The next Sabbath Day the fairy came once more, and told her to put on her coat of rushes and the slippers, and go to the Kirk while the dinner was being cooked. So Rashie Coat said:
‘One peat make another peat burn,
One spit make another spit turn,
One pot make another pot play,
Let Rashie Coat go to the Kirk today.’
Then she put on her coat of rushes and the pair of slippers and went to the Kirk.
This time the King’s son sat near the door. When he saw Rashie Coat slipping out before everyone else, he followed her at once, but again she was too quick for him, and was nowhere to be seen.
She ran home, but in her haste she lost one of her slippers. The Prince found the slipper, and sent a Royal Proclamation through all the country, announcing that he would marry whosoever could put on the slipper.
All the ladies of the Court, and their ladies-in-waiting, tried to put on the slipper, but it wouldn’t fit any of them, nor the daughters of merchants, farmers and tradesmen who came from far and wide to try their luck. Then the old hen-wife brought her ugly daughter to try it on. She nipped her foot and clipped her foot, and squeezed it on that way. So the King’s son said he would marry her.
He was riding away with her on horseback, and she behind him, when they came to a wood, and there was a bird sitting on a tree. As they rode by, the bird sang:
‘Nipped foot and clipped foot
Behind the King’s son rides;
But bonny foot and true foot
Behind the cauldron hides.’
When the King’s son heard this, he flung the hen-wife’s daughter off the horse, and rode home. He looked behind the cauldron in the royal kitchen and there he found Rashie Coat. He tried the slipper on her foot and it went on easily. So he married her and they lived happily ever after.
PRINCE IAIN
NCE upon a time there was a King and a Queen, and they had one son. But the Queen died, and the King married another wife. The name of the first Queen’s son was Iain. He was handsome and a good hunter. No bird could escape his arrow, and he could bring venison home any day he went out hunting.
But one day he was unlucky for the first time. He saw no deer, and when he shot an arrow at a Blue Falcon, he knocked a feather out of her wing. Putting the feather into his bag, he went home.
‘What did you kill today?’ said his stepmother.
Iain took the Blue Falcon’s feather from his bag and gave it to her.
‘I’m putting a spell on you,’ said his stepmother. ‘The water will run into your shoes and out again, and your feet will be cold and wet with brown bog-water, till you bring me the bird this feather is from.’
‘I’m putting a spell on YOU,’ said Prince Iain to the Queen, his stepmother. ‘Till I come back, you will stand with one foot on that house, and your other foot on that castle and suffer every tempest and every wind that blows.’
Prince Iain went off as fast as he could, leaving his stepmother with one foot on the house and her other foot on the castle. (She was much colder than he was with his wet feet.)
Prince Iain walked all day over waste land, looking for the Blue Falcon. As night fell, the little birds flew off to roost in the trees and bushes. When it was dark, Iain sheltered under a briar bush, when who should pass but Gillie Martin the Fox.
‘No wonder you’re down in the mouth, Prince Iain,’ said he. ‘You’ve come on a bad night. All I’ve got to eat is a sheep’s leg and cheek. We’ll have to do with that.’
So they lit a fire and roasted the scraps of mutton. After their scanty supper, they slept side by side under the briar bush till morning.
‘Prince Iain,’ said the Fox, ‘the Blue Falcon you’re looking for belongs to the Big Giant with Five Heads. I’ll show you where his house is, and my advice to you is this, become his servant. Tell him you can feed birds and swine, or look after cows, goats and sheep. Be quick to do everything he asks you, and be very good to his birds. In time he may trust you to feed his Blue Falcon. When this happens, be very kind to the bird and when the Giant is not at home, carry her off. But, take care that not one feather touches anything in the Giant’s house. If this happens, you’ll be in trouble.’
‘I’ll be careful,’ said Prince Iain.
He went to the Giant’s house and knocked on the door.
‘Who’s there?’ shouted the Giant.
‘It’s me,’ said Iain. ‘I’ve come to see if you need a servant.’
