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

147
witliin : he let liimself down at the fire-side. There
he was till a woman came at the end of the night, and
she had six sheep. She saw a great slip of a man be-
side the fire, who seemed to be a fool. She took great
wonder when she saw him, and she said that he had
better go out of that, and go down to the king's house,
and that he would get something amongst the servants
in the kitchen. He said he would not go, but if she
would give him something that he might eat, that he
would go to herd the sheep for lierself. What should
be tlie name of the woman but Caomhag Gentle. " If
I tliought that, I would give thee meat and drink,"
said she. On the morrow he went away with the
sheep. " I have not a bite of grass for them," said she,
" but a road ; and thou shalt keep them at the edge of
the road, and thou shalt not let them off it."
At the time of night he came home with them ; on
the morrow he went away with the sheep. There
were near to the place where he was with them three
fields of wheat that belonged to three gentlemen. The
sheep were wearing him out. He went and he levelled
the dyke, and he let them in from one to the other till
they had eaten the three fields. On a day of days, the
three gentlemen gathered. When they came, he had
^ let the fields be eaten by the sheep.
" Wlio art thou ? Thou hast eaten the fields ? "
" It was not I that ate them at all ; it was the
sheep that ate them."
" We will not be talking to him at all ; he is but
a fool. We will reach Caomhag to see if the sheep are
hers."
They reached Caomhag. They took her with them
to the court. This was the first com-t that Fearghus
had made after he got the crown.
The kings had a heritacre at that time. Wlien