School: Cromadh (B.)

On this page

1. (no title) (continued)

   “Returning from Abbeyfeale last night, I saw under the light of the lamps, a cat travelling by the roadside.”

   

   Share Share Post

   (continued from previous page)

   in the bag on his back. The man however, much afraid of the cat decides that he will have him killed on the way. So he travels by a road where he knows that a gentleman resides. This gentleman keeps a pack of hounds.

   When he nears the gentleman's house, the latter appears on the lawn exercising his horse and his hounds. The man with the bag approaches and is questioned as to what he has in the bag on his back. "Only a pair of old boots", he answers, and when the cat hears the answer, he pushes a nail, which I forgot to say was on the tip of his tail. He pushes the nail through bag and coat and sticks it in the man's back saying, "Stick to that Conn". The huntsman doubles his word and asks again and again, receives the same answer. While again the cat acts as before, saying "Stick to that Conn". A third time the question, answer and action is repeated, but the huntsman, not satisfied, seizes the sack , unties it and throws the cat to the hounds. As they go to tear him, he tries to reach his former owner and says that only for the hounds, he - the cat - would kill him.

   My mother also had a cat's dialogue in which cat-sounds were, to my mind then at any rate, faithfully represented by Irish words and phrases. The gist of the story was two cats meet, one from the town and

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT2412C: (The Cat Asks for Boots)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Rev J. W.

   Gender

   Male