‘What are you good at?’ asked the Giant.
‘I can feed birds and swine. I can feed and milk a cow, or goats or sheep.’
‘It’s a lad like you I want,’ said the Giant, coming out of his house.
They came to an agreement about Iain’s wages, and the lad began to feed the Giant’s birds and animals. He was kind to the hens and the ducks. The Giant saw how well Iain was doing, and compared his food now with what it had been before Iain came. The hens and the ducks tasted better, and the Giant said he would rather have one now than two he had had before.
‘This lad’s so good, I think I can trust him to feed my Blue Falcon,’ said the Giant. So he gave Iain the Blue Falcon to look after, and the lad took great care of the bird, such care that the Giant thought Iain could be trusted to look after the Blue Falcon when its master was away from home.
So the Giant left his house one day in Iain’s care. ‘Now’s my chance,’ said Iain. He seized the Falcon and opened the door, but when the Falcon saw the daylight she spread her wings to fly, and one feather of one wing touched the doorpost. The doorpost screamed, and the Giant came running home. He took the Blue Falcon from Iain.
‘I’ll not give you my Falcon,’ said the Giant, ‘unless you bring me the White Sword of Light from the Big Women of Jura.’
Prince Iain had to leave the Giant’s house at once, and he wandered through the waste land. As it was growing dark, Gillie Martin the Fox met him.
‘You’re down in the mouth,’ said the Fox, ‘because you’ll not do as I tell you. This is another bad night like the last. All I’ve got to eat is a sheep’s leg and cheek. We’ll have to do with that.’
They lit a fire and cooked the mutton in the white flame of the dripping fat. After supper they went to sleep on the ground until morning.
‘We’ll go to the edge of the ocean,’ said Gillie Martin. So Iain went with the Fox to the shore.
‘I’ll shape-shift myself into a boat,’ said the Fox. ‘Go on board and I’ll take you over to Jura. Go to the Seven Big Women of Jura and be their servant. When they ask you what you can do, say you’re good at polishing steel and iron, gold and silver. Take care you do everything well, till they trust you with the White Sword of Light. When you have a chance, run off with it, but take care the sheath does not touch anything in the house, or you’ll be in trouble.’
Gillie Martin the Fox changed into a boat, and Iain went on board. When the boat reached land to the north of Jura, Iain jumped ashore and went off to take service with the Seven Big Women of Jura. He reached their house and knocked on the door.
‘What are you looking for?’ they asked him.
‘I’m looking for work,’ said Iain. ‘I can polish gold and silver, steel and iron.’
‘We need a lad like you,’ they said.
They agreed about his wages, and for six weeks Iain worked very hard. The Big Women were watching him.
‘This is the best lad we’ve had,’ they said. ‘Now we may trust him with the White Sword of Light.’
They gave him the White Sword of Light to look after, and he took great care of it, till one day the Big Women were out of the house. Iain thought this was his chance. He put the White Sword of Light into its sheath and put it over his shoulder, but going out of the door the sheath touched the lintel of the door, and the lintel screamed. The Seven Big Women came running home and took the Sword from him.
‘We’ll not give you our White Sword of Light, unless you give us in return the Yellow Filly of the King o
f Erin.’
Iain went to the shore of the ocean, where Gillie Martin met him.
‘You’re down in the mouth, Iain,’ said the Fox, ‘because you’ll not do as I tell you. This is another bad night like the last. All I’ve got to eat is a sheep’s leg and cheek. We’ll have to do with that.’
They lit a fire, cooked the mutton and satisfied their hunger.
‘I’ll shape-shift myself and become a barque,’ said Gillie Martin the Fox. ‘Go aboard and I’ll take you to Erin. When we reach Erin, go to the house of the King and ask service as a stable-lad. When he asks what you can do, tell him you can groom and feed horses, polish the silver-work and the steel-work on their harness. Be willing to do everything necessary and keep the horses and their harness in good order, till the King trusts you with the Yellow Filly. This will give you a chance to run away with her. But take care when you’re leading her out that no bit of her, except her shoes, touches anything within the stable gate, or there’ll be trouble.’
