There was a king in Erin long ago who had thirteen sons, and as they
grew up he taught them good learning and every exercise and art
befitting their rank.
One day the king went hunting, and saw a swan swimming in a lake with
thirteen little ones. She kept driving away the thirteenth, and would
not let it come near the others.
The king wondered greatly at this, and when he came home he summoned his
Sean dall Glic (old blind sage), and said: "I saw a great wonder to-day
while out hunting,--a swan with thirteen cygnets, and she driving away
the thirteenth continually, and keeping the twelve with her. Tell me the
cause and reason of this. Why should a mother hate her thirteenth little
one, and guard the other twelve?"
"I will tell you," said the old blind sage: "all creatures on earth,
whether beast or human, which have thirteen young, should put the
thirteenth away, and let it wander for itself through the world and find
its fate, so that the will of Heaven may work upon it, and not come down
on the others. Now you have thirteen sons, and you must give the
thirteenth to the Diachbha."[8]
[8] Diachbha, "divinity," "fate."
"Then that is the meaning of the swan on the lake,--I must give up my
thirteenth son to the Diachbha?"
"It is," said the old blind sage; "you must give up one of your thirteen
sons."
"But how can I give one of them away when I am so fond of all; and which
one shall it be?"
"I'll tell you what to do. When the thirteen come home to-night, shut
the door against the last that comes."
Now one of the sons was slow, not so keen nor so sharp as another; but
the eldest, who was called Sean Ruadh, was the best, the hero of them
all. And it happened that night that he came home last, and when he came
his father shut the door against him. The boy raised his hands and said:
"Father, what are you going to do with me; what do you wish?"
"It is my duty," said the father, "to give one of my sons to the
Diachbha; and as you are the thirteenth, you must go."
"Well, give me my outfit for the road."
The outfit was brought, Sean Ruadh put it on; then the father gave him a
black-haired steed that could overtake the wind before him, and outstrip
the wind behind.
Sean Ruadh mounted the steed and hurried away. He went on each day
without rest, and slept in the woods at night.
One morning he put on some old clothes which he had in a pack on the
saddle, and leaving his horse in the woods, went aside to an opening. He
was not long there when a king rode up and stopped before him.
"Who are you, and where are you going?" asked the king. "Oh!" said Sean
Ruadh, "I am astray. I do not know where to go, nor what I am to do."
"If that is how you are, I'll tell you what to do,--come with me."
"Why should I go with you?" asked Sean Ruadh.
"Well, I have a great many cows, and I have no one to go with them, no
one to mind them. I am in great trouble also. My daughter will die a
terrible death very soon."
"How will she die?" asked Sean Ruadh.
"There is an urfeist,[9] a great serpent of the sea, a monster which
must get a king's daughter to devour every seven years. Once in seven
years this thing comes up out of the sea for its meat. The turn has now
come to my daughter, and we don't know what day will the urfeist appear.
The whole castle and all of us are in mourning for my wretched child."
[9] Urfeist, "great serpent."
"Perhaps some one will come to save her," said Sean Ruadh.
"Oh! there is a whole army of kings' sons who have come, and they all
promise to save her; but I'm in dread none of them will meet the
urfeist."
Sean Ruadh agreed with the king to serve for seven years, and went home
with him.
Next morning Sean Ruadh drove out the king's cows to pasture.
Now there were three giants not far from the king's place. They lived in
three castles in sight of each other, and every night each of these
giants shouted just before going to bed. So loud was the shout that each
let out of himself that the people heard it in all the country around.
Sean Ruadh drove the cattle up to the giant's land, pushed down the
wall, and let them in. The grass was very high,--three times better than
any on the king's pastures.
As Sean Ruadh sat watching the cattle, a giant came running towards him
and called out: "I don't know whether to put a pinch of you in my nose,
or a bite of you in my mouth!"
"Bad luck to me," said Sean Ruadh, "if I came here but to take the life
out of you!"
"How would you like to fight,--on the gray stones, or with sharp
swords?" asked the giant.
"I'll fight you," said Sean Ruadh, "on the gray stones, where your great
legs will be going down, and mine standing high."
They faced one another then, and began to fight. At the first encounter
Sean Ruadh put the giant down to his knees among the hard gray stones,
at the second he put him to his waist, and at the third to his
shoulders.
"Come, take me out of this," cried the giant, "and I'll give you my
castle and all I've got. I'll give you my sword of light that never
fails to kill at a blow. I'll give you my black horse that can overtake
the wind before, and outstrip the wind behind. These are all up there in
my castle."
Sean Ruadh killed the giant and went up to the castle, where the
housekeeper said to him: "Oh! it is you that are welcome. You have
killed the dirty giant that was here. Come with me now till I show you
all the riches and treasures."
She opened the door of the giant's store-room and said: "All these are
yours. Here are the keys of the castle."
"Keep them till I come again, and wake me in the evening," said Sean
Ruadh, lying down on the giant's bed.
He slept till evening; then the housekeeper roused him, and he drove the
king's cattle home. The cows never gave so much milk as that night. They
gave as much as in a whole week before.