Transcript

Sláinte na háille is gile ná an ghléigil'[1], ní fhágfaidh mé seo go n-insí mé scéal.

Mac Rí Chonnachta, fuaigh sé amach lá amháin ag fiach agus casadh seanfhear dhó. Bheannaigh siad dhá chéile.

"An mbeidh cluife[2] cárdaí agad, Mac Rí Chonnachta?"

"Is cuma liom," arsa Mac Rí Chonnachta.

Shuigh siad síos. Chuir Mac Rí Chonnachta an chéad chluife air.

"Goidé... Goidéard[3] an geall?"

"Go gcaithfidh tú cloigeann gabhair a chur ar mo mháthair ' ceann míosa."

Ar maidin, casadh dhó aríst é.

"Ar chonaic tú sin?" arsa an seanfhear.

"Chonaiceas. Agus tá stró ar mo chroí nó bhí sí ina drochbhean dom."

Bhuel, lá arna mhárach fuaigh sé amach aríst agus casadh dhó é.

"Ar chonaic tú sin?" ar seisean.

"Chonaiceas."

"An mbeidh cluife cárdaí eile agad?"

"Cuma liom."

Ghnóthaigh Mac Rí Chonnachta é.

"Goidéard an geall?"

"Go gcaithfidh tú an chathair is bhreáchta[4] a chonaictheas ariamh a bheith ar aghaidh chathair m'athair ar maidin agus an bhean a bheas póstaí agam a bheith istigh (...)."

Bhuel, lá arna mhárach fuaigh sé amach aríst.

"Ar chonaic tú sin?" arsa an seanfhear.

"Chonaiceas, ach ba chóir dhuit a fhágáil ansin."

"Níor rinní tú sin... Níor chuir tú sin ins an margadh," arsa an (t)seanfhear.

(An) tríothú[5] maidin, fuaigh sé amach agus casadh an seanfhear dó.

"Ar chonaic tú sin?"

"Chonaiceas," ar seisean, "ach ba chóir dha-... dhuit a fhágáil ansin."

"Níor choinnigh tú sin ins an margadh," ar seisean.

Bhuel, caithfi-... Chuir an (t)seanfhear an cluife air.

"Goidéard an geall?" arsa Mac Rí Chonnachta.

"Go gcaithfidh tú m'áit a fháil amach. Agus bhéarfaidh mé lá agus bliain duit lena fháil amach."

"Céard d'ainm agus do shloinneadh?"

"Mise Rí na hOíche is na nGleanntaibh Uaigneach. Agus bhéarfaidh mé lá agus bliain duit lena fháil amach."

Thóraigh sé roimhe agus ina dhiaidh. Chuir sé tuairisc gach uile áit. Níor fhéad sé a fháil ná tuairisc air gur chonaic sé an áit a rabh Fian Mór agus bhí buaidh aige ar chuile shórt insa domhan mhór.

"Bhuel, má tá sé faoi thalamh ná os cionn talún," arsa an Fian Mór, "gheobhfaidh mise amach é."

Thug sé amach ar chnoc é agus chuir sé fídeog ina bhéal agus shéid sé an fídeog. Agus tháinig éanachaí an tsaoil thart orthu. Agus d'fhiafraigh sé dhaofa an rabh fios acu, ceachtar acu, fios acu ar cén áit a rabh Rí na hOíche is na nGleanntaibh Uaigneach ina chónaí. Ní rabh fhios ag ceachtar (acu) cén áit a rabh sé.

"Fan," ar seisean, "níor chonaic mé an t-iolar ag tíocht go fóill."

Chonaic sé í ag tíocht.

"Cén áit a rabh tú," arsa an Fian Mhór.

Translation

A toast of beauty brighter than the pure whiteness, I won't leave here until my story is done.

The Son of the King of Connacht went out hunting one day and he happened to meet an old man. They greeted one other.

"Will you play a game of cards, Son of the King of Connacht?"

"I don't mind," said the Son of the King of Connacht.

They sat down. The Son of the King of Connacht won the first game.

"What... what's the bet?"

"That you have to put a goat's head on my mother for a month."

The next morning, he happened to meet him again.

"Did you see that?" said the old man.

"I did. And my heart is heavy because she treated me badly (?)."

Well, the following day he went out again and happened to meet him.

"Did you see that?" he said.

"I did."

"Will you have another game?"

"I don't mind."

The Son of the King of Connacht won.

"What's the bet?"

"That you must have the most beautiful mansion ever seen in front of my father's mansion in the morning and the woman I will marry inside (...)."

Well, the next day he went out again.

"Did you see that?" said the old man.

"I did, but you should leave it there."

"You didn't do that... That wasn't part of the deal," said the old man.

The third morning, he went out and happened to meet the old man.

"Did you see that?"

"I did," he said, "but you should leave it there."

"That wasn't part of the deal," he said.

Well... The old man won the game.

"What's the bet?" said the Son of the King of Connacht.

"That you must find out where I live. And I'll give you a day and a year to find out."

"What is your name and surname?"

"I am the King of the Night and of the Desolate Valleys. And I will give you a day and a year to find out."

He searched all over. He inquired everywhere. He couldn't find it or any word of it until he saw the place where Fian the Great was, and he had power over all sorts of things all over the world.

"Well, if he is underground or over ground," said Fian the Great, "I will find out."

He brought him out to a hill and he placed a whistle in his mouth and blew the whistle. And all the birds of the world surrounded them. And he asked them if they knew, any of them, where the King of the Night and of the Desolate Valleys was living. None of them knew where he was.

"Wait," he said, "I haven't seen the eagle arrive yet."

He saw it coming.

"Where were you," said Fian the Great.

Footnotes

Commentary

This story is incomplete and therefore difficult to interpret. It appears to be based on a folktale, or possibly a number of such tales. The opening sequence, where the hero is playing cards, and must go on a quest as a result, bears resemblence to an Irish folktale that is occasionally referred to as 'The Quest for the Sword of Light'. This story does not appear in Seán Ó Súilleabháin and Rieder Th. Christiansen's The types of the Irish folktale (Helsinki, 1968), nor does it seem to feature in Hans Jorg Uther's The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004). It was, however, given its own designated catalogue number, tale type 305A in The catalogue of French folktales in north America. See Luc Lacourcière, 'The analytical catalogue of French folktales in north America', Laurentian University Review 8:2 (1976), 123-8. These American versions seem to be based on French originals, which were in turn likely based on Irish and Scottish Gaelic examples. See Richard Mercer Dorson, Folktales around the world (Chicago, 1975), 456. The balance of evidence suggests, therefore, that this is a version of an originally Irish folktale.

The character of the Fian Mhór suggests that the story may be related to Fenian lore, but the link is tenuous, and due to the incomplete nature of the narrative it is impossible to be certain. Some motifs included in this story are H942 Tasks assigned as payment of gambling loss, M1219.1 Quest assigned as payment for gambling loss and Z72.1 A year and a day. The role of the eagle in the story is not fully clear, but it may be an example of motif H1233.6.2 Bird helper (adviser) on quest. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (rev. and enlarged ed., Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8).