Part 6

They went with themselves, and there came a gust of wind and stirred a wisp, and the cat ran and struck her foot on the wisp. They said it was the cat’s heart they put into him in place of his own; and one of them went forward, and drew his sword, and cut his head off again. They took the cat’s heart out, and put his own heart in again, and rubbed the healing water on him, and he was as well as he was at first.

When they came home they had a pleasant night—three-thirds of the night: one-third in talking, one-third in story-telling, and a third in soft rest and deep slumber. Then came the three brothers in their arms to Kaytuch, and (asked) him to be king in their father’s place, and they themselves would be his messengers. He said he would not ask their property from them, but it should remain with themselves. They asked him to divide the property between them. He gave the first island to the eldest, the second island to the second, and the island they were on to the youngest son. When Kaytuch parted from them, they gave him everything they had as a present. And Kaytuch and his wife, having taken farewell, went from the island for Erin.

When they came to Erin, the place where they made haven and harbour was beneath the house of Finn McCool. Finn sent one of his men and told him he would give him five pounds and a suit of clothes if he brought him word who the man was. Conan went and asked him, “Who are you? My master sent me to see, and said he would give me five pounds and a suit of clothes for bringing him word who you are.”

Kaytuch laid hold on him and bound him, and threw him under the molten torrent, in a place where every drop would go from the fat to the marrow, and from the marrow to the inmost marrow, and left him there. When Finn saw what he did, he sent Keeltje to him; and Keeltje saluted him, and spoke to him politely, and asked him to tell him, if it were his honour’s pleasure, who he was, that he might tell Finn.

“Tell Finn I will be with him for dinner.” Then he released Conan, and told him never to bring a message again to a gentleman.

Then he went part of the way with his wife, till he put her near her fathers house, and he returned to Finn. Then they ate their dinner, and they went out hunting. Kaytuch said he was a stranger, and that he would take a glen to himself. And he took a glen to himself; and as he was killing, he threw the game on the road, until he said it was time for him to go home. He tied the birds together, and made a bundle of them, until Finn and his hosts came, and he told them to take up the burden, but they were not able to raise the burden. He put the tip of his boot under it, and threw it over his shoulder, and ran home; and Keeltje ran after him, and Kaytuch had his dinner eaten when Keeltje came, and they were together till morning. The second day they went hunting, and Kaytuch went this day to the glen they had the day before, and they had had but two birds of that glen, but he had the same burden. And the third day the like happened; and on the fourth day there came a great mist on them, and they knew not where they were going, and they went into a great castle, and there was food on the table, and they sat down and were eating; and there came the shadow of a woman and took away the broken food, and laid more food on the table until they had eaten enough. Then there was a bed for every two, and a bed for Kaytuch and a bed for Finn. Then the young girl herself showed another bed, and told the kings to go down to the young girl; but Kaytuch said he had a wife already, but that Finn had no wife, and for him to go down. Finn went to her, and spoke to her; and she said that if he would give her the amber bracelet belonging to the daughter of the Blauheen Bloyë, in the eastern world, he could come into the bed to her. So he went into the bed, and was with her till morning.

On the morning of the morrow Kaytuch and Finn went to dinner to the house of King Mananaun, and there was great welcome for them, and mighty rejoicing that Kaytuch was come back alive to them. They prepared a great dinner for them, and when it was ready they sat down to eat, and Finn took his knife and fork and laid them on the food, and said he would not eat a bit until Pampogue granted him a request.

“I will grant you any request, except to let my husband go to fight with the Blauheen Bloyë.”

“Unless you grant me that, I will not eat any food.”

“Sooner than you should be without eating, I will grant you even that.”

And when Kaytuch saw he was to go, he rose and threw his knife and fork from his hands, and he went with himself, and Finn followed him. And Pampogue followed Finn, and asked of him one favour, to bring her husband back to her, dead or alive; and if he were alive, to hoist the grey-green sails, and, if dead, the red.

Kaytuch and Finn and the Feni went to go the land of the eastern world, to the place where was the Blauheen Bloyë. And when they came to harbour they secured the ship, and Kaytuch went to the door of the Blauheen Bloyë, and knocked at the Cora Conra (? the knocker), and he was asked what he wanted. And he said, a house. And they said there was a house below, and in it were owas, and he was to go and take it. He went into that house, and the big owas began to laugh and the little owas began to cry; and he asked them the cause; and the big owas said they would have a bit off him, and the little owas said there would not be one bit for them to get. And every one of them got up and put a bolt on the door, and he put bolt and latch on the door; and he caught hold of one of the owas by the foot, and struck another with him, and he was killing till he killed the last man of them. And he rose out to see if Finn and his men were coming, and they were drawing near, twelve of the Feni, and the twelve could not throw out one man of the dead men. He took hold of them and threw them out.

