THE
PRINCE, THE FOX, AND
THE
SWORD OF LIGHT
There was a king of the
Western Isles who had one son and his name was
Iain. He was a fine lad and strong, who could run
like the hare in the heather and hunt with the
swiftness of the hawk on the mountain. And happy
was he in his father's house until his mother
died and the king married another wife. The new
queen was dark and powerful in spells and jealous
of the boy and wished to do him harm.
One
day she saw her chance. The young prince had gone
out hunting but found no game at all that day.
Only a blue falcon that flew past him as he made
his way homeward.Carefully he aimed his arrow at
her but she flew so swift that only a blue
feather fluttered down from her wing to the
forest floor. The prince put the feather in his
hunting-bag and returned home. When the Queen saw
him she asked him what he had caught today.
"Only
this," said Iain, handing her the feather.
But the Queen knew the feather had magic in it,
and as she took it, she cried,
"I am setting as crosses and spells and the
decay of the year on you that you be not without
a pool in your shoe, wet, filthy and cold, until
you get me the bird from which that feather
came."
But the prince was not without some knowledge of
magic also.
"And on you," he cried, "I am
setting as crosses and spells and the decay of
the year that you shall stand on the castle roof
facing whichever way the wind blows, until I
return."
And away he went to seek the blue falcon while
the Queen found herself standing on the roof-top
facing a howling north wind.
Prince
Iain travelled through the wildwoods, endlessly
seeking the blue falcon, but not a trace of her
could he find. The winter dusk came early and the
little birds were flying from the bush tops to
rest beneath the briar roots, but Iain stumbled
on through the blind dark night hopeless and
alone.At last he rested under a bramble bush,
when who should come that way but Gil Martin, the
fox.
"You're
a sorry sight, Iain," said the fox,
"and what's more you chose a bad night to
come. I have only the hoof and the jaw of a
sheep, but I'll share my supper with you."
They
kindled a fire and roasted the meat, and after
supper the prince told the fox of his quest.
"I can tell you where the falcon
dwells," said Gil Martin."She is in the
house of the giant of five heads, five necks and
five humps, and I will show you where he lives.
You can be there by morning and you must ask for
work. Look after his birds well and he may trust
you to feed the blue falcon. Be very good to her,
and wait for a time when the giant goes out, and
then you can run away with her. But of one thing
you must take great care - not one feather must
touch anything in the house or it will not go
well with you."
So
the prince set off the next morning, and he came
to the house of the Giant with Five Heads, Five
Necks and Five Humps. He hammered on the door and
the giant stuck all five heads out of a high
window and they all roared at him; "What do
you want?"
"It is work that I want," replied the
prince.
"What can you do?" roared the five
voices of the giant.
"I can tend pigs and I can tend cows, rake
the muck of the pen and the byre, mash the bran
and toss the hay, feed the hens and the cock in
the coop, but I am particularly good at feeding
birds," Iain said.
"It
is the likes of you that I want," blared the
giant, and let the prince inside. The prince was
a marvellous help to the giant. He had a
wonderful way with beasts of all kinds, and it
was not long before the giant let him look after
the blue falcon. He tended the beautiful bird so
well that the giant thought he could trust him
well enough to leave him alone in the house.
As
soon as the giant left, the prince seized the
falcon and swiftly made for the door. But as he
crossed the threshhold, the falcon saw the light
and spread her wings out so that one feather
touched the door-post and the door-post let out a
screech! Back came the giant and grabbed Iain by
the scruff of his neck.
"So,
you want my falcon do you?" he roared.
" I would not give her to you unless you
fetched me the White Sword of Light from the
Seven Big Women of the Isle of Jura!" and he
kicked Iain out of the door. As he picked himself
up he found himself nose to nose with Gil Martin,
the fox.
"Well,
you're a sorry sight," said the fox.
"You did not do as I said, and the sun is
going down.What's more you chose a bad night to
come. I have only the hoof and the jaw of a
sheep, but I'll share my supper with you."
