Transcript

Bhí sé ag cailleadh misnigh agus i leabaidh a ghoil dho léim thar an trinse chaithfeadh sé ghoil a fhad leis síos agus siúl thríotai[1]. Bhí siúinéaraí ina chónaí in aice na háite. Chonaic an siúinéaraí achuile lá é ag goil thart agus níl aon lá dhá bhfaca sé ag goil thairis é nach rabh sé in ann a ghoil dho léim thar an trinse go dtí an lá seo. Tháinig sé roimhe.

"Glacaim míle fáilte leat, a dhuine uasail," a deir sé. "Feicear dhom," a deir sé, "go bhfuil rud eicínt ort," a deir sé. "Nó céard d'éirigh dhuit," a deir sé, "ó chonaic mé thú," a deir sé, "an lá deiridh," a deir sé, "ag goil thar an trinse seo? Bhí tú in ann a ghoil dho léim thartai[2]," a deir sé, "agus inniu," a deir sé, "chonaic mé go mb'éigean duit a ghoil síos ins an trinse," a deir sé, "agus thú féin a tharraingt aníos aisti. Inis domsa do thrioblóid agus más féidir é," a deir sé, "déanfaidh mé," a deir sé, "thú a leigheas."

"Bhuel, tá mo sháith dho thrioblóid orm," ar seisean. "Tá mo cheann agus mo choiméad beatha le cailleadh a'm," a deir sé, "faoi cheann," a deir sé, "a leithide seo dho lá. Tá mé anois," a deir sé, "os cionn ráithe nó leithbhliain," a deir sé, "anseo," a deir sé, "ag teach an rí," a deir sé. "Agus tá an rí," a deir sé, "bhain sé gealladh dhaom," a deir sé, "mur mbeadh fios a'm," a deir sé, "cá bhfuil a iníon," a deir sé, "roimh lá agus bliain go mbainfeadh sé mo cheann agus mo choiméad beatha dhaom. Níl fios a tuairisce a'm thoir thiar thíos thuas," a deir sé, "(cér) chuir sé í."

"Ná bíodh buairt ná faitíos ort," arsa an siúinéaraí. "Tá triúr mac a'msa nach bhfuil a leithidí insa tír inniu ar fad," a deir sé, "ina siú-, ina ngaibhní. Tá mé féin i mo shiúinéaraí," a deir sé, "chomh maith agus tá istigh in Éirinn. Agus déanfaidh muid," a deir sé, "bronntanas duitse a thiúrfas tú go dtí an rí. Agus nuair a fheicfeas an rí é glacfaidh sé an oiread spóirt ann agus go ndéarfaidh tú leis," a deir sé, "é a thabhairt go dtí an iníon dho bhronntanas agus glacfaidh sé féin an oiread spóirt ann agus go ndéarfaidh sé go dtiúrfaidh agus míle fáilte."

"Ná stopadh airgead thú," arsa an scoláire bocht. "Tabharfaidh mise an oiread airgid duit," a deir sé, "agus tá ag teastáil uait má níonn tú a leithide sin dom."

"Déanfad go cinntí," ar seisean.

Chuaigh sé ag obair agus ní rabh sé i bhfad nó go ndearna sé cóiste mór dó ar chumraíocht - chuir sé cheithre rotha faoi - agus ar chumraíocht tarbh. Agus sé an áit a mbíodh an anáil ag tíocht go dtí an scoláire bocht isteach thrí pholláirí an tairbh. Rinne sé áit dó istigh le codladh ann, le n-ithe agus le n-ól, agus le fanacht ann. Thug sé leis abhailí é go dtí an rí. D'fhiafraigh sé dhon rí ins an oíche cáide go dtéadh sé ar cuairt go dtí an iníon.

"Tá mé go díreach," a deir sé, "ag goil chuici amáireach."

"Bhuel, ba mhaith liom," a deir sé, "bronntanas atá agam," a deir sé, "a thabhairt go dtí í."

"Bhuel," arsa an rí, a deir sé, "tiúrfaidh mise bronntannas ar bith," a deir sé, "a thiúrfas tú dhom," a deir sé, "chuici."

Thug sé chuige an cóiste agus nuair a chonaic an rí an cóiste ní fhaca tú aon fhear ariamh is mó a ghlac spéis insa gcóiste ná a ghlac sé. Chroch sé leis ar maidin isteach ina loing é agus níor stop sé ariamh go ndeachaigh sé go dtí an iníon. Nuair a chonaic an bhanríon óg an cóiste chuimhnigh sí go maith uirthi féin go rabh rud eicínt aisteach insa gcóiste.

