And many a hunting song they sung,
And song of game and glee;
Then tuned to plaintive strains their tongue,
"Of Scotland's luve and lee."
To wilder measures next they turn
"The Black, Black Bull of Norroway!"
Sudden the tapers cease to burn,
The minstrels cease to play.
"The Cout of Keeldar," by J. Leyden.
IN Norroway, langsyne, there lived a certain lady, and she had three dochters.
The auldest o' them said to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and
roast me a collop, for I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her
mither did sae; and the dochter gaed awa' to an auld witch washerwife and telled
her purpose. The auld wife bade her stay that day, and gang and look out o'
her back door, and see what she could see. She saw nocht the first day. The
second day she did the same, and saw nocht. On the third day she looked again,
and saw a coach-and-six coming along the road. She ran in and telled the auld
wife what she saw. "Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for you." Sae they took
her into the coach, and galloped aff.
The second dochter next says to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and
roast me a collop, fur I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her mither did sae;
and awa' she gaed to the auld wife, as her sister had dune. On the third day
she looked out o' the back door, and saw a coach-and-four coming along the road.
"Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for you." Sae they took her in, and aff
they set.
The third dochter says to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and roast
me a collop, for I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her mither did sae; and
awa' she gaed to the auld witch-wife. She bade her look out o' her back door,
and see what she could see. She did sae; and when she came back said she saw
nocht. The second day she did the same, and saw nocht. The third day she looked
again, and on coming back said to the auld wife she saw nocht but a muckle Black
Bull coming roaring alang the road. "Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for
you." On hearing this she was next to distracted wi' grief and terror; but she
was lifted up and set on his back, and awa' they went.
Aye they traveled, and on they traveled, till the lady grew faint wi' hunger.
"Eat out o' my right lug," says the Black Bull, "and drink out o' my left lug,
and set by your leavings." Sae she did as he said, and was wonderfully refreshed.
And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they came in sight o' a very big
and bonny castle. "Yonder we maun be this night," quo' the bull; "for my auld
brither lives yonder"; and presently they were at the place. They lifted her
aff his back, and took her in, and sent him away to a park for
the night. In the morning, when they brought the bull hame, they took the lady
into a fine shining parlor, and gave her a beautiful apple, telling her no to
break it till she was in the greatest strait ever mortal was in in the world,
and that wad bring her o't. Again she was lifted on the bull's back, and after
she had ridden far, and farer than I can tell, they came in sight o' a far bonnier
castle, and far farther awa' than the last. Says the bull till her: "Yonder
we maun be the night, for my second brither lives yonder"; and they were at
the place directly. They lifted her down and took her in, and sent the bull
to the field for the night. In the morning they took the lady into a fine and
rich room, and gave her the finest pear she had ever seen, bidding
her no to break it till she was in the greatest strait ever mortal could be
in, and that wad get her out o't. Again she was lifted and set on his back,
and awa' they went. And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they came in
sight o' the far biggest castle, and far farthest aff, they had yet seen. "We
maun be yonder the night," says the bull, "for my young brither lives yonder";
and they were there directly. They lifted her down, took her in, and sent the
bull to the field for the night. In the morning they took her into a room, the
finest of a', and gied her a plum, telling her no to break it till she was in
the greatest strait mortal could be in, and that wad get her out o't. Presently
they brought hame the bull, set the lady on his back, and awa' they went.
And aye they gaed, and on they rade, till they came to a dark and ugsome glen,
where they stopped, and the lady lighted down. Says the bull to her: "Here ye
maun stay till I gang and fight the deil. Ye maun seat yoursel' on that stane,
and move neither hand nor fit till I come back, else I'll never find ye again.
And if everything round about ye turns blue I hae beated the deil; but should
a' things turn red he'll hae conquered me." She set hersel' down on the stane,
and by-and-by a' round her turned blue. O'ercome wi' joy, she lifted the ae
fit and crossed it owre the ither, sae glad was she that her companion was victorious.
The bull returned and sought for but never could find her.
Lang she sat, and aye she grat, till she wearied. At last she rase and gaed
awa', she kedna whaur till. On she wandered till she came to a great hill o'
glass, that she tried a' she could to climb, bat wasna able. Round the bottom
o' the hill she gaed, sabbing and seeking a passage owre, till at last she came
to a smith's house; and the smith promised, if she wad serve him seven years,
he wad make her iron shoon, wherewi' she could climb owre the glassy hill. At
seven years' end she got her iron shoon, clamb the glassy hill, and chanced
to come to the auld washerwife's habitation. There she was telled of a gallant
young knight that had given in some bluidy sarks to wash, and whaever washed
thae sarks was to be his wife. The auld wife had washed till she was tired,
and then she set to her dochter, and baith washed, and they washed, and
they better washed, in hopes of getting the young knight; but a' they could
do they couldna bring out a stain. At length they set
the stranger damosel to wark; and whenever she began the stains came out pure
and clean, but the auld wife made the knight believe it was her dochter had
washed the sarks. So the knight and the eldest dochter were to be married, and
the stranger damosel was distracted at the thought of it, for she was deeply
in love wi' him. So she bethought her of her apple, and breaking it, found it
filled with gold and precious jewelry, the richest she had ever seen. "All these,"
she said to the eldest dochter, "I will give you, on condition that you put
off your marriage for ae day, and allow me to go into
his room alone at night." So the lady consented; but meanwhile the auld wife
had prepared a sleeping-drink, and given it to the knight, wha drank it, and
never wakened till next morning. The lee-lang night ther damosel sabbed and
sang:
"Seven lang years I served for thee,
The glassy hill I clamb for thee,
The bluidy shirt I wrang for thee;
And wilt thou no wauken and turn to me?"
Next day she kentna what to do for grief. She then brak the pear, and found
it filled wi' jewelry far richer than the contents o' the apple. Wi' thae jewels
she bargained for permission to be a second night in the young knight's chamber;
but the auld wife gied him anither sleeping-drink, and he again sleepit till
morning. A' night she kept sighing and singing as before:
"Seven lang years I served for thee," &c.
Still he sleepit, and she nearly lost hope a'thegither. But that day when he
was out at the hunting, somebody asked him what noise and moaning was yon they
heard all last night in his bedchamber. He said he heardna ony noise. But they
assured him there was sae; and he resolved to keep waking that night to try
what he could hear. That being the third night, and the damosel being between
hope and despair, she brak her plum, and it held far the richest jewelry of
the three. She bargained as before; and the auld wife, as before, took in the
sleeping-drink to the young knight's chamber; but he telled her he couldna drink
it that night without sweetening. And when she gaed awa' for some honey to sweeten
it wi', he poured out the drink, and sae made the auld wife think he had drunk
it. They a' went to bed again, and the damosel began, as before, singing:
"Seven lang years I served for thee,
The glassy hill I clamb for thee,
The bluidy shirt I wrang for thee;
And wilt thou no wauken and turn to me?"
He heard, and turned to her. And she telled him a' that had befa'en her, and
he telled her a' that had happened to him. And he caused the auld washerwife
and her dochter to be burned. And they were married, and he and she are living
happy till this day, for aught I ken.
Source : Chambers, Popular Traditions of Scotland.
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