And many a hunting song they sung,
And song of game and glee;
Then
tuned to plaintive strains their tongue,
"Of Scotland's luve and lee."
To wilder measures next they turn
"The Black, Black Bull of
Norroway!"
Sudden the tapers cease to burn,
The minstrels cease to
play.
"The Cout of Keeldar," by J. Leyden.
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 parlour, 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 jewellery, 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 jewelry 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.
originally from Chambers, Popular Traditions of Scotland: published
by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book, 1889.