"A athair," a deir sí, "tiúrfaidh mé liom é seo," a deir sí, "agus cuirfidh mé isteach," a deir sí, "in mo sheomra féin é." a deir sí. "Ní ligfidh mé cead dho shearbhónta nó dh'aon nduine beirthí," a deir sí, "tada a (bheith) le déanamh leis seo," a deir sí, "tá sé ina chóiste chomh breá sin," a deir sí. "Agus (is) mór an comhluadar dhom é ag siúl thríd an mbaile agus ag siúl thart thríd an aibhinne," a deir sí, "á siú(...) romham amach maidin agus tráthnóna."

"Déan é sin," arsa an rí, a deir sé. D'fhága sé sin aici.

Nuair a tháinig an oíche bhain seisean a slat dhon chomhra agus tháinig sé amach ' coinneál comhluadar leis an mbanríon óg go maidin. Nuair a tháinig an mhaidin chuaigh sé isteach aríst insa gcóiste agus d'fhan sé ann nó gur imigh an rí agus go dtáinig sé abhaile agus gur fhága sé slán agus beannacht ag an iníon. (...) seo d'fhan sé ansin léithi ar feadh ráithe.

Translation

He was losing courage and instead of leaping over the trench he had to go down into it and walk through it. A carpenter lived near the place. The carpenter saw him going around and there wasn't a day that he saw him go past that he wasn't able to leap the trench until this day. He came before him.

"I welcome you, sir," he said. "It seems to me that something is wrong with you," he said. "Or what happened to you," he said, "since I saw you the other day going over this trench? You were able to leap over it," he said, "and today," he said, "I saw that you had to go down into the trench," he said, "and to pull yourself out of it. Tell me your troubles and if it is possible," he said, "I will cure you."

"Well, I have my fill of trouble," he said. "I am to lose my head and my life," he said, "by a particular day. I have been more than three months or half a year here at the kings house," he said. "And the king," he said, "promised me that if I didn't know where his daughter was before a year and a day that he would take my head and my life from me. I don't know idea where he put her, north, south, east or west."

"Don't be worried or scared," said the carpenter. "I have three sons who are smiths and they have no equals in this whole country today," he said. I myself am a carpenter," he said, "without equal in Ireland. And we will make you a gift which you will bring to the king. And when the king sees it he will enjoy it so much that you will tell him," he says, "to bring it to the daughter as a gift and he will enjoy it so much himself that he will say that he will bring it to her gladly."

"Let money not stop you," said the poor scholar. "I will give you as much money," he said, "as you need if you do such a thing for me."

"I will surely," he said.

He went to work and it wasn't long before he had made him a coach the shape of - he put four wheels under it - and in the shape of a bull. And the place where the air came to the poor scholar was in through the bull's nostrils. He made him a place to sleep inside, to eat and to drink, and to stay there. He brought it home to the king. He asked the king in the night how long it would be till he might visit the daughter.

"I am going directly to her tomorrow," he said.

"Well," he said, "I would like to bring to her a gift I have."

"Well," said the king, "I will bring her any gift you give me."

He brought the coach to him and when the king saw the coach you never saw a man who took more interest in the coach than he did. He carried it into his ship in the morning and he never stopped until he went to the daughter. When the young queen saw the coach she thought well to herself that there was something strange in the coach.

"Father," she said, "I will take this with me and I will put it into my own room." "I will not let a servant or any person alive have anything to do with this," she said, "it is such a nice coach," she said. "And it is great company for me going through the town and going around through the avenue," she said, "(...) it before me each morning and evening."

"Do that," said the king. He left it with her.

When the evening came he removed a stick from the chest and he came out and he kept company with the young queen until morning. When morning came he went back into the coach and he stayed there until the king left and came home and bade farewell to the daughter. (...) he stayed there with her for three months.

Footnotes

Commentary

Parts one and two of this story combine to form a clear example of an international folktale, ATU 854 The golden ram. Standard versions recount a young man who writes a message on the wall of a king or rich man, which exclaims that money can buy anything. The king puts a challenge to the youth that he must find the king's hidden daughter. He will be given as much money as he needs, and has a year to find her, but he will be killed or imprisoned if he fails. The youth has a hollow statue built, and offers it to the king as a gift to be given to the princess. He hides inside, and thus is delivered to her, completing the challenge. The current example is very similar to versions from other countries, but features a coach instead of a statue. The story is well known throughout Europe, north Africa and as far east as Sri Lanka. The story is also particularly popular in Latin America. See Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004). The story is not tremendously popular in Ireland, with relatively few examples having been recorded. It was told in Donegal, Galway and Mayo, and was somewhat common in county Kerry. See Seán Ó Súilleabháin and Rieder Th. Christiansen, The types of the Irish folktale (Helsinki, 1968). Some international motifs found in this story are K1341.1 Entrance to woman’s room in golden ram, H322 Suitor test: finding princess and H322.2 Suitor test: to get to imprisoned princess in a year’s time. The incident of concealment in a statue seems thematically related to the famous Greek story of the Trojan Horse, international motif K754.1 Trojan wooden horse. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (rev. and enlarged ed., 6 vols, Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8).