The Legend Of Knockgrafton : THERE was once a poor man who lived in the fertile glen of Aherlow, at the foot of the gloomy Galtee mountains, and he had a great hump on his back: he looked just as if his body had been rolled up and placed upon his shoulders; and his bead was pressed down with the weight so much that his ch...
The Vision Of Macconglinney : CATHAL, King of Munster, was a good king and a great warrior. But there came to dwell within him a lawless evil beast, that afflicted him with hunger that ceased not, and might not be satisfied, so that he would devour a pig, a cow, and a bull calf and three-score cakes of pure wheat, and a v...
Morraha : MORRAHA rose in the morning and washed his hands and face, and said his prayers, and ate his food; and he asked God to prosper the day for him. So he went down to the brink of the sea, and he saw a currach, short and green, coming towards him; and in it there was but one youthful champion, and he...
The Fate Of The Children Of Lir : IT happened that the five Kings of Ireland met to determine who should have the head kingship over them, and King Lir of the Hill of the White Field expected surely he would be elected. When the nobles went into council together they chose for head king, Dearg, son of Daghda, because his father had...
The Farmer Of Liddesdale : THERE was in Liddesdale (in Morven) a Farmer who suffered great loss within the space of one year. In the first place, his wife and children died, and shortly after their death the Ploughman left him. The hiring-markets were then over, and there was no way of getting another ploughman in place...
Paddy O'kelly And The Weasel : A LONG time ago there was once a man of the name of Paddy O'Kelly, living near Tuam, in the county Galway. He rose up one morning early, and he did not know what time of day it was, for there was fine light coming from the moon. He wanted to go to the fair of Cauher-na-mart to sell a "sturk "of...
The Black Horse : ONCE there was a king and he had three sons, and when the king died, they did not give a shade of anything to the youngest son, but an old white limping garron. "If I get but this," quoth he, "it seems that I had best go with this same. He was going with it right before him, sometimes walking...
Elidore : IN the days of Henry Beauclerc of England there was a little lad named Elidore, who was being brought up to be a cleric. Day after day he would trudge from his mother's house, and she was a widow, up to the monks' Scriptorium. There he would learn his A B C, to read it and to write it. But he w...
The Tail : THERE was a shepherd once who went out to the hill to look after his sheep. It was misty and cold, and he had much trouble to find them. At last he had them all but one ; and after much searching he found that one too in a peat hag, half drowned; so he took off his plaid, and bent down and took...
Jack The Cunning Thief : THERE was a poor farmer who had three sons, and on the same day the three boys went to seek their fortune. The eldest two were sensible, industrious young men ; the youngest never did much at home that was any use. He loved to be setting snares for rabbits. And tracing hares in the snow...
The Greek Princess And The Young Gardener : THERE was once a king, but I didn't hear what country he was over, and he had one very beautiful daughter. Well, he was getting old and sickly, and the doctors found out that the finest medicine in the world for him was the apples of a tree that grew in the orchard just under his window. So you may...
How Cormac Mac Art Went To Faery : CORMAC, son of Art, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles, was high King of Ireland, and held his Court at Tara. One day he saw a youth upon the green having in his hand a glittering fairy branch with nine apples of red. And whensoever the branch was shaken, wounded men and women enfeebled by illness...
Preface : FOR the last time, for the present, I give the children of the British Isles a selection of Fairy Tales once or still existing among them. The story store of Great Britain and Ireland is, I hope, now adequately represented in the four volumes which have won me so many little friends, and of which...
Dream Of Owen O'mulready : THERE was a man long ago living near Ballaghadereen named Owen O'Mulready, who was a workman for the gentleman of the place, and was a prosperous, quiet, contented man. There was no one but himself and his wife Margaret, and they had a nice little house and enough potatoes in the year, in additi...
The Russet Dog : OH, he's a rare clever fellow, is the Russet Dog, the Fox, I suppose you call him. Have you ever heard the way he gets rid of his fleas? He hunts about and he hunts about till he finds a lock of wool : then he takes it in his mouth, and down he goes to the river and turns his tail to the stream...
Notes And References : I HAVE scarcely anything to add to the general account of the collection of Celtic Fairy Tales which I gave in the predecessor to this volume. Since the appearance of that volume in 1891, the publication of such tales has gone on apace. Mr. Curtin has published in the New York "Sun "no less th...
The Story Of The Mcandrew Family : A LONG time ago, in the County Mayo, there lived a rich man of the name of McAndrew. He owned cows and horses without number, not to mention ducks and geese and pigs; and his land extended as far as the eve could reach on the four sides of you. McAndrew was a lucky man, the neighbours all said; but...
How Fin Went To The Kingdom Of The Big Men : FIN and his men were in the Harbour of the Hill of Howth on a hillock, behind the wind and in front of the sun, where they could see every person, and nobody could see them, when they saw a speck coming from the west. They thought at first it was the blackness of a shower; but when it came nearer...
The Leeching Of Kayn's Leg : THERE were five hundred blind men, and five hundred deaf men, and five hundred limping men, and five hundred dumb men, and five hundred cripple men. The five hundred deaf men had five hundred wives, and the five hundred limping men had five hundred wives, and the five hundred dumb men had five...
Powel, Prince Of Dyfed : POWEL, Prince of Dyfed, was lord of the seven Cantrevs of Dyfed; and once upon a time Powel was at Narberth, his chief palace, where a feast had been prepared for him, and with him was a great host of men. And after the first meal, Powel arose to walk, and he went to the top of a mound that w...
Smallhead And The King's Sons : A LONG ago there lived in Erin a woman who married a man of high degree and had one daughter. Soon after the birth of the daughter the husband died. The woman was not long a widow when she married a second time, and had two daughters. These two daughters hated their half-sister, thought she was not...
The Ridere Of Riddles : THERE was a king once, and he married a great lady, and she departed on the birth of her first son. And a little after this the king married another wife, and she too had a son. The two lads grew up tall and strong. Then it struck the queen that it was not her son who would come into the kingdom;...
