Celts -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Great Britain; Folklore -- Great Britain; Tales -- Great Britain
"We are going to play a hurling match to-night against the fairy host of
Munster, and unless we beat them our fame is gone for ever. The match is
to be fought out on Moytura, under Slieve Belgadaun."
The Connacht host cried out: "We are all ready, and we have no doubt but
we'll beat them."
"Out with ye all," cried the high king; "the men of the hill of Nephin
will be on the ground before us."
They all went out, and little Donal and twelve pipers more before them,
playing melodious music. When they came to Moytura, the fairy host of
Munster and the fairy men of the hill of Nephin were there before them.
Now it is necessary for the fairy host to have two live men beside them
when they are fighting or at a hurling match, and that was the reason
that little Donal took Paddy O'Kelly with him. There was a man they
called the "_Yellow Stongirya_" with the fairy host of Munster, from
Ennis, in the County Clare.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
It was not long till the two hosts took sides; the ball was thrown up
between them, and the fun began in earnest. They were hurling away, and
the pipers playing music, until Paddy O'Kelly saw the host of Munster
getting the strong hand, and he began helping the fairy host of
Connacht. The _Stongirya_ came up and he made at Paddy O'Kelly, but
Paddy turned him head over heels. From hurling the two hosts began at
fighting, but it was not long until the host of Connacht beat the other
host. Then the host of Munster made flying beetles of themselves, and
they began eating every green thing that they came up to. They were
destroying the country before them until they came as far as Cong. Then
there rose up thousands of doves out of the hole, and they swallowed
down the beetles. That hole has no other name until this day but
Pull-na-gullam, the dove's hole.
When the fairy host of Connacht won their battle, they came back to Cnoc
Matha joyous enough, and the king Finvara gave Paddy O'Kelly a purse of
gold, and the little piper brought him home, and put him into bed beside
his wife, and left him sleeping there.
A month went by after that without anything worth mentioning, until one
night Paddy went down to the cellar, and the little man said to him: "My
mother is dead; burn the house over her."
"It is true for you," said Paddy. "She told me that she hadn't but a
month to be in the world, and the month was up yesterday."
On the next morning of the next day Paddy went to the hut and he found
the hag dead. He put a coal under the hut and burned it. He came home
and told the little man that the hag was burnt. The little man gave him
a purse and said to him: "This purse will never be empty as long as you
are alive. Now, you will never see me more; but have a loving
remembrance of the weasel. She was the beginning and the prime cause of
your riches." Then he went away and Paddy never saw him again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account