Tales From Scotland

TALES FROM SCOTLAND

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Tales from Scotland

Taken from The Well at the World's End: Folk Tales of Scotland

and The Lure of the Kelpie: Fairy and Folk Fales of the Highlands

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TALES FROM SCOTLAND

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Tales from Scotland

Tales 1-4 are taken from The Well at the World's End: Folk Tales of Scotland, retold by Norah
and William Montgomerie; drawings by Margery Gill. London: Bodley Head, 1975. Tales 5-8
are from The Lure of the Kelpie: Fairy and Folk Fales of the Highlands, by Helen Drever.
Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1937.

The Maiden Fair and the Fountain Fairy

The Black Bull of Norroway

Prince Iain

The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters

The Grey Horse and the Widow's Daughters

The Greyhound and the Green Girl

The Princess and the Golden Shoes

(a Cinderella variant)

The Giant and the Fair Man-Servant

The Maiden Fair and the Fountain Fairy

A Scottish Tale

Long, long ago a drover courted and married the Miller of Cuthilldorie's only daughter. The
drover learned how to grind the corn, and so he set up with his young wife as the Miller of
Cuthilldorie when the old miller died. They did not have very much money to begin with, but an
old Highlander lent them some silver, and soon they did well.

By and by the young miller and his wife had a daughter, but on the very night she was born the
fairies stole her away. The wee thing was carried far away from the house into the wood of
Cuthilldorie, where she was found on the very lip of the Black Well. In the air was heard a
lilting:

"O we'll come back again, my honey, my hert,
We'll come back again, my ain kind dearie;
And you will mind upon a time
When we met in the wood at the Well so wearie!"

The lassie grew up to be by far the bonniest lass in all the countryside. Everything went well at
the mill.

One dark night there came a woodcock with a glowing tinder in its beak, and set fire to the mill.
Everything was burnt and the miller and his wife were left without a thing in the world. To make

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matters worse, who should come along next day but the old Highlander who had lent them the
silver, demanding payment.

Now, there was a wee old man in the wood of Cuthilldorie beside the Black Well, who would
never stay in a house if he could help it. In the winter he went away, nobody knew where. He
was an ugly goblin, not more than two and a half feet high.

He had been seen only three times in fifteen years since he came to the place, for he always flew
up out of sight when anybody came near him. But if you crept cannily through the wood after
dark, you might have heard him playing with the water, and singing the same song:

"O when will you come, my honey, my hert,
O when will you come, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

Well, the night after the firing of the mill, the miller's daughter wandered into the wood alone,
and wandered and wandered till she came to the Black Well. Then the wee goblin gripped her
and jumped about singing:

"O come with me, my honey, my hert,
O come with me, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

With that he made her drink three double handfuls of witched water, and away they flew on a
flash of lightning. When the poor lass opened her eyes, she was in a palace, all gold and silver
and diamonds, and full of fairies.

The King and Queen of the Fairies invited her to stay, and said she would be well looked after.
But if she wanted to go home again, she must never tell anybody where she had been or what she
had seen.

She said she wanted to go home, and promised to do as she was told.

Then the King said:

"The first stranger you meet, give him oatmeal."

"Give him oatcakes," said the Queen.

"Give him butter," said her King.

"Give him a drink of the Black Well water," they both said.

Then they gave her twelve drops of liquid in a wee green bottle, three drops for the oatmeal,
three for the oatcakes, three for the butter and three for the Black Well water.

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She took the green bottle in her hand, and suddenly it was dark. She was flying through the air,
and when she opened her eyes she was at her own doorstep. She slipped away to bed, glad to be
home again, and said nothing about where she had been or what she had seen.

Next morning, before the sun was up, there came a rap, rap, rap, three times at the door. The
sleepy lass looked out and saw an old beggar man, who began to sing:

"O open the door, my honey, my hert,
O open the door, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

When she heard that, she said nothing, and opened the door. The old beggar came in singing:

"O gie me my oatmeal, my honey, my hert,
O gie me my oatmeal, my ain hind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

The lassie made a bowl of oatmeal for the beggar, not forgetting the three drops of water from
the green bottle. As he was supping the meal the old beggar vanished, and there in his place was
the big Highlander who had lent silver to her father, the miller, and he was singing:

"O gie me my oatcakes, my honey, my hert,
O gie me my oatcakes, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

She baked him some fresh oatcakes, not forgetting the three drops from the wee green bottle. He
had just finished eating the oatcakes when he vanished, and there in his place was the woodcock
that had fired the mill, singing:

"O gie me my butter, my honey, my hert,
O gie me my butter, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood by the Well so wearie?"

She gave him butter as fast as she could, not forgetting the three drops of water from the green
bottle. He had only eaten a bite, when he flapped his wings and vanished, and there was the ugly
wee goblin that had grabbed her at the Black Well the night before, and he was singing:

"O gie me my water, my honey, my hert,
O gie me my water, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood by the Well so wearie?"

She knew there were only three other drops of water left in the green bottle and she was afraid.
She ran fast as she could to the Black Well, but who should be there before her but the wee ugly
goblin himself, singing:

"O gie me my water, my honey, my hert,
O gie me my water, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood by the Well so wearie?"

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She gave him the water, not forgetting the three drops from the green bottle. But he had scarcely
drunk the witched water when he vanished, and there was a fine young Prince, who spoke to her
as if he had known her all her days.

They sat down beside the Black Well.

"I was born the same night as you," he said, "and I was carried away by the fairies the same night
as you were found on the lip of the Well. I was a goblin for so many years because the fairies
were scared away. They made me play many tricks before they would let me go and return to my
father, the King of France, and make the bonniest lass in all the world my bride."

"Who is she?" asked the maiden.

"The Miller of Cuthilldorie's daughter," said the young Prince.

Then they went home and told their stories over again, and that very night they were married. A
coach and four came for them, and the miller and his wife, and the Prince and the Princess, drove
away singing:

"O but we're happy, my honey, my hert,
O but we're happy, my ain kind dearie;
For don't you mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the Well so wearie?"

The Black Bull of Norroway

A Scottish Tale

In Norroway, long ago, there lived a lady, and she had three daughters. The eldest of them said to
her mother:

"Mother, bake me an bannock [oatcake], and roast me a portion, for I'm going away to seek my
fortune."

Her mother did so, while her daughter went to an old fortune-teller and asked her what she
should do. The fortune-teller told her to look out of the back door to see what she could see.

She saw nothing the first day, and she saw nothing the second day. But on the third day she
looked out again and saw a coach and six coming along the road. She ran in and told the fortune-
teller.

"Well," said the old wife, "that's for you."

So she stepped into the coach, and off she went.

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The second daughter then said to her mother:

"Mother, bake me an bannock, and roast me a portion, for I'm going away to seek my fortune."

Her mother did so, and away she went to the old fortune-teller, just as her sister had done. The
fortune-teller told her to look out of the back door to see what she could see. She saw nothing the
first day, and she saw nothing the second day, but on the third day she looked out and saw a
coach and four coming along the road.

"That's for you," said the old wife. The lass was taken into the coach and off they went. Then the
third daughter went to her mother, and said:

"Mother, bake me an bannock, and roast me a portion, for I'm going away to seek my fortune."

Her mother did so, and away she went to the old fortune-teller, who told her to look out of the
back door to see what she could see.

She saw nothing the first day, and she saw nothing the second day. But on the third day she
looked again, and came back and told the old wife she could see nothing but a great Black Bull
coming roaring along the road.

"Well," said the old wife, "that's for you."

When she heard this the poor lass was almost out of her mind with grief and terror. But she was
lifted up, set on the Black Bull's back, and away they went.

Long they travelled, and on they travelled, till the lass grew faint with hunger.

"Eat out of my right ear," said the Black Bull, "drink out of my left ear, and set aside your
leavings."

She did as he said, and was refreshed.

Long they travelled, and hard they travelled, till they came in sight of a castle.

"That is where we must be this night," said the Bull, "for my brother lives there."

Soon they reached the castle. Servants lifted the lass off the Bull's back, took her in, and sent him
into a field for the night.

In the morning, when they brought the Bull to the castle, they took the lass into a fine room and
gave her an apple. They told her not to break it open till she was in the greatest danger a mortal
could be in, then it would help her.

Again she was lifted on to the Bull's back, and after they had ridden far, and far, and farther than
I can tell, they came in sight of another castle, farther away than the last.

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"That is where we must be this night," said the Bull, "for my second brother lives there."

Soon they reached the castle. Servants lifted her down, took her in, and sent the Bull to a field for
the night.

In the morning, the lass was taken into a fine rich room and given a pear. They told her not to
break open the pear until she was in the greatest difficulty a mortal could be in, and then it would
help her.

Once more she was lifted up and set on the Bull's back, and away they went. Long they rode, and
hard they rode, till they came in sight of the grandest castle they had yet seen.

