J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular rhymes of Scotland

228 POPULAR RHYMES OF SCOTLAND.
a disg'uise, and gaed back to Scotland and to Banff, and
got there without onybody kenning- him. He hid himsel'
behind the trees at the water-side, and watched nig-ht after ,
night. He saw the white serpent come out the twa first
nights, and creep under the stane ; but it aye got back to the
water afore he could catch it ; but the third night he did
catch it, and killed it, and brought it awa' wi' him to Spain
to his master. His master was very glad to get it, but he
wasna sae kind after to Sir James as he used to be. He told
him, now that they had got the serpent, the next thing to
do was to cook it, and he maun do that too. He was to
go down to a vault, and there stew the serpent till it was
turned into oil. If onybody saw him at the wark, or if
he tasted food till it was done, the charm would be spoiled ;
and if by ony chance he was to taste the medicine, it would
kill him at ance, unless he had the proper remedy. Sae
Sir James gaed down to the vault, and prepared the medi-
cine just as he had been ordered ; but when he was pouring
it out o' the pan into the box where it was to be keepit, he
let some drops fa' on his fingers that brunt them ; and in
the pain and hurry he forgot his master's orders, and put
his fingers into his mouth to suck out the pain. He did
not die, but he fand that his een were opened, and that he
could see through everything. And when his master came
down at the appointed time to speer if the medicine was
ready, he fand he could see into his master's inside, and
could tell a' that was going on there. But he keepit his ain
secret, and never let on to his master what had happened ;
and it was very lucky, for he soon found out that his master
was a bad man, and would have killed him if he had kend
that he had got the secret o' the medicine. He had only
been kind to him because he kend that Sir James was the
best man to catch the serpent. However, Sir James learnt
to be a skilfu' doctor under him ; and at last he managed to
get awa' frae him, and syne he travelled over the warld as a
doctor, doing mony wonders, because he could clearly see
what was wrang in folk's insides. But he wearied sair to
get back to Scotland, and he thought that naebody would
ken him as a doctor. Sae he ventured to gae back ; and
when he arrived, he fand that the king was very ill, and
no man could find out what was the matter wi' him. He
had tried a' the doctors in Scotland, and a' that came to him