Conall Yellowclaw · page 21 2 3101And then I came home.102And there's the hardest case in which I ever was; and it seems to me that tearing by the cats were harder than hanging to-morrow by the king of Lochlann."103"Och!104Conall," said the king, "you are full of words.105You have freed the soul of your son with your tale; and if you tell me a harder case than that you will get your second youngest son, and then you will have two sons."106"Well then," said Conall, "on condition that thou dost that, I will tell thee how I was once in a harder case than to be in thy power in prison to-night."107"Let's hear," said the king.108"I was then," said Conall, "quite a young lad, and I went out hunting, and my father's land was beside the sea, and it was rough with rocks, caves, and rifts.109When I was going on the top of the shore, I saw as if there were a smoke coming up between two rocks, and I began to look what might be the meaning of the smoke coming up there.110When I was looking, what should I do but fall; and the place was so full of heather, that neither bone nor skin was broken.111I knew not how I should get out of this.112I was not looking before me, but I kept looking overhead the way I came--and thinking that the day would never come that I could get up there.113It was terrible for me to be there till I should die.114I heard a great clattering coming, and what was there but a great giant and two dozen of goats with him, and a buck at their head.115And when the giant had tied the goats, he came up and he said to me, 'Hao O!116Conall, it's long since my knife has been rusting in my pouch waiting for thy tender flesh.' '117Och!' said I, 'it's not much you will be bettered by me, though you should tear me asunder; I will make but one meal for you.118But I see that you are one-eyed.119I am a good leech, and I will give you the sight of the other eye.'120The giant went and he drew the great caldron on the site of the fire.121I myself was telling him how he should heat the water, so that I should give its sight to the other eye.122I got heather and I made a rubber of it, and I set him upright in the caldron.123I began at the eye that was well, pretending to him that I would give its sight to the other one, till I left them as bad as each other; and surely it was easier to spoil the one that was well than to give sight to the other.124"When he saw that he could not see a glimpse, and when I myself said to him that I would get out in spite of him, he gave a spring out of the water, and he stood in the mouth of the cave, and he said that he would have revenge for the sight of his eye.125I had but to stay there crouched the length of the night, holding in my breath in such a way that he might not find out where I was.126"When he felt the birds calling in the morning, and knew that the day was, he said--'Art thou sleeping?127Awake and let out my lot of goats.'128I killed the buck.129He cried, 'I do believe that thou art killing my buck.'130"'I am not,' said I, 'but the ropes are so tight that I take long to loose them.'131I let out one of the goats, and there he was caressing her, and he said to her, 'There thou art thou shaggy, hairy white goat; and thou seest me, but I see thee not.'132I kept letting them out by the way of one and one, as I flayed the buck, and before the last one was out I had him flayed bag-wise.133Then I went and I put my legs in place of his legs, and my hands in place of his forelegs, and my head in place of his head, and the horns on top of my head, so that the brute might think that it was the buck.134I went out.135When I was going out the giant laid his hand on me, and he said, 'There thou art, thou pretty buck; thou seest me, but I see thee not.'136When I myself got out, and I saw the world about me, surely, oh, king! joy was on me.137When I was out and had shaken the skin off me, I said to the brute, 'I am out now in spite of you.'138"'Aha!' said he, 'hast thou done this to me.139Since thou wert so stalwart that thou hast got out, I will give thee a ring that I have here; keep the ring, and it will do thee good.'140"'I will not take the ring from you,' said I, 'but throw it, and I will take it with me.'141He threw the ring on the flat ground, I went myself and I lifted the ring, and I put it on my finger.142When he said me then, 'Is the ring fitting thee?'143I said to him, 'It is.'144Then he said, 'Where art thou, ring?'145And the ring said, 'I am here.'146The brute went and went towards where the ring was speaking, and now I saw that I was in a harder case than ever I was.147I drew a dirk.148I cut the finger from off me, and I threw it from me as far as I could out on the loch, and there was a great depth in the place.149He shouted, 'Where art thou, ring?'150And the ring said, 'I am here,' though it was on the bed of ocean.151He gave a spring after the