The Red-etin
: The Scottish Fairy BookThere were once two widows who lived in two cottages which stood not
very far from one another. And each of those widows possessed a piece of
land on which she grazed a cow and a few sheep, and in this way she made
her living.
One of these poor widows had two sons, the other had one; and as these
three boys were always together, it was natural that they should become
great friends.
sons, must leave home and go out into the world to seek his fortune. And
the night before he went away his mother told him to take a can and go
to the well and bring back some water, and she would bake a cake for him
to carry with him.
"But remember," she added, "the size of the cake will depend on the
quantity of water that thou bringest back. If thou bringest much, then
will it be large; and, if thou bringest little, then will it be small.
But, big or little, it is all that I have to give thee."
The lad took the can and went off to the well, and filled it with
water, and came home again. But he never noticed that the can had a hole
in it, and was running out; so that, by the time that he arrived at
home, there was very little water left. So his mother could only bake
him a very little cake.
But, small as it was, she asked him, as she gave it to him, to choose
one of two things. Either to take the half of it with her blessing, or
the whole of it with her malison. "For," said she, "thou canst not have
both the whole cake and a blessing along with it."
The lad looked at the cake and hesitated. It would have been pleasant to
have left home with his mother's blessing upon him; but he had far to
go, and the cake was little; the half of it would be a mere mouthful,
and he did not know when he would get any more food. So at last he made
up his mind to take the whole of it, even if he had to bear his mother's
malison.
Then he took his younger brother aside, and gave him his hunting-knife,
saying, "Keep this by thee, and look at it every morning. For as long as
the blade remains clear and bright, thou wilt know that it is well with
me; but should it grow dim and rusty, then know thou that some evil hath
befallen me."
After this he embraced them both and set out on his travels. He
journeyed all that day, and all the next, and on the afternoon of the
third day he came to where an old shepherd was sitting beside a flock of
sheep.
"I will ask the old man whose sheep they are," he said to himself, "for
mayhap his master might engage me also as a shepherd." So he went up to
the old man, and asked him to whom the sheep belonged. And this was all
the answer he got:
"The Red-Etin of Ireland
Ance lived in Ballygan,
And stole King Malcolm's daughter,
The King of fair Scotland.
He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band,
And every day he dings her
With a bright silver wand.
Like Julian the Roman,
He's one that fears no man.
"It's said there's ane predestinate
To be his mortal foe,
But that man is yet unborn,
And lang may it be so."
"That does not tell me much; but somehow I do not fancy this Red-Etin
for a master," thought the youth, and he went on his way.
He had not gone very far, however, when he saw another old man, with
snow-white hair, herding a flock of swine; and as he wondered to whom
the swine belonged, and if there was any chance of him getting a
situation as a swineherd, he went up to the countryman, and asked who
was the owner of the animals.
He got the same answer from the swineherd that he had got from the
shepherd:
"The Red-Etin of Ireland
Ance lived in Ballygan,
And stole King Malcolm's daughter,
The King of fair Scotland.
He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band,
And every day he dings her
With a bright silver wand.
Like Julian the Roman,
He's one that fears no man.
"It's said there's ane predestinate
To be his mortal foe,
But that man is yet unborn,
And lang may it be so."
"Plague on this old Red-Etin; I wonder when I will get out of his
domains," he muttered to himself; and he journeyed still further.
Presently he came to a very, very old man--so old, indeed, that he was
quite bent with age--and he was herding a flock of goats.
Once more the traveller asked to whom the animals belonged, and once
more he got the same answer:
"The Red-Etin of Ireland
Ance lived in Ballygan,
And stole King Malcolm's daughter,
The King of fair Scotland.
He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band,
And every day he dings her
With a bright silver wand.
Like Julian the Roman,
He's one that fears no man.
"It's said there's ane predestinate
To be his mortal foe,
But that man is yet unborn,
And lang may it be so."
But this ancient goatherd added a piece of advice at the end of his
rhyme. "Beware, stranger," he said, "of the next herd of beasts that ye
shall meet. Sheep, and swine, and goats will harm nobody; but the
creatures ye shall now encounter are of a sort that ye have never met
before, and they are not harmless."
The young man thanked him for his counsel, and went on his way, and he
had not gone very far before he met a herd of very dreadful creatures,
unlike anything that he had ever dreamed of in all his life.
