School: Killyfargy

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1. Green Leaf (continued)

   

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   right but he missed the last one and she lost the finger. She then said to him “There are 3 other sisters of mine. He will put us into the dining room and he will put me in a ring, dancing round it and whichever of us you fancy you will have a chance of getting that one in marriage but you will have to judge us by looking in through the key hole. When I shall come to the key whole, I will put it up and you can fancy me.” In the middle of the night she woke him up and they had two steeds and away with them. They had travelled a good distance she said to him “Look behind you and see do you see anything” and he found a branch of heather and then she said “Take it and throw it behind you” this he did and then there was a terrible thick wood between them and her father. The father had to go back and get a saw and ‘hatchid’ to cut the trees and get through the wood. They had been riding a long way when she said “Look behind you and see do you see anything” and so he did and he saw her father (Old Mina) coming close behind them. She said to him “Look in your horse’s ear and see do you see anything” and then he saw a few drops of dew. “Throw it behind you” she said, and there was a powerful deep ‘say’ and old Mina had to go back and get timber and make a boat to cross the “say”. They rode on for a long, long time and she said again to him “Look behind you and see do you see anything” and there he saw Old Mina coming closely behind them in a terrible rage. She then said to them “Look in your horse’s ear and see what do you see” and he saw a ‘midge’ and then she said “Take it and hit him between the 2 eyes with it. No! Give it to me and I will throw it because I am a better shot than you”. She took it and threw it and hit him and he then vanished like a blast of smoke. Now they were free

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT0313: The Girl as Helper

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Michael Moore

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   John Mac Donald

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   c. 74

   Occupation

   Farmer

   Address

   Tullaghaloyst, Co. Monaghan