Then he went to the criers of the kitchen, and knocked at the door, and was asked what he sought. He said he was seeking food. They told him to go into the field and kill an ox. He went and he saw a bull, and the bull ran at him, and he ran away, and came into the house, and the bull followed him in, and he ran and closed the two doors, and he had the bull inside. He killed him and skinned him, and went out to see if his people were coming, and they came into the house, but they were not able to carry a quarter of the bull. He put the four quarters into the skin and carried them home.

He went again to the criers of the kitchen, and he was asked, “What are you seeking now?”

“I am seeking turf to make a fire.”

“There is a stack outside, and take what you want.”

There was devilment in everything. He ran and took hold of the turf stack, and put his hands down and pulled out some of the turf, and ran as well as he could, and the turf was running after him to the door to smother him. Then he knocked for the keepers of the kitchen, and asked them for the making of a bed, and they told him to take what he wanted from the haggard; and he went and put his back to the haggard, and pulled out some of the straw, and the straw ran after him to the door to smother him, but he ran from the haggard. He went again to the criers of the kitchen, and they asked him what he was looking for. He said he was looking for water.

“There is a well outside, and take what you want of it.”

He went to the well and put his hands into the water, and took up some of it with him, and the water was running after him in the hope of drowning him, but he ran from it. Then again he knocked for the criers of the kitchen, and they asked him, “What are you looking for now?”

“Fire,” said he, “and a pot.”

“Go to the house of the owas, Oramach;[7] there is fire and a pot there, and take them with you.”

He went into the house of the owas, Oramach, and the owas gave a laugh, and said the boiler was not cooking the meat for want of fire, and he would boil it with his head. And the two caught hold of each other in the keen, close clutches of wrestling. If you were to go seeking for fun from the west of the world to the freshness of the world, it is to that pair you would betake yourself. They made hard of the soft, and soft of the hard, till Kaytuch gave him a squeeze down, and put him on his knees; and he put his head down on the fire, and kept it there till the flesh was cooked. He took the pot with him, and the flesh, and he himself and Finn had enough to eat; and he told the other people who were with him to prepare for themselves and eat. And he asked them to give him leave to sleep, and for them to keep watch. Then he slept. And what woke him but their snoring in their sleep? He rose out, and saw hundreds of people coming, and with them tarred wood and straw to set fire to the house. And Kaytuch killed them all, and went into the house and woke the others, and bade them keep better watch. He went to sleep, and slept not long till he woke again, and they asleep; and he rose out and saw (people) coming the second time as they came first; then he ran forward and killed them again, and he did that four times during the night. In the morning, when the day rose, he went to the criers of the kitchen, and knocked at the door, and they asked him what he was wanting. He said to them, “Three hundred men in front of me, three hundred behind me, three hundred on each side of me, and three hundred on each edge of my sword’s edges.” And he had that on the spot. He ran through them as runs a hawk through flocks of birds, or a dog through flocks of sheep, till he made a heap of their heads, a heap of their feet, a heap of their arms and clothes. If they were a good prize they were no profit. And again he knocked for the criers of the kitchen, and he asked for six hundred men in front, six hundred behind, six hundred on each side, and six hundred on each edge of his sword’s edges. And he had them on the spot, and he did to them as to the first. And then he asked for nine hundred, and treated them in the same way. And he knocked again, and Brailskë More said he would go himself to battle, and it was three hours before he killed the Brailskë. The Blauheen Bloyë arose, and said it was a pity he did not go himself to battle at first, before his men were all killed. And Kaytuch and he went to fight on the ground, and the battle began between them till Kaytuch killed him.

And he went into the house to the daughter, and she asked him where was he going, the man who killed her father and his hosts?

“Am I not a better man for you than all of them?”

“If I had known that it was to me you were drawing, I myself would have helped you.”

The two went into bed, and he took from her the amber bracelet, and was going. She asked him would he not stay with her, and he said he would not; and he went to Finn, and they prepared to go home.

When they went on board ship, he told Finn he was to be killed that day. He said he was two-and-twenty-years old that day. “The man that killed me at first is to kill me again to-day. He will come as a bird in the air, and will put the same form on himself as mine, and I will ask him to come up on board the vessel, and there will be a great battle between myself and Londu.”

