and always would have, one piece of money in it—no matter what piece was required, it was always there-never more than needed, never less. Delighted with his acquisition, the boy instantly set off homewards. He saw no more of Harry-cap, but thanks to the purse he lacked nothing on the road. One evening when drawing homewards he stayed at an inn. The landlord's daughter, who brought him refreshments, noticed his purse, and being a witch knew its powers and value. She instructed her mother to make one exactly like it, and in the dead of night, while the lad was fast asleep, she stole into his room, and exchanged the purses. The counterfeit purse had one piece in it, just what she took care to charge him for breakfast, so that the defrauded lad did not discover his loss. On his arrival at home, he told the household the good news, and they called in the neighbours to hear it too. The neighbours did not know how to praise him enough, and at last, in a fit of generosity, he said he would give a piece of money to each. This, of course, he was unable to do. Finding out the miserable cheat, the neighbours loaded him with abuse, and, had not his own folk stood up for him, would have maltreated him in other ways. For what is so despicable as an empty purse ? The poor lad had to take to the woods again, but his example stirred up the second son to seek his fortune also. He set out, met Harry-cap in the same place, was directed to the same white house, and received as a parting gift from its inhabitants a round table, which at his bidding would immediately be covered with all manner of dainty food. Overjoyed with his treasure, he set off homewards, but staying at the same inn where his brother had tarried, he was in a similar way cheated by the witch-daughter. The neighbours were called in as before, and when disappointed of a promised feast, they cudgelled the poor lad unmercifully. Now the third son was a silent, thinking lad. He mused over the stories of his two brothers, and resolved to profit by their experience; he set off, met Harry-cap, went to the white house, and when coming away received a stick which, when bidden by its owner, would thrash his enemies, and which was also a great help to him when journeying. Bearing in mind how his brothers had stopped at the same inn on the way home, and had missed their treasures soon afterwards, he resolved to be on the look-out. In the dead of the night he spied the witch-daughter creep into the room, and lay her hand on the stick. Stick, bang her!' he cried, and the cudgel. (as if possessed by the whole Irish nation) began immediately to thrash the witch all round the room. vain she begged for mercy till she offered him a purse always containing one piece of money, and a table that would always supply a dinner on demand. He took the treasures and set off homewards cheerily enough, stick in hand, purse in pocket, table over shoulder; and so he entered the house. Summoning the neighbours as In before, they were sumptuously regaled, and after dinner he presented each with the piece of money promised them before. Then he said to them: 'When my brothers returned and could not entertain you as they anticipated, you took no heed of their goodwill in offering you a share of their good fortune, but abused them instead of sharing their sorrow,' and, turning to the stick, he exclaimed 'Bang 'em!' So out of the house it drove them, through the streets, and over the bridge, till the bridge bended, and my tale's ended. 8. THE PARROT. (Yorkshire.) There was once a grocer who had a beautiful parrot with green feathers, and it hung in a cage at his shop-door; it was a very shrewd sensible bird, and very observing; but it was a female, and as such could not hold its tongue, but proclaimed aloud all that it knew, announcing to everyone who entered the shop the little circumstances which had fallen under its observation. One day the parrot observed its master sanding the sugar; presently in came a woman and asked for some brown sugar. Sand in the sugar!-Sand in the sugar!-Sand in the sugar!' vociferated the bird, and the customer pocketed her money and rushed out of the shop. The indignant grocer rushed to the cage and shook it well. "You abominable bird, if you tell tales again, I will wring your neck!' and again he shook the cage till the poor creature was all ruffled, and a cloud of its feathers was flying about the shop. Next day it saw its master mixing cocoa-powder with brickdust; presently in came a customer for cocoa-powder. 'Brickdust in the cocoa!' cried the parrot, eagerly and repeatedly, till the astonished customer believed it, and went away without his cocoa. A repetition of the shaking of the cage ensued, with a warning that such another instance of tale-telling should certainly be punished with death. The parrot made internal resolutions never to speak again. Presently, however, it observed its master making shop-butter of lard coloured with a little turmeric. In came a lady and asked for butter. 'Nice fresh butter, ma'am, fresh from the dairy,' said the shop man. 'Lard in the butter-lard in the butter!' said the parrot. "You scoundrel, you!' exclaimed the shopman, rushing at the cage; opening it, drawing forth the luckless bird, and wringing its neck, he cast it into the ashpit. But Polly was not quite dead, and after lying quiet for a few minutes, she lifted up her head and saw a dead cat in the pit. 'Halloo!' called the parrot, 'what is the matter with you, Tom?' No answer, for the vital spark of heavenly flame had quitted the mortal frame of the poor cat. 'Dead!' sighed the parrot. 