Books: The King of Ireland's Son
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Padraic Colum >> The King of Ireland's Son
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14 This etext was prepared by A Elizabeth Warren MD, Sacramento,
CA; aewarren2@aol.com
THE KING OF IRELAND'S SON
by Padraic Colum
Contents
FEDELMA, THE ENCHANTER'S DAUGHTER
WHEN THE KING OF THE CATS CAME TO KING CONNAL'S DOMINION
THE SWORD OF LIGHT AND THE UNIQUE TALE, WITH AS MUCH OF THE ADVENTURES OF
GILLY OF THE GOAT-SKIN AS IS GIVEN IN "THE CRANESKIN BOOK"
THE TOWN OF THE RED CASTLE
THE KING OF THE LAND OF MIST
THE HOUSE OF CROM DUV
THE SPAE-WOMAN
I
Connal was the name of the King who ruled over Ireland at that time. He had
three sons, and, as the fir-trees grow, some crooked and some straight, one of
them grew up so wild that in the end the King and the King's Councillor had to
let him have his own way in everything. This youth was the King's eldest son
and his mother had died before she could be a guide to him.
Now after the King and the King's Councillor left him to his own way the youth
I'm telling you about did nothing but ride and hunt all day. Well, one morning
he rode abroad--
His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the blue sky over him,
and he rode on until he came to a turn in the road. There he saw a gray old
man seated on a heap of stones playing a game of cards with himself. First he
had one hand winning and then he had the other. Now he would say "That's my
good right," and then he would say "Play and beat that, my gallant left." The
King of Ireland's Son sat on his horse to watch the strange old man, and as he
watched him he sang a song to himself
I put the fastenings on my boat
For a year and for a day,
And I went where the rowans grow,
And where the moorhens lay;
And I went over the stepping-stones
And dipped my feet in the ford,
And came at last to the Swineherd's house,--
The Youth without a Sword.
A swallow sang upon his porch
"Glu-ee, glu-ee, glu-ee,"
"The wonder of all wandering,
The wonder of the sea;"
A swallow soon to leave ground sang
"Glu-ee, glu-ee, glu-ee."
"Prince," said the old fellow looking up at him, "if you can play a game as
well as you can sing a song, I'd like if you would sit down beside me."
"I can play any game," said the King of Ireland's Son. He fastened his horse
to the branch of a tree and sat down on the heap of stones beside the old man.
"What shall we play for?" said the gray old fellow.
"Whatever you like," said the King of Ireland's Son.
"If I win you must give me anything I ask, and if you win I shall give you
anything you ask. Will you agree to that?"
"If it is agreeable to you it is agreeable to me," said the King of Ireland's
Son.
They played, and the King of Ireland's Son won the game. "Now what do you
desire me to give, King's Son?" said the gray old fellow.
"I shan't ask you for anything," said the King of Ireland's Son, "for I think
you haven't much to give."
"Never mind that," said the gray old fellow. "I mustn't break my promise, and
so you must ask me for something."
"Very well," said the King's Son. "Then there's a field at the back of my
father's Castle and I want to see it filled with cattle to-morrow morning. Can
you do that for me?"
"I can," said the gray old fellow.
"Then I want fifty cows, each one white with a red ear, and a white calf going
beside each cow."
"The cattle shall be as you wish."
"Well, when that's done I shall think the wager has been paid," said the King
of Ireland's son. He mounted his horse, smiling at the foolish old man who
played cards with himself and who thought he could bring together fifty white
kine, each with a red ear, and a white calf by the side of each cow. He rode
away
His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the green ground under him,
and he thought no more of the gray old fellow.
But in the morning, when he was taking his horse out of the stable, he heard
the grooms talking about a strange happening. Art, the King's Steward, had
gone out and had found the field at the back of the Castle filled with cattle.
There were fifty white red-eared kine there and each cow had a white calf at
her side. The King had ordered Art, his Steward, to drive them away. The King
of Ireland's Son watched Art and his men trying to do it. But no sooner were
the strange cattle put out at one side of the field than they came back on the
other. Then down came Maravaun, the King's Councillor. He declared they were
enchanted cattle, and that no one on Ireland's ground could put them away. So
in the seven-acre field the cattle stayed.
