Blair Collection > Popular tales of the West Highlands > Volume 2

28 WEST HIGHLAND TALES.
be on me." His brother said that he would go with
him, and they took themselves off to the stable, and
they put saddles on two horses and they took their
soles out of that.
They had not gone very far from the house when
the eldest one said — " There is no knowing if poison
was in the drink at all, though we went away. Try it
in the horse's ear and we shall see." The horse went
not far when he fell. " That was only a rattle-bones
of a horse at all events," said the eldest one, and toge-
ther they got up on the one horse, and so they went
forwards. "But," said he, "I can scarce believe
that there is any poison in the drink, let's try it
on this horse." That he did, and they went not
far when the horse fell cold dead. They thought to
take the hide off him, and that it would keep them
warm on this night for it was close at hand. In the
morning when they woke they saw twelve ravens
coming and lighting on the carcase of the horse,
and they were not long there when they fell over
dead.
They went and lifted the ravens, and they take them
with them, and the first town they reached they gave
the ravens to a baker, and they asked him to make a
dozen pies of the ravens. They took the pies with
them, and they went on their journey. About the
mouth of night, and when they Avere in a great thick
wood that was there, there came four and twenty rob-
bers out of the wood, and they said to them to dehver
their purses ; but they said that they had no purse, but
that they had a little food which they were carrying with
them. " Good is even meat ! " and the robbers began
to eat it, but they had not eaten too boldly when they
fell hither and thither. When they saw that the rob-
bers were dead they ransacked their pockets, and they