School: Gowna
- Location:
- Scrabby, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Hugh Murray
![The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0986, Page 036](https://doras.gaois.ie/cbes/CBES_0986%2FCBES_0986_036.jpg?width=1600&quality=85)
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0986, Page 036
Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.
See copyright details.
DownloadOpen data
Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
- XML School: Gowna
- XML Page 036
- XML “The Letter of the Widow's Son”
Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.
On this page
- Once upon a time there was a widow's son who went over to England to get employment with a doctor. The doctor told him to write to his mother
''ah'' said the boy '' I can't write for you ''. The boy said you cannot write a letter of mine. '' I bet you £5 note I can write any letter said the doctor.
So the boy dictated and the doctor wrote.Dear Mother,
I hope you are well at present, as I am well my self. How is the spotted cow, and had she a calf?
How is Neddy the donkey and will he stand when you say phthongh.
The doctor asked him how would he spell ''phthongh.
Then the boy earned the £5 note and he took it''Phthough'' is the word used when driving an ass in order to get him to stop