had made at the fair that day, and wondering when +he was likely to dispose of his two remaining horses.</p> + +<p>All at once he was startled by the approach of a venerable man, with +white hair and an old-world dress, who seemed almost to start out of the +ground, so suddenly did he make his appearance.</p> + +<p>When they met, the stranger stopped, and, to Canonbie Dick's great +amazement, asked him for how much he would be willing to part with his +horses.</p> + +<p>The wily horse-dealer thought that he saw a chance of driving a good +bargain, for the stranger looked a man of some consequence; so he named +a good round sum.</p> + +<p>The old man tried to bargain with him; but when he found that he had not +much chance of succeeding—for no one ever did succeed in inducing +Canonbie Dick to sell a horse for a less sum than he named for it at +first—he agreed to buy the animals, and, pulling a bag of gold from the +pocket of his queerly cut breeches, he began to count out the price.</p> + +<p>As he did so, Canonbie Dick got another shock of surprise, for the +gold that the stranger gave him was not the gold that was in use at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +the time, but was fashioned into Unicorns, and Bonnet-pieces, and other +ancient coins, which would be of no use to the horse-dealer in his +everyday transactions. But it was good, pure gold; and he took it +gladly, for he knew that he was selling his horses at about half as much +again as they were worth. "So," thought he to himself, "surely I cannot +be the loser in the long run."</p> + +<p>Then the two parted, but not before the old man had commissioned Dick to +get him other good horses at the same price, the only stipulation he +made being that Dick should always bring them to the same spot, after +dark, and that he should always come alone.</p> + +<p>And, as time went on, the horse-dealer found that he had indeed met a +good customer.</p> + +<p>For, whenever he came across a suitable horse, he had only to lead it +over Bowden Moor after dark, and he was sure to meet the mysterious, +white-headed stranger, who always paid him for the animal in +old-fashioned golden pieces.</p> + +<p>And he might have been selling horses to him yet, for aught I know, had +it not been for his one failing.</p> + +<p>Canonbie Dick was apt to get very thirsty, and his ordinary customers, +knowing this, took care always to provide him with something to drink. +The old man never did so; he paid down his money and led away his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> +horses, and there was an end of the matter.</p> + +<p>But one night, Dick, being even more thirsty than usual, and feeling +sure that his mysterious friend must live somewhere in the +neighbourhood, seeing that he was always wandering about the hillside +when everyone else was asleep, hinted that he would be very glad to go +home with him and have a little refreshment.</p> + +<p>"He would need to be a brave man who asks to go home with me," returned +the stranger; "but, if thou wilt, thou canst follow me. Only, remember +this—if thy courage fail thee at that which thou wilt behold, thou wilt +rue it all thy life."</p> + +<p>Canonbie Dick laughed long and loud. "My courage hath never failed me +yet," he cried. "Beshrew me if I will let it fail now. So lead on, old +man, and I will follow."</p> + +<p>Without a word the stranger turned and began to ascend a narrow path +which led to a curious hillock, which from its shape, was called by the +country-folk the "Lucken Hare."</p> + +<p>It was supposed to be a great haunt of Witches; and, as a rule, nobody +passed that way after dark, if they could possibly help it.</p> + +<p>Canonbie Dick was not afraid of Witches, however, so he followed his +guide with a bold step up the hillside; but it must be confessed that he +felt a little startled when he saw him turn down what seemed to be an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> +entrance to a cavern, especially as he never remembered having seen any +opening in the hillside there before.</p> + +<p>He paused for a moment, looking round him in perplexity, wondering where +he was being taken; and his conductor glanced at him scornfully.</p> + +<p>"You can go back if you will," he said. "I warned thee thou wert going +on a journey that would try thy courage to the uttermost." There was a +jeering note in his voice that touched Dick's pride.</p> + +<p>"Who said that I was afraid?" he retorted. "I was just taking note of +where this passage stands on the hillside, so as to know it another +time."</p> + +<p>The stranger shrugged his shoulders. "Time enough to look for it when +thou wouldst visit it again," he said. And then he pursued his way, with +Dick following closely at his heels.</p> + +<p>After the first yard or two they were enveloped in thick darkness, and +the horse-dealer would have been sore put to it to keep near his guide +had not the latter held out his hand for him to grasp. But after a +little space a faint glimmering of light began to appear, which grew +clearer and clearer, until at last they found themselves in an enormous +cavern lit by flaming torches, which were stuck here and there in +sconces in the rocky walls, and which, although they served to give +light enough to see by, yet threw such ghostly shadows on the floor that +they only seemed to intensify the gloom that hung over the vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> +apartment.</p> + +<p>And the curious thing about this mysterious cave was that, along one +side of it, ran a long row of horse stalls, just like what one would +find in a stable, and in each stall stood a coal-black charger, saddled +and bridled, as if ready for the fray; and on the straw, by every +horse's side, lay the gallant figure of a knight, clad from head to foot +in coal-black armour, with a drawn sword in his mailed hand.</p> + +<p>But not a horse moved, not a chain rattled. Knights and steeds alike +were silent and motionless, looking exactly as if some strange +enchantment had been thrown over them, and they had been suddenly turned +into black marble.</p> + +<p>There was something so awesome in the still, cold figures and in the +unearthly silence that brooded over everything that Canonbie Dick, +reckless and daring though he was, felt his courage waning and his knees +beginning to shake under him.</p> + +<p>In spite of these feelings, however, he followed the old man up the hall +to the far end of it, where there was a table of ancient workmanship, on +which was placed a glittering sword and a curiously wrought +hunting-horn.</p> + +<p>When they reached this table the stranger turned to him, and said, +with great dignity, "Thou hast heard, good man, of Thomas of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> +Ercildoune—Thomas the Rhymer, as men call him—he who went to dwell for +a time with the Queen of Fairy-land, and from her received the Gifts of +Truth and Prophecy?"</p> + +<p>Canonbie Dick nodded; for as the wonderful Soothsayer's name fell on his +ears, his heart sank within him and his tongue seemed to cleave to the +roof of his mouth. If he had been brought there to parley with Thomas +the Rhymer, then had he laid himself open to all the eldrich Powers of +Darkness.</p> + +<p>"I that speak to thee am he," went on the white-haired stranger. "And I +have permitted thee thus to have thy desire and follow me hither in +order that I may try of what stuff thou art made. Before thee lies a +Horn and a Sword. He that will sound the one, or draw the other, shall, +if his courage fail not, be King over the whole of Britain. I, Thomas +the Rhymer, have spoken it, and, as thou knowest, my tongue cannot lie. +But list ye, the outcome of it all depends on thy bravery; and it will +be a light task, or a heavy, according as thou layest hand on Sword or +Horn first."</p> + +<p>Now Dick was more versed in giving blows than in making music, and his +first impulse was to seize the Sword, then, come what might, he had +something in his hand to defend himself with. But just as he was about +to lift it the thought struck him that, if the place were full of +spirits, as he felt sure that it must be, this action of him might be +taken to mean defiance, and might cause them to band themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> +together against him.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;"> +<img src="images/188.png" width="480" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>So, changing his mind, he picked up the Horn with a trembling hand, and +blew a blast upon it, which, however, was so weak and feeble that it +could scarce be heard at the other end of the hall.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> + +<p>The result that followed was enough to appal the stoutest heart. Thunder +rolled in crashing peals through the immense hall. The charmed Knights +and their horses woke in an instant from their enchanted sleep. The +Knights sprang to their feet and seized their swords, brandishing them +round their heads, while their great black chargers stamped, and +snorted, and ground their bits, as if eager to escape from their stalls. +And where a moment before all had been stillness and silence, there was +now a scene of wild din and excitement.</p> + +<p>Now was the time for Canonbie Dick to play the man. If he had done so +all the rest of his life might have been different.</p> + +<p>But his courage failed him, and he lost his chance. Terrified at seeing +so many threatening faces turned towards him, he dropped the Horn and +made one weak, undecided effort to pick up the Sword.</p> + +<p>But, ere he could do so, a mysterious voice sounded from somewhere in +the hall, and these were the words that it uttered:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Woe to the coward, that ever he was born,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Who did not draw the Sword before he blew the Horn."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>And, before Dick knew what he was about, a perfect whirlwind of cold, +raw air tore through the cavern, carrying the luckless horse-dealer +along with it; and, hurrying him along the narrow passage through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> +which he had entered, dashed him down outside on a bank of loose stones +and shale. He fell right to the bottom, and was found, with little life +left in him, next morning, by some shepherds, to whom he had just +strength enough left to whisper the story of his weird and fearful +adventure.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;"> +<img src="images/190.png" width="380" height="336" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE LAIRD O' CO'</h2> + +<p>It was a fine summer morning, and the Laird o' Co' was having a dander +on the green turf outside the Castle walls. His real name was the Laird +o' Colzean, and his descendants to-day bear the proud title of Marquises +of Ailsa, but all up and down Ayrshire nobody called him anything else +than the Laird o' Co'; because of the Co's, or caves, which were to be +found in the rock on which his Castle was built.</p> + +<p>He was a kind man, and a courteous, always ready to be interested in the +affairs of his poorer neighbours, and willing to listen to any tale of +woe.</p> + +<p>So when a little boy came across the green, carrying a small can in his +hand, and, pulling his forelock, asked him if he might go to the Castle +and get a little ale for his sick mother, the Laird gave his consent at +once, and, patting the little fellow on the head, told him to go to the +kitchen and ask for the butler, and tell him that he, the Laird, had +given orders that his can was to be filled with the best ale that was in +the cellar.</p> + +<p>Away the boy went, and found the old butler, who, after listening to +his message, took him down into the cellar, and proceeded to carry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> +out his Master's orders.</p> + +<p>There was one cask of particularly fine ale, which was kept entirely for +the Laird's own use, which had been opened some time before, and which +was now about half full.</p> + +<p>"I will fill the bairn's can out o' this," thought the old man to +himself. "'Tis both nourishing and light—the very thing for sick folk." +So, taking the can from the child's hand, he proceeded to draw the ale.</p> + +<p>But what was his astonishment to find that, although the ale flowed +freely enough from the barrel, the little can, which could not have held +more than a quarter of a gallon, remained always just half full.</p> + +<p>The ale poured into it in a clear amber stream, until the big cask was +quite empty, and still the quantity that was in the little can did not +seem to increase.</p> + +<p>The butler could not understand it. He looked at the cask, and then he +looked at the can; then he looked down at the floor at his feet to see +if he had not spilt any.</p> + +<p>No, the ale had not disappeared in that way, for the cellar floor was as +white, and dry, and clean, as possible.</p> + +<p>"Plague on the can; it must be bewitched," thought the old man, and his +short, stubby hair stood up like porcupine quills round his bald head, +for if there was anything on earth of which he had a mortal dread, it +was Warlocks, and Witches, and such like Bogles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm not going to broach another barrel," he said gruffly, handing back +the half-filled can to the little lad. "So ye may just go home with what +is there; the Laird's ale is too good to waste on a smatchet like thee."</p> + +<p>But the boy stoutly held his ground. A promise was a promise, and the +Laird had both promised, and sent orders to the butler that the can was +to be filled, and he would not go home till it was filled.</p> + +<p>It was in vain that the old man first argued, and then grew angry—the +boy would not stir a step.</p> + +<p>"The Laird had said that he was to get the ale, and the ale he must +have."</p> + +<p>At last the perturbed butler left him standing there, and hurried off to +his master to tell him he was convinced that the can was bewitched, for +it had swallowed up a whole half cask of ale, and after doing so it was +only half full; and to ask if he would come down himself, and order the +lad off the premises.</p> + +<p>"Not I," said the genial Laird, "for the little fellow is quite right. I +promised that he should have his can full of ale to take home to his +sick mother, and he shall have it if it takes all the barrels in my +cellar to fill it. So haste thee to the house again, and open another +cask."</p> + +<p>The butler dare not disobey; so he reluctantly retraced his steps, but, +as he went, he shook his head sadly, for it seemed to him that not only +the boy with the can, but his master also, was bewitched.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> + +<p>When he reached the cellar he found the bairn waiting patiently where he +had left him, and, without wasting further words, he took the can from +his hand and broached another barrel.</p> + +<p>If he had been astonished before, he was more astonished now. Scarce had +a couple of drops fallen from the tap, than the can was full to the +brim.</p> + +<p>"Take it, laddie, and begone, with all the speed thou canst," he said, +glad to get the can out of his fingers; and the boy did not wait for a +second bidding. Thanking the butler most earnestly for his trouble, and +paying no attention to the fact that the old man had not been so civil +to him as he might have been, he departed. Nor, though the butler took +pains to ask all round the country-side, could he ever hear of him again, +nor of anyone who knew anything about him, or anything about his sick +mother.</p> + +<p>Years passed by, and sore trouble fell upon the House o' Co'. For the +Laird went to fight in the wars in Flanders, and, chancing to be taken +prisoner, he was shut up in prison, and condemned to death. Alone, in a +foreign country, he had no friends to speak for him, and escape seemed +hopeless.</p> + +<p>It was the night before his execution, and he was sitting in his lonely +cell, thinking sadly of his wife and children, whom he never expected to +see again. At the thought of them the picture of his home rose clearly +in his mind—the grand old Castle standing on its rock, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> +bonnie daisy-spangled stretch of greensward which lay before its gates, +where he had been wont to take a dander in the sweet summer mornings. +Then, all unbidden, a vision of the little lad carrying the can, who had +come to beg ale for his sick mother, and whom he had long ago forgotten, +rose up before him.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/195.png" width="600" height="480" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>The vision was so clear and distinct that he felt almost as if he were +acting the scene over again, and he rubbed his eyes to get rid of it, +feeling that, if he had to die to-morrow, it was time that he turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> +his thoughts to better things.</p> + +<p>But as he did so the door of his cell flew noiselessly open, and there, +on the threshold, stood the self-same little lad, looking not a day +older, with his finger on his lip, and a mysterious smile upon his face.</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Laird o' Co',</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Rise and go!"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>he whispered, beckoning to him to follow him. Needless to say, the Laird +did so, too much amazed to think of asking questions.</p> + +<p>Through the long passages of the prison the little lad went, the Laird +close at his heels; and whenever he came to a locked door, he had but to +touch it, and it opened before them, so that in no long time they were +safe outside the walls.</p> + +<p>The overjoyed Laird would have overwhelmed his little deliverer with +words of thanks had not the boy held up his hand to stop him. "Get on my +back," he said shortly, "for thou are not safe till thou art out of this +country."</p> + +<p>The Laird did as he was bid, and, marvellous as it seems, the boy was +quite able to bear his weight. As soon as he was comfortably seated the +pair set off, over sea and land, and never stopped till, in almost less +time than it takes to tell it, the boy set him down, in the early dawn, +on the daisy-spangled green in front of his Castle, just where he had +spoken first to him so many years before.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then he turned, and laid his little hand on the Laird's big one:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Ae gude turn deserves anither,</span><br /> + <span class="i1">Tak' ye that for being sae kind to my auld mither,"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>he said, and vanished.</p> + +<p>And from that day to this he has never been seen again.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/197.png" width="400" height="242" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>POUSSIE BAUDRONS</h2> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Poussie, Poussie Baudrons,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Where hae ye been?"</span><br /> + <span class="i1">"I've been at London,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Seeing the Queen!"</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Poussie, Poussie Baudrons,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">What got ye there?"</span><br /> + <span class="i1">"I got a guid fat mousikie,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Rinning up a stair."</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i1">"Poussie, Poussie Baudrons,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">What did ye do wi't?"</span><br /> + <span class="i1">"I put it in my meal-poke</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To eat it to my bread."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 389px;"> +<img src="images/199.png" width="389" height="600" alt="Rinning up a stair" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +I got a guid fat mousikie Rinning up a stair</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE MILK-WHITE DOO</h2> + +<p>There was once a man who got his living by working in the fields. He had +one little son, called Curly-Locks, and one little daughter, called +Golden-Tresses; but his wife was dead, and, as he had to be out all day, +these children were often left alone. So, as he was afraid that some +evil might befall them when there was no one to look after them, he, in +an ill day, married again.</p> + +<p>I say, "in an ill day," for his second wife was a most deceitful woman, +who really hated children, although she pretended, before her marriage, +to love them. And she was so unkind to them, and made the house so +uncomfortable with her bad temper, that her poor husband often sighed to +himself, and wished that he had let well alone, and remained a widower.</p> + +<p>But it was no use crying over spilt milk; the deed was done, and he had +just to try to make the best of it. So things went on for several years, +until the children were beginning to run about the doors and play by +themselves.</p> + +<p>Then one day the Goodman chanced to catch a hare, and he brought it +home and gave it to his wife to cook for the dinner.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now his wife was a very good cook, and she made the hare into a pot of +delicious soup; but she was also very greedy, and while the soup was +boiling she tasted it, and tasted it, till at last she discovered that +it was almost gone. Then she was in a fine state of mind, for she knew +that her husband would soon be coming home for his dinner, and that she +would have nothing to set before him.</p> + +<p>So what do you think the wicked woman did? She went out to the door, +where her little step-son, Curly-Locks, was playing in the sun, and told +him to come in and get his face washed. And while she was washing his +face, she struck him on the head with a hammer and stunned him, and +popped him into the pot to make soup for his father's dinner.</p> + +<p>By and by the Goodman came in from his work, and the soup was dished up; +and he, and his wife, and his little daughter, Golden-Tresses, sat down +to sup it.</p> + +<p>"Where's Curly-Locks?" asked the Goodman. "It's a pity he is not here as +long as the soup is hot."</p> + +<p>"How should I ken?" answered his wife crossly. "I have other work to do +than to run about after a mischievous laddie all the morning."</p> + +<p>The Goodman went on supping his soup in silence for some minutes; then +he lifted up a little foot in his spoon.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> + +<p>"This is Curly-Locks' foot," he cried in horror. "There hath been ill +work here."</p> + +<p>"Hoots, havers," answered his wife, laughing, pretending to be very much +amused. "What should Curly-Locks' foot be doing in the soup? 'Tis the +hare's forefoot, which is very like that of a bairn."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/202.png" width="600" height="375" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>But presently the Goodman took something else up in his spoon.</p> + +<p>"This is Curly-Locks' hand," he said shrilly. "I ken it by the crook in +its little finger."</p> + +<p>"The man's demented," retorted his wife, "not to ken the hind foot of a +hare when he sees it!"</p> + +<p>So the poor father did not say any more, but went away out to his work, +sorely perplexed in his mind; while his little daughter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +Golden-Tresses, who had a shrewd suspicion of what had happened, +gathered all the bones from the empty plates, and, carrying them away in +her apron, buried them beneath a flat stone, close by a white rose tree +that grew by the cottage door.</p> + +<p>And, lo and behold! those poor bones, which she buried with such care:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Grew and grew,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To a milk-white Doo,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">That took its wings,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And away it flew."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>And at last it lighted on a tuft of grass by a burnside, where two women +were washing clothes. It sat there cooing to itself for some time; then +it sang this song softly to them:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i4">"Pew, pew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My mimmie me slew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My daddy me chew,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">My sister gathered my banes,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And put them between two milk-white stanes.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">And I grew and grew</span><br /> + <span class="i4">To a milk-white Doo,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">And I took to my wings and away I flew."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>The women stopped washing and looked at one another in astonishment. It +was not every day that they came across a bird that could sing a song +like that, and they felt that there was something not canny about it.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird," said one of them at last, "and +we'll give thee all these clothes!"</p> + +<p>So the bird sang its song over again, and the washerwomen gave it all +the clothes, and it tucked them under its right wing, and flew on.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/204.png" width="600" height="459" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>Presently it came to a house where all the windows were open, and it +perched on one of the window-sills, and inside it saw a man counting out +a great heap of silver.</p> + +<p>And, sitting on the window-sill, it sang its song to him:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i4">"Pew, pew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My mimmie me slew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My daddy me chew,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">My sister gathered my banes,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And put them between two milk-white stanes.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> + <span class="i2">And I grew and grew</span><br /> + <span class="i2">To a milk-white Doo,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And I took to my wings and away I flew."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>The man stopped counting his silver, and listened. He felt, like the +washerwomen, that there was something not canny about this Doo. When it +had finished its song, he said:</p> + +<p>"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird, and I'll give thee a' this siller +in a bag."</p> + +<p>So the Doo sang its song over again, and got the bag of silver, which it +tucked under its left wing. Then it flew on.</p> + +<p>It had not flown very far, however, before it came to a mill where two +millers were grinding corn. And it settled down on a sack of meal and +sang its song to them.</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i4">"Pew, pew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My mimmie me slew,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">My daddy me chew,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">My sister gathered my banes,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And put them between two milk-white stanes.</span><br /> + <span class="i4">And I grew and grew</span><br /> + <span class="i4">To a milk-white Doo,</span><br /> + <span class="i4">And I took to my wings and away I flew."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>The millers stopped their work, and looked at one another, scratching +their heads in amazement.</p> + +<p>"Sing that song over again, my bonnie bird!" exclaimed both of them +together when the Doo had finished, "and we will give thee this +millstone."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> + +<p>So the Doo repeated its song, and got the millstone, which it asked one +of the millers to lift on its back; then it flew out of the mill, and up +the valley, leaving the two men staring after it dumb with astonishment.</p> + +<p>As you may think, the Milk-White Doo had a heavy load to carry, but it +went bravely on till it came within sight of its father's cottage, and +lighted down at last on the thatched roof.</p> + +<p>Then it laid its burdens on the thatch, and, flying down to the +courtyard, picked up a number of little chuckie stones. With them in its +beak it flew back to the roof, and began to throw them down the chimney.</p> + +<p>By this time it was evening, and the Goodman and his wife, and his +little daughter, Golden-Tresses, were sitting round the table eating +their supper. And you may be sure that they were all very much startled +when the stones came rattling down the chimney, bringing such a cloud of +soot with them that they were like to be smothered. They all jumped up +from their chairs, and ran outside to see what the matter was.</p> + +<p>And Golden-Tresses, being the littlest, ran the fastest, and when she +came out at the door the Milk-White Doo flung the bundle of clothes down +at her feet.</p> + +<p>And the father came out next, and the Milk-White Doo flung the bag of +silver down at his feet.</p> + +<p>But the wicked step-mother, being somewhat stout came out last, and the +Milk-White Doo threw the millstone right down on her head and killed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> +her.</p> + +<p>Then it spread its wings and flew away, and has never been seen again; +but it had made the Goodman and his daughter rich for life, and it had +rid them of the cruel step-mother, so that they lived in peace and +plenty for the remainder of their days.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;"> +<img src="images/207.png" width="299" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE DRAIGLIN' HOGNEY</h2> + +<p>There was once a man who had three sons, and very little money to +provide for them. So, when the eldest had grown into a lad, and saw that +there was no means of making a livelihood at home, he went to his father +and said to him:</p> + +<p>"Father, if thou wilt give me a horse to ride on, a hound to hunt with, +and a hawk to fly, I will go out into the wide world and seek my +fortune."</p> + +<p>His father gave him what he asked for; and he set out on his travels. He +rode and he rode, over mountain and glen, until, just at nightfall, he +came to a thick, dark wood. He entered it, thinking that he might find a +path that would lead him through it; but no path was visible, and after +wandering up and down for some time, he was obliged to acknowledge to +himself that he was completely lost.</p> + +<p>There seemed to be nothing for it but to tie his horse to a tree, and +make a bed of leaves for himself on the ground; but just as he was about +to do so he saw a light glimmering in the distance, and, riding on in +the direction in which it was, he soon came to a clearing in the wood,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> +in which stood a magnificent Castle.</p> + +<p>The windows were all lit up, but the great door was barred; and, after +he had ridden up to it, and knocked, and received no answer, the young +man raised his hunting horn to his lips and blew a loud blast in the +hope of letting the inmates know that he was without.</p> + +<p>Instantly the door flew open of its own accord, and the young man +entered, wondering very much what this strange thing would mean. And he +wondered still more when he passed from room to room, and found that, +although fires were burning brightly everywhere, and there was a +plentiful meal laid out on the table in the great hall, there did not +seem to be a single person in the whole of the vast building.</p> + +<p>However, as he was cold, and tired, and wet, he put his horse in one of +the stalls of the enormous stable, and taking his hawk and hound along +with him, went into the hall and ate a hearty supper. After which he sat +down by the side of the fire, and began to dry his clothes.</p> + +<p>By this time it had grown late, and he was just thinking of retiring to +one of the bedrooms which he had seen upstairs and going to bed, when a +clock which was hanging on the wall struck twelve.</p> + +<p>Instantly the door of the huge apartment opened, and a most +awful-looking Draiglin' Hogney entered. His hair was matted and his +beard was long, and his eyes shone like stars of fire from under his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> +bushy eyebrows, and in his hands he carried a queerly shaped club.</p> + +<p>He did not seem at all astonished to see his unbidden guest; but, coming +across the hall, he sat down upon the opposite side of the fireplace, +and, resting his chin on his hands, gazed fixedly at him.</p> + +<p>"Doth thy horse ever kick any?" he said at last, in a harsh, rough +voice.</p> + +<p>"Ay, doth he," replied the young man; for the only steed that his father +had been able to give him was a wild and unbroken colt.</p> + +<p>"I have some skill in taming horses," went on the Draiglin' Hogney, +"and I will give thee something to tame thine withal. Throw this over +him"—and he pulled one of the long, coarse hairs out of his head and +gave it to the young man. And there was something so commanding in the +Hogney's voice that he did as he was bid, and went out to the stable and +threw the hair over the horse.</p> + +<p>Then he returned to the hall, and sat down again by the fire. The moment +that he was seated the Draiglin' Hogney asked another question.</p> + +<p>"Doth thy hound ever bite any?"</p> + +<p>"Ay, verily," answered the youth; for his hound was so fierce-tempered +that no man, save his master, dare lay a hand on him.</p> + +<p>"I can cure the wildest tempered dog in Christendom," replied the +Draiglin' Hogney. "Take that, and throw it over him." And he pulled +another hair out of his head and gave it to the young man, who lost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> +no time in flinging it over his hound.</p> + +<p>There was still a third question to follow. "Doth ever thy hawk peck +any?"</p> + +<p>The young man laughed. "I have ever to keep a bandage over her eyes, +save when she is ready to fly," said he; "else were nothing safe within +her reach."</p> + +<p>"Things will be safe now," said the Hogney, grimly. "Throw that over +her." And for the third time he pulled a hair from his head and handed +it to his companion. And as the other hairs had been thrown over the +horse and the hound, so this one was thrown over the hawk.</p> + +<p>Then, before the young man could draw breath, the fiercesome Draiglin' +Hogney had given him such a clout on the side of his head with his +queer-shaped club that he fell down in a heap on the floor.</p> + +<p>And very soon his hawk and his hound tumbled down still and motionless +beside him; and, out in the stable, his horse became stark and stiff, as +if turned to stone. For the Draiglin's words had meant more than at +first appeared when he said that he could make all unruly animals quiet.</p> + +<p>Some time afterwards the second of the three sons came to his father in +the old home with the same request that his brother had made. That he +should be provided with a horse, a hawk, and a hound, and be allowed to +go out to seek his fortune. And his father listened to him, and gave him +what he asked, as he had given his brother.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;"> +<img src="images/212.png" width="429" height="600" alt="Quest" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +So he set out on his Quest</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> + +<p>And the young man set out, and in due time came to the wood, and lost +himself in it, just as his brother had done; then he saw the light, and +came to the Castle, and went in, and had supper, and dried his clothes, +just as it all had happened before.</p> + +<p>And the Draiglin' Hogney came in, and asked him the three questions, and +he gave the same three answers, and received three hairs—one to throw +over his horse, one to throw over his hound, and one to throw over his +hawk; then the Hogney killed him, just as he had killed his brother.</p> + +<p>Time passed, and the youngest son, finding that his two elder brothers +never returned, asked his father for a horse, a hawk, and a hound, in +order that he might go and look for them. And the poor old man, who was +feeling very desolate in his old age, gladly gave them to him.</p> + +<p>So he set out on his quest, and at nightfall he came, as the others had +done, to the thick wood and the Castle. But, being a wise and cautious +youth, he liked not the way in which he found things. He liked not the +empty house; he liked not the spread-out feast; and, most of all, he +liked not the look of the Draiglin' Hogney when he saw him. And he +determined to be very careful what he said or did as long as he was in +his company.</p> + +<p>So when the Draiglin' Hogney asked him if his horse kicked, he replied +that it did, in very few words; and when he got one of the Hogney's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> +hairs to throw over him, he went out to the stable, and pretended to do +so, but he brought it back, hidden in his hand, and, when his unchancy +companion was not looking, he threw it into the fire. It fizzled up like +a tongue of flame with a little hissing sound like that of a serpent.</p> + +<p>"What's that fizzling?" asked the Giant suspiciously.</p> + +<p>"'Tis but the sap of the green wood," replied the young man carelessly, +as he turned to caress his hound.</p> + +<p>The answer satisfied the Draiglin' Hogney, and he paid no heed to the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hound, or the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hawk, made, +when the young man threw them into the fire; and they fizzled up in the +same way that the first had done.</p> + +<p>Then, thinking that he had the stranger in his power, he whisked across +the hearthstone to strike him with his club, as he had struck his +brothers; but the young man was on the outlook, and when he saw him +coming he gave a shrill whistle. And his horse, which loved him dearly, +came galloping in from the stable, and his hound sprang up from the +hearthstone where he had been sleeping; and his hawk, who was sitting on +his shoulder, ruffled up her feathers and screamed harshly; and they all +fell on the Draiglin' Hogney at once, and he found out only too well how +the horse kicked, and the hound bit, and the hawk pecked; for they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +kicked him, and bit him, and pecked him, till he was as dead as a door +nail.</p> + +<p>When the young man saw that he was dead, he took his little club from +his hand, and, armed with that, he set out to explore the Castle.</p> + +<p>As he expected, he found that there were dark and dreary dungeons under +it, and in one of them he found his two brothers, lying cold and stiff +side by side. He touched them with the club, and instantly they came to +life again, and sprang to their feet as well as ever.</p> + +<p>Then he went into another dungeon; and there were the two horses, and +the two hawks, and the two hounds, lying as if dead, exactly as their +Masters had lain. He touched them with his magic club, and they, too, +came to life again.</p> + +<p>Then he called to his two brothers, and the three young men searched the +other dungeons, and they found great stores of gold and silver hidden in +them, enough to make them rich for life.</p> + +<p>So they buried the Draiglin' Hogney, and took possession of the Castle; +and two of them went home and brought their old father back with them, +and they all were as prosperous and happy as they could be; and, for +aught that I know, they are living there still.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE BROWNIE O' FERNE-DEN</h2> + +<p>There have been many Brownies known in Scotland; and stories have been +written about the Brownie o' Bodsbeck and the Brownie o' Blednock, but +about neither of them has a prettier story been told than that which I +am going to tell you about the Brownie o' Ferne-Den.</p> + +<p>Now, Ferne-Den was a farmhouse, which got its name from the glen, or +"den," on the edge of which it stood, and through which anyone who +wished to reach the dwelling had to pass.</p> + +<p>And this glen was believed to be the abode of a Brownie, who never +appeared to anyone in the daytime, but who, it was said, was sometimes +seen at night, stealing about, like an ungainly shadow, from tree to +tree, trying to keep from observation, and never, by any chance, harming +anybody.</p> + +<p>Indeed, like all Brownies that are properly treated and let alone, so +far was he from harming anybody that he was always on the look-out to do +a good turn to those who needed his assistance. The farmer often said +that he did not know what he would do without him; for if there was any +work to be finished in a hurry at the farm—corn to thrash, or winnow, +or tie up into bags, turnips to cut, clothes to wash, a kirn to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> +kirned, a garden to be weeded—all that the farmer and his wife had to +do was to leave the door of the barn, or the turnip shed, or the milk +house open when they went to bed, and put down a bowl of new milk on the +doorstep for the Brownie's supper, and when they woke the next morning +the bowl would be empty, and the job finished better than if it had been +done by mortal hands.</p> + +<p>In spite of all this, however, which might have proved to them how +gentle and kindly the Creature really was, everyone about the place was +afraid of him, and would rather go a couple of miles round about in the +dark, when they were coming home from Kirk or Market, than pass through +the glen, and run the risk of catching a glimpse of him.</p> + +<p>I said that they were all afraid of him, but that was not true, for the +farmer's wife was so good and gentle that she was not afraid of anything +on God's earth, and when the Brownie's supper had to be left outside, +she always filled his bowl with the richest milk, and added a good +spoonful of cream to it, for, said she, "He works so hard for us, and +asks no wages, he well deserves the very best meal that we can give +him."</p> + +<p>One night this gentle lady was taken very ill, and everyone was afraid +that she was going to die. Of course, her husband was greatly +distressed, and so were her servants, for she had been such a good +Mistress to them that they loved her as if she had been their mother. +But they were all young, and none of them knew very much about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> +illness, and everyone agreed that it would be better to send off for an +old woman who lived about seven miles away on the other side of the +river, who was known to be a very skilful nurse.</p> + +<p>But who was to go? That was the question. For it was black midnight, and +the way to the old woman's house lay straight through the glen. And +whoever travelled that road ran the risk of meeting the dreaded Brownie.</p> + +<p>The farmer would have gone only too willingly, but he dare not leave his +wife alone; and the servants stood in groups about the kitchen, each one +telling the other that he ought to go, yet no one offering to go +themselves.</p> + +<p>Little did they think that the cause of all their terror, a queer, wee, +misshapen little man, all covered with hair, with a long beard, +red-rimmed eyes, broad, flat feet, just like the feet of a paddock, and +enormous long arms that touched the ground, even when he stood upright, +was within a yard or two of them, listening to their talk, with an +anxious face, behind the kitchen door.</p> + +<p>For he had come up as usual, from his hiding-place in the glen, to see +if there were any work for him to do, and to look for his bowl of milk. +And he had seen, from the open door and lit-up windows, that there was +something wrong inside the farmhouse, which at that hour was wont to be +dark, and still, and silent; and he had crept into the entry to try and +find out what the matter was.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p> + +<p>When he gathered from the servants' talk that the Mistress, whom he +loved so dearly, and who had been so kind to him, was ill, his heart +sank within him; and when he heard that the silly servants were so taken +up with their own fears that they dared not set out to fetch a nurse for +her, his contempt and anger knew no bounds.</p> + +<p>"Fools, idiots, dolts!" he muttered to himself, stamping his queer, +misshapen feet on the floor. "They speak as if a body were ready to take +a bite off them as soon as ever he met them. If they only knew the +bother it gives me to keep out of their road they wouldna be so silly. +But, by my troth, if they go on like this, the bonnie lady will die +amongst their fingers. So it strikes me that Brownie must e'en gang +himself."</p> + +<p>So saying, he reached up his hand, and took down a dark cloak which +belonged to the farmer, which was hanging on a peg on the wall, and, +throwing it over his head and shoulders, or as somewhat to hide his +ungainly form, he hurried away to the stable, and saddled and bridled +the fleetest-footed horse that stood there.</p> + +<p>When the last buckle was fastened, he led it to the door and scrambled +on its back. "Now, if ever thou travelledst fleetly, travel fleetly +now," he said; and it was as if the creature understood him, for it gave +a little whinny and pricked up its ears; then it darted out into the +darkness like an arrow from the bow.</p> + +<p>In less time than the distance had ever been ridden in before, the +Brownie drew rein at the old woman's cottage.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> + +<p>She was in bed, fast asleep; but he rapped sharply on the window, and +when she rose and put her old face, framed in its white mutch, close to +the pane to ask who was there, he bent forward and told her his errand.</p> + +<p>"Thou must come with me, Goodwife, and that quickly," he commanded, in +his deep, harsh voice, "if the Lady of Ferne-Den's life is to be saved; +for there is no one to nurse her up-bye at the farm there, save a lot of +empty-headed servant wenches."</p> + +<p>"But how am I to get there? Have they sent a cart for me?" asked the old +woman anxiously; for, as far as she could see, there was nothing at the +door save a horse and its rider.</p> + +<p>"No, they have sent no cart," replied the Brownie, shortly. "So you must +just climb up behind me on the saddle, and hang on tight to my waist, +and I'll promise to land ye at Ferne-Den safe and sound."</p> + +<p>His voice was so masterful that the old woman dare not refuse to do as +she was bid; besides, she had often ridden pillion-wise when she was a +lassie, so she made haste to dress herself, and when she was ready she +unlocked her door, and, mounting the louping-on stane that stood beside +it, she was soon seated behind the dark-cloaked stranger, with her arms +clasped tightly round him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> + +<p>Not a word was spoken till they approached the dreaded glen, then the +old woman felt her courage giving way. "Do ye think that there will be +any chance of meeting the Brownie?" she asked timidly. "I would fain not +run the risk, for folk say that he is an unchancy creature."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/221.png" width="600" height="478" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>Her companion gave a curious laugh. "Keep up your heart, and dinna talk +havers," he said, "for I promise ye ye'll see naught uglier this night +than the man whom ye ride behind."</p> + +<p>"Oh, then, I'm fine and safe," replied the old woman, with a sigh of +relief; "for although I havena' seen your face, I warrant that ye are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +a true man, for the care you have taken of a poor old woman."</p> + +<p>She relapsed into silence again till the glen was passed and the good +horse had turned into the farmyard. Then the horseman slid to the +ground, and, turning round, lifted her carefully down in his long, +strong arms. As he did so the cloak slipped off him, revealing his +short, broad body and his misshapen limbs.</p> + +<p>"In a' the world, what kind o' man are ye?" she asked, peering into his +face in the grey morning light, which was just dawning. "What makes your +eyes so big? And what have ye done to your feet? They are more like +paddock's webs than aught else."</p> + +<p>The queer little man laughed again. "I've wandered many a mile in my +time without a horse to help me, and I've heard it said that ower much +walking makes the feet unshapely," he replied. "But waste no time in +talking, good Dame. Go thy way into the house; and, hark'ee, if anyone +asks thee who brought thee hither so quickly, tell them that there was a +lack of men, so thou hadst e'en to be content to ride behind the BROWNIE +O' FERNE-DEN."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE WITCH OF FIFE</h2> + +<p>In the Kingdom of Fife, in the days of long ago, there lived an old man +and his wife. The old man was a douce, quiet body, but the old woman was +lightsome and flighty, and some of the neighbours were wont to look at +her askance, and whisper to each other that they sorely feared that she +was a Witch.</p> + +<p>And her husband was afraid of it, too, for she had a curious habit of +disappearing in the gloaming and staying out all night; and when she +returned in the morning she looked quite white and tired, as if she had +been travelling far, or working hard.</p> + +<p>He used to try and watch her carefully, in order to find out where she +went, or what she did, but he never managed to do so, for she always +slipped out of the door when he was not looking, and before he could +reach it to follow her, she had vanished utterly.</p> + +<p>At last, one day, when he could stand the uncertainty no longer, he +asked her to tell him straight out whether she were a Witch or no. And +his blood ran cold when, without the slightest hesitation, she answered +that she was; and if he would promise not to let anyone know, the next +time that she went on one of her midnight expeditions she would tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> +him all about it.</p> + +<p>The Goodman promised; for it seemed to him just as well that he should +know all about his wife's cantrips.</p> + +<p>He had not long to wait before he heard of them. For the very next week +the moon was new, which is, as everybody knows, the time of all others +when Witches like to stir abroad; and on the first night of the new moon +his wife vanished. Nor did she return till daybreak next morning.</p> + +<p>And when he asked her where she had been, she told him, in great glee, +how she and four like-minded companions had met at the old Kirk on the +moor and had mounted branches of the green bay tree and stalks of +hemlock, which had instantly changed into horses, and how they had +ridden, swift as the wind, over the country, hunting the foxes, and the +weasels, and the owls; and how at last they had swam the Forth and come +to the top of Bell Lomond. And how there they had dismounted from their +horses, and drunk beer that had been brewed in no earthly brewery, out +of horn cups that had been fashioned by no mortal hands.</p> + +<p>And how, after that, a wee, wee man had jumped up from under a great +mossy stone, with a tiny set of bagpipes under his arm, and how he had +piped such wonderful music, that, at the sound of it, the very trouts +jumped out of the Loch below, and the stoats crept out of their holes, +and the corby crows and the herons came and sat on the trees in the +darkness, to listen. And how all the Witches danced until they were so +weary that, when the time came for them to mount their steeds again, if +they would be home before cock-crow, they could scarce sit on them for +fatigue.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 433px;"> +<img src="images/225.png" width="433" height="600" alt="Ridden and Ridden" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Ridden and Ridden—Till they Reached the land of the +Lapps</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Goodman listened to this long story in silence, shaking his head +meanwhile, and, when it was finished, all that he answered was: "And +what the better are ye for all your dancing? Ye'd have been a deal more +comfortable at home."</p> + +<p>At the next new moon the old wife went off again for the night; and when +she returned in the morning she told her husband how, on this occasion, +she and her friends had taken cockle-shells for boats, and had sailed +away over the stormy sea till they reached Norway. And there they had +mounted invisible horses of wind, and had ridden and ridden, over +mountains and glens, and glaciers, till they reached the land of the +Lapps lying under its mantle of snow.</p> + +<p>And here all the Elves, and Fairies, and Mermaids of the North were +holding festival with Warlocks, and Brownies, and Pixies, and even the +Phantom Hunters themselves, who are never looked upon by mortal eyes. +And the Witches from Fife held festival with them, and danced, and +feasted, and sang with them, and, what was of more consequence, they +learned from them certain wonderful words, which, when they uttered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> +them, would bear them through the air, and would undo all bolts and +bars, and so gain them admittance to any place soever where they wanted +to be. And after that they had come home again, delighted with the +knowledge which they had acquired.</p> + +<p>"What took ye to siccan a land as that?" asked the old man, with a +contemptuous grunt. "Ye would hae been a sight warmer in your bed."</p> + +<p>But when his wife returned from her next adventure, he showed a little +more interest in her doings.</p> + +<p>For she told him how she and her friends had met in the cottage of one +of their number, and how, having heard that the Lord Bishop of Carlisle +had some very rare wine in his cellar, they had placed their feet on the +crook from which the pot hung, and had pronounced the magic words which +they had learned from the Elves of Lappland. And, lo and behold! they +flew up the chimney like whiffs of smoke, and sailed through the air +like little wreathes of cloud, and in less time than it takes to tell +they landed at the Bishop's Palace at Carlisle.</p> + +<p>And the bolts and the bars flew loose before them, and they went down to +his cellar and sampled his wine, and were back in Fife, fine, sober, old +women by cock-crow.</p> + +<p>When he heard this, the old man started from his chair in right earnest, +for he loved good wine above all things, and it was but seldom that it +came his way.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> + +<p>"By my troth, but thou art a wife to be proud of!" he cried. "Tell me +the words, Woman! and I will e'en go and sample his Lordship's wine for +myself."</p> + +<p>But the Goodwife shook her head. "Na, na! I cannot do that," she said, +"for if I did, an' ye telled it over again, 'twould turn the whole world +upside down. For everybody would be leaving their own lawful work, and +flying about the world after other folk's business and other folk's +dainties. So just bide content, Goodman. Ye get on fine with the +knowledge ye already possess."</p> + +<p>And although the old man tried to persuade her with all the soft words +he could think of, she would not tell him her secret.</p> + +<p>But he was a sly old man, and the thought of the Bishop's wine gave him +no rest. So night after night he went and hid in the old woman's +cottage, in the hope that his wife and her friends would meet there; and +although for a long time it was all in vain, at last his trouble was +rewarded. For one evening the whole five old women assembled, and in low +tones and with chuckles of laughter they recounted all that had befallen +them in Lappland. Then, running to the fireplace, they, one after +another, climbed on a chair and put their feet on the sooty crook. Then +they repeated the magic words, and, hey, presto! they were up the lum +and away before the old man could draw his breath.</p> + +<p>"I can do that, too," he said to himself; and he crawled out of his +hiding-place and ran to the fire. He put his foot on the crook and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> +repeated the words, and up the chimney he went, and flew through the air +after his wife and her companions, as if he had been a Warlock born.</p> + +<p>And, as Witches are not in the habit of looking over their shoulders, +they never noticed that he was following them, until they reached the +Bishop's Palace and went down into his cellar, then, when they found +that he was among them, they were not too well pleased.</p> + +<p>However, there was no help for it, and they settled down to enjoy +themselves. They tapped this cask of wine, and they tapped that, +drinking a little of each, but not too much; for they were cautious old +women, and they knew that if they wanted to get home before cock-crow it +behoved them to keep their heads clear.</p> + +<p>But the old man was not so wise, for he sipped, and he sipped, until at +last he became quite drowsy, and lay down on the floor and fell fast +asleep.</p> + +<p>And his wife, seeing this, thought that she would teach him a lesson not +to be so curious in the future. So, when she and her four friends +thought that it was time to be gone, she departed without waking him.</p> + +<p>He slept peacefully for some hours, until two of the Bishop's servants, +coming down to the cellar to draw wine for their Master's table, almost +fell over him in the darkness. Greatly astonished at his presence there, +for the cellar door was fast locked, they dragged him up to the light<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> +and shook him, and cuffed him, and asked him how he came to be there.</p> + +<p>And the poor old man was so confused at being awakened in this rough +way, and his head seemed to whirl round so fast, that all he could +stammer out was, "that he came from Fife, and that he had travelled on +the midnight wind."</p> + +<p>As soon as they heard that, the men servants cried out that he was a +Warlock, and they dragged him before the Bishop, and, as Bishops in +those days had a holy horror of Warlocks and Witches, he ordered him to +be burned alive.</p> + +<p>When the sentence was pronounced, you may be very sure that the poor old +man wished with all his heart that he had stayed quietly at home in bed, +and never hankered after the Bishop's wine.</p> + +<p>But it was too late to wish that now, for the servants dragged him out +into the courtyard, and put a chain round his waist, and fastened it to +a great iron stake, and they piled faggots of wood round his feet and +set them alight.</p> + +<p>As the first tiny little tongue of flame crept up, the poor old man +thought that his last hour had come. But when he thought that, he forgot +completely that his wife was a Witch.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 401px;"> +<img src="images/231.png" width="401" height="600" alt="His chains fell off" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +His chains fell off, and he mounted in the air,—up and +up—</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p> + +<p>For, just as the little tongue of flame began to singe his +breeches, there was a swish and a flutter in the air, and a great Grey +Bird, with outstretched wings, appeared in the sky, and swooped down +suddenly, and perched for a moment on the old man's shoulder.</p> + +<p>And in this Grey Bird's mouth was a little red pirnie, which, to +everyone's amazement, it popped on to the prisoner's head. Then it gave +one fierce croak, and flew away again, but to the old man's ears that +croak was the sweetest music that he had ever heard.</p> + +<p>For to him it was the croak of no earthly bird, but the voice of his +wife whispering words of magic to him. And when he heard them he jumped +for joy, for he knew that they were words of deliverance, and he shouted +them aloud, and his chains fell off, and he mounted in the air—up and +up—while the onlookers watched him in awestruck silence.</p> + +<p>He flew right away to the Kingdom of Fife, without as much as saying +good-bye to them; and when he found himself once more safely at home, +you may be very sure that he never tried to find out his wife's secrets +again, but left her alone to her own devices.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>ASSIPATTLE AND THE MESTER STOORWORM</h2> + +<p>In far bygone days, in the North, there lived a well-to-do farmer, who +had seven sons and one daughter. And the youngest of these seven sons +bore a very curious name; for men called him Assipattle, which means, +"He who grovels among the ashes."</p> + +<p>Perhaps Assipattle deserved his name, for he was rather a lazy boy, who +never did any work on the farm as his brothers did, but ran about the +doors with ragged clothes and unkempt hair, and whose mind was ever +filled with wondrous stories of Trolls and Giants, Elves and Goblins.</p> + +<p>When the sun was hot in the long summer afternoons, when the bees droned +drowsily and even the tiny insects seemed almost asleep, the boy was +content to throw himself down on the ash-heap amongst the ashes, and lie +there, lazily letting them run through his fingers, as one might play +with sand on the sea-shore, basking in the sunshine and telling stories +to himself.</p> + +<p>And his brothers, working hard in the fields, would point to him with +mocking fingers, and laugh, and say to each other how well the name<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> +suited him, and of how little use he was in the world.</p> + +<p>And when they came home from their work, they would push him about and +tease him, and even his mother would make him sweep the floor, and draw +water from the well, and fetch peats from the peat-stack, and do all the +little odd jobs that nobody else would do.</p> + +<p>So poor Assipattle had rather a hard life of it, and he would often have +been very miserable had it not been for his sister, who loved him +dearly, and who would listen quite patiently to all the stories that he +had to tell; who never laughed at him or told him that he was telling +lies, as his brothers did.</p> + +<p>But one day a very sad thing happened—at least, it was a sad thing for +poor Assipattle.</p> + +<p>For it chanced that the King of these parts had one only daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, whom he loved dearly, and to whom he denied +nothing. And Princess Gemdelovely was in want of a waiting-maid, and as +she had seen Assipattle's sister standing by the garden gate as she was +riding by one day, and had taken a fancy to her, she asked her father if +she might ask her to come and live at the Castle and serve her.</p> + +<p>Her father agreed at once, as he always did agree to any of her wishes; +and sent a messenger in haste to the farmer's house to ask if his +daughter would come to the Castle to be the Princess's waiting-maid.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p> + +<p>And, of course, the farmer was very pleased at the piece of good fortune +which had befallen the girl, and so was her mother, and so were her six +brothers, all except poor Assipattle, who looked with wistful eyes after +his sister as she rode away, proud of her new clothes and of the rivlins +which her father had made her out of cowhide, which she was to wear in +the Palace when she waited on the Princess, for at home she always ran +barefoot.</p> + +<p>Time passed, and one day a rider rode in hot haste through the country +bearing the most terrible tidings. For the evening before, some +fishermen, out in their boats, had caught sight of the Mester Stoorworm, +which, as everyone knows, was the largest, and the first, and the +greatest of all Sea-Serpents. It was that beast which, in the Good Book, +is called the Leviathan, and if it had been measured in our day, its +tail would have touched Iceland, while its snout rested on the North +Cape.</p> + +<p>And the fishermen had noticed that this fearsome Monster had its head +turned towards the mainland, and that it opened its mouth and yawned +horribly, as if to show that it was hungry, and that, if it were not +fed, it would kill every living thing upon the land, both man and beast, +bird and creeping thing.</p> + +<p>For 'twas well known that its breath was so poisonous that it consumed +as with a burning fire everything that it lighted on. So that, if it +pleased the awful creature to lift its head and put forth its breath, +like noxious vapour, over the country, in a few weeks the fair land<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> +would be turned into a region of desolation.</p> + +<p>As you may imagine, everyone was almost paralysed with terror at this +awful calamity which threatened them; and the King called a solemn +meeting of all his Counsellors, and asked them if they could devise any +way of warding off the danger.</p> + +<p>And for three whole days they sat in Council, these grave, bearded men, +and many were the suggestions which were made, and many the words of +wisdom which were spoken; but, alas! no one was wise enough to think of +a way by which the Mester Stoorworm might be driven back.</p> + +<p>At last, at the end of the third day, when everyone had given up hope of +finding a remedy, the door of the Council Chamber opened and the Queen +appeared.</p> + +<p>Now the Queen was the King's second wife, and she was not a favourite in +the Kingdom, for she was a proud, insolent woman, who did not behave +kindly to her step-daughter, the Princess Gemdelovely, and who spent +much more of her time in the company of a great Sorcerer, whom everyone +feared and dreaded, than she did in that of the King, her husband.