For each of them had three heads, and on each of its three heads it had
four horns; and when he saw them he was so frightened that he turned and
ran away from them as fast as he could.
Up hill and down dale he ran, until he was well-nigh exhausted; and,
just when he was beginning to feel that his legs would not carry him any
further, he saw a great Castle in front of him, the door of which was
standing wide open.
He was so tired that he went straight in, and after wandering through
some magnificent halls, which appeared to be quite deserted, he reached
the kitchen, where an old woman was sitting by the fire.
He asked her if he might have a night's lodging, as he had come a long
and weary journey, and would be glad of somewhere to rest.
"You can rest here, and welcome, for me," said the old Dame, "but for
your own sake I warn you that this is an ill house to bide in; for it is
the Castle of the Red-Etin, who is a fierce and terrible Monster with
three heads, and he spareth neither man nor woman, if he can get hold of
them."
Tired as he was, the young man would have made an effort to escape from
such a dangerous abode had he not remembered the strange and awful
beasts from which he had just been fleeing, and he was afraid that, as
it was growing dark, if he set out again he might chance to walk right
into their midst. So he begged the old woman to hide him in some dark
corner, and not to tell the Red-Etin that he was in the Castle.
"For," thought he, "if I can only get shelter until the morning, I will
then be able to avoid these terrible creatures and go on my way in
peace."
So the old Dame hid him in a press under the back stairs, and, as there
was plenty of room in it, he settled down quite comfortably for the
night.
But just as he was going off to sleep he heard an awful roaring and
trampling overhead. The Red-Etin had come home, and it was plain that he
was searching for something.
And the terrified youth soon found out what the "Something" was, for
very soon the horrible Monster came into the kitchen, crying out in a
voice like thunder:
"Seek but, and seek ben,
I smell the smell of an earthly man!
Be he living, or be he dead,
His heart this night I shall eat with my bread."
And it was not very long before he discovered the poor young man's
hiding-place and pulled him roughly out of it.
Of course, the lad begged that his life might be spared, but the Monster
only laughed at him.
"It will be spared if thou canst answer three questions," he said; "if
not, it is forfeited."
The first of these three questions was, "Whether Ireland or Scotland was
first inhabited?"
The second, "How old was the world when Adam was made?"
And the third, "Whether men or beasts were created first?"
The lad was not skilled in such matters, having had but little
book-learning, and he could not answer the questions. So the Monster
struck him on the head with a queer little hammer which he carried, and
turned him into a piece of stone.
Now every morning since he had left home his younger brother had done as
he had promised, and had carefully examined his hunting-knife.
On the first two mornings it was bright and clear, but on the third
morning he was very much distressed to find that it was dull and rusty.
He looked at it for a few moments in great dismay; then he ran straight
to his mother, and held it out to her.
"By this token I know that some mischief hath befallen my brother," he
said, "so I must set out at once to see what evil hath come upon him."
"First must thou go to the well and fetch me some water," said his
mother, "that I may bake thee a cake to carry with thee, as I baked a
cake for him who is gone. And I will say to thee what I said to him.
That the cake will be large or small according as thou bringest much or
little water back with thee."
So the lad took the can, as his brother had done, and went off to the
well, and it seemed as if some evil spirit directed him to follow his
example in all things, for he brought home little water, and he chose
the whole cake and his mother's malison, instead of the half and her
blessing, and he set out and met the shepherd, and the swineherd, and
the goatherd, and they all gave the same answers to him which they had
given to his brother. And he also encountered the same fierce beasts,
and ran from them in terror, and took shelter from them in the Castle;
and the old woman hid him, and the Red-Etin found him, and, because he
could not answer the three questions, he, too, was turned into a pillar
of stone.
And no more would ever have been heard of these two youths had not a
kind Fairy, who had seen all that had happened, appeared to the other
widow and her son, as they were sitting at supper one night in the
gloaming, and told them the whole story, and how their two poor young
neighbours had been turned into pillars of stone by a cruel enchanter
called Red-Etin.
Now the third young man was both brave and strong, and he determined to
set out to see if he could in anywise help his two friends. And, from
the very first moment that he had made up his mind to do so, things went
differently with him than they had with them. I think, perhaps, that
this was because he was much more loving and thoughtful than they were.
