Celts -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Great Britain; Folklore -- Great Britain; Tales -- Great Britain
He got the horses, the withes, and the plough, and when he reached the
end of the first field with them, he thrust the plough into the ground,
and cried:
"My horses and my leather-traces, and mettlesome lads,
The earth is coming up!"
He then began ploughing, kept at it all day at a terrible rate, and
before the sun went down that night there was not a palm-breadth of the
three fields which he had not ploughed, sowed, and harrowed. When the
Farmer saw this he was exceedingly well pleased, for he had his work
finished as soon as his neighbours.
The Ploughman was quick and ready to do everything that he was told, and
so he and the Farmer agreed well until the harvest came. But on a
certain day when the reaping was over, the Farmer said to him that he
thought the corn was dry enough for putting in. The Ploughman tried a
sheaf or two, and answered that it was not dry yet. But shortly after
that day he said that it was now ready. "If it is," said the Farmer, "we
better begin putting it in." "We will not until I get my share out of it
first," said the Ploughman. He then went off to the wood, and in a short
time returned, having in his hand a withe scraped and twisted. He
stretched the withe on the field, and began to put the corn in it. He
continued putting sheaf after sheaf in the withe until he had taken
almost all the sheaves that were on the field. The Farmer asked of him
what he meant? "Thou didst promise me as wages as much corn as I could
carry with me in one burden-withe, and here I have it now," said the
Ploughman, as he was shutting the withe.
The Farmer saw that he would be ruined by the Ploughman, and therefore
said:
"'Twas in the Mart I sowed,
'Twas in the Mart I baked,
'Twas in the Mart I harrowed.
Thou Who hast ordained the three Marts,
Let not my share go in one burden-withe."
Instantly the withe broke, and it made a loud report, which echo
answered from every rock far and near. Then the corn spread over the
field, and the Ploughman went away in a white mist in the skies, and was
seen no more.
The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener
[Illustration: T]
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