Londu came on board the vessel. His apprenticeship was over that day, and he was cousin to the woman whom Kaytuch had treated so, and taken the amber bracelet from her. The two went to battle on board the ship. They began young like two little boys (and fought) until they were two old men. They fought from being two young pups until they were two old dogs; from being two young bulls until they were two old bulls; from being two young stallions till they were two old stallions. Then they began a battle in the shape of birds; and they were fighting as two hawks, and one of them killed the other. The one that was below struck the one that was above, and as the first one fell dead, he killed the other in falling on him; and it was Londu, son of the king of Gur, that fell first. And he was thrown out into the sea, and the other was brought home to the wife of Kaytuch, son of the king, Keelach. When they came to harbour they raised the grey-green[8] sails, and when they landed Kaytuch’s wife was there before them; and they gave her the bird, and she said that was what she was to get in place of her husband. She wept bitterly, and she with the bird, and Finn and the Feni went home and gave her no heed. Then she saw two birds fighting in the air, and one of them killed the other. And birds came and put leaves of a tree on the bird that was killed; and it was a half-hour of the clock, and (the bird) arose alive again. And she put the leaves on her own bird, and then there was half an hour of the clock, and the bird arose alive to her again. And he asked her if she had got the amber bracelet from Finn; and she said she did not get it. Then she and he went to her father’s house, and there was an invitation proclaimed for nine nights and nine days for eating and drinking in the house of King Mananaun, with exceeding joy that Kaytuch was come to them safe out of every battle. And the priest came and the pair were married. And Finn went to the woman who put the obligation on him to bring her the amber bracelet; and he asked her and said to her, “If I promised to bring it _to_ you, I did not promise to bring it _for_ you, and I will not give it to you.” So he gave it to the wife of Kaytuch when he heard he was alive again.

And when everything was finished I had nothing after them but shoes of paper and stockings of buttermilk; and I threw them to themselves, till I came home to you to the village of Kill-da-veac and Kill-da-woor, to the little turf bog, to the village where I was born, to the village at the beginning of week, till I fired the shot of a gun frilsjke, frælsjke, kipini, qropaanax; till I killed Londu, and the qaanăx, till I got the load of thirty horses of marrow I took out of the body of the king of the wrens.[9]

[5] Aarărăx: an old-fashioned currach, without pointed bow—a square box said to have been used in Achill within the memory of men now living.

[6] Explained by the narrator to mean a speckled black and white cat.

[7] Possibly identical with the Amhas (pron. _owas_), Ormanach of Campbell’s “Connal Gulban.”

[8] This is not in accordance with the directions given. The red sails ought to have been up.

[9] These nonsense endings frequently contain untranslatable words. I give these in the phonetic spelling: but I should add that qaanăx means, probably, a kind of wild goose. Londu means “blackbird”; kipini, sticks, or dibbles used for planting.

_THE CHAMPION OF THE RED BELT._

_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._

There was a king and a queen, and they had three sons. She died with the third. The king married another queen. She had ill-feeling towards the children. The king had no rest till he would banish the children. She took to her bed and would not live if he would not do something or other with them. He went to an old man who was in the town. He told him in what way he was. The old man told him to get a barrel made and to put the children into it. “Put a red belt on one and a black belt on the other.”

He got the barrel made, and an air-hole in it, and a weight for ballast, to keep it from rolling. He put the children into the barrel then. He put two swords with them. He put them out on the sea. The barrel was going before the wind till it came under the court and castle of the King of Greece.

The king had a herdsman; the herdsman was herding cows. The king had one cow, and she was troublesome minding, licking the stones that were on the shore. There was seaweed growing on the stones. He ran down to the cow. He came to the stone. He saw a white spot on the stone. He kept looking at the stone, and he saw that it was wood was in it. He tumbled it and cut the end out of it. He found two children and two swords. He put his hand down into the barrel. He took up the two children. He never saw two that were so fair as they. He took the two children home. He said it was Providence sent them to him.

They were with him. When he would hear anyone coming into his house, he ordered the children out of the room. It was told the king that the herdsman had two children (found) in a barrel on the shore. The king was not willing to believe it. He said he would go himself to the herdsman. He went to him. He asked him if he found two children. The herdsman said he did not find. “If you have found them,” said the king, “do not conceal them from me.”

He said he had found. He told the children to come down out of the room. They came down to the king. The king took hold of the children with his hands. He viewed them. “Well,” said the king, “wherever it is the children have come from, there is royal blood in them.” The king had no child but one little girl.

“Give me the children. I will give them better care than you. I will support yourself and your old woman as long as you are alive.”

He could not refuse. The king took the children with him. He cared for them till they grew to be young men. The king’s daughter thought they were her brothers. The king put learning on them. They were the two champions. They were fowling every day that was fine. At that time there was a great hurling match to come off. The King of Lochlann sent a challenge to the King of Greece for a hurling match, kingdom to be staked against kingdom. There was a pretty strand under the court and castle of the King of Greece. When the day of the hurling match came, the King of Greece ordered the two champions to go hunting. They went hunting. They were not long gone from the house when they met five young men, every one of them with a hurling stick. “I don’t know where they can be going,” said the champion of the red belt.