ring, and out he went in the sea.152And I was as pleased then when I saw him drowning, as though you should grant my own life and the life of my two sons with me, and not lay any more trouble on me.153"When the giant was drowned I went in, and I took with me all he had of gold and silver, and I went home, and surely great joy was on my people when I arrived.154And as a sign now look, the finger is off me."155"Yes, indeed, Conall, you are wordy and wise," said the king. "156I see the finger is off you.157You have freed your two sons, but tell me a case in which you ever were that is harder than to be looking on your son being hanged tomorrow, and you shall get the soul of your eldest son."158"Then went my father," said Conall, "and he got me a wife, and I was married.159I went to hunt.160I was going beside the sea, and I saw an island over in the midst of the loch, and I came there where a boat was with a rope before her, and a rope behind her, and many precious things within her.161I looked myself on the boat to see how I might get part of them.162I put in the one foot, and the other foot was on the ground, and when I raised my head what was it but the boat over in the middle of the loch, and she never stopped till she reached the island.163When I went out of the boat the boat returned where she was before.164I did not know now what I should do.165The place was without meat or clothing, without the appearance of a house on it.166I came out on the top of a hill.167Then I came to a glen; I saw in it, at the bottom of a hollow, a woman with a child, and the child was naked on her knee, and she had a knife in her hand.168She tried to put the knife to the throat of the babe, and the babe began to laugh in her face, and she began to cry, and she threw the knife behind her.169I thought to myself that I was near my foe and far from my friends, and I called to the woman, 'What are you doing here?'170And she said to me, 'What brought you here?'171I told her myself word upon word how I came. '172Well then,' said she, 'it was so I came also.'173She showed me to the place where I should come in where she was.174I went in, and I said to her, 'What was the matter that you were putting the knife on the neck of the child?' '175It is that he must be cooked for the giant who is here, or else no more of my world will be before me.'176Just then we could be hearing the footsteps of the giant, 'What shall I do? what shall I do?' cried the woman.177I went to the caldron, and by luck it was not hot, so in it I got just as the brute came in. '178Hast thou boiled that youngster for me?' he cried. '179He's not done yet,' said she, and I cried out from the caldron, 'Mammy, mammy, it's boiling I am.'180Then the giant laughed out HAI, HAW, HOGARAICH, and heaped on wood under the caldron.181"And now I was sure I would scald before I could get out of that.182As fortune favoured me, the brute slept beside the caldron.checked by a teacher183There I was scalded by the bottom of the caldron.184When she perceived that he was asleep, she set her mouth quietly to the hole that was in the lid, and she said to me 'was I alive?'185I said I was.186I put up my head, and the hole in the lid was so large, that my head went through easily.187Everything was coming easily with me till I began to bring up my hips.188I left the skin of my hips behind me, but I came out.189When I got out of the caldron I knew not what to do; and she said to me that there was no weapon that would kill him but his own weapon.190I began to draw his spear and every breath that he drew I thought I would be down his throat, and when his breath came out I was back again just as far.191But with every ill that befell me I got the spear loosed from him.192Then I was as one under a bundle of straw in a great wind for I could not manage the spear.193And it was fearful to look on the brute, who had but one eye in the midst of his face; and it was not agreeable for the like of me to attack him.194I drew the dart as best I could, and I set it in his eye.195When he felt this he gave his head a lift, and he struck the other end of the dart on the top of the cave, and it went through to the back of his head.196And he fell cold dead where he was; and you may be sure, oh king, that joy was on me.197I myself and the woman went out on clear ground, and we passed the night there.198I went and got the boat with which I came, and she was no way lightened, and took the woman and the child over on dry land; and I returned home."199The king of Lochlann's mother was putting on a fire at this time, and listening to Conall telling the tale about the child.200"Is it you," said she, "that were there?"1 2 3← previousThe Horned Womennext →Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'neary↑ back to Celtic Fairy TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/9/page/2/