</p> + +<p>So the sober Counsellors looked at her disapprovingly as she came boldly +into the Council Chamber and stood up beside the King's Chair of State, +and, speaking in a loud, clear voice, addressed them thus:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Ye think that ye are brave men and strong, oh, ye Elders, and fit to be +the Protectors of the People. And so it may be, when it is mortals that +ye are called on to face. But ye be no match for the foe that now +threatens our land. Before him your weapons be but as straw. 'Tis not +through strength of arm, but through sorcery, that he will be overcome. +So listen to my words, even though they be but those of a woman, and +take counsel with the great Sorcerer, from whom nothing is hid, but who +knoweth all the mysteries of the earth, and of the air, and of the sea."</p> + +<p>Now the King and his Counsellors liked not this advice, for they hated +the Sorcerer, who had, as they thought, too much influence with the +Queen; but they were at their wits' end, and knew not to whom to turn +for help, so they were fain to do as she said and summon the Wizard +before them.</p> + +<p>And when he obeyed the summons and appeared in their midst, they liked +him none the better for his looks. For he was long, and thin, and +awesome, with a beard that came down to his knee, and hair that wrapped +him about like a mantle, and his face was the colour of mortar, as if he +had always lived in darkness, and had been afraid to look on the sun.</p> + +<p>But there was no help to be found in any other man, so they laid the +case before him, and asked him what they should do. And he answered +coldly that he would think over the matter, and come again to the +Assembly the following day and give them his advice.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> + +<p>And his advice, when they heard it, was like to turn their hair white +with horror.</p> + +<p>For he said that the only way to satisfy the Monster, and to make it +spare the land, was to feed it every Saturday with seven young maidens, +who must be the fairest who could be found; and if, after this remedy +had been tried once or twice, it did not succeed in mollifying the +Stoorworm and inducing him to depart, there was but one other measure +that he could suggest, but that was so horrible and dreadful that he +would not rend their hearts by mentioning it in the meantime.</p> + +<p>And as, although they hated him, they feared him also, the Council had +e'en to abide by his words, and pronounced the awful doom.</p> + +<p>And so it came about that, every Saturday, seven bonnie, innocent +maidens were bound hand and foot and laid on a rock which ran into the +sea, and the Monster stretched out his long, jagged tongue, and swept +them into his mouth; while all the rest of the folk looked on from the +top of a high hill—or, at least, the men looked—with cold, set faces, +while the women hid theirs in their aprons and wept aloud.</p> + +<p>"Is there no other way," they cried, "no other way than this, to save +the land?"</p> + +<p>But the men only groaned and shook their heads. "No other way," they +answered; "no other way."</p> + +<p>Then suddenly a boy's indignant voice rang out among the crowd. "Is +there no grown man who would fight that Monster, and kill him, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> +save the lassies alive? I would do it; I am not feared for the Mester +Stoorworm."</p> + +<p>It was the boy Assipattle who spoke, and everyone looked at him in +amazement as he stood staring at the great Sea-Serpent, his fingers +twitching with rage, and his great blue eyes glowing with pity and +indignation.</p> + +<p>"The poor bairn's mad; the sight hath turned his head," they whispered +one to another; and they would have crowded round him to pet and comfort +him, but his elder brother came and gave him a heavy clout on the side +of his head.</p> + +<p>"Thou fight the Stoorworm!" he cried contemptuously. "A likely story! Go +home to thy ash-pit, and stop speaking havers;" and, taking his arm, he +drew him to the place where his other brothers were waiting, and they +all went home together.</p> + +<p>But all the time Assipattle kept on saying that he meant to kill the +Stoorworm; and at last his brothers became so angry at what they thought +was mere bragging, that they picked up stones and pelted him so hard +with them that at last he took to his heels and ran away from them.</p> + +<p>That evening the six brothers were threshing corn in the barn, and +Assipattle, as usual, was lying among the ashes thinking his own +thoughts, when his mother came out and bade him run and tell the others +to come in for their supper.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p> + +<p>The boy did as he was bid, for he was a willing enough little fellow; +but when he entered the barn his brothers, in revenge for his having run +away from them in the afternoon, set on him and pulled him down, and +piled so much straw on top of him that, had his father not come from the +house to see what they were all waiting for, he would, of a surety, have +been smothered.</p> + +<p>But when, at supper-time, his mother was quarrelling with the other lads +for what they had done, and saying to them that it was only cowards who +set on bairns littler and younger than themselves, Assipattle looked up +from the bicker of porridge which he was supping.</p> + +<p>"Vex not thyself, Mother," he said, "for I could have fought them all if +I liked; ay, and beaten them, too."</p> + +<p>"Why didst thou not essay it then?" cried everybody at once.</p> + +<p>"Because I knew that I would need all my strength when I go to fight the +Giant Stoorworm," replied Assipattle gravely.</p> + +<p>And, as you may fancy, the others laughed louder than before.</p> + +<p>Time passed, and every Saturday seven lassies were thrown to the +Stoorworm, until at last it was felt that this state of things could not +be allowed to go on any longer; for if it did, there would soon be no +maidens at all left in the country.</p> + +<p>So the Elders met once more, and, after long consultation, it was +agreed that the Sorcerer should be summoned, and asked what his other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> +remedy was. "For, by our troth," said they, "it cannot be worse than +that which we are practising now."</p> + +<p>But, had they known it, the new remedy was even more dreadful than the +old. For the cruel Queen hated her step-daughter, Gemdelovely, and the +wicked Sorcerer knew that she did, and that she would not be sorry to +get rid of her, and, things being as they were, he thought that he saw a +way to please the Queen. So he stood up in the Council, and, pretending +to be very sorry, said that the only other thing that could be done was +to give the Princess Gemdelovely to the Stoorworm, then would it of a +surety depart.</p> + +<p>When they heard this sentence a terrible stillness fell upon the +Council, and everyone covered his face with his hands, for no man dare +look at the King.</p> + +<p>But although his dear daughter was as the apple of his eye, he was a +just and righteous Monarch, and he felt that it was not right that other +fathers should have been forced to part with their daughters, in order +to try and save the country, if his child was to be spared.</p> + +<p>So, after he had had speech with the Princess, he stood up before the +Elders, and declared, with trembling voice, that both he and she were +ready to make the sacrifice.</p> + +<p>"She is my only child," he said, "and the last of her race. Yet it +seemeth good to both of us that she should lay down her life, if by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> +so doing she may save the land that she loves so well."</p> + +<p>Salt tears ran down the faces of the great bearded men as they heard +their King's words, for they all knew how dear the Princess Gemdelovely +was to him. But it was felt that what he said was wise and true, and +that the thing was just and right; for 'twere better, surely, that one +maiden should die, even although she were of Royal blood, than that +bands of other maidens should go to their death week by week, and all to +no purpose.</p> + +<p>So, amid heavy sobs, the aged Lawman—he who was the chief man of the +Council—rose up to pronounce the Princess's doom. But, ere he did so, +the King's Kemper—or Fighting-man—stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"Nature teaches us that it is fitting that each beast hath a tail," he +said; "and this Doom, which our Lawman is about to pronounce, is in very +sooth a venomous beast. And, if I had my way, the tail which it would +bear after it is this, that if the Mester Stoorworm doth not depart, and +that right speedily, after he have devoured the Princess, the next thing +that is offered to him be no tender young maiden, but that tough, lean +old Sorcerer."</p> + +<p>And at his words there was such a great shout of approval that the +wicked Sorcerer seemed to shrink within himself, and his pale face grew +paler than it was before.</p> + +<p>Now, three weeks were allowed between the time that the Doom was +pronounced upon the Princess and the time that it was carried out, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> +that the King might send Ambassadors to all the neighbouring Kingdoms to +issue proclamations that, if any Champion would come forward who was +able to drive away the Stoorworm and save the Princess, he should have +her for his wife.</p> + +<p>And with her he should have the Kingdom, as well as a very famous sword +that was now in the King's possession, but which had belonged to the +great god Odin, with which he had fought and vanquished all his foes.</p> + +<p>The sword bore the name of Sickersnapper, and no man had any power +against it.</p> + +<p>The news of all these things spread over the length and breadth of the +land, and everyone mourned for the fate that was like to befall the +Princess Gemdelovely. And the farmer, and his wife, and their six sons +mourned also;—all but Assipattle, who sat amongst the ashes and said +nothing.</p> + +<p>When the King's Proclamation was made known throughout the neighbouring +Kingdoms, there was a fine stir among all the young Gallants, for it +seemed but a little thing to slay a Sea-Monster; and a beautiful wife, a +fertile Kingdom, and a trusty sword are not to be won every day.</p> + +<p>So six-and-thirty Champions arrived at the King's Palace, each hoping to +gain the prize.</p> + +<p>But the King sent them all out to look at the Giant Stoorworm lying in +the sea with its enormous mouth open, and when they saw it, twelve of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> +them were seized with sudden illness, and twelve of them were so afraid +that they took to their heels and ran, and never stopped till they +reached their own countries; and so only twelve returned to the King's +Palace, and as for them, they were so downcast at the thought of the +task that they had undertaken that they had no spirit left in them at +all.</p> + +<p>And none of them dare try to kill the Stoorworm; so the three weeks +passed slowly by, until the night before the day on which the Princess +was to be sacrificed. On that night the King, feeling that he must do +something to entertain his guests, made a great supper for them.</p> + +<p>But, as you may think, it was a dreary feast, for everyone was thinking +so much about the terrible thing that was to happen on the morrow, that +no one could eat or drink.</p> + +<p>And when it was all over, and everybody had retired to rest, save the +King and his old Kemperman, the King returned to the great hall, and +went slowly up to his Chair of State, high up on the dais. It was not +like the Chairs of State that we know nowadays; it was nothing but a +massive Kist, in which he kept all the things which he treasured most.</p> + +<p>The old Monarch undid the iron bolts with trembling fingers, and lifted +the lid, and took out the wondrous sword Sickersnapper, which had +belonged to the great god Odin.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> + +<p>His trusty Kemperman, who had stood by him in a hundred fights, watched +him with pitying eyes.</p> + +<p>"Why lift ye out the sword," he said softly, "when thy fighting days are +done? Right nobly hast thou fought thy battles in the past, oh, my Lord! +when thine arm was strong and sure. But when folk's years number four +score and sixteen, as thine do, 'tis time to leave such work to other +and younger men."</p> + +<p>The old King turned on him angrily, with something of the old fire in +his eyes. "Wheest," he cried, "else will I turn this sword on thee. Dost +thou think that I can see my only bairn devoured by a Monster, and not +lift a finger to try and save her when no other man will? I tell +thee—and I will swear it with my two thumbs crossed on +Sickersnapper—that both the sword and I will be destroyed before so +much as one of her hairs be touched. So go, an' thou love me, my old +comrade, and order my boat to be ready, with the sail set and the prow +pointed out to sea. I will go myself and fight the Stoorworm; and if I +do not return, I will lay it on thee to guard my cherished daughter. +Peradventure, my life may redeem hers."</p> + +<p>Now that night everybody at the farm went to bed betimes, for next +morning the whole family was to set out early, to go to the top of the +hill near the sea, to see the Princess eaten by the Stoorworm. All +except Assipattle, who was to be left at home to herd the geese.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> + +<p>The lad was so vexed at this—for he had great schemes in his head—that +he could not sleep. And as he lay tossing and tumbling about in his +corner among the ashes, he heard his father and mother talking in the +great box-bed. And, as he listened, he found that they were having an +argument.</p> + +<p>"'Tis such a long way to the hill overlooking the sea, I fear me I shall +never walk it," said his mother. "I think I had better bide at home."</p> + +<p>"Nay," replied her husband, "that would be a bonny-like thing, when all +the country-side is to be there. Thou shalt ride behind me on my good +mare Go-Swift."</p> + +<p>"I do not care to trouble thee to take me behind thee," said his wife, +"for methinks thou dost not love me as thou wert wont to do."</p> + +<p>"The woman's havering," cried the Goodman of the house impatiently. +"What makes thee think that I have ceased to love thee?"</p> + +<p>"Because thou wilt no longer tell me thy secrets," answered his wife. +"To go no further, think of this very horse, Go-Swift. For five long +years I have been begging thee to tell me how it is that, when thou +ridest her, she flies faster than the wind, while if any other man mount +her, she hirples along like a broken-down nag."</p> + +<p>The Goodman laughed. "'Twas not for lack of love, Goodwife," he said, +"though it might be lack of trust. For women's tongues wag but loosely; +and I did not want other folk to ken my secret. But since my silence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> +hath vexed thy heart, I will e'en tell it thee.</p> + +<p>"When I want Go-Swift to stand, I give her one clap on the left +shoulder. When I would have her go like any other horse, I give her two +claps on the right. But when I want her to fly like the wind, I whistle +through the windpipe of a goose. And, as I never ken when I want her to +gallop like that, I aye keep the bird's thrapple in the left-hand pocket +of my coat."</p> + +<p>"So that is how thou managest the beast," said the farmer's wife, in a +satisfied tone; "and that is what becomes of all my goose thrapples. Oh! +but thou art a clever fellow, Goodman; and now that I ken the way of it +I may go to sleep."</p> + +<p>Assipattle was not tumbling about in the ashes now; he was sitting up in +the darkness, with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes.</p> + +<p>His opportunity had come at last, and he knew it.</p> + +<p>He waited patiently till their heavy breathing told him that his parents +were asleep; then he crept over to where his father's clothes were, and +took the goose's windpipe out of the pocket of his coat, and slipped +noiselessly out of the house. Once he was out of it, he ran like +lightning to the stable. He saddled and bridled Go-Swift, and threw a +halter round her neck, and led her to the stable door.</p> + +<p>The good mare, unaccustomed to her new groom, pranced, and reared, and +plunged; but Assipattle, knowing his father's secret, clapped her once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> +on the left shoulder, and she stood as still as a stone. Then he mounted +her, and gave her two claps on the right shoulder, and the good horse +trotted off briskly, giving a loud neigh as she did so.</p> + +<p>The unwonted sound, ringing out in the stillness of the night, roused +the household, and the Goodman and his six sons came tumbling down the +wooden stairs, shouting to one another in confusion that someone was +stealing Go-Swift.</p> + +<p>The farmer was the first to reach the door; and when he saw, in the +starlight, the vanishing form of his favourite steed, he cried at the +top of his voice:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Stop thief, ho!</span><br /> + <span class="i2">Go-Swift, whoa!"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>And when Go-Swift heard that she pulled up in a moment. All seemed lost, +for the farmer and his sons could run very fast indeed, and it seemed to +Assipattle, sitting motionless on Go-Swift's back, that they would very +soon make up on him.</p> + +<p>But, luckily, he remembered the goose's thrapple, and he pulled it out +of his pocket and whistled through it. In an instant the good mare +bounded forward, swift as the wind, and was over the hill and out of +reach of its pursuers before they had taken ten steps more.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> + +<p>Day was dawning when the lad came within sight of the sea; and there, in +front of him, in the water, lay the enormous Monster whom he had come so +far to slay. Anyone would have said that he was mad even to dream of +making such an attempt, for he was but a slim, unarmed youth, and the +Mester Stoorworm was so big that men said it would reach the fourth part +round the world. And its tongue was jagged at the end like a fork, and +with this fork it could sweep whatever it chose into its mouth, and +devour it at its leisure.</p> + +<p>For all this, Assipattle was not afraid, for he had the heart of a hero +underneath his tattered garments. "I must be cautious," he said to +himself, "and do by my wits what I cannot do by my strength."</p> + +<p>He climbed down from his seat on Go-Swift's back, and tethered the good +steed to a tree, and walked on, looking well about him, till he came to +a little cottage on the edge of a wood.</p> + +<p>The door was not locked, so he entered, and found its occupant, an old +woman, fast asleep in bed. He did not disturb her, but he took down an +iron pot from the shelf, and examined it closely.</p> + +<p>"This will serve my purpose," he said; "and surely the old dame would +not grudge it if she knew 'twas to save the Princess's life."</p> + +<p>Then he lifted a live peat from the smouldering fire, and went his way.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span></p> + +<p>Down at the water's edge he found the King's boat lying, guarded by a +single boatman, with its sails set and its prow turned in the direction +of the Mester Stoorworm.</p> + +<p>"It's a cold morning," said Assipattle. "Art thou not well-nigh frozen +sitting there? If thou wilt come on shore, and run about, and warm +thyself, I will get into the boat and guard it till thou returnest."</p> + +<p>"A likely story," replied the man. "And what would the King say if he +were to come, as I expect every moment he will do, and find me playing +myself on the sand, and his good boat left to a smatchet like thee? +'Twould be as much as my head is worth."</p> + +<p>"As thou wilt," answered Assipattle carelessly, beginning to search +among the rocks. "In the meantime, I must be looking for a wheen mussels +to roast for my breakfast." And after he had gathered the mussels, he +began to make a hole in the sand to put the live peat in. The boatman +watched him curiously, for he, too, was beginning to feel hungry.</p> + +<p>Presently the lad gave a wild shriek, and jumped high in the air. "Gold, +gold!" he cried. "By the name of Thor, who would have looked to find +gold here?"</p> + +<p>This was too much for the boatman. Forgetting all about his head and the +King, he jumped out of the boat, and, pushing Assipattle aside, began to +scrape among the sand with all his might.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 381px;"> +<img src="images/251.png" width="381" height="600" alt="Assipattle" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p> + +<p>While he was doing so, Assipattle seized his pot, jumped into the boat, +pushed her off, and was half a mile out to sea before the outwitted man, +who, needless to say, could find no gold, noticed what he was about.</p> + +<p>And, of course, he was very angry, and the old King was more angry still +when he came down to the shore, attended by his Nobles and carrying the +great sword Sickersnapper, in the vain hope that he, poor feeble old man +that he was, might be able in some way to defeat the Monster and save +his daughter.</p> + +<p>But to make such an attempt was beyond his power now that his boat was +gone. So he could only stand on the shore, along with the fast +assembling crowd of his subjects, and watch what would befall.</p> + +<p>And this was what befell!</p> + +<p>Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea, and watching the Mester +Stoorworm intently, noticed that the terrible Monster yawned +occasionally, as if longing for his weekly feast. And as it yawned a +great flood of sea-water went down its throat, and came out again at its +huge gills.</p> + +<p>So the brave lad took down his sail, and pointed the prow of his boat +straight at the Monster's mouth, and the next time it yawned he and his +boat were sucked right in, and, like Jonah, went straight down its +throat into the dark regions inside its body. On and on the boat +floated; but as it went the water grew less, pouring out of the +Stoorworm's gills, till at last it stuck, as it were, on dry land. And +Assipattle jumped out, his pot in his hand, and began to explore.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span></p> + +<p>Presently he came to the huge creature's liver, and having heard that +the liver of a fish is full of oil, he made a hole in it and put in the +live peat.</p> + +<p>Woe's me! but there was a conflagration! And Assipattle just got back to +his boat in time; for the Mester Stoorworm, in its convulsions, threw +the boat right out of its mouth again, and it was flung up, high and +dry, on the bare land.</p> + +<p>The commotion in the sea was so terrible that the King and his +daughter—who by this time had come down to the shore dressed like a +bride, in white, ready to be thrown to the Monster—and all his +Courtiers, and all the country-folk, were fain to take refuge on the +hill top, out of harm's way, and stand and see what happened next.</p> + +<p>And this was what happened next.</p> + +<p>The poor, distressed creature—for it was now to be pitied, even +although it was a great, cruel, awful Mester Stoorworm—tossed itself to +and fro, twisting and writhing.</p> + +<p>And as it tossed its awful head out of the water its tongue fell out, +and struck the earth with such force that it made a great dent in it, +into which the sea rushed. And that dent formed the crooked Straits +which now divide Denmark from Norway and Sweden.</p> + +<p>Then some of its teeth fell out and rested in the sea, and became the +Islands that we now call the Orkney Isles; and a little afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> +some more teeth dropped out, and they became what we now call the +Shetland Isles.</p> + +<p>After that the creature twisted itself into a great lump and died; and +this lump became the Island of Iceland; and the fire which Assipattle +had kindled with his live peat still burns on underneath it, and that is +why there are mountains which throw out fire in that chilly land.</p> + +<p>When at last it was plainly seen that the Mester Stoorworm was dead, the +King could scarce contain himself with joy. He put his arms round +Assipattle's neck, and kissed him, and called him his son. And he took +off his own Royal Mantle and put it on the lad, and girded his good +sword Sickersnapper round his waist. And he called his daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, to him, and put her hand in his, and declared that +when the right time came she should be his wife, and that he should be +ruler over all the Kingdom.</p> + +<p>Then the whole company mounted their horses again, and Assipattle rode +on Go-Swift by the Princess's side; and so they returned, with great +joy, to the King's Palace.</p> + +<p>But as they were nearing the gate Assipattle's sister, she who was the +Princess's maid, ran out to meet him, and signed to the Princess to lout +down, and whispered something in her ear.</p> + +<p>The Princess's face grew dark, and she turned her horse's head and rode +back to where her father was, with his Nobles. She told him the words<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> +that the maiden had spoken; and when he heard them his face, too, grew +as black as thunder.</p> + +<p>For the matter was this: The cruel Queen, full of joy at the thought +that she was to be rid, once for all, of her step-daughter, had been +making love to the wicked Sorcerer all the morning in the old King's +absence.</p> + +<p>"He shall be killed at once," cried the Monarch. "Such behaviour cannot +be overlooked."</p> + +<p>"Thou wilt have much ado to find him, your Majesty," said the girl, "for +'tis more than an hour since he and the Queen fled together on the +fleetest horses that they could find in the stables."</p> + +<p>"But I can find him," cried Assipattle; and he went off like the wind on +his good horse Go-Swift.</p> + +<p>It was not long before he came within sight of the fugitives, and he +drew his sword and shouted to them to stop.</p> + +<p>They heard the shout, and turned round, and they both laughed aloud in +derision when they saw that it was only the boy who grovelled in the +ashes who pursued them.</p> + +<p>"The insolent brat! I will cut off his head for him! I will teach him a +lesson!" cried the Sorcerer; and he rode boldly back to meet Assipattle. +For although he was no fighter, he knew that no ordinary weapon could +harm his enchanted body; therefore he was not afraid.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span></p> + +<p>But he did not count on Assipattle having the Sword of the great god +Odin, with which he had slain all his enemies; and before this magic +weapon he was powerless. And, at one thrust, the young lad ran it +through his body as easily as if he had been any ordinary man, and he +fell from his horse, dead.</p> + +<p>Then the Courtiers of the King, who had also set off in pursuit, but +whose steeds were less fleet of foot than Go-Swift, came up, and seized +the bridle of the Queen's horse, and led it and its rider back to the +Palace.</p> + +<p>She was brought before the Council, and judged, and condemned to be shut +up in a high tower for the remainder of her life. Which thing surely +came to pass.</p> + +<p>As for Assipattle, when the proper time came he was married to the +Princess Gemdelovely, with great feasting and rejoicing. And when the +old King died they ruled the Kingdom for many a long year.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 269px;"> +<img src="images/256.png" width="269" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE FOX AND THE WOLF</h2> + +<p>There was once a Fox and a Wolf, who set up house together in a cave +near the sea-shore. Although you may not think so, they got on very well +for a time, for they went out hunting all day, and when they came back +at night they were generally too tired to do anything but to eat their +supper and go to bed.</p> + +<p>They might have lived together always had it not been for the slyness +and greediness of the Fox, who tried to over-reach his companion, who +was not nearly so clever as he was.</p> + +<p>And this was how it came about.</p> + +<p>It chanced, one dark December night, that there was a dreadful storm at +sea, and in the morning the beach was all strewn with wreckage. So as +soon as it was daylight the two friends went down to the shore to see +if they could find anything to eat.</p> + +<p>They had the good fortune to light on a great Keg of Butter, which had +been washed overboard from some ship on its way home from Ireland, +where, as all the world knows, folk are famous for their butter.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p> + +<p>The simple Wolf danced with joy when he saw it. "Marrowbones and +trotters! but we will have a good supper this night," cried he, licking +his lips. "Let us set to work at once and roll it up to the cave."</p> + +<p>But the wily Fox was fond of butter, and he made up his mind that he +would have it all to himself. So he put on his wisest look, and shook +his head gravely.</p> + +<p>"Thou hast no prudence, my friend," he said reproachfully, "else wouldst +thou not talk of breaking up a Keg of Butter at this time of year, when +the stackyards are full of good grain, which can be had for the eating, +and the farmyards are stocked with nice fat ducks and poultry. No, no. +It behoveth us to have foresight, and to lay up in store for the spring, +when the grain is all threshed, and the stackyards are bare, and the +poultry have gone to market. So we will e'en bury the Keg, and dig it up +when we have need of it."</p> + +<p>Very reluctantly, for he was thinner and hungrier than the Fox, the Wolf +agreed to this proposal. So a hole was dug, and the Keg was buried, and +the two animals went off hunting as usual.</p> + +<p>About a week passed by: then one day the Fox came into the cave, and +flung himself down on the ground as if he were very much exhausted. But +if anyone had looked at him closely they would have seen a sly twinkle +in his eye.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" he sighed. "Life is a heavy burden."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What hath befallen thee?" asked the Wolf, who was ever kind and +soft-hearted.</p> + +<p>"Some friends of mine, who live over the hills yonder, are wanting me to +go to a christening to-night. Just think of the distance that I must +travel."</p> + +<p>"But needst thou go?" asked the Wolf. "Canst thou not send an excuse?"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/259.png" width="600" height="408" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>"I doubt that no excuse would be accepted," answered the Fox, "for they +asked me to stand god-father. Therefore it behoveth me to do my duty, +and pay no heed to my own feelings."</p> + +<p>So that evening the Fox was absent, and the Wolf was alone in the cave. +But it was not to a christening that the sly Fox went; it was to the Keg +of Butter that was buried in the sand. About midnight he returned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> +looking fat and sleek, and well pleased with himself.</p> + +<p>The Wolf had been dozing, but he looked up drowsily as his companion +entered. "Well, how did they name the bairn?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"They gave it a queer name," answered the Fox. "One of the queerest +names that I ever heard."</p> + +<p>"And what was that?" questioned the Wolf.</p> + +<p>"Nothing less than 'Blaisean' (Let-me-taste)," replied the Fox, throwing +himself down in his corner. And if the Wolf could have seen him in the +darkness he would have noticed that he was laughing to himself.</p> + +<p>Some days afterwards the same thing happened. The Fox was asked to +another christening; this time at a place some twenty-five miles along +the shore. And as he had grumbled before, so he grumbled again; but he +declared that it was his duty to go, and he went.</p> + +<p>At midnight he came back, smiling to himself and with no appetite for +his supper. And when the Wolf asked him the name of the child, he +answered that it was a more extraordinary name than the other—"Be na +Inheadnon" (Be in its middle).</p> + +<p>The very next week, much to the Wolf's wonder, the Fox was asked to yet +another christening. And this time the name of the child was "Sgriot an +Clar" (Scrape the staves). After that the invitations ceased.</p> + +<p>Time went on, and the hungry spring came, and the Fox and the Wolf had +their larder bare, for food was scarce, and the weather was bleak and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> +cold.</p> + +<p>"Let us go and dig up the Keg of Butter," said the Wolf. "Methinks that +now is the time we need it."</p> + +<p>The Fox agreed—having made up his mind how he would act—and the two +set out to the place where the Keg had been hidden. They scraped away +the sand, and uncovered it; but, needless to say, they found it empty.</p> + +<p>"This is thy work," said the Fox angrily, turning to the poor, innocent +Wolf. "Thou hast crept along here while I was at the christenings, and +eaten it up by stealth."</p> + +<p>"Not I," replied the Wolf. "I have never been near the spot since the +day that we buried it together."</p> + +<p>"But I tell thee it must have been thou," insisted the Fox, "for no +other creature knew it was there except ourselves. And, besides, I can +see by the sleekness of thy fur that thou hast fared well of late."</p> + +<p>Which last sentence was both unjust and untrue, for the poor Wolf looked +as lean and badly nourished as he could possibly be.</p> + +<p>So back they both went to the cave, arguing all the way. The Fox +declaring that the Wolf <i>must</i> have been the thief, and the Wolf +protesting his innocence.</p> + +<p>"Art thou ready to swear to it?" said the Fox at last; though why he +asked such a question, dear only knows.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am," replied the Wolf firmly; and, standing in the middle of +the cave, and holding one paw up solemnly he swore this awful oath:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be—</span><br /> + <span class="i0">May a fateful, fell disease fall on me, fall on me."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>When he was finished, he put down his paw and, turning to the Fox, +looked at him keenly; for all at once it struck him that his fur looked +sleek and fine.</p> + +<p>"It is thy turn now," he said. "I have sworn, and thou must do so also."</p> + +<p>The Fox's face fell at these words, for although he was both untruthful +and dishonest now, he had been well brought up in his youth, and he knew +that it was a terrible thing to perjure oneself and swear falsely.</p> + +<p>So he made one excuse after another, but the Wolf, who was getting more +and more suspicious every moment, would not listen to him.</p> + +<p>So, as he had not courage to tell the truth, he was forced at last to +swear an oath also, and this was what he swore:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be—</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Then let some most deadly punishment fall on me, fall on me—</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Whirrum wheeckam, whirrum wheeckam,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Whirram whee, whirram whee!"</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>After he had heard him swear this terrible oath, the Wolf thought that +his suspicions must be groundless, and he would have let the matter +rest; but the Fox, having an uneasy conscience, could not do so. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> +he suggested that as it was clear that one of them must have eaten the +Keg of Butter, they should both stand near the fire; so that when they +became hot, the butter would ooze out of the skin of whichever of them +was guilty. And he took care that the Wolf should stand in the hottest +place.</p> + +<p>But the fire was big and the cave was small; and while the poor lean +Wolf showed no sign of discomfort, he himself, being nice and fat and +comfortable, soon began to get unpleasantly warm.</p> + +<p>As this did not suit him at all, he next proposed that they should go +for a walk, "for," said he, "it is now quite plain that neither of us +can have taken the butter. It must have been some stranger who hath +found out our secret."</p> + +<p>But the Wolf had seen the Fox beginning to grow greasy, and he knew now +what had happened, and he determined to have his revenge. So he waited +until they came to a smithy which stood at the side of the road, where a +horse was waiting just outside the door to be shod.</p> + +<p>Then, keeping at a safe distance, he said to his companion, "There is +writing on that smithy door, which I cannot read, as my eyes are +failing; do thou try to read it, for perchance it may be something +'twere good for us to know."</p> + +<p>And the silly Fox, who was very vain, and did not like to confess that +his eyes were no better than those of his friend, went close up to the +door to try and read the writing. And he chanced to touch the horse's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> +fetlock, and, it being a restive beast, lifted its foot and struck out +at once, and killed the Fox as dead as a door-nail.</p> + +<p>And so, you see, the old saying in the Good Book came true after all: +"Be sure your sin will find you out."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 172px;"> +<img src="images/264.png" width="172" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>KATHERINE CRACKERNUTS</h2> + +<p>There was once a King whose wife died, leaving him with an only +daughter, whom he dearly loved. The little Princess's name was +Velvet-Cheek, and she was so good, and bonnie, and kind-hearted that all +her father's subjects loved her. But as the King was generally engaged +in transacting the business of the State, the poor little maiden had +rather a lonely life, and often wished that she had a sister with whom +she could play, and who would be a companion to her.</p> + +<p>The King, hearing this, made up his mind to marry a middle-aged +Countess, whom he had met at a neighbouring Court, who had one daughter, +named Katherine, who was just a little younger than the Princess +Velvet-Cheek, and who, he thought, would make a nice play-fellow for +her.</p> + +<p>He did so, and in one way the arrangement turned out very well, for the +two girls loved one another dearly, and had everything in common, just +as if they had really been sisters.</p> + +<p>But in another way it turned out very badly, for the new Queen was a +cruel and ambitious woman, and she wanted her own daughter to do as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> +she had done, and make a grand marriage, and perhaps even become a +Queen. And when she saw that Princess Velvet-Cheek was growing into a +very beautiful young woman—more beautiful by far than her own +daughter—she began to hate her, and to wish that in some way she +would lose her good looks.</p> + +<p>"For," thought she, "what suitor will heed my daughter as long as her +step-sister is by her side?"</p> + +<p>Now, among the servants and retainers at her husband's Castle there was +an old Hen-wife, who, men said, was in league with the Evil Spirits of +the air, and who was skilled in the knowledge of charms, and philtres, +and love potions.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she could help me to do what I seek to do," said the wicked +Queen; and one night, when it was growing dusk, she wrapped a cloak +round her, and set out to this old Hen-wife's cottage.</p> + +<p>"Send the lassie to me to-morrow morning ere she hath broken her fast," +replied the old Dame when she heard what her visitor had to say. "I will +find out a way to mar her beauty." And the wicked Queen went home +content.</p> + +<p>Next morning she went to the Princess's room while she was dressing, and +told her to go out before breakfast and get the eggs that the Hen-wife +had gathered. "And see," added she, "that thou dost not eat anything ere +thou goest, for there is nothing that maketh the roses bloom on a young +maiden's cheeks like going out fasting in the fresh morning air."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> + +<p>Princess Velvet-Cheek promised to do as she was bid, and go and fetch +the eggs; but as she was not fond of going out of doors before she had +had something to eat, and as, moreover, she suspected that her +step-mother had some hidden reason for giving her such an unusual order, +and she did not trust her step-mother's hidden reasons, she slipped into +the pantry as she went downstairs and helped herself to a large slice of +cake. Then, after she had eaten it, she went straight to the Hen-wife's +cottage and asked for the eggs.</p> + +<p>"Lift the lid of that pot there, your Highness, and you will see them," +said the old woman, pointing to the big pot standing in the corner in +which she boiled her hens' meat.</p> + +<p>The Princess did so, and found a heap of eggs lying inside, which she +lifted into her basket, while the old woman watched her with a curious +smile.</p> + +<p>"Go home to your Lady Mother, Hinny," she said at last, "and tell her +from me to keep the press door better snibbit."</p> + +<p>The Princess went home, and gave this extraordinary message to her +step-mother, wondering to herself the while what it meant.</p> + +<p>But if she did not understand the Hen-wife's words, the Queen understood +them only too well. For from them she gathered that the Princess had in +some way prevented the old Witch's spell doing what she intended it to +do.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> + +<p>So next morning, when she sent her step-daughter once more on the same +errand, she accompanied her to the door of the Castle herself, so that +the poor girl had no chance of paying a visit to the pantry. But as she +went along the road that led to the cottage, she felt so hungry that, +when she passed a party of country-folk picking peas by the roadside, +she asked them to give her a handful.</p> + +<p>They did so, and she ate the peas; and so it came about that the same +thing happened that had happened yesterday.</p> + +<p>The Hen-wife sent her to look for the eggs; but she could work no spell +upon her, because she had broken her fast. So the old woman bade her go +home again and give the same message to the Queen.</p> + +<p>The Queen was very angry when she heard it, for she felt that she was +being outwitted by this slip of a girl, and she determined that, +although she was not fond of getting up early, she would accompany her +next day herself, and make sure that she had nothing to eat as she went.</p> + +<p>So next morning she walked with the Princess to the Hen-wife's cottage, +and, as had happened twice before, the old woman sent the Royal maiden +to lift the lid off the pot in the corner in order to get the eggs.</p> + +<p>And the moment that the Princess did so off jumped her own pretty head, +and on jumped that of a sheep.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 424px;"> +<img src="images/269.png" width="424" height="600" alt="Off jumped" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Off jumped her own pretty head and on jumped that of a sheep</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then the wicked Queen thanked the cruel old Witch for the service that +she had rendered to her, and went home quite delighted with the success +of her scheme; while the poor Princess picked up her own head and put it +into her basket along with the eggs, and went home crying, keeping +behind the hedge all the way, for she felt so ashamed of her sheep's +head that she was afraid that anyone saw her.</p> + +<p>Now, as I told you, the Princess's step-sister Katherine loved her +dearly, and when she saw what a cruel deed had been wrought on her she +was so angry that she declared that she would not remain another hour in +the Castle. "For," said she, "if my Lady Mother can order one such deed +to be done, who can hinder her ordering another. So, methinks, 'twere +better for us both to be where she cannot reach us."</p> + +<p>So she wrapped a fine shawl round her poor step-sister's head, so that +none could tell what it was like, and, putting the real head in the +basket, she took her by the hand, and the two set out to seek their +fortunes.</p> + +<p>They walked and they walked, till they reached a splendid Palace, and +when they came to it Katherine made as though she would go boldly up and +knock at the door.</p> + +<p>"I may perchance find work here," she explained, "and earn enough money +to keep us both in comfort."</p> + +<p>But the poor Princess would fain have pulled her back. "They will have +nothing to do with thee," she whispered, "when they see that thou hast a +sister with a sheep's head."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And who is to know that thou hast a sheep's head?" asked Katherine. "If +thou hold thy tongue, and keep the shawl well round thy face, and leave +the rest to me."</p> + +<p>So up she went and knocked at the kitchen door, and when the housekeeper +came to answer it she asked her if there was any work that she could +give her to do. "For," said she, "I have a sick sister, who is sore +troubled with the migraine in her head, and I would fain find a quiet +lodging for her where she could rest for the night."</p> + +<p>"Dost thou know aught of sickness?" asked the housekeeper, who was +greatly struck by Katherine's soft voice and gentle ways.</p> + +<p>"Ay, do I," replied Katherine, "for when one's sister is troubled with +the migraine, one has to learn to go about softly and not to make a +noise."</p> + +<p>Now it chanced that the King's eldest son, the Crown Prince, was lying +ill in the Palace of a strange disease, which seemed to have touched his +brain. For he was so restless, especially at nights, that someone had +always to be with him to watch that he did himself no harm; and this +state of things had gone on so long that everyone was quite worn out.</p> + +<p>And the old housekeeper thought that it would be a good chance to get a +quiet night's sleep if this capable-looking stranger could be trusted to +sit up with the Prince.</p> + +<p>So she left her at the door, and went and consulted the King; and the +King came out and spoke to Katherine and he, too, was so pleased with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> +her voice and her appearance that he gave orders that a room should be +set apart in the Castle for her sick sister and herself, and he promised +that, if she would sit up that night with the Prince, and see that no +harm befell him, she would have, as her reward, a bag of silver Pennies +in the morning.</p> + +<p>Katherine agreed to the bargain readily, "for," thought she, "'twill +always be a night's lodging for the Princess; and, forbye that, a bag of +silver Pennies is not to be got every day."</p> + +<p>So the Princess went to bed in the comfortable chamber that was set +apart for her, and Katherine went to watch by the sick Prince.</p> + +<p>He was a handsome, comely young man, who seemed to be in some sort of +fever, for his brain was not quite clear, and he tossed and tumbled from +side to side, gazing anxiously in front of him, and stretching out his +hands as if he were in search of something.</p> + +<p>And at twelve o'clock at night, just when Katherine thought that he was +going to fall into a refreshing sleep, what was her horror to see him +rise from his bed, dress himself hastily, open the door, and slip +downstairs, as if he were going to look for somebody.</p> + +<p>"There be something strange in this," said the girl to herself. +"Methinks I had better follow him and see what happens."</p> + +<p>So she stole out of the room after the Prince and followed him safely +downstairs; and what was her astonishment to find that apparently he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> +was going some distance, for he put on his hat and riding-coat, and, +unlocking the door crossed the courtyard to the stable, and began to +saddle his horse.</p> + +<p>When he had done so, he led it out, and mounted, and, whistling softly +to a hound which lay asleep in a corner, he prepared to ride away.</p> + +<p>"I must go too, and see the end of this," said Katherine bravely; "for +methinks he is bewitched. These be not the actions of a sick man."</p> + +<p>So, just as the horse was about to start, she jumped lightly on its +back, and settled herself comfortably behind its rider, all unnoticed by +him.</p> + +<p>Then this strange pair rode away through the woods, and, as they went, +Katherine pulled the hazel-nuts that nodded in great clusters in her +face. "For," said she to herself, "Dear only knows where next I may get +anything to eat."</p> + +<p>On and on they rode, till they left the greenwood far behind them and +came out on an open moor. Soon they reached a hillock, and here the +Prince drew rein, and, stooping down, cried in a strange, uncanny +whisper, "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the Prince, and his horse, and +his hound enter."</p> + +<p>"And," whispered Katherine quickly, "let his lady enter behind him."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p> + +<p>Instantly, to her great astonishment, the top of the knowe seemed to tip +up, leaving an aperture large enough for the little company to enter; +then it closed gently behind them again.</p> + +<p>They found themselves in a magnificent hall, brilliantly lighted by +hundreds of candles stuck in sconces round the walls. In the centre of +this apartment was a group of the most beautiful maidens that Katherine +had ever seen, all dressed in shimmering ball-gowns, with wreaths of +roses and violets in their hair. And there were sprightly gallants also, +who had been treading a measure with these beauteous damsels to the +strains of fairy music.</p> + +<p>When the maidens saw the Prince, they ran to him, and led him away to +join their revels. And at the touch of their hands all his languor +seemed to disappear, and he became the gayest of all the throng, and +laughed, and danced, and sang as if he had never known what it was to be +ill.</p> + +<p>As no one took any notice of Katherine, she sat down quietly on a bit of +rock to watch what would befall. And as she watched, she became aware of +a wee, wee bairnie, playing with a tiny wand, quite close to her feet.</p> + +<p>He was a bonnie bit bairn, and she was just thinking of trying to make +friends with him when one of the beautiful maidens passed, and, looking +at the wand, said to her partner, in a meaning tone, "Three strokes of +that wand would give Katherine's sister back her pretty face."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> + +<p>Here was news indeed! Katherine's breath came thick and fast; and with +trembling fingers she drew some of the nuts out of her pocket, and began +rolling them carelessly towards the child. Apparently he did not get +nuts very often, for he dropped his little wand at once, and stretched +out his tiny hands to pick them up.</p> + +<p>This was just what she wanted; and she slipped down from her seat to the +ground, and drew a little nearer to him. Then she threw one or two more +nuts in his way, and, when he was picking these up, she managed to lift +the wand unobserved, and to hide it under her apron. After this, she +crept cautiously back to her seat again; and not a moment too soon, for +just then a cock crew, and at the sound the whole of the dancers +vanished—all but the Prince, who ran to mount his horse, and was in +such a hurry to be gone that Katherine had much ado to get up behind him +before the hillock opened, and he rode swiftly into the outer world once +more.</p> + +<p>But she managed it, and, as they rode homewards in the grey morning +light, she sat and cracked her nuts and ate them as fast as she could, +for her adventures had made her marvellously hungry.</p> + +<p>When she and her strange patient had once more reached the Castle, she +just waited to see him go back to bed, and begin to toss and tumble as +he had done before; then she ran to her step-sister's room, and, finding +her asleep, with her poor <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'mis-shapen'">misshapen</ins> head lying peacefully on the +pillow, she gave it three sharp little strokes with the fairy wand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> +and, lo and behold! the sheep's head vanished, and the Princess's own +pretty one took its place.</p> + +<p>In the morning the King and the old housekeeper came to inquire what +kind of night the Prince had had. Katherine answered that he had had a +very good night; for she was very anxious to stay with him longer, for +now that she had found out that the Elfin Maidens who dwelt in the Green +Knowe had thrown a spell over him, she was resolved to find out also how +that spell could be loosed.</p> + +<p>And Fortune favoured her; for the King was so pleased to think that such +a suitable nurse had been found for the Prince, and he was also so +charmed with the looks of her step-sister, who came out of her chamber +as bright and bonnie as in the old days, declaring that her migraine was +all gone, and that she was now able to do any work that the housekeeper +might find for her, that he begged Katherine to stay with his son a +little longer, adding that if she would do so, he would give her a bag +of gold Bonnet Pieces.</p> + +<p>So Katherine agreed readily; and that night she watched by the Prince as +she had done the night before. And at twelve o'clock he rose and dressed +himself, and rode to the Fairy Knowe, just as she had expected him to +do, for she was quite certain that the poor young man was bewitched, and +not suffering from a fever, as everyone thought he was.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> + +<p>And you may be sure that she accompanied him, riding behind him all +unnoticed, and filling her pockets with nuts as she rode.</p> + +<p>When they reached the Fairy Knowe, he spoke the same words that he had +spoken the night before. "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the young +Prince in with his horse and his hound." And when the Green Hill opened, +Katherine added softly, "And his lady behind him." So they all passed in +together.</p> + +<p>Katherine seated herself on a stone, and looked around her. The same +revels were going on as yesternight, and the Prince was soon in the +thick of them, dancing and laughing madly. The girl watched him +narrowly, wondering if she would ever be able to find out what would +restore him to his right mind; and, as she was watching him, the same +little bairn who had played with the magic wand came up to her again. +Only this time he was playing with a little bird.</p> + +<p>And as he played, one of the dancers passed by, and, turning to her +partner, said lightly, "Three bites of that birdie would lift the +Prince's sickness, and make him as well as he ever was." Then she joined +in the dance again, leaving Katherine sitting upright on her stone +quivering with excitement.</p> + +<p>If only she could get that bird the Prince might be cured! Very +carefully she began to shake some nuts out of her pocket, and roll them +across the floor towards the child.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p> + +<p>He picked them up eagerly, letting go the bird as he did so; and, in an +instant, Katherine caught it, and hid it under her apron.</p> + +<p>In no long time after that the cock crew, and the Prince and she set out +on their homeward ride. But this morning, instead of cracking nuts, she +killed and plucked the bird, scattering its feathers all along the road; +and the instant she gained the Prince's room, and had seen him safely +into bed, she put it on a spit in front of the fire and began to roast +it.</p> + +<p>And soon it began to frizzle, and get brown, and smell deliciously, and +the Prince, in his bed in the corner, opened his eyes and murmured +faintly, "How I wish I had a bite of that birdie."</p> + +<p>When she heard the words Katherine's heart jumped for joy, and as soon +as the bird was roasted she cut a little piece from its breast and +popped it into the Prince's mouth.</p> + +<p>When he had eaten it his strength seemed to come back somewhat, for he +rose on his elbow and looked at his nurse. "Oh! if I had but another +bite of that birdie!" he said. And his voice was certainly stronger.</p> + +<p>So Katherine gave him another piece, and when he had eaten that he sat +right up in bed.</p> + +<p>"Oh! if I had but a third bite o' that birdie!" he cried. And now the +colour was coming back into his face, and his eyes were shining.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span></p> + +<p>This time Katherine brought him the whole of the rest of the bird; and +he ate it up greedily, picking the bones quite clean with his fingers; +and when it was finished, he sprang out of bed and dressed himself, and +sat down by the fire.</p> + +<p>And when the King came in the morning, with his old housekeeper at his +back, to see how the Prince was, he found him sitting cracking nuts with +his nurse, for Katherine had brought home quite a lot in her apron +pocket.</p> + +<p>The King was so delighted to find his son cured that he gave all the +credit to Katherine Crackernuts, as he called her, and he gave orders at +once that the Prince should marry her. "For," said he, "a maiden who is +such a good nurse is sure to make a good Queen."</p> + +<p>The Prince was quite willing to do as his father bade him; and, while +they were talking together, his younger brother came in, leading +Princess Velvet-Cheek by the hand, whose acquaintance he had made but +yesterday, declaring that he had fallen in love with her, and that he +wanted to marry her immediately.</p> + +<p>So it all fell out very well, and everybody was quite pleased; and the +two weddings took place at once, and, unless they be dead sinsyne, the +young couples are living yet.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2><span class="smcap">Times To Sneeze</span></h2> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"> +<img src="images/280.png" width="395" height="600" alt="Sneeze on Monanday" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Sneeze on Monanday Sneeze for a Letter</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 403px;"> +<img src="images/281.png" width="403" height="600" alt="Sneeze on Tuesday" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Sneeze on Tuesday Something Better<br /> +Sneeze on Wednesday Kiss a Stranger +</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 414px;"> +<img src="images/282.png" width="414" height="600" alt="Sneeze on Feersday" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Sneeze on Feersday Sneeze for Danger<br /> +Sneeze on Friday Sneeze for Sorrow</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<img src="images/283.png" width="404" height="600" alt="Sneeze on Saturday" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +Sneeze on Saturday see your Sweetheart Tomorrow</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE WELL O' THE WORLD'S END</h2> + +<p>There was once an old widow woman, who lived in a little cottage with +her only daughter, who was such a bonnie lassie that everyone liked to +look at her.</p> + +<p>One day the old woman took a notion into her head to bake a girdleful of +cakes. So she took down her bakeboard, and went to the girnel and +fetched a basinful of meal; but when she went to seek a jug of water to +mix the meal with, she found that there was none in the house.</p> + +<p>So she called to her daughter, who was in the garden; and when the girl +came she held out the empty jug to her, saying, "Run, like a good +lassie, to the Well o' the World's End and bring me a jug of water, for +I have long found that water from the Well o' the World's End makes the +best cakes."</p> + +<p>So the lassie took the jug and set out on her errand.</p> + +<p>Now, as its name shows, it is a long road to that well, and many a weary +mile had the poor maid to go ere she reached it.</p> + +<p>But she arrived there at last; and what was her disappointment to find +it dry.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p> + +<p>She was so tired and so vexed that she sat down beside it and began to +cry; for she did not know where to get any more water, and she felt that +she could not go back to her mother with an empty jug.</p> + +<p>While she was crying, a nice yellow Paddock, with very bright eyes, came +jump-jump-jumping over the stones of the well, and squatted down at her +feet, looking up into her face.</p> + +<p>"And why are ye greeting, my bonnie maid?" he asked. "Is there aught +that I can do to help thee?"</p> + +<p>"I am greeting because the well is empty," she answered, "and I cannot +get any water to carry home to my mother."</p> + +<p>"Listen," said the Paddock softly. "I can get thee water in plenty, if +so be thou wilt promise to be my wife."</p> + +<p>Now the lassie had but one thought in her head, and that was to get the +water for her mother's oat-cakes, and she never for a moment thought +that the Paddock was in earnest, so she promised gladly enough to be his +wife, if he would get her a jug of water.</p> + +<p>No sooner had the words passed her lips than the beastie jumped down the +mouth of the well, and in another moment it was full to the brim with +water.</p> + +<p>The lassie filled her jug and carried it home, without troubling any +more about the matter. But late that night, just as her mother and she +were going to bed, something came with a faint "thud, thud," against +the cottage door, and then they heard a tiny little wee voice singing:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Oh, open the door, my hinnie, my heart,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Oh, open the door, my ain true love;</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Remember the promise that you and I made</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Down i' the meadow, where we two met."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"Wheesht," said the old woman, raising her head. "What noise is that at +the door?"</p> + +<p>"Oh," said her daughter, who was feeling rather frightened, "it's only a +yellow Paddock."</p> + +<p>"Poor bit beastie," said the kind-hearted old mother. "Open the door and +let him in. It's cold work sitting on the doorstep."</p> + +<p>So the lassie, very unwillingly opened the door, and the Paddock came +jump-jump-jumping across the kitchen, and sat down at the fireside.</p> + +<p>And while he sat there he began to sing this song:</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Oh, gie me my supper, my hinnie, my heart,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Oh, gie me my supper, my ain true love;</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Remember the promise that you and I made</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Down i' the meadow, where we two met."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"Gie the poor beast his supper," said the old woman. "He's an uncommon +Paddock that can sing like that."</p> + +<p>"Tut," replied her daughter crossly, for she was growing more and more +frightened as she saw the creature's bright black eyes fixed on her +face. "I'm not going to be so silly as to feed a wet, sticky Paddock."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Don't be ill-natured and cruel," said her mother. "Who knows how far +the little beastie has travelled? And I warrant that it would like a +saucerful of milk."</p> + +<p>Now, the lassie could have told her that the Paddock had travelled from +the Well o' the World's End; but she held her tongue, and went ben to +the milk-house, and brought back a saucerful of milk, which she set down +before the strange little visitor.</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"Now chap off my head, my hinnie, my heart,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Now chap off my head, my ain true love,</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Remember the promise that you and I made</span><br /> + <span class="i0">Down i' the meadow, where we two met."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p>"Hout, havers, pay no heed, the creature's daft," exclaimed the old +woman, running forward to stop her daughter, who was raising the axe to +chop off the Paddock's head. But she was too late; down came the axe, +off went the head; and lo, and behold! on the spot where the little +creature had sat, stood the handsomest young Prince that had ever been +seen.</p> + +<p>He wore such a noble air, and was so richly dressed, that the astonished +girl and her mother would have fallen on their knees before him had he +not prevented them by a movement of his hand.</p> + +<p>"'Tis I that should kneel to thee, Sweetheart," he said, turning to the +blushing girl, "for thou hast delivered me from a fearful spell, which +was cast over me in my infancy by a wicked Fairy, who at the same time +slew my father. For long years I have lived in that well, the Well o'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> +the World's End, waiting for a maiden to appear, who should take pity on +me, even in my loathsome disguise, and promise to be my wife, and who +would also have the kindness to let me into her house, and the courage, +at my bidding, to cut off my head.</p> + +<p>"Now I can return and claim my father's Kingdom, and thou, most gracious +maiden, will go with me, and be my bride, for thou well deserv'st the +honour."</p> + +<p>And this was how the lassie who went to fetch water from the Well o' the +World's End became a Princess.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 277px;"> +<img src="images/288.png" width="277" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>FARQUHAR MACNEILL</h2> + +<p>Once upon a time there was a young man named Farquhar MacNeill. He had +just gone to a new situation, and the very first night after he went to +it his mistress asked him if he would go over the hill to the house of a +neighbour and borrow a sieve, for her own was all in holes, and she +wanted to sift some meal.