School: Attymass B.
- Location:
- Attymass, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: P. Ó Flannghaile
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0127, Page 313
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- (continued from previous page)of your animals” said she. “They will not harm you” said the prince. “Well, tie them up then” said the witch. “I have nothing to tie them with” said the prince. So the witch pulled out four strands of her hair from her head and gave them to him to tie up the animal. But the prince only pretended to tie them as he suspected some trick and threw the strands into the fire when the witch was not looking that way. Then she came up to the fire. “How dare you come into my house?” said she. “Where is the cook’s son who came in here before and never came out,” said the king’s son. “What authority had he to take half my son’s kingdom and his four treasures” said the witch. “Oh, I see” said the king’s son “you are the mother of the robber giant who was made restore his robbery by the cook’s son” said the kings son. “I am,” said she “and I will pay you the same. Then she took up her magic wand to turn the king’s son into something terrible but he called to his hounds and hawk to catch her “Tighten, tighten” said the witch to the strands of hair. “We cannot” they said for we are in the fire. The king’s son snatched the magic wand from the witch and was about to turn her into the middle of next when she begged for mercy and promised to give him luck and give back the cook’s son safe and sound. So she told him that the strands of hair had tied up the cook’s son’s hunting pack and that she turned them all into stones which lay around the rath. It did not take long to turn them back into their own shapes and they all went joyfully home. But they told the witch as they went away she would never get another chance if she tried another of her tricks again.
- Collector
- Martin Ferguson
- Gender
- Male
