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

300 WEST HIGHLAND TALES.
He went up to the lioiise of a weaver ; and after
he had been there for some time, the weaver came
home with flesh, and other things from the great town ;
and he gave him both meat and lodging.
On the morrow the weaver told him that there
was to be a horse race in the town ; and he bethought
him of the box, and opened it ; and tliree came out
and said, " Eege gu djeege. Master, good, what shall
we do ?" and he said, " Bring me the finest horse that
ever was seen, and the grandest dress, and glass shoes ;"
and he had them all in a minute. Now he who won
the races was to have the king's daughter to wife.
Then he went, and won, and the king's daughter saw
him ; but he never stayed ; he went back to the
weaver, and threw three " mam " handsfull of gold
into his apron, and said that a great gentleman, who
won tlie race, had given him the gold ; and then he
broke the weaver's loom, and tore the cloth to bits.
Next day there was a dog race ; and he got a finer
dress, and a splendid dog, by the help of the box, and
won, and threw handsfull of gold to the weaver, and
did more mischief in his house.
On the third day it was a falcon race, and he did
the very same ; and he was the man who was to marry
the princess, but he was nowhere to be found when
the race was over.
Then (as happens in plenty of other stories) the
whole kingdom was gathered, and the winner of the
prize was nowhere to be found. At last they came to
the w^eaver's house, and the hunter's beard was grown
over his face, and he was dirty and travel-stained ; and
he had given aU the gold to the weaver, and smashed
everything ; and he was so dirty and ugly, and good
for nothing, that he was to be hanged. But when he
was under the gallows, he was to make the gallows