For, when his mother sent him to fetch water from the well so that she
might bake a cake for him, just as the other mother had done for her
sons, a raven, flying above his head, croaked out that his can was
leaking, and he, wishing to please his mother by bringing her a good
supply of water, patched up the hole with clay, and so came home with
the can quite full.
Then, when his mother had baked a big bannock for him, and giving him
his choice between the whole cake and her malison, or half of it and her
blessing, he chose the latter, "for," said he, throwing his arms round
her neck, "I may light on other cakes to eat, but I will never light on
another blessing such as thine."
And the curious thing was, that, after he had said this, the half cake
which he had chosen seemed to spread itself out, and widen, and broaden,
till it was bigger by far than it had been at first.
Then he started on his journey, and, after he had gone a good way he
began to feel hungry. So he pulled it out of his pocket and began to eat
it.
Just then he met an old woman, who seemed to be very poor, for her
clothing was thin, and worn, and old, and she stopped and spoke to him.
"Of thy charity, kind Master," she said, stretching out one of her
withered hands, "spare me a bit of the cake that thou art eating."
Now the youth was very hungry, and he could have eaten it all himself,
but his kind heart was touched by the woman's pinched face, so he broke
it in two, and gave her half of it.
Instantly she was changed into the Fairy who had appeared to his mother
and himself as they had sat at supper the night before, and she smiled
graciously at the generous lad, and held out a little wand to him.
"Though thou knowest it not, thy mother's blessing and thy kindness to
an old and poor woman hath gained thee many blessings, brave boy," he
said. "Keep that as thy reward; thou wilt need it ere thy errand be
done." Then, bidding him sit down on the grass beside her, she told him
all the dangers that he would meet on his travels, and the way in which
he could overcome them, and then, in a moment, before he could thank
her, she vanished out of his sight.
But with the little wand, and all the instructions that she had given
him, he felt that he could face fearlessly any danger that he might be
called on to meet, so he rose from the grass and went his way, full of a
cheerful courage.
After he had walked for many miles further, he came, as each of his
friends had done, to the old shepherd herding his sheep. And, like them,
he asked to whom the sheep belonged. And this time the old man answered:
"The Red-Etin of Ireland
Ance lived in Ballygan,
And stole King Malcolm's daughter,
The King of fair Scotland.
He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band,
And every day he dings her
With a bright silver wand.
Like Julian the Roman,
He's one that fears no man.
"But now I fear his end is near,
And destiny at hand;
And you're to be, I plainly see,
The heir of all his land."
Then the young man went on, and he came to the swineherd, and to the
goatherd; and each of them in turn repeated the same words to him.
And, when he came to where the droves of monstrous beasts were, he was
not afraid of them, and when one came running up to him with its mouth
wide open to devour him, he just struck it with his wand, and it dropped
down dead at his feet.
At last he arrived at the Red-Etin's Castle, and he knocked boldly at
the door. The old woman answered his knock, and, when he had told her
his errand, warned him gravely not to enter.
"Thy two friends came here before thee," she said, "and they are now
turned into two pillars of stone; what advantage is it to thee to lose
thy life also?"
But the young man only laughed. "I have knowledge of an art of which
they knew nothing," he said. "And methinks I can fight the Red-Etin with
his own weapons."
So, much against her will, the old woman let him in, and hid him where
she had hid his friends.
It was not long before the Monster arrived, and, as on former occasions,
he came into the kitchen in a furious rage, crying:
"Seek but, and seek ben,
I smell the smell of an earthly man!
Be he living, or be he dead,
His heart this night I shall eat with my bread."
Then he peered into the young man's hiding-place, and called to him to
come out. And after he had come out, he put to him the three questions,
never dreaming that he could answer them; but the Fairy had told the
youth what to say, and he gave the answers as pat as any book.
Then the Red-Etin's heart sank within him for fear, for he knew that
someone had betrayed him, and that his power was gone.
And gone in very truth it was. For when the youth took an axe and began
to fight with him, he had no strength to resist, and, before he knew
where he was, his heads were cut off. And that was the end of the
Red-Etin.
As soon as he saw that his enemy was really dead, the young man asked
the old woman if what the shepherd, and the swineherd, and the goatherd
had told him were true, and if King Malcolm's daughter were really a
prisoner in the Castle.
