School: Baile Uí Mhurchadha, Borris

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1. The Mouse as Bride (continued)

   

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   his breakfast and when he was going out his wife told him to bring the parcel that was on the window with him, and not to open it until the other two brothers opened their parcels first. So it came to his turn and when he opened it, his father said that it beat all the shirts that ever was made. Then the father said that he would give all he had to the husband of the woman that would keen the best so they went home and they brought their wives on the appointed day. When the day came the white mouse told her husband to get two sticks and hit all the bushes along the road in fear that there would be a cat or anything that would kill her when she would be passing. When he was gone she got 12 mice and 12 rats, she made a carriage out of paper, she yoked the rats to it and put a mouse on every rat. When she was going up the road she met three women of the rath and they laughed at her and immediately she was changed into a lovely girl and the rats changed into horses and the mice into men riding horses and the paper carri[a]ge turned into a lovely carri[a]ge. After a while she overtook her husband and he didn't know her for a long time. They came to his fathers house and she keened so well that his father left them all he had and they lived happily together ever after.

   Told by our teacher who heard it from Martin Dalton of Ballyine, Borris about 45 years ago. Martin was then about 50 years.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT0402: The Mouse (Cat, Frog, etc.) as Bride

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Doran

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Ballybrack, Co. Carlow