"That is where we must be tonight," said the Bull, "for my youngest brother lives there."

They were there directly. Servants lifted her down, took her in and sent the Bull to a field for the
night.

In the morning the lass was taken into the finest room of all, and given a plum. She was told not
to break it open until she was in the greatest danger a mortal could be in, and then it would help
her. After that, she was set on the Bull's back, and away they went.

Long they rode, and on they rode, till they came to a dark and ugly glen. There they stopped and
she alighted. At that moment she noticed a pin sticking in the hide of the Bull. She pulled it out
and at once the Bull changed into the most handsome young knight she had ever seen. He
thanked her for breaking his cruel enchantment.

"But alas," said he, "you must stick the pin back into my skin, for before I can be finally released
from this cruel spell, I must go and fight the devil. While I'm away, you must sit here on this
stone and never move either your hands or your feet till I return. If everything about you changes
to blue, I'll have won and this spell will be broken for ever, but if everything turns red, the devil
will have conquered me and we'll never meet again."

So the maiden did as the knight had told her, and stuck the pin into his skin. At once he changed
back into the Black Bull and galloped off. She sat on the stone, and by and by everything around
her turned blue. Overcome with joy, she lifted one foot and crossed it over the other.

The Black Bull returned and looked for the lass, but he could not find her.

Long she sat, and wept, until she was wearied. At last she got up and sadly went away, not
knowing where she was going. On she wandered till she came to a great hill of glass that she
tried to climb, but could not. Round the bottom of the hill she went, looking for a path over the
hill, till at last she came to a smithy. The blacksmith promised, if she would serve him for seven
years, to make her a pair of iron shoes, and with these she would be able to climb over the glass
mountain.

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At the end of seven years she was given the iron shoes. She climbed the glass hill, and came to
an old washerwoman's cottage. The washerwoman told of a gallant young knight who had given
her some blood stained shirts to be washed. He said that she who washed his shirts clean would
be his bride.

The old wife had washed and washed until she was tired, and then she had et her daughter to it.
They had both washed, and washed, and washed, in hope of winning the young knight: but do
what they might, they had not been able to take out a single stain.

So they set the stranger lass to work and, as soon as she began, the stains came out, leaving the
shirts clean and white. But the old wife told the knight that her daughter had washed the shirts.

So the young knight and the washer-woman's daughter were to be married. The stranger lass was
distracted by the thought of it, for she had recognized the knight at once. It was he she had
known as the Black Bull. Then she remembered her apple, and breaking it open, she found it full
of precious gold and precious jewelry, the richest she had ever seen.

"All these," she said to the washer-woman's daughter, "I will give you, if you put off your
marriage for one day, and allow me to go into his room alone tonight.'

The daughter agreed but told her mother, who prepared a sleeping draught and gave it to the
knight. He drank it, and slept until the next morning. All night long the poor lass wept and sang
at his bedside:

"Seven long years I served for you,
The glassy hill I climbed for you,
The blood-stained shirts I washed for you,
Will you not waken and turn to me?"

But the knight did not waken, and next day she did not know what to do. Then she remembered
the pear, so she broke it, and she found it filled with jewelry richer than before. With these she
bargained with the washerwoman's daughter to be a second night in the young knight's room. But
the old wife gave him another sleeping draught, and he slept till morning. He did not hear the
lass as she sat by his side all night and sang:

"Seven long years I served for you,
The glassy hill I climbed for you,
The blood-stained shirts I washed for you,
Will you not waken and turn to me?"

Still he slept, and she nearly lost hope. But that day, when he was out hunting, someone asked
him what sad singing and moaning it was they had heard all night in his room. He had not heard
a sound himself, but he made up his mind to keep awake this night.

The poor lass, between hope and despair, broke open her plum and it held the richest jewels of
the three. She bargained with the washerwoman's daughter as before, and the old wife took the
sleeping draught to the knight. But this time he said he wouldn't drink it without sweetening.
While she went to fetch the honey, he poured out the drink, and then pretended he had already
drunk it.

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That night, when everyone was in bed, the young lass went to the knight's room and sat by his
bed and sang:

"Seven long years I served for you,
The glassy hill I climbed for you,
The blood-stained shirts I washed for you,
Will you not waken and turn to me?"

The knight heard and turned to her. She told him all that had happened to her, and he told her all
that had happened to him. After the washerwoman and her daughter had been punished, the
knight and the lass were married and lived happily ever after.

Prince Iain

A Scottish Tale

Once upon a time there was a King and a Queen, and they had one son. But the Queen died, and
the King married another wife. The name of the first Queen's son was Iain. He was handsome
and a good hunter. No bird could escape his arrow, and he could bring venison home any day he
went out hunting.

But one day he was unlucky for the first time. He saw no deer, and when he shot an arrow at a
Blue Falcon, he knocked a feather out of her wing. Putting the feather into his bag, he went
home.

"What did you kill today?" said his stepmother.

Iain took the Blue Falcon's feather from his bag and gave it to her.

"I'm putting a spell on you," said his stepmother. "The water will run into your shoes and out
again, and your feet will be cold and wet with brown bog water, till you bring me the bird this
feather is from."

"I'm putting a spell on you," said Prince Iain to the Queen, his stepmother. "Till I come back, you
will stand with one foot on that house, and your other foot on that castle and suffer every tempest
and every wind that blows."

Prince Iain went off as fast as he could, leaving his step mother with one foot on the house and
her other foot on the castle. (She was much colder than he was with his wet feet.)

Prince Iain walked all day over waste land, looking for the Blue Falcon. As night fell, the little
birds flew off to roost in the trees and bushes. When it was dark, Iain sheltered under a briar
bush, when who should pass but Gillie Martin the Fox.

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"No wonder you're down in the mouth, Prince Iain," said he. "You've come on a bad night. All
I've got to eat is a sheep's leg and cheek. We'll have to do with that."

So they lit a fire and roasted the scraps of mutton. After their scanty supper, they slept side by
side under the briar bush till morning.

"Prince Iain," said the Fox, "the Blue Falcon you're looking for belongs to the Big Giant with
Five Heads. I'll show you where his house is, and my advice to you is this, become his servant.
Tell him you can feed birds and swine, or look after cows, goats and sheep. Be quick to do
everything he asks you, and be very good to his birds. In time he may trust you to feed his Blue
Falcon. When this happens, be very kind to the bird and when the Giant is not at home, carry her
off. But, take care that not one feather touches anything in the Giant's house. If this happens,
you'll be in trouble."

"I'll be careful," said Prince Iain.

He went to the Giant's house and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" shouted the Giant.

"It's me," said Iain. "I've come to see if you need a servant."

"What are you good at?" asked the Giant.

"I can feed birds and swine. I can feed and milk a cow, or goats or sheep."

"It's a lad like you I want," said the Giant, coming out of his house.

They came to an agreement about Iain's wages, and the lad began to feed the Giant's birds and
animals. He was kind to the hens and the ducks. The Giant saw how well Iain was doing, and
compared his food now with what it had been before Iain came. The hens and the ducks tasted
better, and the Giant said he would rather have one now than two he had had before.

"This lad's so good, I think I can trust him to feed my Blue Falcon," said the Giant. So he gave
Iain the Blue Falcon to look after, and the lad took great care of the bird, such care that the Giant
thought Iain could be trusted to look after the Blue Falcon when its master was away from home.

So the Giant left his house one day in Iain's care. "Now's my chance," said Iain. He seized the
Falcon and opened the door, but when the Falcon saw the daylight she spread her wings to fly,
and one feather of one wing touched the doorpost. The doorpost screamed, and the Giant came
running home. He took the Blue Falcon from Iain.

"I'll not give you my Falcon," said the Giant, "unless you bring me the White Sword of Light
from the Big Women of Jura."

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Prince Iain had to leave the Giant's house at once, and he wandered through the waste land. As it
was growing dark, Gillie Martin the Fox met him.

"You're down in the mouth," said the Fox, "because you'll not do as I tell you. This is another
bad night like the last. All I've got to eat is a sheep's leg and cheek. We'll have to do with that."

They lit a fire and cooked the mutton in the white flame of the dripping fat. After supper they
went to sleep on the ground until morning.

"We'll go to the edge of the ocean," said Gillie Martin. So Iain went with the Fox to the shore.

"I'll shape-shift myself into a boat," said the Fox. "Go on board and I'll take you over to Jura. Go
to the Seven Big Women of Jura and be their servant. When they ask you what you can do, say
you're good at polishing steel and iron, gold and silver. Take care you do everything well, till
they trust you with the White Sword of Light. When you have a chance, run off with it, but take
care the sheath does not touch anything in the house, or you'll be in trouble."

Gillie Martin the Fox changed into a boat, and Iain went on board. When the boat reached land to
the north of Jura, Iain jumped ashore and went off to take service with the Seven Big Women of
Jura. He reached their house and knocked on the door.