When the King of Ireland's Son saw what his companion of yesterday could do he
rode straight to the glen to try if he could have another game with him. There
at the turn of the road, on a heap of stones, the gray old fellow was sitting
playing a game of cards, the right hand against the left. The King of
Ireland's Son fastened his horse to the branch of a tree and dismounted.
"Did you find yesterday's wager settled?" said the gray old fellow.
"I did," said the King of Ireland's Son.
"Then shall we have another game of cards on the same understanding?" said the
gray old fellow.
"I agree, if you agree," said the King of Ireland's son. He sat under the bush
beside him and they played again. The King of Ireland's Son won.
"What would you like me to do for you this time?" said the gray old fellow.
Now the King's Son had a step-mother, and she was often cross-tempered, and
that very morning he and she had vexed each other. So he said, "Let a brown
bear, holding a burning coal in his mouth, put Caintigern the Queen from her
chair in the supper-room to-night."
"It shall be done," said the gray old fellow.
Then the King of Ireland's Son mounted his horse and rode away
His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the green ground under him,
and he went back to the Castle. That night a brown bear, holding a burning
coal in his mouth, came into the supper-room and stood between Caintigern the
Queen and the chair that belonged to her. None of the servants could drive it
away, and when Maravaun, the King's Councillor, came he said, "This is an
enchanted creature also, and it is best for us to leave it alone." So the
whole company went and left the brown bear in the supper-room seated 'in the
Queen's chair.
II
The next morning when he wakened the King's Son said, "That was a wonderful
thing that happened last night in the supper-room. I must go off and play a
third game with the gray old fellow who sits on a heap of stones at the turn
of the road." So, in the morning early he mounted and rode away
His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the green ground under him,
and he rode on until he came to the turn in the road. Sure enough the old gray
fellow was there. "So you've come to me again, King's Son," said he. "I have,"
said the King of Ireland's Son, "and I'll play a last game with you on the
same understanding as before." He tied his horse to the branch and sat down on
the heap of stones. They played. The King of Ireland's Son lost the game.
Immediately the gray old fellow threw the cards down on the stones and a wind
came up and carried them away. Standing up he was terribly tall.
"King's Son," said he, "I am your father's enemy and I have done him an
injury. And to the Queen who is your father's wife I have done an injury too.
You have lost the game and now you must take the penalty I put upon you. You
must find out my dwelling-place and take three hairs out of my beard within a
year and a day, or else lose your head."
With that he took the King of Ireland's Son by the shoulders and lifted him on
his horse, turning the horse in the direction of the King's Castle. The King's
Son rode on
His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the blue sky over him.
That evening the King noticed that his son was greatly troubled. And when he
lay down to sleep everyone in the Castle heard his groans and his moans. The
next day he told his father the story from beginning to end. The King sent for
Maravaun his Councillor and asked him if he knew who the Enchanter was and
where his son would be likely to find him.
"From what he said," said Maravaun, "we may guess who he is. He is the
Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands and his dwelling-place is hard to find.
Nevertheless your son must seek for him and take the three hairs out of his
beard or else lose his head. For if the heir to your kingdom does not
honorably pay his forfeit, the ground of Ireland won't give crops and the
cattle won't give milk." "And," said the Councillor, "as a year is little for
his search, he should start off at once, although I'm bound to say, that I
don't know what direction he should go in."
The next day the King's Son said good-by to his father and his foster-brothers
and started off on his journey. His step-mother would not give him her
blessing on account of his having brought in the brown bear that turned her
from her chair in the supper-room. Nor would she let him have the good horse
he always rode. Instead the Prince was given a horse that was lame in a leg
and short in the tail. And neither hawk nor hound went with him this time.
All day the King's Son was going, traveling through wood and waste until the
coming on of night. The little fluttering birds were going from the bush tops,
from tuft to tuft, and to the briar-roots, going to rest; but if they were, he
was not, till the night came on, blind and dark. Then the King's Son ate his
bread and meat, put his satchel under his head and lay down to take his rest
on the edge of a great waste.