So they kindled a fire and cooked the bones and
ate them. And in the morning the fox said,
"Now I suppose I must tell you how to get
the Sword of Light."
They
set off together for the sea-shore at a brisk
pace and the fox told him,
"Here's what you must do: you must ask the
Seven Big Women for work polishing their metal
ware, and do such a good job of it they will
entrust you with the Sword of Light.But when you
get a chance to run off with it, you must take
care not to let it touch anything in the house or
all will not go well. And now I will take you to
the Isle of Jura."
"How can you do that?" asked the
prince, but even as he spoke the fox turned
himself into a little boat. Iain leapt aboard and
off they sailed for the island.
Prince
Iain knocked at the door of the Seven Big Women
of the Isle of Jura.
"What do you want?"
"It's work that I want."
"What can you do?"
"I can shine and polish your silver and
gold, coppery kettles and candlesticks, burnish
your cauldrons and saucepans bright, make your
carving-knives sparkle and gleam. And I'm
particularly good with swords!"
"It's the likes of you that we want,"
said the Seven Big Women of the Isle of Jura.
And
Iain was so good at shining and polishing that
they started to say to each other:
"We should let him do the Sword of
Light."
And so they did, but it was not long after that
that the women went on a wee trip to the other
side of the island, and as soon as they left,
Iain seized the sword, thrust it into the sheath,
raised it onto his shoulder and made off with it.
But just as he crossed the threshhold, the point
of the sheath touched the lintel, and the lintel
made a screech! Back ran the Seven Big Women,
thundering up the path, and snatched the sword
from him.
"We
would not give that to you unless you brought us
the Bay Filly of the king of Erin!" they
screamed as they kicked him down the strand.
As
Iain spat the sand out of his mouth, he caught
the eye of Gil Martin the fox, laughing at him
from a rock.
"You've made a right mess of things, haven't
you? And with a terrible wet night coming on! I
have only the hoof and the jaw of a sheep, but
I'll share my supper with you." So they
kindled a fire and cooked the bones and ate them
and in the first light of day the fox prepared
Ian for a trip to Erin.
"When
we get there you must ask the king for work as a
stable-boy, and at the first chance you get, ride
off with the Bay Filly. But if any part of her
touches the gate,all will not be well with
you." And the next day, Gil Martin turned
himself back into a boat and pointed the prow
westwards for Erin's Isle.
When
they reached the shore of Erin, the prince leaped
ashore and made his way to the castle of the king
of Erin. He hammered on the door till the king
came out.
"What do you want?"
"It's work that I want."
"What can you do?"
"I can harness the horses with bridle and
bit, fit 'em with saddles and silk caparison;
polish the spurs and tie bells on their reins;
fill the manger and rub them down; nurse the colt
and groom the destrier; but I'm particularly good
with fillies!"
"Hmmm!" said the king, "Show him
to the stable!"
And
under Ian 's care the horses grew sleek and their
silver shone, and the king was so pleased he
said,
"This is the best stable boy I've ever had.
I will let him look after the Bay Filly ."
And Ian looked after the Bay Filly so well, her
coat was so shiny and she galloped so swift she
would leave one wind and catch another. He waited
until the king was away on the hunting hill,
saddled and bridled her and led her out of the
stable, but he was just taking her through the
gate when she gave a swish of her tail, and
touched the gatepost, and the gatepost let out a
screech! The king heard the noise as he was
returning from the hunt and he seized Ian by the
scruff of his neck.
"I would not give you the Bay Filly unless
you fetched for me the daughter of the King of
France!" he yelled as he threw Ian down the
castle steps.
He
wandered off miserably to the seashore and there
he met Gil Martin laughing at him from the top of
a rock.
"Well you are in a pickle and no mistake!
And all because you don't do what I tell you. So
I suppose it's off to France with the two of
us."
And he turned himself into a ship with full sails
and off they sailed to France with the wind
behind them.