"What are you looking for?" they asked him.

"I'm looking for work," said Iain. "I can polish gold and silver, steel and iron."

"We need a lad like you," they said.

They agreed about his wages, and for six weeks Iain worked very hard. The Big Women were
watching him.

"This is the best lad we've had," they said. "Now we may trust him with the White Sword of
Light."

They gave him the White Sword of Light to look after, and he took great care of it, till one day
the Big Women were out of the house. Iain thought this was his chance. He put the White Sword
of Light into its sheath and put it over his shoulder, but going out of the door the sheath touched
the lintel of the door, and the lintel screamed. The Seven Big Women came running home and
took the Sword from him.

"We'll not give you our White Sword of Light, unless you give us in return the Yellow Filly of
the King of Erin."

Iain went to the shore of the ocean, where Gillie Martin met him.

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"You're down in the mouth, Iain," said the Pox, "because you'll not do as I tell you. This is
another bad night like the last. All I've got to eat is a sheep's leg and cheek. We'll have to do with
that."

They lit a fire, cooked the mutton and satisfied their hunger.

"I'll shape shift myself and become a barque," said Gillie Martin the Fox. "Go aboard and I'll
take you to Erin. When we reach Erin, go to the house of the King and ask service as a stable lad.
When he asks what you can do, tell him you can groom and feed horses, polish the silverwork
and the steel work on their harness. Be willing to do everything necessary and keep the horses
and their harness in good order, till the King trusts you with the Yellow Filly. This will give you
a chance to run away with her. But take care when you're leading her out that no bit of her,
except her shoes, touches anything within the stable gate, or there'll be trouble."

Everything happened as the Fox said, till they reached the King's house.

"Where are you going?" asked the gate keeper.

"To see if the King has need of a stable lad," said Iain.

So he was taken to the King, who said: "What are you looking for here?"

"I came to see if you needed a stable lad."

"What can you do?"

"I can groom and feed the horses, polish the silver-work and the steel work on their harness."

So the King gave him the job at good wages. Soon the King noticed that his horses had never
looked so well, so he gave Iain the Yellow Filly to care for. The Yellow Filly improved so much
in appearance and speed that she could leave the wind behind her and overtake the wind ahead.

One day the King went out hunting, leaving the Yellow Filly in her stable. Iain saw that this was
his chance, so he saddled and bridled her and took her out of the stable. But at the gate the
Yellow Filly flicked her tail and touched the gate post. The gate post screamed, and the King
came galloping back from the hunt.

"I'll not give you the Yellow Filly, unless you fetch me the daughter of the King of France," he
said. So Iain went down to the seashore, where he met Gillie Martin.

"You're down in the mouth," said the Pox, "because you'll not do as I tell you. But I'll turn
myself into a ship and take you to Prance in no time."

The Fox changed himself into a ship, and Iain went on board. Soon they came to France, where
the ship ran herself aground on a rock. Then Iain climbed down on to the shore and walked up to
the King's house.

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"Where have you come from, and what are you doing here?" asked the King of France.

"A great storm came on, and we lost our captain at sea. Our ship is aground on a rock, and I don't
know if we'll get her off again," said Iain.

The King and Queen and their family went down to the shore to see the ship. As they were
looking at it, wonderful music sounded on board, and the King of France's daughter went with
Iain on board to find out where the music came from. But the music was always in another part
of the ship, till at last it came from the upper deck. The Princess and Iain climbed to the upper
deck to find that the ship was, by that time, far out at sea, out of sight of land.

"That's a bad trick you played on me," said the Princess. "Where are you taking me?"

"To Erin," said Iain, "to give you to the King of Erin in return for the Yellow Filly, which I'll
give to the Seven Big Women of Jura in return for their Sword of Light, which I'll give to the
Giant with the Five Heads in return for his Blue Falcon, which I'll take home to my stepmother
so that she'll free me from her spells. But you'll be safe with the King of Erin, who wishes to
make you his wife."

"I'd rather be your wife," said the King of France's daughter.

When the ship came to the shores of Erin, Gillie Martin changed himself into a woman as
beautiful as the King of France's daughter.

"Leave the King of France's daughter here till we come back," said the Fox. "I'll go with you to
the King of Erin, and give him enough of a wife!" So the Fox, in the form of a beautiful young
woman, took Iain's arm. The King of Erin came to meet them, and gave Iain the Yellow Filly
with a golden saddle on her back, and a silver bridle. Iain galloped back to the King of France's
daughter who was still waiting by the seashore.

Meanwhile, the King of Erin and his new wife went to bed. But in the night, Gillie Martin
changed back from a beautiful young woman and became the Fox again. He tore the flesh from
the King, from his neck to his waist. Then the Fox ran down to the shore where Iain and the
Princess of France were waiting.

"Leave the Princess and the Yellow Filly here," said the Fox. "I'll go with you to the Seven Big
Women of Jura, and give them enough of fillies!"

Then the Fox changed himself into a yellow filly. Iain saddled him with a golden saddle, and
bridled him with a silver bridle, and rode on the filly's back to the Seven Big Women of Jura,
who gave him the White Sword of Light in exchange for the filly. Iain took the golden saddle
and the silver bridle off the yellow filly, and carried them, with the White Sword of Light, back
to the shore. Here the Princess of France was waiting with the real Yellow Filly.

Meanwhile the Seven Big Women of Jura, very eager to ride on the back of the Yellow Filly, put
a saddle on the Fox's back. The first Big Woman climbed into the saddle. The second Big

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Woman climbed on to the back of the first Big Woman; and the third Big Woman climbed on to
the back of the second Big Woman; and the fourth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the
third Big Woman; and the fifth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the fourth Big Woman;
and the sixth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the fifth Big Woman; and the seventh Big
Woman climbed on to the back of the sixth Big Woman.

The first Big Woman hit the filly with a stick. The filly ran backward and forward with the
Seven Big Women of Jura on her back. Then she ran across moors, and then she ran up a
mountain to the very top. She stopped with her forefeet on the edge of a cliff, kicked up her hind
legs, and threw the Seven Big Women of Jura over the cliff. Then the filly changed back into the
Fox, and ran laughing down to the seashore where Iain and the Princess of France, and the real
Yellow Filly, and the White Sword of Light, were all waiting for him.

Gillie Martin the Fox became a boat and Iain helped the Princess of France into the boat, with
the Yellow Filly, and carried the Sword of Light on board. Then the boat took them across the
water to the mainland, where it changed back into Gillie Martin the Fox.

"Leave the Princess here," said the Fox, "and the Yellow Filly, and the Sword of Light. I'll
change into a white sword, which you will give to the Giant with Five Heads. In return he'll give
you the Blue Falcon. I'll see that he has enough of swords!"

When the Giant with Five Heads saw Iain coming with the sword, he thought it was the White
Sword of Light, and he put the Blue Falcon into a basket and gave it to Iain, who carried the Blue
Falcon back to the seashore where he had left the Princess waiting with the Yellow Filly and the
real Sword of Light.

Meanwhile, the Giant with the Five Heads began fencing with the white sword, and swinging it
round his head. Suddenly the sword bent itself and, before the Giant realized what was
happening, he cut off his own heads, all five of them. Then the sword changed back into Gillie
Martin the Fox, who ran down to the seashore where he had left Iain and the Princess.

"Now, listen carefully," he said to Iain. "Put the gold saddle on the Yellow Filly, and the silver
bridle. Let the Princess of France, with the Blue Falcon in its basket, sit behind you on the back
of the Yellow Filly. You, Iain, will hold the White Sword of Light with the back of the blade
against your nose, and the edge of the sword toward your stepmother, the Queen. If you make
any mistake, your stepmother will change you into a stick of firewood. But do as I tell you, with
the sword held exactly as I have said. When she tries to bewitch you she will fall down as a
bundle of sticks."

Iain was specially careful this time, and did exactly as Gillie Martin the Fox told him. He held
the Sword of Light with the back of its blade against his nose, and the edge of the sword towards
his stepmother, the Queen, and when she fell down as a bundle of firewood, Prince Iain burned
her to wood ash.

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Now he had the best wife in Scotland; and the Yellow Filly, that could leave one wind behind
her and catch the wind in front; and the Blue Falcon which kept him supplied with plenty of
game; and the White Sword of Light to defend him from his enemies.

"You're welcome," said Prince Iain to Gillie Martin the Fox, "to hunt over my ground, and take
any beast you want. I'll forbid my servants to fire a single arrow at you, no matter what you do,
even if you take a lamb from my flocks."

"Keep your herd of sheep!" said the Fox. "There's plenty of sheep in Scotland without troubling
you!"

With that, Gillie Martin the Fox blessed Prince Iain and his Princess, wished them well and went
on his way.