In the morning he mounted his horse and rode on. And as he went across the
waste he saw an extraordinary sight--everywhere were the bodies of dead
creatures--a cock, a wren, a mouse, a weasel, a fox, a badger, a raven---all
the birds and beasts that the King's Son had ever known. He went on, but he
saw no living creature before him. And then, at the end of the waste he came
upon two living creatures struggling. One was an eagle and the other was an
eel. And the eel had twisted itself round the eagle, and the eagle had covered
her eyes with the black films of death. The King's Son jumped off his horse
and cut the eel in two with a sharp stroke of his sword.
The eagle drew the films from her eyes and looked full at the King's Son. "I
am Laheen the Eagle," she said, "and I will pay you for this service, Son of
King Connal. Know that there has been a battle of the creatures--a battle to
decide which of the creatures will make laws for a year. All were killed
except the eel and myself, and if you had not come I would have been killed
and the eel would have made the laws. I am Laheen the Eagle and always I will
be your friend. And now you must tell me how I can serve you."
"You can serve me," said the King's Son, "by showing me how I may come to the
dominion of the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands."
"I am the only creature who can show you, King's Son. And if I were not old
now I would carry you there on my back. But I can tell you how you can get
there. Ride forward for a day, first with the sun before you and then with the
sun at your back, until you come to the shore of a lake. Stay there until you
see three swans flying down. They are the three daughters of the Enchanter of
the Black Back-Lands. Mark the one who carries a green scarf in her mouth. She
is the youngest daughter and the one who can help you. When the swans come to
the ground they will transform themselves into maidens and bathe in the lake.
Two will come out, put on their swanskins and transform themselves and fly
away. But you must hide the swanskin that belongs to the youngest maiden. She
will search and search and when she cannot find it she will cry out, 'I would
do anything in the world for the creature who would find my swanskin for me.'
Give the swanskin to her then, and tell her that the only thing she can do for
you is to show you the way to her father's dominion. She will do that, and so
you will come to the House of the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands. And now
farewell to you, Son of King Connal."
Laheen the Eagle spread out her wings and flew away, and the King's Son
journeyed on, first with the sun before him and then with the sun at his back,
until he came to the shore of a wide lake. He turned his horse away, rested
himself on the ground, and as soon as the clear day came he began to watch for
the three swans.
III
They came, they flew down, and when they touched the ground they trans- formed
themselves into three maidens and went to bathe in the lake. The one who
carried the green scarf left her swanskin under a bush. The King's Son took it
and hid it in a hollow tree.
Two of the maidens soon came out of the water, put on their swanskins and flew
away as swans. The younger maiden stayed for a while in the lake. Then she
came out and began to search for her swanskin. She searched and searched, and
at last the King's Son heard her say, "I would do anything in the world for
the creature who would find my swanskin for me." Then he came from where he
was hiding and gave her the swanskin. "I am the Son of the King of Ireland,"
he said, "and I want you to show me the way to your father's dominion."
"I would prefer to do anything else for you," said the maiden. "I do not want
anything else," said the King of Ireland's Son.
"If I show you how to get there will you be content?"
"I shall be content."
"You must never let my father know that I showed you the way. And he must not
know when you come that you are the King of Ireland's Son."
"I will not tell him you showed me the way and I will not let him know who I
am."
Now that she had the swanskin she was able to transform herself. She whistled
and a blue falcon came down and perched on a tree. "That falcon is my own
bird," said she. "Follow where it flies and you will come to my father's
house. And now good-by to you. You will be in danger, but I will try to help
you. Fedelma is my name." She rose up as a swan and flew away.
The blue falcon went flying from bush to bush and from rock to rock. The night
came, but in the morning the blue falcon was seen again. The King's Son
followed, and at last he saw a house before him. He went in, and there, seated
on a chair of gold was the man who seemed so tall when he threw down the cards
upon the heap of stones. The Enchanter did not recognize the King's Son
without his hawk and his hound and the fine clothes he used to wear. He asked
who he was and the King's Son said he was a youth who had just finished an
apprenticeship to a wizard. "And," said he, "I have heard that you have three
fair daughters, and I came to strive to gain one of them for a wife."
"In that case," said the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands, "you will have to
do three tasks for me. If you are able to do them I will give you one of my
three daughters in marriage. If you fail to do any one of them you will lose
your head. Are you willing to make the trial?"
