School: Cluain Leamhac (Cloonloo) (roll number 12767)
- Location:
- Cloonloogh, Co. Sligo
- Teacher: Ml. Mac Lochlainn
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0188, Page 043
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- XML School: Cluain Leamhac (Cloonloo)
- XML Page 043
- XML “Old Story”
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- Once there lived a widow woman in Scotland and she had
twelve sons one day she was walking along the sea shore
and she saw a duck and twelve young ones coming in to
the shore. The mother duck kept beating one of them away
the little duck kept coming in at last the woman got tired
watching them and went home to her castle. Later she went
to a grand adviser. The grand adviser was an old witch who
could foretell and explain unusual happenings. The widow
told her of the story of the ducks the witch said she would
have to part with one of her sons the widow said she loved
one as much as the other. She asked the witch how would
she do it. The witch said to the widow to bring out her twelve
sons on the lawn in front of her castle and to get a
handkerchief and when she dropped it to the ground the
sons were to run to an iron gate and the first one back to
her again would get a present of an ivory penknife. The
sons were arguing among themselves as to who would be
first through the iron gate. The. sons were arguing
among. The eldest son said he would walk
slowly behind the others and take his time.
The appointed hour came for the race, and
the widow dropped her handkerchief and(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Maura Crummy
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- John Duffy
- Gender
- Male