The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters

A Scottish Tale

There was a King of Lochlin, who had three daughters. One day when they were out for a walk
they were carried off by three giants and no one knew where they had gone. The King consulted
a story teller and this wise man told him that the giants had taken them under the earth.

"The only way to reach them," said he, "is to build a ship that will sail on land and sea."

So the King sent out a proclamation that any man who could make such a ship could marry his
eldest daughter.

Now there was a widow who had three sons. The eldest went to his mother and said:

"Bake me a oatcake and roast me a cock. I am going to cut wood and build a ship to sail on land
and sea."

"A large oatcake with a curse, or a small oatcake with a blessing?" asked his mother.

"A large oatcake will be small enough before I've built the ship!"

Away he went with his oatcake and roasted cock, to a wood by the river. He sat down to eat,
when a great water goblin came up out of the water.

"Give me a share of your oatcake," said the goblin.

"I'll not do that," said he. "There's little enough for myself."

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After he had eaten, he began to chop down a tree, but as soon as he felled a tree it was standing
again. At night he gave up and went home.

The next day the second son asked his mother to bake him a oatcake and roast him a cock.

"A large oatcake with a curse, or a small oatcake with a blessing?" she asked.

"A large one will be little enough," said he.

And away he went with the bannock and roasted cock, to the wood by the river. He sat down to
eat, when a great goblin came up out of the water.

"Give me a share of your oatcake," said she.

"There's less than enough for myself," he replied.

The same thing happened to him as to his eldest brother. As fast as he cut down a tree, it was
standing again. So he gave up and went home.

Next day the youngest son asked his mother to bake him a oatcake and roast him a cock. But he
chose the wee oatcake with a blessing.

Away he went to the wood by the river. There he sat down to eat, when a great goblin came up
out of the water, and said:

"Give me a share of your oatcake."

"You shall have that," said the lad, "and some of the cock too, if you like."

After the goblin had eaten, she said:

"Meet me here at the end of a year and a day, and I shall have a ship ready to sail on land and
sea."

At the end of a year and a day, the youngest son found that the goblin had the ship ready. He
went aboard, and sailed away.

He had not sailed far when he saw a man drinking up a river.

"Come with me," said the lad. "I'll give you meat and wages, and better work than that."

"Agreed!" said the man.

They had not sailed far when they saw a man eating all the oxen in a field.

"Come with me," said the lad. "I'll give you meat and wages, and better work than that."

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"Agreed!" said the man.

They had not sailed much farther when they saw a man with his ear to the ground.

"What are you doing?" asked the lad.

"I'm listening to the grass coming up through the earth," said the man.

"Come with me," said the lad. "I'll give you meat and wages, and better work than that."

So he went with the lad and the other two men, and they sailed on till the Listener said:

"I hear the giants and the King's three daughters under the earth."

So they let a basket down the hole, with four of them in it, to the dwelling of the first giant and
the King's eldest daughter.

"You've come for the King's daughter," said the giant, "but you'll not get her unless you have a
man that can drink as much water as I."

The lad set the Drinker to compete with the giant. Before the Drinker was half full, the giant
burst. They freed the eldest daughter, and went to the house of the second giant.

"You've come for the King's daughter," said he, "but you'll not get her till you find a man who
can eat as much as I."

So the lad set the Eater to compete with the giant. Before he was half full, the giant burst. They
freed the second daughter, and went to the house of the third giant.

"You've come for the King's daughter," said the giant, "but you'll not get her unless you are my
slave for a year and a day."

"Agreed!" said the lad.

Then he sent the Listener, the Drinker and the Eater up in the basket, and after them the three
Princesses. The three men left the lad at the bottom of the hole and led the Princesses back to
their father, the King of Lochlin. They told the King of all the brave deeds they had done to
rescue his daughters.

Now, at the end of a year and a day, the lad told the giant he was leaving, and the giant said:

"I've an eagle that will carry you to the top of the hole."

The lad mounted the eagle's back, taking fifteen oxen to feed the eagle, but the eagle had eaten
them before she had flown half way. So the lad had to return.

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"You'll be my slave for another year and a day," said the giant.

At the end of that time the lad mounted the eagle's back, taking thirty oxen to feed the eagle, but
the eagle ate them all before she had flown three quarters of the way. So they returned.

"You must be my slave for another year and a day," said the giant.

At the end of that time, the lad mounted the eagle's back, taking sixty oxen to feed the eagle on
the way, and they had almost reached the top when the meat was finished. Quickly the lad cut a
piece from his own thigh and gave it to the eagle. With one breath they were in the open air.

Before leaving him, the eagle gave the lad a whistle.

"If you are in difficulty," said she, "whistle, and I'll help you."

When the lad reached the King of Lochlin's castle, he went to the smith and asked him if he
needed a lad to blow the bellows. The smith agreed to take him.

Shortly after, the King's eldest daughter ordered the smith to make her a golden crown, like the
one she had worn under the earth.

"Bring me the gold, and I'll make the crown," said the new lad to the smith.

The smith brought the gold. Then the lad whistled, and the eagle came at once.

"Fetch the gold crown that hangs behind the first giant's door."

The eagle returned with the crown, which the smith took to the King's eldest daughter.

"This looks like the crown I had before," said she.

Then the second daughter ordered the smith to make her a silver crown like the one she had worn
under the earth.

"Bring me the silver, and I'll make the crown," said the lad.

The smith brought the silver. Then the lad whistled, and the eagle came.

"Fetch the silver crown that hangs behind the second giant's door," said the lad.

The eagle returned with the crown, which the smith took to the King's second daughter.

"This looks like the crown I had before," said she.

Then the King's youngest daughter ordered the smith to make her a copper crown like the one
she had worn under the earth.

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"Bring me the copper, and I'll make the crown," said the lad.

The smith brought the copper. Then the lad whistled, and the eagle came at once.

"Fetch the copper crown that hangs behind the third giant's door," said the lad.

The eagle returned with the crown, which the smith took to the King's youngest daughter.

"This looks like the crown I had before," said she.

"Where did you learn to make such fine crowns?" the King asked the smith.

"It was my lad who made them," said he.

"I must see him," said the King. "I must ask him to make me a crown."

The King sent a coach and four to fetch the lad from the smithy, but when the coachmen saw
how dirty he looked they threw him into the coach like a dog. So he whistled for the eagle, who
came at once.

"Get me out of this," said the lad, "and fill the coach with stones."

The King came to meet the coach, but when the door was opened for the lad, a great heap of
stones tumbled out instead.

Other servants were sent to fetch the lad, but they treated him just as badly, so he whistled for the
eagle.

"Get me out of this," said he, "and fill the coach with rubbish from the midden."

Again the King came to meet the coach, but when the door was opened for the lad, a great
mound of rubbish fell out on to the King.

The King then sent his trusted old servant to fetch the lad. He went straight to the smithy, and
found the lad blowing the bellows, his face black with soot.

"The King wishes to see you," said the King's servant, "but first, clean a little of the soot off your
face."

The lad washed himself and went with the servant to the King. On the way he whistled for the
eagle.

"Fetch me the gold and silver clothes belonging to the giants," said he.

The eagle returned with the clothes, and when the lad put them on he looked like a prince.

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The King came to meet him, and took him to the castle, where he told the King the whole story
from beginning to end.

The Drinker, the Eater and the Listener were punished. The King gave his eldest daughter to the
lad, so they were married, and the wedding lasted twenty days and twenty nights.

The Grey Horse And The Widow's Daughters

A Scottish Tale

There was once a poor widow who lived in the Highlands with her three daughters. They were
all fair to look upon, and indeed the young men admired them; but they had no dowry, so there
was no word of them getting married.

All the widow had besides her cottage was a yard full of fine kail, which was the principal food
of the household. But there was a big grey horse that would come, morning after morning, and
feed upon the kale, and, try as they liked, he would not be driven away.

One day the eldest of the three daughters said: "Well indeed, mother, we must do something to
keep the beast from eating all the kale on us ! See you tomorrow morning I'll take my spinning-
wheel and go; and sit in the yard, and when he comes I'll try if I canno t drive him away."

"That's you for a brave lassie," said the widow. "When he comes in, just you give him the good
hit with your distaff, and maybe he will not be coming again."

So the next morning when the horse arrived as usual, there was the eldest daughter spinning
among the kale. Up she got in a fine rage, and, taking her distaff, over she went to him and gave
him one crack! But, och! och!---when she did, it was herself got the fine fright, for the distaff
stuck to the horse, and her hand stuck to; the distaff; and away went the horse---gallop, gallop---
and she with him, to a green hillock not far away.

And there the horse stamped three times on the hillock, and called out: "Open, open, green
hillock, and let in the grey horse that is son of a King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the
widow's eldest daughter!"

And the hillock opened---but it wasn't the inside of a hill they were in at all, but a beautiful
Palace! And the eldest daughter found warm water waiting to wash her feet, and a soft bed to lie
upon, and beautiful clothes to wear.

