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Once upon
a time...
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 jewellry 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.
The Black Bull of
Norroway
from the Blue Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