'Poor Tom! he too must have been afflicted with the love of truth. Ah me!' She sat up and tried her wings. They are sound. Great is truth in my own country, but in this dingy England it is at a discount, and lies are at a premium.' Then spreading her wings, Polly flew away; but whether she ever reached her own land, where truth was regarded with veneration, I have not heard. No; she flew twice round the world in search of it, and could not find it. I wonder whether she has found it now! 9. THE HAND OF GLORY. (Yorkshire.) One dark night, after the house had been closed, there came a tap at the door of a lone inn, in the midst of a barren moor. The door was opened, and there stood without, shivering and shaking, a poor beggar, his rags soaked with rain and his hands white with cold. He asked piteously for a lodging, and it was cheerfully granted him; though there was not a spare bed in the house, he could lie along on the mat before the kitchenfire, and welcome. All in the house went to bed except the cook, who from her kitchen could see into the large room through a small pane of glass let into the door. When every one save the beggar was out of the room, she observed the man draw himself up from the floor, seat himself at the table, extract a brown withered human hand from his pocket, and set it upright in the candlestick. He then anointed the fingers, and applying a match to them, they began to flame. Filled with horror, the cook rushed up the backstairs, and endeavoured to arouse her master and the men of the house; but all in vain-they slept a charmed sleep; and finding all her efforts ineffectual, she hastened downstairs again. Looking again through the small window, she observed the fingers of the hand flaming, but the thumb gave no light-this was because one of the inmates of the house was not asleep. The beggar began collecting all the valuables of the house into a large sack, and having taken all that was worth taking in the large room, he entered another. The moment he was gone, the cook rushed in, and seizing the candle, attempted to extinguish the flames. She blew at them in vain; she poured some drops from a beer-jug over them, and that made the fingers burn the brighter; she cast some water upon them, but still without putting out the light; as a last resource, she caught up a jug of milk, and dashing it over the four lambent flames, they were extinguished immediately. Uttering a loud cry, she rushed to the door of the apartment the beggar had entered, and locked it. The whole house was aroused, and the thief secured and hung. This is the same story which is told in Northumberland and elsewhere. 10. THE GOLDEN BALL. (Yorkshire.) There were two lasses, daughters of one mother, and as they came home from t' fair, they saw a right bonny young man stand it house-door before them. They niver seed such a bonny man afore. He had gold on t' cap, gold on t' finger, gold on t' neck, a red gold watch-chain-eh! but he had brass. He had a golden ball in each hand. He gave a ball to each lass, and she was to keep it, and if she lost it, she was to be hanged. One o' the lasses, 't was t' youngest, lost her ball. [I'll tell thee how. She was by a park-paling, and she was tossing her ball, and it went up, and up, and up, till it went fair over t' paling; and when she climbed up to look, t' ball ran along green grass, and it went raite forward to t' door of t' house, and t' ball went in and she saw 't no more.] So she was taken away to be hanged by t' neck till she were dead, a cause she'd lost her ball. [But she had a sweetheart, and he said he would get ball. So he went tu't park-gate, but 't was shut; so he climbed hedge, and when he got tut top of hedge, an old woman rose up out of t' dyke afore him, and said, if he would get ball, he must sleep three nights in t' house. He said he would. Then he went into t' house, and looked for ball, but could na find it. Night came on and he heard spirits move it courtyard; so he looked out o' t' window, and t' yard was full of them, like maggots in rotten meat. Presently he heard steps coming upstairs. He hid behind door, and was as still as a mouse. Then in came a big giant five times as tall as he were, and giant looked round but did not see t' lad, so he went tut window and bowed to look out; and as he bowed on his elbows to see spirits it yard, t' lad stepped behind him, and wi' one blow of his sword he cut him in twain, so that the top part of him fell in the yard, and t' bottom part stood looking out of t' window. There was a great cry from t' spirits when they saw half the giant come tumbling down to them, and they called out, ‘There comes half our master, give us t' other half.' So the lad said, 'It's no use of thee, thou pair of legs, standing aloan at window, as thou hast no een to see with, so go join thy brother; and he cast the bottom part of t' giant after top part. Now when the spirrits had gotten all t' giant they were quiet. Next night t' lad was at the house again, and now a second giant came in at door, and as he came in t' lad cut him in twain, but the legs walked on tut chimney and went up them. 'Go, get thee after thy legs,' said t' lad tut head, and he cast t' head up chimney too. The third night t' lad got into bed, and he heard spirits striving under the bed, and they had t' ball there, and they was casting it to and fro. Now one of them has his leg thrussen out from under bed, so t' lad brings his sword down and cuts it off. Then another thrusts his arm out at other side of the bed, and t' lad cuts that off. So at last he had maimed them all, and they all went crying and wailing off, and forgot t' ball, but he took it from under t'bed, and went to seek his truelove.] Now t' lass was taken to York to be hanged; she was brought out on t' scaffold, and t' hangman said, "Now, lass, tha' must hang by t' neck till tha be'st dead.' But she cried out: Then the must dee.' Stop, stop, I think I see my mother coming! Oh mother, hast brought my golden ball And come to set me free? I've neither brought thy golden ball But I have come to see thee hung Upon this gallows-tree. hangman said, 'Now, lass, say thy prayers, for tha But she said: Stop, stop, I think I see my father coming! O father, hast brought my golden ball And come to set me free? I've neither brought thy golden ball But I have come to see thee hung Then the hangman said, 'Hast thee done thy prayers? Now, lass, put thy head intut noo-is.' But she answered, 'Stop, stop, I think I see my brother coming!' &c. After which, she excused herself because she thought she saw her sister coming, then her uncle, then her aunt, then her cousin, each of which was related in full; after which the hangman said, 'I wee-nt stop no longer, tha's making gam of Tha must be hung at once.' me. |