In the morning the grey horse came to her and said: "Well now, I am going to the hunting today.
See you and prepare a good dinner for me. Here are the keys of this Palace. You can open the
door of every room that is in it---all but the one that this little key is for. Swear to me that you
will not open it."

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So she promised she would leave that room alone, and the grey horse said, "Remember, if you
are a good girl while I am away I will marry you before very long," and off he cantered.

The girl went into the grandest kitchen she had ever seen, and made ready a fine dinner; and then
she thought she would see what the Palace was like; so she opened room after room, and each
seemed more magnificent than the last.

Then, of course, she began to think about the forbidden room.

"I wonder what can be in it! If I give just one peep, who will be the wiser, and where will be the
harm?" she thought. So she turned the key and opened the door a little way. But what she saw
put the fear on her so that she fell into the room on her hands and knees; and when she was able
to rise, her hands were bloody all over! For the room was full of poor dead ladies---a fearsome
sight indeed it was.

She tried to wash the blood off her hands, but she could not get the stains out.

"Oh dear, oh dear ! " she sobbed in terror, "what am I to do?"

Then there came a small lean cat to her feet, and it said: "Give me a plate of milk---even a little
drop---and I will lick the hands of you until they are clean."

But she said: "And if good warm water will not take out the stains, is it likely that a cat's tongue
will? Shoo! Off you go! Ugly little beast!"

As she spoke, home came the grey horse himself, all pleased with his hunting, and asked for his
food. And as he ate he said: "Well, were you a good woman today?"

"Oh yes, I think so," was her reply.

"Let me see thy hands and I will know whether thou speakest truth," he said, as he opened her
clenched hands. And there was the blood on them!

"Oho!" he said to the terrified girl. "So that is the way of it!" And he took an axe and chopped
her head clean off, and he threw her into the forbidden room---and went on with his meal.

Next morning the grey horse was feeding once more on the widow s kale; and the second
daughter said to her mother:

"Well, mother, I am going out this morning to see if I cannot drive that beast from among our
precious kale."

And the widow said: "That's you for a brave lassie!"

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So out the second daughter went, takingwith her a seam she was sewing, and she went right up to
the horse and stabbed him with her needle. But could she get it away again ? No---nor the hand
that held the needle! And away the horse went, and the girl with him, to the green hillock.

He stamped his hoofs and called out as before: "Open, open, green hillock, and let in the grey
horse that is son of a King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the widow's second daughter!"

And the hillock opened, and in they went; and everything happened as it had done before.

Next morning the grey horse gave the widow's second daughter the keys of the Palace, warning
her by all she ever saw not to use the key of the closed chamber. And, telling her to have a fine
dinner ready for him when he returned from the hunting, he went away and left her preparing the
dinner.

After she finished doing that, she began opening up the rooms of the Palace and admiring all the
beautiful things in them. And after looking again and again at the key of the forbidden room, she
could no longer resist the temptation to peep into it, and she gently opened the door.

But what she saw made her let out a scream, for there was her sister, lying among a lot of poor
dead ladies! And the fright made her fall on her hands and knees in the room, and when she rose
up one of her hands was all over blood. She ran for warm water and scrubbed it again and again,
without being able to get it cleaned---and terror came upon her.

Then came the little lean cat, saying as before: "I will lick your hand as clean as ever for a plate
of milk."

But all the answer it got from her was: "Ugly little beast, be going with you! If the good warm
water cannot cleanse my hand, is it likely that your tongue can? Shoo!"

"Well then, you will see what will happen when himself comes home!" said the cat, and it sat
down and began licking itself.

Then came the sound of the horse's gallop, and he came in and called for his dinner. And when it
was set before him he said to the second daughter:

"Well, were you a good woman to-day?"

"That I was," said she, shivering all the same.

Let me see your hands," he said, "and I will know."

She spread her clean hand open over the stained one but he pulled out the other hand from
below, and when he saw the stains, "Oho!" he said, "so that is the way of it."

And he took his axe and chopped off her head, and then he threw her into the chamber beside her
sister.

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And next morning the youngest sister, who was knitting beside her mother, saw the grey horse
back again among the kail. Both her sisters had disappeared, and neither she nor her mother had
closed an eye all night wondering what had happened to them. But she said to her mother in a
brave voice: "Well, mother, I am going out to see whether I cannot find out where my sisters
have gone, and if necessary I, too, will go with the grey horse and look for them."

That's you for a brave lassie," said the widow but mind you come back to me."

So out went the youngest daughter, and over to the grey horse.

"Where are my sisters?" she said, and she stuck her knitting needle in his side. It stuck to him
and her hand stuck to the knitting needle, and off they went to the green hillock. Again he
stamped his hoofs and said: "Open, open, green hillock, and let in the grey horse that is son of a
King! Open, open, green hillock, and let in the widow's youngest daughter!"

And everything happened to her as it had to her sisters, whom she saw next day, dead, in the
forbidden chamber. With the shock of it she fell down, and her hands also became stained with
blood; and although she tried and tried to wash them, the stains would not disappear.

But when the little cat came to her with its offer to lick her hands clean in return for a drop of
milk, she did not repulse it as her sisters had done. Her answer was: "Look you---creature that
you are---if you will do what you are promising and lick my hands clean, you are worth a good
drink of milk. So come and take it."

And after the cat had lapped its fill of milk, it licked and licked the girl's hands until there was
not a stain upon them.

So when the grey horse galloped home in the gloaming to get his dinner there was no fear in her
heart. And when he asked to look at her hands and saw not one spot on them he was very pleased
indeed with her, and he said:

"Aha! you are not like your sisters; and if you will be good for a few more days, we will be
married."

And he went away again the next day to the hunting.

Then the little cat came and sat beside the girl, and it said: "See now, if you have a wish to marry
a King's son I will tell you how to accomplish it. In the treasure-room of this Palace there are a
number of old chests. Take out three of them and clean them up and then say to the grey horse
that they can easily be spared, and that you would like him to leave them, one at a time, at your
mother's house. And tell him also that he must on no account look inside them, for you will be
spyingfrom the tree-tops and will call out to him if he does. Now, if you look above the door of
the treasure-room you will find a magic sword, which you must take down when the grey horse
has gone hunting tomorrow. Take it into the forbidden room and wave it over your sisters, and
they will come alive again. Then put them each into one of the chests, along with some of the
jewels from the treasure-room, close the lids, and get the grey horse to carry the chests, one at a

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time, to your mother. When he has done what you ask, instruct him to carry the third chest also,
and, taking with you the magic sword, slip into the chest when he is not looking, and he will
carry you home. After this third journey the horse will return to the Palace, and when he finds
that you are not there he will go back to your mother's cottage. You must be waiting there for
him, and when you have a chance you must lay the magic sword hard to his neck, and you will
then see how you are going to find the King's son."

The third daughter thanked the little cat and did exactly as it bade her. She restored her sisters to
life by waving the magic sword over them; she put them in two of the chests and heaped in gold
and jewels from the treasure-room along with them; and she told them what to say if the horse
tried to see what he was carrying. She found him quite willing to do as she asked---though he
certainly wondered what she had put in the chests; and when he came to a spot in the glen where
he thought he would not be seen he tried to peep in. Immediately a voice came from---he knew
not where---and it said: "Who is peeping? Who is peeping?"

And thinking that the sound came from the tree-tops he laughed and said, "Well, well! Surely
you have the good sight!"---and went on with his burden. And when the third chest also was
delivered at the widow's cottage, the horse went home for his dinner.

When he found no dinner and no one waiting to welcome him, he galloped back to the widow's
cottage in a great state. The door was closed, but he crashed it through with his forehead. Behind
the door the youngest daughter was waiting with the magic sword in her hand, and when his head
crashed through, she brought the sword down on his neck with all her might, and he changed
immediately into a beautiful youth!

"Oh!" she cried in wonder. "It is true, then---you are the King's son!"

"I am that, indeed," he replied, "and more than that, I am your husband-to-be."

And he took her hand, and leading her to the widow, he said: "Mother, this third daughter of
yours has broken an evil spell that bound me. Will you give her to me, for indeed I love her
truly?"

And the widow gave a glad consent.

Thanks to this same girl she had got back her two elder daughters, and with them enough gold
and Jewels to ensure good husbands for them and comfort for herself for the rest of her life.

When the King's son took his bride home to his Palace, they found a pretty girl there who ran to
the Prince and kissed him affectionately.

"Why, who is this?" said the young bride in astonishment.

"Who but my sister," he answered---my sister, who was the little lean cat! At the same time as
you released me you released her from the spell that had changed her. She will be a sister to you
and will live with us until she marries,"---and the two girls embraced each other tenderly.

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They lived happily in the Palace under the hill, and many a time did the widow bless the day that
brought the grey horse to eat her kale!

