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

THE THREE WISE MEN. 23
and tliought, " Tliis man mnst have a small company."
" All," said the man, " it will go about."
" 'Now" said the farmer, " I must know what all
tliis means. I will neither eat nor drink in this house
unless you tell me. I saluted you, and you bent your
heads, and never answered for ten minutes. AVhen
you did speak, I could not understand you, and now
3^ou seem to understand my thoughts." Then the old
man said, " Sit down, and I will explain it all. Our
father was a very wise man. We never knew how
wise he was till long after he went away. AYe are
tliree brothers, and on the bed of death our father left
us this pretty place, and we have it amongst us, and
plenty besides. Our father made us swear that we
w^ould never talk on important matters but in whis-
pers. When thou earnest, we bent our heads and
whispered, as we always do, for men cannot dispute in
a whisjDer, and we never c^uarrel. My fii'st brother had
the corpse of his mother-in-law within ; he was un-
willing to ask a stranger to a house of sorrow. She is
to be buried to-morrow — If that were out which he
had within, he had given thee a night's share. My
second brother has a wife who will do nothing till she
gets three blows of a stick. Then she is like other
women, and a good wdfe ; he did not like a stranger
to see the blows given, and he knew she would do no-
thing without them — If he had done what was un-
done, he had given thee a night's share. I had
nothing to do more than usual. Thou didst tell thy
news, and when my wife came in, I knew thy thought.
If I -were dead, and thou and she were willing, you
might be married. So if I, and thou, and my
daughter were willing, you might be married too.
Now, then, said the old man, sit and eat. The little
pot will go about ; it will serve for us. My company