</p> + +<p>Farquhar agreed to do so, for he was a willing lad, and he set out at +once upon his errand, after the farmer's wife had pointed out to him the +path that he was to follow, and told him that he would have no +difficulty in finding the house, even though it was strange to him, for +he would be sure to see the light in the window.</p> + +<p>He had not gone very far, however, before he saw what he took to be the +light from a cottage window on his left hand, some distance from the +path, and, forgetting his Mistress's instructions that he was to follow +the path right over the hill, he left it, and walked towards the light.</p> + +<p>It seemed to him that he had almost reached it when his foot tripped, +and he fell down, down, down, into a Fairy Parlour, far under the +ground.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 376px;"> +<img src="images/290.png" width="376" height="600" alt="They bowed gravely" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +They bowed gravely</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was full of Fairies, who were engaged in different occupations.</p> + +<p>Close by the door, or rather the hole down which he had so +unceremoniously tumbled, two little elderly women, in black aprons and +white mutches, were busily engaged in grinding corn between two flat +millstones. Other two Fairies, younger women, in blue print gowns and +white kerchiefs, were gathering up the freshly ground meal, and baking +it into bannocks, which they were toasting on a girdle over a peat fire, +which was burning slowly in a corner.</p> + +<p>In the centre of the large apartment a great troop of Fairies, Elves, +and Sprites were dancing reels as hard as they could to the music of a +tiny set of bagpipes which were being played by a brown-faced Gnome, who +sat on a ledge of rock far above their heads.</p> + +<p>They all stopped their various employments when Farquhar came suddenly +down in their midst, and looked at him in alarm; but when they saw that +he was not hurt, they bowed gravely and bade him be seated. Then they +went on with their work and with their play as if nothing had happened.</p> + +<p>But Farquhar, being very fond of dancing, and being in no wise anxious +to be seated, thought that he would like to have a reel first, so he +asked the Fairies if he might join them. And they, although they looked +surprised at his request, allowed him to do so, and in a few minutes +the young man was dancing away as gaily as any of them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> + +<p>And as he danced a strange change came over him. He forgot his errand, +he forgot his home, he forgot everything that had ever happened to him, +he only knew that he wanted to remain with the Fairies all the rest of +his life.</p> + +<p>And he did remain with them—for a magic spell had been cast over him, +and he became like one of themselves, and could come and go at nights +without being seen, and could sip the dew from the grass and honey from +the flowers as daintily and noiselessly as if he had been a Fairy born.</p> + +<p>Time passed by, and one night he and a band of merry companions set out +for a long journey through the air. They started early, for they +intended to pay a visit to the Man in the Moon and be back again before +cock-crow.</p> + +<p>All would have gone well if Farquhar had only looked where he was going, +but he did not, being deeply engaged in making love to a young Fairy +Maiden by his side, so he never saw a cottage that was standing right in +his way, till he struck against the chimney and stuck fast in the +thatch.</p> + +<p>His companions sped merrily on, not noticing what had befallen him, and +he was left to disentangle himself as best he could.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span></p> + +<p>As he was doing so he chanced to glance down the wide chimney, and in +the cottage kitchen he saw a comely young woman dandling a rosy-cheeked +baby.</p> + +<p>Now, when Farquhar had been in his mortal state, he had been very fond +of children, and a word of blessing rose to his lips.</p> + +<p>"God shield thee," he said, as he looked at the mother and child, little +guessing what the result of his words would be.</p> + +<p>For scarce had the Holy Name crossed his lips than the spell which had +held him so long was broken, and he became as he had been before.</p> + +<p>Instantly his thoughts flew to his friends at home, and to the new +Mistress whom he had left waiting for her sieve; for he felt sure that +some weeks must have elapsed since he set out to fetch it. So he made +haste to go to the farm.</p> + +<p>When he arrived in the neighbourhood everything seemed strange. There +were woods where no woods used to be, and walls where no walls used to +be. To his amazement, he could not find his way to the farm, and, worst +of all, in the place where he expected to find his father's house he +found nothing but a crop of rank green nettles.</p> + +<p>In great distress he looked about for someone to tell him what it all +meant, and at last he found an old man thatching the roof of a cottage.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p> + +<p>This old man was so thin and grey that at first Farquhar took him for a +patch of mist, but as he went nearer he saw that he was a human being, +and, going close up to the wall and shouting with all his might, for he +felt sure that such an ancient man would be deaf, he asked him if he +could tell him where his friends had gone to, and what had happened to +his father's dwelling.</p> + +<p>The old man listened, then he shook his head. "I never heard of him," he +answered slowly; "but perhaps my father might be able to tell you."</p> + +<p>"Your father!" said Farquhar, in great surprise. "Is it possible that +your father is alive?"</p> + +<p>"Aye he is," answered the old man, with a little laugh. "If you go into +the house you'll find him sitting in the arm-chair by the fire."</p> + +<p>Farquhar did as he was bid, and on entering the cottage found another +old man, who was so thin and withered and bent that he looked as if he +must at least be a hundred years old. He was feebly twisting ropes to +bind the thatch on the roof.</p> + +<p>"Can ye tell me aught of my friends, or where my father's cottage is?" +asked Farquhar again, hardly expecting that this second old man would be +able to answer him.</p> + +<p>"I cannot," mumbled this ancient person; "but perhaps my father can tell +you."</p> + +<p>"Your father!" exclaimed Farquhar, more astonished than ever. "But +surely he must be dead long ago."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p> + +<p>The old man shook his head with a weird grimace.</p> + +<p>"Look there," he said, and pointed with a twisted finger, to a leathern +purse, or sporran, which was hanging to one of the posts of a wooden +bedstead in the corner.</p> + +<p>Farquhar approached it, and was almost frightened out of his wits by +seeing a tiny shrivelled face crowned by a red pirnie, looking over the +edge of the sporran.</p> + +<p>"Tak' him out; he'll no touch ye," chuckled the old man by the fire.</p> + +<p>So Farquhar took the little creature out carefully between his finger +and thumb, and set him on the palm of his left hand. He was so +shrivelled with age that he looked just like a mummy.</p> + +<p>"Dost know anything of my friends, or where my father's cottage is gone +to?" asked Farquhar for the third time, hardly expecting to get an +answer.</p> + +<p>"They were all dead long before I was born," piped out the tiny figure. +"I never saw any of them, but I have heard my father speak of them."</p> + +<p>"Then I must be older than you!" cried Farquhar, in great dismay. And he +got such a shock at the thought that his bones suddenly dissolved into +dust, and he fell, a heap of grey ashes, on the floor.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>PEERIFOOL</h2> + +<p>There was once a King and a Queen in Rousay who had three daughters. +When the young Princesses were just grown up, the King died, and the +Crown passed to a distant cousin, who had always hated him, and who paid +no heed to the widowed Queen and her daughters.</p> + +<p>So they were left very badly off, and they went to live in a tiny +cottage, and did all the housework themselves. They had a kailyard in +front of the cottage, and a little field behind it, and they had a cow +that grazed in the field, and which they fed with the cabbages that grew +in the kailyard. For everyone knows that to feed cows with cabbages +makes them give a larger quantity of milk.</p> + +<p>But they soon discovered that some one was coming at night and stealing +the cabbages, and, of course, this annoyed them very much. For they knew +that if they had not cabbages to give to the cow, they would not have +enough milk to sell.</p> + +<p>So the eldest Princess said she would take out a three-legged stool, and +wrap herself in a blanket, and sit in the kailyard all night to see if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> +she could catch the thief. And, although it was very cold and very dark, +she did so.</p> + +<p>At first it seemed as if all her trouble would be in vain, for hour +after hour passed and nothing happened. But in the small hours of the +morning, just as the clock was striking two, she heard a stealthy +trampling in the field behind, as if some very heavy person were trying +to tread very softly, and presently a mighty Giant stepped right over +the wall into the kailyard.</p> + +<p>He carried an enormous creel on his arm, and a large, sharp knife in his +hand; and he began to cut the cabbages, and to throw them into the creel +as fast as he could.</p> + +<p>Now the Princess was no coward, so, although she had not expected to +face a Giant, she gathered up her courage, and cried out sharply, "Who +gave thee liberty to cut our cabbages? Leave off this minute, and go +away."</p> + +<p>The Giant paid no heed, but went on steadily with what he was doing.</p> + +<p>"Dost thou not hear me?" cried the girl indignantly; for she was the +Princess Royal, and had always been accustomed to be obeyed.</p> + +<p>"If thou be not quiet I will take thee too," said the Giant grimly, +pressing the cabbages down into the creel.</p> + +<p>"I should like to see thee try," retorted the Princess, rising from her +stool and stamping her foot; for she felt so angry that she forgot for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> +a moment that she was only a weak maiden and he was a great and powerful +Giant.</p> + +<p>And, as if to show her how strong he was, he seized her by her arm and +her leg, and put her in his creel on the top of the cabbages, and +carried her away bodily.</p> + +<p>When he reached his home, which was in a great square house on a lonely +moor, he took her out, and set her down roughly on the floor.</p> + +<p>"Thou wilt be my servant now," he said, "and keep my house, and do my +errands for me. I have a cow, which thou must drive out every day to the +hillside; and see, here is a bag of wool, when thou hast taken out the +cow, thou must come back and settle thyself at home, as a good housewife +should, and comb, and card it, and spin it into yarn, with which to +weave a good thick cloth for my raiment. I am out most of the day, but +when I come home I shall expect to find all this done, and a great +bicker of porridge boiled besides for my supper."</p> + +<p>The poor Princess was very dismayed when she heard these words, for she +had never been accustomed to work hard, and she had always had her +sisters to help her; but the Giant took no notice of her distress, but +went out as soon as it was daylight, leaving her alone in the house to +begin her work.</p> + +<p>As soon as he had gone she drove the cow to the pasture, as he had told +her to do; but she had a good long walk over the moor before she reached +the hill, and by the time that she got back to the house she felt very +tired.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> + +<p>So she thought that she would put on the porridge pot, and make herself +some porridge before she began to card and comb the wool. She did so, +and just as she was sitting down to sup them the door opened, and a +crowd of wee, wee Peerie Folk came in.</p> + +<p>They were the tiniest men and women that the Princess had ever seen; not +one of them would have reached half-way to her knee; and they were +dressed in dresses fashioned out of all the colours of the +rainbow—scarlet and blue, green and yellow, orange and violet; and the +funny thing was, that every one of them had a shock of straw-coloured +yellow hair.</p> + +<p>They were all talking and laughing with one another; and they hopped up, +first on stools, then on chairs, till at last they reached the top of +the table, where they clustered round the bowl, out of which the +Princess was eating her porridge.</p> + +<p>"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried, in their tiny shrill voices. +"Spare a little porridge for the Peerie Folk."</p> + +<p>But the Princess was hungry also; and, besides being hungry, she was +both tired and cross; so she shook her head and waved them impatiently +away with her spoon,</p> + +<div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i2">"Little for one, and less for two,</span><br /> + <span class="i2">And never a grain have I for you."</span><br /> + </div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> + +<p>she said sharply, and, to her great delight, for she did not feel quite +comfortable with all the Peerie Folk standing on the table looking at +her, they vanished in a moment.</p> + +<p>After this she finished her porridge in peace; then she took the wool +out of the bag, and she set to work to comb and card it. But it seemed +as if it were bewitched; it curled and twisted and coiled itself round +her fingers so that, try as she would, she could not do anything with +it. And when the Giant came home he found her sitting in despair with it +all in confusion round her, and the porridge, which she had left for him +in the pot, burned to a cinder.</p> + +<p>As you may imagine, he was very angry, and raged, and stamped, and used +the most dreadful words; and at last he took her by the heels, and beat +her until all her back was skinned and bleeding; then he carried her out +to the byre, and threw her up on the joists among the hens. And, +although she was not dead, she was so stunned and bruised that she could +only lie there motionless, looking down on the backs of the cows.</p> + +<p>Time went on, and in the kailyard at home the cabbages were disappearing +as fast as ever. So the second Princess said that she would do as her +sister had done, and wrap herself in a blanket, and go and sit on a +three-legged stool all night, to see what was becoming of them.</p> + +<p>She did so, and exactly the same fate befell her that had befallen her +elder sister. The Giant appeared with his creel, and he carried her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> +off, and set her to mind the cow and the house, and to make his porridge +and to spin; and the little yellow-headed Peerie Folk appeared and asked +her for some supper, and she refused to give it to them; and after that, +she could not comb or card her wool, and the Giant was angry, and he +scolded her, and beat her, and threw her up, half dead, on the joists +beside her sister and the hens.</p> + +<p>Then the youngest Princess determined to sit out in the kailyard all +night, not so much to see what was becoming of the cabbages, as to +discover what had happened to her sisters.</p> + +<p>And when the Giant came and carried her off, she was not at all sorry, +but very glad, for she was a brave and loving little maiden; and now she +felt that she had a chance of finding out where they were, and whether +they were dead or alive.</p> + +<p>So she was quite cheerful and happy, for she felt certain that she was +clever enough to outwit the Giant, if only she were watchful and +patient; so she lay quite quietly in her creel above the cabbages, but +she kept her eyes very wide open to see by which road he was carrying +her off.</p> + +<p>And when he set her down in his kitchen, and told her all that he +expected her to do, she did not look downcast like her sisters, but +nodded her head brightly, and said that she felt sure that she could do +it.</p> + +<p>And she sang to herself as she drove the cow over the moor to pasture, +and she ran the whole way back, so that she should have a good long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> +afternoon to work at the wool, and, although she would not have told the +Giant this, to search the house.</p> + +<p>Before she set to work, however, she made herself some porridge, just as +her sisters had done; and, just as she was going to sup them, all the +little yellow-haired Peerie Folk trooped in, and climbed up on the +table, and stood and stared at her.</p> + +<p>"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried. "Spare a little porridge for +the Peerie Folk."</p> + +<p>"With all my heart," replied the good-natured Princess. "If you can find +dishes little enough for you to sup out of, I will fill them for you. +But, methinks, if I were to give you all porringers, you would smother +yourselves among the porridge."</p> + +<p>At her words the Peerie Folk shouted with laughter, till their +straw-coloured hair tumbled right over their faces; then they hopped on +to the floor and ran out of the house, and presently they came trooping +back holding cups of blue-bells, and foxgloves, and saucers of primroses +and anemones in their hands; and the Princess put a tiny spoonful of +porridge into each saucer, and a tiny drop of milk into each cup, and +they ate it all up as daintily as possible with neat little grass +spoons, which they had brought with them in their pockets.</p> + +<p>When they had finished they all cried out, "Thank you! Thank you!" and +ran out of the kitchen again, leaving the Princess alone. And, being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> +alone, she went all over the house to look for her sisters, but, of +course, she could not find them.</p> + +<p>"Never mind, I will find them soon," she said to herself. "To-morrow I +will search the byre and the outhouses; in the meantime, I had better +get on with my work." So she went back to the kitchen, and took out the +bag of wool, which the Giant had told her to make into cloth.</p> + +<p>But just as she was doing so the door opened once more, and a +Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy entered. He was exactly like the other Peerie +Folk who had eaten the Princess's porridge, only he was bigger, and he +wore a very rich dress of grass-green velvet. He walked boldly into the +middle of the kitchen and looked round him.</p> + +<p>"Hast thou any work for me to do?" he asked. "I ken grand how to handle +wool and turn it into fine thick cloth."</p> + +<p>"I have plenty of work for anybody who asks it," replied the Princess; +"but I have no money to pay for it, and there are but few folk in this +world who will work without wages."</p> + +<p>"All the wages that I ask is that thou wilt take the trouble to find out +my name, for few folk ken it, and few folk care to ken. But if by any +chance thou canst not find it out, then must thou pay toll of half of +thy cloth."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Princess thought that it would be quite an easy thing to find out +the Boy's name, so she agreed to the bargain, and, putting all the wool +back into the bag, she gave it to him, and he swung it over his shoulder +and departed.</p> + +<p>She ran to the door to see where he went, for she had made up her mind +that she would follow him secretly to his home, and find out from the +neighbours what his name was.</p> + +<p>But, to her great dismay, though she looked this way and that, he had +vanished completely, and she began to wonder what she should do if the +Giant came back and found that she had allowed someone, whose name she +did not even know, to carry off all the wool.</p> + +<p>And, as the afternoon wore on, and she could think of no way of finding +out who the boy was, or where he came from, she felt that she had made a +great mistake, and she began to grow very frightened.</p> + +<p>Just as the gloaming was beginning to fall a knock came at the door, +and, when she opened it, she found an old woman standing outside, who +begged for a night's lodging.</p> + +<p>Now, as I have told you, the Princess was very kind-hearted, and she +would fain have granted the poor old Dame's request, but she dared not, +for she did not know what the Giant would say. So she told the old woman +that she could not take her in for the night, as she was only a servant, +and not the mistress of the house; but she made her sit down on a bench +beside the door, and brought her out some bread and milk, and gave her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> +some water to bathe her poor, tired feet.</p> + +<p>She was so bonnie, and gentle, and kind, and she looked so sorry when +she told her that she would need to turn her away, that the old woman +gave her her blessing, and told her not to vex herself, as it was a +fine, dry night, and now that she had had a meal she could easily sit +down somewhere and sleep in the shelter of the outhouses.</p> + +<p>And, when she had finished her bread and milk, she went and laid down by +the side of a green knowe, which rose out of the moor not very far from +the byre door.</p> + +<p>And, strange to say, as she lay there she felt the earth beneath her +getting warmer and warmer, until she was so hot that she was fain to +crawl up the side of the hillock, in the hope of getting a mouthful of +fresh air.</p> + +<p>And as she got near the top she heard a voice, which seemed to come from +somewhere beneath her, saying, "TEASE, TEASENS, TEASE; CARD, CARDENS, +CARD; SPIN, SPINNENS, SPIN; for PEERIFOOL PEERIFOOL, PEERIFOOL is what +men call me." And when she got to the very top, she found that there was +a crack in the earth, through which rays of light were coming; and when +she put her eye to the crack, what should she see down below her but a +brilliantly lighted chamber, in which all the Peerie Folk were sitting +in a circle, working away as hard as they could.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> + +<p>Some of them were carding wool, some of them were combing it, some of +them were spinning it, constantly wetting their fingers with their lips, +in order to twist the yarn fine as they drew it from the distaff, and +some of them were spinning the yarn into cloth.</p> + +<p>While round and round the circle, cracking a little whip, and urging +them to work faster, was a Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy.</p> + +<p>"This is a strange thing, and these be queer on-goings," said the old +woman to herself, creeping hastily down to the bottom of the hillock +again. "I must e'en go and tell the bonnie lassie in the house yonder. +Maybe the knowledge of what I have seen will stand her in good stead +some day. When there be Peerie Folk about, it is well to be on one's +guard."</p> + +<p>So she went back to the house and told the Princess all that she had +seen and heard, and the Princess was so delighted with what she had told +her that she risked the Giant's wrath and allowed her to go and sleep in +the hayloft.</p> + +<p>It was not very long after the old woman had gone to rest before the +door opened, and the Peerie Boy appeared once more with a number of webs +of cloth upon his shoulder. "Here is thy cloth," he said, with a sly +smile, "and I will put it on the shelf for thee the moment that thou +tellest me what my name is."</p> + +<p>Then the Princess, who was a merry maiden, thought that she would tease +the little follow for a time ere she let him know that she had found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> +out his secret.</p> + +<p>So she mentioned first one name and then another, always pretending to +think that she had hit upon the right one; and all the time the Peerie +Boy jumped from side to side with delight, for he thought that she would +never find out the right name, and that half of the cloth would be his.</p> + +<p>But at last the Princess grew tired of joking, and she cried out, with a +little laugh of triumph, "Dost thou by any chance ken anyone called +PEERIFOOL, little Mannikin?"</p> + +<p>Then he knew that in some way she had found out what men called him, and +he was so angry and disappointed that he flung the webs of cloth down in +a heap on the floor, and ran out at the door, slamming it behind him.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Giant was coming down the hill in the darkening, and, to +his astonishment, he met a troop of little Peerie Folk toiling up it, +looking as if they were so tired that they could hardly get along. Their +eyes were dim and listless, their heads were hanging on their breasts, +and their lips were so long and twisted that the poor little people +looked quite hideous.</p> + +<p>The Giant asked how this was, and they told him that they had to work so +hard all day, spinning for their Master that they were quite exhausted; +and that the reason why their lips were so distorted was that they used +them constantly to wet their fingers, so that they might pull the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> +wool in very fine strands from the distaff.</p> + +<p>"I always thought a great deal of women who could spin," said the Giant, +"and I looked out for a housewife that could do so. But after this I +will be more careful, for the housewife that I have now is a bonnie +little woman, and I would be loth to have her spoil her face in that +manner."</p> + +<p>And he hurried home in a great state of mind in case he should find that +his new servant's pretty red lips had grown long and ugly in his +absence.</p> + +<p>Great was his relief to see her standing by the table, bonnie and +winsome as ever, with all the webs of cloth in a pile in front of her.</p> + +<p>"By my troth, thou art an industrious maiden," he said, in high good +humour, "and, as a reward for working so diligently, I will restore thy +sisters to thee." And he went out to the byre, and lifted the two other +Princesses down from the rafters, and brought them in and laid them on +the settle.</p> + +<p>Their little sister nearly screamed aloud when she saw how ill they +looked and how bruised their backs were, but, like a prudent maiden, she +held her tongue, and busied herself with applying a cooling ointment to +their wounds, and binding them up, and by and by her sisters revived, +and, after the Giant had gone to bed, they told her all that had +befallen them.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I will be avenged on him for his cruelty," said the little Princess +firmly; and when she spoke like that her sisters knew that she meant +what she said.</p> + +<p>So next morning, before the Giant was up, she fetched his creel, and put +her eldest sister into it, and covered her with all the fine silken +hangings and tapestry that she could find, and on the top of all she put +a handful of grass, and when the Giant came downstairs she asked him, in +her sweetest tone, if he would do her a favour.</p> + +<p>And the Giant, who was very pleased with her because of the quantity of +cloth which he thought she had spun, said that he would.</p> + +<p>"Then carry that creelful of grass home to my mother's cottage for her +cow to eat," said the Princess. "'Twill help to make up for all the +cabbages which thou hast stolen from her kailyard."</p> + +<p>And, wonderful to relate, the Giant did as he was bid, and carried the +creel to the cottage.</p> + +<p>Next morning she put her second sister into another creel, and covered +her with all the fine napery she could find in the house, and put an +armful of grass on the top of it, and at her bidding the Giant, who was +really getting very fond of her, carried it also home to her mother.</p> + +<p>The next morning the little Princess told him that she thought that she +would go for a long walk after she had done her housework, and that she +might not be in when he came home at night, but that she would have +another creel of grass ready for him, if he would carry it to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> +cottage as he had done on the two previous evenings. He promised to do +so; then, as usual, he went out for the day.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon the clever little maiden went through the house, +gathering together all the lace, and silver, and jewellery that she +could find, and brought them and placed them beside the creel. Then she +went out and cut an armful of grass, and brought it in and laid it +beside them.</p> + +<p>Then she crept into the creel herself, and pulled all the fine things in +above her, and then she covered everything up with the grass, which was +a very difficult thing to do, seeing she herself was at the bottom of +the basket. Then she lay quite still and waited.</p> + +<p>Presently the Giant came in, and, obedient to his promise, he lifted the +creel and carried it off to the old Queen's cottage.</p> + +<p>No one seemed to be at home, so he set it down in the entry, and turned +to go away. But the little Princess had told her sisters what to do, and +they had a great can of boiling water ready in one of the rooms +upstairs, and when they heard his steps coming round that side of the +house, they threw open the window and emptied it all over his head; and +that was the end of him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span></p> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Birthdays</span></h2> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 394px;"> +<img src="images/311.png" width="394" height="600" alt="A Monanday's Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Monanday's Child His a Bonnie Face</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 385px;"> +<img src="images/312.png" width="385" height="600" alt="A Tyesdays Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Tyesdays Child is Fou O' Grace</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 374px;"> +<img src="images/313.png" width="374" height="600" alt="A Wednesday's Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Wednesday's Child is the Child o' Woe</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/314.png" width="400" height="600" alt="A Feersday's Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Feersday's Child Hiz Far To Go</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;"> +<img src="images/315.png" width="429" height="600" alt="A Friday's Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Friday's Child is Lovin and Givin</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 388px;"> +<img src="images/316.png" width="388" height="600" alt="A Saitirday's Child" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +A Saitirday's Child Works hard for his Livin</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 389px;"> +<img src="images/317.png" width="389" height="600" alt="Born On Sunday" title="" /> +<span class="caption"><br /> +But them thats Born On Sunday Is happy, blithe, and Gay</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 242px;"> +<img src="images/318.png" width="242" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>Footnotes:</h2> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Separating the lint from the stalk.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Combing.</p></div> + +<h2>GLOSSARY</h2> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align="left">A body</td><td align="left">a person</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Airt</td><td align="left">direction</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ahint</td><td align="left">behind</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Bairn</td><td align="left">child</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Baudrons</td><td align="left">Scotch name for a cat</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ben</td><td align="left">in towards an inner room</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ben</td><td align="left">a mountain peak</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Bicker</td><td align="left">to argue in a petty way</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Bonnet-piece</td><td align="left">an old Scottish coin</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Byre</td><td align="left">cowhouse</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Canty</td><td align="left">kindly, cheerful</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Cantrip</td><td align="left">a freak, or wilful piece of trickery</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Chuckie-stone</td><td align="left">a small white pebble</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Clout</td><td align="left">a blow</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Cloving</td><td align="left">separating lint from its stalk</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Clue</td><td align="left">a ball of worsted</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Creel</td><td align="left">a large hand-made basket</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Cutty-pipe</td><td align="left">a short clay pipe</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Daft</td><td align="left">silly, weak-minded</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Dander</td><td align="left">to walk aimlessly</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Darkening</td><td align="left">the twilight</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Divot</td><td align="left">a sod</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Doo</td><td align="left">a dove</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Douce</td><td align="left">sedate</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Dowie</td><td align="left">dull, low-spirited</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Dyke</td><td align="left">a wall</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Eldritch</td><td align="left">weird</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Emprise</td><td align="left">an enterprise</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Entry</td><td align="left">a passage</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Fain</td><td align="left">gladly</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Feared</td><td align="left">afraid</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Forbye</td><td align="left">besides</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Gang</td><td align="left">go</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Girnel</td><td align="left">a meal-chest</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Gled</td><td align="left">a hawk</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Gloaming</td><td align="left">the twilight</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Greeting</td><td align="left">crying</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Hantle</td><td align="left">very much, a considerable number</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Havers</td><td align="left">nonsense</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Heckle</td><td align="left">to comb</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Hinnie</td><td align="left">a term of endearment</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Hirple</td><td align="left">to limp</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Histie</td><td align="left">"haste thee"</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Inbye</td><td align="left">inside</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ingle neuk</td><td align="left">the corner by the fire</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Joists</td><td align="left">the beams in a roof</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Kailyard</td><td align="left">a kitchen garden</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ken</td><td align="left">know</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Kirn</td><td align="left">a churn, to churn</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Kist</td><td align="left">a chest</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Knowe</td><td align="left">a little hillock</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Lift</td><td align="left">the sky, the air</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Light</td><td align="left">alight</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Lintie</td><td align="left">a linnet</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Lout</td><td align="left">to stoop</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Lum</td><td align="left">chimney</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Louping-on-stane</td><td align="left">a stone from which to mount a horse</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Malison</td><td align="left">a curse</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Meat</td><td align="left">food</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Migraine</td><td align="left">a pain affecting one half of the head</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Mutch</td><td align="left">a cap</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Onstead</td><td align="left">farm buildings</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Paddock</td><td align="left">a toad or frog</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Pirnie</td><td align="left">a woollen nightcap</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Poke</td><td align="left">a bag</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Rivlins</td><td align="left">shoes made of cowhide</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Sen' night</td><td align="left">a week</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Shoon</td><td align="left">shoes</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Siccan</td><td align="left">such</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Siller</td><td align="left">money</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Sinsyne</td><td align="left">since</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Smatchet</td><td align="left">small boy</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Sneck</td><td align="left">to latch or shut a door</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Snibbit</td><td align="left">bolted, <i>snib</i>, a bolt</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Thrapple</td><td align="left">throat</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Thole</td><td align="left">to bear</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Unchancy</td><td align="left">uncanny</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Wheen</td><td align="left">a few</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Wheesht</td><td align="left">be quiet!</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Wight</td><td align="left">a person</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Winnock</td><td align="left">a window</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Winnow</td><td align="left">to separate the chaff from the grain by wind</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Yestreen</td><td align="left">yesterday</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Yule</td><td align="left">Christmas</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Unicorns</td><td align="left">Ancient Scottish coins</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<div class="bord1"> +<h4>THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK BOOKS IN THE "FAIRY SERIES"</h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The English Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Welsh Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Irish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Scottish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Italian Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Hungarian Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Indian Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Spanish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Danish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Norwegian Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Jewish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Swedish Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>The Chinese Fairy Book</i></span><br /> +</p> +</div> + +<div class='transnote'> + +<h3>Transcriber's notes:</h3> + +<p>These corrections are indicated by dotted lines under the +corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will +<ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p> + +<p>Leaving the two words 'tomorrow' and 'to-morrow' as is.<br /> +Taken out hypen in 'Mer-maids' and 'Mer-men' in Preface as not in text.<br /> +P.76. Taken out extra 'day' from 'day day'.<br /> +P.80. Taken out extra 'the' from 'the the'.<br /> +P.104. 'craried' is found in another version of this book, so leaving as + is.<br /> +P.124. Taken out extra 'did' from 'did did'.<br /> +P.144. Taken out hypen in 'burn-side'.<br /> +P.161. Taken out hypen in 'Yule-tide'.<br /> +P.263. Taken out hypen in 'mis-shapen'.</p> + +<p>Above advertisement for the other books in the series has been moved +from the front of the book to the end in the this version only.</p> +</div> + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Scottish Fairy Book, by Elizabeth W. Grierson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 37532-h.htm or 37532-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/5/3/37532/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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mode 100644 index 0000000..dee6b92 --- /dev/null +++ b/37532-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/37532.txt b/37532.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..24df603 --- /dev/null +++ b/37532.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8121 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Scottish Fairy Book, by Elizabeth W. Grierson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Scottish Fairy Book + +Author: Elizabeth W. Grierson + +Illustrator: Morris Meredith Williams + +Release Date: September 26, 2011 [EBook #37532] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + +THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK BOOKS IN THE "FAIRY SERIES" + + _The English Fairy Book_ + _The Welsh Fairy Book_ + _The Irish Fairy Book_ + _The Scottish Fairy Book_ + _The Italian Fairy Book_ + _The Hungarian Fairy Book_ + _The Indian Fairy Book_ + _The Spanish Fairy Book_ + _The Danish Fairy Book_ + _The Norwegian Fairy Book_ + _The Jewish Fairy Book_ + _The Swedish Fairy Book_ + _The Chinese Fairy Book_ + + THE SCOTTISH FAIRY + BOOK . BY ELIZABETH W. + GRIERSON . WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + BY MORRIS + MEREDITH WILLIAMS + + [Illustration] + + J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY + PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK + + Printed in U.S.A. + + "Of _Brownys and of Bogillis Full this Buke_." + + --GAVIN DOUGLAS + + + + +PREFACE + + +There are, roughly speaking, two distinct types of Scottish Fairy Tales. + +There are what may be called "Celtic Stories," which were handed down +for centuries by word of mouth by professional story-tellers, who went +about from clachan to clachan in the "Highlands and Islands," earning a +night's shelter by giving a night's entertainment, and which have now +been collected and classified for us by Campbell of Isla and others. + +These stories, which are also common to the North of Ireland, are wild +and fantastic, and very often somewhat monotonous, and their themes are +strangely alike. They almost always tell of some hero or heroine who +sets out on some dangerous quest, and who is met by giants, generally +three in number, who appear one after the other; with whom they hold +quaint dialogues, and whom eventually they slay. Most of them are fairly +long, and although they have a peculiar fascination of their own, they +are quite distinct from the ordinary Fairy Tale. + +These latter, in Scotland, have also a character of their own, for there +is no country where the existence of Spirits and Goblins has been so +implicitly believed in up to a comparatively recent date. + +As a proof of this we can go to Hogg's tale of "The Wool-gatherer," and +see how the countryman, Barnaby, voices the belief of his day. "Ye had +need to tak care how ye dispute the existence of fairies, brownies, and +apparitions! Ye may as weel dispute the Gospel of Saint Matthew." + +Perhaps it was the bleak and stern character of their climate, and the +austerity of their religious beliefs which made our Scottish forefathers +think of the spirits in whom they so firmly believed, as being, for the +most part, mischievous and malevolent. + +Their Bogies, their Witches, their Kelpies, even their Fairy Queen +herself, were supposed to be in league with the Evil One, and to be +compelled, as Thomas of Ercildoune was near finding out to his cost, to +pay a "Tiend to Hell" every seven years; so it was not to be wondered +at, that these uncanny beings were dreaded and feared. + +But along with this dark and gloomy view, we find touches of delicate +playfulness and brightness. The Fairy Queen might be in league with +Satan, but her subjects were not all bound by the same law, and many +charming tales are told of the "sith" or silent folk, who were always +spoken of with respect, in case they might be within earshot, who made +their dwellings under some rocky knowe, and who came out and danced on +the dewy sward at midnight. + +Akin to them are the tales which are told about a mysterious region +under the sea, "far below the abode of fishes," where a strange race of +beings lived, who, in their own land closely resembled human beings, and +were of such surpassing beauty that they charmed the hearts of all who +looked on them. They were spoken of as Mermaids and Mermen, and as +their lungs were not adapted for breathing under water, they had the +extraordinary power of entering into the skin of some fish or sea +animal, and in this way passing from their own abode to our upper world, +where they held converse with mortal men, and, as often as not, tried to +lure them to destruction. + +The popular idea always represents Mer-folk as wearing the tails of +fishes; in Scottish Folklore they are quite as often found in the form +of seals. + +Then we frequently come across the Brownie, that strange, kindly, +lovable creature, with its shaggy, unkempt appearance, half man, half +beast, who was said to be the ordained helper of man in the drudgery +entailed by sin, and was therefore forbidden to receive wages; who +always worked when no one was looking, and who disappeared if any notice +were taken of him. + +There are also, as in all other countries, animal tales, where the +animals are endowed with the power of speech; and weird tales of +enchantment; and last, but not least, there are the legendary stories, +many of them half real, half mythical, which are to be found in the +pages of Hogg, and Leyden, and above all, in Sir Walter Scott's "Border +Minstrelsy." + +In preparing this book I have tried to make a representative collection +from these different classes of Scottish Folklore, taking, when +possible, the stories which are least well known, in the hope that some +of them, at least, may be new to the children of this generation. + +It may interest some of these children to know that when James IV was a +little boy, nearly four hundred years ago, he used to sit on his tutor, +Sir David Lindsay's, knee, and listen to some of the same stories that +are written here:--to the story of Thomas the Rhymer, of the Red-Etin, +and of The Black Bull of Norroway. + +Although in every case I have told the tale in my own words, I am +indebted for the originals to Campbell's "Popular Tales of the Western +Highlands," Leyden's Poems, Hogg's Poems, Scott's "Border Minstrelsy," +Chambers' "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," "The Folklore Journal," etc. + + ELIZABETH W. GRIERSON. + + _Whitchesters, Hawick, N.B., + 12th April, 1910._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + Thomas the Rhymer 1 + + Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree 17 + + Whippety-Stourie 33 + + The Red-Etin 42 + + The Seal Catcher and the Merman 58 + + The Page-boy and the Silver Goblet 67 + + The Black Bull of Norroway 74 + + The Wee Bannock 93 + + The Elfin Knight 101 + + What to say to the New Mune 114 + + Habetrot the Spinstress 115 + + Nippit Fit and Clippit Fit 130 + + The Fairies of Merlin's Crag 136 + + The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren 144 + + The Dwarfie Stone 150 + + Canonbie Dick and Thomas of Ercildoune 169 + + The Laird o' Co' 179 + + Poussie Baudrons 186 + + The Milk-white Doo 188 + + The Draiglin' Hogney 196 + + The Brownie o' Ferne-Den 204 + + The Witch of Fife 211 + + Assipattle and the Mester Stoorworm 221 + + The Fox and the Wolf 245 + + Katherine Crackernuts 253 + + Times to Sneeze 268 + + The Well o' the World's End 272 + + Farquhar MacNeill 277 + + Peerifool 284 + + Birthdays 298 + + + + +THOMAS THE RHYMER + + +Of all the young gallants in Scotland in the thirteenth century, there +was none more gracious and debonair than Thomas Learmont, Laird of the +Castle of Ercildoune, in Berwickshire. + +He loved books, poetry, and music, which were uncommon tastes in those +days; and, above all, he loved to study nature, and to watch the habits +of the beasts and birds that made their abode in the fields and woods +round about his home. + +Now it chanced that, one sunny May morning, Thomas left his Tower of +Ercildoune, and went wandering into the woods that lay about the Huntly +Burn, a little stream that came rushing down from the slopes of the +Eildon Hills. It was a lovely morning--fresh, and bright, and warm, and +everything was so beautiful that it looked as Paradise might look. + +The tender leaves were bursting out of their sheaths, and covering all +the trees with a fresh soft mantle of green; and amongst the carpet of +moss under the young man's feet, yellow primroses and starry anemones +were turning up their faces to the morning sky. + +The little birds were singing like to burst their throats, and hundreds +of insects were flying backwards and forwards in the sunshine; while +down by the burnside the bright-eyed water-rats were poking their noses +out of their holes, as if they knew that summer had come, and wanted to +have a share in all that was going on. + +Thomas felt so happy with the gladness of it all, that he threw himself +down at the root of a tree, to watch the living things around him. + +As he was lying there, he heard the trampling of a horse's hooves, as it +forced its way through the bushes; and, looking up, he saw the most +beautiful lady that he had ever seen coming riding towards him on a grey +palfrey. + +She wore a hunting dress of glistening silk, the colour of the fresh +spring grass; and from her shoulders hung a velvet mantle, which matched +the riding-skirt exactly. Her yellow hair, like rippling gold, hung +loosely round her shoulders, and on her head sparkled a diadem of +precious stones, which flashed like fire in the sunlight. + +Her saddle was of pure ivory, and her saddle-cloth of blood-red satin, +while her saddle girths were of corded silk and her stirrups of cut +crystal. Her horse's reins were of beaten gold, all hung with little +silver bells, so that, as she rode along, she made a sound like fairy +music. + +Apparently she was bent on the chase, for she carried a hunting-horn and +a sheaf of arrows; and she led seven greyhounds along in a leash, while +as many scenting hounds ran loose at her horse's side. + +As she rode down the glen, she lilted a bit of an old Scotch song; and +she carried herself with such a queenly air, and her dress was so +magnificent, that Thomas was like to kneel by the side of the path and +worship her, for he thought that it must be the Blessed Virgin herself. + +But when the rider came to where he was, and understood his thoughts, +she shook her head sadly. + +"I am not that Blessed Lady, as thou thinkest," she said. "Men call me +Queen, but it is of a far other country; for I am the Queen of +Fairy-land, and not the Queen of Heaven." + +And certainly it seemed as if what she said were true; for, from that +moment, it was as if a spell were cast over Thomas, making him forget +prudence, and caution, and common-sense itself. + +For he knew that it was dangerous for mortals to meddle with Fairies, +yet he was so entranced with the Lady's beauty that he begged her to +give him a kiss. This was just what she wanted, for she knew that if she +once kissed him she had him in her power. + +And, to the young man's horror, as soon as their lips had met, an awful +change came over her. For her beautiful mantle and riding-skirt of silk +seemed to fade away, leaving her clad in a long grey garment, which was +just the colour of ashes. Her beauty seemed to fade away also, and she +grew old and wan; and, worst of all, half of her abundant yellow hair +went grey before his very eyes. She saw the poor man's astonishment and +terror, and she burst into a mocking laugh. + +"I am not so fair to look on now as I was at first," she said, "but that +matters little, for thou hast sold thyself, Thomas, to be my servant for +seven long years. For whoso kisseth the Fairy Queen must e'en go with +her to Fairy-land, and serve her there till that time is past." + +When he heard these words poor Thomas fell on his knees and begged for +mercy. But mercy he could not obtain. The Elfin Queen only laughed in +his face, and brought her dapple-grey palfrey close up to where he was +standing. + +"No, no," she said, in answer to his entreaties. "Thou didst ask the +kiss, and now thou must pay the price. So dally no longer, but mount +behind me, for it is full time that I was gone." + +So Thomas, with many a sigh and groan of terror, mounted behind her; and +as soon as he had done so, she shook her bridle rein, and the grey steed +galloped off. + +On and on they went, going swifter than the wind; till they left the +land of the living behind, and came to the edge of a great desert, which +stretched before them, dry, and bare, and desolate, to the edge of the +far horizon. + +At least, so it seemed to the weary eyes of Thomas of Ercildoune, and +he wondered if he and his strange companion had to cross this desert; +and, if so, if there were any chance of reaching the other side of it +alive. + +But the Fairy Queen suddenly tightened her rein, and the grey palfrey +stopped short in its wild career. + +"Now must thou descend to earth, Thomas," said the Lady, glancing over +her shoulder at her unhappy captive, "and lout down, and lay thy head on +my knee, and I will show thee hidden things, which cannot be seen by +mortal eyes." + +So Thomas dismounted, and louted down, and rested his head on the Fairy +Queen's knee; and lo, as he looked once more over the desert, everything +seemed changed. For he saw three roads leading across it now, which he +had not noticed before, and each of these three roads was different. + +One of them was broad, and level, and even, and it ran straight on +across the sand, so that no one who was travelling by it could possibly +lose his way. + +And the second road was as different from the first as it well could be. +It was narrow, and winding, and long; and there was a thorn hedge on one +side of it, and a briar hedge on the other; and those hedges grew so +high, and their branches were so wild and tangled, that those who were +travelling along that road would have some difficulty in persevering on +their journey at all. + +And the third road was unlike any of the others. It was a bonnie, +bonnie road, winding up a hillside among brackens, and heather, and +golden-yellow whins, and it looked as if it would be pleasant +travelling, to pass that way. + +"Now," said the Fairy Queen, "an' thou wilt, I shall tell thee where +these three roads lead to. The first road, as thou seest, is broad, and +even, and easy, and there be many that choose it to travel on. But +though it be a good road, it leadeth to a bad end, and the folk that +choose it repent their choice for ever. + +"And as for the narrow road, all hampered and hindered by the thorns and +the briars, there be few that be troubled to ask where that leadeth to. +But did they ask, perchance more of them might be stirred up to set out +along it. For that is the Road of Righteousness; and, although it be +hard and irksome, yet it endeth in a glorious City, which is called the +City of the Great King. + +"And the third road--the bonnie road--that runs up the brae among the +ferns, and leadeth no mortal kens whither, but I ken where it leadeth, +Thomas--for it leadeth unto fair Elf-land; and that road take we. + +"And, mark 'ee, Thomas, if ever thou hopest to see thine own Tower of +Ercildoune again, take care of thy tongue when we reach our journey's +end, and speak no single word to anyone save me--for the mortal who +openeth his lips rashly in Fairy-land must bide there for ever." + +Then she bade him mount her palfrey again, and they rode on. The ferny +road was not so bonnie all the way as it had been at first, however. For +they had not ridden along it very far before it led them into a narrow +ravine, which seemed to go right down under the earth, where there was +no ray of light to guide them, and where the air was dank and heavy. +There was a sound of rushing water everywhere, and at last the grey +palfrey plunged right into it; and it crept up, cold and chill, first +over Thomas's feet, and then over his knees. + +His courage had been slowly ebbing ever since he had been parted from +the daylight, but now he gave himself up for lost; for it seemed to him +certain that his strange companion and he would never come safe to their +journey's end. + +He fell forward in a kind of swoon; and, if it had not been that he had +tight hold of the Fairy's ash-grey gown, I warrant he had fallen from +his seat, and had been drowned. + +But all things, be they good or bad, pass in time, and at last the +darkness began to lighten, and the light grew stronger, until they were +back in broad sunshine. + +Then Thomas took courage, and looked up; and lo, they were riding +through a beautiful orchard, where apples and pears, dates and figs and +wine-berries grew in great abundance. And his tongue was so parched and +dry, and he felt so faint, that he longed for some of the fruit to +restore him. + +He stretched out his hand to pluck some of it; but his companion turned +in her saddle and forbade him. + +"There is nothing safe for thee to eat here," she said, "save an apple, +which I will give thee presently. If thou touch aught else thou art +bound to remain in Fairy-land for ever." + +So poor Thomas had to restrain himself as best he could; and they rode +slowly on, until they came to a tiny tree all covered with red apples. +The Fairy Queen bent down and plucked one, and handed it to her +companion. + +"This I can give thee," she said, "and I do it gladly, for these apples +are the Apples of Truth; and whoso eateth them gaineth this reward, that +his lips will never more be able to frame a lie." + +Thomas took the apple, and ate it; and for evermore the Grace of Truth +rested on his lips; and that is why, in after years, men called him +"True Thomas." + +They had only a little way to go after this, before they came in sight +of a magnificent Castle standing on a hillside. + +"Yonder is my abode," said the Queen, pointing to it proudly. "There +dwelleth my Lord and all the Nobles of his court; and, as my Lord hath +an uncertain temper and shows no liking for any strange gallant whom he +sees in my company, I pray thee, both for thy sake and mine, to utter no +word to anyone who speaketh to thee; and, if anyone should ask me who +and what thou art, I will tell them that thou art dumb. So wilt thou +pass unnoticed in the crowd." + +With these words the Lady raised her hunting-horn, and blew a loud and +piercing blast; and, as she did so, a marvellous change came over her +again; for her ugly ash-covered gown dropped off her, and the grey in +her hair vanished, and she appeared once more in her green riding-skirt +and mantle, and her face grew young and fair. + +And a wonderful change passed over Thomas also; for, as he chanced to +glance downwards, he found that his rough country clothes had been +transformed into a suit of fine brown cloth, and that on his feet he +wore satin shoon. + +Immediately the sound of the horn rang out, the doors of the Castle flew +open, and the King hurried out to meet the Queen, accompanied by such a +number of Knights and Ladies, Minstrels and Page-boys, that Thomas, who +had slid from his palfrey, had no difficulty in obeying her wishes and +passing into the Castle unobserved. + +Everyone seemed very glad to see the Queen back again, and they crowded +into the Great Hall in her train, and she spoke to them all graciously, +and allowed them to kiss her hand. Then she passed, with her husband, to +a dais at the far end of the huge apartment, where two thrones stood, on +which the Royal pair seated themselves to watch the revels which now +began. + +Poor Thomas, meanwhile, stood far away at the other end of the Hall, +feeling very lonely, yet fascinated by the extraordinary scene on which +he was gazing. + +For, although all the fine Ladies, and Courtiers, and Knights were +dancing in one part of the Hall, there were huntsmen coming and going in +another part, carrying in great antlered deer, which apparently they had +killed in the chase, and throwing them down in heaps on the floor. And +there were rows of cooks standing beside the dead animals, cutting them +up into joints, and bearing away the joints to be cooked. + +Altogether it was such a strange, fantastic scene that Thomas took no +heed of how the time flew, but stood and gazed, and gazed, never +speaking a word to anybody. This went on for three long days, then the +Queen rose from her throne, and, stepping from the dais, crossed the +Hall to where he was standing. + +"'Tis time to mount and ride, Thomas," she said, "if thou wouldst ever +see the fair Castle of Ercildoune again." + +Thomas looked at her in amazement. "Thou spokest of seven long years, +Lady," he exclaimed, "and I have been here but three days." + +The Queen smiled. "Time passeth quickly in Fairy-land, my friend," she +replied. "Thou thinkest that thou hast been here but three days. 'Tis +seven years since we two met. And now it is time for thee to go. I would +fain have had thy presence with me longer, but I dare not, for thine +own sake. For every seventh year an Evil Spirit cometh from the Regions +of Darkness, and carrieth back with him one of our followers, whomsoever +he chanceth to choose. And, as thou art a goodly fellow, I fear that he +might choose thee. + +"So, as I would be loth to let harm befall thee, I will take thee back +to thine own country this very night." + +Once more the grey palfrey was brought, and Thomas and the Queen mounted +it; and, as they had come, so they returned to the Eildon Tree near the +Huntly Burn. + +Then the Queen bade Thomas farewell; and, as a parting gift, he asked +her to give him something that would let people know that he had really +been to Fairy-land. + +"I have already given thee the Gift of Truth," she replied. "I will now +give thee the Gifts of Prophecy and Poesie; so that thou wilt be able to +foretell the future, and also to write wondrous verses. And, besides +these unseen gifts, here is something that mortals can see with their +own eyes--a Harp that was fashioned in Fairy-land. Fare thee well, my +friend. Some day, perchance, I will return for thee again." + +With these words the Lady vanished, and Thomas was left alone, feeling a +little sorry, if the truth must be told, at parting with such a radiant +Being and coming back to the ordinary haunts of men. + +After this he lived for many a long year in his Castle of Ercildoune, +and the fame of his poetry and of his prophecies spread all over the +country, so that people named him True Thomas, and Thomas the Rhymer. + +I cannot write down for you all the prophecies which Thomas uttered, and +which most surely came to pass, but I will tell you one or two. + +He foretold the Battle of Bannockburn in these words: + + "The Burn of Breid + Shall rin fou reid," + +which came to pass on that terrible day when the waters of the little +Bannockburn were reddened by the blood of the defeated English. + +He also foretold the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland, under +a Prince who was the son of a French Queen, and who yet bore the blood +of Bruce in his veins. + + "A French Quen shall bearre the Sonne; + Shall rule all Britainne to the sea, + As neere as is the ninth degree," + +which thing came true in 1603, when King James, son of Mary, Queen of +Scots, became Monarch of both countries. + + * * * * * + +Fourteen long years went by, and people were beginning to forget that +Thomas the Rhymer had ever been in Fairy-land; but at last a day came +when Scotland was at war with England, and the Scottish army was +resting by the banks of the Tweed, not far from the Tower of +Ercildoune. + +[Illustration] + +And the Master of the Tower determined to make a feast, and invite all +the Nobles and Barons who were leading the army to sup with him. + +That feast was long remembered. + +For the Laird of Ercildoune took care that everything was as magnificent +as it could possibly be; and when the meal was ended he rose in his +place, and, taking his Elfin Harp, he sang to his assembled guests song +after song of the days of long ago. + +The guests listened breathlessly, for they felt that they would never +hear such wonderful music again. And so it fell out. + +For that very night, after all the Nobles had gone back to their tents, +a soldier on guard saw, in the moonlight, a snow-white Hart and Hind +moving slowly down the road that ran past the camp. + +There was something so unusual about the animals that he called to his +officer to come and look at them. And the officer called to his brother +officers, and soon there was quite a crowd softly following the dumb +creatures, who paced solemnly on, as if they were keeping time to music +unheard by mortal ears. + +"There is something uncanny about this," said one soldier at last. "Let +us send for Thomas of Ercildoune, perchance he may be able to tell us if +it be an omen or no." + +"Ay, send for Thomas of Ercildoune," cried every one at once. So a +little page was sent in haste to the old Tower to rouse the Rhymer from +his slumbers. + +When he heard the boy's message, the Seer's face grew grave and wrapt. + +"'Tis a summons," he said softly, "a summons from the Queen of +Fairy-land. I have waited long for it, and it hath come at last." + +And when he went out, instead of joining the little company of waiting +men, he walked straight up to the snow-white Hart and Hind. As soon as +he reached them they paused for a moment as if to greet him. Then all +three moved slowly down a steep bank that sloped to the little river +Leader, and disappeared in its foaming waters, for the stream was in +full flood. + +And, although a careful search was made, no trace of Thomas of +Ercildoune was found; and to this day the country folk believe that the +Hart and the Hind were messengers from the Elfin Queen, and that he went +back to Fairy-land with them. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: And she set sail for her own Country.] + + + + +GOLD-TREE AND SILVER-TREE + + +In bygone days there lived a little Princess named Gold-Tree, and she +was one of the prettiest children in the whole world. + +Although her mother was dead, she had a very happy life, for her father +loved her dearly, and thought that nothing was too much trouble so long +as it gave his little daughter pleasure. But by and by he married again, +and then the little Princess's sorrows began. + +For his new wife, whose name, curious to say, was Silver-Tree, was very +beautiful, but she was also very jealous, and she made herself quite +miserable for fear that, some day, she should meet someone who was +better looking than she was herself. + +When she found that her step-daughter was so very pretty, she took a +dislike to her at once, and was always looking at her and wondering if +people would think her prettier than she was. And because, in her heart +of hearts, she was afraid that they would do so, she was very unkind +indeed to the poor girl. + +At last, one day, when Princess Gold-Tree was quite grown up, the two +ladies went for a walk to a little well which lay, all surrounded by +trees, in the middle of a deep glen. + +Now the water in this well was so clear that everyone who looked into it +saw his face reflected on the surface; and the proud Queen loved to come +and peep into its depths, so that she could see her own picture mirrored +in the water. + +But to-day, as she was looking in, what should she see but a little +trout, which was swimming quietly backwards and forwards not very far +from the surface. + +"Troutie, troutie, answer me this one question," said the Queen. "Am not +I the most beautiful woman in the world?" + +"No, indeed, you are not," replied the trout promptly, jumping out of +the water, as he spoke, in order to swallow a fly. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the disappointed Queen, +for she had expected a far different answer. + +"Thy step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, without a doubt," said the +little fish; then, frightened by the black look that came upon the +jealous Queen's face, he dived to the bottom of the well. + +It was no wonder that he did so, for the Queen's expression was not +pleasant to look at, as she darted an angry glance at her fair young +step-daughter, who was busy picking flowers some little distance away. + +Indeed, she was so annoyed at the thought that anyone should say that +the girl was prettier than she was, that she quite lost her +self-control; and when she reached home she went up, in a violent +passion, to her room, and threw herself on the bed, declaring that she +felt very ill indeed. + +It was in vain that Princess Gold-Tree asked her what the matter was, +and if she could do anything for her. She would not let the poor girl +touch her, but pushed her away as if she had been some evil thing. So at +last the Princess had to leave her alone, and go out of the apartment, +feeling very sad indeed. + +By and by the King came home from his hunting, and he at once asked for +the Queen. He was told that she had been seized with sudden illness, and +that she was lying on her bed in her own room, and that no one, not even +the Court Physician, who had been hastily summoned, could make out what +was wrong with her. + +In great anxiety--for he really loved her--the King went up to her +bedside, and asked the Queen how she felt, and if there was anything +that he could do to relieve her. + +"Yes, there is one thing that thou couldst do," she answered harshly, +"but I know full well that, even although it is the only thing that will +cure me, thou wilt not do it." + +"Nay," said the King, "I deserve better words at thy mouth than these; +for thou knowest that I would give thee aught thou carest to ask, even +if it be the half of my Kingdom." + +"Then give me thy daughter's heart to eat," cried the Queen, "for unless +I can obtain that, I will die, and that speedily." + +She spoke so wildly, and looked at him in such a strange fashion, that +the poor King really thought that her brain was turned, and he was at +his wits' end what to do. He left the room, and paced up and down the +corridor in great distress, until at last he remembered that that very +morning the son of a great King had arrived from a country far over the +sea, asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. + +"Here is a way out of the difficulty," he said to himself. "This +marriage pleaseth me well, and I will have it celebrated at once. Then, +when my daughter is safe out of the country, I will send a lad up the +hillside, and he shall kill a he-goat, and I will have its heart +prepared and dressed, and send it up to my wife. Perhaps the sight of it +will cure her of this madness." + +So he had the strange Prince summoned before him, and told him how the +Queen had taken a sudden illness that had wrought on her brain, and had +caused her to take a dislike to the Princess, and how it seemed as if it +would be a good thing if, with the maiden's consent, the marriage could +take place at once, so that the Queen might be left alone to recover +from her strange malady. + +Now the Prince was delighted to gain his bride so easily, and the +Princess was glad to escape from her step-mother's hatred, so the +marriage took place at once, and the newly wedded pair set off across +the sea for the Prince's country. + +Then the King sent a lad up the hillside to kill a he-goat; and when it +was killed he gave orders that its heart should be dressed and cooked, +and sent to the Queen's apartment on a silver dish. And the wicked woman +tasted it, believing it to be the heart of her step-daughter; and when +she had done so, she rose from her bed and went about the Castle looking +as well and hearty as ever. + +I am glad to be able to tell you that the marriage of Princess +Gold-Tree, which had come about in such a hurry, turned out to be a +great success; for the Prince whom she had wedded was rich, and great, +and powerful, and he loved her dearly, and she was as happy as the day +was long. + +So things went peacefully on for a year. Queen Silver-Tree was satisfied +and contented, because she thought that her step-daughter was dead; +while all the time the Princess was happy and prosperous in her new +home. + +But at the end of the year it chanced that the Queen went once more to +the well in the little glen, in order to see her face reflected in the +water. + +And it chanced also that the same little trout was swimming backwards +and forwards, just as he had done the year before. And the foolish Queen +determined to have a better answer to her question this time than she +had last. + +"Troutie, troutie," she whispered, leaning over the edge of the well, +"am not I the most beautiful woman in the world?" + +"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, in his very +straightforward way. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman, then?" asked the Queen, her face +growing pale at the thought that she had yet another rival. + +"Why, your Majesty's step-daughter, the Princess Gold-Tree, to be sure," +answered the trout. + +The Queen threw back her head with a sigh of relief. "Well, at any rate, +people cannot admire her now," she said, "for it is a year since she +died. I ate her heart for my supper." + +"Art thou sure of that, your Majesty?" asked the trout, with a twinkle +in his eye. "Methinks it is but a year since she married the gallant +young Prince who came from abroad to seek her hand, and returned with +him to his own country." + +When the Queen heard these words she turned quite cold with rage, for +she knew that her husband had deceived her; and she rose from her knees +and went straight home to the Palace, and, hiding her anger as best she +could, she asked him if he would give orders to have the Long Ship made +ready, as she wished to go and visit her dear step-daughter, for it was +such a very long time since she had seen her. + +The King was somewhat surprised at her request, but he was only too glad +to think that she had got over her hatred towards his daughter, and he +gave orders that the Long Ship should be made ready at once. + +Soon it was speeding over the water, its prow turned in the direction of +the land where the Princess lived, steered by the Queen herself; for she +knew the course that the boat ought to take, and she was in such haste +to be at her journey's end that she would allow no one else to take the +helm. + +Now it chanced that Princess Gold-Tree was alone that day, for her +husband had gone a-hunting. And as she looked out of one of the Castle +windows she saw a boat coming sailing over the sea towards the landing +place. She recognised it as her father's Long Ship, and she guessed only +too well whom it carried on board. + +She was almost beside herself with terror at the thought, for she knew +that it was for no good purpose that Queen Silver-Tree had taken the +trouble to set out to visit her, and she felt that she would have given +almost anything she possessed if her husband had but been at home. In +her distress she hurried into the servants' hall. + +"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming over the sea, and I know that my step-mother +is on board. And if she hath a chance she will kill me, for she hateth +me more than anything else upon earth." + +Now the servants worshipped the ground that their young Mistress trod +on, for she was always kind and considerate to them, and when they saw +how frightened she was, and heard her piteous words, they crowded round +her, as if to shield her from any harm that threatened her. + +"Do not be afraid, your Highness," they cried; "we will defend thee with +our very lives if need be. But in case thy Lady Step-Mother should have +the power to throw any evil spell over thee, we will lock thee in the +great Mullioned Chamber, then she cannot get nigh thee at all." + +Now the Mullioned Chamber was a strong-room, which was in a part of the +castle all by itself, and its door was so thick that no one could +possibly break through it; and the Princess knew that if she were once +inside the room, with its stout oaken door between her and her +step-mother, she would be perfectly safe from any mischief that that +wicked woman could devise. + +So she consented to her faithful servants' suggestion, and allowed them +to lock her in the Mullioned Chamber. + +So it came to pass that when Queen Silver-Tree arrived at the great door +of the Castle, and commanded the lackey who opened it to take her to his +Royal Mistress, he told her, with a low bow, that that was impossible, +because the Princess was locked in the strong-room of the Castle, and +could not get out, because no one knew where the key was. + +(Which was quite true, for the old butler had tied it round the neck of +the Prince's favourite sheep-dog, and had sent him away to the hills to +seek his master.) + +"Take me to the door of the apartment," commanded the Queen. "At least I +can speak to my dear daughter through it." And the lackey, who did not +see what harm could possibly come from this, did as he was bid. + +"If the key is really lost, and thou canst not come out to welcome me, +dear Gold-Tree," said the deceitful Queen, "at least put thy little +finger through the keyhole that I may kiss it." + +The Princess did so, never dreaming that evil could come to her through +such a simple action. But it did. For instead of kissing the tiny +finger, her step-mother stabbed it with a poisoned needle, and, so +deadly was the poison, that, before she could utter a single cry, the +poor Princess fell, as one dead, on the floor. + +When she heard the fall, a smile of satisfaction crept over Queen +Silver-Tree's face. "Now I can say that I am the handsomest woman in the +world," she whispered; and she went back to the lackey who stood waiting +at the end of the passage, and told him that she had said all that she +had to say to her daughter, and that now she must return home. + +So the man attended her to the boat with all due ceremony, and she set +sail for her own country; and no one in the Castle knew that any harm +had befallen their dear Mistress until the Prince came home from his +hunting with the key of the Mullioned Chamber, which he had taken from +his sheep-dog's neck, in his hand. + +[Illustration] + +He laughed when he heard the story of Queen Silver-Tree's visit, and +told the servants that they had done well; then he ran upstairs to open +the door and release his wife. + +But what was his horror and dismay, when he did so, to find her lying +dead at his feet on the floor. + +He was nearly beside himself with rage and grief; and, because he knew +that a deadly poison such as Queen Silver-Tree had used would preserve +the Princess's body so that it had no need of burial, he had it laid on +a silken couch and left in the Mullioned Chamber, so that he could go +and look at it whenever he pleased. + +He was so terribly lonely, however, that in a little time he married +again, and his second wife was just as sweet and as good as the first +one had been. This new wife was very happy, there was only one little +thing that caused her any trouble at all, and she was too sensible to +let it make her miserable. + +That one thing was that there was one room in the Castle--a room which +stood at the end of a passage by itself--which she could never enter, as +her husband always carried the key. And as, when she asked him the +reason of this, he always made an excuse of some kind, she made up her +mind that she would not seem as if she did not trust him, so she asked +no more questions about the matter. + +But one day the Prince chanced to leave the door unlocked, and as he had +never told her not to do so, she went in, and there she saw Princess +Gold-Tree lying on the silken couch, looking as if she were asleep. + +"Is she dead, or is she only sleeping?" she said to herself, and she +went up to the couch and looked closely at the Princess. And there, +sticking in her little finger, she discovered a curiously shaped needle. + +"There hath been evil work here," she thought to herself. "If that +needle be not poisoned, then I know naught of medicine." And, being +skilled in leechcraft, she drew it carefully out. + +In a moment Princess Gold-Tree opened her eyes and sat up, and presently +she had recovered sufficiently to tell the Other Princess the whole +story. + +Now, if her step-mother had been jealous, the Other Princess was not +jealous at all; for, when she heard all that had happened, she clapped +her little hands, crying, "Oh, how glad the Prince will be; for although +he hath married again, I know that he loves thee best." + +That night the Prince came home from hunting looking very tired and sad, +for what his second wife had said was quite true. Although he loved her +very much, he was always mourning in his heart for his first dear love, +Princess Gold-Tree. + +"How sad thou art!" exclaimed his wife, going out to meet him. "Is there +nothing that I can do to bring a smile to thy face?" + +"Nothing," answered the Prince wearily, laying down his bow, for he was +too heart-sore even to pretend to be gay. + +"Except to give thee back Gold-Tree," said his wife mischievously. "And +that can I do. Thou wilt find her alive and well in the Mullioned +Chamber." + +Without a word the Prince ran upstairs, and, sure enough, there was his +dear Gold-Tree, sitting on the couch ready to welcome him. + +He was so overjoyed to see her that he threw his arms round her neck and +kissed her over and over again, quite forgetting his poor second wife, +who had followed him upstairs, and who now stood watching the meeting +that she had brought about. + +She did not seem to be sorry for herself, however. "I always knew that +thy heart yearned after Princess Gold-Tree," she said. "And it is but +right that it should be so. For she was thy first love, and, since she +hath come to life again, I will go back to mine own people." + +"No, indeed thou wilt not," answered the Prince, "for it is thou who +hast brought me this joy. Thou wilt stay with us, and we shall all three +live happily together. And Gold-Tree and thee will become great +friends." + +And so it came to pass. For Princess Gold-Tree and the Other Princess +soon became like sisters, and loved each other as if they had been +brought up together all their lives. + +In this manner another year passed away, and one evening, in the old +country, Queen Silver-Tree went, as she had done before, to look at her +face in the water of the little well in the glen. + +And, as had happened twice before, the trout was there. "Troutie, +troutie," she whispered, "am not I the most beautiful woman in the +world?" + +"By my troth, thou art not," answered the trout, as he had answered on +the two previous occasions. + +"And who dost thou say is the most beautiful woman now?" asked the +Queen, her voice trembling with rage and vexation. + +"I have given her name to thee these two years back," answered the +trout. "The Princess Gold-Tree, of course." + +"But she is dead," laughed the Queen. "I am sure of it this time, for it +is just a year since I stabbed her little finger with a poisoned needle, +and I heard her fall down dead on the floor." + +"I would not be so sure of that," answered the trout, and without saying +another word he dived straight down to the bottom of the well. + +After hearing his mysterious words the Queen could not rest, and at last +she asked her husband to have the Long Ship prepared once more, so that +she could go and see her step-daughter. + +The King gave the order gladly; and it all happened as it had happened +before. + +She steered the Ship over the sea with her own hands, and when it was +approaching the land it was seen and recognised by Princess Gold-Tree. + +The Prince was out hunting, and the Princess ran, in great terror, to +her friend, the Other Princess, who was upstairs in her chamber. + +"Oh, what shall I do, what shall I do?" she cried, "for I see my +father's Long Ship coming, and I know that my cruel step-mother is on +board, and she will try to kill me, as she tried to kill me before. Oh! +come, let us escape to the hills." + +"Not at all," replied the Other Princess, throwing her arms round the +trembling Gold-Tree. "I am not afraid of thy Lady Step-Mother. Come with +me, and we will go down to the sea shore to greet her." + +So they both went down to the edge of the water, and when Queen +Silver-Tree saw her step-daughter coming she pretended to be very glad, +and sprang out of the boat and ran to meet her, and held out a silver +goblet full of wine for her to drink. + +"'Tis rare wine from the East," she said, "and therefore very precious. +I brought a flagon with me, so that we might pledge each other in a +loving cup." + +Princess Gold-Tree, who was ever gentle and courteous, would have +stretched out her hand for the cup, had not the Other Princess stepped +between her and her step-mother. + +"Nay, Madam," she said gravely, looking the Queen straight in the face; +"it is the custom in this land for the one who offers a loving cup to +drink from it first herself." + +"I will follow the custom gladly," answered the Queen, and she raised +the goblet to her mouth. But the Other Princess, who was watching for +closely, noticed that she did not allow the wine that it contained to +touch her lips. So she stepped forward and, as if by accident, struck +the bottom of the goblet with her shoulder. Part of its contents flew +into the Queen's face, and part, before she could shut her mouth, went +down her throat. + +So, because of her wickedness, she was, as the Good Book says, caught in +her own net. For she had made the wine so poisonous that, almost before +she had swallowed it, she fell dead at the two Princesses' feet. + +No one was sorry for her, for she really deserved her fate; and they +buried her hastily in a lonely piece of ground, and very soon everybody +had forgotten all about her. + +As for Princess Gold-Tree, she lived happily and peacefully with her +husband and her friend for the remainder of her life. + +[Illustration] + + + + +WHIPPETY-STOURIE + + +I am going to tell you a story about a poor young widow woman, who lived +in a house called Kittlerumpit, though whereabouts in Scotland the house +of Kittlerumpit stood nobody knows. + +Some folk think that it stood in the neighbourhood of the Debateable +Land, which, as all the world knows, was on the Borders, where the old +Border Reivers were constantly coming and going; the Scotch stealing +from the English, and the English from the Scotch. Be that as it may, +the widowed Mistress of Kittlerumpit was sorely to be pitied. + +For she had lost her husband, and no one quite knew what had become of +him. He had gone to a fair one day, and had never come back again, and +although everybody believed that he was dead, no one knew how he died. + +Some people said that he had been persuaded to enlist, and had been +killed in the wars; others, that he had been taken away to serve as a +sailor by the press-gang, and had been drowned at sea. + +At any rate, his poor young wife was sorely to be pitied, for she was +left with a little baby-boy to bring up, and, as times were bad, she had +not much to live on. + +But she loved her baby dearly, and worked all day amongst her cows, and +pigs, and hens, in order to earn enough money to buy food and clothes +for both herself and him. + +Now, on the morning of which I am speaking, she rose very early and went +out to feed her pigs, for rent-day was coming on, and she intended to +take one of them, a great, big, fat creature, to the market that very +day, as she thought that the price that it would fetch would go a long +way towards paying her rent. + +And because she thought so, her heart was light, and she hummed a little +song to herself as she crossed the yard with her bucket on one arm and +her baby-boy on the other. + +But the song was quickly changed into a cry of despair when she reached +the pig-stye, for there lay her cherished pig on its back, with its legs +in the air and its eyes shut, just as if it were going to breathe its +last breath. + +"What shall I do? What shall I do?" cried the poor woman, sitting down +on a big stone and clasping her boy to her breast, heedless of the fact +that she had dropped her bucket, and that the pig's-meat was running +out, and that the hens were eating it. + +"First I lost my husband, and now I am going to lose my finest pig. The +pig that I hoped would fetch a deal of money." + +Now I must explain to you that the house of Kittlerumpit stood on a +hillside, with a great fir wood behind it, and the ground sloping down +steeply in front. + +And as the poor young thing, after having a good cry to herself, was +drying her eyes, she chanced to look down the hill, and who should she +see coming up it but an Old Woman, who looked like a lady born. + +She was dressed all in green, with a white apron, and she wore a black +velvet hood on her head, and a steeple-crowned beaver hat over that, +something like those, as I have heard tell, that the women wear in +Wales. She walked very slowly, leaning on a long staff, and she gave a +bit hirple now and then, as if she were lame. + +As she drew near, the young widow felt it was becoming to rise and +curtsey to the Gentlewoman, for such she saw her to be. + +"Madam," she said, with a sob in her voice, "I bid you welcome to the +house of Kittlerumpit, although you find its Mistress one of the most +unfortunate women in the world." + +"Hout-tout," answered the old Lady, in such a harsh voice that the young +woman started, and grasped her baby tighter in her arms. "Ye have little +need to say that. Ye have lost your husband, I grant ye, but there were +waur losses at Shirra-Muir. And now your pig is like to die--I could, +maybe, remedy that. But I must first hear how much ye wad gie me if I +cured him." + +"Anything that your Ladyship's Madam likes to ask," replied the widow, +too much delighted at having the animal's life saved to think that she +was making rather a rash promise. + +"Very good," said the old Dame, and without wasting any more words she +walked straight into the pig-sty. + +She stood and looked at the dying creature for some minutes, rocking to +and fro and muttering to herself in words which the widow could not +understand; at least, she could only understand four of them, and they +sounded something like this: + + "Pitter-patter, + Haly water." + +Then she put her hand into her pocket and drew out a tiny bottle with a +liquid that looked like oil in it. She took the cork out, and dropped +one of her long lady-like fingers into it; then she touched the pig on +the snout and on his ears, and on the tip of his curly tail. + +No sooner had she done so than up the beast jumped, and, with a grunt of +contentment, ran off to its trough to look for its breakfast. + +A joyful woman was the Mistress of Kittlerumpit when she saw it do this, +for she felt that her rent was safe; and in her relief and gratitude she +would have kissed the hem of the strange Lady's green gown, if she +would have allowed it, but she would not. + +"No, no," said she, and her voice sounded harsher than ever. "Let us +have no fine meanderings, but let us stick to our bargain. I have done +my part, and mended the pig; now ye must do yours, and give me what I +like to ask--your son." + +Then the poor widow gave a piteous cry, for she knew now what she had +not guessed before--that the Green-clad Lady was a Fairy, and a Wicked +Fairy too, else had she not asked such a terrible thing. + +It was too late now, however, to pray, and beseech, and beg for mercy; +the Fairy stood her ground, hard and cruel. + +"Ye promised me what I liked to ask, and I have asked your son; and your +son I will have," she replied, "so it is useless making such a din about +it. But one thing I may tell you, for I know well that the knowledge +will not help you. By the laws of Fairy-land, I cannot take the bairn +till the third day after this, and if by that time you have found out my +name I cannot take him even then. But ye will not be able to find it +out, of that I am certain. So I will call back for the boy in three +days." + +And with that she disappeared round the back of the pig-sty, and the +poor mother fell down in a dead faint beside the stone. + +All that day, and all the next, she did nothing but sit in her kitchen +and cry, and hug her baby tighter in her arms; but on the day before +that on which the Fairy said that she was coming back, she felt as if +she must get a little breath of fresh air, so she went for a walk in the +fir wood behind the house. + +Now in this fir wood there was an old quarry hole, in the bottom of +which was a bonnie spring well, the water of which was always sweet and +pure. The young widow was walking near this quarry hole, when, to her +astonishment, she heard the whirr of a spinning-wheel and the sound of a +voice lilting a song. At first she could not think where the sound came +from; then, remembering the quarry, she laid down her child at a tree +root, and crept noiselessly through the bushes on her hands and knees to +the edge of the hole and peeped over. + +She could hardly believe her eyes! For there, far below her, at the +bottom of the quarry, beside the spring well, sat the cruel Fairy, +dressed in her green frock and tall felt hat, spinning away as fast as +she could at a tiny spinning-wheel. + +And what should she be singing but-- + + "Little kens our guid dame at hame, + Whippety-Stourie is my name." + +The widow woman almost cried aloud for joy, for now she had learned the +Fairy's secret, and her child was safe. But she dare not, in case the +wicked old Dame heard her and threw some other spell over her. + +So she crept softly back to the place where she had left her child; +then, catching him up in her arms, she ran through the wood to her +house, laughing, and singing, and tossing him in the air in such a state +of delight that, if anyone had met her, they would have been in danger +of thinking that she was mad. + +Now this young woman had been a merry-hearted maiden, and would have +been merry-hearted still, if, since her marriage, she had not had so +much trouble that it had made her grow old and sober-minded before her +time; and she began to think what fun it would be to tease the Fairy for +a few minutes before she let her know that she had found out her name. + +So next day, at the appointed time, she went out with her boy in her +arms, and seated herself on the big stone where she had sat before; and +when she saw the old Dame coming up the hill, she crumpled up her nice +clean cap, and screwed up her face, and pretended to be in great +distress and to be crying bitterly. + +The Fairy took no notice of this, however, but came close up to her, and +said, in her harsh, merciless voice, "Good wife of Kittlerumpit, ye ken +the reason of my coming; give me the bairn." + +Then the young mother pretended to be in sorer distress than ever, and +fell on her knees before the wicked old woman and begged for mercy. + +"Oh, sweet Madam Mistress," she cried, "spare me my bairn, and take, an' +thou wilt, the pig instead." + +"We have no need of bacon where I come from," answered the Fairy coldly; +"so give me the laddie and let me begone--I have no time to waste in +this wise." + +"Oh, dear Lady mine," pleaded the Goodwife, "if thou wilt not have the +pig, wilt thou not spare my poor bairn and take me myself?" + +The Fairy stepped back a little, as if in astonishment. "Art thou mad, +woman," she cried contemptuously, "that thou proposest such a thing? Who +in all the world would care to take a plain-looking, red-eyed, dowdy +wife like thee with them?" + +Now the young Mistress of Kittlerumpit knew that she was no beauty, and +the knowledge had never vexed her; but something in the Fairy's tone +made her feel so angry that she could contain herself no longer. + +"In troth, fair Madam, I might have had the wit to know that the like of +me is not fit to tie the shoe-string of the High and Mighty Princess, +WHIPPETY-STOURIE!" + +If there had been a charge of gunpowder buried in the ground, and if it +had suddenly exploded beneath her feet, the Wicked Fairy could not have +jumped higher into air. + +And when she came down again she simply turned round and ran down the +brae, shrieking with rage and disappointment, for all the world, as an +old book says, "like an owl chased by witches." + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE RED-ETIN + + +There were once two widows who lived in two cottages which stood not +very far from one another. And each of those widows possessed a piece of +land on which she grazed a cow and a few sheep, and in this way she made +her living. + +One of these poor widows had two sons, the other had one; and as these +three boys were always together, it was natural that they should become +great friends. + +At last the time arrived when the eldest son of the widow who had two +sons, must leave home and go out into the world to seek his fortune. And +the night before he went away his mother told him to take a can and go +to the well and bring back some water, and she would bake a cake for him +to carry with him. + +"But remember," she added, "the size of the cake will depend on the +quantity of water that thou bringest back. If thou bringest much, then +will it be large; and, if thou bringest little, then will it be small. +But, big or little, it is all that I have to give thee." + +The lad took the can and went off to the well, and filled it with +water, and came home again. But he never noticed that the can had a hole +in it, and was running out; so that, by the time that he arrived at +home, there was very little water left. So his mother could only bake +him a very little cake. + +But, small as it was, she asked him, as she gave it to him, to choose +one of two things. Either to take the half of it with her blessing, or +the whole of it with her malison. "For," said she, "thou canst not have +both the whole cake and a blessing along with it." + +The lad looked at the cake and hesitated. It would have been pleasant to +have left home with his mother's blessing upon him; but he had far to +go, and the cake was little; the half of it would be a mere mouthful, +and he did not know when he would get any more food. So at last he made +up his mind to take the whole of it, even if he had to bear his mother's +malison. + +Then he took his younger brother aside, and gave him his hunting-knife, +saying, "Keep this by thee, and look at it every morning. For as long as +the blade remains clear and bright, thou wilt know that it is well with +me; but should it grow dim and rusty, then know thou that some evil hath +befallen me." + +After this he embraced them both and set out on his travels. He +journeyed all that day, and all the next, and on the afternoon of the +third day he came to where an old shepherd was sitting beside a flock of +sheep. + +"I will ask the old man whose sheep they are," he said to himself, "for +mayhap his master might engage me also as a shepherd." So he went up to +the old man, and asked him to whom the sheep belonged. And this was all +the answer he got: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +"That does not tell me much; but somehow I do not fancy this Red-Etin +for a master," thought the youth, and he went on his way. + +He had not gone very far, however, when he saw another old man, with +snow-white hair, herding a flock of swine; and as he wondered to whom +the swine belonged, and if there was any chance of him getting a +situation as a swineherd, he went up to the countryman, and asked who +was the owner of the animals. + +He got the same answer from the swineherd that he had got from the +shepherd: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +"Plague on this old Red-Etin; I wonder when I will get out of his +domains," he muttered to himself; and he journeyed still further. + +Presently he came to a very, very old man--so old, indeed, that he was +quite bent with age--and he was herding a flock of goats. + +Once more the traveller asked to whom the animals belonged, and once +more he got the same answer: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "It's said there's ane predestinate + To be his mortal foe, + But that man is yet unborn, + And lang may it be so." + +But this ancient goatherd added a piece of advice at the end of his +rhyme. "Beware, stranger," he said, "of the next herd of beasts that ye +shall meet. Sheep, and swine, and goats will harm nobody; but the +creatures ye shall now encounter are of a sort that ye have never met +before, and _they_ are not harmless." + +The young man thanked him for his counsel, and went on his way, and he +had not gone very far before he met a herd of very dreadful creatures, +unlike anything that he had ever dreamed of in all his life. + +For each of them had three heads, and on each of its three heads it had +four horns; and when he saw them he was so frightened that he turned and +ran away from them as fast as he could. + +Up hill and down dale he ran, until he was well-nigh exhausted; and, +just when he was beginning to feel that his legs would not carry him any +further, he saw a great Castle in front of him, the door of which was +standing wide open. + +He was so tired that he went straight in, and after wandering through +some magnificent halls, which appeared to be quite deserted, he reached +the kitchen, where an old woman was sitting by the fire. + +He asked her if he might have a night's lodging, as he had come a long +and weary journey, and would be glad of somewhere to rest. + +"You can rest here, and welcome, for me," said the old Dame, "but for +your own sake I warn you that this is an ill house to bide in; for it is +the Castle of the Red-Etin, who is a fierce and terrible Monster with +three heads, and he spareth neither man nor woman, if he can get hold of +them." + +Tired as he was, the young man would have made an effort to escape from +such a dangerous abode had he not remembered the strange and awful +beasts from which he had just been fleeing, and he was afraid that, as +it was growing dark, if he set out again he might chance to walk right +into their midst. So he begged the old woman to hide him in some dark +corner, and not to tell the Red-Etin that he was in the Castle. + +"For," thought he, "if I can only get shelter until the morning, I will +then be able to avoid these terrible creatures and go on my way in +peace." + +So the old Dame hid him in a press under the back stairs, and, as there +was plenty of room in it, he settled down quite comfortably for the +night. + +But just as he was going off to sleep he heard an awful roaring and +trampling overhead. The Red-Etin had come home, and it was plain that he +was searching for something. + +And the terrified youth soon found out what the "Something" was, for +very soon the horrible Monster came into the kitchen, crying out in a +voice like thunder: + + "Seek but, and seek ben, + I smell the smell of an earthly man! + Be he living, or be he dead, + His heart this night I shall eat with my bread." + +And it was not very long before he discovered the poor young man's +hiding-place and pulled him roughly out of it. + +Of course, the lad begged that his life might be spared, but the Monster +only laughed at him. + +"It will be spared if thou canst answer three questions," he said; "if +not, it is forfeited." + +The first of these three questions was, "Whether Ireland or Scotland was +first inhabited?" + +The second, "How old was the world when Adam was made?" + +And the third, "Whether men or beasts were created first?" + +The lad was not skilled in such matters, having had but little +book-learning, and he could not answer the questions. So the Monster +struck him on the head with a queer little hammer which he carried, and +turned him into a piece of stone. + +Now every morning since he had left home his younger brother had done as +he had promised, and had carefully examined his hunting-knife. + +On the first two mornings it was bright and clear, but on the third +morning he was very much distressed to find that it was dull and rusty. +He looked at it for a few moments in great dismay; then he ran straight +to his mother, and held it out to her. + +"By this token I know that some mischief hath befallen my brother," he +said, "so I must set out at once to see what evil hath come upon him." + +"First must thou go to the well and fetch me some water," said his +mother, "that I may bake thee a cake to carry with thee, as I baked a +cake for him who is gone. And I will say to thee what I said to him. +That the cake will be large or small according as thou bringest much or +little water back with thee." + +So the lad took the can, as his brother had done, and went off to the +well, and it seemed as if some evil spirit directed him to follow his +example in all things, for he brought home little water, and he chose +the whole cake and his mother's malison, instead of the half and her +blessing, and he set out and met the shepherd, and the swineherd, and +the goatherd, and they all gave the same answers to him which they had +given to his brother. And he also encountered the same fierce beasts, +and ran from them in terror, and took shelter from them in the Castle; +and the old woman hid him, and the Red-Etin found him, and, because he +could not answer the three questions, he, too, was turned into a pillar +of stone. + +And no more would ever have been heard of these two youths had not a +kind Fairy, who had seen all that had happened, appeared to the other +widow and her son, as they were sitting at supper one night in the +gloaming, and told them the whole story, and how their two poor young +neighbours had been turned into pillars of stone by a cruel enchanter +called Red-Etin. + +Now the third young man was both brave and strong, and he determined to +set out to see if he could in anywise help his two friends. And, from +the very first moment that he had made up his mind to do so, things went +differently with him than they had with them. I think, perhaps, that +this was because he was much more loving and thoughtful than they were. + +For, when his mother sent him to fetch water from the well so that she +might bake a cake for him, just as the other mother had done for her +sons, a raven, flying above his head, croaked out that his can was +leaking, and he, wishing to please his mother by bringing her a good +supply of water, patched up the hole with clay, and so came home with +the can quite full. + +Then, when his mother had baked a big bannock for him, and giving him +his choice between the whole cake and her malison, or half of it and her +blessing, he chose the latter, "for," said he, throwing his arms round +her neck, "I may light on other cakes to eat, but I will never light on +another blessing such as thine." + +And the curious thing was, that, after he had said this, the half cake +which he had chosen seemed to spread itself out, and widen, and broaden, +till it was bigger by far than it had been at first. + +Then he started on his journey, and, after he had gone a good way he +began to feel hungry. So he pulled it out of his pocket and began to eat +it. + +Just then he met an old woman, who seemed to be very poor, for her +clothing was thin, and worn, and old, and she stopped and spoke to him. + +"Of thy charity, kind Master," she said, stretching out one of her +withered hands, "spare me a bit of the cake that thou art eating." + +Now the youth was very hungry, and he could have eaten it all himself, +but his kind heart was touched by the woman's pinched face, so he broke +it in two, and gave her half of it. + +Instantly she was changed into the Fairy who had appeared to his mother +and himself as they had sat at supper the night before, and she smiled +graciously at the generous lad, and held out a little wand to him. + +"Though thou knowest it not, thy mother's blessing and thy kindness to +an old and poor woman hath gained thee many blessings, brave boy," he +said. "Keep that as thy reward; thou wilt need it ere thy errand be +done." Then, bidding him sit down on the grass beside her, she told him +all the dangers that he would meet on his travels, and the way in which +he could overcome them, and then, in a moment, before he could thank +her, she vanished out of his sight. + +But with the little wand, and all the instructions that she had given +him, he felt that he could face fearlessly any danger that he might be +called on to meet, so he rose from the grass and went his way, full of a +cheerful courage. + +After he had walked for many miles further, he came, as each of his +friends had done, to the old shepherd herding his sheep. And, like them, +he asked to whom the sheep belonged. And this time the old man answered: + + "The Red-Etin of Ireland + Ance lived in Ballygan, + And stole King Malcolm's daughter, + The King of fair Scotland. + He beats her, he binds her, + He lays her on a band, + And every day he dings her + With a bright silver wand. + Like Julian the Roman, + He's one that fears no man. + + "But now I fear his end is near, + And destiny at hand; + And you're to be, I plainly see, + The heir of all his land." + +Then the young man went on, and he came to the swineherd, and to the +goatherd; and each of them in turn repeated the same words to him. + +And, when he came to where the droves of monstrous beasts were, he was +not afraid of them, and when one came running up to him with its mouth +wide open to devour him, he just struck it with his wand, and it dropped +down dead at his feet. + +At last he arrived at the Red-Etin's Castle, and he knocked boldly at +the door. The old woman answered his knock, and, when he had told her +his errand, warned him gravely not to enter. + +"Thy two friends came here before thee," she said, "and they are now +turned into two pillars of stone; what advantage is it to thee to lose +thy life also?" + +But the young man only laughed. "I have knowledge of an art of which +they knew nothing," he said. "And methinks I can fight the Red-Etin with +his own weapons." + +So, much against her will, the old woman let him in, and hid him where +she had hid his friends. + +It was not long before the Monster arrived, and, as on former occasions, +he came into the kitchen in a furious rage, crying: + + "Seek but, and seek ben, + I smell the smell of an earthly man! + Be he living, or be he dead, + His heart this night I shall eat with my bread." + +Then he peered into the young man's hiding-place, and called to him to +come out. And after he had come out, he put to him the three questions, +never dreaming that he could answer them; but the Fairy had told the +youth what to say, and he gave the answers as pat as any book. + +Then the Red-Etin's heart sank within him for fear, for he knew that +someone had betrayed him, and that his power was gone. + +And gone in very truth it was. For when the youth took an axe and began +to fight with him, he had no strength to resist, and, before he knew +where he was, his heads were cut off. And that was the end of the +Red-Etin. + +As soon as he saw that his enemy was really dead, the young man asked +the old woman if what the shepherd, and the swineherd, and the goatherd +had told him were true, and if King Malcolm's daughter were really a +prisoner in the Castle. + +The old woman nodded. "Even with the Monster lying dead at my feet, I am +almost afraid to speak of it," she said. "But come with me, my gallant +gentleman, and thou wilt see what dule and misery the Red-Etin hath +caused to many a home." + +She took a huge bunch of keys, and led him up a long flight of stairs, +which ended in a passage with a great many doors on each side of it. She +unlocked these doors with her keys, and, as she opened them, she put her +head into every room and said, "Ye have naught to fear now, Madam, the +Predestinated Deliverer hath come, and the Red-Etin is dead." + +[Illustration: And that was the end of the Red-Etin] + +And behold, with a cry of joy, out of every room came a beautiful lady +who had been stolen from her home, and shut up there, by the Red-Etin. + +Among them was one who was more beautiful and stately than the rest, and +all the others bowed down to her and treated her with such great +reverence that it was clear to see that she was the Royal Princess, King +Malcolm's daughter. + +And when the youth stepped forward and did reverence to her also, she +spoke so sweetly to him, and greeted him so gladly, and called him her +Deliverer, in such a low, clear voice, that his heart was taken captive +at once. + +But, for all that, he did not forget his friends. He asked the old woman +where they were, and she took him into a room at the end of the passage, +which was so dark that one could scarcely see in it, and so low that one +could scarcely stand upright. + +In this dismal chamber stood two blocks of stone. + +"One can unlock doors, young Master," said the old woman, shaking her +head forebodingly, "but 'tis hard work to try to turn cauld stane back +to flesh and blood." + +"Nevertheless, I will do it," said the youth, and, lifting his little +wand, he touched each of the stone pillars lightly on the top. + +Instantly the hard stone seemed to soften and melt away, and the two +brothers started into life and form again. Their gratitude to their +friend, who had risked so much to save them, knew no bounds, while he, +on his part, was delighted to think that his efforts had been +successful. + +The next thing to do was to convey the Princess and the other ladies +(who were all noblemen's daughters) back to the King's Court, and this +they did next day. + +King Malcolm was so overjoyed to see his dearly loved daughter, whom he +had given up for dead, safe and sound, and so grateful to her deliverer, +that he said that he should become his son-in-law and marry the +Princess, and come and live with them at Court. Which all came to pass +in due time; while as for the two other young men, they married +noblemen's daughters, and the two old mothers came to live near their +sons, and everyone was as happy as they could possibly be. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE SEAL CATCHER AND THE MERMAN + + +Once upon a time there was a man who lived not very far from John o' +Groat's house, which, as everyone knows, is in the very north of +Scotland. He lived in a little cottage by the sea-shore, and made his +living by catching seals and selling their fur, which is very valuable. + +He earned a good deal of money in this way, for these creatures used to +come out of the sea in large numbers, and lie on the rocks near his +house basking in the sunshine, so that it was not difficult to creep up +behind them and kill them. + +Some of those seals were larger than others, and the country people used +to call them "Roane," and whisper that they were not seals at all, but +Mermen and Merwomen, who came from a country of their own, far down +under the ocean, who assumed this strange disguise in order that they +might pass through the water, and come up to breathe the air of this +earth of ours. + +But the seal catcher only laughed at them, and said that those seals +were most worth killing, for their skins were so big that he got an +extra price for them. + +Now it chanced one day, when he was pursuing his calling, that he +stabbed a seal with his hunting-knife, and whether the stroke had not +been sure enough or not, I cannot say, but with a loud cry of pain the +creature slipped off the rock into the sea, and disappeared under the +water, carrying the knife along with it. + +The seal catcher, much annoyed at his clumsiness, and also at the loss +of his knife, went home to dinner in a very downcast frame of mind. On +his way he met a horseman, who was so tall and so strange-looking and +who rode on such a gigantic horse, that he stopped and looked at him in +astonishment, wondering who he was, and from what country he came. + +The stranger stopped also, and asked him his trade and on hearing that +he was a seal catcher, he immediately ordered a great number of seal +skins. The seal catcher was delighted, for such an order meant a large +sum of money to him. But his face fell when the horseman added that it +was absolutely necessary that the skins should be delivered that +evening. + +"I cannot do it," he said in a disappointed voice, "for the seals will +not come back to the rocks again until to-morrow morning." + +"I can take you to a place where there are any number of seals," +answered the stranger, "if you will mount behind me on my horse and come +with me." + +The seal catcher agreed to this, and climbed up behind the rider, who +shook his bridle rein, and off the great horse galloped at such a pace +that he had much ado to keep his seat. + +On and on they went, flying like the wind, until at last they came to +the edge of a huge precipice, the face of which went sheer down to the +sea. Here the mysterious horseman pulled up his steed with a jerk. + +"Get off now," he said shortly. + +The seal catcher did as he was bid, and when he found himself safe on +the ground, he peeped cautiously over the edge of the cliff, to see if +there were any seals lying on the rocks below. + +To his astonishment he saw no rocks, only the blue sea, which came right +up to the foot of the cliff. + +"Where are the seals that you spoke of?" he asked anxiously, wishing +that he had never set out on such a rash adventure. + +"You will see presently," answered the stranger, who was attending to +his horse's bridle. + +The seal catcher was now thoroughly frightened, for he felt sure that +some evil was about to befall him, and in such a lonely place he knew +that it would be useless to cry out for help. + +And it seemed as if his fears would prove only too true, for the next +moment the stranger's hand was laid upon his shoulder, and he felt +himself being hurled bodily over the cliff, and then he fell with a +splash into the sea. + +He thought that his last hour had come, and he wondered how anyone could +work such a deed of wrong upon an innocent man. + +But, to his astonishment, he found that some change must have passed +over him, for instead of being choked by the water, he could breathe +quite easily, and he and his companion, who was still close at his side, +seemed to be sinking as quickly down through the sea as they had flown +through the air. + +Down and down they went, nobody knows how far, till at last they came to +a huge arched door, which appeared to be made of pink coral, studded +over with cockle-shells. It opened, of its own accord, and when they +entered they found themselves in a huge hall, the walls of which were +formed of mother-of-pearl, and the floor of which was of sea-sand, +smooth, and firm, and yellow. + +The hall was crowded with occupants, but they were seals, not men, and +when the seal catcher turned to his companion to ask him what it all +meant, he was aghast to find that he, too, had assumed the form of a +seal. He was still more aghast when he caught sight of himself in a +large mirror that hung on the wall, and saw that he also no longer bore +the likeness of a man, but was transformed into a nice, hairy, brown +seal. + +"Ah, woe to me," he said to himself, "for no fault of mine own this +artful stranger hath laid some baneful charm upon me, and in this awful +guise will I remain for the rest of my natural life." + +At first none of the huge creatures spoke to him. For some reason or +other they seemed to be very sad, and moved gently about the hall, +talking quietly and mournfully to one another, or lay sadly upon the +sandy floor, wiping big tears from their eyes with their soft furry +fins. + +But presently they began to notice him, and to whisper to one another, +and presently his guide moved away from him, and disappeared through a +door at the end of the hall. When he returned he held a huge knife in +his hand. + +"Didst thou ever see this before?" he asked, holding it out to the +unfortunate seal catcher, who, to his horror, recognised his own hunting +knife with which he had struck the seal in the morning, and which had +been carried off by the wounded animal. + +At the sight of it he fell upon his face and begged for mercy, for he at +once came to the conclusion that the inhabitants of the cavern, enraged +at the harm which had been wrought upon their comrade, had, in some +magic way, contrived to capture him, and to bring him down to their +subterranean abode, in order to wreak their vengeance upon him by +killing him. + +But, instead of doing so, they crowded round him, rubbing their soft +noses against his fur to show their sympathy, and implored him not to +put himself about, for no harm would befall him, and they would love him +all their lives long if he would only do what they asked him. + +"Tell me what it is," said the seal catcher, "and I will do it, if it +lies within my power." + +"Follow me," answered his guide, and he led the way to the door through +which he had disappeared when he went to seek the knife. + +The seal catcher followed him. And there, in a smaller room, he found a +great brown seal lying on a bed of pale pink sea-weed, with a gaping +wound in his side. + +"That is my father," said his guide, "whom thou wounded this morning, +thinking that he was one of the common seals who live in the sea, +instead of a Merman who hath speech, and understanding, as you mortals +have. I brought thee hither to bind up his wounds, for no other hand +than thine can heal him." + +"I have no skill in the art of healing," said the seal catcher, +astonished at the forbearance of these strange creatures, whom he had so +unwittingly wronged; "but I will bind up the wound to the best of my +power, and I am only sorry that it was my hands that caused it." + +He went over to the bed, and, stooping over the wounded Merman, washed +and dressed the hurt as well as he could; and the touch of his hands +appeared to work like magic, for no sooner had he finished than the +wound seemed to deaden and die, leaving only the scar, and the old seal +sprang up, as well as ever. + +Then there was great rejoicing throughout the whole Palace of the Seals. +They laughed, and they talked, and they embraced each other in their own +strange way, crowding round their comrade, and rubbing their noses +against his, as if to show him how delighted they were at his recovery. + +But all this while the seal catcher stood alone in a corner, with his +mind filled with dark thoughts, for although he saw now that they had no +intention of killing him, he did not relish the prospect of spending the +rest of his life in the guise of a seal, fathoms deep under the ocean. + +But presently, to his great joy, his guide approached him, and said, +"Now you are at liberty to return home to your wife and children. I will +take you to them, but only on one condition." + +"And what is that?" asked the seal catcher eagerly, overjoyed at the +prospect of being restored safely to the upper world, and to his family. + +"That you will take a solemn oath never to wound a seal again." + +"That will I do right gladly," he replied, for although the promise +meant giving up his means of livelihood, he felt that if only he +regained his proper shape he could always turn his hand to something +else. + +So he took the required oath with all due solemnity, holding up his fin +as he swore, and all the other seals crowded round him as witnesses. And +a sigh of relief went through the halls when the words were spoken, for +he was the most noted seal catcher in the North. + +Then he bade the strange company farewell, and, accompanied by his +guide, passed once more through the outer doors of coral, and up, and +up, and up, through the shadowy green water, until it began to grow +lighter and lighter and at last they emerged into the sunshine of earth. + +Then, with one spring, they reached the top of the cliff, where the +great black horse was waiting for them, quietly nibbling the green turf. + +When they left the water their strange disguise dropped from them, and +they were now as they had been before, a plain seal catcher and a tall, +well-dressed gentleman in riding clothes. + +"Get up behind me," said the latter, as he swung himself into his +saddle. The seal catcher did as he was bid, taking tight hold of his +companion's coat, for he remembered how nearly he had fallen off on his +previous journey. + +Then it all happened as it happened before. The bridle was shaken, and +the horse galloped off, and it was not long before the seal catcher +found himself standing in safety before his own garden gate. + +He held out his hand to say "good-bye," but as he did so the stranger +pulled out a huge bag of gold and placed it in it. + +"Thou hast done thy part of the bargain--we must do ours," he said. "Men +shall never say that we took away an honest man's work without making +reparation for it, and here is what will keep thee in comfort to thy +life's end." + +Then he vanished, and when the astonished seal catcher carried the bag +into his cottage, and turned the gold out on the table, he found that +what the stranger had said was true, and that he would be a rich man for +the remainder of his days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE PAGE-BOY AND THE SILVER GOBLET + + +There was once a little page-boy, who was in service in a stately +Castle. He was a very good-natured little fellow, and did his duties so +willingly and well that everybody liked him, from the great Earl whom he +served every day on bended knee, to the fat old butler whose errands he +ran. + +Now the Castle stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, and +although the walls at that side were very thick, in them there was a +little postern door, which opened on to a narrow flight of steps that +led down the face of the cliff to the sea shore, so that anyone who +liked could go down there in the pleasant summer mornings and bathe in +the shimmering sea. + +On the other side of the Castle were gardens and pleasure grounds, +opening on to a long stretch of heather-covered moorland, which, at +last, met a distant range of hills. + +The little page-boy was very fond of going out on this moor when his +work was done, for then he could run about as much as he liked, chasing +bumble-bees, and catching butterflies, and looking for birds' nests when +it was nesting time. + +And the old butler was very pleased that he should do so, for he knew +that it was good for a healthy little lad to have plenty of fun in the +open air. But before the boy went out the old man always gave him one +warning. + +"Now, mind my words, laddie, and keep far away from the Fairy Knowe, for +the Little Folk are not to trust to." + +This Knowe of which he spoke was a little green hillock, which stood on +the moor not twenty yards from the garden gate, and folk said that it +was the abode of Fairies, who would punish any rash mortal who came too +near them. And because of this the country people would walk a good +half-mile out of their way, even in broad daylight, rather than run the +risk of going too near the Fairy Knowe and bringing down the Little +Folks' displeasure upon them. And at night they would hardly cross the +moor at all, for everyone knows that Fairies come abroad in the +darkness, and the door of their dwelling stands open, so that any +luckless mortal who does not take care may find himself inside. + +Now, the little page-boy was an adventurous wight, and instead of being +frightened of the Fairies, he was very anxious to see them, and to visit +their abode, just to find out what it was like. + +So one night, when everyone else was asleep, he crept out of the Castle +by the little postern door, and stole down the stone steps, and along +the sea shore, and up on to the moor, and went straight to the Fairy +Knowe. + +To his delight he found that what everyone said was true. The top of the +Knowe was tipped up, and from the opening that was thus made, rays of +light came streaming out. + +His heart was beating fast with excitement, but, gathering his courage, +he stooped down and slipped inside the Knowe. + +He found himself in a large room lit by numberless tiny candles, and +there, seated round a polished table, were scores of the Tiny Folk, +Fairies, and Elves, and Gnomes, dressed in green, and yellow, and pink; +blue, and lilac, and scarlet; in all the colours, in fact, that you can +think of. + +He stood in a dark corner watching the busy scene in wonder, thinking +how strange it was that there should be such a number of these tiny +beings living their own lives all unknown to men, at such a little +distance from them, when suddenly someone--he could not tell who it +was--gave an order. + +"Fetch the Cup," cried the owner of the unknown voice, and instantly two +little Fairy pages, dressed all in scarlet livery, darted from the table +to a tiny cupboard in the rock, and returned staggering under the weight +of a most beautiful silver cup, richly embossed and lined inside with +gold. + +He placed it in the middle of the table, and, amid clapping of hands and +shouts of joy, all the Fairies began to drink out of it in turn. And +the page could see, from where he stood, that no one poured wine into +it, and yet it was always full, and that the wine that was in it was not +always the same kind, but that each Fairy, when he grasped its stem, +wished for the wine that he loved best, and lo! in a moment the cup was +full of it. + +"'Twould be a fine thing if I could take that cup home with me," thought +the page. "No one will believe that I have been here except I have +something to show for it." So he bided his time, and watched. + +Presently the Fairies noticed him, and, instead of being angry at his +boldness in entering their abode, as he expected that they would be, +they seemed very pleased to see him, and invited him to a seat at the +table. But by and by they grew rude and insolent, and jeered at him for +being content to serve mere mortals, telling him that they saw +everything that went on at the Castle, and making fun of the old butler, +whom the page loved with all his heart. And they laughed at the food he +ate, saying that it was only fit for animals; and when any fresh dainty +was set on the table by the scarlet-clad pages, they would push the dish +across to him, saying: "Taste it, for you will not have the chance of +tasting such things at the Castle." + +At last he could stand their teasing remarks no longer; besides, he knew +that if he wanted to secure the cup he must lose no time in doing so. + +So he suddenly stood up, and grasped the stem of it tightly in his hand. +"I'll drink to you all in water," he cried, and instantly the ruby wine +was turned to clear cold water. + +[Illustration] + +He raised the cup to his lips, but he did not drink from it. With a +sudden jerk he threw the water over the candles, and instantly the room +was in darkness. Then, clasping the precious cup tightly in his arms, he +sprang to the opening of the Knowe, through which he could see the stars +glimmering clearly. + +He was just in time, for it fell to with a crash behind him; and soon he +was speeding along the wet, dew-spangled moor, with the whole troop of +Fairies at his heels. They were wild with rage, and from the shrill +shouts of fury which they uttered, the page knew well that, if they +overtook him, he need expect no mercy at their hands. + +And his heart began to sink, for, fleet of foot though he was, he was no +match for the Fairy Folk, who gained on him steadily. + +All seemed lost, when a mysterious voice sounded out of the darkness: + + "If thou wouldst gain the Castle door, + Keep to the black stones on the shore." + +It was the voice of some poor mortal, who, for some reason or other, had +been taken prisoner by the Fairies--who were really very malicious +Little Folk--and who did not want a like fate to befall the adventurous +page-boy; but the little fellow did not know this. + +He had once heard that if anyone walked on the wet sands, where the +waves had come over them, the Fairies could not touch him, and this +mysterious sentence brought the saying into his mind. + +So he turned, and dashed panting down to the shore. His feet sank in the +dry sand, his breath came in little gasps, and he felt as if he must +give up the struggle; but he persevered, and at last, just as the +foremost Fairies were about to lay hands on him, he jumped across the +water-mark on to the firm, wet sand, from which the waves had just +receded, and then he knew that he was safe. + +For the Little Folk could go no step further, but stood on the dry sand +uttering cries of rage and disappointment, while the triumphant page-boy +ran safely along the shore, his precious cup in his arms, and climbed +lightly up the steps in the rock and disappeared through the postern. +And for many years after, long after the little page-boy had grown up +and become a stately butler, who trained other little page-boys to +follow in his footsteps, the beautiful cup remained in the Castle as a +witness of his adventure. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE BLACK BULL OF NORROWAY + + +In bygone days, long centuries ago, there lived a widowed Queen who had +three daughters. And this widowed Queen was so poor, and had fallen upon +such evil days, that she and her daughters had often much ado to get +enough to eat. + +So the eldest Princess determined that she would set out into the world +to seek her fortune. And her mother was quite willing that she should do +so. "For," said she, "'tis better to work abroad than to starve at +home." + +But as there was an old hen-wife living near the Castle who was said to +be a witch, and to be able to foretell the future, the Queen sent the +Princess to her cottage, before she set out on her travels, to ask her +in which of the Four Airts she ought to go, in order to find the best +fortune. + +"Thou needst gang nae farther than my back door, hinnie," answered the +old Dame, who had always felt very sorry for the Queen and her pretty +daughters, and was glad to do them a good turn. + +So the Princess ran through the passage to the hen-wife's back door and +peeped out, and what should she see but a magnificent coach, drawn by +six beautiful cream-coloured horses, coming along the road. + +Greatly excited at this unusual sight, she hurried back to the kitchen, +and told the hen-wife what she had seen. + +"Aweel, aweel, ye've seen your fortune," said the old woman, in a tone +of satisfaction, "for that coach-and-six is coming for thee." + +Sure enough, the coach-and-six stopped at the gate of the Castle, and +the second Princess came running down to the cottage to tell her sister +to make haste, because it was waiting for her. Delighted beyond measure +at the wonderful luck that had come to her, she hurried home, and, +saying farewell to her mother and sisters, took her seat within, and the +horses galloped off immediately. + +And I've heard tell that they drew her to the Palace of a great and +wealthy Prince, who married her; but that is outside my story. + +A few weeks afterwards, the second Princess thought that she would do as +her sister had done, and go down to the hen-wife's cottage, and tell her +that she, too, was going out into the world to seek her fortune. And, of +course, in her heart of hearts she hoped that what had happened to her +sister would happen to her also. + +And, curious to say, it did. For the old hen-wife sent her to look out +at her back door, and she went, and, lo and behold! another +coach-and-six was coming along the road. And when she went and told the +old woman, she smiled upon her kindly, and told her to hurry home, for +the coach-and-six was her fortune also, and that it had come for her. + +So she, too, ran home, and got into her grand carriage, and was driven +away. And, of course, after all these lucky happenings, the youngest +Princess was anxious to try what her fortune might be; so the very +night, in high good humour, she tripped away down to the old witch's +cottage. + +She, too, was told to look out at the back door, and she was only too +glad to do so; for she fully expected to see a third coach-and-six +coming rolling along the high road, straight for the Castle door. + +But, alas and alack! no such sight greeted her eager eyes, for the high +road was quite deserted, and in great disappointment she ran back to the +hen-wife to tell her so. + +"Then it is clear that thy fortune is not coming to meet thee this day," +said the old Dame, "so thou must e'en come back to-morrow." + +So the little Princess went home again, and next day she turned up +once more at the old wife's cottage. + +But once more she was disappointed, for although she looked out long and +eagerly, no glad sight of a coach-and-six, or of any other coach, +greeted her eyes. On the third day, however, what should she see but a +great Black Bull coming rushing along the road, bellowing as it came, +and tossing its head fiercely in the air. + +In great alarm, the little Princess shut the door, and ran to the +hen-wife to tell her about the furious animal that was approaching. + +"Hech, hinnie," cried the old woman, holding up her hands in dismay, +"and who would have thocht that the Black Bull of Norroway wad be your +fate!" + +At the words, the poor little maiden grew pale. She had come out to seek +her fortune, but it had never dawned upon her that her fortune could be +anything so terrible as this. + +"But the Bull cannot be my fortune," she cried in terror. "I cannot go +away with a bull." + +"But ye'll need tae," replied the hen-wife calmly. "For you lookit out +of my door with the intent of meeting your fortune; and when your +fortune has come tae ye, you must just thole it." + +And when the poor Princess ran weeping to her mother, to beg to be +allowed to stay at home, she found her mother of the same mind as the +Wise Woman; and so she had to allow herself to be lifted up on to the +back of the enormous Black Bull that had come up to the door of the +Castle, and was now standing there quietly enough. And when she was +settled, he set off again on his wild career, while she sobbed and +trembled with terror, and clung to his horns with all her might. + +On and on they went, until at last the poor maiden was so faint with +fear and hunger that she could scarce keep her seat. + +Just as she was losing her hold of the great beast's horns, however, and +feeling that she must fall to the ground, he turned his massive head +round a little, and, speaking in a wonderfully soft and gentle voice, +said: "Eat out of my right ear, and drink out of my left ear, so wilt +thou be refreshed for thy journey." + +So the Princess put a trembling hand into the Bull's right ear, and drew +out some bread and meat, which, in spite of her terror, she was glad to +swallow; then she put her hand into his left ear, and found there a tiny +flagon of wine, and when she had drunk that, her strength returned to +her in a wonderful way. + +Long they went, and sore they rode, till, just as it seemed to the +Princess that they must be getting near the World's End, they came in +sight of a magnificent Castle. + +"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull of Norroway, +"for that is the house of one of my brothers." + +The Princess was greatly surprised at these words; but by this time she +was too tired to wonder very much at anything, so she did not answer, +but sat still where she was, until the Bull ran into the courtyard of +the Castle and knocked his great head against the door. + +[Illustration: They came in sight of a Magnificent Castle] + +The door was opened at once by a very splendid footman, who treated the +Black Bull with great respect, and helped the Princess to alight from +his back. Then he ushered her into a magnificent hall, where the Lord of +the Castle, and his Lady, and a great and noble company were assembled; +while the Black Bull trotted off quite contentedly to the grassy park +which stretched all round the building, to spend the night there. + +The Lord and his Lady were very kind to the Princess, and gave her her +supper, and led her to a richly furnished bedroom, all hung round with +golden mirrors, and left her to rest there; and in the morning, just as +the Black Bull came trotting up to the front door, they handed her a +beautiful apple, telling her not to break it, but to put it in her +pocket, and keep it till she was in the greatest strait that mortal +could be in. Then she was to break it, and it would bring her out of it. + +So she put the apple in her pocket, and they lifted her once more on to +the Black Bull's back, and she and her strange companion continued on +their journey. + +All that day they travelled, far further than I can tell you, and at +night they came in sight of another Castle, which was even bigger and +grander than the first. + +"That's where we maun bide this night," said the Black Bull, "for that +is the home of another of my brothers." + +And here the Princess rested for the night in a very fine bedroom +indeed, all hung with silken curtains; and the Lord and Lady of the +Castle did everything to please her and make her comfortable. + +And in the morning, before she left, they presented her with the largest +pear that she had ever seen, and warned her that she must not break it +until she was in the direst strait that she had ever been in, and then, +if she broke it, it would bring her out of it. + +The third day was the same as the other two had been. The Princess and +the Black Bull of Norroway rode many a weary mile, and at sundown they +came to another Castle, more splendid by far than the other two. + +This Castle belonged to the Black Bull's youngest brother, and here the +Princess abode all night; while the Bull, as usual, lay outside in the +park. And this time, when they departed, the Princess received a most +lovely plum, with the warning not to break it till she was in the +greatest strait that mortal could be in. Then she was to break it, and +it would set her free. + +On the fourth day, however, things were changed. For there was no fine +Castle waiting for them at the end of their journey; on the contrary, as +the shadows began to lengthen, they came to a dark, deep glen, which was +so gloomy and so awesome-looking that the poor Princess felt her courage +sinking as they approached it. + +At the entrance the Black Bull stopped. "Light down here, Lady," he +said, "for in this glen a deadly conflict awaits me, which I must face +unaided and alone. For the dark and gloomy region that lies before us is +the abode of a great Spirit of Darkness, who worketh much ill in the +world. I would fain fight with him and overcome him; and, by my troth, +I have good hope that I shall do so. As for thee, thou must seat thyself +on this stone, and stir neither hand, nor foot, nor tongue till I +return. For, if thou but so much as move, then the Evil Spirit of the +Glen will have thee in his power." + +"But how shall I know what is happening to thee?" asked the Princess +anxiously, for she was beginning to grow quite fond of the huge black +creature that had carried her so gallantly these last four days, "if I +have neither to move hand nor foot, nor yet to speak." + +"Thou wilt know by the signs around thee," answered the Bull. "For if +everything about thee turn blue, then thou wilt know that I have +vanquished the Evil Spirit; but if everything about thee turn red, then +the Evil Spirit hath vanquished me." + +With these words he departed, and was soon lost to sight in the dark +recesses of the glen, leaving the little Princess sitting motionless on +her stone, afraid to move so much as her little finger, in case some +unknown evil fell upon her. + +At last, when she had sat there for well-nigh an hour, a curious change +began to pass over the landscape. First it turned grey, and then it +turned a deep azure blue, as if the sky had descended on the earth. + +"The Bull hath conquered," thought the Princess. "Oh! what a noble +animal he is!" And in her relief and delight she moved her position and +crossed one leg over the other. + +Oh, woe-a-day! In a moment a mystic spell fell upon her, which caused +her to become invisible to the eyes of the Prince of Norroway, who, +having vanquished the Evil Spirit, was loosed from the spell which had +lain over him, and had transformed him into the likeness of a great +Black Bull, and who returned in haste down the glen to present himself, +in his rightful form, to the maiden whom he loved, and whom he hoped to +win for his bride. + +Long, long he sought, but he could not find her, while all the time she +was sitting patiently waiting on the stone; but the spell was on her +eyes also, and hindered her seeing him, as it hindered him seeing her. + +So she sat on and on, till at last she became so wearied, and lonely, +and frightened, that she burst out crying, and cried herself to sleep; +and when she woke in the morning she felt that it was no use sitting +there any longer, so she rose and took her way, hardly knowing whither +she was going. + +And she went, and she went, till at last she came to a great hill made +all of glass, which blocked her way and prevented her going any further. +She tried time after time to climb it, but it was all of no avail, for +the surface of the hill was so slippery that she only managed to climb +up a few feet, to slide down again the next moment. + +So she began to walk round the bottom of the hill, in the hope of +finding some path that would lead her over it, but the hill was so big, +and she was so tired, that it seemed almost a hopeless quest, and her +spirit died completely within her. And as she went slowly along, sobbing +with despair, she felt that if help did not come soon she must lie down +and die. + +About mid-day, however, she came to a little cottage, and beside the +cottage there was a smithy, where an old smith was working at his anvil. + +She entered, and asked him if he could tell her of any path that would +lead her over the mountain. The old man laid down his hammer and looked +at her, slowly shaking his head as he did so. + +"Na, na, lassie," he said, "there is no easy road over the Mountain of +Glass. Folk maun either walk round it, which is not an easy thing to do, +for the foot of it stretches out for hundreds of miles, and the folk who +try to do so are almost sure to lose their way; or they maun walk over +the top of it, and that can only be done by those who are shod with iron +shoon." + +"And how am I to get these iron shoon?" cried the Princess eagerly. +"Couldst thou fashion me a pair, good man? I would gladly pay thee for +them." Then she stopped suddenly, for she remembered that she had no +money. + +"These shoon cannot be made for siller," said the old man solemnly. +"They can only be earned by service. I alone can make them, and I make +them for those who are willing to serve me." + +"And how long must I serve thee ere thou makest them for me?" asked the +Princess faintly. + +"Seven years," replied the old man, "for they be magic shoon, and that +is the magic number." + +So, as there seemed nothing else for it, the Princess hired herself to +the smith for seven long years: to clean his house, and cook his food, +and make and mend his clothes. + +At the end of that time he fashioned her a pair of iron shoon, with +which she climbed the Mountain of Glass with as much ease as if it had +been covered with fresh green turf. + +When she had reached the summit, and descended to the other side, the +first house that she came to was the house of an old washerwoman, who +lived there with her only daughter. And as the Princess was now very +tired, she went up to the door, and knocked, and asked if she might be +allowed to rest there for the night. + +The washerwoman, who was old and ugly, with a sly and evil face, said +that she might--on one condition--and that was that she should try to +wash a white mantle that the Black Knight of Norroway had brought to her +to wash, as he had got it stained in a deadly fight. + +"Yestreen I spent the lee-long day washing it," went on the old Dame, +"and I might as well have let it lie on the table. For at night, when I +took it out of the wash-tub, the stains were there as dark as ever. +Peradventure, maiden, if thou wouldst try thy hand upon it thou mightest +be more successful. For I am loth to disappoint the Black Knight of +Norroway, who is an exceeding great and powerful Prince." + +"Is he in any way connected with the Black Bull of Norroway?" asked the +Princess; for at the name her heart had leaped for joy, for it seemed +that mayhap she was going to find once more him whom she had lost. + +The old woman looked at her suspiciously. "The two are one," she +answered; "for the Black Knight chanced to have a spell thrown over him, +which turned him into a Black Bull, and which could not be lifted until +he had fought with, and overcome, a mighty Spirit of Evil that lived in +a dark glen. He fought with the Spirit, and overcame it and once more +regained his true form; but 'tis said that his mind is somewhat clouded +at times, for he speaketh ever of a maiden whom he would fain have +wedded, and whom he hath lost. Though who, or what she was, no living +person kens. But this story can have no interest to a stranger like +thee," she added slowly, as if she were sorry for having said so much. +"I have no more time to waste in talking. But if thou wilt try and wash +the mantle, thou art welcome to a night's lodging; and if not, I must +ask thee to go on thy way." + +Needless to say, the Princess said that she would try to wash the +mantle; and it seemed as if her fingers had some magic power in them, +for as soon as she put it into water the stains vanished, and it became +as white and clean as when it was new. + +Of course, the old woman was delighted, but she was very suspicious +also, for it appeared to her that there must be some mysterious link +between the maiden and the Knight, if his mantle became clean so easily +when she washed it, when it had remained soiled and stained in spite of +all the labour which she and her daughter had bestowed upon it. + +So, as she knew that the young Gallant intended returning for it that +very night, and as she wanted her daughter to get the credit of washing +it, she advised the Princess to go to bed early, in order to get a good +night's rest after all her labours. And the Princess followed her +advice, and thus it came about that she was sound asleep, safely hidden +in the big box-bed in the corner, when the Black Knight of Norroway came +to the cottage to claim his white mantle. + +Now you must know that the young man had carried about this mantle with +him for the last seven years--ever since his encounter with the Evil +Spirit of the Glen--always trying to find someone who could wash it for +him, and never succeeding. + +For it had been revealed to him by a wise woman that she who could make +it white and clean was destined to be his wife--be she bonnie or ugly, +old or young. And that, moreover, she would prove a loving, a faithful, +and a true helpmeet. + +So when he came to the washerwoman's cottage, and received back his +mantle white as the driven snow, and heard that it was the washerwoman's +daughter who had wrought this wondrous change, he said at once that he +would marry her, and that the very next day. + +When the Princess awoke in the morning and heard all that had befallen, +and how the Black Knight had come to the cottage while she was asleep, +and had received his mantle, and had promised to marry the washerwoman's +daughter that very day, her heart was like to break. For now she felt +that she never would have the chance of speaking to him and telling him +who she really was. + +And in her sore distress she suddenly remembered the beautiful fruit +which she had received on her journey seven long years before, and which +she had carried with her ever since. + +"Surely I will never be in a sorer strait than I am now," she said to +herself; and she drew out the apple and broke it. And, lo and behold! it +was filled with the most beautiful precious stones that she had ever +seen; and at the sight of them a plan came suddenly into her head. + +She took the precious stones out of the apple, and, putting them into a +corner of her kerchief, carried them to the washerwoman. + +"See," said she, "I am richer than mayhap thou thoughtest I was. And if +thou wilt, all these riches may be thine." + +"And how could that come about?" asked the old woman eagerly, for she +had never seen so many precious stones in her life before, and she had a +great desire to become the possessor of them. + +"Only put off thy daughter's wedding for one day," replied the Princess. +"And let me watch beside the Black Knight as he sleeps this night, for I +have long had a great desire to see him." + +To her astonishment the washerwoman agreed to this request; for the wily +old woman was very anxious to get the jewels, which would make her rich +for life, and it did not seem to her that there was any harm in the +Princess's request; for she had made up her mind that she would give the +Black Knight a sleeping-draught, which would effectually prevent him as +much as speaking to this strange maiden. + +So she took the jewels and locked them up in her kist, and the wedding +was put off, and that night the little Princess slipped into the Black +Knight's apartment when he was asleep, and watched all through the long +hours by his bedside, singing this song to him in the hope that he would +awake and hear it: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee. + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +But although she sang it over and over again, as if her heart would +burst, he neither listened nor stirred, for the old washerwoman's potion +had made sure of that. + +Next morning, in her great trouble, the little Princess broke open the +pear, hoping that its contents would help her better than the contents +of the apple had done. But in it she found just what she had found +before--a heap of precious stones; only they were richer and more +valuable than the others had been. + +So, as it seemed the only thing to do, she carried them to the old +woman, and bribed her to put the wedding off for yet another day, and +allow her to watch that night also by the Black Prince's bedside. + +And the washerwoman did so; "for," said she, as she locked away the +stones, "I shall soon grow quite rich at this rate." + +But, alas! it was all in vain that the Princess spent the long hours +singing with all her might: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee, + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +for the young Prince whom she watched so tenderly, remained deaf and +motionless as a stone. + +By the morning she had almost lost hope, for there was only the plum +remaining now, and if that failed her last chance had gone. With +trembling fingers she broke it open, and found inside another +collection of precious stones, richer and rarer than all the others. + +She ran with these to the washerwoman, and, throwing them into her lap, +told her she could keep them all and welcome if she would put off the +wedding once again, and let her watch by the Prince for one more night. +And, greatly wondering, the old woman consented. + +Now it chanced that the Black Knight, tired with waiting for his +wedding, went out hunting that day with all his attendants behind him. +And as the servants rode they talked together about something that had +puzzled them sorely these two nights gone by. At last an old huntsman +rode up to the Knight, with a question upon his lips. + +"Master," he said, "we would fain ken who the sweet singer is who +singeth through the night in thy chamber?" + +"Singer!" he repeated. "There is no singer. My chamber hath been as quiet +as the grave, and I have slept a dreamless sleep ever since I came to +live at the cottage." + +The old huntsman shook his head. "Taste not the old wife's draught this +night, Master," he said earnestly; "then wilt thou hear what other ears +have heard." + +At other times the Black Knight would have laughed at his words, but +to-day the man spoke with such earnestness that he could not but listen +to them. So that evening, when the washerwoman, as was her wont, brought +his sleeping-draught of spiced ale to his bedside, he told her that it +was not sweet enough for his liking. And when she turned and went to the +kitchen to fetch some honey to sweeten it, he jumped out of bed and +poured it all out of the window, and when she came back he pretended +that he had drunk it. + +So it came to pass that he lay awake that night and heard the Princess +enter his room, and listened to her plaintive little song, sung in a +voice that was full of sobs: + + "Seven lang years I served for thee, + The glassy hill I clamb for thee, + The mantle white I washed for thee, + And wilt thou no waken, and turn to me?" + +And when he heard it, he understood it all; and he sprang up and took +her in his arms and kissed her, and asked her to tell him the whole +story. + +And when he heard it, he was so angry with the old washerwoman and her +deceitful daughter that he ordered them to leave the country at once; +and he married the little Princess, and they lived happily all their +days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE WEE BANNOCK + + "Some tell about their sweethearts, + How they tirled them to the winnock, + But I'll tell you a bonnie tale + About a guid oatmeal bannock." + + +There was once an old man and his wife, who lived in a dear little +cottage by the side of a burn. They were a very canty and contented +couple, for they had enough to live on, and enough to do. Indeed, they +considered themselves quite rich, for, besides their cottage and their +garden, they possessed two sleek cows, five hens and a cock, an old cat, +and two kittens. + +The old man spent his time looking after the cows, and the hens, and the +garden; while the old woman kept herself busy spinning. + +One day, just after breakfast, the old woman thought that she would like +an oatmeal bannock for her supper that evening, so she took down her +bakeboard, and put on her girdle, and baked a couple of fine cakes, and +when they were ready she put them down before the fire to harden. + +While they were toasting, her husband came in from the byre, and sat +down to take a rest in his great arm-chair. Presently his eyes fell on +the bannocks, and, as they looked very good, he broke one through the +middle and began to eat it. + +When the other bannock saw this it determined that it should not have +the same fate, so it ran across the kitchen and out of the door as fast +as it could. And when the old woman saw it disappearing, she ran after +it as fast as her legs would carry her, holding her spindle in one hand +and her distaff in the other. + +But she was old, and the bannock was young, and it ran faster than she +did, and escaped over the hill behind the house. It ran, and it ran, and +it ran, until it came to a large newly thatched cottage, and, as the +door was open, it took refuge inside, and ran right across the floor to +a blazing fire, which was burning in the first room that it came to. + +Now, it chanced that this house belonged to a tailor, and he and his two +apprentices were sitting cross-legged on the top of a big table by the +window, sewing away with all their might, while the tailor's wife was +sitting beside the fire carding lint. + +When the wee bannock came trundling across the floor, all three tailors +got such a fright that they jumped down from the table and hid behind +the Master Tailor's wife. + +"Hoot," she said, "what a set of cowards ye be! 'Tis but a nice wee +bannock. Get hold of it and divide it between you, and I'll fetch you +all a drink of milk." + +So she jumped up with her lint and her lint cards, and the tailor jumped +up with his great shears, and one apprentice grasped the line measure, +while another took up the saucer full of pins; and they all tried to +catch the wee bannock. But it dodged them round and round the fire, and +at last it got safely out of the door and ran down the road, with one of +the apprentices after it, who tried to snip it in two with his shears. + +It ran too quickly for him, however, and at last he stopped and went +back to the house, while the wee bannock ran on until it came to a tiny +cottage by the roadside. It trundled in at the door, and there was a +weaver sitting at his loom, with his wife beside him, winding a clue of +yarn. + +"What's that, Tibby?" said the weaver, with a start as the little cake +flew past him. + +"Oh!" cried she in delight, jumping to her feet, "'tis a wee bannock. I +wonder where it came from?" + +"Dinna bother your head about that, Tibby," said her man, "but grip it, +my woman, grip it." + +But it was not so easy to get hold of the wee bannock. It was in vain +that the Goodwife threw her clue at it, and that the Goodman tried to +chase it into a corner and knock it down with his shuttle. It dodged, +and turned, and twisted, like a thing bewitched, till at last it flew +out at the door again, and vanished down the hill, "for all the world," +as the old woman said, "like a new tarred sheep, or a daft cow." + +In the next house that it came to it found the Goodwife in the kitchen, +kirning. She had just filled her kirn, and there was still some cream +standing in the bottom of her cream jar. + +"Come away, little bannock," she cried when she saw it. "Thou art come +in just the nick of time, for I am beginning to feel hungry, and I'll +have cakes and cream for my dinner." + +But the wee bannock hopped round to the other side of the kirn, and the +Goodwife after it. And she was in such a hurry that she nearly upset the +kirn; and by the time that she had put it right again, the wee bannock +was out at the door and half-way down the brae to the mill. + +The miller was sifting meal in the trough, but he straightened himself +up when he saw the little cake. + +"It's a sign of plenty when bannocks are running about with no one to +look after them," he said; "but I like bannocks and cheese, so just come +in, and I will give thee a night's lodging." + +But the little bannock had no wish to be eaten up by the miller, so it +turned and ran out of the mill, and the miller was so busy that he did +not trouble himself to run after it. + +After this it ran on, and on, and on, till it came to the smithy, and +it popped in there to see what it could see. + +The smith was busy at the anvil making horse-shoe nails, but he looked +up as the wee bannock entered. + +"If there be one thing I am fond of, it is a glass of ale and a +well-toasted cake," he cried. "So come inbye here, and welcome to ye." + +But as soon as the little bannock heard of the ale, it turned and ran +out of the smithy as fast as it could, and the disappointed smith picked +up his hammer and ran after it. And when he saw that he could not catch +it, he flung his heavy hammer at it, in the hope of knocking it down, +but, luckily for the little cake, he missed his aim. + +After this the bannock came to a farmhouse, with a great stack of peats +standing at the back of it. In it went, and ran to the fireside. In this +house the master had all the lint spread out on the floor, and was +cloving[1] it with an iron rod, while the mistress was heckling[2] what +he had already cloven. + +"Oh, Janet," cried the Goodman in surprise, "here comes in a little +bannock. It looks rare and good to eat. I'll have one half of it." + +"And I'll have the other half," cried the Goodwife. "Hit it over the +back with your cloving-stick, Sandy, and knock it down. Quick, or it +will be out at the door again." + +But the bannock played "jook-about," and dodged behind a chair. "Hoot!" +cried Janet contemptuously, for she thought that her husband might +easily have hit it, and she threw her heckle at it. + +But the heckle missed it, just as her husband's cloving-rod had done, +for it played "jook-about" again, and flew out of the house. + +This time it ran up a burnside till it came to a little cottage standing +among the heather. + +Here the Goodwife was making porridge for the supper in a pot over the +fire, and her husband was sitting in a corner plaiting ropes of straw +with which to tie up the cow. + +"Oh, Jock! come here, come here," cried the Goodwife. "Thou art aye +crying for a little bannock for thy supper; come here, histie, quick, +and help me to catch it." + +"Ay, ay," assented Jock, jumping to his feet and hurrying across the +little room. "But where is it? I cannot see it." + +"There, man, there," cried his wife, "under that chair. Run thou to that +side; I will keep to this." + +So Jock ran into the dark corner behind the chair; but, in his hurry, he +tripped and fell, and the wee bannock jumped over him and flew laughing +out at the door. + +Through the whins and up the hillside it ran, and over the top of the +hill, to a shepherd's cottage on the other side. + +The inmates were just sitting down to their porridge, and the Goodwife +was scraping the pan. + +"Save us and help us," she exclaimed, stopping with the spoon half-way +to her mouth. "There's a wee bannock come in to warm itself at our +fireside." + +"Sneck the door," cried the husband, "and we'll try to catch it. It +would come in handy after the porridge." + +But the bannock did not wait until the door was sneckit. It turned and +ran as fast as it could, and the shepherd and his wife and all the +bairns ran after it, with their spoons in their hands, in hopes of +catching it. + +And when the shepherd saw that it could run faster than they could, he +threw his bonnet at it, and almost struck it; but it escaped all these +dangers, and soon it came to another house, where the folk were just +going to bed. + +The Goodman was half undressed, and the Goodwife was raking the cinders +carefully out of the fire. + +"What's that?" said he, "for the bowl of brose that I had at supper-time +wasna' very big." + +"Catch it, then," answered his wife, "and I'll have a bit, too. Quick! +quick! Throw your coat over it or it will be away." + +So the Goodman threw his coat right on the top of the little bannock, +and almost managed to smother it; but it struggled bravely, and got out, +breathless and hot, from under it. Then it ran out into the grey light +again, for night was beginning to fall, and the Goodman ran out after +it, without his coat. He chased it and chased it through the stackyard +and across a field, and in amongst a fine patch of whins. Then he lost +it; and, as he was feeling cold without his coat, he went home. + +As for the poor little bannock, it thought that it would creep under a +whin bush and lie there till morning, but it was so dark that it never +saw that there was a fox's hole there. So it fell down the fox's hole, +and the fox was very glad to see it, for he had had no food for two +days. + +"Oh, welcome, welcome," he cried; and he snapped it through the middle +with his teeth, and that was the end of the poor wee bannock. + +And if a moral be wanted for this tale, here it is: That people should +never be too uplifted or too cast down over anything, for all the good +folk in the story thought that they were going to get the bannock, and, +lo and behold! the fox got it after all. + + +Footnotes: + +[Footnote 1: Separating the lint from the stalk.] + +[Footnote 2: Combing.] + + + + +THE ELFIN KNIGHT + + +There is a lone moor in Scotland, which, in times past, was said to be +haunted by an Elfin Knight. This Knight was only seen at rare intervals, +once in every seven years or so, but the fear of him lay on all the +country round, for every now and then someone would set out to cross the +moor and would never be heard of again. + +And although men might search every inch of the ground, no trace of him +would be found, and with a thrill of horror the searching party would go +home again, shaking their heads and whispering to one another that he +had fallen into the hands of the dreaded Knight. + +So, as a rule, the moor was deserted, for nobody dare pass that way, +much less live there; and by and by it became the haunt of all sorts of +wild animals, which made their lairs there, as they found that they +never were disturbed by mortal huntsmen. + +Now in that same region lived two young earls, Earl St. Clair and Earl +Gregory, who were such friends that they rode, and hunted, and fought +together, if need be. + +And as they were both very fond of the chase, Earl Gregory suggested one +day that they should go a-hunting on the haunted moor, in spite of the +Elfin King. + +"Certes, I hardly believe in him at all," cried the young man, with a +laugh. "Methinks 'tis but an old wife's tale to frighten the bairns +withal, lest they go straying amongst the heather and lose themselves. +And 'tis pity that such fine sport should be lost because we--two +bearded men--pay heed to such gossip." + +But Earl St. Clair looked grave. "'Tis ill meddling with unchancy +things," he answered, "and 'tis no bairn's tale that travellers have set +out to cross that moor who have vanished bodily, and never mair been +heard of; but it is, as thou sayest, a pity that so much good sport be +lost, all because an Elfin Knight choosest to claim the land as his, and +make us mortals pay toll for the privilege of planting a foot upon it. + +"I have heard tell, however, that one is safe from any power that the +Knight may have if one wearest the Sign of the Blessed Trinity. So let +us bind That on our arm and ride forth without fear." + +Sir Gregory burst into a loud laugh at these words. "Dost thou think +that I am one of the bairns," he said, "'first to be frightened by an +idle tale, and then to think that a leaf of clover will protect me? No, +no, carry that Sign if thou wilt; I will trust to my good bow and +arrow." + +But Earl St. Clair did not heed his companion's words, for he remembered +how his mother had told him, when he was a little lad at her knee that +whoso carried the Sign of the Blessed Trinity need never fear any spell +that might be thrown over him by Warlock or Witch, Elf or Demon. + +So he went out to the meadow and plucked a leaf of clover, which he +bound on his arm with a silken scarf; then he mounted his horse and rode +with Earl Gregory to the desolate and lonely moorland. + +For some hours all went well; and in the heat of the chase the young men +forgot their fears. Then suddenly both of them reined in their steeds +and sat gazing in front of them with affrighted faces. + +For a horseman had crossed their track, and they both would fain have +known who he was and whence he came. + +"By my troth, but he rideth in haste, whoever he may be," said Earl +Gregory at last, "and tho' I always thought that no steed on earth could +match mine for swiftness, I reckon that for every league that mine +goeth, his would go seven. Let us follow him, and see from what part of +the world he cometh." + +"The Lord forbid that thou shouldst stir thy horse's feet to follow +him," said Earl St. Clair devoutly. "Why, man, 'tis the Elfin Knight! +Canst thou not see that he doth not ride on the solid ground, but flieth +through the air, and that, although he rideth on what seemeth a mortal +steed, he is really craried by mighty pinions, which cleave the air like +those of a bird? Follow him forsooth! It will be an evil day for thee +when thou seekest to do that." + +But Earl St. Clair forgot that he carried a Talisman which his companion +lacked, that enabled him to see things as they really were, while the +other's eyes were holden, and he was startled and amazed when Earl +Gregory said sharply, "Thy mind hath gone mad over this Elfin King. I +tell thee he who passed was a goodly Knight, clad in a green vesture, +and riding on a great black jennet. And because I love a gallant +horseman, and would fain learn his name and degree, I will follow him +till I find him, even if it be at the world's end." + +And without another word he put spurs to his horse and galloped off in +the direction which the mysterious stranger had taken, leaving Earl St. +Clair alone upon the moorland, his fingers touching the sacred Sign and +his trembling lips muttering prayers for protection. + +For he knew that his friend had been bewitched, and he made up his mind, +brave gentleman that he was, that he would follow him to the world's +end, if need be, and try to deliver him from the spell that had been +cast over him. + +Meanwhile Earl Gregory rode on and on, ever following in the wake of the +Knight in green, over moor, and burn, and moss, till he came to the +most desolate region that he had ever been in in his life; where the +wind blew cold, as if from snow-fields, and where the hoar-frost lay +thick and white on the withered grass at his feet. + +And there, in front of him, was a sight from which mortal man might well +shrink back in awe and dread. For he saw an enormous Ring marked out on +the ground, inside of which the grass, instead of being withered and +frozen, was lush, and rank, and green, where hundreds of shadowy Elfin +figures were dancing, clad in loose transparent robes of dull blue, +which seemed to curl and twist round their wearers like snaky wreaths of +smoke. + +These weird Goblins were shouting and singing as they danced, and waving +their arms above their heads, and throwing themselves about on the +ground, for all the world as if they had gone mad; and when they saw +Earl Gregory halt on his horse just outside the Ring they beckoned to +him with their skinny fingers. + +"Come hither, come hither," they shouted; "come tread a measure with us, +and afterwards we will drink to thee out of our Monarch's loving cup." + +And, strange as it may seem, the spell that had been cast over the young +Earl was so powerful that, in spite of his fear, he felt that he must +obey the eldrich summons, and he threw his bridle on his horse's neck +and prepared to join them. + +But just then an old and grizzled Goblin stepped out from among his +companions and approached him. + +Apparently he dare not leave the charmed Circle, for he stopped at the +edge of it; then, stooping down and pretending to pick up something, he +whispered in a hoarse whisper: + +"I know not whom thou art, nor from whence thou comest, Sir Knight, but +if thou lovest thy life, see to it that thou comest not within this +Ring, nor joinest with us in our feast. Else wilt thou be for ever +undone." + +But Earl Gregory only laughed. "I vowed that I would follow the Green +Knight," he replied, "and I will carry out my vow, even if the venture +leadeth me close to the nethermost world." + +And with these words he stepped over the edge of the Circle, right in +amongst the ghostly dancers. + +At his coming they shouted louder than ever, and danced more madly, and +sang more lustily; then, all at once, a silence fell upon them, and they +parted into two companies, leaving a way through their midst, up which +they signed to the Earl to pass. + +He walked through their ranks till he came to the middle of the Circle; +and there, seated at a table of red marble, was the Knight whom he had +come so far to seek, clad in his grass-green robes. And before him, on +the table, stood a wondrous goblet, fashioned from an emerald, and set +round the rim with blood-red rubies. + +And this cup was filled with heather ale, which foamed up over the brim; +and when the Knight saw Sir Gregory, he lifted it from the table, and +handed it to him with a stately bow, and Sir Gregory, being very +thirsty, drank. + +And as he drank he noticed that the ale in the goblet never grew less, +but ever foamed up to the edge; and for the first time his heart misgave +him, and he wished that he had never set out on this strange adventure. + +But, alas! the time for regrets had passed, for already a strange +numbness was stealing over his limbs, and a chill pallor was creeping +over his face, and before he could utter a single cry for help the +goblet dropped from his nerveless fingers, and he fell down before the +Elfin King like a dead man. + +Then a great shout of triumph went up from all the company; for if there +was one thing which filled their hearts with joy, it was to entice some +unwary mortal into their Ring and throw their uncanny spell over him, so +that he must needs spend long years in their company. + +But soon their shouts of triumphs began to die away, and they muttered +and whispered to each other with looks of something like fear on their +faces. + +For their keen ears heard a sound which filled their hearts with dread. +It was the sound of human footsteps, which were so free and untrammelled +that they knew at once that the stranger, whoever he was, was as yet +untouched by any charm. And if this were so he might work them ill, and +rescue their captive from them. + +And what they dreaded was true; for it was the brave Earl St. Clair who +approached, fearless and strong because of the Holy Sign he bore. + +And as soon as he saw the charmed Ring and the eldrich dancers, he was +about to step over its magic border, when the little grizzled Goblin who +had whispered to Earl Gregory, came and whispered to him also. + +"Alas! alas!" he exclaimed, with a look of sorrow on his wrinkled face, +"hast thou come, as thy companion came, to pay thy toll of years to the +Elfin King? Oh! if thou hast wife or child behind thee, I beseech thee, +by all that thou holdest sacred, to turn back ere it be too late." + +"Who art thou, and from whence hast thou come?" asked the Earl, looking +kindly down at the little creature in front of him. + +"I came from the country that thou hast come from," wailed the Goblin. +"For I was once a mortal man, even as thou. But I set out over the +enchanted moor, and the Elfin King appeared in the guise of a beauteous +Knight, and he looked so brave, and noble, and generous that I followed +him hither, and drank of his heather ale, and now I am doomed to bide +here till seven long years be spent. + +"As for thy friend, Sir Earl, he, too, hath drunk of the accursed +draught, and he now lieth as dead at our lawful Monarch's feet. He will +wake up, 'tis true, but it will be in such a guise as I wear, and to the +bondage with which I am bound." + +"Is there naught that I can do to rescue him!" cried Earl St. Clair +eagerly, "ere he taketh on him the Elfin shape? I have no fear of the +spell of his cruel captor, for I bear the Sign of One Who is stronger +than he. Speak speedily, little man, for time presseth." + +"There is something that thou couldst do, Sir Earl," whispered the +Goblin, "but to essay it were a desperate attempt. For if thou failest, +then could not even the Power of the Blessed Sign save thee." + +"And what is that?" asked the Earl impatiently. + +"Thou must remain motionless," answered the old man, "in the cold and +frost till dawn break and the hour cometh when they sing Matins in the +Holy Church. Then must thou walk slowly nine times round the edge of the +enchanted Circle, and after that thou must walk boldly across it to the +red marble table where sits the Elfin King. On it thou wilt see an +emerald goblet studded with rubies and filled with heather ale. That +must thou secure and carry away; but whilst thou art doing so let no +word cross thy lips. For this enchanted ground whereon we dance may look +solid to mortal eyes, but in reality it is not so. 'Tis but a quaking +bog, and under it is a great lake, wherein dwelleth a fearsome Monster, +and if thou so much as utter a word while thy foot resteth upon it, thou +wilt fall through the bog and perish in the waters beneath." + +[Illustration: Two coal-black Ravens Rose in the Air] + +So saying the Grisly Goblin stepped back among his companions, leaving +Earl St. Clair standing alone on the outskirts of the charmed Ring. + +There he waited, shivering with cold, through the long, dark hours, till +the grey dawn began to break over the hill tops, and, with its coming, +the Elfin forms before him seemed to dwindle and fade away. + +And at the hour when the sound of the Matin Bell came softly pealing +from across the moor, he began his solemn walk. Round and round the Ring +he paced, keeping steadily on his way, although loud murmurs of anger, +like distant thunder, rose from the Elfin Shades, and even the very +ground seemed to heave and quiver, as if it would shake this bold +intruder from its surface. + +But through the power of the Blessed Sign on his arm Earl St. Clair went +on unhurt. + +When he had finished pacing round the Ring he stepped boldly on to the +enchanted ground, and walked across it; and what was his astonishment to +find that all the ghostly Elves and Goblins whom he had seen, were lying +frozen into tiny blocks of ice, so that he was sore put to it to walk +amongst them without treading upon them. + +And as he approached the marble table the very hairs rose on his head at +the sight of the Elfin King sitting behind it, stiff and stark like his +followers; while in front of him lay the form of Earl Gregory, who had +shared the same fate. + +Nothing stirred, save two coal-black ravens, who sat, one on each side +of the table, as if to guard the emerald goblet, flapping their wings, +and croaking hoarsely. + +When Earl St. Clair lifted the precious cup, they rose in the air and +circled round his head, screaming with rage, and threatening to dash it +from his hands with their claws; while the frozen Elves, and even their +mighty King himself stirred in their sleep, and half sat up, as if to +lay hands on this presumptuous intruder. But the Power of the Holy Sign +restrained them, else had Earl St. Clair been foiled in his quest. + +As he retraced his steps, awesome and terrible were the sounds that he +heard around him. The ravens shrieked, and the frozen Goblins screamed; +and up from the hidden lake below came the sound of the deep breathing +of the awful Monster who was lurking there, eager for prey. + +But the brave Earl heeded none of these things, but kept steadily +onwards, trusting in the Might of the Sign he bore. And it carried him +safely through all the dangers; and just as the sound of the Matin Bell +was dying away in the morning air he stepped on to solid ground once +more, and flung the enchanted goblet from him. + +And lo! every one of the frozen Elves vanished, along with their King +and his marble table, and nothing was left on the rank green grass save +Earl Gregory, who slowly woke from his enchanted slumber, and stretched +himself, and stood up, shaking in every limb. He gazed vaguely round +him, as if he scarce remembered where he was. + +And when, after Earl St. Clair had run to him and had held him in his +arms till his senses returned and the warm blood coursed through his +veins, the two friends returned to the spot where Earl St. Clair had +thrown down the wondrous goblet, they found nothing but a piece of rough +grey whinstone, with a drop of dew hidden in a little crevice which was +hollowed in its side. + +[Illustration] + + + + +WHAT TO SAY TO THE NEW MUNE + + + New Mune, true Mune, + Tell unto me, + If my ane true love + He will marry me. + + If he marry me in haste, + Let me see his bonny face; + + If he marry me betide, + Let me see his bonnie side; + + Gin he marry na me ava', + Turn his back and gae awa.' + + + + +HABETROT THE SPINSTRESS + + +In byegone days, in an old farmhouse which stood by a river, there lived +a beautiful girl called Maisie. She was tall and straight, with auburn +hair and blue eyes, and she was the prettiest girl in all the valley. +And one would have thought that she would have been the pride of her +mother's heart. + +But, instead of this, her mother used to sigh and shake her head +whenever she looked at her. And why? + +Because, in those days, all men were sensible; and instead of looking +out for pretty girls to be their wives, they looked out for girls who +could cook and spin, and who gave promise of becoming notable +housewives. + +Maisie's mother had been an industrious spinster; but, alas! to her sore +grief and disappointment, her daughter did not take after her. + +The girl loved to be out of doors, chasing butterflies and plucking wild +flowers, far better than sitting at her spinning-wheel. So when her +mother saw one after another of Maisie's companions, who were not nearly +so pretty as she was, getting rich husbands, she sighed and said: + +"Woe's me, child, for methinks no brave wooer will ever pause at our +door while they see thee so idle and thoughtless." But Maisie only +laughed. + +At last her mother grew really angry, and one bright Spring morning she +laid down three heads of lint on the table, saying sharply, "I will have +no more of this dallying. People will say that it is my blame that no +wooer comes to seek thee. I cannot have thee left on my hands to be +laughed at, as the idle maid who would not marry. So now thou must work; +and if thou hast not these heads of lint spun into seven hanks of thread +in three days, I will e'en speak to the Mother at St. Mary's Convent, +and thou wilt go there and learn to be a nun." + +Now, though Maisie was an idle girl, she had no wish to be shut up in a +nunnery; so she tried not to think of the sunshine outside, but sat down +soberly with her distaff. + +But, alas! she was so little accustomed to work that she made but slow +progress; and although she sat at the spinning-wheel all day, and never +once went out of doors, she found at night that she had only spun half a +hank of yarn. + +The next day it was even worse, for her arms ached so much she could +only work very slowly. That night she cried herself to sleep; and next +morning, seeing that it was quite hopeless to expect to get her task +finished, she threw down her distaff in despair, and ran out of doors. + +Near the house was a deep dell, through which ran a tiny stream. Maisie +loved this dell, the flowers grew so abundantly there. + +This morning she ran down to the edge of the stream, and seated herself +on a large stone. It was a glorious morning, the hazel trees were newly +covered with leaves, and the branches nodded over her head, and showed +like delicate tracery against the blue sky. The primroses and +sweet-scented violets peeped out from among the grass, and a little +water wagtail came and perched on a stone in the middle of the stream, +and bobbed up and down, till it seemed as if he were nodding to Maisie, +and as if he were trying to say to her, "Never mind, cheer up." + +But the poor girl was in no mood that morning to enjoy the flowers and +the birds. Instead of watching them, as she generally did, she hid her +face in her hands, and wondered what would become of her. She rocked +herself to and fro, as she thought how terrible it would be if her +mother fulfilled her threat and shut her up in the Convent of St. Mary, +with the grave, solemn-faced sisters, who seemed as if they had +completely forgotten what it was like to be young, and run about in the +sunshine, and laugh, and pick the fresh Spring flowers. + +"Oh, I could not do it, I could not do it," she cried at last. "It would +kill me to be a nun." + +"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun?" asked a +queer, cracked voice quite close to her. + +Maisie jumped up, and stood staring in front of her as if she had been +moonstruck. For, just across the stream from where she had been sitting, +there was a curious boulder, with a round hole in the middle of it--for +all the world like a big apple with the core taken out. + +[Illustration: Seated on this stone was the queerest Little old Woman.] + +Maisie knew it well; she had often sat upon it, and wondered how the +funny hole came to be there. + +It was no wonder that she stared, for, seated on this stone, was the +queerest little old woman that she had ever seen in her life. Indeed, +had it not been for her silver hair, and the white mutch with the big +frill that she wore on her head, Maisie would have taken her for a +little girl, she wore such a very short skirt, only reaching down to her +knees. + +Her face, inside the frill of her cap, was round, and her cheeks were +rosy, and she had little black eyes, which twinkled merrily as she +looked at the startled maiden. On her shoulders was a black and white +checked shawl, and on her legs, which she dangled over the edge of the +boulder, she wore black silk stockings and the neatest little shoes, +with great silver buckles. + +In fact, she would have been quite a pretty old lady had it not been for +her lips, which were very long and very thick, and made her look quite +ugly in spite of her rosy cheeks and black eyes. Maisie stood and looked +at her for such a long time in silence that she repeated her question. + +"And who wants to make a pretty wench like thee into a nun? More likely +that some gallant gentleman should want to make a bride of thee." + +"Oh, no," answered Maisie, "my mother says no gentleman would look at me +because I cannot spin." + +"Nonsense," said the tiny woman. "Spinning is all very well for old +folks like me--my lips, as thou seest, are long and ugly because I have +spun so much, for I always wet my fingers with them, the easier to draw +the thread from the distaff. No, no, take care of thy beauty, child; do +not waste it over the spinning-wheel, nor yet in a nunnery." + +"If my mother only thought as thou dost," replied the girl sadly; and, +encouraged by the old woman's kindly face, she told her the whole story. + +"Well," said the old Dame, "I do not like to see pretty girls weep; what +if I were able to help thee, and spin the lint for thee?" + +Maisie thought that this offer was too good to be true; but her new +friend bade her run home and fetch the lint; and I need not tell you +that she required no second bidding. + +When she returned she handed the bundle to the little lady, and was +about to ask her where she should meet her in order to get the thread +from her when it was spun, when a sudden noise behind her made her look +round. + +She saw nothing; but what was her horror and surprise when she turned +back again, to find that the old woman had vanished entirely, lint and +all. + +She rubbed her eyes, and looked all round, but she was nowhere to be +seen. The girl was utterly bewildered. She wondered if she could have +been dreaming, but no that could not be, there were her footprints +leading up the bank and down again, where she had gone for the lint, and +brought it back, and there was the mark of her foot, wet with dew, on a +stone in the middle of the stream, where she had stood when she had +handed the lint up to the mysterious little stranger. + +What was she to do now? What would her mother say when, in addition to +not having finished the task that had been given her, she had to confess +to having lost the greater part of the lint also? She ran up and down +the little dell, hunting amongst the bushes, and peeping into every nook +and cranny of the bank where the little old woman might have hidden +herself. It was all in vain; and at last, tired out with the search, she +sat down on the stone once more, and presently fell fast asleep. + +When she awoke it was evening. The sun had set, and the yellow glow on +the western horizon was fast giving place to the silvery light of the +moon. She was sitting thinking of the curious events of the day, and +gazing at the great boulder opposite, when it seemed to her as if a +distant murmur of voices came from it. + +With one bound she crossed the stream, and clambered on to the stone. +She was right. + +Someone was talking underneath it, far down in the ground. She put her +ear close to the stone, and listened. + +The voice of the queer little old woman came up through the hole. "Ho, +ho, my pretty little wench little knows that my name is Habetrot." + +Full of curiosity, Maisie put her eye to the opening, and the strangest +sight that she had ever seen met her gaze. She seemed to be looking +through a telescope into a wonderful little valley. The trees there were +brighter and greener than any that she had ever seen before and there +were beautiful flowers, quite different from the flowers that grew in +her country. The little valley was carpeted with the most exquisite +moss, and up and down it walked her tiny friend, busily engaged in +spinning. + +She was not alone, for round her were a circle of other little old +women, who were seated on large white stones, and they were all spinning +away as fast as they could. + +Occasionally one would look up, and then Maisie saw that they all seemed +to have the same long, thick lips that her friend had. She really felt +very sorry, as they all looked exceedingly kind, and might have been +pretty had it not been for this defect. + +One of the Spinstresses sat by herself, and was engaged in winding the +thread, which the others had spun, into hanks. Maisie did not think that +this little lady looked so nice as the others. She was dressed entirely +in grey, and had a big hooked nose, and great horn spectacles. She +seemed to be called Slantlie Mab, for Maisie heard Habetrot address her +by that name, telling her to make haste and tie up all the thread, for +it was getting late, and it was time that the young girl had it to +carry home to her mother. + +Maisie did not quite know what to do, or how she was to get the thread, +for she did not like to shout down the hole in case the queer little old +woman should be angry at being watched. + +However, Habetrot, as she had called herself, suddenly appeared on the +path beside her, with the hanks of thread in her hand. + +"Oh, thank you, thank you," cried Maisie. "What can I do to show you how +thankful I am?" + +"Nothing," answered the Fairy. "For I do not work for reward. Only do +not tell your mother who span the thread for thee." + +It was now late, and Maisie lost no time in running home with the +precious thread upon her shoulder. When she walked into the kitchen she +found that her mother had gone to bed. She seemed to have had a busy +day, for there, hanging up in the wide chimney, in order to dry, were +seven large black puddings. + +The fire was low, but bright and clear; and the sight of it and the +sight of the puddings suggested to Maisie that she was very hungry, and +that fried black puddings were very good. + +Flinging the thread down on the table, she hastily pulled off her shoes, +so as not to make a noise and awake her mother; and, getting down the +frying-pan from the wall, she took one of the black puddings from the +chimney, and fried it, and ate it. + +Still she felt hungry, so she took another, and then another, till they +were all gone. Then she crept upstairs to her little bed and fell fast +asleep. + +Next morning her mother came downstairs before Maisie was awake. In +fact, she had not been able to sleep much for thinking of her daughter's +careless ways, and had been sorrowfully making up her mind that she must +lose no time in speaking to the Abbess of St. Mary's about this idle +girl of hers. + +What was her surprise to see on the table the seven beautiful hanks of +thread, while, on going to the chimney to take down a black pudding to +fry for breakfast, she found that every one of them had been eaten. She +did not know whether to laugh for joy that her daughter had been so +industrious, or to cry for vexation because all her lovely black +puddings--which she had expected would last for a week at least--were +gone. In her bewilderment she sang out: + + "My daughter's spun se'en, se'en, se'en, + My daughter's eaten se'en, se'en, se'en, + And all before daylight." + +Now I forgot to tell you that, about half a mile from where the old +farmhouse stood, there was a beautiful Castle, where a very rich young +nobleman lived. He was both good and brave, as well as rich; and all +the mothers who had pretty daughters used to wish that he would come +their way, some day, and fall in love with one of them. But he had never +done so, and everyone said, "He is too grand to marry any country girl. +One day he will go away to London Town and marry a Duke's daughter." + +Well, this fine spring morning it chanced that this young nobleman's +favourite horse had lost a shoe, and he was so afraid that any of the +grooms might ride it along the hard road, and not on the soft grass at +the side, that he said that he would take it to the smithy himself. + +So it happened that he was riding along by Maisie's garden gate as her +mother came into the garden singing these strange lines. + +He stopped his horse, and said good-naturedly, "Good day, Madam; and may +I ask why you sing such a strange song?" + +Maisie's mother made no answer, but turned and walked into the house; +and the young nobleman, being very anxious to know what it all meant, +hung his bridle over the garden gate, and followed her. + +She pointed to the seven hanks of thread lying on the table, and said, +"This hath my daughter done before breakfast." + +Then the young man asked to see the Maiden who was so industrious, and +her mother went and pulled Maisie from behind the door, where she had +hidden herself when the stranger came in; for she had come downstairs +while her mother was in the garden. + +She looked so lovely in her fresh morning gown of blue gingham, with her +auburn hair curling softly round her brow, and her face all over blushes +at the sight of such a gallant young man, that he quite lost his heart, +and fell in love with her on the spot. + +"Ah," said he, "my dear mother always told me to try and find a wife who +was both pretty and useful, and I have succeeded beyond my expectations. +Do not let our marriage, I pray thee, good Dame, be too long