Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

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Fictions of the Irish Celts.
it ; and says the queen, says she— " Who done it but
your favourite daughter? There she is— let her deny it if
she can ! " The poor child burst out a crying, but wasn't
able to say anything in her own defence bckase of her
oath. Well, the king did not know what to do or to say.
He cursed and swore a little, and hardly ate any supper.
The next day he was out a hunting the queen killed the
little son, and left him standing on his head on the
window-seat of the lobby.
Well, whatever way the king was in before, he went
mad now in earnest. " Who done this \ " says he to the
queen. "Who, but your pet daughter]" "Take the
vile creature," says he to two of his footmen, " into the
forest, and cut off her two hands at the wrists, and maybe
that'll teach her not to commit any more murders. Oh,
!
Vuya, Vuya " says he, stamping his foot on the boarded
floor, " what a misfortunate king I am to lose my childher
this way, and had only the two. Bring me back the two
hands, or your own heads will be off before sunset."
When he stamped on the floor a splinter ran up into
his foot through the sole of his boot ; but he didn't mind
it at first, he was in such grief and anger. But when he
was taking off his boots, he found the splinter fastening
one of them on his foot. He was very hardset to get it
off, and was obliged to send for a surgeon to get the
splinter out of the flesh; but the more he cut and probed,
the further it went in. So he was obliged to lie on a sofa
all day, and keep it poulticed with bowl-almanac or some
other plaster.
Well, the poor princess, when her arms were cut off",
thought the life would leave her ; but she knew there
was a holy well off in the wood, and to it she made her
way. She put her poor arms into the moss that was
growing over it, and the blood stopped flowing, and she
was eased of the pain, and then she washed herself as
well as she could. She fell asleep by the well, and the
spirit of her mother appeared to her in a dream, and
told her to be good, and never forget to say her prayers