J. F. Campbell Collection > Fireside stories of Ireland

34 THE FIRESIDE STORIES OP IRELAND.
your road." She went on, and found a poor woman sitting
on a stone, and crying with the hunger. She gave her the
greater part of her loaf, and went on till she met a flight
of sparrows sitting on a block, and they all chattered out,
" Some crumbs, fair maid; some crumbs, fair maid, or we'll
all be dead with the hunger. It's seven years since Ave got
a good meal." So she crumbled the rest of the bread, and
they all cried, "Some day, fair maid, this good will be
surely repaid."
She next passed by an apple tree, and the branches were
bent down to the ground with the fruit. " Shake me,
shake me, fair maid ; it's seven years since I was shaken
before." So she gently shook the tree and the boughs,
and gathered all into a nice heap round the trunk. " Take
some in your hand and eat them,'^ said the tree ; I'll re-
member this deed some day." The next she met was a
ram, with his wool all trailing on the ground behind him.
" Shear me, fair maid," said he, " for I wasn't shorn for
seven long years." So she laid his head on her knee,
and clipped him so nice, that he cried out when she
was walking away, " Fair maid, I'll do you a good turn for
this some day." The next she met was a cow, with her
poor elder (udder) so full that it was trailing on the ground.
" IVIilk me, fair maid," said she ; " I wasn't milked these
seven long years." So she did, and the cow licked her, and
mooed after her, " Fair maid, I'll do you a good turn for
this some day."
Well, the day was spent, and she got lodging at a lonely
house, where there was no one but a woman Avith hair on
her chin, and very long teeth, and her daughter that had
the same sort of teeth, but no beard as yet. They gave her
some mouldy bread and some small beer for supper, and
next day when she was going off, they said there was no
one else living in that underground country, and so she
might as well liA^e Avith themselves. " I'll give you food
and clothes," said the old woman, *^'and your choice of
three caskets when you are leaving me, and one of them
contains more gold and silver and precious stones than the
king of England has in his court."
The first task she gave her was to go milk the cows,