reading notes: celtic fairy tales; part B

 

a dog and a baby

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the king had a dog and it was real sweet at home but fierce when hunting. one day the dog would not come when called, so the king had to go hunting without him. when he returned, the dog was at the gate covered in blood. the king was startled by this and soon began to worry the dog attacked his son who the dog often played with. he went to the nursery, and there was more and more blood along the way. the king got to an overturned crib completely surrounded by blood and saw no sight of his son. the king was furious and plunged his sword inside the dog, killing it. then a baby started to cry from beneath the crib, the son, and the king saw a dead wolf behind the crib. the dog had stayed to guard the son, but the king ended up killing him for it.

this man set out to find work. he was promised three pounds a year, but was always given advice instead of money. this happened for three years, and on his leave he was given s cake to take home to share with his wife. along the way home, two of the pieces of advice came in real handy. once home, the last piece of advice was put to use. when they cut the cake, all of the mans wages were in there.

a mother had a pair of twins. she had to leave them alone for a short while, but was quick to hurry back to them. it appeared as nothing was wrong. they did not grow for some time, so it was suspected something may have happened. she asked the mage or medicine man and he told her what to do, and if he did the things and they spoke more than a baby would, to throw them into the river. she did this and some goblins saved them and gave her back her own children.

Story source: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).