Everything happened as the Fox said, till they reached the King’s house.
‘Where are you going?’ asked the gate-keeper,
‘To see if the King has need of a stable-lad,’ said Iain.
So he was taken to the King, who said: ‘What are you looking for here?’
‘I came to see if you needed a stable-lad.’
‘What can you do?’
‘I can groom and feed the horses, polish the silver-work and the steelwork on their harness.’
So the King gave him the job at good wages. Soon the King noticed that his horses had never looked so well, so he gave Iain the Yellow Filly to care for. The Yellow Filly improved so much in appearance and speed that she could leave the wind behind her and overtake the wind ahead.
One day the King went out hunting, leaving the Yellow Filly in her stable. Iain saw that this was his chance, so he saddled and bridled her and took her out of the stable. But at the gate the Yellow Filly flicked her tail and touched the gate-post. The gate-post screamed, and the King came galloping back from the hunt.
‘I’ll not give you the Yellow Filly, unless you fetch me the daughter of the King of France,’ he said. So Iain went down to the seashore, where he met Gillie Martin.
‘You’re down in the mouth,’ said the Fox, ‘because you’ll not do as I tell you. But I’ll turn myself into a ship and take you to France in no time.’
The Fox changed himself into a ship, and Iain went on board. Soon they came to France, where the ship ran herself aground on a rock. Then Iain climbed down on to the shore and walked up to the King’s house.
‘Where have you come from, and what are you doing here?’ asked the King of France.
‘A great storm came on, and we lost our captain at sea. Our ship is aground on a rock, and I don’t know if we’ll get her off again,’ said Iain.
The King and Queen and their family went down to the shore to see the ship. As they were looking at it, wonderful music sounded on board, and the King of France’s daughter went with Iain on board to find out where the music came from. But the music was always in another part of the ship, till at last it came from the upper deck. The Princess and Iain climbed to the upper deck to find that the ship was, by that time, far out at sea, out of sight of land.
‘That’s a bad trick you played on me,’ said the Princess. ‘Where are you taking me?’
‘To Erin,’ said Iain, ‘to give you to the King of Erin in return for the Yellow Filly, which I’ll give to the Seven Big Women of Jura in return for their Sword of Light, which I’ll give to the Giant with the Five Heads in return for his Blue Falcon, which I’ll take home to my stepmother so that she’ll free me from her spells. But you’ll be safe with the King of Erin, who wishes to make you his wife.’
‘I’d rather be your wife,’ said the King of France’s daughter.
When the ship came to the shores of Erin, Gillie Martin changed himself into a woman as beautiful as the King of France’s daughter.
‘Leave the King of France’s daughter here till we come back,’ said the Fox. ‘I’ll go with you to the King of Erin, and give him enough of a wife!’
So the Fox, in the form of a beautiful young woman, took Iain’s arm. The King of Erin came to meet them, and gave Iain the Yellow Filly with a golden saddle on her back, and a silver bridle. Iain galloped back to the King of France’s daughter who was still waiting by the seashore.
Meanwhile, the King of Erin and his new wife went to bed. But in the night, Gillie Martin changed back from a beautiful young woman and became the Fox again. He tore the flesh from the King, from his neck to his waist, and left him a cripple. Then the Fox ran down to the shore where Iain and the Princess of France were waiting.
‘Leave the Princess and the Yellow Filly here,’ said the Fox. I’ll go with you to the Seven Big Women of Jura, and give them enough of fillies!’
Then the Fox changed himself into a yellow filly. Iain saddled him with a golden saddle, and bridled him with a silver bridle, and rode on the filly’s back to the Seven Big Women of Jura, who gave him the White Sword of Light in exchange for the filly. Iain took the golden saddle and the silver bridle off the yellow filly, and carried them, with the White Sword of Light, back to the shore. Here the Princess of France was waiting with the real Yellow Filly.
