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| Shamrock photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash |
As March begins I'm already seeing decorations and people wearing green clothes, all are obviously celebrating Saint Patrick's Day on March 17. I have a program coming up of Irish stories and went looking to see what I should tell. Of course I'm going to tell Olcott's "2 short stories about St. Patrick Driving Snakes Out of Ireland." They are a lot of fun. I have a short tale of a leprechaun and his pot of gold. I also have an Irish tale of a piper and a mermaid I've told for a great many years. Putting them all together it still seemed short so I went to the Virginia Hamilton series that all begin "Favorite Fairy Tales Told in . . . " There on the cover was today's tale of "Billy Beg and His Bull."
Something crazy is happening with Blogger's handling of images. At first I thought the problem was that the cover of the Haviland book is under copyright. It did the same with my attempt to show the cover of a picture book version, by Ellin Greene. There was an illustration in the Public Domain version of the tale by Sara Cone Bryant that was also rejected. However it also rejected a photo from Unsplash that was clearly available (although I would give credit to the photographer). Just as I was about to give up, I found a way to handle the Unsplash image.
The same happened with the story, but Archive.org let me highlight the text and copy it so that it is here below.
It's a fairly long story and, while I had seen Ellin Greene's picture book of it ages ago, I had never read it. Maybe I hadn't, but people like Sara Cone Bryant and the sister team of Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith all told versions of the story originally found in the Irish anthology, In Chimney Corners, by Seumas MacManus.
I looked at all their versions after learning the story from Haviland. There was always credit going back to MacManus. Seeing a little known book titled Just Stories by Annie Klingensmith had the story and called it's version of the story "Adapted", I looked at it, too. The adaptation is minor, but I liked it the best of all four of the versions. (It even called the queen's confederate a "witch" instead of a "hen wife" which doesn't work half as well for American listeners.) The repetition, which is so much a part of this story is still there, but somehow it feels a bit more manageable. Hamilton's copyrighted version takes out even a bit more repetition while still keeping some to maintain the Irish feeling.
Because the story is so long, I'm going to stop it at about the halfway point with the rest of the story continued next week. If you want to see the rest of the story online right now, the link to Just Stories has it all.
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Billy Beg and His Bull
ONCE upon a time there were a king and queen who had one son called Billy Beg. The queen gave Billy a bull. Billy was very fond of the bull and the bull was very fond of Billy.
When Billy was grown to be a young man the queen died. With her last breath, she asked the king not to part Billy and his bull. The king promised, come what might, come what may, he never would.
After some time the king married again. The new queen did not like Billy and she liked his bull still less. She tried to get the king to kill the bull, but the king would not break his promise. So the queen went to a witch to ask what to do.
The witch said, "What will you give me to rid you of the bull?’
"Anything you ask,’’ said the queen.
"Very well, then,” said the witch, "you take to your bed very ill, and call me for your nurse.”
So the queen took to her bed very ill, and the witch was called. When the king came in to see how the queen was, the witch said, There is only one thing that will save her life?”
"What is that?” said the king.
"Three mouthfuls of the blood of Billy Beg's bull" said the witch.
But the king would not hear of breaking his promise to Billy’s mother.
The queen grew worse and worse for three days, and then the king gave up and said the bull should be killed.
When Billy heard that his bull was to be killed he became very down-hearted, and went about looking very sad. The bull saw him and asked what was wrong. Billy told the bull what was wrong, and the bull said, "Cheer up. Do as I tell you, and the queen will never get any of my blood.”
The next day the bull was led up to be killed and Billy came and stood near him. "Jump on my back, Billy,” said the bull, and up Billy jumped.
With that the bull leaped nine miles high, nine miles deep, and nine miles broad, and came down with Billy sticking between his horns. Then away he rushed over the top of the queen and away he ran where you wouldn’t know night from day nor day from night, over high hills and low hills, sheep walks and bullock traces, the Cove of Cork, and old Tom Fox with his bugle horn.
At last they stopped. "Now Billy,” said the bull, ''put your hand into my left ear and take out a napkin you will find there. When you spread the napkin out. it will be covered with eating and drinking fit for a king."
Billy did as he was told. Sure enough, when he spread the napkin out, it was covered with eating and drinking fit for a king. Billy ate and drank and put the napkin back where he got it.
Then says the bull, "Put your hand into my right ear and you will find a stick. Wave the stick three times and it will be turned into a sword and give you the strength of a thousand men. When you have no need of a sword it will turn back into a stick again.”
Billy did as he was told. Then said the bull, "At twelve o’clock to-morrow, I shall have to meet and fight a great bull. So get on my back and let us be off.”
So Billy jumped on the bull’s back, and away went the bull, where you wouldn’t know night from day nor day from night, over high hills and low hills, sheep walks and bullock traces, the Cove of Cork, and old Tom Fox and his bugle horn. There he met the other bull and they fought, and such a fight was never seen before nor since. They knocked the soft ground into hard, and the hard into soft, the soft into spring wells, the spring wells into rocks, and the rocks into high hills.
They fought till Billy Beg’s bull killed the other. Then Billy took out the napkin and had a good dinner. After dinner the bull said to Billy, ‘‘Tomorrow at twelve o’clock, I have to meet the brother of the bull I have just killed. He is bigger than the other bull and I shall have a hard fight.”
So Billy got on the bull’s back again and the bull started off and away again where you wouldn’t know night from day nor day from night, over high hills and low hills, sheep walks and bullock traces, the Cove of Cork, and old Tom Fox with his bugle horn. There they met the brother of the bull that Billy’s bull had killed and they at it and fought.
The like of the fight was never seen before or since. They knocked the soft ground into hard and the hard into soft, the soft into spring wells, and the spring wells into rocks, and the rocks into high hills.
They fought long and hard and at last Billy’s bull killed the other bull. Then Billy ate and drank as before and the bull said, "Tomorrow I must meet and fight the brother of the two bulls I killed. He is stronger than the others and will kill me. When I am dead take the napkin and the stick with you. Then you will never be hungry, and with the stick you can overcome any thing you fight with. Cut a strip of my hide for a belt. As long as you wear the belt nothing can kill you.”
Billy was very sorry to hear that the bull would be killed but he got on his back and they started off and away where you wouldn’t know night from day nor day from night, over high hills and low hills, sheep walks and bullock traces, the Cove of Cork, and old Tom Fox with his bugle horn.
Sure enough, the next day at twelve, they met the great bull, and the two bulls at it and fought.
Such a fight was never seen before or since. They knocked the soft ground into hard, and the hard into soft, the soft into spring wells, the spring wells into rocks, and the rocks into high hills. They fought long, but at last the other bull killed Billy’s.
Billy was so sorry that he sat beside his bull two days without eating and cried all the time. Then he cut himself a belt of the bull’s hide and set off with the napkin and the stick to seek his fortune. After three days he came to a farm that belonged to an old gentleman.
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The story now takes a major turn away from the bull, but using all the bull gave to Billy.
To use a bit of Irish dialect: Sure and 'tis a fine story worth hearing it all. I had problems with the Blogger graphics. At first it seemed it might mean future posts are text only. If that happens it's still a story worth waiting to hear. It also might remove the illustrations in other stories, but storytelling is all about seeing the stories in your mind, so I hope this doesn't stop you finding stories worth telling.
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