The old woman nodded. "Even with the Monster lying dead at my feet, I am
almost afraid to speak of it," she said. "But come with me, my gallant
gentleman, and thou wilt see what dule and misery the Red-Etin hath
caused to many a home."
She took a huge bunch of keys, and led him up a long flight of stairs,
which ended in a passage with a great many doors on each side of it. She
unlocked these doors with her keys, and, as she opened them, she put her
head into every room and said, "Ye have naught to fear now, Madam, the
Predestinated Deliverer hath come, and the Red-Etin is dead."
And behold, with a cry of joy, out of every room came a beautiful lady
who had been stolen from her home, and shut up there, by the Red-Etin.
Among them was one who was more beautiful and stately than the rest, and
all the others bowed down to her and treated her with such great
reverence that it was clear to see that she was the Royal Princess, King
Malcolm's daughter.
And when the youth stepped forward and did reverence to her also, she
spoke so sweetly to him, and greeted him so gladly, and called him her
Deliverer, in such a low, clear voice, that his heart was taken captive
at once.
But, for all that, he did not forget his friends. He asked the old woman
where they were, and she took him into a room at the end of the passage,
which was so dark that one could scarcely see in it, and so low that one
could scarcely stand upright.
In this dismal chamber stood two blocks of stone.
"One can unlock doors, young Master," said the old woman, shaking her
head forebodingly, "but 'tis hard work to try to turn cauld stane back
to flesh and blood."
"Nevertheless, I will do it," said the youth, and, lifting his little
wand, he touched each of the stone pillars lightly on the top.
Instantly the hard stone seemed to soften and melt away, and the two
brothers started into life and form again. Their gratitude to their
friend, who had risked so much to save them, knew no bounds, while he,
on his part, was delighted to think that his efforts had been
successful.
The next thing to do was to convey the Princess and the other ladies
(who were all noblemen's daughters) back to the King's Court, and this
they did next day.
King Malcolm was so overjoyed to see his dearly loved daughter, whom he
had given up for dead, safe and sound, and so grateful to her deliverer,
that he said that he should become his son-in-law and marry the
Princess, and come and live with them at Court. Which all came to pass
in due time; while as for the two other young men, they married
noblemen's daughters, and the two old mothers came to live near their
sons, and everyone was as happy as they could possibly be.
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In the days of Queen Elizabeth, English sailors first began to find their way across the seas to new lands, from which they brought home many strange, and rich, and beautiful things. The Spaniards sailed across the seas too, to fetch gold and silv... The Revenge Of Coriolanus
BY CHARLES MORRIS (ADAPTED) Caius Marcius was a noble Roman youth, who fought valiantly, when but seventeen years of age, in the battle of Lake Regillus, and was there crowned with an oaken wreath, the Roman reward for saving the life of a fellow... The Revenge Of The Fireflies
The Fireflies and the Goblins had always been good friends, just as they were with the Fairies, until one night when the Goblins held a frolic in the woods and did not invite the Fireflies to come. It was a bright moonlight night, and the Gobli... The Revenge Of The Gnomes
The Fairies decided to give a party one night, and invited the Goblins, but they did not ask the Gnomes, because they did not think of them. The Gnomes live so deep in the earth that the Fairies seldom meet them, and so they really forgot and d... The Rhyme Of Ten Little Rabbits
BY KATE N. MYTINGER 1 little rabbit, =one= went out in the field to run. 2 little rabbits, =two= Said they didn't know what to do. 3 little rabbits, =three= Said: "Let us climb a tree." 4 little rabbits... The Rich Man and the Tanner
A RICH MAN lived near a Tanner, and not being able to bear the unpleasant smell of the tan-yard, he pressed his neighbor to go away. The Tanner put off his departure from time to time, saying that he would leave soon. But as he still continued to ... The Rich Man's Library
In Madrid, there was a rich man--and, they say, That ten times as stupid, as rich, he was too;-- Whose magnificent mansion made ample display Of furniture gorgeous and costly and new. "It vexes me much, that a house so comple... The Riddle
A King's son once had a great desire to travel through the world, so he started off, taking no one with him but one trusty servant. One day he came to a great forest, and as evening drew on he could find no shelter, and could not think where to ... The Rishi And The Brahman
Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there lived a Brahman. For many years he lived happily and cultivated his fields of rice and grain. But one day his wife gave up the observances imposed on her, and, as a result, the whole house ... The Rival Kempers