The Greyhound And The Green Girl

A Scottish Tale

There was once a King in the Highlands who had a quarrel with a wizard. Now wizards are
uncanny people to quarrel with, and if the Queen been alive she would no doubt have persuaded
the King to " let sleeping dogs lie," as they say. Instead of which the King called the wizard a
scoundrel and declared that he would be revenged on him.

How it happened we do not know---whether the wizard killed the King or whether he only willed
his death---but the King died very suddenly, leaving his son Fergus and his daughter Fiona alone.
They had a big old castle, but not much money---for the King was poor, as kings go; and they
had few friends, and no servants---so they felt very desolate indeed.

The wizard came to see them, and he said pityingly: "Poor young things! Although your father,
the King, quarrelled with me, I should like to be your friend," and Fiona was grateful for his
kindness.

But Fergus distrusted the wizard, and felt sure that he only wanted to get possession of the
golden sceptre and the inlaid sword that were the dead King's greatest treasures. So he stole out
in the night, carrying the sword and the sceptre. He made for Beinn Ghloine, the nearest
mountain, which was a very difficult hill to climb, because at all times of the year it had a glassy
surface like ice.

But Fergus knew it well, and he soon reached the cairn on the top. He pulled the cairn down,
stone by stone, placed the sceptre and the sword at its base, and rebuilt it. And then, tired out
with all his exertion, he lay down and fell asleep.

The wizard, meanwhile, had wakened, and finding Fergus' bed empty, he thought:

"What can that lad be doing at this time of night? I must go after him and find out."

He traced Fergus by his footprints on the dewy grass right to the foot of Beinn Ghloine, which he
proceeded to climb. He took a very long time to reach the mountaintop, but when he got up,
there was Fergus, lying sound asleep, and at his mercy.

"Aha! I have you now! " he snarled, and he began to chant a horrid spell, as he made some
waving motions over the sleeping boy.

And poor Fergus woke to find that the wizard had turned him into a greyhound, and in that form
he had to retrace his way down the mountain-side.

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The wizard now turned his attention to Fiona, who was a very pretty girl with a skin like milk
and roses. He did not change her form, but he changed her colour to grass green, and he roared
with laughter when he saw the result.

"Look you!" he said to the brother and sister. "Look at the bonny pair of you now! You will
never become as you were, unless and until---and indeed it is not very likely to happen---you,
Fergus, can find a beautiful girl who will of her own free will marry a greyhound! And until you,
Fiona, have nursed three children of a King's son, and got a kiss from a King's lips. Until that
happens, the bones of your father must lie unburied ! "

Time went on, and the King of a far-away region of the Higklands set out with his followers to
make war on a neighbouring King. They were marching among the hills when a great mist came
down and veiled the mountains, so that they could not tell in what direction the were going at all.
One wandered here to seek the road, and another wandered there; and although the King kept
calling to them to keep together, they soon got separated.

The first time he called, three hundred voices answered him. The second time, only thirty
replied; then only three; and at last, none at all ! So there he was---a King without a single
follower, and he not even knowing where his kingdom lay! He wandered up and down, and at
last he came to the Castle where the greyhound and the green girl lived.

They gave him food and a bed, and the tired King slept for many hours. Next day, when he was
looking about the Castle grounds, he saw some bones lying in a corner and he began to kick
them idly. To his surprise the greyhound sprang at him angrily, and, finding his tongue, he said
to the King: "Touch not the bones of my father!"

"But why do you not bury your father's bones?" asked the astonished King.

"Alas! there is a spell upon me," said the greyhound, "and I may not bury the bones until some
girl will, of her own free will, marry me as I am. Look at me and tell me if that is likely to
happen!"

"Well," said the King, "I have three daughters who are all beautiful. When I go back to my
kingdom I will try to convince one of them to come here and break the spell by marrying you.
Shall I go and fetch one of them now?"

"No, no!" said the greyhound. "We might never set eyes on you again! I'll tell you what---I shall
keep you here as a hostage and send a message to your daughters to come and free you. My sister
will put on her shoes that run by themselves where they are bidden, and she will soon bring them
to you!"

So the green girl put on the shoes that run by themselves and, covering her face with a veil, she
set out for the far-away kingdom. And, in response to the King's urgent message, his three
daughters returned with the green girl.

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When he told them why he had sent for them the two eldest were very indignant. "Really, father!
You must be in your dotage to imagine that one of us would consent to marry a greyhound!" they
said. "In any case, you have only his word that marriage would restore him to human form---and
besides which he is nothing to us."

But the youngest daughter, who loved her father dearly, said she would remain at the Castle as a
hostage until the end of the year, when surely one of her sisters would be willing to take her
place. So she stayed on, and she and the green girl slept in the same room, guarded every night
by the greyhound.

When the King returned at the end of the year he was alone, and the youngest daughter said:
"Why have you not brought one of my sisters to take my place?"

"Because they both refused to accompany me," the King answered.

And the youngest daughter said bravely: "Well, father, I might be worse off than I am. The green
girl is certainly ugly, but she cannot help it; and she and the greyhound have both been very kind
to me. So, my dear father, for your sake I will marry the greyhound and you can return to your
kingdom."

The green girl joyfully fetched a priest, and while the marriage ceremony was going on the
youngest daughter stood with her eyes closed, that she might not see her strange bridegroom.
And when she heard him say, " Look at me, my little wife," it was an effort for her to open them.
But they opened very wide indeed, for there stood before her the handsomest young man she had
ever seen! Her consent to marry him had restored his own shape to the greyhound, who was once
more Fergus, the King's son, and the bride was now full of happiness.

Fergus went and fetched two treasures to show to his father-in-law---the golden sceptre and the
inlaid sword that he had buried unuer the cairn on Beinn Ghloine. And he was thankful that he
could now bury his father's bones.

When the King returned, well pleased, to his kingdom and told his elder daughters how happy
their sister was, they were full of envy. One of them said spitefully:"Well, she may have got her
Prince, but it will be very unpleasant to have to live with a grass-green sister-in-law! "

But the King told them that the green girl was no longer in the Castle, for she' had gone to live at
the foot of Beinn Ghloine.

The two jealous sisters made a wicked plan---that, if a child should come to their sister, one of
them would steal it away from her. And sure enough, when a babe was born to Fergus and his
wife, the eldest sister came secretly to the Castle and stole to the room where the baby was. She
opened the door stealthily, and was creeping up to the cradle in which it lay, when a green hand
came in at the window and lifted out the child before she could reach it. So the eldest sister had
to return home and confess that her plot had failed.

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The same thing happened in the case of two other babes, the green girl rescuing them from the
envious sisters just in time; and with the rescue of the third babe half the spell that the wizard
had put upon Fiona was broken, because now she had nursed three babes of a King's son.

She gave back the children to the young couple, who were frantic with joy at their recovery, and
when they heard the story the youngest sister said: "Our father must be told what my sisters have
done," and she asked the green girl to carry a message to the King, asking him to return with her.

So Fiona once more put on the shoes that run by themselves and went off to fetch the King.

When they were nearing the Castle the King said to Fiona: "A heaviness has come over me. I
must lie down and sleep for a while." And he lay down at the foot of Beinn Ghloine and went off
to sleep.

Scarcely had his eyes closed when a gentle voice from the top of the mountain said:

"Fiona, I have long watched for a chance to help you, and now it has come ! I am the fairy of the
mist that hovers round Beinn Ghloine, and if you will climb the mountain I will give you a cup
of wine distilled from mist, which is one of the things that the wizard has no csntrol over. Then,
if you can get back to the King and make him drink the wine on his awaking, the wizard's spell
may be broken. You must also get the King to give you a kiss before you can regain your old
form, but that you can manage for yourself!"

Fiona, of course, began to climb Beinn Ghloine at once, and though she often slid back she
reached the top at last; and there, in the mist that hovers around the mountain-top, stood a cup of
golden wine.

She looked about for the fairy, but a voice said: "You need not look for me, Fiona. I am an
invisible fairy, the spirit of the mist. So take the cup and return as fast as possible, for I think the
King is about to waken."

And the green girl, holding the cup with its precious contents very carefully, slid down the
mountain-side and reached the King just as his eyelids began to flicker.

"Oh dear! I am so thirsty!" he murmured.

"Then drink, sire!" said the green girl tremulously as she held out the cup of wine. He drank it,
and lying back with closed eyes, he said:

"If only you were not green, I should give you a kiss for that delicious wine. It has made me feel
quite young again!

"You could kiss me without looking at me," said poor Fiona, terrified that the fairy's plans would
not succeed.

"So I could and so I will," said the King, "for something in the wine told me to."

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Closing his eyes he drew Fiona to him and kissed her lips; and when he opened his eyes,
expecting to see the green girl, what was his amazement to see instead a lovely blushing creature
with a skin of milk and roses!

"Where is the green girl ? " he asked, looking about him.

