The Sea-Maiden
There was once a poor old fisherman,
and one year he was not getting
much fish. On a day of days, while he was fishing, there
rose a sea-
maiden at the side of his boat, and she asked him, "Are
you getting
much fish?" The old man answered and said, "Not
I." "What reward
would you give me for sending plenty of fish to you?" "Ach!" said
the old man, "I have not much to spare." "Will
you give me the first
son you have?" said she. "I would give ye that,
were I to have a
son," said he. "Then go home, and remember me
when your son is
twenty years of age, and you yourself will get plenty of
fish after
this." Everything happened as the sea-maiden said,
and he himself
got plenty of fish; but when the end of the twenty years
was
nearing, the old man was growing more and more sorrowful
and heavy
hearted, while he counted each day as it came.
He had rest neither day nor night. The son asked his father
one day,
"Is any one troubling you?" The old man said, "Some
one is, but
that's nought to do with you nor any one else." The
lad said, "I
must know what it is." His father told him at last
how the matter
was with him and the sea-maiden. "Let not that put
you in any
trouble," said the son; "I will not oppose you." "You
shall not; you
shall not go, my son, though I never get fish any more." "If
you
will not let me go with you, go to the smithy, and let
the smith
make me a great strong sword, and I will go seek my fortune."
His father went to the smithy, and the smith made a doughty
sword
for him. His father came home with the sword. The lad grasped
it and
gave it a shake or two, and it flew into a hundred splinters.
He
asked his father to go to the smithy and get him another
sword in
which there should be twice as much weight; and so his
father did,
and so likewise it happened to the next sword--it broke
in two
halves. Back went the old man to the smithy; and the smith
made a
great sword, its like he never made before. "There's
thy sword for
thee," said the smith, "and the fist must be
good that plays this
blade." The old man gave the sword to his son; he
gave it a shake or
two. "This will do," said he; "it's high
time now to travel on my
way."
On the next morning he put a saddle on a black horse that
his father
had, and he took the world for his pillow. When he went
on a bit, he
fell in with the carcass of a sheep beside the road. And
there were
a great black dog, a falcon, and an otter, and they were
quarrelling
over the spoil. So they asked him to divide it for them.
He came
down off the horse, and he divided the carcass amongst
the three.
Three shares to the dog, two shares to the otter, and a
share to the
falcon. "For this," said the dog, "if swiftness
of foot or sharpness
of tooth will give thee aid, mind me, and I will be at
thy side."
Said the otter, "If the swimming of foot on the ground
of a pool
will loose thee, mind me, and I will be at thy side." Said
the
falcon, "If hardship comes on thee, where swiftness
of wing or crook
of a claw will do good, mind me, and I will be at thy side."
On this he went onward till he reached a king's house,
and he took
service to be a herd, and his wages were to be according
to the milk
of the cattle. He went away with the cattle, and the grazing
was but
bare. In the evening when he took them home they had not
much milk,
the place was so bare, and his meat and drink was but spare
that
night.
On the next day he went on further with them; and at last
he came to
a place exceedingly grassy, in a green glen, of which he
never saw
the like.
But about the time when he should drive the cattle homewards,
who
should he see coming but a great giant with his sword in
his hand?
"HI! HO!! HOGARACH!!!" says the giant. "Those
cattle are mine; they
are on my land, and a dead man art thou." "I
say not that," says the
herd; "there is no knowing, but that may be easier
to say than to
do."
He drew the great clean-sweeping sword,
and he neared the giant. The
herd drew back his sword, and the head was off the giant
in a
twinkling. He leaped on the black horse, and he went to
look for the
giant's house. In went the herd, and that's the place where
there
was money in plenty, and dresses of each kind in the wardrobe
with
gold and silver, and each thing finer than the other. At
the mouth
of night he took himself to the king's house, but he took
not a
thing from the giant's house. And when the cattle were
milked this
night there was milk. He got good feeding this night,
meat
and drink without stint, and the king was hugely pleased
that he had
caught such a herd. He went on for a time in this way,
but at last
the glen grew bare of grass, and the grazing was not so
good.
So he thought he would go a little further forward in
on the giant's
land; and he sees a great park of grass. He returned for
the cattle,
and he put them into the park.
They were but a short time grazing
in the park when a great wild
giant came full of rage and madness. "HI! HAW!! HOGARAICH!!!" said
the giant. "It is a drink of thy blood that will quench
my thirst
this night." "There is no knowing," said
the herd, "but that's
easier to say than to do." And at each other went
the men.
There was shaking of blades! At length and at last it
seemed
as if the giant would get the victory over the herd. Then
he called
on the dog, and with one spring the black dog caught the
giant by
the neck, and swiftly the herd struck off his head.
