The island of Innis-Sark (Shark Island) was a holy and peaceful place
in old times; and so quiet that the pigeons used to come and build in a
great cave by the sea, and no one disturbed them. And the holy saints
of God had a monastery there, to which many people resorted from the
mainland, for the prayers of the monks were powerful against sickness
or evil, or the malice of an enemy.
Amongst others, there came a great and noble prince out of Munster,
with his wife and children and their nurse; and they were so pleased
with the island that they remained a year or more; for the prince loved
fishing, and often brought his wife along with him.
One day, while they were both away, the eldest child, a beautiful boy
of ten years old, begged his nurse to let him go and see the pigeons’
cave, but she refused.
“Your father would be angry,” she cried, “if you went without leave.
Wait till he comes home, and see if he will allow you.”
So when the prince returned, the boy told him how he longed to see the
cave, and the father promised to bring him next day.
The morning was beautiful and the wind fair when they set off. But the
child soon fell asleep in the boat, and never wakened all the time his
father was fishing. The sleep, however, was troubled, and many a time
he started and cried aloud. So the prince thought it better to turn the
boat and land, and then the boy awoke.
After dinner the father called for the child. “Tell me now,” he said,
“why was your sleep troubled, so that you cried out bitterly in your
dream.”
“I dreamed,” said the boy, “that I stood upon a high rock, and at the
bottom flowed the sea, but the waves made no noise; and as I looked
down I saw fields and trees and beautiful flowers and bright birds in
the branches, and I longed to go down and pluck the flowers. Then I
heard a voice, saying, ‘Blessed are the souls that come here, for this
is heaven.’
“And in an instant I thought I was in the midst of the meadows amongst
the birds and the flowers; and a lovely lady, bright as an angel, came
up to me, and said, ‘What brings you here, dear child; for none but the
dead come here.’
“Then she left me, and I wept for her going; when suddenly all the sky
grew black, and a great troop of wild wolves came round me, howling and
opening their mouths wide as if to devour me. And I screamed, and tried
to run, but I could not move, and the wolves came closer, and I fell
down like one dead with fright, when, just then, the beautiful lady
came again, and took my hand and kissed me.
“‘Fear not,’ she said, ‘take these flowers, they come from heaven. And
I will bring you to the meadow where they grow.’
“And she lifted me up into the air, but I know nothing more; for then
the boat stopped and you lifted me on shore, but my beautiful flowers
must have fallen from my hands, for I never saw them more. And this is
all my dream; but I would like to have my flowers again, for the lady
told me they had the secret that would bring me to heaven.”
The prince thought no more of the child’s dream, but went off to fish
next day as usual, leaving the boy in the care of his nurse. And again
the child begged and prayed her so earnestly to bring him to the
pigeons’ cave, that at last she consented; but told him he must not go
a step by himself, and she would bring two of the boys of the island to
take care of him.
So they set off, the child and his little sister with the nurse. And
the boy gathered wild flowers for his sister, and ran down to the
edge of the cave where the cormorants were swimming; but there was no
danger, for the two young islanders were minding him.
So the nurse was content, and being weary she fell asleep. And the
little sister lay down beside her, and fell asleep likewise.
Then the boy called to his companions, the two young islanders, and
told them he must catch the cormorants. So away they ran, down the
path to the sea, hand in hand, and laughing as they went. Just then a
piece of rock loosened and fell beside them, and trying to avoid it
they slipped over the edge of the narrow path down a steep place, where
there was nothing to hold on by except a large bush, in the middle of
the way. They got hold of this, and thought they were now quite safe,
but the bush was not strong enough to bear their weight, and it was
torn up by the roots. And all three fell straight down into the sea and
were drowned.
Now, at the sound of the great cry that came up from the waves, the
nurse awoke, but saw no one. Then she woke up the little sister. “It is
late,” she cried, “they must have gone home. We have slept too long, it
is already evening; let us hasten and overtake them, before the prince
is back from the fishing.”
But when they reached home the prince stood in the doorway. And he was
very pale, and weeping.
“Where is my brother?” cried the little girl.
“You will never see your brother more,” answered the prince. And
from that day he never went fishing any more, but grew silent and
thoughtful, and was never seen to smile. And in a short time he and his
family quitted the island, never to return.
But the nurse remained. And some say she became a saint, for she
was always seen praying and weeping by the entrance to the great sea
cave. And one day, when they came to look for her, she lay dead on the
rocks. And in her hand she held some beautiful strange flowers freshly
gathered, with the dew on them. And no one knew how the flowers came
into her dead hand. Only some fishermen told the story of how the
night before they had seen a bright fairy child seated on the rocks
singing; and he had a red sash tied round his waist, and a golden
circlet binding his long yellow hair. And they all knew that he was
the prince’s son, who had been drowned in that spot just a twelvemonth
before. And the people believe that he had brought the flowers from the
spirit-land to the woman, and given them to her as a death sign, and a
blessed token from God that her soul would be taken to heaven.