School: Corrdún

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1. A Storyteller

   

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   A long time ago there lived a king in Ireland. He was married and had one son. His wife died and he married again. His second wife (died) was very cruel to her stepson. She was always thinking of a way to get rid of him. She went to a witch and the witch told her to play two games of cards with her stepson. Whoever won a game could compel the other to do what he liked. Her stepson agreed to this and he won the first game and she won the second game. He told her to go to the highest part of the castle and eat no food except the grains of corn which the wind blew to him from the windmill. She told him to go and find the castle of the Knight of the lonesome valley not to sleep in the same bed three times and not to eat from the same table three times till he returned. He set out from the castle next day. After he travelled for a year and a day he came to a house in a wood where a man and his wife lived. He asked the man if he knew anything about the Knight of the lonesome valley. The man told him that there was a well in the wood and the three daughters of the Knight were to come under the form of swans next day and bathe in the well three days in succession

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Folktales index

   AT0313: The Girl as Helper

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Thomas Foley

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   Pat Foley

   Relation

   Grandparent

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   80

   Address

   Cartron, Co. Mayo