_The wee Bannock._
There was an old man who had an old wife, and they lived by the side
of a hill. They had two cows, five hens and a cock, a cat and two
kittens. The old man looked after the cows whilst the old woman knitted
stockings for him, and when she let her ball of yarn fall the kittens
sprang upon it, and after it as it rolled away, till it got twisted
round all the legs of the chairs and of the table, so that the old
woman had plenty to do without knitting the stockings.
One day, after breakfast, she thought she would have a bannock, so she
made two oatmeal bannocks and put them to the fire to bake. After a
while the old man came in and sat down by the side of the fire, and
when he saw the bannocks he took up one and snapped it through the
middle. No sooner did the other see this than off it ran as fast as
it could, and the old woman after it; but the wee bannock ran away
and out of sight, and ran till it came to a pretty large thatched
house, into which it ran boldly up to the fire-side. There were three
tailors sitting on a table, and when they saw the wee bannock come in
they jumped up and off the table, and ran behind the good wife who was
carding tow on the other side of the fire.
"Be not afraid," she cried, "it's only a wee bannock. Catch it, and
I'll give you a basin of milk with it."
Up she gets with the tow-cards, and the tailor with the goose, and
the two apprentices: the one with the shears and the other with the
sleeve-board, but it eluded them all. The one apprentice made a snap
at it with the shears, but he fell into the ash-pit. The tailor threw
the goose and his wife the tow-cards; but it wouldn't do; the bannock
got away and ran till it came to a little house by the road-side, into
which it ran. There was a weaver sitting on his loom, and his wife was
winding a skein of yarn.
"Kitty," said he, "what's that?" "Oh," said she, "it's a wee bannock."
"It's welcome," said he, "for our pottage was rather thin to-day.
Catch hold of it, my Girl; catch it." "Yes, that I will," said she.
"How now! why that's a clever bannock. Stop it, Willie; stop it, Man."
But it wouldn't be stopped, and away it went over the hillock and ran
into the nearest house, straight up to the fire-side. There was the
good wife churning, and she said, "Come along, my wee Bannock. I have
cream, but no bread." However the bannock dodged round the churn, and
she after it, till she nearly upset the churn, and before she could
steady it the wee bannock was off, down by the side of the stream into
the mill.
The miller was sifting meal; but when he looked up and saw the bannock,
he said, "It's a sign of plenty when you're running about like that
and no one to look after you. But I like a bannock and cheese, so come
here, and I'll give you a night's lodging." But the bannock wouldn't
trust itself with the miller and his cheese, so it turned and ran out
again, and the miller didn't trouble himself about it.
This time it rolled on gently till it came to a smithy, and in it ran
up to the anvil. The smith, who was making horse-nails, said, "I like
a stoup of good ale and a well-toasted bannock, so you are just the
thing for me." But the bannock was frightened when it heard him talk of
the ale, so it ran off as hard as it could split, and the smith after
it, but all to no purpose; for it was out of sight in a crack, and it
ran on till it came to a farm-house. In it went up to the fire-side,
where the farmer was plaiting straw ropes. "Why, Janet," he cried,
"here's a bannock. I'll have the half of't." "Well, John, and I the
other half." But neither could get hold of it, and off it was, up one
side of the hill and down the other, to the nearest house, and in it
went up to the fire.
The good folks were just sitting down to supper. "Shut the door," cried
the good woman, "for here's a wee bannock come in to warm itself by our
fire, and it's just in time for supper."
When the bannock heard this it ran all about the house, and got out at
last, when it ran faster and faster till it got to another house. As it
ran in the folk were just going to bed. The goodman was taking off his
breeches, and his wife raking out the fire.
"What's that?" cried he. "It's a wee bannock," said his wife. "I could
eat the half of it for all the supper I had," said he. "Catch hold
of it," cried she, "and I'll have a bit too. Throw your breeches at
it--there, stop it--stop it!" The goodman threw his breeches at it and
nearly buried it, but it got away and out of the house. The goodman ran
after it; and now a regular chase began, round the house, through the
garden, across the fields on to a common among the furze, where he lost
it, and he had to trot home again half naked.
It had now grown quite dark, and the wee bannock could not see an inch
before it, so by mistake it got into a fox's hole.
Now the fox had had no meat for two days, so it made a snap at the
bannock and it was gone in an instant.
It would seem as if there were little use in the wee bannock having
escaped so many dangers, but not so, for all its pursuers could do very
well without it, whereas the poor fox had fasted two days and must have
been really hungry.
[Illustration: _The Bannock Hunt._]