He went home very tired this night, but it's a wonder
if the king's
cattle had not milk. The whole family was delighted that
they had
got such a herd.
Next day he betakes himself to the castle. When he reached
the door,
a little flattering carlin met him standing in the door. "All
hail
and good luck to thee, fisher's son; 'tis I myself am pleased
to see
thee; great is the honour for this kingdom, for thy like
to be come
into it--thy coming in is fame for this little bothy; go
in first;
honour to the gentles; go on, and take breath."
"In before me, thou crone;
I like not flattery out of doors; go in
and let's hear thy speech." In went the crone, and
when her back was
to him he drew his sword and whips her head off; but the
sword flew
out of his hand. And swift the crone gripped her head with
both
hands, and puts it on her neck as it was before. The dog
sprung on
the crone, and she struck the generous dog with the club
of magic;
and there he lay. But the herd struggled for a hold of
the club of
magic, and with one blow on the top of the head she was
on earth in
the twinkling of an eye. He went forward, up a little,
and there was
spoil! Gold and silver, and each thing more precious than
another,
in the crone's castle. He went back to the king's house,
and then
there was rejoicing.
He followed herding in this way for a time; but one night
after he
came home, instead of getting "All hail" and "Good
luck" from the
dairymaid, all were at crying and woe.
He asked what cause of woe there was that night. The dairymaid
said
"There is a great beast with three heads in the loch,
and it must
get some one every year, and the lot had come this year
on the
king's daughter, and at midday to-morrow she is to meet
the Laidly
Beast at the upper end of the loch, but there is a great
suitor
yonder who is going to rescue her."
"What suitor is that?" said the herd. "Oh,
he is a great General of
arms," said the dairymaid, "and when he kills
the beast, he will
marry the king's daughter, for the king has said that he
who could
save his daughter should get her to marry."
But on the morrow, when the time grew near, the king's
daughter and
this hero of arms went to give a meeting to the beast,
and they
reached the black rock, at the upper end of the loch. They
were but
a short time there when the beast stirred in the midst
of the loch;
but when the General saw this terror of a beast with three
heads, he
took fright, and he slunk away, and he hid himself. And
the king's
daughter was under fear and under trembling, with no one
at all to
save her. Suddenly she sees a doughty handsome youth, riding
a black
horse, and coming where she was. He was marvellously arrayed
and
full armed, and his black dog moved after him. "There
is gloom on
your face, girl," said the youth; "what do you
here?"
"Oh! that's no matter," said the king's daughter. "It's
not long
I'll be here, at all events."
"I say not that," said
he.
"A champion fled as likely as you, and not long since," said
she.
"He is a champion who stands the war," said
the youth. And to meet
the beast he went with his sword and his dog. But there
was a
spluttering and a splashing between himself and the beast!
The dog
kept doing all he might, and the king's daughter was palsied
by fear
of the noise of the beast! One of them would now be under,
and now
above. But at last he cut one of the heads off it. It gave
one roar,
and the son of earth, echo of the rocks, called to its
screech, and
it drove the loch in spindrift from end to end, and in
a twinkling
it went out of sight.
"Good luck and victory follow you, lad!" said
the king's daughter.
"I am safe for one night, but the beast will come again
and again,
until the other two heads come off it." He caught
the beast's head,
and he drew a knot through it, and he told her to bring
it with her
there to-morrow. She gave him a gold ring, and went home
with the
head on her shoulder, and the herd betook himself to the
cows. But
she had not gone far when this great General saw her, and
he said to
her, "I will kill you if you do not say that 'twas
I took the head
off the beast." "Oh!" says she, "'tis
I will say it; who else took
the head off the beast but you!" They reached the
king's house, and
the head was on the General's shoulder. But here was rejoicing,
that
she should come home alive and whole, and this great captain
with
the beast's head full of blood in his hand. On the morrow
they went
away, and there was no question at all but that this hero
would save
the king's daughter.
They reached the same place, and they were not long there
when the
fearful Laidly Beast stirred in the midst of the loch,
and the hero
slunk away as he did on yesterday, but it was not long
after this
when the man of the black horse came, with another dress
on. No
matter; she knew that it was the very same lad. "It
is I am pleased
to see you," said she. "I am in hopes you will
handle your great
sword to-day as you did yesterday. Come up and take breath." But
they were not long there when they saw the beast steaming
in the
midst of the loch.
At once he went to meet the beast,
but there was Cloopersteich and Claperstich, spluttering,
splashing, raving, and
roaring on the beast! They kept at it thus for a long time,
and
about the mouth of night he cut another head off the beast.
He put
it on the knot and gave it to her. She gave him one of
her earrings,
and he leaped on the black horse, and he betook himself
to the
herding. The king's daughter went home with the heads.