“I don’t know,” said the champion of the black belt. They saw five others coming the same way. He said to one of them he wondered where they were going. “I will tell you; and it is a great wonder that you are going fowling to-day.”

“Why is that?” said the champion. “I believe you have heard all about it yourself.”

“I have heard nothing.”

“The kingdom of your father is staked against the kingdom of the King of Lochlann in a hurling match to-day. We are going to the hurling match on behalf of your father.”

They returned home. They said to the King of Greece they would not lose his kingdom, but would play on his behalf. They threw off their hunting suits. They put on light suits for running. They got two hurls. They went to the strand. There was a great crowd on the strand. The ball was going out. There were twenty-four men on each side. They said their father’s kingdom should not be lost, that they would play on his behalf. Two were then put out, and they were put then in their place. There were riders keeping the strand clear. The ball was put in the middle of the strand down in the sand. The forty-eight men came round the ball. The champion of the red belt got the ball. He struck it. When it fell again he was shaking it, and he struck it again. He sent it to the other end. He said to the King of Lochlann that his kingdom was lost. The King of Lochlann said his men had not got fair play in the hurling. “I will give you fair play,” said the champion of the red belt; “myself and my brother to hurl against your four-and-twenty; and this is the bargain I’ll make with you:—Whoever it is that sends the ball to the goal is to have a blow with his hurl on the others: if your four-and-twenty men win the goal against us, they have four-and-twenty blows to strike on us. If we win the goal, we have a blow on every one of them.”

The ball was put in the sand. They gathered round it. The champion of the red belt had the ball. He struck it. When it fell he was shaking it again. Not one man on the strand got a blow at it till he put it to the goal.

“Now,” said he, “did you not get fair play?”

“I got it; you are the best champion ever I saw.”

“Put the men in a row that I may get my blows.”

He put the men standing in a row. “Now,” said he to his brother, “any man that I don’t knock down, knock him down you.”

He struck the first blow. He killed. He struck the second blow then. He killed. He was striking and killing. There was one man at the end outside. When he came killing, drawing towards him, he went out of the row. He went up on the side of a hill.

“Death and destruction and the death-bands on you, champion of the red belt! It is you that are doing the slaughter on this strand to-day. Don’t you know what country you came out of?—that it is out of a two-ended barrel you came in to the court and castle of the King of Greece?”

“Sit down, and wait till I come to you.”

“I will not wait. I saw you killing many a one. Perhaps you will kill me.”

“My word to you, I will not touch you till you tell me about the barrel.”

“I will take your word.”

He went up then till he came to the place where he was sitting. “What is it you say about the barrel?”

“It is a two-ended barrel the old man found by the sea. He took you out of the barrel; he took you home. The king heard he had found two children in the barrel. He did not believe it. He went down to the old man to see if he had found them. The old man said he had. He brought down the youngsters. The king sat down. He took hold of them by the hand. He viewed them. He said they had royal blood.”

“‘Give me the children. I will care for them better than you.’

“‘It is hard for me to give them from me.’

“He could not refuse the king. The king said he would not let them have a day of want. ‘I will support you and your old woman as long as you are alive.’

“The King of Greece is not your father,” said the man. “He had no family but the one young girl in the house.”

“I am grateful to you for all that you have told me about the way I came here. If I live, I will do you a service.”

They were troubled. They knew not whence they had come. They went home. The King of Greece welcomed his two sons.

“Put not your sonship upon us. We are only the children of a poor man who had no means to rear us. I will sleep no night but this night in your house till I find out how I came hither.”

“Do not so,” said the king; “stay in this place. I will give you the half of my kingdom.”

“I would not stay if you gave me your kingdom all.”

When the king’s daughter heard he was not her brother, she was ready to die unless he married her. He said to her he would not marry her; that he would wear his two legs down to his two knees till he found out how he came. “If I find that out, I will come to you and marry you.”

They were greatly troubled when they were departing. They went till they came to the sea. He threw his hat out. He made a ship of the hat, a mast of his stick, a flag of his shirt. He hoisted the sails speckled spotted, to the top of the straight mast. He turned the prow to sea, the stern to shore, and he left not a rope without breaking, nor a cable without rending, till he was listening to the blowing of the seals and the roaring of the great beasts, to the screams of the sea-gulls; till the little red-mouthed fishes were rising on the sole and the palm of the oars; till they steered the vessel in under court and castle of the King of the Underwaveland.

They put fastening on the ship. They went on the land. They were going with themselves. There was no one at all coming towards them. They were all going one way, so that there was a great crowd where they were stopping. Said the brother, “Perhaps you will find some one in the crowd to tell you how we came” (_i.e._, our origin).

They went on with themselves. A man met them. They asked him what was the cause why the people on the island were all going one way.