Ossian Collection > Peat-fire flame

CAVE LORE
could depend upon the faeries to thresh his corn, for
example. " Donald's threshing will be a light one ! " the
folks of Sutherland used to say, when they heard the faeries
busy with the flails in his barn.
" You and myself : myself and you ! " Donald could be
heard to mutter to the faeries as the flails thumped the grain.
Now, the Wizard of Reay one day decided to explore
the Cave of Smoo more thoroughly than any one had ever
done before. On and on he pushed, far into the dark
interior, heedless of the voice that warned him to retreat.
At length he came upon a cask. In this cask he proceeded
to bore a hole with his knife ; and, as the hole was completed,
out through it popped a wee, wee man, about an inch and
a half in height. This surprised him greatly. But, when
the wee figure began to assume giant proportions, surprise
gave way to fear.
" Did you ever behold a greater wonder, Donald? " asked
the expanding figure.
" Never in all my life," replied the Wizard ; " but it would
be a greater wonder still if you could become a wee man
again ! "
Thereat the creature commenced to contract to his
original size. When he diminished again to the stature
which a man could span easily with his hand, he jumped on
the cask and, still contracting, slipped back into it by the hole
through which he had made his exit. The Wizard of Reay
plugged the hole he had cut with his knife, and then fled
forever from the Cave of Smoo.
Cave of the Last of the Giants.
In Ross folk-tales are heard to this day of the last of
the giants, who lived in a cave among the Hills of Fearn,
and within view of the windows of what to-day is known
as Skibo Castle. The giant's daughter was married not to
a giant, but to a man of quite ordinary stature. Father-in-
law and son-in-law were perpetually at variance.
" Did ever you giants eat beef from an ox as large as
this was? " said the son-in-law to the last of the giants, as
they dined together one dav in the cave.
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