Meanwhile the Seven Big Women of Jura, very eager to ride on the back of the Yellow Filly, put a saddle on the Fox’s back. The first Big Woman climbed into the saddle. The second Big Woman climbed on to the back of the first Big Woman; and the third Big Woman climbed on to the back of the second Big Woman; and the fourth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the third Big Woman; and the fifth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the fourth Big Woman; and the sixth Big Woman climbed on to the back of the fifth Big Woman; and the seventh Big Woman climbed on to the back of the sixth Big Woman.
The first Big Woman hit the filly with a stick. The filly ran backward and forward with the Seven Big Women of Jura on her back. Then she ran across moors, and then she ran up a mountain to the very top. She stopped with her forefeet on the edge of a precipice, kicked up her hind legs, and threw the Seven Big Women of Jura over the cliff. Then the filly changed back into the Fox, and ran laughing down to the seashore where Iain and the Princess of France, and the real Yellow Filly, and the White Sword of Light, were all waiting for him.
Gillie Martin the Fox became a boat and Iain helped the Princess of France into the boat, with the Yellow Filly, and carried the Sword of Light on board. Then the boat took them across the water to the mainland, where it changed back into Gillie Martin the Fox.
‘Leave the Princess here,’ said the Fox, ‘and the Yellow Filly, and the Sword of Light. I’ll change into a white sword, which you will give to the Giant with Five Heads. In return he’ll give you the Blue Falcon. I’ll see that he has enough of swords!’
When the Giant with Five Heads saw Iain coming with the sword, he thought it was the White Sword of Light, and he put the Blue Falcon into a basket and gave it to Iain, who carried the Blue Falcon back to the seashore where he had left the Princess waiting with the Yellow Filly and the real Sword of Light.
Meanwhile, the Giant with the Five Heads began fencing with the white sword, and swinging it round his head. Suddenly the sword bent itself and, before the Giant realised what was happening, he cut off his own heads, all five of them. Then the sword changed back into Gillie Martin the Fox, who ran down to the seashore where he had left Iain and the Princess.
‘Now, listen carefully,’ he said to Iain. ‘Put the gold saddle on the Yellow Filly, and the silver bridle. Let the Princess of France, with the Blue Falcon in its basket, sit behind you on the back of the Yellow Filly. You, Iain, will hold the White Sword of Light with the back of the blade against your nose, and the edge of the sword toward your stepmother, the Queen. If you make any mistake, your stepmother will change you into a faggot of firewood. But do as I tell you, with the sword held exactly as I have said. When she tries to bewitch you she will fa
ll down as a bundle of sticks.’
Iain was specially careful this time, and did exactly as Gillie Martin the Fox told him. He held the Sword of Light with the back of its blade against his nose, and the edge of the sword towards his stepmother, the Queen, and when she fell down as a bundle of firewood, Prince Iain burned her to wood ash.
Now he had the best wife in Scotland; and the Yellow Filly, that could leave one wind behind her and catch the wind in front; and the Blue Falcon which kept him supplied with plenty of game; and the White Sword of Light to defend him from his enemies.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Prince Iain to Gillie Martin the Fox, ‘to hunt over my ground, and take any beast you want. I’ll forbid my servants to fire a single arrow at you, no matter what you do, even if you take a lamb from my flocks.’
‘Keep your herd of sheep!’ said the Fox. ‘There’s plenty of sheep in Scotland without troubling you!’
With that, Gillie Martin the Fox blessed Prince Iain and his Princess, wished them well and went on his way.
THE FLEA AND THE LOUSE
The Flea and the Louse lived together in a house:
And as they shook their sheets,
The Flea she stumbled and fell in the fire,
And now the Louse she weeps.
The Pot-hook he saw the Louse weeping.
‘Louse! Louse! Why are you weeping?’
‘Oh! The Flea and I were shaking our sheets:
The Flea she fell and she fell in the fire,
So what can I do but weep?’
‘Oh, then,’ said the Hook,
‘I’ll wig-wag back and forward!’
Folk Tales of Scotland Page 2