BY WILLIAM CARLETON In the north of Ireland there are spinning meetings of unmarried females frequently held at the houses of farmers, called kemps. Every young woman who has got the reputation of being a quick and expert spinner attends where ... The Rivers and the Sea
THE RIVERS joined together to complain to the Sea, saying, "Why is it that when we flow into your tides so potable and sweet, you work in us such a change, and make us salty and unfit to drink?" The Sea, perceiving that they intended to throw the bl... The Road To Fairy Land
The day is dull and dreary, And chilly winds and eerie Are sweeping through the tall oak trees that fringe the orchard lane. They send the dead leaves flying, And with a ... The Robber Bridegroom
There was once a miller who had one beautiful daughter, and as she was grown up, he was anxious that she should be well married and provided for. He said to himself, 'I will give her to the first suitable man who comes and asks for her hand.' Not lo... The Robe Of Feathers
Mio Strand is in the Province of Suruga. Its sand is yellow and fine, strewn with rose shells at the ebb tide. Its pine trees are ancient and they lean all one way, which is the way that the wild wind wills. Before Mio rolls the deep sea, and behi... The Robin And The Wren
The superstitious reverence with which these birds are almost universally regarded takes its origin from a pretty belief that they undertake the delicate office of covering the dead bodies of any of the human race with moss or leaves, if by any mean... The Robins Come To The Rescue
The honeysuckles were beginning to bud. Already the humming-birds were hovering near and had built a nest right in the heart of the vine. This vine was in a nice old-fashioned garden, but near by there was a vacant lot which was very swampy. ... The Robins Open A Spring Shop
"The robins, having left their warm winter home, had settled near a great, big, lovely park," said daddy. "Now, one of the robins happened to be a very practical old bird. He suggested that they shouldn't spend all their time singing, especiall... The Robins' Spring Concert
"The robins gave their spring concert the other morning for the fairies," said daddy. "They give one every year just after most of their family have arrived for the summer. It is one of the biggest events of the spring in fairyland, and they ar... The Rogue And The Herdsman
In a tiny cottage near the king's palace there once lived an old man, his wife, and his son, a very lazy fellow, who would never do a stroke of work. He could not be got even to look after their one cow, but left her to look after herself, while he ... The Rooster The Hand-mill And The Swarm Of Hornets
Once upon a time there was a peasant who wanted to go to sell a pig. After he had gone a while, he met a man who asked him where he was going with his pig. "I want to sell it," answered the peasant, "but I do not know what to do to get rid of it."... The Rope-dancer
As an unpractised urchin lessons took In dancing, of a veteran of the ring, On slack or tight rope,--it is all one thing,-- The youngster said,--"Good master, prithee, look; How this great staff bothers and wearies me, Which yo... The Rose and the Amaranth
AN AMARANTH planted in a garden near a Rose-Tree, thus addressed it: "What a lovely flower is the Rose, a favorite alike with Gods and with men. I envy you your beauty and your perfume." The Rose replied, "I indeed, dear Amaranth, flourish but fo... The Rose Tree
Once upon a time, long long years ago, in the days when one had to be careful about witches, there lived a good man, whose young wife died, leaving him a baby girl. Now this good man felt he could not look after the baby properly, so he married... The Roses And The Sparrows
IT really appeared as if something very important were going on by the duck pond, but this was not the case. A few minutes before, all the ducks had been resting on the water or standing on their heads--for that they can do--and then they all sw... The Rover Of The Plain
A long way off, near the sea coast of the east of Africa, there dwelt, once upon a time, a man and his wife. They had two children, a son and a daughter, whom they loved very much, and, like parents in other countries, they often talked of t... The Royal Oak
There is in Shropshire a fine oak-tree which the country people there call the "Royal Oak". They say it is the great-grandson, or perhaps the great-great-grandson of another fine old oak, which more than two hundred years ago stood on the same spo... The Runaway Couple
THE Boots at the Holly Tree Inn was the young man named Cobbs, who blacked the shoes, and ran errands, and waited on the people at the inn; and this is the story that he told, one day. "Supposing a young gentleman not eight years old was to run ... The Russian Empire
There have always been plenty of laws in Russia, the chief difficulty being not with the quantity but the quality. Another perplexing feature of Muscovite laws is the uncertainty of this patchwork of royal decrees, undefined traditions, changing c...