The book Arran; - Cook Clan

FOLK LORE 257
they continued dancing to the
not put a stop to their diversion ;
tune ' Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,' and conceived that the
tune was the better of the turn the weaver put in it. In order to
show him their gratitude, they took the hump off his back and placed
it on the top of the turf dyke. The weaver went home rejoicing,
light as a feather and straight as a ramrod. It happened that
another diminutive hunchbacked weaver resided at Loch Ranza at
the very same time, and on hearing how his neighbour got rid of
his hump, he determined that he would try the same plan in order
to get rid of his own hump. Up he goes to the hill where the fairies
were, and he found them there dancing as lively as ever. He listened
for a short time, and then shouted out, ' Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday ' ; but instead of improving on the tune,
he spoiled it out and out. The little folk were so displeased at him
for spoiling the tune, that they lifted the other man's hump off the
dyke and placed a second hump on the top of the other, and sent
him home twice as hunched as he was before.
[Told of fairies in Scotland and Ireland, of pixies in Cornwall, of corrigans
in Brittany. In a Japanese version the affliction is not a hump but a wen on
the forehead. In all cases the essential idea is the same.]
NA SITHICHEAN—CLAOINEAD
Bha tuathanach d'am b'ainm MacCfica aon uair a' cdmhnuidh
ann an ClaoLnead. Thug a bhean leanabh thun an t-saoghail,
agus bha na h-ingheanan 's a' choimhearsnachd, mar bu ghnath, a'
faire re na h-oidhche a' frithealadh do'n leanabh 's d'a mhathair.
Aon oidhche chualas iipraid uamhasach anns a' bhathaich, mar gu
'm biodh an crodh 'gan gaorradh gu bas. Leum an luchd-faire gu'n
casan agus chaidh iad do'n bhathaich a dh'fhaicinn d6 b'aobhar
de'n t-straighlich. Cha robh ni cearr ri fhaicinn, bha an crodh gu
samhach, foisneach 'nan laighe a' cnamh an cir. Nuair a thill iad
air an ais cha robh sealladh de bhean-an-taighe ri fhaicinn—chaidh
i as an t-sealladh gu buUeach, agus a reir coslais, air a toirt air falbh
le na daoine beaga. Bha am fear aice gu tdrsach a' caoidh call a
mhnatha, agus air dha aon latha a bhi 'g obair aig beul abhainn na
Slaodraich, chunnaic e sgaoth de na daoine beaga a' dol thar a
VOL. II.
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