"I am willing," said the King of Ireland's Son.
"Then I shall give you your first task to-morrow. It is unlucky that you came
to-day. In this country we eat a meal only once a week, and we have had our
meal this morning."
"It is all the same to me," said the King's Son, "I can do without food or
drink for a month without any hardship."
"I suppose you can do without sleep too?" said the Enchanter of the Black
Back-Lands.
"Easily," said the King of Ireland's Son.
"That is good. Come outside now, and I'll show you your bed." He took the
King's Son outside and showed him a dry narrow water-tank at the gable end of
the house. "There is where you are to sleep" said the Enchanter. "Tuck
yourself into it now and be ready for your first task at the rising of the
sun."
The King of Ireland's Son went into the little tank. He was uncomfortable
there you may be sure. But in the middle of the night Fedelma came and brought
him into a fine room where he ate and then slept until the sun was about to
rise in the morning. She called him and he went outside and laid himself down
in the water-tank.
As soon as the sun rose the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands came out of the
house and stood beside the water-tank. "Come now," said he, "and I will show
you the first task you have to perform." He took him to where a herd of goats
was grazing. Away from the goats was a fawn with white feet and little bright
horns. The fawn saw them, bounded into the air, and raced away to the wood as
quickly as any arrow that a man ever shot from a bow.
"That is Whitefoot the Fawn," said the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands. "She
grazes with my goats but none of my gillies can bring her into my goat-house.
Here is your first task--run down Whitefoot the Fawn and bring her with my
goats into the goat-shelter this evening." When he said that the Enchanter of
the Black Back-Lands went away laughing to himself.
"Good-by, my life," said the King of Ireland's Son, "I might as well try to
catch an eagle on the wing as to run down the deer that has gone out of sight
already." He sat down on the ground and his despair was great. Then his name
was called and he saw Fedelma coming towards him. She looked at him as though
she were in dread, and said, "What task has my father set you?" He told her
and then she smiled. "I was in dread it would be a more terrible task," she
said. "This one is easy. I can help you to catch Whitefoot the Fawn. But first
eat what I have brought you."
She put down bread and meat and wine, and they sat down and he ate and drank.
"I thought he might set you this task," she said, "and so I brought you
something from my father's store of enchanted things. Here are the Shoes of
Swiftness. With these on your feet you can run down Whitefoot the Fawn. But
you must catch her before she has gone very far away. Remember that she must
be brought in when the goats are going into their shelter at sunset. You will
have to walk back for all the time you must keep hold of her silver horns.
Hasten now. Run her down with the Shoes of Swiftness and then lay hold of her
horns. Above all things Whitefoot dreads the loss of her silver horns."
He thanked Fedelma. He put on the Shoes of Swiftness and went into the wood.
Now he could go as the eagle flies. He found Whitefoot the Fawn drinking at
the Raven's pool.
When she saw him she went from thicket to thicket. The Shoes of Swiftness were
hardly any use to him in these shut-in places. At last he beat her from the
last thicket. It was the hour of noon-tide then. There was a clear plain
before them and with the Shoes of Swiftness he ran her down. There were tears
in the Fawn's eyes and he knew she was troubled with the dread of losing her
silver horns.
He kept his hands on the horns and they went back over miles of plain and
pasture, bog and wood. The hours were going quicker than they were going. When
'he came within the domain of the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands he saw the
goats going quickly before him. They were hurrying from their pastures to the
goat-shelter, one stopping, maybe, to bite the top of a hedge and another
giving this one a blow with her horns to hurry her on. "By your silver horns,
we must go faster," said the King of Ireland's Son to the Fawn. They went more
quickly then.
He saw the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands waiting at the goat-house, now
counting the goats that came along and now looking at the sun. When he saw the
King of Ireland's Son coming with his capture he was so angry that he struck
an old full-bearded goat that had stopped to rub itself. The goat reared up
and struck him with his horns. "Well," said the Enchanter of the Black Back-
Lands, "you have performed your first task, I see. You are a greater enchanter
than I thought you were. Whitefoot the Fawn can go in with my goats. Go back
now to your own sleeping-place. To-morrow I'll come to you early and give you
your second task."