deferred." + +Maisie's mother was overjoyed, as you may imagine, at this piece of +unexpected good fortune, and busied herself in getting everything ready +for the wedding; but Maisie herself was a little perplexed. + +She was afraid that she would be expected to spin a great deal when she +was married and lived at the Castle, and if that were so, her husband +was sure to find out that she was not really such a good spinstress as +he thought she was. + +In her trouble she went down, the night before her wedding, to the great +boulder by the stream in the glen, and, climbing up on it, she laid her +head against the stone, and called softly down the hole, "Habetrot, dear +Habetrot." + +The little old woman soon appeared, and, with twinkling eyes, asked her +what was troubling her so much just when she should have been so happy. +And Maisie told her. + +"Trouble not thy pretty head about that," answered the Fairy, "but come +here with thy bridegroom next week, when the moon is full, and I warrant +that he will never ask thee to sit at a spinning-wheel again." + +Accordingly, after all the wedding festivities were over and the couple +had settled down at the Castle, on the appointed evening Maisie +suggested to her husband that they should take a walk together in the +moonlight. + +She was very anxious to see what the little Fairy would do to help her; +for that very day he had been showing her all over her new home, and he +had pointed out to her the beautiful new spinning-wheel made of ebony, +which had belonged to his mother, saying proudly, "To-morrow, little +one, I shall bring some lint from the town, and then the maids will see +what clever little fingers my wife has." + +Maisie had blushed as red as a rose as she bent over the lovely wheel, +and then felt quite sick, as she wondered whatever she would do if +Habetrot did not help her. + +So on this particular evening, after they had walked in the garden, she +said that she should like to go down to the little dell and see how the +stream looked by moonlight. So to the dell they went. + +As soon as they came to the boulder Maisie put her head against it and +whispered, "Habetrot, dear Habetrot"; and in an instant the little old +woman appeared. + +She bowed in a stately way, as if they were both strangers to her, and +said, "Welcome, Sir and Madam, to the Spinsters' Dell." And then she +tapped on the root of a great oak tree with a tiny wand which she held +in her hand, and a green door, which Maisie never remembered having +noticed before, flew open, and they followed the Fairy through it into +the other valley which Maisie had seen through the hole in the great +stone. + +All the little old women were sitting on their white chucky stones busy +at work, only they seemed far uglier than they had seemed at first; and +Maisie noticed that the reason for this was, that, instead of wearing +red skirts and white mutches as they had done before, they now wore caps +and dresses of dull grey, and instead of looking happy, they all seemed +to be trying who could look most miserable, and who could push out their +long lips furthest, as they wet their fingers to draw the thread from +their distaffs. + +"Save us and help us! What a lot of hideous old witches," exclaimed her +husband. "Whatever could this funny old woman mean by bringing a pretty +child like thee to look at them? Thou wilt dream of them for a week and +a day. Just look at their lips"; and, pushing Maisie behind him, he went +up to one of them and asked her what had made her mouth grow so ugly. + +She tried to tell him, but all the sound that he could hear was +something that sounded like SPIN-N-N. + +He asked another one, and her answer sounded like this: SPAN-N-N. He +tried a third, and hers sounded like SPUN-N-N. + +He seized Maisie by the hand and hurried her through the green door. "By +my troth," he said, "my mother's spinning-wheel may turn to gold ere I +let thee touch it, if this is what spinning leads to. Rather than that +thy pretty face should be spoilt, the linen chests at the Castle may get +empty, and remain so for ever!" + +So it came to pass that Maisie could be out of doors all day wandering +about with her husband, and laughing and singing to her heart's content. +And whenever there was lint at the Castle to be spun, it was carried +down to the big boulder in the dell and left there, and Habetrot and her +companions spun it, and there was no more trouble about the matter. + +[Illustration] + + + + +NIPPIT FIT AND CLIPPIT FIT + + +In a country, far across the sea, there once dwelt a great and mighty +Prince. He lived in a grand Castle, which was full of beautiful +furniture, and curious and rare ornaments. And among them was a lovely +little glass shoe, which would only fit the tiniest foot imaginable. + +And as the Prince was looking at it one day, it struck him what a dainty +little lady she would need to be who wore such a very small shoe. And, +as he liked dainty people, he made up his mind that he would never marry +until he found a maiden who could wear the shoe, and that, when he found +her, he would ask her to be his wife. + +And he called all his Lords and Courtiers to him, and told them of the +determination that he had come to, and asked them to help him in his +quest. + +And after they had taken counsel together they summoned a trusty Knight, +and appointed him the Prince's Ambassador; and told him to take the +slipper, and mount a fleet-footed horse, and ride up and down the whole +of the Kingdom until he found a lady whom it would fit. + +So the Ambassador put the little shoe carefully in his pocket and set +out on his errand. + +He rode, and he rode, and he rode, going to every town and castle that +came in his way, and summoning all the ladies to appear before him to +try on the shoe. And, as he caused a Proclamation to be made that +whoever could wear it should be the Prince's Bride, I need not tell you +that all the ladies in the country-side flocked to wherever the +Ambassador chanced to be staying, and begged leave to try on the +slipper. + +But they were all disappointed, for not one of them, try as she would, +could make her foot small enough to go into the Fairy Shoe; and there +were many bitter tears shed in secret, when they returned home, by +countless fair ladies who prided themselves on the smallness of their +feet, and who had set out full of lively expectation that they would be +the successful competitors. + +At last the Ambassador arrived at a house where a well-to-do Laird had +lived. But the Laird was dead now, and there was nobody left but his +wife and two daughters, who had grown poor of late, and who had to work +hard for their living. + +One of the daughters was haughty and insolent; the other was little, and +young, and modest, and sweet. + +When the Ambassador rode into the courtyard of this house, and, holding +out the shoe, asked if there were any fair ladies there who would like +to try it on, the elder sister, who always thought a great deal of +herself, ran forward, and said that she would do so, while the younger +girl just shook her head and went on with her work. "For," said she to +herself, "though my feet are so little that they might go into the +slipper, what would I do as the wife of a great Prince? Folk would just +laugh at me, and say that I was not fit for the position. No, no, I am +far better to bide as I am." + +So the Ambassador gave the glass shoe to the elder sister, who carried +it away to her own room; and presently, to every one's astonishment, +came back wearing it on her foot. + +It is true that her face was very white, and that she walked with a +little limp; but no one noticed these things except her younger sister, +and she only shook her wise little head, and said nothing. + +The Prince's Ambassador was delighted that he had at last found a wife +for his master, and he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed to +tell him the good news. + +When the Prince heard of the success of his errand, he ordered all his +Courtiers to be ready to accompany him next day when he went to bring +home his Bride. + +You can fancy what excitement there was at the Laird's house when the +gallant company arrived, with their Prince at their head, to greet the +lady who was to be their Princess. + +The old mother and the plain-looking maid-of-all-work ran hither and +thither, fetching such meat and drink as the house could boast to set +before their high-born visitors, while the bonnie little sister went and +hid herself behind a great pot which stood in the corner of the +courtyard, and which was used for boiling hen's meat. + +[Illustration] + +She knew that her foot was the smallest in the house; and something told +her that if the Prince once got a glimpse of her he would not be content +till she had tried on the slipper. + +Meanwhile, the selfish elder sister did not help at all, but ran up to +her chamber, and decked herself out in all the fine clothes that she +possessed before she came downstairs to meet the Prince. + +And when all the Knights and Courtiers had drunk a stirrup-cup, and +wished Good Luck to their Lord and his Bride, she was lifted up behind +the Prince on his horse, and rode off so full of her own importance, +that she even forgot to say good-bye to her mother and sister. + +Alas! alas! pride must have a fall. For the cavalcade had not proceeded +very far when a little bird which was perched on a branch of a bush by +the roadside sang out: + + "Nippit fit, and clippit fit, behind the King rides, + But pretty fit, and little fit, ahint the caldron hides." + +"What is this that the birdie says?" cried the Prince, who, if the truth +be told, did not feel altogether satisfied with the Bride whom fortune +had bestowed upon him. "Hast thou another sister, Madam?" + +"Only a little one," murmured the lady, who liked ill the way in which +things seemed to be falling out. + +"We will go back and find her," said the Prince firmly, "for when I sent +out the slipper I had no mind that its wearer should nip her foot, and +clip her foot, in order to get it on." + +So the whole party turned back; and when they reached the Laird's house +the Prince ordered a search to be made in the courtyard. And the bonnie +little sister was soon discovered and brought out, all blushes and +confusion, from her hiding-place behind the caldron. + +"Give her the slipper, and let her try it on," said the Prince, and the +eldest sister was forced to obey. And what was the horror of the +bystanders, as she drew it off, to see that she had cut off the tops of +her toes in order to get it on. + +But it fitted her little sister's foot exactly, without either paring or +clipping; and when the Prince saw that it was so, he lifted the elder +sister down from his horse and lifted the little one up in her place, +and carried her home to his Palace, where the wedding was celebrated +with great rejoicing; and for the rest of their lives they were the +happiest couple in the whole kingdom. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE FAIRIES OF MERLIN'S CRAG + + +About two hundred years ago there was a poor man working as a labourer +on a farm in Lanarkshire. He was what is known as an "Orra Man"; that +is, he had no special work mapped out for him to do, but he was expected +to undertake odd jobs of any kind that happened to turn up. + +One day his master sent him out to cast peats on a piece of moorland +that lay on a certain part of the farm. Now this strip of moorland ran +up at one end to a curiously shaped crag, known as Merlin's Crag, +because, so the country folk said, that famous Enchanter had once taken +up his abode there. + +The man obeyed, and, being a willing fellow, when he arrived at the moor +he set to work with all his might and main. He had lifted quite a +quantity of peat from near the Crag, when he was startled by the +appearance of the very smallest woman that he had ever seen in his life. +She was only about two feet high, and she was dressed in a green gown +and red stockings, and her long yellow hair was not bound by any +ribbon, but hung loosely round her shoulders. + +She was such a dainty little creature that the astonished countryman +stopped working, stuck his spade into the ground, and gazed at her in +wonder. + +His wonder increased when she held up one of her tiny fingers and +addressed him in these words: "What wouldst thou think if I were to send +my husband to uncover thy house? You mortals think that you can do aught +that pleaseth you." + +Then, stamping her tiny foot, she added in a voice of command, "Put back +that turf instantly, or thou shalt rue this day." + +Now the poor man had often heard of the Fairy Folk and of the harm that +they could work to unthinking mortals who offended them, so in fear and +trembling he set to work to undo all his labour, and to place every +divot in the exact spot from which he had taken it. + +When he was finished he looked round for his strange visitor, but she +had vanished completely; he could not tell how, nor where. Putting up +his spade, he wended his way homewards, and going straight to his +master, he told him the whole story, and suggested that in future the +peats should be taken from the other end of the moor. + +[Illustration: A large band of Fairies dancing Round and Round] + +But the master only laughed. He was a strong, hearty man, and had no +belief in Ghosts, or Elves, or Fairies, or any other creature that he +could not see; but although he laughed, he was vexed that his servant +should believe in such things, so to cure him, as he thought, of his +superstition, he ordered him to take a horse and cart and go back at +once, and lift all the peats and bring them to dry in the farm steading. + +The poor man obeyed with much reluctance; and was greatly relieved, as +weeks went on, to find that, in spite of his having done so, no harm +befell him. + +In fact, he began to think that his master was right, and that the whole +thing must have been a dream. + +So matters went smoothly on. Winter passed, and spring, and summer, +until autumn came round once more, and the very day arrived on which the +peats had been lifted the year before. + +That day, as the sun went down, the orra man left the farm to go home to +his cottage, and as his master was pleased with him because he had been +working very hard lately, he had given him a little can of milk as a +present to carry home to his wife. + +So he was feeling very happy, and as he walked along he was humming a +tune to himself. His road took him by the foot of Merlin's Crag, and as +he approached it he was astonished to find himself growing strangely +tired. His eyelids dropped over his eyes as if he were going to sleep, +and his feet grew as heavy as lead. + +"I will sit down and take a rest for a few minutes," he said to +himself; "the road home never seemed so long as it does to-day." + +So he sat down on a tuft of grass right under the shadow of the Crag, +and before he knew where he was he had fallen into a deep and heavy +slumber. + +When he awoke it was near midnight, and the moon had risen on the Crag. +And he rubbed his eyes, when by its soft light he became aware of a +large band of Fairies who were dancing round and round him, singing and +laughing, pointing their tiny fingers at him, and shaking their wee +fists in his face. + +The bewildered man rose and tried to walk away from them, but turn in +whichever direction he would the Fairies accompanied him, encircling him +in a magic ring, out of which he could in no wise go. + +At last they stopped, and, with shrieks of elfin laughter, led the +prettiest and daintiest of their companions up to him, and cried, "Tread +a measure, tread a measure, Oh, Man! Then wilt thou not be so eager to +escape from our company." + +Now the poor labourer was but a clumsy dancer, and he held back with a +shamefaced air; but the Fairy who had been chosen to be his partner +reached up and seized his hands, and lo! some strange magic seemed to +enter into his veins, for in a moment he found himself waltzing and +whirling, sliding and bowing, as if he had done nothing else but dance +all his life. + +And, strangest thing of all! he forgot about his home and his children; +and he felt so happy that he had no longer the slightest desire to leave +the Fairies' company. + +All night long the merriment went on. The Little Folk danced and danced +as if they were mad, and the farm man danced with them, until at last a +shrill sound came over the moor. It was the cock from the farmyard +crowing its loudest to welcome the dawn. + +In an instant the revelry ceased, and the Fairies, with cries of alarm, +crowded together and rushed towards the Crag, dragging the countryman +along in their midst. As they reached the rock, a mysterious door, which +he never remembered having seen before, opened in it of its own accord, +and shut again with a crash as soon as the Fairy Host had all trooped +through. + +The door led into a large, dimly lighted hall full of tiny couches, and +here the Little Folk sank to rest, tired out with their exertions, while +the good man sat down on a piece of rock in the corner, wondering what +would happen next. + +But there seemed to be some kind of spell thrown over his senses, for +even when the Fairies awoke and began to go about their household +occupations, and to carry out certain curious practices which he had +never seen before, and which, as you will hear, he was forbidden to +speak of afterwards, he was content to sit and watch them, without in +any way attempting to escape. + +As it drew toward evening someone touched his elbow, and he turned round +with a start to see the little woman with the green dress and scarlet +stockings, who had remonstrated with him for lifting the turf the year +before, standing by his side. + +"The divots which thou took'st from the roof of my house have grown once +more," she said, "and once more it is covered with grass; so thou canst +go home again, for justice is satisfied--thy punishment hath lasted long +enough. But first must thou take thy solemn oath never to tell to mortal +ears what thou hast seen whilst thou hast dwelt among us." + +The countryman promised gladly, and took the oath with all due +solemnity. Then the door was opened, and he was at liberty to depart. + +His can of milk was standing on the green, just where he had laid it +down when he went to sleep; and it seemed to him as if it were only +yesternight that the farmer had given it to him. + +But when he reached his home he was speedily undeceived. For his wife +looked at him as if he were a ghost, and the children whom he had left +wee, toddling things were now well-grown boys and girls, who stared at +him as if he had been an utter stranger. + +"Where hast thou been these long, long years?" cried his wife when she +had gathered her wits and seen that it was really he, and not a spirit. +"And how couldst thou find it in thy heart to leave the bairns and me +alone?" + +And then he knew that the one day he had passed in Fairy-land had lasted +seven whole years, and he realised how heavy the punishment had been +which the Wee Folk had laid upon him. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE WEDDING OF ROBIN REDBREAST AND JENNY WREN + + +There was once an old grey Pussy Baudrons, and she went out for a stroll +one Christmas morning to see what she could see. And as she was walking +down the burnside she saw a little Robin Redbreast hopping up and down +on the branches of a briar bush. + +"What a tasty breakfast he would make," thought she to herself. "I must +try to catch him." + +So, "Good morning, Robin Redbreast," quoth she, sitting down on her tail +at the foot of the briar bush and looking up at him. "And where mayest +thou be going so early on this cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin cheerily, "to sing +him a song this merry Yule morning." + +"That's a pious errand to be travelling on, and I wish you good +success," replied Pussy slyly; "but just hop down a minute before thou +goest, and I will show thee what a bonnie white ring I have round my +neck. 'Tis few cats that are marked like me." + +Then Robin cocked his head on one side, and looked down on Pussy +Baudrons with a twinkle in his eye. "Ha, ha! grey Pussy Baudrons," he +said. "Ha, ha! for I saw thee worry the little grey mouse, and I have no +wish that thou shouldst worry me." + +And with that he spread his wings and flew away. And he flew, and he +flew, till he lighted on an old sod dyke; and there he saw a greedy old +gled sitting, with all his feathers ruffled up as if he felt cold. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," cried the greedy old gled, who had had +no food since yesterday, and was therefore very hungry. "And where +mayest thou be going to, this cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace," answered Robin, "to sing to him a +song this merry Yule morning." And he hopped away a yard or two from the +gled, for there was a look in his eye that he did not quite like. + +"Thou art a friendly little fellow," remarked the gled sweetly, "and I +wish thee good luck on thine errand; but ere thou go on, come nearer me, +I prith'ee, and I will show thee what a curious feather I have in my +wing. 'Tis said that no other gled in the country-side hath one like +it." + +"Like enough," rejoined Robin, hopping still further away; "but I will +take thy word for it, without seeing it. For I saw thee pluck the +feathers from the wee lintie, and I have no wish that thou shouldst +pluck the feathers from me. So I will bid thee good day, and go on my +journey." + +The next place on which he rested was a piece of rock that overhung a +dark, deep glen, and here he saw a sly old fox looking out of his hole +not two yards below him. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast," said the sly old fox, who had tried to +steal a fat duck from a farmyard the night before, and had barely +escaped with his life. "And where mayest thou be going so early on this +cold winter's day?" + +"I'm on my road to the King's Palace, to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, giving the same answer that he had given to +the grey Pussy Baudrons and the greedy gled. + +"Thou wilt get a right good welcome, for His Majesty is fond of music," +said the wily fox. "But ere thou go, just come down and have a look at a +black spot which I have on the end of my tail. 'Tis said that there is +not a fox 'twixt here and the Border that hath a spot on his tail like +mine." + +"Very like, very like," replied Robin; "but I chanced to see thee +worrying the wee lambie up on the braeside yonder, and I have no wish +that thou shouldst try thy teeth on me. So I will e'en go on my way to +the King's Palace, and thou canst show the spot on thy tail to the next +passer-by." + +So the little Robin Redbreast flew away once more, and never rested +till he came to a bonnie valley with a little burn running through it, +and there he saw a rosy-cheeked boy sitting on a log eating a piece of +bread and butter. And he perched on a branch and watched him. + +"Good morning, Robin Redbreast; and where mayest thou be going so early +on this cold winter's day?" asked the boy eagerly; for he was making a +collection of stuffed birds, and he had still to get a Robin Redbreast. + +"I'm on my way to the King's Palace to sing him a song this merry Yule +morning," answered Robin, hopping down to the ground, and keeping one +eye fixed on the bread and butter. + +"Come a bit nearer, Robin," said the boy, "and I will give thee some +crumbs." + +"Na, na, my wee man," chirped the cautious little bird; "for I saw thee +catch the goldfinch, and I have no wish to give thee the chance to catch +me." + +At last he came to the King's Palace and lighted on the window-sill, and +there he sat and sang the very sweetest song that he could sing; for he +felt so happy because it was the Blessed Yuletide, that he wanted +everyone else to be happy too. And the King and the Queen were so +delighted with his song, as he peeped in at them at their open window, +that they asked each other what they could give him as a reward for his +kind thought in coming so far to greet them. + +"We can give him a wife," replied the Queen, "who will go home with him +and help him to build his nest." + +"And who wilt thou give him for a bride?" asked the King. "Methinks +'twould need to be a very tiny lady to match his size." + +[Illustration] + +"Why, Jenny Wren, of course," answered the Queen. "She hath looked +somewhat dowie of late, this will be the very thing to brighten her +up." + +Then the King clapped his hands, and praised his wife for her happy +thought, and wondered that the idea had not struck him before. + +So Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren were married, amid great rejoicings, +at the King's Palace; and the King and Queen and all the fine Nobles and +Court Ladies danced at their wedding. Then they flew away home to +Robin's own country-side, and built their nest in the roots of the briar +bush, where he had spoken to Pussie Baudrons. And you will be glad to +hear that Jenny Wren proved the best little housewife in the world. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE DWARFIE STONE + + +Far up in a green valley in the Island of Hoy stands an immense boulder. +It is hollow inside, and the natives of these northern islands call it +the Dwarfie Stone, because long centuries ago, so the legend has it, +Snorro the Dwarf lived there. + +Nobody knew where Snorro came from, or how long he had dwelt in the dark +chamber inside the Dwarfie Stone. All that they knew about him was that +he was a little man, with a queer, twisted, deformed body and a face of +marvellous beauty, which never seemed to look any older, but was always +smiling and young. + +Men said that this was because Snorro's father had been a Fairy, and not +a denizen of earth, who had bequeathed to his son the gift of perpetual +youth, but nobody knew whether this were true or not, for the Dwarf had +inhabited the Dwarfie Stone long before the oldest man or woman in Hoy +had been born. + +One thing was certain, however: he had inherited from his mother, whom +all men agreed had been mortal, the dangerous qualities of vanity and +ambition. And the longer he lived the more vain and ambitious did he +become, until at last he always carried a mirror of polished steel round +his neck, into which he constantly looked in order to see the reflection +of his handsome face. + +And he would not attend to the country people who came to seek his help, +unless they bowed themselves humbly before him and spoke to him as if he +were a King. + +I say that the country people sought his help, for he spent his time, or +appeared to spend it, in collecting herbs and simples on the hillsides, +which he carried home with him to his dark abode, and distilled +medicines and potions from them, which he sold to his neighbours at +wondrous high prices. + +He was also the possessor of a wonderful leathern-covered book, clasped +with clasps of brass, over which he would pore for hours together, and +out of which he would tell the simple Islanders their fortunes, if they +would. + +For they feared the book almost as much as they feared Snorro himself, +for it was whispered that it had once belonged to Odin, and they crossed +themselves for protection as they named the mighty Enchanter. + +But all the time they never guessed the real reason why Snorro chose to +live in the Dwarfie Stone. + +I will tell you why he did so. Not very far from the Stone there was a +curious hill, shaped exactly like a wart. It was known as the Wart Hill +of Hoy, and men said that somewhere in the side of it was hidden a +wonderful carbuncle, which, when it was found, would bestow on its +finder marvellous magic gifts--Health, Wealth, and Happiness. +Everything, in fact, that a human being could desire. + +And the curious thing about this carbuncle was, that it was said that it +could be seen at certain times, if only the people who were looking for +it were at the right spot at the right moment. + +Now Snorro had made up his mind that he would find this wonderful stone, +so, while he pretended to spend all his time in reading his great book +or distilling medicines from his herbs, he was really keeping a keen +look-out during his wanderings, noting every tuft of grass or piece of +rock under which it might be hidden. And at night, when everyone else +was asleep, he would creep out, with pickaxe and spade, to turn over the +rocks or dig over the turf, in the hope of finding the long-sought-for +treasure underneath them. + +He was always accompanied on these occasions by an enormous grey-headed +Raven, who lived in the cave along with him, and who was his bosom +friend and companion. The Islanders feared this bird of ill omen as +much, perhaps, as they feared its Master; for, although they went to +consult Snorro in all their difficulties and perplexities, and bought +medicines and love-potions from him, they always looked upon him with a +certain dread, feeling that there was something weird and uncanny about +him. + +Now, at the time we are speaking of, Orkney was governed by two Earls, +who were half-brothers. Paul, the elder, was a tall, handsome man, with +dark hair, and eyes like sloes. All the country people loved him, for he +was so skilled in knightly exercises, and had such a sweet and loving +nature, that no one could help being fond of him. Old people's eyes +would brighten at the sight of him, and the little children would run +out to greet him as he rode by their mothers' doors. + +And this was the more remarkable because, with all his winning manner, +he had such a lack of conversation that men called him Paul the Silent, +or Paul the Taciturn. + +Harold, on the other hand, was as different from his brother as night is +from day. He was fair-haired and blue-eyed, and he had gained for +himself the name of Harold the Orator, because he was always free of +speech and ready with his tongue. + +But for all this he was not a favourite. For he was haughty, and +jealous, and quick-tempered, and the old folks' eyes did not brighten at +the sight of him, and the babes, instead of toddling out to greet him, +hid their faces in their mothers' skirts when they saw him coming. + +Harold could not help knowing that the people liked his silent brother +best, and the knowledge made him jealous of him, so a coldness sprang up +between them. + +Now it chanced, one summer, that Earl Harold went on a visit to the King +of Scotland, accompanied by his mother, the Countess Helga, and her +sister, the Countess Fraukirk. + +And while he was at Court he met a charming young Irish lady, the Lady +Morna, who had come from Ireland to Scotland to attend upon the Scottish +Queen. She was so sweet, and good, and gentle that Earl Harold's heart +was won, and he made up his mind that she, and only she, should be his +bride. + +But although he had paid her much attention, Lady Morna had sometimes +caught glimpses of his jealous temper; she had seen an evil expression +in his eyes, and had heard him speak sharply to his servants, and she +had no wish to marry him. So, to his great amazement, she refused the +honour which he offered her, and told him that she would prefer to +remain as she was. + +Earl Harold ground his teeth in silent rage, but he saw that it was no +use pressing his suit at that moment. So what he could not obtain by his +own merits he determined to obtain by guile. + +Accordingly he begged his mother to persuade the Lady Morna to go back +with them on a visit, hoping that when she was alone with him in Orkney, +he would be able to overcome her prejudice against him, and induce her +to become his wife. And all the while he never remembered his brother +Paul; or, if he did, he never thought it possible that he could be his +rival. + +But that was just the very thing that happened. The Lady Morna, thinking +no evil, accepted the Countess Helga's invitation, and no sooner had the +party arrived back in Orkney than Paul, charmed with the grace and +beauty of the fair Irish Maiden, fell head over ears in love with her. +And the Lady Morna, from the very first hour that she saw him, returned +his love. + +Of course this state of things could not long go on hidden, and when +Harold realised what had happened his anger and jealousy knew no bounds. +Seizing a dagger, he rushed up to the turret where his brother was +sitting in his private apartments, and threatened to stab him to the +heart if he did not promise to give up all thoughts of winning the +lovely stranger. + +But Paul met him with pleasant words. + +"Calm thyself, Brother," he said. "It is true that I love the lady, but +that is no proof that I shall win her. Is it likely that she will choose +me, whom all men name Paul the Silent, when she hath the chance of +marrying you, whose tongue moves so swiftly that to you is given the +proud title of Harold the Orator?" + +At these words Harold's vanity was flattered, and he thought that, after +all, his step-brother was right, and that he had a very small chance, +with his meagre gift of speech, of being successful in his suit. So he +threw down his dagger, and, shaking hands with him, begged him to +pardon his unkind thoughts, and went down the winding stair again in +high good-humour with himself and all the world. + +By this time it was coming near to the Feast of Yule, and at that +Festival it was the custom for the Earl and his Court to leave Kirkwall +for some weeks, and go to the great Palace of Orphir, nine miles +distant. And in order to see that everything was ready, Earl Paul took +his departure some days before the others. + +The evening before he left he chanced to find the Lady Morna sitting +alone in one of the deep windows of the great hall. She had been +weeping, for she was full of sadness at the thought of his departure; +and at the sight of her distress the kind-hearted young Earl could no +longer contain himself, but, folding her in his arms, he whispered to +her how much he loved her, and begged her to promise to be his wife. + +She agreed willingly. Hiding her rosy face on his shoulder, she +confessed that she had loved him from the very first day that she had +seen him; and ever since that moment she had determined that, if she +could not wed him, she would wed no other man. + +For a little time they sat together, rejoicing in their new-found +happiness. Then Earl Paul sprang to his feet. + +"Let us go and tell the good news to my mother and my brother," he said. +"Harold may be disappointed at first, for I know, Sweetheart, he would +fain have had thee for his own. But his good heart will soon overcome +all that, and he will rejoice with us also." + +But the Lady Morna shook her head. She knew, better than her lover, what +Earl Harold's feeling would be; and she would fain put off the evil +hour. + +"Let us hold our peace till after Yule," she pleaded. "It will be a joy +to keep our secret to ourselves for a little space; there will be time +enough then to let all the world know." + +Rather reluctantly, Earl Paul agreed; and next day he set off for the +Palace at Orphir, leaving his lady-love behind him. + +Little he guessed the danger he was in! For, all unknown to him, his +step-aunt, Countess Fraukirk, had chanced to be in the hall, the evening +before, hidden behind a curtain, and she had overheard every word that +Morna and he had spoken, and her heart was filled with black rage. + +For she was a hard, ambitious woman, and she had always hated the young +Earl, who was no blood-relation to her, and who stood in the way of his +brother, her own nephew; for, if Paul were only dead, Harold would be +the sole Earl of Orkney. + +And now that he had stolen the heart of the Lady Morna, whom her own +nephew loved, her hate and anger knew no bounds. She had hastened off to +her sister's chamber as soon as the lovers had parted; and there the two +women had remained talking together till the chilly dawn broke in the +sky. + +[Illustration: M. Meredith Williams + +Countess Fraukirk ... hidden behind a curtain ... overheard every +word.] + +Next day a boat went speeding over the narrow channel of water that +separates Pomona (on the mainland) from Hoy. In it sat a woman, but who +she was, or what she was like, no one could say, for she was covered +from head to foot with a black cloak, and her face was hidden behind a +thick, dark veil. + +Snorro the Dwarf knew her, even before she laid aside her trappings, for +Countess Fraukirk was no stranger to him. In the course of her long life +she had often had occasion to seek his aid to help her in her evil +deeds, and she had always paid him well for his services in yellow gold. +He therefore welcomed her gladly; but when he had heard the nature of +her errand his smiling face grew grave again, and he shook his head. + +"I have served thee well, Lady, in the past," he said, "but methinks +that this thing goeth beyond my courage. For to compass an Earl's death +is a weighty matter, especially when he is so well beloved as is the +Earl Paul. + +"Thou knowest why I have taken up my abode in this lonely spot--how I +hope some day to light upon the magic carbuncle. Thou knowest also how +the people fear me, and hate me too, forsooth. And if the young Earl +died, and suspicion fell on me, I must needs fly the Island, for my life +would not be worth a grain of sand. Then my chance of success would be +gone. Nay! I cannot do it, Lady; I cannot do it." + +[Illustration] + +But the wily Countess offered him much gold, and bribed him higher and +higher, first with wealth, then with success, and lastly she promised to +obtain for him a high post at the Court of the King of Scotland; and at +that his ambition stirred within him, his determination gave way, and he +consented to do what she asked. + +"I will summon my magic loom," he said, "and weave a piece of cloth of +finest texture and of marvellous beauty; and before I weave it I will so +poison the thread with a magic potion that, when it is fashioned into a +garment, whoever puts it on will die ere he hath worn it many minutes." + +"Thou art a clever knave," answered the Countess, a cruel smile lighting +up her evil face, "and thou shalt be rewarded. Let me have a couple of +yards of this wonderful web, and I will make a bonnie waistcoat for my +fine young Earl and give it to him as a Yuletide gift. Then I reckon +that he will not see the year out." + +"That will he not," said Dwarf Snorro, with a malicious grin; and the +two parted, after arranging that the piece of cloth should be delivered +at the Palace of Orphir on the day before Christmas Eve. + +Now, when the Countess Fraukirk had been away upon her wicked errand, +strange things were happening at the Castle at Kirkwall. For Harold, +encouraged by his brother's absence, offered his heart and hand once +more to the Lady Morna. Once more she refused him, and in order to make +sure that the scene should not be repeated, she told him that she had +plighted her troth to his brother. When he heard that this was so, rage +and fury were like to devour him. Mad with anger, he rushed from her +presence, flung himself upon his horse, and rode away in the direction +of the sea shore. + +While he was galloping wildly along, his eyes fell on the snow-clad +hills of Hoy rising up across the strip of sea that divided the one +island from the other. And his thoughts flew at once to Snorro the +Dwarf, who he had had occasion, as well as his step-aunt, to visit in +bygone days. + +"I have it," he cried. "Stupid fool that I was not to think of it at +once. I will go to Snorro, and buy from him a love-potion, which will +make my Lady Morna hate my precious brother and turn her thoughts kindly +towards me." + +So he made haste to hire a boat, and soon he was speeding over the +tossing waters on his way to the Island of Hoy. When he arrived there he +hurried up the lonely valley to where the Dwarfie Stone stood, and he +had no difficulty in finding its uncanny occupant, for Snorro was +standing at the hole that served as a door, his raven on his shoulder, +gazing placidly at the setting sun. + +A curious smile crossed his face when, hearing the sound of approaching +footsteps, he turned round and his eyes fell on the young noble. + +"What bringeth thee here, Sir Earl?" he asked gaily, for he scented more +gold. + +"I come for a love-potion," said Harold; and without more ado he told +the whole story to the Wizard. "I will pay thee for it," he added, "if +thou wilt give it to me quickly." + +Snorro looked at him from head to foot. "Blind must the maiden be, Sir +Orator," he said, "who needeth a love-potion to make her fancy so +gallant a Knight." + +Earl Harold laughed angrily. "It is easier to catch a sunbeam than a +woman's roving fancy," he replied. "I have no time for jesting. For, +hearken, old man, there is a proverb that saith, 'Time and tide wait for +no man,' so I need not expect the tide to wait for me. The potion I must +have, and that instantly." + +Snorro saw that he was in earnest, so without a word he entered his +dwelling, and in a few minutes returned with a small phial in his hand, +which was full of a rosy liquid. + +"Pour the contents of this into the Lady Morna's wine-cup," he said, +"and I warrant thee that before four-and-twenty hours have passed she +will love thee better than thou lovest her now." + +Then he waved his hand, as if to dismiss his visitor, and disappeared +into his dwelling-place. + +Earl Harold made all speed back to the Castle; but it was not until one +or two days had elapsed that he found a chance to pour the love-potion +into the Lady Morna's wine-cup. But at last, one night at supper, he +found an opportunity of doing so, and, waving away the little page-boy, +he handed it to her himself. + +She raised it to her lips, but she only made a pretence at drinking, for +she had seen the hated Earl fingering the cup, and she feared some deed +of treachery. When he had gone back to his seat she managed to pour the +whole of the wine on the floor, and smiled to herself at the look of +satisfaction that came over Harold's face as she put down the empty +cup. + +His satisfaction increased, for from that moment she felt so afraid of +him that she treated him with great kindness, hoping that by doing so +she would keep in his good graces until the Court moved to Orphir, and +her own true love could protect her. + +Harold, on his side, was delighted with her graciousness, for he felt +certain that the charm was beginning to work, and that his hopes would +soon be fulfilled. + +A week later the Court removed to the Royal Palace at Orphir, where Earl +Paul had everything in readiness for the reception of his guests. + +Of course he was overjoyed to meet Lady Morna again, and she was +overjoyed to meet him, for she felt that she was now safe from the +unwelcome attentions of Earl Harold. + +But to Earl Harold the sight of their joy was as gall and bitterness, +and he could scarcely contain himself, although he still trusted in the +efficacy of Snorro the Dwarf's love-potion. + +As for Countess Fraukirk and Countess Helga, they looked forward eagerly +to the time when the magic web would arrive, out of which they hoped to +fashion a fatal gift for Earl Paul. + +At last, the day before Christmas Eve, the two wicked women were sitting +in the Countess Helga's chamber talking of the time when Earl Harold +would rule alone in Orkney, when a tap came to the window, and on +looking round they saw Dwarf Snorro's grey-headed Raven perched on the +sill, a sealed packet in its beak. + +They opened the casement, and with a hoarse croak the creature let the +packet drop on to the floor; then it flapped its great wings and rose +slowly into the air again its head turned in the direction of Hoy. + +With fingers that trembled with excitement they broke the seals and +undid the packet. It contained a piece of the most beautiful material +that anyone could possibly imagine, woven in all the colours of the +rainbow, and sparkling with gold and jewels. + +"'Twill make a bonnie waistcoat," exclaimed Countess Fraukirk, with an +unholy laugh. "The Silent Earl will be a braw man when he gets it on." + +Then, without more ado, they set to work to cut out and sew the garment. +All that night they worked, and all next day, till, late in the +afternoon, when they were putting in the last stitches, hurried +footsteps were heard ascending the winding staircase, and Earl Harold +burst open the door. + +His cheeks were red with passion, and his eyes were bright, for he could +not but notice that, now that she was safe at Orphir under her true +love's protection, the Lady Morna's manner had grown cold and distant +again, and he was beginning to lose faith in Snorro's charm. + +Angry and disappointed, he had sought his mother's room to pour out his +story of vexation to her. + +He stopped short, however, when he saw the wonderful waistcoat lying on +the table, all gold and silver and shining colours. It was like a fairy +garment, and its beauty took his breath away. + +"For whom hast thou purchased that?" he asked, hoping to hear that it +was intended for him. + +"'Tis a Christmas gift for thy brother Paul," answered his mother, and +she would have gone on to tell him how deadly a thing it was, had he +given her time to speak. But her words fanned his fury into madness, for +it seemed to him that this hated brother of his was claiming everything. + +"Everything is for Paul! I am sick of his very name," he cried. "By my +troth, he shall not have this!" and he snatched the vest from the table. + +It was in vain that his mother and his aunt threw themselves at his +feet, begging him to lay it down, and warning him that there was not a +thread in it which was not poisoned. He paid no heed to their words, but +rushed from the room, and, drawing it on, ran downstairs with a reckless +laugh, to show the Lady Morna how fine he was. + +Alas! alas! Scarce had he gained the hall than he fell to the ground in +great pain. + +Everyone crowded round him, and the two Countesses, terrified now by +what they had done, tried in vain to tear the magic vest from his body. +But he felt that it was too late, the deadly poison had done its work, +and, waving them aside, he turned to his brother, who, in great +distress, had knelt down and taken him tenderly in his arms. + +"I wronged thee, Paul," he gasped. "For thou hast ever been true and +kind. Forgive me in thy thoughts, and," he added, gathering up his +strength for one last effort, and pointing to the two wretched women who +had wrought all this misery, "_Beware of those two women_, for they +seek to take thy life." Then his head sank back on his brother's +shoulder, and, with one long sigh, he died. + +When he learned what had happened, and understood where the waistcoat +came from, and for what purpose it had been intended, the anger of the +Silent Earl knew no bounds. He swore a great oath that he would be +avenged, not only on Snorro the Dwarf, but also on his wicked +step-mother and her cruel sister. + +His vengeance was baulked, however, for in the panic and confusion that +followed Harold's death, the two Countesses slipped out of the Palace +and fled to the coast, and took boat in haste to Scotland, where they +had great possessions, and where they were much looked up to, and where +no one would believe a word against them. + +But retribution fell on them in the end, as it always does fall, sooner +or later, on everyone who is wicked, or selfish, or cruel; for the +Norsemen invaded the land, and their Castle was set on fire, and they +perished miserably in the flames. + +When Earl Paul found that they had escaped, he set out in hot haste for +the Island of Hoy, for he was determined that the Dwarf, at least, +should not escape. But when he came to the Dwarfie Stone he found it +silent and deserted, all trace of its uncanny occupants having +disappeared. + +No one knew what had become of them; a few people were inclined to think +that the Dwarf and his Raven had accompanied the Countess Fraukirk and +the Countess Helga on their flight, but the greater part of the +Islanders held to the belief, which I think was the true one, that the +Powers of the Air spirited Snorro away, and shut him up in some unknown +place as a punishment for his wickedness, and that his Raven accompanied +him. + +At any rate, he was never seen again by any living person, and wherever +he went, he lost all chance of finding the magic carbuncle. + +As for the Silent Earl and his Irish Sweetheart, they were married as +soon as Earl Harold's funeral was over; and for hundreds of years +afterwards, when the inhabitants of the Orkney Isles wanted to express +great happiness, they said, "As happy as Earl Paul and the Countess +Morna." + + + + +CANONBIE DICK AND THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE + + +It chanced, long years ago, that a certain horse-dealer lived in the +South of Scotland, near the Border, not very far from Longtown. He was +known as Canonbie Dick; and as he went up and down the country, he +almost always had a long string of horses behind him, which he bought at +one fair and sold at another, generally managing to turn a good big +penny by the transaction. + +He was a very fearless man, not easily daunted; and the people who knew +him used to say that if Canonbie Dick dare not attempt a thing, no one +else need be asked to do it. + +One evening, as he was returning from a fair at some distance from his +home with a pair of horses which he had not succeeded in selling, he was +riding over Bowden Moor, which lies to the west of the Eildon Hills. +These hills are, as all men know, the scene of some of the most famous +of Thomas the Rhymer's prophecies; and also, so men say, they are the +sleeping-place of King Arthur and his Knights, who rest under the three +high peaks, waiting for the mystic call that shall awake them. + +But little recked the horse-dealer of Arthur and his Knights, nor yet of +Thomas the Rhymer. He was riding along at a snail's pace, thinking over +the bargains which he had made at the fair that day, and wondering when +he was likely to dispose of his two remaining horses. + +All at once he was startled by the approach of a venerable man, with +white hair and an old-world dress, who seemed almost to start out of the +ground, so suddenly did he make his appearance. + +When they met, the stranger stopped, and, to Canonbie Dick's great +amazement, asked him for how much he would be willing to part with his +horses. + +The wily horse-dealer thought that he saw a chance of driving a good +bargain, for the stranger looked a man of some consequence; so he named +a good round sum. + +The old man tried to bargain with him; but when he found that he had not +much chance of succeeding--for no one ever did succeed in inducing +Canonbie Dick to sell a horse for a less sum than he named for it at +first--he agreed to buy the animals, and, pulling a bag of gold from the +pocket of his queerly cut breeches, he began to count out the price. + +As he did so, Canonbie Dick got another shock of surprise, for the +gold that the stranger gave him was not the gold that was in use at the +time, but was fashioned into Unicorns, and Bonnet-pieces, and other +ancient coins, which would be of no use to the horse-dealer in his +everyday transactions. But it was good, pure gold; and he took it +gladly, for he knew that he was selling his horses at about half as much +again as they were worth. "So," thought he to himself, "surely I cannot +be the loser in the long run." + +Then the two parted, but not before the old man had commissioned Dick to +get him other good horses at the same price, the only stipulation he +made being that Dick should always bring them to the same spot, after +dark, and that he should always come alone. + +And, as time went on, the horse-dealer found that he had indeed met a +good customer. + +For, whenever he came across a suitable horse, he had only to lead it +over Bowden Moor after dark, and he was sure to meet the mysterious, +white-headed stranger, who always paid him for the animal in +old-fashioned golden pieces. + +And he might have been selling horses to him yet, for aught I know, had +it not been for his one failing. + +Canonbie Dick was apt to get very thirsty, and his ordinary customers, +knowing this, took care always to provide him with something to drink. +The old man never did so; he paid down his money and led away his +horses, and there was an end of the matter. + +But one night, Dick, being even more thirsty than usual, and feeling +sure that his mysterious friend must live somewhere in the +neighbourhood, seeing that he was always wandering about the hillside +when everyone else was asleep, hinted that he would be very glad to go +home with him and have a little refreshment. + +"He would need to be a brave man who asks to go home with me," returned +the stranger; "but, if thou wilt, thou canst follow me. Only, remember +this--if thy courage fail thee at that which thou wilt behold, thou wilt +rue it all thy life." + +Canonbie Dick laughed long and loud. "My courage hath never failed me +yet," he cried. "Beshrew me if I will let it fail now. So lead on, old +man, and I will follow." + +Without a word the stranger turned and began to ascend a narrow path +which led to a curious hillock, which from its shape, was called by the +country-folk the "Lucken Hare." + +It was supposed to be a great haunt of Witches; and, as a rule, nobody +passed that way after dark, if they could possibly help it. + +Canonbie Dick was not afraid of Witches, however, so he followed his +guide with a bold step up the hillside; but it must be confessed that he +felt a little startled when he saw him turn down what seemed to be an +entrance to a cavern, especially as he never remembered having seen any +opening in the hillside there before. + +He paused for a moment, looking round him in perplexity, wondering where +he was being taken; and his conductor glanced at him scornfully. + +"You can go back if you will," he said. "I warned thee thou wert going +on a journey that would try thy courage to the uttermost." There was a +jeering note in his voice that touched Dick's pride. + +"Who said that I was afraid?" he retorted. "I was just taking note of +where this passage stands on the hillside, so as to know it another +time." + +The stranger shrugged his shoulders. "Time enough to look for it when +thou wouldst visit it again," he said. And then he pursued his way, with +Dick following closely at his heels. + +After the first yard or two they were enveloped in thick darkness, and +the horse-dealer would have been sore put to it to keep near his guide +had not the latter held out his hand for him to grasp. But after a +little space a faint glimmering of light began to appear, which grew +clearer and clearer, until at last they found themselves in an enormous +cavern lit by flaming torches, which were stuck here and there in +sconces in the rocky walls, and which, although they served to give +light enough to see by, yet threw such ghostly shadows on the floor that +they only seemed to intensify the gloom that hung over the vast +apartment. + +And the curious thing about this mysterious cave was that, along one +side of it, ran a long row of horse stalls, just like what one would +find in a stable, and in each stall stood a coal-black charger, saddled +and bridled, as if ready for the fray; and on the straw, by every +horse's side, lay the gallant figure of a knight, clad from head to foot +in coal-black armour, with a drawn sword in his mailed hand. + +But not a horse moved, not a chain rattled. Knights and steeds alike +were silent and motionless, looking exactly as if some strange +enchantment had been thrown over them, and they had been suddenly turned +into black marble. + +There was something so awesome in the still, cold figures and in the +unearthly silence that brooded over everything that Canonbie Dick, +reckless and daring though he was, felt his courage waning and his knees +beginning to shake under him. + +In spite of these feelings, however, he followed the old man up the hall +to the far end of it, where there was a table of ancient workmanship, on +which was placed a glittering sword and a curiously wrought +hunting-horn. + +When they reached this table the stranger turned to him, and said, with +great dignity, "Thou hast heard, good man, of Thomas of +Ercildoune--Thomas the Rhymer, as men call him--he who went to dwell for +a time with the Queen of Fairy-land, and from her received the Gifts of +Truth and Prophecy?" + +Canonbie Dick nodded; for as the wonderful Soothsayer's name fell on his +ears, his heart sank within him and his tongue seemed to cleave to the +roof of his mouth. If he had been brought there to parley with Thomas +the Rhymer, then had he laid himself open to all the eldrich Powers of +Darkness. + +"I that speak to thee am he," went on the white-haired stranger. "And I +have permitted thee thus to have thy desire and follow me hither in +order that I may try of what stuff thou art made. Before thee lies a +Horn and a Sword. He that will sound the one, or draw the other, shall, +if his courage fail not, be King over the whole of Britain. I, Thomas +the Rhymer, have spoken it, and, as thou knowest, my tongue cannot lie. +But list ye, the outcome of it all depends on thy bravery; and it will +be a light task, or a heavy, according as thou layest hand on Sword or +Horn first." + +Now Dick was more versed in giving blows than in making music, and his +first impulse was to seize the Sword, then, come what might, he had +something in his hand to defend himself with. But just as he was about +to lift it the thought struck him that, if the place were full of +spirits, as he felt sure that it must be, this action of him might be +taken to mean defiance, and might cause them to band themselves together +against him. + +[Illustration] + +So, changing his mind, he picked up the Horn with a trembling hand, and +blew a blast upon it, which, however, was so weak and feeble that it +could scarce be heard at the other end of the hall. + +The result that followed was enough to appal the stoutest heart. Thunder +rolled in crashing peals through the immense hall. The charmed Knights +and their horses woke in an instant from their enchanted sleep. The +Knights sprang to their feet and seized their swords, brandishing them +round their heads, while their great black chargers stamped, and +snorted, and ground their bits, as if eager to escape from their stalls. +And where a moment before all had been stillness and silence, there was +now a scene of wild din and excitement. + +Now was the time for Canonbie Dick to play the man. If he had done so +all the rest of his life might have been different. + +But his courage failed him, and he lost his chance. Terrified at seeing +so many threatening faces turned towards him, he dropped the Horn and +made one weak, undecided effort to pick up the Sword. + +But, ere he could do so, a mysterious voice sounded from somewhere in +the hall, and these were the words that it uttered: + + "Woe to the coward, that ever he was born, + Who did not draw the Sword before he blew the Horn." + +And, before Dick knew what he was about, a perfect whirlwind of cold, +raw air tore through the cavern, carrying the luckless horse-dealer +along with it; and, hurrying him along the narrow passage through which +he had entered, dashed him down outside on a bank of loose stones and +shale. He fell right to the bottom, and was found, with little life left +in him, next morning, by some shepherds, to whom he had just strength +enough left to whisper the story of his weird and fearful adventure. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LAIRD O' CO' + + +It was a fine summer morning, and the Laird o' Co' was having a dander +on the green turf outside the Castle walls. His real name was the Laird +o' Colzean, and his descendants to-day bear the proud title of Marquises +of Ailsa, but all up and down Ayrshire nobody called him anything else +than the Laird o' Co'; because of the Co's, or caves, which were to be +found in the rock on which his Castle was built. + +He was a kind man, and a courteous, always ready to be interested in the +affairs of his poorer neighbours, and willing to listen to any tale of +woe. + +So when a little boy came across the green, carrying a small can in his +hand, and, pulling his forelock, asked him if he might go to the Castle +and get a little ale for his sick mother, the Laird gave his consent at +once, and, patting the little fellow on the head, told him to go to the +kitchen and ask for the butler, and tell him that he, the Laird, had +given orders that his can was to be filled with the best ale that was in +the cellar. + +Away the boy went, and found the old butler, who, after listening to +his message, took him down into the cellar, and proceeded to carry out +his Master's orders. + +There was one cask of particularly fine ale, which was kept entirely for +the Laird's own use, which had been opened some time before, and which +was now about half full. + +"I will fill the bairn's can out o' this," thought the old man to +himself. "'Tis both nourishing and light--the very thing for sick folk." +So, taking the can from the child's hand, he proceeded to draw the ale. + +But what was his astonishment to find that, although the ale flowed +freely enough from the barrel, the little can, which could not have held +more than a quarter of a gallon, remained always just half full. + +The ale poured into it in a clear amber stream, until the big cask was +quite empty, and still the quantity that was in the little can did not +seem to increase. + +The butler could not understand it. He looked at the cask, and then he +looked at the can; then he looked down at the floor at his feet to see +if he had not spilt any. + +No, the ale had not disappeared in that way, for the cellar floor was as +white, and dry, and clean, as possible. + +"Plague on the can; it must be bewitched," thought the old man, and his +short, stubby hair stood up like porcupine quills round his bald head, +for if there was anything on earth of which he had a mortal dread, it +was Warlocks, and Witches, and such like Bogles. + +"I'm not going to broach another barrel," he said gruffly, handing back +the half-filled can to the little lad. "So ye may just go home with what +is there; the Laird's ale is too good to waste on a smatchet like thee." + +But the boy stoutly held his ground. A promise was a promise, and the +Laird had both promised, and sent orders to the butler that the can was +to be filled, and he would not go home till it was filled. + +It was in vain that the old man first argued, and then grew angry--the +boy would not stir a step. + +"The Laird had said that he was to get the ale, and the ale he must +have." + +At last the perturbed butler left him standing there, and hurried off to +his master to tell him he was convinced that the can was bewitched, for +it had swallowed up a whole half cask of ale, and after doing so it was +only half full; and to ask if he would come down himself, and order the +lad off the premises. + +"Not I," said the genial Laird, "for the little fellow is quite right. I +promised that he should have his can full of ale to take home to his +sick mother, and he shall have it if it takes all the barrels in my +cellar to fill it. So haste thee to the house again, and open another +cask." + +The butler dare not disobey; so he reluctantly retraced his steps, but, +as he went, he shook his head sadly, for it seemed to him that not only +the boy with the can, but his master also, was bewitched. + +When he reached the cellar he found the bairn waiting patiently where he +had left him, and, without wasting further words, he took the can from +his hand and broached another barrel. + +If he had been astonished before, he was more astonished now. Scarce had +a couple of drops fallen from the tap, than the can was full to the +brim. + +"Take it, laddie, and begone, with all the speed thou canst," he said, +glad to get the can out of his fingers; and the boy did not wait for a +second bidding. Thanking the butler most earnestly for his trouble, and +paying no attention to the fact that the old man had not been so civil +to him as he might have been, he departed. Nor, though the butler took +pains to ask all round the country-side, could he ever hear of him again, +nor of anyone who knew anything about him, or anything about his sick +mother. + +Years passed by, and sore trouble fell upon the House o' Co'. For the +Laird went to fight in the wars in Flanders, and, chancing to be taken +prisoner, he was shut up in prison, and condemned to death. Alone, in a +foreign country, he had no friends to speak for him, and escape seemed +hopeless. + +It was the night before his execution, and he was sitting in his lonely +cell, thinking sadly of his wife and children, whom he never expected to +see again. At the thought of them the picture of his home rose clearly +in his mind--the grand old Castle standing on its rock, and the bonnie +daisy-spangled stretch of greensward which lay before its gates, where +he had been wont to take a dander in the sweet summer mornings. Then, +all unbidden, a vision of the little lad carrying the can, who had come +to beg ale for his sick mother, and whom he had long ago forgotten, rose +up before him. + +[Illustration] + +The vision was so clear and distinct that he felt almost as if he were +acting the scene over again, and he rubbed his eyes to get rid of it, +feeling that, if he had to die to-morrow, it was time that he turned +his thoughts to better things. + +But as he did so the door of his cell flew noiselessly open, and there, +on the threshold, stood the self-same little lad, looking not a day +older, with his finger on his lip, and a mysterious smile upon his face. + + "Laird o' Co', + Rise and go!" + +he whispered, beckoning to him to follow him. Needless to say, the Laird +did so, too much amazed to think of asking questions. + +Through the long passages of the prison the little lad went, the Laird +close at his heels; and whenever he came to a locked door, he had but to +touch it, and it opened before them, so that in no long time they were +safe outside the walls. + +The overjoyed Laird would have overwhelmed his little deliverer with +words of thanks had not the boy held up his hand to stop him. "Get on my +back," he said shortly, "for thou are not safe till thou art out of this +country." + +The Laird did as he was bid, and, marvellous as it seems, the boy was +quite able to bear his weight. As soon as he was comfortably seated the +pair set off, over sea and land, and never stopped till, in almost less +time than it takes to tell it, the boy set him down, in the early dawn, +on the daisy-spangled green in front of his Castle, just where he had +spoken first to him so many years before. + +Then he turned, and laid his little hand on the Laird's big one: + + "Ae gude turn deserves anither, + Tak' ye that for being sae kind to my auld mither," + +he said, and vanished. + +And from that day to this he has never been seen again. + +[Illustration] + + + + +POUSSIE BAUDRONS + + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + Where hae ye been?" + "I've been at London, + Seeing the Queen!" + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + What got ye there?" + "I got a guid fat mousikie, + Rinning up a stair." + + "Poussie, Poussie Baudrons, + What did ye do wi't?" + "I put it in my meal-poke + To eat it to my bread." + +[Illustration: I got a guid fat mousikie Rinning up a stair] + + + + +THE MILK-WHITE DOO + + +There was once a man who got his living by working in the fields. He had +one little son, called Curly-Locks, and one little daughter, called +Golden-Tresses; but his wife was dead, and, as he had to be out all day, +these children were often left alone. So, as he was afraid that some +evil might befall them when there was no one to look after them, he, in +an ill day, married again. + +I say, "in an ill day," for his second wife was a most deceitful woman, +who really hated children, although she pretended, before her marriage, +to love them. And she was so unkind to them, and made the house so +uncomfortable with her bad temper, that her poor husband often sighed to +himself, and wished that he had let well alone, and remained a widower. + +But it was no use crying over spilt milk; the deed was done, and he had +just to try to make the best of it. So things went on for several years, +until the children were beginning to run about the doors and play by +themselves. + +Then one day the Goodman chanced to catch a hare, and he brought it +home and gave it to his wife to cook for the dinner. + +Now his wife was a very good cook, and she made the hare into a pot of +delicious soup; but she was also very greedy, and while the soup was +boiling she tasted it, and tasted it, till at last she discovered that +it was almost gone. Then she was in a fine state of mind, for she knew +that her husband would soon be coming home for his dinner, and that she +would have nothing to set before him. + +So what do you think the wicked woman did? She went out to the door, +where her little step-son, Curly-Locks, was playing in the sun, and told +him to come in and get his face washed. And while she was washing his +face, she struck him on the head with a hammer and stunned him, and +popped him into the pot to make soup for his father's dinner. + +By and by the Goodman came in from his work, and the soup was dished up; +and he, and his wife, and his little daughter, Golden-Tresses, sat down +to sup it. + +"Where's Curly-Locks?" asked the Goodman. "It's a pity he is not here as +long as the soup is hot." + +"How should I ken?" answered his wife crossly. "I have other work to do +than to run about after a mischievous laddie all the morning." + +The Goodman went on supping his soup in silence for some minutes; then +he lifted up a little foot in his spoon. + +"This is Curly-Locks' foot," he cried in horror. "There hath been ill +work here." + +"Hoots, havers," answered his wife, laughing, pretending to be very much +amused. "What should Curly-Locks' foot be doing in the soup? 