"I am she," said the happy Fiona. " I am free now from the spell that the wizard cast over me, for
I have nursed the three babes of a King's son, and I have received a kiss from a King's lips!"

"Fiona," said the King wistfully, "if I were not too old for you, I should like to make you my
Queen, for I love you!"

"But, sire," said Fiona shyly, "you look every bit as young as my brother, Fergus."

And a voice said from the mist that hovered round Beinn Ghloine:

"Take your bride, O King, for I have lifted half your years from you that you may make Fiona
happy. The wizard can never again harm her, for both of his spells have been broken. And from
now onwards the fairy of the mist that hovers round Beinn Ghloine will make life golden for the
girl with the skin of milk and roses that was known as The Green Girl."

The Princess And The Golden Shoes

A Scottish Tale

There was once a King in the Western Highlands whose Queen died, leaving with him a baby
daughter.

The Queen had been good and kind and beautiful and the King grieved long and sorely for her;
and, indeed, all his subjects in the west country shared his sorrow. But as time went on everyone
was agreed that it would be much better for the King as well as for the little Princess that he
should take to himself a new Queen. And in due time the King saw that for himself, and he
married again.

The new Queen was quite kind to the daughter of the first Queen, even when she had a little
daughter of her own. But when the two Princesses were growing up and the Queen saw how
much more beautiful the elder girl was than her own daughter, her feelings began to change. And
jealousy---the monster with the green eye---came and dwelt in her breast, and caused her to be
very cruel to her stepdaughter. She used to beat her very often, and she gave her very little to eat-
--and by and by she sent her out into the far-away field to herd the sheep. The poor young
Princess had no one to help her. She could not appeal to the King, because he was away making

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war on another King in the Western Isles---and in his absence the Queen had complete authority
over his kingdom.

The poor girl used to sit in the far-away field among the sheep, weeping quietly, and thinking
how much better off they were than herself. But one member of the flock was sad when he saw
her grief, for he loved his gentle shepherdess.

This was an old grey-horned sheep, but for whom she would certainly have starved, for he used
to bring her food every day. And it greatly puzzled the cruel Queen to see that, although she gave
her stepdaughter no food, she was not wasting away. So the Queen asked the henwife of the
Palace---and a wicked creature she was!---to try and find out whether someone was bringing
food to the Princess; and the henwife sent her daughter into the far-away field to spy on her. This
girl, who was very sly and ugly, had---over and above the usual two eyes of other people---an
invisible eye in the back of her head.

All day long she stayed out in the far-away field watching the Princess, who was growing
hungrier and hungrier! But she dared not ask the grey-horned sheep for food, in case the
henwife's daughter should see.

At last the latter began to yawn widely, and the Princess said to her: "Oh, poor girl, how tired
you are! Do lie down and put your head on my knee and I will stroke your hair. And you will
have a lovely sleep!"

The henwife's daughter, who was not a bit sleepy but only very bored, said she would do as the
Princess proposed. And she laid her head on the Princess's knee and let her stroke her ugly hair.
And presently her eyes closed and she pretended to be sleeping.

But her invisible eye was watching, and it saw the Princess beckon gently to the grey-horned
sheep; and when the sheep came trotting up with food for her the eye saw that also. So the
henwife's daughter went home and told it to the henwife, who told it to the Queen, that the grey-
horned sheep was giving food to the Princess.

The Queen was very angry, and she sent the henwife for the Palace butcher, and gave him this
order: "Go at once and kill the grey-horned sheep that is in the far-away field. Bring his flesh to
be used in the Palace, but leave his skin and his bones in the field as a warning to the rest of the
flock."

When the Princess saw the butcher coming she was very much distressed for her friend's sake,
but the grey-horned sheep said: "You need not weep because I am going to be killed. Only wait
until the butcher has gone away, then gather up my bones and roll them in my skin. You will see
that I will come alive again and continue to help you."

And the Princess did what he told her, except that she forgot to put the sheep's trotters into his
skin, so when he came alive again he was lame! But in spite of that he hobbled to meet her every
day with food. And the Princess grew prettier and prettier, and the Queen grew more and more
jealous for her own daughter.

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One day a handsome young Prince from the southwest of Scotland came to hunt in the Western
Highlands, and he saw a beautiful young girl herding sheep in a field. He stopped, enchanted,
and he said to the nobles who were with him: "Find out who that beautiful girl is. I have never
seen anyone so lovely!"

When the nobles asked the country people about her they were told that the lovely shepherdess
was a Princess whose stepmother was very unkind to her; and that while everyone was sorry for
her, no one had the right to interfere with her stepmother's treatment of her.

By this time the young Prince had fallen deeply in love with the Princess, and he came again and
again to the far-away field where she was herding, in order to look at her and talk to her. He told
his nobles that---stepmother or no stepmother---he had made up his mind to marry her!

When it came to the knowledge of the henwife that a rich and handsome Prince was courting the
Princess, she ran and told the Queen, who, furious at the idea of her stepdaughter making a good
match, dcclared that the affair must be stoppedforthwith. So the Princess was ordered to leave
the far-away field, and the Queen sent her own daughter there in place of her. She hoped that the
Prince might prefer her to her stepsister---which, of course, was absurd!

She sent her stepdaughter to work as a servant in the Palace kitchen, and she gave her clothes of
the servants to wear. The Princess missed the fresh air of the fields very badly, and perhaps she
missed the Prince also ! Anyhow, she took every chance of stealing out for a little while into the
fresh evening air, and she generally found the Prince waiting on the chance of seeing her.

One day he brought her a present---a pair of beautiful golden shoes, which fitted her dainty feet
to perfection. She was so pleased with them---and with their giver--- that she stayed longer than
usual with him; and when she realized how time had passed she took fright and started to run
back to the Palace as quickly as possible. In her haste she dropped one of her golden shoes, and
she was afraid to wait to pick it up. So the Prince picked up the little golden shoe and he ran after
her; butwhen he reached the Palace the greatgate was closed. On the following day he took the
golden shoe with him and went boldly to the Palace. He was just about to knock on the gate
when it opened to let the Queen come out.

"Well?" she said graciously to the handsome young man. "Well, who are you, and what do you
want?"

Showing her the little olden shoe in his hand he said to her: "Do you see this shoe? Its fellow is
already within your gates, and I will marry the one whose foot it fits."

The Queen did a bit of quick thinking, and then--- taking the shoe from his hand---she said to the
Prince: "Come along into the Palace then, and I shall help you to find the one whose foot this
shoe will fit."

She led him indoors, and after inviting him to wait in one of the reception rooms she ran to the
kitchen. There her stepdaughter was cooking the dinner, and the Queen hustled her into a curious

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sort of niche at the back of the fire-place and told her that on no account was she to come out
until she was given permission to do so.

Then she sent for her own daughter, and when she came the Queen told her to try on the little
golden shoe.

"Oh mother!" the girl said, "I could never wear this shoe. It is far too small! No one except my
sister has such tiny feet!"

"Stuff and nonsense!" the Queen said angrily. "Are you going to allow a little discomfort to stand
in your own light ? You must put on this shoe!"

And she called the henwife to come in, saying to her: "My daughter is to get that shoe on as
quickly as possible. If the shoe will not fit the foot, make the foot fit the shoe!"

So the henwife seized the younger Princess's foot, and, regardless of her cries, she cut off the
points of her toes and succeeded in thrusting her foot into the golden shoe.

"There you are!" she said. "It is a perfect fit!"

And the Queen went and fetched the Prince, saying to him: "Here is your bride ! See how
perfectly the shoe fits her!"

The poor Prince was naturally much taken aback at this turn of affairs ! He had not imagined that
there could be another foot in the whole world small enough to wear the little golden shoe! He
did not know what to do, for he had definitely told the Queen that he would marry the one whose
foot the shoe would fit---and there was no sign anywhere of his shepherdess.

The Queen insisted on sending out invitations to the Prince's wedding with her daughter, which
she decided was to take place on the following day. The Prince could not sleep all night for
perplexity, and when morning came the wedding guests began to arrive, and there seemed to be
no escape for him! Soon a large and brilliant company was assembled; and the priest was just
about to begin the marriage service when a bird came and alighted on the window sill, and said:
"The blood's in the shoe, and the pretty foot's in the niche at the back of the fire!"

"What is that bird saying?" the young bridegroom asked.

"Never mind the bird---a horrid, beaky, lying creature!" replied the Queen. "Let the wedding go
on!"

But, though she tried to chase it away, the bird returned again and yet again to the window sill;
and the third time the Prince said: "I must hear what this bird is trying to tell us." And he went to
the window, where he heard the bird say plainly, " The blood's in the shoe, and the pretty foot's
in the niche at the back of the fire."

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Then he turned to the Queen and said: "I am going to find out what he means by the niche at the
back of the fire." And he left the room, to the chagrin of the Queen and the amazement of all the
guests.

