School: Cromadh (B.)

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1. Local Traditions - Miscellaneous - A Folk Tale (continued)

   

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   that I got the following tale from Micheál O hArtagáin which story because of the likeness in incident between itself and the story I heard with the brown bull figuring in it is probably the one I heard with some variations brought in. Here it is as given me by M O hArtagáin who though slow to learn in school has a wealth of all manner of tradition memorized without effort. His mother's a native of Tedamore Parish is they narrator and the boy's ability to relate the same story, in the same words, at rather long intervals, is astonishing:
   There was a rich gentleman one time and his wife and they had on little boy. The woman died and after a time the man married again. The new woman had three daughters of her own and it wasn't long until she had began to hate the little boy and to try to turn his father against him. She wanted to starve him and every day when the little boy would be going to school, she used send one of her daughters with a little bit of bad food for him. They little boy used have to mind the cows when he wouldn't be at school and there was a white cow there who was a great friend of his. She used to put him up not to eat the bad dinner at all but to pretend to, and then to take off her right horn and he'd get the finest and grandest dinner you could sit down to. this was going on for a time and one day the old stepmother asked her daughter how was the little boy looking "Oh he's big and fat and strong" says the daughter. "If he is then says the stepmother

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT0302: The Ogre's (Devil's) Heart in the Egg

   AT0511: One‑Eye, Two‑Eyes, Three‑Eyes

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Daithí O Ceanntabhail

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   Micheál O hArtagáin

   Gender

   Male