'Tis the +hare's forefoot, which is very like that of a bairn." + +[Illustration] + +But presently the Goodman took something else up in his spoon. + +"This is Curly-Locks' hand," he said shrilly. "I ken it by the crook in +its little finger." + +"The man's demented," retorted his wife, "not to ken the hind foot of a +hare when he sees it!" + +So the poor father did not say any more, but went away out to his work, +sorely perplexed in his mind; while his little daughter, +Golden-Tresses, who had a shrewd suspicion of what had happened, +gathered all the bones from the empty plates, and, carrying them away in +her apron, buried them beneath a flat stone, close by a white rose tree +that grew by the cottage door. + +And, lo and behold! those poor bones, which she buried with such care: + + "Grew and grew, + To a milk-white Doo, + That took its wings, + And away it flew." + +And at last it lighted on a tuft of grass by a burnside, where two women +were washing clothes. It sat there cooing to itself for some time; then +it sang this song softly to them: + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The women stopped washing and looked at one another in astonishment. It +was not every day that they came across a bird that could sing a song +like that, and they felt that there was something not canny about it. + +"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird," said one of them at last, "and +we'll give thee all these clothes!" + +So the bird sang its song over again, and the washerwomen gave it all +the clothes, and it tucked them under its right wing, and flew on. + +[Illustration] + +Presently it came to a house where all the windows were open, and it +perched on one of the window-sills, and inside it saw a man counting out +a great heap of silver. + +And, sitting on the window-sill, it sang its song to him: + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The man stopped counting his silver, and listened. He felt, like the +washerwomen, that there was something not canny about this Doo. When it +had finished its song, he said: + +"Sing that song again, my bonnie bird, and I'll give thee a' this siller +in a bag." + +So the Doo sang its song over again, and got the bag of silver, which it +tucked under its left wing. Then it flew on. + +It had not flown very far, however, before it came to a mill where two +millers were grinding corn. And it settled down on a sack of meal and +sang its song to them. + + "Pew, pew, + My mimmie me slew, + My daddy me chew, + My sister gathered my banes, + And put them between two milk-white stanes. + And I grew and grew + To a milk-white Doo, + And I took to my wings and away I flew." + +The millers stopped their work, and looked at one another, scratching +their heads in amazement. + +"Sing that song over again, my bonnie bird!" exclaimed both of them +together when the Doo had finished, "and we will give thee this +millstone." + +So the Doo repeated its song, and got the millstone, which it asked one +of the millers to lift on its back; then it flew out of the mill, and up +the valley, leaving the two men staring after it dumb with astonishment. + +As you may think, the Milk-White Doo had a heavy load to carry, but it +went bravely on till it came within sight of its father's cottage, and +lighted down at last on the thatched roof. + +Then it laid its burdens on the thatch, and, flying down to the +courtyard, picked up a number of little chuckie stones. With them in its +beak it flew back to the roof, and began to throw them down the chimney. + +By this time it was evening, and the Goodman and his wife, and his +little daughter, Golden-Tresses, were sitting round the table eating +their supper. And you may be sure that they were all very much startled +when the stones came rattling down the chimney, bringing such a cloud of +soot with them that they were like to be smothered. They all jumped up +from their chairs, and ran outside to see what the matter was. + +And Golden-Tresses, being the littlest, ran the fastest, and when she +came out at the door the Milk-White Doo flung the bundle of clothes down +at her feet. + +And the father came out next, and the Milk-White Doo flung the bag of +silver down at his feet. + +But the wicked step-mother, being somewhat stout came out last, and the +Milk-White Doo threw the millstone right down on her head and killed +her. + +Then it spread its wings and flew away, and has never been seen again; +but it had made the Goodman and his daughter rich for life, and it had +rid them of the cruel step-mother, so that they lived in peace and +plenty for the remainder of their days. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE DRAIGLIN' HOGNEY + + +There was once a man who had three sons, and very little money to +provide for them. So, when the eldest had grown into a lad, and saw that +there was no means of making a livelihood at home, he went to his father +and said to him: + +"Father, if thou wilt give me a horse to ride on, a hound to hunt with, +and a hawk to fly, I will go out into the wide world and seek my +fortune." + +His father gave him what he asked for; and he set out on his travels. He +rode and he rode, over mountain and glen, until, just at nightfall, he +came to a thick, dark wood. He entered it, thinking that he might find a +path that would lead him through it; but no path was visible, and after +wandering up and down for some time, he was obliged to acknowledge to +himself that he was completely lost. + +There seemed to be nothing for it but to tie his horse to a tree, and +make a bed of leaves for himself on the ground; but just as he was about +to do so he saw a light glimmering in the distance, and, riding on in +the direction in which it was, he soon came to a clearing in the wood, +in which stood a magnificent Castle. + +The windows were all lit up, but the great door was barred; and, after +he had ridden up to it, and knocked, and received no answer, the young +man raised his hunting horn to his lips and blew a loud blast in the +hope of letting the inmates know that he was without. + +Instantly the door flew open of its own accord, and the young man +entered, wondering very much what this strange thing would mean. And he +wondered still more when he passed from room to room, and found that, +although fires were burning brightly everywhere, and there was a +plentiful meal laid out on the table in the great hall, there did not +seem to be a single person in the whole of the vast building. + +However, as he was cold, and tired, and wet, he put his horse in one of +the stalls of the enormous stable, and taking his hawk and hound along +with him, went into the hall and ate a hearty supper. After which he sat +down by the side of the fire, and began to dry his clothes. + +By this time it had grown late, and he was just thinking of retiring to +one of the bedrooms which he had seen upstairs and going to bed, when a +clock which was hanging on the wall struck twelve. + +Instantly the door of the huge apartment opened, and a most +awful-looking Draiglin' Hogney entered. His hair was matted and his +beard was long, and his eyes shone like stars of fire from under his +bushy eyebrows, and in his hands he carried a queerly shaped club. + +He did not seem at all astonished to see his unbidden guest; but, coming +across the hall, he sat down upon the opposite side of the fireplace, +and, resting his chin on his hands, gazed fixedly at him. + +"Doth thy horse ever kick any?" he said at last, in a harsh, rough +voice. + +"Ay, doth he," replied the young man; for the only steed that his father +had been able to give him was a wild and unbroken colt. + +"I have some skill in taming horses," went on the Draiglin' Hogney, +"and I will give thee something to tame thine withal. Throw this over +him"--and he pulled one of the long, coarse hairs out of his head and +gave it to the young man. And there was something so commanding in the +Hogney's voice that he did as he was bid, and went out to the stable and +threw the hair over the horse. + +Then he returned to the hall, and sat down again by the fire. The moment +that he was seated the Draiglin' Hogney asked another question. + +"Doth thy hound ever bite any?" + +"Ay, verily," answered the youth; for his hound was so fierce-tempered +that no man, save his master, dare lay a hand on him. + +"I can cure the wildest tempered dog in Christendom," replied the +Draiglin' Hogney. "Take that, and throw it over him." And he pulled +another hair out of his head and gave it to the young man, who lost no +time in flinging it over his hound. + +There was still a third question to follow. "Doth ever thy hawk peck +any?" + +The young man laughed. "I have ever to keep a bandage over her eyes, +save when she is ready to fly," said he; "else were nothing safe within +her reach." + +"Things will be safe now," said the Hogney, grimly. "Throw that over +her." And for the third time he pulled a hair from his head and handed +it to his companion. And as the other hairs had been thrown over the +horse and the hound, so this one was thrown over the hawk. + +Then, before the young man could draw breath, the fiercesome Draiglin' +Hogney had given him such a clout on the side of his head with his +queer-shaped club that he fell down in a heap on the floor. + +And very soon his hawk and his hound tumbled down still and motionless +beside him; and, out in the stable, his horse became stark and stiff, as +if turned to stone. For the Draiglin's words had meant more than at +first appeared when he said that he could make all unruly animals quiet. + +Some time afterwards the second of the three sons came to his father in +the old home with the same request that his brother had made. That he +should be provided with a horse, a hawk, and a hound, and be allowed to +go out to seek his fortune. And his father listened to him, and gave him +what he asked, as he had given his brother. + +[Illustration: So he set out on his Quest] + +And the young man set out, and in due time came to the wood, and lost +himself in it, just as his brother had done; then he saw the light, and +came to the Castle, and went in, and had supper, and dried his clothes, +just as it all had happened before. + +And the Draiglin' Hogney came in, and asked him the three questions, and +he gave the same three answers, and received three hairs--one to throw +over his horse, one to throw over his hound, and one to throw over his +hawk; then the Hogney killed him, just as he had killed his brother. + +Time passed, and the youngest son, finding that his two elder brothers +never returned, asked his father for a horse, a hawk, and a hound, in +order that he might go and look for them. And the poor old man, who was +feeling very desolate in his old age, gladly gave them to him. + +So he set out on his quest, and at nightfall he came, as the others had +done, to the thick wood and the Castle. But, being a wise and cautious +youth, he liked not the way in which he found things. He liked not the +empty house; he liked not the spread-out feast; and, most of all, he +liked not the look of the Draiglin' Hogney when he saw him. And he +determined to be very careful what he said or did as long as he was in +his company. + +So when the Draiglin' Hogney asked him if his horse kicked, he replied +that it did, in very few words; and when he got one of the Hogney's +hairs to throw over him, he went out to the stable, and pretended to do +so, but he brought it back, hidden in his hand, and, when his unchancy +companion was not looking, he threw it into the fire. It fizzled up like +a tongue of flame with a little hissing sound like that of a serpent. + +"What's that fizzling?" asked the Giant suspiciously. + +"'Tis but the sap of the green wood," replied the young man carelessly, +as he turned to caress his hound. + +The answer satisfied the Draiglin' Hogney, and he paid no heed to the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hound, or the +sound which the hair that should have been thrown over the hawk, made, +when the young man threw them into the fire; and they fizzled up in the +same way that the first had done. + +Then, thinking that he had the stranger in his power, he whisked across +the hearthstone to strike him with his club, as he had struck his +brothers; but the young man was on the outlook, and when he saw him +coming he gave a shrill whistle. And his horse, which loved him dearly, +came galloping in from the stable, and his hound sprang up from the +hearthstone where he had been sleeping; and his hawk, who was sitting on +his shoulder, ruffled up her feathers and screamed harshly; and they all +fell on the Draiglin' Hogney at once, and he found out only too well how +the horse kicked, and the hound bit, and the hawk pecked; for they +kicked him, and bit him, and pecked him, till he was as dead as a door +nail. + +When the young man saw that he was dead, he took his little club from +his hand, and, armed with that, he set out to explore the Castle. + +As he expected, he found that there were dark and dreary dungeons under +it, and in one of them he found his two brothers, lying cold and stiff +side by side. He touched them with the club, and instantly they came to +life again, and sprang to their feet as well as ever. + +Then he went into another dungeon; and there were the two horses, and +the two hawks, and the two hounds, lying as if dead, exactly as their +Masters had lain. He touched them with his magic club, and they, too, +came to life again. + +Then he called to his two brothers, and the three young men searched the +other dungeons, and they found great stores of gold and silver hidden in +them, enough to make them rich for life. + +So they buried the Draiglin' Hogney, and took possession of the Castle; +and two of them went home and brought their old father back with them, +and they all were as prosperous and happy as they could be; and, for +aught that I know, they are living there still. + + + + +THE BROWNIE O' FERNE-DEN + + +There have been many Brownies known in Scotland; and stories have been +written about the Brownie o' Bodsbeck and the Brownie o' Blednock, but +about neither of them has a prettier story been told than that which I +am going to tell you about the Brownie o' Ferne-Den. + +Now, Ferne-Den was a farmhouse, which got its name from the glen, or +"den," on the edge of which it stood, and through which anyone who +wished to reach the dwelling had to pass. + +And this glen was believed to be the abode of a Brownie, who never +appeared to anyone in the daytime, but who, it was said, was sometimes +seen at night, stealing about, like an ungainly shadow, from tree to +tree, trying to keep from observation, and never, by any chance, harming +anybody. + +Indeed, like all Brownies that are properly treated and let alone, so +far was he from harming anybody that he was always on the look-out to do +a good turn to those who needed his assistance. The farmer often said +that he did not know what he would do without him; for if there was any +work to be finished in a hurry at the farm--corn to thrash, or winnow, +or tie up into bags, turnips to cut, clothes to wash, a kirn to be +kirned, a garden to be weeded--all that the farmer and his wife had to +do was to leave the door of the barn, or the turnip shed, or the milk +house open when they went to bed, and put down a bowl of new milk on the +doorstep for the Brownie's supper, and when they woke the next morning +the bowl would be empty, and the job finished better than if it had been +done by mortal hands. + +In spite of all this, however, which might have proved to them how +gentle and kindly the Creature really was, everyone about the place was +afraid of him, and would rather go a couple of miles round about in the +dark, when they were coming home from Kirk or Market, than pass through +the glen, and run the risk of catching a glimpse of him. + +I said that they were all afraid of him, but that was not true, for the +farmer's wife was so good and gentle that she was not afraid of anything +on God's earth, and when the Brownie's supper had to be left outside, +she always filled his bowl with the richest milk, and added a good +spoonful of cream to it, for, said she, "He works so hard for us, and +asks no wages, he well deserves the very best meal that we can give +him." + +One night this gentle lady was taken very ill, and everyone was afraid +that she was going to die. Of course, her husband was greatly +distressed, and so were her servants, for she had been such a good +Mistress to them that they loved her as if she had been their mother. +But they were all young, and none of them knew very much about illness, +and everyone agreed that it would be better to send off for an old woman +who lived about seven miles away on the other side of the river, who was +known to be a very skilful nurse. + +But who was to go? That was the question. For it was black midnight, and +the way to the old woman's house lay straight through the glen. And +whoever travelled that road ran the risk of meeting the dreaded Brownie. + +The farmer would have gone only too willingly, but he dare not leave his +wife alone; and the servants stood in groups about the kitchen, each one +telling the other that he ought to go, yet no one offering to go +themselves. + +Little did they think that the cause of all their terror, a queer, wee, +misshapen little man, all covered with hair, with a long beard, +red-rimmed eyes, broad, flat feet, just like the feet of a paddock, and +enormous long arms that touched the ground, even when he stood upright, +was within a yard or two of them, listening to their talk, with an +anxious face, behind the kitchen door. + +For he had come up as usual, from his hiding-place in the glen, to see +if there were any work for him to do, and to look for his bowl of milk. +And he had seen, from the open door and lit-up windows, that there was +something wrong inside the farmhouse, which at that hour was wont to be +dark, and still, and silent; and he had crept into the entry to try and +find out what the matter was. + +When he gathered from the servants' talk that the Mistress, whom he +loved so dearly, and who had been so kind to him, was ill, his heart +sank within him; and when he heard that the silly servants were so taken +up with their own fears that they dared not set out to fetch a nurse for +her, his contempt and anger knew no bounds. + +"Fools, idiots, dolts!" he muttered to himself, stamping his queer, +misshapen feet on the floor. "They speak as if a body were ready to take +a bite off them as soon as ever he met them. If they only knew the +bother it gives me to keep out of their road they wouldna be so silly. +But, by my troth, if they go on like this, the bonnie lady will die +amongst their fingers. So it strikes me that Brownie must e'en gang +himself." + +So saying, he reached up his hand, and took down a dark cloak which +belonged to the farmer, which was hanging on a peg on the wall, and, +throwing it over his head and shoulders, or as somewhat to hide his +ungainly form, he hurried away to the stable, and saddled and bridled +the fleetest-footed horse that stood there. + +When the last buckle was fastened, he led it to the door and scrambled +on its back. "Now, if ever thou travelledst fleetly, travel fleetly +now," he said; and it was as if the creature understood him, for it gave +a little whinny and pricked up its ears; then it darted out into the +darkness like an arrow from the bow. + +In less time than the distance had ever been ridden in before, the +Brownie drew rein at the old woman's cottage. + +She was in bed, fast asleep; but he rapped sharply on the window, and +when she rose and put her old face, framed in its white mutch, close to +the pane to ask who was there, he bent forward and told her his errand. + +"Thou must come with me, Goodwife, and that quickly," he commanded, in +his deep, harsh voice, "if the Lady of Ferne-Den's life is to be saved; +for there is no one to nurse her up-bye at the farm there, save a lot of +empty-headed servant wenches." + +"But how am I to get there? Have they sent a cart for me?" asked the old +woman anxiously; for, as far as she could see, there was nothing at the +door save a horse and its rider. + +"No, they have sent no cart," replied the Brownie, shortly. "So you must +just climb up behind me on the saddle, and hang on tight to my waist, +and I'll promise to land ye at Ferne-Den safe and sound." + +His voice was so masterful that the old woman dare not refuse to do as +she was bid; besides, she had often ridden pillion-wise when she was a +lassie, so she made haste to dress herself, and when she was ready she +unlocked her door, and, mounting the louping-on stane that stood beside +it, she was soon seated behind the dark-cloaked stranger, with her arms +clasped tightly round him. + +Not a word was spoken till they approached the dreaded glen, then the +old woman felt her courage giving way. "Do ye think that there will be +any chance of meeting the Brownie?" she asked timidly. "I would fain not +run the risk, for folk say that he is an unchancy creature." + +[Illustration] + +Her companion gave a curious laugh. "Keep up your heart, and dinna talk +havers," he said, "for I promise ye ye'll see naught uglier this night +than the man whom ye ride behind." + +"Oh, then, I'm fine and safe," replied the old woman, with a sigh of +relief; "for although I havena' seen your face, I warrant that ye are a +true man, for the care you have taken of a poor old woman." + +She relapsed into silence again till the glen was passed and the good +horse had turned into the farmyard. Then the horseman slid to the +ground, and, turning round, lifted her carefully down in his long, +strong arms. As he did so the cloak slipped off him, revealing his +short, broad body and his misshapen limbs. + +"In a' the world, what kind o' man are ye?" she asked, peering into his +face in the grey morning light, which was just dawning. "What makes your +eyes so big? And what have ye done to your feet? They are more like +paddock's webs than aught else." + +The queer little man laughed again. "I've wandered many a mile in my +time without a horse to help me, and I've heard it said that ower much +walking makes the feet unshapely," he replied. "But waste no time in +talking, good Dame. Go thy way into the house; and, hark'ee, if anyone +asks thee who brought thee hither so quickly, tell them that there was a +lack of men, so thou hadst e'en to be content to ride behind the BROWNIE +O' FERNE-DEN." + + + + +THE WITCH OF FIFE + + +In the Kingdom of Fife, in the days of long ago, there lived an old man +and his wife. The old man was a douce, quiet body, but the old woman was +lightsome and flighty, and some of the neighbours were wont to look at +her askance, and whisper to each other that they sorely feared that she +was a Witch. + +And her husband was afraid of it, too, for she had a curious habit of +disappearing in the gloaming and staying out all night; and when she +returned in the morning she looked quite white and tired, as if she had +been travelling far, or working hard. + +He used to try and watch her carefully, in order to find out where she +went, or what she did, but he never managed to do so, for she always +slipped out of the door when he was not looking, and before he could +reach it to follow her, she had vanished utterly. + +At last, one day, when he could stand the uncertainty no longer, he +asked her to tell him straight out whether she were a Witch or no. And +his blood ran cold when, without the slightest hesitation, she answered +that she was; and if he would promise not to let anyone know, the next +time that she went on one of her midnight expeditions she would tell him +all about it. + +The Goodman promised; for it seemed to him just as well that he should +know all about his wife's cantrips. + +He had not long to wait before he heard of them. For the very next week +the moon was new, which is, as everybody knows, the time of all others +when Witches like to stir abroad; and on the first night of the new moon +his wife vanished. Nor did she return till daybreak next morning. + +And when he asked her where she had been, she told him, in great glee, +how she and four like-minded companions had met at the old Kirk on the +moor and had mounted branches of the green bay tree and stalks of +hemlock, which had instantly changed into horses, and how they had +ridden, swift as the wind, over the country, hunting the foxes, and the +weasels, and the owls; and how at last they had swam the Forth and come +to the top of Bell Lomond. And how there they had dismounted from their +horses, and drunk beer that had been brewed in no earthly brewery, out +of horn cups that had been fashioned by no mortal hands. + +And how, after that, a wee, wee man had jumped up from under a great +mossy stone, with a tiny set of bagpipes under his arm, and how he had +piped such wonderful music, that, at the sound of it, the very trouts +jumped out of the Loch below, and the stoats crept out of their holes, +and the corby crows and the herons came and sat on the trees in the +darkness, to listen. And how all the Witches danced until they were so +weary that, when the time came for them to mount their steeds again, if +they would be home before cock-crow, they could scarce sit on them for +fatigue. + +[Illustration: Ridden and Ridden--Till they Reached the land of the +Lapps] + +The Goodman listened to this long story in silence, shaking his head +meanwhile, and, when it was finished, all that he answered was: "And +what the better are ye for all your dancing? Ye'd have been a deal more +comfortable at home." + +At the next new moon the old wife went off again for the night; and when +she returned in the morning she told her husband how, on this occasion, +she and her friends had taken cockle-shells for boats, and had sailed +away over the stormy sea till they reached Norway. And there they had +mounted invisible horses of wind, and had ridden and ridden, over +mountains and glens, and glaciers, till they reached the land of the +Lapps lying under its mantle of snow. + +And here all the Elves, and Fairies, and Mermaids of the North were +holding festival with Warlocks, and Brownies, and Pixies, and even the +Phantom Hunters themselves, who are never looked upon by mortal eyes. +And the Witches from Fife held festival with them, and danced, and +feasted, and sang with them, and, what was of more consequence, they +learned from them certain wonderful words, which, when they uttered +them, would bear them through the air, and would undo all bolts and +bars, and so gain them admittance to any place soever where they wanted +to be. And after that they had come home again, delighted with the +knowledge which they had acquired. + +"What took ye to siccan a land as that?" asked the old man, with a +contemptuous grunt. "Ye would hae been a sight warmer in your bed." + +But when his wife returned from her next adventure, he showed a little +more interest in her doings. + +For she told him how she and her friends had met in the cottage of one +of their number, and how, having heard that the Lord Bishop of Carlisle +had some very rare wine in his cellar, they had placed their feet on the +crook from which the pot hung, and had pronounced the magic words which +they had learned from the Elves of Lappland. And, lo and behold! they +flew up the chimney like whiffs of smoke, and sailed through the air +like little wreathes of cloud, and in less time than it takes to tell +they landed at the Bishop's Palace at Carlisle. + +And the bolts and the bars flew loose before them, and they went down to +his cellar and sampled his wine, and were back in Fife, fine, sober, old +women by cock-crow. + +When he heard this, the old man started from his chair in right earnest, +for he loved good wine above all things, and it was but seldom that it +came his way. + +"By my troth, but thou art a wife to be proud of!" he cried. "Tell me +the words, Woman! and I will e'en go and sample his Lordship's wine for +myself." + +But the Goodwife shook her head. "Na, na! I cannot do that," she said, +"for if I did, an' ye telled it over again, 'twould turn the whole world +upside down. For everybody would be leaving their own lawful work, and +flying about the world after other folk's business and other folk's +dainties. So just bide content, Goodman. Ye get on fine with the +knowledge ye already possess." + +And although the old man tried to persuade her with all the soft words +he could think of, she would not tell him her secret. + +But he was a sly old man, and the thought of the Bishop's wine gave him +no rest. So night after night he went and hid in the old woman's +cottage, in the hope that his wife and her friends would meet there; and +although for a long time it was all in vain, at last his trouble was +rewarded. For one evening the whole five old women assembled, and in low +tones and with chuckles of laughter they recounted all that had befallen +them in Lappland. Then, running to the fireplace, they, one after +another, climbed on a chair and put their feet on the sooty crook. Then +they repeated the magic words, and, hey, presto! they were up the lum +and away before the old man could draw his breath. + +"I can do that, too," he said to himself; and he crawled out of his +hiding-place and ran to the fire. He put his foot on the crook and +repeated the words, and up the chimney he went, and flew through the air +after his wife and her companions, as if he had been a Warlock born. + +And, as Witches are not in the habit of looking over their shoulders, +they never noticed that he was following them, until they reached the +Bishop's Palace and went down into his cellar, then, when they found +that he was among them, they were not too well pleased. + +However, there was no help for it, and they settled down to enjoy +themselves. They tapped this cask of wine, and they tapped that, +drinking a little of each, but not too much; for they were cautious old +women, and they knew that if they wanted to get home before cock-crow it +behoved them to keep their heads clear. + +But the old man was not so wise, for he sipped, and he sipped, until at +last he became quite drowsy, and lay down on the floor and fell fast +asleep. + +And his wife, seeing this, thought that she would teach him a lesson not +to be so curious in the future. So, when she and her four friends +thought that it was time to be gone, she departed without waking him. + +He slept peacefully for some hours, until two of the Bishop's servants, +coming down to the cellar to draw wine for their Master's table, almost +fell over him in the darkness. Greatly astonished at his presence there, +for the cellar door was fast locked, they dragged him up to the light +and shook him, and cuffed him, and asked him how he came to be there. + +And the poor old man was so confused at being awakened in this rough +way, and his head seemed to whirl round so fast, that all he could +stammer out was, "that he came from Fife, and that he had travelled on +the midnight wind." + +As soon as they heard that, the men servants cried out that he was a +Warlock, and they dragged him before the Bishop, and, as Bishops in +those days had a holy horror of Warlocks and Witches, he ordered him to +be burned alive. + +When the sentence was pronounced, you may be very sure that the poor old +man wished with all his heart that he had stayed quietly at home in bed, +and never hankered after the Bishop's wine. + +But it was too late to wish that now, for the servants dragged him out +into the courtyard, and put a chain round his waist, and fastened it to +a great iron stake, and they piled faggots of wood round his feet and +set them alight. + +As the first tiny little tongue of flame crept up, the poor old man +thought that his last hour had come. But when he thought that, he forgot +completely that his wife was a Witch. + +[Illustration: His chains fell off, and he mounted in the air,--up and +up--] + +For, just as the little tongue of flame began to singe his +breeches, there was a swish and a flutter in the air, and a great Grey +Bird, with outstretched wings, appeared in the sky, and swooped down +suddenly, and perched for a moment on the old man's shoulder. + +And in this Grey Bird's mouth was a little red pirnie, which, to +everyone's amazement, it popped on to the prisoner's head. Then it gave +one fierce croak, and flew away again, but to the old man's ears that +croak was the sweetest music that he had ever heard. + +For to him it was the croak of no earthly bird, but the voice of his +wife whispering words of magic to him. And when he heard them he jumped +for joy, for he knew that they were words of deliverance, and he shouted +them aloud, and his chains fell off, and he mounted in the air--up and +up--while the onlookers watched him in awestruck silence. + +He flew right away to the Kingdom of Fife, without as much as saying +good-bye to them; and when he found himself once more safely at home, +you may be very sure that he never tried to find out his wife's secrets +again, but left her alone to her own devices. + + + + +ASSIPATTLE AND THE MESTER STOORWORM + + +In far bygone days, in the North, there lived a well-to-do farmer, who +had seven sons and one daughter. And the youngest of these seven sons +bore a very curious name; for men called him Assipattle, which means, +"He who grovels among the ashes." + +Perhaps Assipattle deserved his name, for he was rather a lazy boy, who +never did any work on the farm as his brothers did, but ran about the +doors with ragged clothes and unkempt hair, and whose mind was ever +filled with wondrous stories of Trolls and Giants, Elves and Goblins. + +When the sun was hot in the long summer afternoons, when the bees droned +drowsily and even the tiny insects seemed almost asleep, the boy was +content to throw himself down on the ash-heap amongst the ashes, and lie +there, lazily letting them run through his fingers, as one might play +with sand on the sea-shore, basking in the sunshine and telling stories +to himself. + +And his brothers, working hard in the fields, would point to him with +mocking fingers, and laugh, and say to each other how well the name +suited him, and of how little use he was in the world. + +And when they came home from their work, they would push him about and +tease him, and even his mother would make him sweep the floor, and draw +water from the well, and fetch peats from the peat-stack, and do all the +little odd jobs that nobody else would do. + +So poor Assipattle had rather a hard life of it, and he would often have +been very miserable had it not been for his sister, who loved him +dearly, and who would listen quite patiently to all the stories that he +had to tell; who never laughed at him or told him that he was telling +lies, as his brothers did. + +But one day a very sad thing happened--at least, it was a sad thing for +poor Assipattle. + +For it chanced that the King of these parts had one only daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, whom he loved dearly, and to whom he denied +nothing. And Princess Gemdelovely was in want of a waiting-maid, and as +she had seen Assipattle's sister standing by the garden gate as she was +riding by one day, and had taken a fancy to her, she asked her father if +she might ask her to come and live at the Castle and serve her. + +Her father agreed at once, as he always did agree to any of her wishes; +and sent a messenger in haste to the farmer's house to ask if his +daughter would come to the Castle to be the Princess's waiting-maid. + +And, of course, the farmer was very pleased at the piece of good fortune +which had befallen the girl, and so was her mother, and so were her six +brothers, all except poor Assipattle, who looked with wistful eyes after +his sister as she rode away, proud of her new clothes and of the rivlins +which her father had made her out of cowhide, which she was to wear in +the Palace when she waited on the Princess, for at home she always ran +barefoot. + +Time passed, and one day a rider rode in hot haste through the country +bearing the most terrible tidings. For the evening before, some +fishermen, out in their boats, had caught sight of the Mester Stoorworm, +which, as everyone knows, was the largest, and the first, and the +greatest of all Sea-Serpents. It was that beast which, in the Good Book, +is called the Leviathan, and if it had been measured in our day, its +tail would have touched Iceland, while its snout rested on the North +Cape. + +And the fishermen had noticed that this fearsome Monster had its head +turned towards the mainland, and that it opened its mouth and yawned +horribly, as if to show that it was hungry, and that, if it were not +fed, it would kill every living thing upon the land, both man and beast, +bird and creeping thing. + +For 'twas well known that its breath was so poisonous that it consumed +as with a burning fire everything that it lighted on. So that, if it +pleased the awful creature to lift its head and put forth its breath, +like noxious vapour, over the country, in a few weeks the fair land +would be turned into a region of desolation. + +As you may imagine, everyone was almost paralysed with terror at this +awful calamity which threatened them; and the King called a solemn +meeting of all his Counsellors, and asked them if they could devise any +way of warding off the danger. + +And for three whole days they sat in Council, these grave, bearded men, +and many were the suggestions which were made, and many the words of +wisdom which were spoken; but, alas! no one was wise enough to think of +a way by which the Mester Stoorworm might be driven back. + +At last, at the end of the third day, when everyone had given up hope of +finding a remedy, the door of the Council Chamber opened and the Queen +appeared. + +Now the Queen was the King's second wife, and she was not a favourite in +the Kingdom, for she was a proud, insolent woman, who did not behave +kindly to her step-daughter, the Princess Gemdelovely, and who spent +much more of her time in the company of a great Sorcerer, whom everyone +feared and dreaded, than she did in that of the King, her husband. + +So the sober Counsellors looked at her disapprovingly as she came boldly +into the Council Chamber and stood up beside the King's Chair of State, +and, speaking in a loud, clear voice, addressed them thus: + +"Ye think that ye are brave men and strong, oh, ye Elders, and fit to be +the Protectors of the People. And so it may be, when it is mortals that +ye are called on to face. But ye be no match for the foe that now +threatens our land. Before him your weapons be but as straw. 'Tis not +through strength of arm, but through sorcery, that he will be overcome. +So listen to my words, even though they be but those of a woman, and +take counsel with the great Sorcerer, from whom nothing is hid, but who +knoweth all the mysteries of the earth, and of the air, and of the sea." + +Now the King and his Counsellors liked not this advice, for they hated +the Sorcerer, who had, as they thought, too much influence with the +Queen; but they were at their wits' end, and knew not to whom to turn +for help, so they were fain to do as she said and summon the Wizard +before them. + +And when he obeyed the summons and appeared in their midst, they liked +him none the better for his looks. For he was long, and thin, and +awesome, with a beard that came down to his knee, and hair that wrapped +him about like a mantle, and his face was the colour of mortar, as if he +had always lived in darkness, and had been afraid to look on the sun. + +But there was no help to be found in any other man, so they laid the +case before him, and asked him what they should do. And he answered +coldly that he would think over the matter, and come again to the +Assembly the following day and give them his advice. + +And his advice, when they heard it, was like to turn their hair white +with horror. + +For he said that the only way to satisfy the Monster, and to make it +spare the land, was to feed it every Saturday with seven young maidens, +who must be the fairest who could be found; and if, after this remedy +had been tried once or twice, it did not succeed in mollifying the +Stoorworm and inducing him to depart, there was but one other measure +that he could suggest, but that was so horrible and dreadful that he +would not rend their hearts by mentioning it in the meantime. + +And as, although they hated him, they feared him also, the Council had +e'en to abide by his words, and pronounced the awful doom. + +And so it came about that, every Saturday, seven bonnie, innocent +maidens were bound hand and foot and laid on a rock which ran into the +sea, and the Monster stretched out his long, jagged tongue, and swept +them into his mouth; while all the rest of the folk looked on from the +top of a high hill--or, at least, the men looked--with cold, set faces, +while the women hid theirs in their aprons and wept aloud. + +"Is there no other way," they cried, "no other way than this, to save +the land?" + +But the men only groaned and shook their heads. "No other way," they +answered; "no other way." + +Then suddenly a boy's indignant voice rang out among the crowd. "Is +there no grown man who would fight that Monster, and kill him, and save +the lassies alive? I would do it; I am not feared for the Mester +Stoorworm." + +It was the boy Assipattle who spoke, and everyone looked at him in +amazement as he stood staring at the great Sea-Serpent, his fingers +twitching with rage, and his great blue eyes glowing with pity and +indignation. + +"The poor bairn's mad; the sight hath turned his head," they whispered +one to another; and they would have crowded round him to pet and comfort +him, but his elder brother came and gave him a heavy clout on the side +of his head. + +"Thou fight the Stoorworm!" he cried contemptuously. "A likely story! Go +home to thy ash-pit, and stop speaking havers;" and, taking his arm, he +drew him to the place where his other brothers were waiting, and they +all went home together. + +But all the time Assipattle kept on saying that he meant to kill the +Stoorworm; and at last his brothers became so angry at what they thought +was mere bragging, that they picked up stones and pelted him so hard +with them that at last he took to his heels and ran away from them. + +That evening the six brothers were threshing corn in the barn, and +Assipattle, as usual, was lying among the ashes thinking his own +thoughts, when his mother came out and bade him run and tell the others +to come in for their supper. + +The boy did as he was bid, for he was a willing enough little fellow; +but when he entered the barn his brothers, in revenge for his having run +away from them in the afternoon, set on him and pulled him down, and +piled so much straw on top of him that, had his father not come from the +house to see what they were all waiting for, he would, of a surety, have +been smothered. + +But when, at supper-time, his mother was quarrelling with the other lads +for what they had done, and saying to them that it was only cowards who +set on bairns littler and younger than themselves, Assipattle looked up +from the bicker of porridge which he was supping. + +"Vex not thyself, Mother," he said, "for I could have fought them all if +I liked; ay, and beaten them, too." + +"Why didst thou not essay it then?" cried everybody at once. + +"Because I knew that I would need all my strength when I go to fight the +Giant Stoorworm," replied Assipattle gravely. + +And, as you may fancy, the others laughed louder than before. + +Time passed, and every Saturday seven lassies were thrown to the +Stoorworm, until at last it was felt that this state of things could not +be allowed to go on any longer; for if it did, there would soon be no +maidens at all left in the country. + +So the Elders met once more, and, after long consultation, it was +agreed that the Sorcerer should be summoned, and asked what his other +remedy was. "For, by our troth," said they, "it cannot be worse than +that which we are practising now." + +But, had they known it, the new remedy was even more dreadful than the +old. For the cruel Queen hated her step-daughter, Gemdelovely, and the +wicked Sorcerer knew that she did, and that she would not be sorry to +get rid of her, and, things being as they were, he thought that he saw a +way to please the Queen. So he stood up in the Council, and, pretending +to be very sorry, said that the only other thing that could be done was +to give the Princess Gemdelovely to the Stoorworm, then would it of a +surety depart. + +When they heard this sentence a terrible stillness fell upon the +Council, and everyone covered his face with his hands, for no man dare +look at the King. + +But although his dear daughter was as the apple of his eye, he was a +just and righteous Monarch, and he felt that it was not right that other +fathers should have been forced to part with their daughters, in order +to try and save the country, if his child was to be spared. + +So, after he had had speech with the Princess, he stood up before the +Elders, and declared, with trembling voice, that both he and she were +ready to make the sacrifice. + +"She is my only child," he said, "and the last of her race. Yet it +seemeth good to both of us that she should lay down her life, if by so +doing she may save the land that she loves so well." + +Salt tears ran down the faces of the great bearded men as they heard +their King's words, for they all knew how dear the Princess Gemdelovely +was to him. But it was felt that what he said was wise and true, and +that the thing was just and right; for 'twere better, surely, that one +maiden should die, even although she were of Royal blood, than that +bands of other maidens should go to their death week by week, and all to +no purpose. + +So, amid heavy sobs, the aged Lawman--he who was the chief man of the +Council--rose up to pronounce the Princess's doom. But, ere he did so, +the King's Kemper--or Fighting-man--stepped forward. + +"Nature teaches us that it is fitting that each beast hath a tail," he +said; "and this Doom, which our Lawman is about to pronounce, is in very +sooth a venomous beast. And, if I had my way, the tail which it would +bear after it is this, that if the Mester Stoorworm doth not depart, and +that right speedily, after he have devoured the Princess, the next thing +that is offered to him be no tender young maiden, but that tough, lean +old Sorcerer." + +And at his words there was such a great shout of approval that the +wicked Sorcerer seemed to shrink within himself, and his pale face grew +paler than it was before. + +Now, three weeks were allowed between the time that the Doom was +pronounced upon the Princess and the time that it was carried out, so +that the King might send Ambassadors to all the neighbouring Kingdoms to +issue proclamations that, if any Champion would come forward who was +able to drive away the Stoorworm and save the Princess, he should have +her for his wife. + +And with her he should have the Kingdom, as well as a very famous sword +that was now in the King's possession, but which had belonged to the +great god Odin, with which he had fought and vanquished all his foes. + +The sword bore the name of Sickersnapper, and no man had any power +against it. + +The news of all these things spread over the length and breadth of the +land, and everyone mourned for the fate that was like to befall the +Princess Gemdelovely. And the farmer, and his wife, and their six sons +mourned also;--all but Assipattle, who sat amongst the ashes and said +nothing. + +When the King's Proclamation was made known throughout the neighbouring +Kingdoms, there was a fine stir among all the young Gallants, for it +seemed but a little thing to slay a Sea-Monster; and a beautiful wife, a +fertile Kingdom, and a trusty sword are not to be won every day. + +So six-and-thirty Champions arrived at the King's Palace, each hoping to +gain the prize. + +But the King sent them all out to look at the Giant Stoorworm lying in +the sea with its enormous mouth open, and when they saw it, twelve of +them were seized with sudden illness, and twelve of them were so afraid +that they took to their heels and ran, and never stopped till they +reached their own countries; and so only twelve returned to the King's +Palace, and as for them, they were so downcast at the thought of the +task that they had undertaken that they had no spirit left in them at +all. + +And none of them dare try to kill the Stoorworm; so the three weeks +passed slowly by, until the night before the day on which the Princess +was to be sacrificed. On that night the King, feeling that he must do +something to entertain his guests, made a great supper for them. + +But, as you may think, it was a dreary feast, for everyone was thinking +so much about the terrible thing that was to happen on the morrow, that +no one could eat or drink. + +And when it was all over, and everybody had retired to rest, save the +King and his old Kemperman, the King returned to the great hall, and +went slowly up to his Chair of State, high up on the dais. It was not +like the Chairs of State that we know nowadays; it was nothing but a +massive Kist, in which he kept all the things which he treasured most. + +The old Monarch undid the iron bolts with trembling fingers, and lifted +the lid, and took out the wondrous sword Sickersnapper, which had +belonged to the great god Odin. + +His trusty Kemperman, who had stood by him in a hundred fights, watched +him with pitying eyes. + +"Why lift ye out the sword," he said softly, "when thy fighting days are +done? Right nobly hast thou fought thy battles in the past, oh, my Lord! +when thine arm was strong and sure. But when folk's years number four +score and sixteen, as thine do, 'tis time to leave such work to other +and younger men." + +The old King turned on him angrily, with something of the old fire in +his eyes. "Wheest," he cried, "else will I turn this sword on thee. Dost +thou think that I can see my only bairn devoured by a Monster, and not +lift a finger to try and save her when no other man will? I tell +thee--and I will swear it with my two thumbs crossed on +Sickersnapper--that both the sword and I will be destroyed before so +much as one of her hairs be touched. So go, an' thou love me, my old +comrade, and order my boat to be ready, with the sail set and the prow +pointed out to sea. I will go myself and fight the Stoorworm; and if I +do not return, I will lay it on thee to guard my cherished daughter. +Peradventure, my life may redeem hers." + +Now that night everybody at the farm went to bed betimes, for next +morning the whole family was to set out early, to go to the top of the +hill near the sea, to see the Princess eaten by the Stoorworm. All +except Assipattle, who was to be left at home to herd the geese. + +The lad was so vexed at this--for he had great schemes in his head--that +he could not sleep. And as he lay tossing and tumbling about in his +corner among the ashes, he heard his father and mother talking in the +great box-bed. And, as he listened, he found that they were having an +argument. + +"'Tis such a long way to the hill overlooking the sea, I fear me I shall +never walk it," said his mother. "I think I had better bide at home." + +"Nay," replied her husband, "that would be a bonny-like thing, when all +the country-side is to be there. Thou shalt ride behind me on my good +mare Go-Swift." + +"I do not care to trouble thee to take me behind thee," said his wife, +"for methinks thou dost not love me as thou wert wont to do." + +"The woman's havering," cried the Goodman of the house impatiently. +"What makes thee think that I have ceased to love thee?" + +"Because thou wilt no longer tell me thy secrets," answered his wife. +"To go no further, think of this very horse, Go-Swift. For five long +years I have been begging thee to tell me how it is that, when thou +ridest her, she flies faster than the wind, while if any other man mount +her, she hirples along like a broken-down nag." + +The Goodman laughed. "'Twas not for lack of love, Goodwife," he said, +"though it might be lack of trust. For women's tongues wag but loosely; +and I did not want other folk to ken my secret. But since my silence +hath vexed thy heart, I will e'en tell it thee. + +"When I want Go-Swift to stand, I give her one clap on the left +shoulder. When I would have her go like any other horse, I give her two +claps on the right. But when I want her to fly like the wind, I whistle +through the windpipe of a goose. And, as I never ken when I want her to +gallop like that, I aye keep the bird's thrapple in the left-hand pocket +of my coat." + +"So that is how thou managest the beast," said the farmer's wife, in a +satisfied tone; "and that is what becomes of all my goose thrapples. Oh! +but thou art a clever fellow, Goodman; and now that I ken the way of it +I may go to sleep." + +Assipattle was not tumbling about in the ashes now; he was sitting up in +the darkness, with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes. + +His opportunity had come at last, and he knew it. + +He waited patiently till their heavy breathing told him that his parents +were asleep; then he crept over to where his father's clothes were, and +took the goose's windpipe out of the pocket of his coat, and slipped +noiselessly out of the house. Once he was out of it, he ran like +lightning to the stable. He saddled and bridled Go-Swift, and threw a +halter round her neck, and led her to the stable door. + +The good mare, unaccustomed to her new groom, pranced, and reared, and +plunged; but Assipattle, knowing his father's secret, clapped her once +on the left shoulder, and she stood as still as a stone. Then he mounted +her, and gave her two claps on the right shoulder, and the good horse +trotted off briskly, giving a loud neigh as she did so. + +The unwonted sound, ringing out in the stillness of the night, roused +the household, and the Goodman and his six sons came tumbling down the +wooden stairs, shouting to one another in confusion that someone was +stealing Go-Swift. + +The farmer was the first to reach the door; and when he saw, in the +starlight, the vanishing form of his favourite steed, he cried at the +top of his voice: + + "Stop thief, ho! + Go-Swift, whoa!" + +And when Go-Swift heard that she pulled up in a moment. All seemed lost, +for the farmer and his sons could run very fast indeed, and it seemed to +Assipattle, sitting motionless on Go-Swift's back, that they would very +soon make up on him. + +But, luckily, he remembered the goose's thrapple, and he pulled it out +of his pocket and whistled through it. In an instant the good mare +bounded forward, swift as the wind, and was over the hill and out of +reach of its pursuers before they had taken ten steps more. + +Day was dawning when the lad came within sight of the sea; and there, in +front of him, in the water, lay the enormous Monster whom he had come so +far to slay. Anyone would have said that he was mad even to dream of +making such an attempt, for he was but a slim, unarmed youth, and the +Mester Stoorworm was so big that men said it would reach the fourth part +round the world. And its tongue was jagged at the end like a fork, and +with this fork it could sweep whatever it chose into its mouth, and +devour it at its leisure. + +For all this, Assipattle was not afraid, for he had the heart of a hero +underneath his tattered garments. "I must be cautious," he said to +himself, "and do by my wits what I cannot do by my strength." + +He climbed down from his seat on Go-Swift's back, and tethered the good +steed to a tree, and walked on, looking well about him, till he came to +a little cottage on the edge of a wood. + +The door was not locked, so he entered, and found its occupant, an old +woman, fast asleep in bed. He did not disturb her, but he took down an +iron pot from the shelf, and examined it closely. + +"This will serve my purpose," he said; "and surely the old dame would +not grudge it if she knew 'twas to save the Princess's life." + +Then he lifted a live peat from the smouldering fire, and went his way. + +Down at the water's edge he found the King's boat lying, guarded by a +single boatman, with its sails set and its prow turned in the direction +of the Mester Stoorworm. + +"It's a cold morning," said Assipattle. "Art thou not well-nigh frozen +sitting there? If thou wilt come on shore, and run about, and warm +thyself, I will get into the boat and guard it till thou returnest." + +"A likely story," replied the man. "And what would the King say if he +were to come, as I expect every moment he will do, and find me playing +myself on the sand, and his good boat left to a smatchet like thee? +'Twould be as much as my head is worth." + +"As thou wilt," answered Assipattle carelessly, beginning to search +among the rocks. "In the meantime, I must be looking for a wheen mussels +to roast for my breakfast." And after he had gathered the mussels, he +began to make a hole in the sand to put the live peat in. The boatman +watched him curiously, for he, too, was beginning to feel hungry. + +Presently the lad gave a wild shriek, and jumped high in the air. "Gold, +gold!" he cried. "By the name of Thor, who would have looked to find +gold here?" + +This was too much for the boatman. Forgetting all about his head and the +King, he jumped out of the boat, and, pushing Assipattle aside, began to +scrape among the sand with all his might. + +[Illustration: Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea] + +While he was doing so, Assipattle seized his pot, jumped into the boat, +pushed her off, and was half a mile out to sea before the outwitted man, +who, needless to say, could find no gold, noticed what he was about. + +And, of course, he was very angry, and the old King was more angry still +when he came down to the shore, attended by his Nobles and carrying the +great sword Sickersnapper, in the vain hope that he, poor feeble old man +that he was, might be able in some way to defeat the Monster and save +his daughter. + +But to make such an attempt was beyond his power now that his boat was +gone. So he could only stand on the shore, along with the fast +assembling crowd of his subjects, and watch what would befall. + +And this was what befell! + +Assipattle, sailing slowly over the sea, and watching the Mester +Stoorworm intently, noticed that the terrible Monster yawned +occasionally, as if longing for his weekly feast. And as it yawned a +great flood of sea-water went down its throat, and came out again at its +huge gills. + +So the brave lad took down his sail, and pointed the prow of his boat +straight at the Monster's mouth, and the next time it yawned he and his +boat were sucked right in, and, like Jonah, went straight down its +throat into the dark regions inside its body. On and on the boat +floated; but as it went the water grew less, pouring out of the +Stoorworm's gills, till at last it stuck, as it were, on dry land. And +Assipattle jumped out, his pot in his hand, and began to explore. + +Presently he came to the huge creature's liver, and having heard that +the liver of a fish is full of oil, he made a hole in it and put in the +live peat. + +Woe's me! but there was a conflagration! And Assipattle just got back to +his boat in time; for the Mester Stoorworm, in its convulsions, threw +the boat right out of its mouth again, and it was flung up, high and +dry, on the bare land. + +The commotion in the sea was so terrible that the King and his +daughter--who by this time had come down to the shore dressed like a +bride, in white, ready to be thrown to the Monster--and all his +Courtiers, and all the country-folk, were fain to take refuge on the +hill top, out of harm's way, and stand and see what happened next. + +And this was what happened next. + +The poor, distressed creature--for it was now to be pitied, even +although it was a great, cruel, awful Mester Stoorworm--tossed itself to +and fro, twisting and writhing. + +And as it tossed its awful head out of the water its tongue fell out, +and struck the earth with such force that it made a great dent in it, +into which the sea rushed. And that dent formed the crooked Straits +which now divide Denmark from Norway and Sweden. + +Then some of its teeth fell out and rested in the sea, and became the +Islands that we now call the Orkney Isles; and a little afterwards some +more teeth dropped out, and they became what we now call the Shetland +Isles. + +After that the creature twisted itself into a great lump and died; and +this lump became the Island of Iceland; and the fire which Assipattle +had kindled with his live peat still burns on underneath it, and that is +why there are mountains which throw out fire in that chilly land. + +When at last it was plainly seen that the Mester Stoorworm was dead, the +King could scarce contain himself with joy. He put his arms round +Assipattle's neck, and kissed him, and called him his son. And he took +off his own Royal Mantle and put it on the lad, and girded his good +sword Sickersnapper round his waist. And he called his daughter, the +Princess Gemdelovely, to him, and put her hand in his, and declared that +when the right time came she should be his wife, and that he should be +ruler over all the Kingdom. + +Then the whole company mounted their horses again, and Assipattle rode +on Go-Swift by the Princess's side; and so they returned, with great +joy, to the King's Palace. + +But as they were nearing the gate Assipattle's sister, she who was the +Princess's maid, ran out to meet him, and signed to the Princess to lout +down, and whispered something in her ear. + +The Princess's face grew dark, and she turned her horse's head and rode +back to where her father was, with his Nobles. She told him the words +that the maiden had spoken; and when he heard them his face, too, grew +as black as thunder. + +For the matter was this: The cruel Queen, full of joy at the thought +that she was to be rid, once for all, of her step-daughter, had been +making love to the wicked Sorcerer all the morning in the old King's +absence. + +"He shall be killed at once," cried the Monarch. "Such behaviour cannot +be overlooked." + +"Thou wilt have much ado to find him, your Majesty," said the girl, "for +'tis more than an hour since he and the Queen fled together on the +fleetest horses that they could find in the stables." + +"But I can find him," cried Assipattle; and he went off like the wind on +his good horse Go-Swift. + +It was not long before he came within sight of the fugitives, and he +drew his sword and shouted to them to stop. + +They heard the shout, and turned round, and they both laughed aloud in +derision when they saw that it was only the boy who grovelled in the +ashes who pursued them. + +"The insolent brat! I will cut off his head for him! I will teach him a +lesson!" cried the Sorcerer; and he rode boldly back to meet Assipattle. +For although he was no fighter, he knew that no ordinary weapon could +harm his enchanted body; therefore he was not afraid. + +But he did not count on Assipattle having the Sword of the great god +Odin, with which he had slain all his enemies; and before this magic +weapon he was powerless. And, at one thrust, the young lad ran it +through his body as easily as if he had been any ordinary man, and he +fell from his horse, dead. + +Then the Courtiers of the King, who had also set off in pursuit, but +whose steeds were less fleet of foot than Go-Swift, came up, and seized +the bridle of the Queen's horse, and led it and its rider back to the +Palace. + +She was brought before the Council, and judged, and condemned to be shut +up in a high tower for the remainder of her life. Which thing surely +came to pass. + +As for Assipattle, when the proper time came he was married to the +Princess Gemdelovely, with great feasting and rejoicing. And when the +old King died they ruled the Kingdom for many a long year. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE FOX AND THE WOLF + + +There was once a Fox and a Wolf, who set up house together in a cave +near the sea-shore. Although you may not think so, they got on very well +for a time, for they went out hunting all day, and when they came back +at night they were generally too tired to do anything but to eat their +supper and go to bed. + +They might have lived together always had it not been for the slyness +and greediness of the Fox, who tried to over-reach his companion, who +was not nearly so clever as he was. + +And this was how it came about. + +It chanced, one dark December night, that there was a dreadful storm at +sea, and in the morning the beach was all strewn with wreckage. So as +soon as it was daylight the two friends went down to the shore to see +if they could find anything to eat. + +They had the good fortune to light on a great Keg of Butter, which had +been washed overboard from some ship on its way home from Ireland, +where, as all the world knows, folk are famous for their butter. + +The simple Wolf danced with joy when he saw it. "Marrowbones and +trotters! but we will have a good supper this night," cried he, licking +his lips. "Let us set to work at once and roll it up to the cave." + +But the wily Fox was fond of butter, and he made up his mind that he +would have it all to himself. So he put on his wisest look, and shook +his head gravely. + +"Thou hast no prudence, my friend," he said reproachfully, "else wouldst +thou not talk of breaking up a Keg of Butter at this time of year, when +the stackyards are full of good grain, which can be had for the eating, +and the farmyards are stocked with nice fat ducks and poultry. No, no. +It behoveth us to have foresight, and to lay up in store for the spring, +when the grain is all threshed, and the stackyards are bare, and the +poultry have gone to market. So we will e'en bury the Keg, and dig it up +when we have need of it." + +Very reluctantly, for he was thinner and hungrier than the Fox, the Wolf +agreed to this proposal. So a hole was dug, and the Keg was buried, and +the two animals went off hunting as usual. + +About a week passed by: then one day the Fox came into the cave, and +flung himself down on the ground as if he were very much exhausted. But +if anyone had looked at him closely they would have seen a sly twinkle +in his eye. + +"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" he sighed. "Life is a heavy burden." + +"What hath befallen thee?" asked the Wolf, who was ever kind and +soft-hearted. + +"Some friends of mine, who live over the hills yonder, are wanting me to +go to a christening to-night. Just think of the distance that I must +travel." + +"But needst thou go?" asked the Wolf. "Canst thou not send an excuse?" + +[Illustration] + +"I doubt that no excuse would be accepted," answered the Fox, "for they +asked me to stand god-father. Therefore it behoveth me to do my duty, +and pay no heed to my own feelings." + +So that evening the Fox was absent, and the Wolf was alone in the cave. +But it was not to a christening that the sly Fox went; it was to the Keg +of Butter that was buried in the sand. About midnight he returned, +looking fat and sleek, and well pleased with himself. + +The Wolf had been dozing, but he looked up drowsily as his companion +entered. "Well, how did they name the bairn?" he asked. + +"They gave it a queer name," answered the Fox. "One of the queerest +names that I ever heard." + +"And what was that?" questioned the Wolf. + +"Nothing less than 'Blaisean' (Let-me-taste)," replied the Fox, throwing +himself down in his corner. And if the Wolf could have seen him in the +darkness he would have noticed that he was laughing to himself. + +Some days afterwards the same thing happened. The Fox was asked to +another christening; this time at a place some twenty-five miles along +the shore. And as he had grumbled before, so he grumbled again; but he +declared that it was his duty to go, and he went. + +At midnight he came back, smiling to himself and with no appetite for +his supper. And when the Wolf asked him the name of the child, he +answered that it was a more extraordinary name than the other--"Be na +Inheadnon" (Be in its middle). + +The very next week, much to the Wolf's wonder, the Fox was asked to yet +another christening. And this time the name of the child was "Sgriot an +Clar" (Scrape the staves). After that the invitations ceased. + +Time went on, and the hungry spring came, and the Fox and the Wolf had +their larder bare, for food was scarce, and the weather was bleak and +cold. + +"Let us go and dig up the Keg of Butter," said the Wolf. "Methinks that +now is the time we need it." + +The Fox agreed--having made up his mind how he would act--and the two +set out to the place where the Keg had been hidden. They scraped away +the sand, and uncovered it; but, needless to say, they found it empty. + +"This is thy work," said the Fox angrily, turning to the poor, innocent +Wolf. "Thou hast crept along here while I was at the christenings, and +eaten it up by stealth." + +"Not I," replied the Wolf. "I have never been near the spot since the +day that we buried it together." + +"But I tell thee it must have been thou," insisted the Fox, "for no +other creature knew it was there except ourselves. And, besides, I can +see by the sleekness of thy fur that thou hast fared well of late." + +Which last sentence was both unjust and untrue, for the poor Wolf looked +as lean and badly nourished as he could possibly be. + +So back they both went to the cave, arguing all the way. The Fox +declaring that the Wolf _must_ have been the thief, and the Wolf +protesting his innocence. + +"Art thou ready to swear to it?" said the Fox at last; though why he +asked such a question, dear only knows. + +"Yes, I am," replied the Wolf firmly; and, standing in the middle of +the cave, and holding one paw up solemnly he swore this awful oath: + + "If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be-- + May a fateful, fell disease fall on me, fall on me." + +When he was finished, he put down his paw and, turning to the Fox, +looked at him keenly; for all at once it struck him that his fur looked +sleek and fine. + +"It is thy turn now," he said. "I have sworn, and thou must do so also." + +The Fox's face fell at these words, for although he was both untruthful +and dishonest now, he had been well brought up in his youth, and he knew +that it was a terrible thing to perjure oneself and swear falsely. + +So he made one excuse after another, but the Wolf, who was getting more +and more suspicious every moment, would not listen to him. + +So, as he had not courage to tell the truth, he was forced at last to +swear an oath also, and this was what he swore: + + "If it be that I stole the butter; if it be, if it be-- + Then let some most deadly punishment fall on me, fall on me-- + Whirrum wheeckam, whirrum wheeckam, + Whirram whee, whirram whee!" + +After he had heard him swear this terrible oath, the Wolf thought that +his suspicions must be groundless, and he would have let the matter +rest; but the Fox, having an uneasy conscience, could not do so. So he +suggested that as it was clear that one of them must have eaten the Keg +of Butter, they should both stand near the fire; so that when they +became hot, the butter would ooze out of the skin of whichever of them +was guilty. And he took care that the Wolf should stand in the hottest +place. + +But the fire was big and the cave was small; and while the poor lean +Wolf showed no sign of discomfort, he himself, being nice and fat and +comfortable, soon began to get unpleasantly warm. + +As this did not suit him at all, he next proposed that they should go +for a walk, "for," said he, "it is now quite plain that neither of us +can have taken the butter. It must have been some stranger who hath +found out our secret." + +But the Wolf had seen the Fox beginning to grow greasy, and he knew now +what had happened, and he determined to have his revenge. So he waited +until they came to a smithy which stood at the side of the road, where a +horse was waiting just outside the door to be shod. + +Then, keeping at a safe distance, he said to his companion, "There is +writing on that smithy door, which I cannot read, as my eyes are +failing; do thou try to read it, for perchance it may be something +'twere good for us to know." + +And the silly Fox, who was very vain, and did not like to confess that +his eyes were no better than those of his friend, went close up to the +door to try and read the writing. And he chanced to touch the horse's +fetlock, and, it being a restive beast, lifted its foot and struck out +at once, and killed the Fox as dead as a door-nail. + +And so, you see, the old saying in the Good Book came true after all: +"Be sure your sin will find you out." + +[Illustration] + + + + +KATHERINE CRACKERNUTS + + +There was once a King whose wife died, leaving him with an only +daughter, whom he dearly loved. The little Princess's name was +Velvet-Cheek, and she was so good, and bonnie, and kind-hearted that all +her father's subjects loved her. But as the King was generally engaged +in transacting the business of the State, the poor little maiden had +rather a lonely life, and often wished that she had a sister with whom +she could play, and who would be a companion to her. + +The King, hearing this, made up his mind to marry a middle-aged +Countess, whom he had met at a neighbouring Court, who had one daughter, +named Katherine, who was just a little younger than the Princess +Velvet-Cheek, and who, he thought, would make a nice play-fellow for +her. + +He did so, and in one way the arrangement turned out very well, for the +two girls loved one another dearly, and had everything in common, just +as if they had really been sisters. + +But in another way it turned out very badly, for the new Queen was a +cruel and ambitious woman, and she wanted her own daughter to do as she +had done, and make a grand marriage, and perhaps even become a Queen. +And when she saw that Princess Velvet-Cheek was growing into a very +beautiful young woman--more beautiful by far than her own daughter--she +began to hate her, and to wish that in some way she would lose her good +looks. + +"For," thought she, "what suitor will heed my daughter as long as her +step-sister is by her side?" + +Now, among the servants and retainers at her husband's Castle there was +an old Hen-wife, who, men said, was in league with the Evil Spirits of +the air, and who was skilled in the knowledge of charms, and philtres, +and love potions. + +"Perhaps she could help me to do what I seek to do," said the wicked +Queen; and one night, when it was growing dusk, she wrapped a cloak +round her, and set out to this old Hen-wife's cottage. + +"Send the lassie to me to-morrow morning ere she hath broken her fast," +replied the old Dame when she heard what her visitor had to say. "I will +find out a way to mar her beauty." And the wicked Queen went home +content. + +Next morning she went to the Princess's room while she was dressing, and +told her to go out before breakfast and get the eggs that the Hen-wife +had gathered. "And see," added she, "that thou dost not eat anything ere +thou goest, for there is nothing that maketh the roses bloom on a young +maiden's cheeks like going out fasting in the fresh morning air." + +Princess Velvet-Cheek promised to do as she was bid, and go and fetch +the eggs; but as she was not fond of going out of doors before she had +had something to eat, and as, moreover, she suspected that her +step-mother had some hidden reason for giving her such an unusual order, +and she did not trust her step-mother's hidden reasons, she slipped into +the pantry as she went downstairs and helped herself to a large slice of +cake. Then, after she had eaten it, she went straight to the Hen-wife's +cottage and asked for the eggs. + +"Lift the lid of that pot there, your Highness, and you will see them," +said the old woman, pointing to the big pot standing in the corner in +which she boiled her hens' meat. + +The Princess did so, and found a heap of eggs lying inside, which she +lifted into her basket, while the old woman watched her with a curious +smile. + +"Go home to your Lady Mother, Hinny," she said at last, "and tell her +from me to keep the press door better snibbit." + +The Princess went home, and gave this extraordinary message to her +step-mother, wondering to herself the while what it meant. + +But if she did not understand the Hen-wife's words, the Queen understood +them only too well. For from them she gathered that the Princess had in +some way prevented the old Witch's spell doing what she intended it to +do. + +So next morning, when she sent her step-daughter once more on the same +errand, she accompanied her to the door of the Castle herself, so that +the poor girl had no chance of paying a visit to the pantry. But as she +went along the road that led to the cottage, she felt so hungry that, +when she passed a party of country-folk picking peas by the roadside, +she asked them to give her a handful. + +They did so, and she ate the peas; and so it came about that the same +thing happened that had happened yesterday. + +The Hen-wife sent her to look for the eggs; but she could work no spell +upon her, because she had broken her fast. So the old woman bade her go +home again and give the same message to the Queen. + +The Queen was very angry when she heard it, for she felt that she was +being outwitted by this slip of a girl, and she determined that, +although she was not fond of getting up early, she would accompany her +next day herself, and make sure that she had nothing to eat as she went. + +So next morning she walked with the Princess to the Hen-wife's cottage, +and, as had happened twice before, the old woman sent the Royal maiden +to lift the lid off the pot in the corner in order to get the eggs. + +And the moment that the Princess did so off jumped her own pretty head, +and on jumped that of a sheep. + +[Illustration: Off jumped her own pretty head and on jumped that of a +sheep] + +Then the wicked Queen thanked the cruel old Witch for the service that +she had rendered to her, and went home quite delighted with the success +of her scheme; while the poor Princess picked up her own head and put it +into her basket along with the eggs, and went home crying, keeping +behind the hedge all the way, for she felt so ashamed of her sheep's +head that she was afraid that anyone saw her. + +Now, as I told you, the Princess's step-sister Katherine loved her +dearly, and when she saw what a cruel deed had been wrought on her she +was so angry that she declared that she would not remain another hour in +the Castle. "For," said she, "if my Lady Mother can order one such deed +to be done, who can hinder her ordering another. So, methinks, 'twere +better for us both to be where she cannot reach us." + +So she wrapped a fine shawl round her poor step-sister's head, so that +none could tell what it was like, and, putting the real head in the +basket, she took her by the hand, and the two set out to seek their +fortunes. + +They walked and they walked, till they reached a splendid Palace, and +when they came to it Katherine made as though she would go boldly up and +knock at the door. + +"I may perchance find work here," she explained, "and earn enough money +to keep us both in comfort." + +But the poor Princess would fain have pulled her back. "They will have +nothing to do with thee," she whispered, "when they see that thou hast a +sister with a sheep's head." + +"And who is to know that thou hast a sheep's head?" asked Katherine. "If +thou hold thy tongue, and keep the shawl well round thy face, and leave +the rest to me." + +So up she went and knocked at the kitchen door, and when the housekeeper +came to answer it she asked her if there was any work that she could +give her to do. "For," said she, "I have a sick sister, who is sore +troubled with the migraine in her head, and I would fain find a quiet +lodging for her where she could rest for the night." + +"Dost thou know aught of sickness?" asked the housekeeper, who was +greatly struck by Katherine's soft voice and gentle ways. + +"Ay, do I," replied Katherine, "for when one's sister is troubled with +the migraine, one has to learn to go about softly and not to make a +noise." + +Now it chanced that the King's eldest son, the Crown Prince, was lying +ill in the Palace of a strange disease, which seemed to have touched his +brain. For he was so restless, especially at nights, that someone had +always to be with him to watch that he did himself no harm; and this +state of things had gone on so long that everyone was quite worn out. + +And the old housekeeper thought that it would be a good chance to get a +quiet night's sleep if this capable-looking stranger could be trusted to +sit up with the Prince. + +So she left her at the door, and went and consulted the King; and the +King came out and spoke to Katherine and he, too, was so pleased with +her voice and her appearance that he gave orders that a room should be +set apart in the Castle for her sick sister and herself, and he promised +that, if she would sit up that night with the Prince, and see that no +harm befell him, she would have, as her reward, a bag of silver Pennies +in the morning. + +Katherine agreed to the bargain readily, "for," thought she, "'twill +always be a night's lodging for the Princess; and, forbye that, a bag of +silver Pennies is not to be got every day." + +So the Princess went to bed in the comfortable chamber that was set +apart for her, and Katherine went to watch by the sick Prince. + +He was a handsome, comely young man, who seemed to be in some sort of +fever, for his brain was not quite clear, and he tossed and tumbled from +side to side, gazing anxiously in front of him, and stretching out his +hands as if he were in search of something. + +And at twelve o'clock at night, just when Katherine thought that he was +going to fall into a refreshing sleep, what was her horror to see him +rise from his bed, dress himself hastily, open the door, and slip +downstairs, as if he were going to look for somebody. + +"There be something strange in this," said the girl to herself. +"Methinks I had better follow him and see what happens." + +So she stole out of the room after the Prince and followed him safely +downstairs; and what was her astonishment to find that apparently he was +going some distance, for he put on his hat and riding-coat, and, +unlocking the door crossed the courtyard to the stable, and began to +saddle his horse. + +When he had done so, he led it out, and mounted, and, whistling softly +to a hound which lay asleep in a corner, he prepared to ride away. + +"I must go too, and see the end of this," said Katherine bravely; "for +methinks he is bewitched. These be not the actions of a sick man." + +So, just as the horse was about to start, she jumped lightly on its +back, and settled herself comfortably behind its rider, all unnoticed by +him. + +Then this strange pair rode away through the woods, and, as they went, +Katherine pulled the hazel-nuts that nodded in great clusters in her +face. "For," said she to herself, "Dear only knows where next I may get +anything to eat." + +On and on they rode, till they left the greenwood far behind them and +came out on an open moor. Soon they reached a hillock, and here the +Prince drew rein, and, stooping down, cried in a strange, uncanny +whisper, "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the Prince, and his horse, and +his hound enter." + +"And," whispered Katherine quickly, "let his lady enter behind him." + +Instantly, to her great astonishment, the top of the knowe seemed to tip +up, leaving an aperture large enough for the little company to enter; +then it closed gently behind them again. + +They found themselves in a magnificent hall, brilliantly lighted by +hundreds of candles stuck in sconces round the walls. In the centre of +this apartment was a group of the most beautiful maidens that Katherine +had ever seen, all dressed in shimmering ball-gowns, with wreaths of +roses and violets in their hair. And there were sprightly gallants also, +who had been treading a measure with these beauteous damsels to the +strains of fairy music. + +When the maidens saw the Prince, they ran to him, and led him away to +join their revels. And at the touch of their hands all his languor +seemed to disappear, and he became the gayest of all the throng, and +laughed, and danced, and sang as if he had never known what it was to be +ill. + +As no one took any notice of Katherine, she sat down quietly on a bit of +rock to watch what would befall. And as she watched, she became aware of +a wee, wee bairnie, playing with a tiny wand, quite close to her feet. + +He was a bonnie bit bairn, and she was just thinking of trying to make +friends with him when one of the beautiful maidens passed, and, looking +at the wand, said to her partner, in a meaning tone, "Three strokes of +that wand would give Katherine's sister back her pretty face." + +Here was news indeed! Katherine's breath came thick and fast; and with +trembling fingers she drew some of the nuts out of her pocket, and began +rolling them carelessly towards the child. Apparently he did not get +nuts very often, for he dropped his little wand at once, and stretched +out his tiny hands to pick them up. + +This was just what she wanted; and she slipped down from her seat to the +ground, and drew a little nearer to him. Then she threw one or two more +nuts in his way, and, when he was picking these up, she managed to lift +the wand unobserved, and to hide it under her apron. After this, she +crept cautiously back to her seat again; and not a moment too soon, for +just then a cock crew, and at the sound the whole of the dancers +vanished--all but the Prince, who ran to mount his horse, and was in +such a hurry to be gone that Katherine had much ado to get up behind him +before the hillock opened, and he rode swiftly into the outer world once +more. + +But she managed it, and, as they rode homewards in the grey morning +light, she sat and cracked her nuts and ate them as fast as she could, +for her adventures had made her marvellously hungry. + +When she and her strange patient had once more reached the Castle, she +just waited to see him go back to bed, and begin to toss and tumble as +he had done before; then she ran to her step-sister's room, and, finding +her asleep, with her poor misshapen head lying peacefully on the +pillow, she gave it three sharp little strokes with the fairy wand and, +lo and behold! the sheep's head vanished, and the Princess's own pretty +one took its place. + +In the morning the King and the old housekeeper came to inquire what +kind of night the Prince had had. Katherine answered that he had had a +very good night; for she was very anxious to stay with him longer, for +now that she had found out that the Elfin Maidens who dwelt in the Green +Knowe had thrown a spell over him, she was resolved to find out also how +that spell could be loosed. + +And Fortune favoured her; for the King was so pleased to think that such +a suitable nurse had been found for the Prince, and he was also so +charmed with the looks of her step-sister, who came out of her chamber +as bright and bonnie as in the old days, declaring that her migraine was +all gone, and that she was now able to do any work that the housekeeper +might find for her, that he begged Katherine to stay with his son a +little longer, adding that if she would do so, he would give her a bag +of gold Bonnet Pieces. + +So Katherine agreed readily; and that night she watched by the Prince as +she had done the night before. And at twelve o'clock he rose and dressed +himself, and rode to the Fairy Knowe, just as she had expected him to +do, for she was quite certain that the poor young man was bewitched, and +not suffering from a fever, as everyone thought he was. + +And you may be sure that she accompanied him, riding behind him all +unnoticed, and filling her pockets with nuts as she rode. + +When they reached the Fairy Knowe, he spoke the same words that he had +spoken the night before. "Open, open, Green Hill, and let the young +Prince in with his horse and his hound." And when the Green Hill opened, +Katherine added softly, "And his lady behind him." So they all passed in +together. + +Katherine seated herself on a stone, and looked around her. The same +revels were going on as yesternight, and the Prince was soon in the +thick of them, dancing and laughing madly. The girl watched him +narrowly, wondering if she would ever be able to find out what would +restore him to his right mind; and, as she was watching him, the same +little bairn who had played with the magic wand came up to her again. +Only this time he was playing with a little bird. + +And as he played, one of the dancers passed by, and, turning to her +partner, said lightly, "Three bites of that birdie would lift the +Prince's sickness, and make him as well as he ever was." Then she joined +in the dance again, leaving Katherine sitting upright on her stone +quivering with excitement. + +If only she could get that bird the Prince might be cured! Very +carefully she began to shake some nuts out of her pocket, and roll them +across the floor towards the child. + +He picked them up eagerly, letting go the bird as he did so; and, in an +instant, Katherine caught it, and hid it under her apron. + +In no long time after that the cock crew, and the Prince and she set out +on their homeward ride. But this morning, instead of cracking nuts, she +killed and plucked the bird, scattering its feathers all along the road; +and the instant she gained the Prince's room, and had seen him safely +into bed, she put it on a spit in front of the fire and began to roast +it. + +And soon it began to frizzle, and get brown, and smell deliciously, and +the Prince, in his bed in the corner, opened his eyes and murmured +faintly, "How I wish I had a bite of that birdie." + +When she heard the words Katherine's heart jumped for joy, and as soon +as the bird was roasted she cut a little piece from its breast and +popped it into the Prince's mouth. + +When he had eaten it his strength seemed to come back somewhat, for he +rose on his elbow and looked at his nurse. "Oh! if I had but another +bite of that birdie!" he said. And his voice was certainly stronger. + +So Katherine gave him another piece, and when he had eaten that he sat +right up in bed. + +"Oh! if I had but a third bite o' that birdie!" he cried. And now the +colour was coming back into his face, and his eyes were shining. + +This time Katherine brought him the whole of the rest of the bird; and +he ate it up greedily, picking the bones quite clean with his fingers; +and when it was finished, he sprang out of bed and dressed himself, and +sat down by the fire. + +And when the King came in the morning, with his old housekeeper at his +back, to see how the Prince was, he found him sitting cracking nuts with +his nurse, for Katherine had brought home quite a lot in her apron +pocket. + +The King was so delighted to find his son cured that he gave all the +credit to Katherine Crackernuts, as he called her, and he gave orders at +once that the Prince should marry her. "For," said he, "a maiden who is +such a good nurse is sure to make a good Queen." + +The Prince was quite willing to do as his father bade him; and, while +they were talking together, his younger brother came in, leading +Princess Velvet-Cheek by the hand, whose acquaintance he had made but +yesterday, declaring that he had fallen in love with her, and that he +wanted to marry her immediately. + +So it all fell out very well, and everybody was quite pleased; and the +two weddings took place at once, and, unless they be dead sinsyne, the +young couples are living yet. + + + + +[Illustration: Times To Sneeze] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Monanday Sneeze for a Letter] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Tuesday Something Better] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Wednesday Kiss a Stranger] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Feersday Sneeze for Danger] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Friday Sneeze for Sorrow] + +[Illustration: Sneeze on Saturday see your Sweetheart Tomorrow] + + + + +THE WELL O' THE WORLD'S END + + +There was once an old widow woman, who lived in a little cottage with +her only daughter, who was such a bonnie lassie that everyone liked to +look at her. + +One day the old woman took a notion into her head to bake a girdleful of +cakes. So she took down her bakeboard, and went to the girnel and +fetched a basinful of meal; but when she went to seek a jug of water to +mix the meal with, she found that there was none in the house. + +So she called to her daughter, who was in the garden; and when the girl +came she held out the empty jug to her, saying, "Run, like a good +lassie, to the Well o' the World's End and bring me a jug of water, for +I have long found that water from the Well o' the World's End makes the +best cakes." + +So the lassie took the jug and set out on her errand. + +Now, as its name shows, it is a long road to that well, and many a weary +mile had the poor maid to go ere she reached it. + +But she arrived there at last; and what was her disappointment to find +it dry. + +She was so tired and so vexed that she sat down beside it and began to +cry; for she did not know where to get any more water, and she felt that +she could not go back to her mother with an empty jug. + +While she was crying, a nice yellow Paddock, with very bright eyes, came +jump-jump-jumping over the stones of the well, and squatted down at her +feet, looking up into her face. + +"And why are ye greeting, my bonnie maid?" he asked. "Is there aught +that I can do to help thee?" + +"I am greeting because the well is empty," she answered, "and I cannot +get any water to carry home to my mother." + +"Listen," said the Paddock softly. "I can get thee water in plenty, if +so be thou wilt promise to be my wife." + +Now the lassie had but one thought in her head, and that was to get the +water for her mother's oat-cakes, and she never for a moment thought +that the Paddock was in earnest, so she promised gladly enough to be his +wife, if he would get her a jug of water. + +No sooner had the words passed her lips than the beastie jumped down the +mouth of the well, and in another moment it was full to the brim with +water. + +The lassie filled her jug and carried it home, without troubling any +more about the matter. But late that night, just as her mother and she +were going to bed, something came with a faint "thud, thud," against +the cottage door, and then they heard a tiny little wee voice singing: + + "Oh, open the door, my hinnie, my heart, + Oh, open the door, my ain true love; + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Wheesht," said the old woman, raising her head. "What noise is that at +the door?" + +"Oh," said her daughter, who was feeling rather frightened, "it's only a +yellow Paddock." + +"Poor bit beastie," said the kind-hearted old mother. "Open the door and +let him in. It's cold work sitting on the doorstep." + +So the lassie, very unwillingly opened the door, and the Paddock came +jump-jump-jumping across the kitchen, and sat down at the fireside. + +And while he sat there he began to sing this song: + + "Oh, gie me my supper, my hinnie, my heart, + Oh, gie me my supper, my ain true love; + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Gie the poor beast his supper," said the old woman. "He's an uncommon +Paddock that can sing like that." + +"Tut," replied her daughter crossly, for she was growing more and more +frightened as she saw the creature's bright black eyes fixed on her +face. "I'm not going to be so silly as to feed a wet, sticky Paddock." + +"Don't be ill-natured and cruel," said her mother. "Who knows how far +the little beastie has travelled? And I warrant that it would like a +saucerful of milk." + +Now, the lassie could have told her that the Paddock had travelled from +the Well o' the World's End; but she held her tongue, and went ben to +the milk-house, and brought back a saucerful of milk, which she set down +before the strange little visitor. + + "Now chap off my head, my hinnie, my heart, + Now chap off my head, my ain true love, + Remember the promise that you and I made + Down i' the meadow, where we two met." + +"Hout, havers, pay no heed, the creature's daft," exclaimed the old +woman, running forward to stop her daughter, who was raising the axe to +chop off the Paddock's head. But she was too late; down came the axe, +off went the head; and lo, and behold! on the spot where the little +creature had sat, stood the handsomest young Prince that had ever been +seen. + +He wore such a noble air, and was so richly dressed, that the astonished +girl and her mother would have fallen on their knees before him had he +not prevented them by a movement of his hand. + +"'Tis I that should kneel to thee, Sweetheart," he said, turning to the +blushing girl, "for thou hast delivered me from a fearful spell, which +was cast over me in my infancy by a wicked Fairy, who at the same time +slew my father. For long years I have lived in that well, the Well o' +the World's End, waiting for a maiden to appear, who should take pity on +me, even in my loathsome disguise, and promise to be my wife, and who +would also have the kindness to let me into her house, and the courage, +at my bidding, to cut off my head. + +"Now I can return and claim my father's Kingdom, and thou, most gracious +maiden, will go with me, and be my bride, for thou well deserv'st the +honour." + +And this was how the lassie who went to fetch water from the Well o' the +World's End became a Princess. + +[Illustration] + + + + +FARQUHAR MACNEILL + + +Once upon a time there was a young man named Farquhar MacNeill. He had +just gone to a new situation, and the very first night after he went to +it his mistress asked him if he would go over the hill to the house of a +neighbour and borrow a sieve, for her own was all in holes, and she +wanted to sift some meal. + +Farquhar agreed to do so, for he was a willing lad, and he set out at +once upon his errand, after the farmer's wife had pointed out to him the +path that he was to follow, and told him that he would have no +difficulty in finding the house, even though it was strange to him, for +he would be sure to see the light in the window. + +He had not gone very far, however, before he saw what he took to be the +light from a cottage window on his left hand, some distance from the +path, and, forgetting his Mistress's instructions that he was to follow +the path right over the hill, he left it, and walked towards the light. + +It seemed to him that he had almost reached it when his foot tripped, +and he fell down, down, down, into a Fairy Parlour, far under the +ground. + +[Illustration: They bowed gravely] + +It was full of Fairies, who were engaged in different occupations. + +Close by the door, or rather the hole down which he had so +unceremoniously tumbled, two little elderly women, in black aprons and +white mutches, were busily engaged in grinding corn between two flat +millstones. Other two Fairies, younger women, in blue print gowns and +white kerchiefs, were gathering up the freshly ground meal, and baking +it into bannocks, which they were toasting on a girdle over a peat fire, +which was burning slowly in a corner. + +In the centre of the large apartment a great troop of Fairies, Elves, +and Sprites were dancing reels as hard as they could to the music of a +tiny set of bagpipes which were being played by a brown-faced Gnome, who +sat on a ledge of rock far above their heads. + +They all stopped their various employments when Farquhar came suddenly +down in their midst, and looked at him in alarm; but when they saw that +he was not hurt, they bowed gravely and bade him be seated. Then they +went on with their work and with their play as if nothing had happened. + +But Farquhar, being very fond of dancing, and being in no wise anxious +to be seated, thought that he would like to have a reel first, so he +asked the Fairies if he might join them. And they, although they looked +surprised at his request, allowed him to do so, and in a few minutes +the young man was dancing away as gaily as any of them. + +And as he danced a strange change came over him. He forgot his errand, +he forgot his home, he forgot everything that had ever happened to him, +he only knew that he wanted to remain with the Fairies all the rest of +his life. + +And he did remain with them--for a magic spell had been cast over him, +and he became like one of themselves, and could come and go at nights +without being seen, and could sip the dew from the grass and honey from +the flowers as daintily and noiselessly as if he had been a Fairy born. + +Time passed by, and one night he and a band of merry companions set out +for a long journey through the air. They started early, for they +intended to pay a visit to the Man in the Moon and be back again before +cock-crow. + +All would have gone well if Farquhar had only looked where he was going, +but he did not, being deeply engaged in making love to a young Fairy +Maiden by his side, so he never saw a cottage that was standing right in +his way, till he struck against the chimney and stuck fast in the +thatch. + +His companions sped merrily on, not noticing what had befallen him, and +he was left to disentangle himself as best he could. + +As he was doing so he chanced to glance down the wide chimney, and in +the cottage kitchen he saw a comely young woman dandling a rosy-cheeked +baby. + +Now, when Farquhar had been in his mortal state, he had been very fond +of children, and a word of blessing rose to his lips. + +"God shield thee," he said, as he looked at the mother and child, little +guessing what the result of his words would be. + +For scarce had the Holy Name crossed his lips than the spell which had +held him so long was broken, and he became as he had been before. + +Instantly his thoughts flew to his friends at home, and to the new +Mistress whom he had left waiting for her sieve; for he felt sure that +some weeks must have elapsed since he set out to fetch it. So he made +haste to go to the farm. + +When he arrived in the neighbourhood everything seemed strange. There +were woods where no woods used to be, and walls where no walls used to +be. To his amazement, he could not find his way to the farm, and, worst +of all, in the place where he expected to find his father's house he +found nothing but a crop of rank green nettles. + +In great distress he looked about for someone to tell him what it all +meant, and at last he found an old man thatching the roof of a cottage. + +This old man was so thin and grey that at first Farquhar took him for a +patch of mist, but as he went nearer he saw that he was a human being, +and, going close up to the wall and shouting with all his might, for he +felt sure that such an ancient man would be deaf, he asked him if he +could tell him where his friends had gone to, and what had happened to +his father's dwelling. + +The old man listened, then he shook his head. "I never heard of him," he +answered slowly; "but perhaps my father might be able to tell you." + +"Your father!" said Farquhar, in great surprise. "Is it possible that +your father is alive?" + +"Aye he is," answered the old man, with a little laugh. "If you go into +the house you'll find him sitting in the arm-chair by the fire." + +Farquhar did as he was bid, and on entering the cottage found another +old man, who was so thin and withered and bent that he looked as if he +must at least be a hundred years old. He was feebly twisting ropes to +bind the thatch on the roof. + +"Can ye tell me aught of my friends, or where my father's cottage is?" +asked Farquhar again, hardly expecting that this second old man would be +able to answer him. + +"I cannot," mumbled this ancient person; "but perhaps my father can tell +you." + +"Your father!" exclaimed Farquhar, more astonished than ever. "But +surely he must be dead long ago." + +The old man shook his head with a weird grimace. + +"Look there," he said, and pointed with a twisted finger, to a leathern +purse, or sporran, which was hanging to one of the posts of a wooden +bedstead in the corner. + +Farquhar approached it, and was almost frightened out of his wits by +seeing a tiny shrivelled face crowned by a red pirnie, looking over the +edge of the sporran. + +"Tak' him out; he'll no touch ye," chuckled the old man by the fire. + +So Farquhar took the little creature out carefully between his finger +and thumb, and set him on the palm of his left hand. He was so +shrivelled with age that he looked just like a mummy. + +"Dost know anything of my friends, or where my father's cottage is gone +to?" asked Farquhar for the third time, hardly expecting to get an +answer. + +"They were all dead long before I was born," piped out the tiny figure. +"I never saw any of them, but I have heard my father speak of them." + +"Then I must be older than you!" cried Farquhar, in great dismay. And he +got such a shock at the thought that his bones suddenly dissolved into +dust, and he fell, a heap of grey ashes, on the floor. + + + + +PEERIFOOL + + +There was once a King and a Queen in Rousay who had three daughters. +When the young Princesses were just grown up, the King died, and the +Crown passed to a distant cousin, who had always hated him, and who paid +no heed to the widowed Queen and her daughters. + +So they were left very badly off, and they went to live in a tiny +cottage, and did all the housework themselves. They had a kailyard in +front of the cottage, and a little field behind it, and they had a cow +that grazed in the field, and which they fed with the cabbages that grew +in the kailyard. For everyone knows that to feed cows with cabbages +makes them give a larger quantity of milk. + +But they soon discovered that some one was coming at night and stealing +the cabbages, and, of course, this annoyed them very much. For they knew +that if they had not cabbages to give to the cow, they would not have +enough milk to sell. + +So the eldest Princess said she would take out a three-legged stool, and +wrap herself in a blanket, and sit in the kailyard all night to see if +she could catch the thief. And, although it was very cold and very dark, +she did so. + +At first it seemed as if all her trouble would be in vain, for hour +after hour passed and nothing happened. But in the small hours of the +morning, just as the clock was striking two, she heard a stealthy +trampling in the field behind, as if some very heavy person were trying +to tread very softly, and presently a mighty Giant stepped right over +the wall into the kailyard. + +He carried an enormous creel on his arm, and a large, sharp knife in his +hand; and he began to cut the cabbages, and to throw them into the creel +as fast as he could. + +Now the Princess was no coward, so, although she had not expected to +face a Giant, she gathered up her courage, and cried out sharply, "Who +gave thee liberty to cut our cabbages? Leave off this minute, and go +away." + +The Giant paid no heed, but went on steadily with what he was doing. + +"Dost thou not hear me?" cried the girl indignantly; for she was the +Princess Royal, and had always been accustomed to be obeyed. + +"If thou be not quiet I will take thee too," said the Giant grimly, +pressing the cabbages down into the creel. + +"I should like to see thee try," retorted the Princess, rising from her +stool and stamping her foot; for she felt so angry that she forgot for +a moment that she was only a weak maiden and he was a great and powerful +Giant. + +And, as if to show her how strong he was, he seized her by her arm and +her leg, and put her in his creel on the top of the cabbages, and +carried her away bodily. + +When he reached his home, which was in a great square house on a lonely +moor, he took her out, and set her down roughly on the floor. + +"Thou wilt be my servant now," he said, "and keep my house, and do my +errands for me. I have a cow, which thou must drive out every day to the +hillside; and see, here is a bag of wool, when thou hast taken out the +cow, thou must come back and settle thyself at home, as a good housewife +should, and comb, and card it, and spin it into yarn, with which to +weave a good thick cloth for my raiment. I am out most of the day, but +when I come home I shall expect to find all this done, and a great +bicker of porridge boiled besides for my supper." + +The poor Princess was very dismayed when she heard these words, for she +had never been accustomed to work hard, and she had always had her +sisters to help her; but the Giant took no notice of her distress, but +went out as soon as it was daylight, leaving her alone in the house to +begin her work. + +As soon as he had gone she drove the cow to the pasture, as he had told +her to do; but she had a good long walk over the moor before she reached +the hill, and by the time that she got back to the house she felt very +tired. + +So she thought that she would put on the porridge pot, and make herself +some porridge before she began to card and comb the wool. She did so, +and just as she was sitting down to sup them the door opened, and a +crowd of wee, wee Peerie Folk came in. + +They were the tiniest men and women that the Princess had ever seen; not +one of them would have reached half-way to her knee; and they were +dressed in dresses fashioned out of all the colours of the +rainbow--scarlet and blue, green and yellow, orange and violet; and the +funny thing was, that every one of them had a shock of straw-coloured +yellow hair. + +They were all talking and laughing with one another; and they hopped up, +first on stools, then on chairs, till at last they reached the top of +the table, where they clustered round the bowl, out of which the +Princess was eating her porridge. + +"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried, in their tiny shrill voices. +"Spare a little porridge for the Peerie Folk." + +But the Princess was hungry also; and, besides being hungry, she was +both tired and cross; so she shook her head and waved them impatiently +away with her spoon, + + "Little for one, and less for two, + And never a grain have I for you." + +she said sharply, and, to her great delight, for she did not feel quite +comfortable with all the Peerie Folk standing on the table looking at +her, they vanished in a moment. + +After this she finished her porridge in peace; then she took the wool +out of the bag, and she set to work to comb and card it. But it seemed +as if it were bewitched; it curled and twisted and coiled itself round +her fingers so that, try as she would, she could not do anything with +it. And when the Giant came home he found her sitting in despair with it +all in confusion round her, and the porridge, which she had left for him +in the pot, burned to a cinder. + +As you may imagine, he was very angry, and raged, and stamped, and used +the most dreadful words; and at last he took her by the heels, and beat +her until all her back was skinned and bleeding; then he carried her out +to the byre, and threw her up on the joists among the hens. And, +although she was not dead, she was so stunned and bruised that she could +only lie there motionless, looking down on the backs of the cows. + +Time went on, and in the kailyard at home the cabbages were disappearing +as fast as ever. So the second Princess said that she would do as her +sister had done, and wrap herself in a blanket, and go and sit on a +three-legged stool all night, to see what was becoming of them. + +She did so, and exactly the same fate befell her that had befallen her +elder sister. The Giant appeared with his creel, and he carried her +off, and set her to mind the cow and the house, and to make his porridge +and to spin; and the little yellow-headed Peerie Folk appeared and asked +her for some supper, and she refused to give it to them; and after that, +she could not comb or card her wool, and the Giant was angry, and he +scolded her, and beat her, and threw her up, half dead, on the joists +beside her sister and the hens. + +Then the youngest Princess determined to sit out in the kailyard all +night, not so much to see what was becoming of the cabbages, as to +discover what had happened to her sisters. + +And when the Giant came and carried her off, she was not at all sorry, +but very glad, for she was a brave and loving little maiden; and now she +felt that she had a chance of finding out where they were, and whether +they were dead or alive. + +So she was quite cheerful and happy, for she felt certain that she was +clever enough to outwit the Giant, if only she were watchful and +patient; so she lay quite quietly in her creel above the cabbages, but +she kept her eyes very wide open to see by which road he was carrying +her off. + +And when he set her down in his kitchen, and told her all that he +expected her to do, she did not look downcast like her sisters, but +nodded her head brightly, and said that she felt sure that she could do +it. + +And she sang to herself as she drove the cow over the moor to pasture, +and she ran the whole way back, so that she should have a good long +afternoon to work at the wool, and, although she would not have told the +Giant this, to search the house. + +Before she set to work, however, she made herself some porridge, just as +her sisters had done; and, just as she was going to sup them, all the +little yellow-haired Peerie Folk trooped in, and climbed up on the +table, and stood and stared at her. + +"We be hungry, we be hungry," they cried. "Spare a little porridge for +the Peerie Folk." + +"With all my heart," replied the good-natured Princess. "If you can find +dishes little enough for you to sup out of, I will fill them for you. +But, methinks, if I were to give you all porringers, you would smother +yourselves among the porridge." + +At her words the Peerie Folk shouted with laughter, till their +straw-coloured hair tumbled right over their faces; then they hopped on +to the floor and ran out of the house, and presently they came trooping +back holding cups of blue-bells, and foxgloves, and saucers of primroses +and anemones in their hands; and the Princess put a tiny spoonful of +porridge into each saucer, and a tiny drop of milk into each cup, and +they ate it all up as daintily as possible with neat little grass +spoons, which they had brought with them in their pockets. + +When they had finished they all cried out, "Thank you! Thank you!" and +ran out of the kitchen again, leaving the Princess alone. And, being +alone, she went all over the house to look for her sisters, but, of +course, she could not find them. + +"Never mind, I will find them soon," she said to herself. "To-morrow I +will search the byre and the outhouses; in the meantime, I had better +get on with my work." So she went back to the kitchen, and took out the +bag of wool, which the Giant had told her to make into cloth. + +But just as she was doing so the door opened once more, and a +Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy entered. He was exactly like the other Peerie +Folk who had eaten the Princess's porridge, only he was bigger, and he +wore a very rich dress of grass-green velvet. He walked boldly into the +middle of the kitchen and looked round him. + +"Hast thou any work for me to do?" he asked. "I ken grand how to handle +wool and turn it into fine thick cloth." + +"I have plenty of work for anybody who asks it," replied the Princess; +"but I have no money to pay for it, and there are but few folk in this +world who will work without wages." + +"All the wages that I ask is that thou wilt take the trouble to find out +my name, for few folk ken it, and few folk care to ken. But if by any +chance thou canst not find it out, then must thou pay toll of half of +thy cloth." + +The Princess thought that it would be quite an easy thing to find out +the Boy's name, so she agreed to the bargain, and, putting all the wool +back into the bag, she gave it to him, and he swung it over his shoulder +and departed. + +She ran to the door to see where he went, for she had made up her mind +that she would follow him secretly to his home, and find out from the +neighbours what his name was. + +But, to her great dismay, though she looked this way and that, he had +vanished completely, and she began to wonder what she should do if the +Giant came back and found that she had allowed someone, whose name she +did not even know, to carry off all the wool. + +And, as the afternoon wore on, and she could think of no way of finding +out who the boy was, or where he came from, she felt that she had made a +great mistake, and she began to grow very frightened. + +Just as the gloaming was beginning to fall a knock came at the door, +and, when she opened it, she found an old woman standing outside, who +begged for a night's lodging. + +Now, as I have told you, the Princess was very kind-hearted, and she +would fain have granted the poor old Dame's request, but she dared not, +for she did not know what the Giant would say. So she told the old woman +that she could not take her in for the night, as she was only a servant, +and not the mistress of the house; but she made her sit down on a bench +beside the door, and brought her out some bread and milk, and gave her +some water to bathe her poor, tired feet. + +She was so bonnie, and gentle, and kind, and she looked so sorry when +she told her that she would need to turn her away, that the old woman +gave her her blessing, and told her not to vex herself, as it was a +fine, dry night, and now that she had had a meal she could easily sit +down somewhere and sleep in the shelter of the outhouses. + +And, when she had finished her bread and milk, she went and laid down by +the side of a green knowe, which rose out of the moor not very far from +the byre door. + +And, strange to say, as she lay there she felt the earth beneath her +getting warmer and warmer, until she was so hot that she was fain to +crawl up the side of the hillock, in the hope of getting a mouthful of +fresh air. + +And as she got near the top she heard a voice, which seemed to come from +somewhere beneath her, saying, "TEASE, TEASENS, TEASE; CARD, CARDENS, +CARD; SPIN, SPINNENS, SPIN; for PEERIFOOL PEERIFOOL, PEERIFOOL is what +men call me." And when she got to the very top, she found that there was +a crack in the earth, through which rays of light were coming; and when +she put her eye to the crack, what should she see down below her but a +brilliantly lighted chamber, in which all the Peerie Folk were sitting +in a circle, working away as hard as they could. + +Some of them were carding wool, some of them were combing it, some of +them were spinning it, constantly wetting their fingers with their lips, +in order to twist the yarn fine as they drew it from the distaff, and +some of them were spinning the yarn into cloth. + +While round and round the circle, cracking a little whip, and urging +them to work faster, was a Yellow-Haired Peerie Boy. + +"This is a strange thing, and these be queer on-goings," said the old +woman to herself, creeping hastily down to the bottom of the hillock +again. "I must e'en go and tell the bonnie lassie in the house yonder. +Maybe the knowledge of what I have seen will stand her in good stead +some day. When there be Peerie Folk about, it is well to be on one's +guard." + +So she went back to the house and told the Princess all that she had +seen and heard, and the Princess was so delighted with what she had told +her that she risked the Giant's wrath and allowed her to go and sleep in +the hayloft. + +It was not very long after the old woman had gone to rest before the +door opened, and the Peerie Boy appeared once more with a number of webs +of cloth upon his shoulder. "Here is thy cloth," he said, with a sly +smile, "and I will put it on the shelf for thee the moment that thou +tellest me what my name is." + +Then the Princess, who was a merry maiden, thought that she would tease +the little follow for a time ere she let him know that she had found out +his secret. + +So she mentioned first one name and then another, always pretending to +think that she had hit upon the right one; and all the time the Peerie +Boy jumped from side to side with delight, for he thought that she would +never find out the right name, and that half of the cloth would be his. + +But at last the Princess grew tired of joking, and she cried out, with a +little laugh of triumph, "Dost thou by any chance ken anyone called +PEERIFOOL, little Mannikin?" + +Then he knew that in some way she had found out what men called him, and +he was so angry and disappointed that he flung the webs of cloth down in +a heap on the floor, and ran out at the door, slamming it behind him. + +Meanwhile the Giant was coming down the hill in the darkening, and, to +his astonishment, he met a troop of little Peerie Folk toiling up it, +looking as if they were so tired that they could hardly get along. Their +eyes were dim and listless, their heads were hanging on their breasts, +and their lips were so long and twisted that the poor little people +looked quite hideous. + +The Giant asked how this was, and they told him that they had to work so +hard all day, spinning for their Master that they were quite exhausted; +and that the reason why their lips were so distorted was that they used +them constantly to wet their fingers, so that they might pull the wool +in very fine strands from the distaff. + +"I always thought a great deal of women who could spin," said the Giant, +"and I looked out for a housewife that could do so. But after this I +will be more careful, for the housewife that I have now is a bonnie +little woman, and I would be loth to have her spoil her face in that +manner." + +And he hurried home in a great state of mind in case he should find that +his new servant's pretty red lips had grown long and ugly in his +absence. + +Great was his relief to see her standing by the table, bonnie and +winsome as ever, with all the webs of cloth in a pile in front of her. + +"By my troth, thou art an industrious maiden," he said, in high good +humour, "and, as a reward for working so diligently, I will restore thy +sisters to thee." And he went out to the byre, and lifted the two other +Princesses down from the rafters, and brought them in and laid them on +the settle. + +Their little sister nearly screamed aloud when she saw how ill they +looked and how bruised their backs were, but, like a prudent maiden, she +held her tongue, and busied herself with applying a cooling ointment to +their wounds, and binding them up, and by and by her sisters revived, +and, after the Giant had gone to bed, they told her all that had +befallen them. + +"I will be avenged on him for his cruelty," said the little Princess +firmly; and when she spoke like that her sisters knew that she meant +what she said. + +So next morning, before the Giant was up, she fetched his creel, and put +her eldest sister into it, and covered her with all the fine silken +hangings and tapestry that she could find, and on the top of all she put +a handful of grass, and when the Giant came downstairs she asked him, in +her sweetest tone, if he would do her a favour. + +And the Giant, who was very pleased with her because of the quantity of +cloth which he thought she had spun, said that he would. + +"Then carry that creelful of grass home to my mother's cottage for her +cow to eat," said the Princess. "'Twill help to make up for all the +cabbages which thou hast stolen from her kailyard." + +And, wonderful to relate, the Giant did as he was bid, and carried the +creel to the cottage. + +Next morning she put her second sister into another creel, and covered +her with all the fine napery she could find in the house, and put an +armful of grass on the top of it, and at her bidding the Giant, who was +really getting very fond of her, carried it also home to her mother. + +The next morning the little Princess told him that she thought that she +would go for a long walk after she had done her housework, and that she +might not be in when he came home at night, but that she would have +another creel of grass ready for him, if he would carry it to the +cottage as he had done on the two previous evenings. He promised to do +so; then, as usual, he went out for the day. + +In the afternoon the clever little maiden went through the house, +gathering together all the lace, and silver, and jewellery that she +could find, and brought them and placed them beside the creel. Then she +went out and cut an armful of grass, and brought it in and laid it +beside them. + +Then she crept into the creel herself, and pulled all the fine things in +above her, and then she covered everything up with the grass, which was +a very difficult thing to do, seeing she herself was at the bottom of +the basket. Then she lay quite still and waited. + +Presently the Giant came in, and, obedient to his promise, he lifted the +creel and carried it off to the old Queen's cottage. + +No one seemed to be at home, so he set it down in the entry, and turned +to go away. But the little Princess had told her sisters what to do, and +they had a great can of boiling water ready in one of the rooms +upstairs, and when they heard his steps coming round that side of the +house, they threw open the window and emptied it all over his head; and +that was the end of him. + + + + +[Illustration: Birthdays] + +[Illustration: A Monanday's Child His a Bonnie Face] + +[Illustration: A Tyesdays Child is Fou O' Grace] + +[Illustration: A Wednesday's Child is the Child o' Woe] + +[Illustration: A Feersday's Child Hiz Far To Go] + +[Illustration: A Friday's Child is Lovin and Givin] + +[Illustration: A Saitirday's Child Works hard for his Livin] + +[Illustration: But them thats Born On Sunday Is happy, blithe, and Gay] + +[Illustration] + + + + +GLOSSARY + + + A body a person + + Airt direction + + Ahint behind + + Bairn child + + Baudrons Scotch name for a cat + + Ben in towards an inner room + + Ben a mountain peak + + Bicker to argue in a petty way + + Bonnet-piece an old Scottish coin + + Byre cowhouse + + Canty kindly, cheerful + + Cantrip a freak, or wilful piece of trickery + + Chuckie-stone a small white pebble + + Clout a blow + + Cloving separating lint from its stalk + + Clue a ball of worsted + + Creel a large hand-made basket + + Cutty-pipe a short clay pipe + + Daft silly, weak-minded + + Dander to walk aimlessly + + Darkening the twilight + + Divot a sod + + Doo a dove + + Douce sedate + + Dowie dull, low-spirited + + Dyke a wall + + Eldritch weird + + Emprise an enterprise + + Entry a passage + + Fain gladly + + Feared afraid + + Forbye besides + + Gang go + + Girnel a meal-chest + + Gled a hawk + + Gloaming the twilight + + Greeting crying + + Hantle very much, a considerable number + + Havers nonsense + + Heckle to comb + + Hinnie a term of endearment + + Hirple to limp + + Histie "haste thee" + + Inbye inside + + Ingle neuk the corner by the fire + + Joists the beams in a roof + + Kailyard a kitchen garden + + Ken know + + Kirn a churn, to churn + + Kist a chest + + Knowe a little hillock + + Lift the sky, the air + + Light alight + + Lintie a linnet + + Lout to stoop + + Lum chimney + + Louping-on-stane a stone from which to mount a horse + + Malison a curse + + Meat food + + Migraine a pain affecting one half of the head + + Mutch a cap + + Onstead farm buildings + + Paddock a toad or frog + + Pirnie a woollen nightcap + + Poke a bag + + Rivlins shoes made of cowhide + + Sen' night a week + + Shoon shoes + + Siccan such + + Siller money + + Sinsyne since + + Smatchet small boy + + Sneck to latch or shut a door + + Snibbit bolted, _snib_, a bolt + + Thrapple throat + + Thole to bear + + Unchancy uncanny + + Wheen a few + + Wheesht be quiet! + + Wight a person + + Winnock a window + + Winnow to separate the chaff from the grain by wind + + Yestreen yesterday + + Yule Christmas + + Unicorns Ancient Scottish coins + + + * * * * * + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + Transcriber's notes: + + Taken out hypen in 'Mer-maids' and 'Mer-men' in Preface as not in text. + Leaving the two words 'tomorrow' and 'tomorrow' as is. + P.76. Taken out extra 'day' from 'day day'. + P.80. Taken out extra 'the' from 'the the'. + P.104. 'craried' is found in another version of this book, leaving as is. + P.124. Taken out extra 'did' from 'did did'. + P.144. Taken out hyphen in 'burn-side'. + P.161. Taken out hyphen in 'Yule-tide'. + P.263. Taken out hyphen in 'mis-shapen'. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Scottish Fairy Book, by Elizabeth W. Grierson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 37532.txt or 37532.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/5/3/37532/ + +Produced by David Edwards, Jane Robins and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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