The King of Ireland's Son went back and into the dry water-tank. He was tired
with his day's journey after Whitefoot the Fawn. It was his hope that Fedelma
would come to him and give him shelter for that night.
IV
Until the white moon rose above the trees; until the hounds went out hunting
for themselves; until the foxes came down and hid in the hedges, waiting for
the cocks and hens to stir out at the first light--so long did the King of
Ireland's Son stay huddled in the dry water-tank.
By that time he was stiff and sore and hungry. He saw a great white owl flying
towards the tank. The owl perched on the edge and stared at the King's Son.
"Have you a message for me?" he asked. The owl shrugged with its wings three
times. He thought that meant a message. He got out of the tank and prepared to
follow the owl. It flew slowly and near the ground, so he was able to follow
it along a path through the wood.
The King's Son thought the owl was bringing him to a place where Fedelma was,
and that he would get food there, and shelter for the rest of the night. And
sure enough the owl flew to a little house in the wood. The King's Son looked
through the window and he saw a room lighted with candles and a table with
plates and dishes and cups, with bread and meat and wine. And he saw at the
fire a young woman spinning at a spinning wheel, and her back was towards him,
and her hair was the same as Fedelma's. Then he lifted the latch of the door
and went very joyfully into the little house.
But when the young woman at the spinning wheel turned round he saw that she
was not Fedelma at ail. She had a little mouth, a long and a hooked nose, and
her eyes looked cross-ways at a person. The thread she was spinning she bit
with her long teeth, and she said, "You are welcome here, Prince."
"And who are you?" said the King of Ireland's Son. "Aefa is my name," said
she, "I am the eldest and the wisest daughter of the Enchanter of the Black
Back-lands. My father is preparing a task for you," said she, "and it will be
a terrible task, and there will be no one to help you with it, so you will
lose your head surely. And what I would advise you to do is to escape out of
this country at once."
"And how can I escape?" said the King of Ireland's Son, "There's only one way
to escape," said she, "and that is for you to take the Slight Red Steed that
my father has secured under nine locks. That steed is the only creature that
can bring you to your own country. I ,rill show you how to get it and then I
will ride to your home with you."
"And why should you do that?" said the King of Ireland's Son.
"Because I would marry you," said Aefa.
"But," said he, "if I live at all Fedelma is the one I will marry."
No sooner did he say the words than Aefa screamed out, "Seize him, my cat-o'-
the-mountain. Seize him and hold him." Then the cat-o'-the-mountain that was
under the table sprang across the room and fixed himself on his shoulder. He
ran out of the house. All the time he was running the cat-o'-the-mountain was
trying to tear his eyes out. He made his way through woods and thickets, and
mighty glad he was when he saw the tank at the gable-end of the house. The
cat-'o-the-mountain dropped from his back then. He got into the tank and
waited and waited. No message came from Fedelma. He was a long time there,
stiff and sore and hungry, before the sun rose and the Enchanter of the Black
Back-Lands came out of the house.
V
I hope you had a good night's rest," said the Enchanter of the Black Back-
Lands, when he came to where the King of Ireland's Son was crouched, just at
the rising of the sun. "I had indeed," said the King's Son. "And I suppose you
feel fit for another task," said the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands. "More
fit than ever in my life before," said the King of Ireland's Son.
The Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands took him past the goat-house and to
where there was an open shelter for his bee-hives. "I want this shelter
thatched," said he, "and I want to have it thatched with the feathers of
birds. Go," said he, "and get enough feathers of wild birds and come back and
thatch the bee-hive shelter for me, and let it be done before the set of sun."
He gave the King's Son arrows and a bow and a bag to put the feathers in, and
advised him to search the moor for birds. Then he went back to the house.
The King of Ireland's Son ran to the moor and watched for birds to fly across.
At last one came. He shot at it with an arrow but did not bring it down. He
hunted the moor ail over but found no other bird. He hoped that he would see
Fedelma before his head was taken off.
Then he heard his name called and he saw Fedelma coming towards him. She
looked at him as before with dread in tier eyes and asked him what task her
father had set him. "A terrible task," he said, and he told her what it was.
Fedelma laughed. "I was in dread he would give you another task," she said. "I
can help you with this one. Sit down now and eat and drink from what I have
brought you."
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