Celts -- Folklore; Fairy tales; Fairy tales -- Great Britain; Folklore -- Great Britain; Tales -- Great Britain
When these words were said, poor little Lusmore felt himself so light,
and so happy, that he thought he could have bounded at one jump over the
moon, like the cow in the history of the cat and the fiddle; and he saw,
with inexpressible pleasure, his hump tumble down upon the ground from
his shoulders. He then tried to lift up his head, and he did so with
becoming caution, fearing that he might knock it against the ceiling of
the grand hall, where he was; he looked round and round again with
greatest wonder and delight upon everything, which appeared more and
more beautiful; and, overpowered at beholding such a resplendent scene,
his head grew dizzy, and his eyesight became dim. At last he fell into a
sound sleep, and when he awoke he found that it was broad daylight, the
sun shining brightly, and the birds singing sweetly; and that he was
lying just at the foot of the moat of Knockgrafton, with the cows and
sheep grazing peacefully round about him. The first thing Lusmore did,
after saying his prayers, was to put his hand behind to feel for his
hump, but no sign of one was there on his back, and he looked at himself
with great pride, for he had now become a well-shaped dapper little
fellow, and more than that, found himself in a full suit of new clothes,
which he concluded the fairies had made for him.
Towards Cappagh he went, stepping out as lightly, and springing up at
every step as if he had been all his life a dancing-master. Not a
creature who met Lusmore knew him without his hump, and he had a great
work to persuade every one that he was the same man--in truth he was
not, so far as outward appearance went.
Of course it was not long before the story of Lusmore's hump got about,
and a great wonder was made of it. Through the country, for miles round,
it was the talk of every one, high and low.
One morning, as Lusmore was sitting contented enough, at his cabin door,
up came an old woman to him, and asked him if he could direct her to
Cappagh.
"I need give you no directions, my good woman," said Lusmore, "for this
is Cappagh; and whom may you want here?"
"I have come," said the woman, "out of Decie's country, in the county
of Waterford looking after one Lusmore, who, I have heard tell, had his
hump taken off by the fairies; for there is a son of a gossip of mine
who has got a hump on him that will be his death; and maybe if he could
use the same charm as Lusmore, the hump may be taken off him. And now I
have told you the reason of my coming so far: 'tis to find out about
this charm, if I can."
Lusmore, who was ever a good-natured little fellow, told the woman all
the particulars, how he had raised the tune for the fairies at
Knockgrafton, how his hump had been removed from his shoulders, and how
he had got a new suit of clothes into the bargain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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