The General
met her, and took the heads from her, and he said to her,
that she
must tell that it was he who took the head off the beast
this time
also. "Who else took the head off the beast but you?" said
she. They
reached the king's house with the heads. Then there was
joy and
gladness.
About the same time on the morrow, the two went away.
The officer
hid himself as he usually did. The king's daughter betook
herself to
the bank of the loch. The hero of the black horse came,
and if
roaring and raving were on the beast on the days that were
passed,
this day it was horrible. But no matter, he took the third
head off
the beast, and drew it through the knot, and gave it to
her. She
gave him her other earring, and then she went home with
the heads.
When they reached the king's house, all were full of smiles,
and the
General was to marry the king's daughter the next day.
The wedding
was going on, and every one about the castle longing till
the priest
should come. But when the priest came, she would marry
only the one
who could take the heads off the knot without cutting it. "Who
should take the heads off the knot but the man that put
the heads
on?" said the king.
The General tried them; but he could not loose them; and
at last
there was no one about the house but had tried to take
the heads off
the knot, but they could not. The king asked if there were
any one
else about the house that would try to take the heads off
the knot.
They said that the herd had not tried them yet. Word went
for the
herd; and he was not long throwing them hither and thither. "But
stop a bit, my lad," said the king's daughter; "the
man that took
the heads off the beast, he has my ring and my two earrings." The
herd put his hand in his pocket, and he threw them on the
board.
"Thou art my man," said the king's daughter. The
king was not so
pleased when he saw that it was a herd who was to marry
his
daughter, but he ordered that he should be put in a better
dress;
but his daughter spoke, and she said that he had a dress
as fine as
any that ever was in his castle; and thus it happened.
The herd put
on the giant's golden dress, and they married that same
day.
They were now married, and everything went on well. But
one day, and
it was the namesake of the day when his father had promised
him to
the sea-maiden, they were sauntering by the side of the
loch, and lo
and behold! she came and took him away to the loch without
leave or
asking. The king's daughter was now mournful, tearful,
blind-
sorrowful for her married man; she was always with her
eye on the
loch. An old soothsayer met her, and she told how it had
befallen
her married mate. Then he told her the thing to do to save
her mate,
and that she did.
She took her harp to the sea-shore, and sat and played;
and the sea-
maiden came up to listen, for sea-maidens are fonder of
music than
all other creatures. But when the wife saw the sea-maiden
she
stopped. The sea-maiden said, "Play on!" but
the princess said, "No,
not till I see my man again." So the sea-maiden put
up his head out
of the loch. Then the princess played again, and stopped
till the
sea-maiden put him up to the waist. Then the princess played
and
stopped again, and this time the sea-maiden put him all
out of the
loch, and he called on the falcon and became one and flew
on shore.
But the sea-maiden took the princess, his wife.
Sorrowful was each one that was in the town on this night.
Her man
was mournful, tearful, wandering down and up about the
banks of the
loch, by day and night. The old soothsayer met him. The
soothsayer
told him that there was no way of killing the sea-maiden
but the one
way, and this is it--"In the island that is in the
midst of the loch
is the white-footed hind of the slenderest legs and the
swiftest
step, and though she be caught, there will spring a hoodie
out of
her, and though the hoodie should be caught, there will
spring a
trout out of her, but there is an egg in the mouth of the
trout, and
the soul of the sea-maiden is in the egg, and if the egg
breaks, she
is dead."
Now, there was no way of getting to this island, for the
sea-maiden
would sink each boat and raft that would go on the loch.
He thought
he would try to leap the strait with the black horse, and
even so he
did. The black horse leaped the strait. He saw the hind,
and he let
the black dog after her, but when he was on one side of
the island,
the hind would be on the other side. "Oh! would the
black dog of the
carcass of flesh were here!" No sooner spoke he the
word than the
grateful dog was at his side; and after the hind he went,
and they
were not long in bringing her to earth. But he no sooner
caught her
than a hoodie sprang out of her. "Would that the falcon
grey, of
sharpest eye and swiftest wing, were here!" No sooner
said he this
than the falcon was after the hoodie, and she was not long
putting
her to earth; and as the hoodie fell on the bank of the
loch, out of
her jumps the trout. "Oh! that thou wert by me now,
oh otter!" No
sooner said than the otter was at his side, and out on
the loch she
leaped, and brings the trout from the midst of the loch;
but no
sooner was the otter on shore with the trout than the egg
came from
his mouth. He sprang and he put his foot on it. 'Twas then
the sea-
maiden appeared, and she said, "Break not the egg,
and you shall get
all you ask." "Deliver to me my wife!" In
the wink of an eye she was
by his side. When he got hold of her hand in both his hands,
he let
his foot down on the egg, and the sea-maiden died. |