When
they came to the shore of France, the fox-ship
rammed himself up against a tall rock and told
Ian what to do.Off went the prince to the king's
castle and knocked on the door and out came the
king, the queen and their beautiful daughter.
"O misery me!" said Ian, "for a
great storm has swept my ship onto the rock, and
I'm quite stuck."
The
king, the queen and the princess all came down to
the shore to see the ship. But as they drew near,
they began to hear the sweetest strains of music
on board, and the princess just had to go aboard
with Ian to see where it was coming from. But
when she ran to one cabin it seemed to come from
another, and she followed it from cabin to cabin
and from deck to deck until at last she and the
prince emerged on the upper deck of the ship -
and saw that they were far out at sea.
"You
tricked me!" cried the princess."Where
are we going?"
"You are going to Erin to marry the king, to
get me the horse, to get me the sword from the
Big Women of Jura, to get me the blue falcon of
the giant with Five Heads, Five Necks and Five
Humps, to take home to my stepmother so I may be
free from my crosses and spells and the bad
diseases of the year."
And the King of France's daughter said,
"But I would rather marry you."
Well,
they got to the shores of Erin again, and the fox
turned himself into the shape of a lovely woman
with long red hair. "You must take me to be
the king's wife," he said."And the
princess must wait on the shore."
And
the King of Erin loved his beautiful bride with
the long red hair. He gave Ian the Bay Filly all
decked in a gold saddle and silver bridle, but as
soon as he took his sweet young bride to bed, and
went to hold her close, she changed back into a
fox again and bit the king where it hurts!
Off
ran Gil Martin the fox down to the shore and
turned himself into a ship again. The prince, the
princess and the Bay Filly all sailed to the
Island of Jura, and when they got there the fox
turned himself into a red-brown filly and Iain
took her to the house of the Seven Big Women.
Ooh,
they were so pleased to see the horse!
They thrust the Sword of Light into Iain's hand
and one of them got up on the horse's back, her
sister got up behind her, and another behind and
another behind, until all seven of the Big Women
were sitting atop her. Then away went the horse
like the Black Wind of the North and the PaleWind
of the West, the Purple Wind of the East and the
Pale Wind of the West. He carried them screaming
over the mountain moors until he came to the
highest mountain in Jura, where he kicked up his
hind legs and off they all tumbled and rolled
down to the sea.
Then
he turned himself into a boat again, and off went
the prince, the princess, the Bay Filly and the
Sword of Light to the Western Isles of Scotland,
and the fox turned himself into a great sword and
Iain carried him to the castle of the giant with
Five Heads, Five Necks, and Five Humps.
The
giant roared with delight and gave Iain the blue
falcon. Then he took up the sword and whirled it
around his head. But Gil Martin bent himself and
swept off the five heads of the giant. Then he
turned himself back to a fox again and ran back
to the prince.
"Here,"
he said,"You and the princess must ride the
filly to your father's house, but hold the sword
high in front of you for your stepmother has a
glance that is so deadly she will turn you into a
bundle of firewood.
So they rode back home and Iain held the sword
high and there was his stepmother, very wet and
very cold, standing on the roof turning round and
round slowly with the wind.
When she saw Iain she turned upon him her deadly
bewitching eye but the Sword of Light gave a
sudden flash and she dropped down as a bundle of
firewood. And Iain gathered it up and set fire to
it and that was the end of her.
So
now he had the best wife in Scotland and the Bay
Filly so fast she could leave one wind and catch
another, and the Blue Falcon to keep him in
plenty of game, and the Sword of Light to win any
battle. And he told Gil Martin to help himself to
any hens or geese or ducks or sheep on his land.
But
Gil Martin winked and said he could find plenty
to eat without bothering Prince Iain and his
bride. He bid them a fond goodnight and slipped
away back into the wood.
~
J.F.
Campbell's Mac Ian Direach from Popular
Tales of the West Highlands.
|