Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

i6 Fictions of the Irish Celts.
the fictions of the great Japhetian divisions of the human
race, but an enthusiastic and diligent explorer would be
able to find a relationship between these and the stories
current among the Semitic races, and even the tribes
scattered over the great continent of Africa, subject to
the variations arising from climate, local features, and
the social condition of the people. One instance must
suffice. In the cold north the fox persuaded the bear to
let down his tail into a pond to catch fish, just as the
frost was setting in. When a time sufficient for Reynard's
purpose had elapsed, he cried out, " Pull up the line,
you have got a bite." The first effort was to no purpose.
" Give a stouter pull—there is a great fish taken ;
" and
now the bear put such a will in his strain that he left his
tail under the ice. Since that time the family of Bruin
are distinguished by stumpy tails. In Boumou, in
Africa, where ice is rather scarce, the weasel said to
the hyena, " I've just seen a large piece of flesh in
such a pit. It is too heavy for me, but you can dip
down your tail and I will fasten the meat to it, and then
you have nothing to do but give a pull." " All right,"
said the hyena. When the tail was lowered, the weasel
fastened it to a stout cross-stick, and gave the word for
heaving. No success at first ; then he cried out, " The
meat is heavy— pull as if you were in earnest." At the
second tug the tail was left behind, and ever since,
hyenas have no tails worth mentioning.