advises him how he may pass a loch: he is to take seven bottles of wine, half way through the loch to rub three bottles to the steed with the hair and against the hair; when across, the other four bottles-and come to a young man to whom he is to offer his steed in exchange solely (weight in silver, gold, and half kingdom being offered first) for an old grey man; when he has the latter he is to do the contrary of what he asks. (6) Hero and old grey man start off together, and latter tells his story: (7) how he was bespelled by a witch named Trouble-the-house, at the instigation of his stepmother, and turned into a wolf with his two brothers; how they in revenge ravaged her hen-roosts; how they were hunted into a cave, and drew lots which should eat the others; how the lot fell on him first, but being the elder he slew his brethren; (8) how he surviving was rescued by a ship; how the captain's wife bore a child, and a big fist carried it off; how he was accused, the midwives smearing him with blood, but spared by the captain; how the third time he bit off the hand, and fol- lowing up the blood-marks in the snow came to a cave where he found "him" and the three children; how he killed him; how the midwives who accused him were burnt in punishment; how he was unspelled by his step-brothers whom he bit ad hoc, and in that way was the Great Tuairis- geul put to death. (9) The old grey man begs to be thrown into the cauldron, but the hero, getting back his steed by shaking the bridle which he had kept, returns to heroine, finds wizard dead, and marries heroine.
Nature of collection, whether:—
- 'Original or translation.—Gaelic and English. (See
above.)
- If by word of mouth state narrator's name.—J. Campbell, Hianish, Isle of Tiree.
- Other particulars.—" Taken down some years since; given exactly as it came to hand; tale at one time well known."
Special points noted by the Editor of the above.—Tale consists of two portions: Framework and inc. 1-6, belong to "Task" group; inc. 7 and 8 (recital of old man) to "Calumniated Wife" or "Gellert" group. For inc. 1 cf. Campbell No. i.; inc. 2, Campbell xliv.; inc. 3, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Luzel Veillées Bretonnes Nos. 1 and 4, and Perseus; inc. 5, loch-crossing cf. Campbell li., advice to take insignificant object cf. Campbell xlvi, Grimm lxviii. Wolf p. 134, for contrary advice cf. Pwyll, Ralston p. 238; inc. 7, cf. Fate of the children of Lir, for ravaging of hen roosts cf. Campbell xli, Grimm 66, Asbj. and Moe 31, for lot-casting cf. Folk-Lore Record, iii. 2, p. 253; inc. 8, cf. Mabinogi of Pwyll, St. George; inc. 9, cf. Grimm iii. p. 98, Folk-Lore Record iii. 2, p. 214. According to a variant the wizard is the son of the Great Tuairisgeul; during the recital of the story he rises out of the ground; but hero, by heroine's direction, cuts off his head before he is entirely clear.
Remarks by the Tabulator.—Nil.
(Signed) Alfred Nutt.