Room after room of the Palace he searched without success, but when he came to the kitchen he
found the niche at the back of the fire, and standing in it, with a little golden shoe on one foot,
was his beautiful shepherdess!

The Queen stamped and raged at the failure of her scheming, and she was still more angry when
her own daughter---who had suffered agony when her toes were cut---kicked off the golden shoe
that she wore, and said: "There you are! Take it away! I cannot bear it any longer."

And indeed it was little wonder that she wanted to get rid of the shoe, for it was full of blood!

The Prince's servants took and cleaned all the blood off it, and it slipped sweetly over the elder
Princess's foot alongside of its fellow.

Never had such beautiful little feet been seen, and the Prince knelt down and kissed first one
little golden shoe and then the other. Then, rising, he took the Princess by the hand and said:

"Thanks to the bird, I have found in the niche at the back of the fire my beautiful Princess with
the dainty feet; there is now no blood in the shoes of gold!"

He took her away to his kingdom in the south-west, and there they were married and lived
happily ever after. And the Princess always wore golden shoes.

The Giant And The Fair Man-Servant

A Scottish Tale

A version of "Jack The Giant Killer"

Once upon a time the heir of the King of Eirin shot a raven, and when he saw it Iying dead on the
snow he made a vow that he would seek all through the world for a maiden with hair like the
raven's wing and cheeks like the raven's blood in the snow.

So he travelled east and west, and north and south, looking for this maiden. One day he saw a
number of people going into a place like a church, at the door of which a dead man was Iying;
and he noticed with horror that the people just walked over the body. So he questioned a man as
to why all the passers-by should do this terrible thing, and he was told: "Well, this is the reason.
He is a man who did not pay his debts, and he will be left to lie there until someone does it for
him."

"Oh well," said the King's son, "be the sum large or small I will pay it rather than see what I have
seen."

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So the dead man was buried, and the Prince paid his debts and went on his travels again.

He began to get very tired; and while he was looking about for a place in which to rest he saw a
woebegone creature approaching him---a red-haired youth, bareheaded and barefooted, who
came and asked him:

"Do you want a man-servant?"

"Indeed, I haven't the means enough to keep a man-servant," the Prince said. "I'm only
wandering about looking for the lady who is to be my wife."

"Well," the young man said, "I won't be the one to ask much from you," and he pressed the
Prince, who at last agreed to take him as his body-servant; and they went on their way together.
Now, they found themselves approaching a large cave, and the man-servant said: "A giant lives
in that cave and no one gets past him alive, but if you do as I say we may be able to trick him.
Stay you here and pretend you are putting an army through its drill, and make as much noise as
you can---as if there were many with you---while I go into the cave."

When he got to the cave entrance, there was the giant, licking his lips.

"Ha! I'm glad you have come, for I'm ravenous for fresh meat!" he roared.

"Wait, wait! You needn't be in all this hurry," the man-servant said, "for the son of the King of
Eirin is out there with his army, and he has come to put an end to your life, Master Giant!"

And sure enough, when the giant looked out, there was the Prince at the corner, drilling away at
men the giant supposed must be round the corner.

So he came back into his cave right quickly, and he said to the man-servant: "Och, och! but
you're right, and I like this not! But listen to me: I've two brothers far worse than me that you
must encounter yet. Now, if you will hide me under this great stone I'll give you a magic quilt
that will make you invisible, and you can escape my brothers that way."

"All right, then," the man-servant said, and he took the quilt from the giant, who lifted the great
stone in the cave and got himself into the hole.

And the man-servant rolled the stone over and let it down edgeways on the giant so that it ground
him to powder!

Then he and the Prince filled their pockets with treasure that was in the cave and went on their
way.

They soon came to great rocks and precipices, and the man-servant told the Prince that there was
another and bigger giant amongst those great rocks; and that he'd better do as before, and pretend
to be drilling troops. And while the Prince was at his shouting and his ordering, the man-servant
went on among the rocks and saw the second giant parading up and down.

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"Ha, you have come!" he said. "I am without food, and I'm right glad to see you! You will at
least make my dinner, and you might even make my supper as well; so I'll just go and sharpen
my knife!"

"Have me or want me," said the fair man-servant, "but indeed it would be better for you to look
out and see what you can see---the son of the King of Eirin drilling the troops he has brought to
capture and kill you!"

Out rushed the giant, and he saw the young man drilling away with a great noise, at troops he
supposed were just around the corner---and back he came in great trouble of mind.

"What am I to do, and where am I to hide?" he said.

"Well," the fair man-servant said, "I hid your brother yesterday, and he gave me an invisible quilt
as a reward. Now what will you give me if I advise you also."

"I will give you a pair of shoes of quietness," the giant said, "and when you put them on no one
will know you are walking near them at all. But if I do, will you promise to let me down to the
foot of this cliff out of sight of the Prince and his army?"

The man-servant agreed, and he took the shoes of quietness; then he put a chain round the giant's
middle and began to let him down the precipice. And when he was just nearing the bottom he let
the chain go, and the giant was dashed to pieces at the bottom of the rocks!

And then the Prince and the man-servant went to the giant's house and helped themselves to
quantities of gold and silver and jewels before they went again on their travels.

And the road was smooth before them until they reached the place where the last and greatest
giant lived. In front of it were five spikes, on four of which were the heads of people the giant
had killed.

A beautiful maiden came out of the house to meet them, and whenever he saw her the Prince
knew that this was she whom he was seeking---the maiden with hair like the raven's wing and
cheeks like the raven's blood on the snow; and his heart was singing for joy! In her hand was a
spoon, and she told the Prince that he was going to be put to a test, and if he couldn't meet the
giant with that spoon in his hand to-morrow morning at sunrise, then his head would occupy the
fifth spike!

"Then just give me the spoon," said the Prince.

"No, no," she said, "that is not the way the giant will have it. He would kill me if I did that!" And
she went away to the seashore by herself and buried the spoon deep down among the sand. And
the giant chuckled and laughed, for, said he:

"The sands of the seashore are miles long and miles wide, and who will know where to dig ? "

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But the man-servant had put on his invisible quilt and his shoes of quietness, and had gone
behind the maiden; so when she had gone away from the spot where the spoon was buried he just
dug it up again and took it to the Prince.

And oh! the rage of the giant when the Prince met him at sunrise with the spoon in his hand!

He sulked all day, and at evening he thought of another test; and he took out a silver comb from
the maiden's hair and said to the Prince:

"Unless you can replace that comb in the maiden's hair at sunrise your head will be on the fifth
spike," and he went away to the shore to bury the comb himself this time.

Again the man-servant donned the invisible quilt and the shoes of quietness, and followed
unseen and unheard; and again he dug where the giant had buried the comb and took it to the
Prince. And when the Prince replaced the comb in the maiden's hair at sunrise the giant foamed
at the mouth in his rage!

Then came the third night, and the Prince said to the maiden:

"Why will you be waiting on here with the giant? Come away with me and we will be married."

But she said with a sigh: "No, that cannot be, for I am under a spell and cannot leave this place
unless someone will cut off the five heads and five necks of the giant; and who can ever do
that?"

"Well," the Prince said, "let us ask this clever fellow of a man-servant of mine."

The man-servant said to her to go and tell the giant he was going to fight him, and she did so.

And the giant laughed, "Ho, ho!" and he laughed, "Hee, hee!" and he rolled with laughing, and
took a mighty sword in his hand; but he didn't know that the man-servant was there in his
invisible quilt and his shoes of quietness---until he felt a sword flashing about among his five
heads; and then he cried, "Oh, oh!" instead of, "Ho, ho!" for he couldn't see his opponent. Off
went head number one, and off went head number two, and so on, until all five heads were
severed from the giant's five necks!

And the fair man-servant placed them on a string and slung them over his shoulder and carried
them all to the Prince.

And now the King's son was able to marry the maiden with hair like the raven's wing and cheeks
like the raven's blood on the snow; and they stayed on in the giant's house and enjoyed the
wealth and the treasure of the three giants, and were very hap

At the end of a year the fair man-servant came to the Prince and said he must now be leaving
him- and the Prince said: "What reward will you take for all the fine service you have rendered
me?"

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"What reward will you give me?" said the man-servant.

"Whatever you choose to ask from me, even should you ask my wife herself," said the Prince.

I will not ask any reward or gift from you," the fair man-servant said, "nor will I ask your wife or
your treasures. But do you remember the man whose debts you paid who was lying at the door of
the church."

"I do that," said the Prince.

Then I am that man, and I came back to earth to pay my debt to you for bringing me to rest. The
debt is now paid and I am wishful to return to the place from which I came to you: so fare you
well, master, for ever!"

And where he had been standing there was now but a misty cloud! And they never saw the fair
man-servant again, but they lived for many years to enjoy the wealth of the giants he had killed.

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