Celtic Fairy Tales Read Online Free PDF

rightly
believed in them—but here's one of them in real earnest. If I go
knowingly to work, I'm a made man. They say a body must never take
their eyes off them, or they'll escape."
    Tom now stole on a little further, with his eye fixed on the little
man just as a cat does with a mouse. So when he got up quite close
to him, "God bless your work, neighbour," said Tom.
    The little man raised up his head, and "Thank you kindly," said he.
    "I wonder you'd be working on the holiday!" said Tom.
    "That's my own business, not yours," was the reply.
    "Well, may be you'd be civil enough to tell
us
what you've
got in the pitcher there?" said Tom.
    "That I will, with pleasure," said he; "it's good beer."
    "Beer!" said Tom. "Thunder and fire! where did you get it?"
    "Where did I get it, is it? Why, I made it. And what do you think I
made it of?"
    "Devil a one of me knows," said Tom; "but of malt, I suppose, what
else?"
    "There you're out. I made it of heath."
    "Of heath!" said Tom, bursting out laughing; "sure you don't think
me to be such a fool as to believe that?"
    "Do as you please," said he, "but what I tell you is the truth. Did
you never hear tell of the Danes?"
    "Well, what about
them
?" said Tom.
    "Why, all the about them there is, is that when they were here they
taught us to make beer out of the heath, and the secret's in my
family ever since."
    "Will you give a body a taste of your beer?" said Tom.
    "I'll tell you what it is, young man, it would be fitter for you to
be looking after your father's property than to be bothering decent
quiet people with your foolish questions. There now, while you're
idling away your time here, there's the cows have broke into the
oats, and are knocking the corn all about."
    Tom was taken so by surprise with this that he was just on the very
point of turning round when he recollected himself; so, afraid that
the like might happen again, he made a grab at the Lepracaun, and
caught him up in his hand; but in his hurry he overset the pitcher,
and spilt all the beer, so that he could not get a taste of it to
tell what sort it was. He then swore that he would kill him if he
did not show him where his money was. Tom looked so wicked and so
bloody-minded that the little man was quite frightened; so says he,
"Come along with me a couple of fields off, and I'll show you a
crock of gold."
    So they went, and Tom held the Lepracaun fast in his hand, and never
took his eyes from off him, though they had to cross hedges and
ditches, and a crooked bit of bog, till at last they came to a great
field all full of boliauns, and the Lepracaun pointed to a big
boliaun, and says he, "Dig under that boliaun, and you'll get the
great crock all full of guineas."
    Tom in his hurry had never thought of bringing a spade with him, so
he made up his mind to run home and fetch one; and that he might
know the place again he took off one of his red garters, and tied it
round the boliaun.
    Then he said to the Lepracaun, "Swear ye'll not take that garter
away from that boliaun." And the Lepracaun swore right away not to
touch it.
    "I suppose," said the Lepracaun, very civilly, "you have no further
occasion for me?"
    "No," says Tom; "you may go away now, if you please, and God speed
you, and may good luck attend you wherever you go."
    "Well, good-bye to you, Tom Fitzpatrick," said the Lepracaun; "and
much good may it do you when you get it."
    So Tom ran for dear life, till he came home and got a spade, and
then away with him, as hard as he could go, back to the field of
boliauns; but when he got there, lo and behold! not a boliaun in the
field but had a red garter, the very model of his own, tied about
it; and as to digging up the whole field, that was all nonsense, for
there were more than forty good Irish acres in it. So Tom came home
again with his spade on his shoulder, a little cooler than he went,
and many's the hearty curse he gave the Lepracaun every time he
thought of the neat turn he had served him.

The Horned Women
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