[1] From Beside the Fire, Douglas Hyde (David Nutt, London).
There was once a tailor in Galway, and he started out on a journey to
go to the king's court at Dublin.
He had not gone far till he met a white horse, and he saluted him.
"God save you," said the tailor.
"God save you," said the horse. "Where are you going?"
"I am going to Dublin," said the tailor, "to build a court for the king
and to get a lady for a wife, if I am able to do it." For, it seems
the king had promised his daughter and a great lot of money to any one
who should be able to build up his court. The trouble was, that three
giants lived in the wood near the court, and every night they came out
of the wood and threw down all that was built by day. So nobody could
get the court built.
"Would you make me a hole," said the old white garraun, "where I could
go a-hiding whenever the people are for bringing me to the mill or the
kiln, so that they won't see me; for they have me perished doing work
for them."
"I'll do that, indeed," said the tailor, "and welcome."
He brought his spade and shovel, and he made a hole, and he said to the
old white horse to go down into it till he would see if it would fit
him. The white horse went down into the hole, but when he tried to
come up again, he was not able.
"Make a place for me now," said the white horse, "by which I'll come up
out of the hole here, whenever I'll be hungry."
"I will not," said the tailor; "remain where you are until I come back,
and I'll lift you up."
The tailor went forward next day, and the fox met him.
"God save you," said the fox.
"God save you," said the tailor.
"Where are you going," said the fox.
"I'm going to Dublin, to try will I be able to make a court for the
king."
"Would you make a place for me where I'd go hiding?" said the fox.
"The rest of the foxes do be beating me, and they don't allow me to eat
anything with them."
"I'll do that for you," said the tailor.
He took his axe and his saw, and he made a thing like a crate, and he
told the fox to get into it till he would see whether it would fit him.
The fox went into it, and when the tailor got him down, he shut him in.
When the fox was satisfied at last that he had a nice place of it
within, he asked the tailor to let him out, and the tailor answered
that he would not.
"Wait there until I come back again," says he.
The tailor went forward the next day, and he had not walked very far
until he met a modder-alla; and the lion greeted him.
"God save you," said the lion.
"God save you," said the tailor.
"Where are you going?" said the lion.
"I'm going to Dublin till I make a court for the king if I'm able to
make it," said the tailor.
"If you were to make a plough for me," said the lion, "I and the other
lions could be ploughing and harrowing until we'd have a bit to eat in
the harvest."
"I'll do that for you," said the tailor.
He brought his axe and his saw, and he made a plough. When the plough
was made he put a hole in the beam of it, and he said to the lion to go
in under the plough till he'd see was he any good of a ploughman. He
placed the lion's tail in the hole he had made for it, and then clapped
in a peg, and the lion was not able to draw out his tail again.
"Loose me out now," said the lion, "and we'll fix ourselves and go
ploughing."
The tailor said he would not loose him out until he came back himself.
He left him there then, and he came to Dublin.
When he came to Dublin, he got workmen and began to build the court.
At the end of the day he had the workmen put a great stone on top of
the work. When the great stone was raised up, the tailor put some sort
of contrivance under it, that he might be able to throw it down as soon
as the giant would come as far as it. The workpeople went home then,
and the tailor went in hiding behind the big stone.
When the darkness of the night was come, he saw the three giants
arriving, and they began throwing down the court until they came as far
as the place where the tailor was in hiding up above, and a man of them
struck a blow of his sledge on the place where he was. The tailor
threw down the stone, and it fell on him and killed him. They went home
then and left all of the court that was remaining without throwing it
down, since a man of themselves was dead.
The tradespeople came again the next day, and they were working until
night, and as they were going home the tailor told them to put up the
big stone on the top of the work, as it had been the night before.
They did that for him, went home, and the tailor went in hiding the
same as he did the evening before.
When the people had all gone to rest, the two giants came, and they
were throwing down all that was before them, and as soon as they began,
they put two shouts out of them. The tailor was going on manoeuvring
until he threw down the great stone, and it fell upon the skull of the
giant that was under him, and it killed him. There was only the one
giant left in it then, and he never came again until the court was
finished.
Then when the work was over, the tailor went to the king and told him
to give him his wife and his money, as he had the court finished; and
the king said he would not give him any wife until he would kill the
other giant, for he said that it was not by his strength he killed the
two giants before that, and that he would give him nothing now until he
killed the other one for him. Then the tailor said that he would kill
the other giant for him, and welcome; that there was no delay at all
about that.
The tailor went then till he came to the place where the other giant
was, and asked did he want a servant-boy. The giant said he did want
one, if he could get one who would do everything that he would do
himself.
"Anything that you will do, I will do it," said the tailor.
They went to their dinner then, and when they had it eaten, the giant
asked the tailor "would it come with him to swallow as much broth as
himself, up out of its boiling." The tailor said, "It will come with
me to do that, but that you must give me an hour before we begin on
it." The tailor went out then, and he got a sheep-skin, and he sewed
it up till he made a bag of it, and he slipped it down under his coat.
He came in then and said to the giant to drink a gallon of the broth
himself first. The giant drank that up out of its boiling. "I'll do
that," said the tailor. He was going on until he had it all poured
into the skin, and the giant thought he had it drunk. The giant drank
another gallon then, and the tailor let another gallon down into the
skin, but the giant thought he was drinking it.
"I'll do a thing now that it won't come with you to do," said the
tailor.
"You will not," said the giant. "What is it you would do?"
"Make a hole and let out the broth again," said the tailor.
"Do it yourself first," said the giant.
The tailor gave a prod of the knife, and he let the broth out of the
skin.
"Do that you," said he.
"I will," said the giant, giving such a prod of the knife into his own
stomach that he killed himself. That is the way the tailor killed the
third giant.
He went to the king then, and desired him to send him out his wife and
his money, for that he would throw down the court again unless he
should get the wife. They were afraid then that he would throw down
the court, and they sent the wife to him.
When the tailor was a day gone, himself and his wife, they repented and
followed him to take his wife off him again. The people who were after
him were following him till they came to the place where the lion was,
and the lion said to them: "The tailor and his wife were here
yesterday. I saw them going by, and if ye loose me now, I am swifter
than ye, and I will follow them till I overtake them." When they heard
that, they loosed out the lion.
The lion and the people of Dublin went on, and they were pursuing him,
until they came to the place where the fox was, and the fox greeted
them, and said: "The tailor and his wife were here this morning, and
if ye will loose me out, I am swifter than ye, and I will follow them,
and overtake them." They loosed out the fox then.
The lion and the fox and the army of Dublin went on then, trying would
they catch the tailor, and they were going till they came to the place
where the old white garraun was, and the old white garraun said to them
that the tailor and his wife were there in the morning, and "Loose me
out," said he; "I am swifter than ye, and I'll overtake them." They
loosed out the old white garraun then, and the old white garraun, the
fox, the lion, and the army of Dublin pursued the tailor and his wife
together, and it was not long till they came up with him, and saw
himself and the wife out before them.
When the tailor saw them coming, he got out of the coach with his wife,
and he sat down on the ground.
When the old white garraun saw the tailor sitting down on the ground,
he said, "That's the position he had when he made the hole for me, that
I couldn't come up out of, when I went down into it. I'll go no nearer
to him."
"No!" said the fox, "but that's the way he was when he was making the
thing for me, and I'll go no nearer to him."
"No!" says the lion, "but that's the very way he had, when he was
making the plough that I was caught in. I'll go no nearer to him."
They all went from him then and returned. The tailor and his wife came
home to Galway.