An nighean agus na mèirlich.
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1964.088
Original Tape ID
Summary
The girl and the twelve robbers.
A young Skyeman went abroad and promised the girl he loved that, if he did well, she and her parents should join him. Her parents eventually died, and the boy asked her to sell everything and join him. She did so and set sail. The boy met her and she rode behind him on his horse, leaving her cabin trunk on the quay. He asked her to give him her money for safety, as they would go through a dangerous forest. When he got a chance, he pushed her off the horse, into a river.
She managed to get ashore and escaped from the forest. She saw the light of a house and made for it. An oldish man opened the door and she asked where she was. He said there were twelve robbers there and promised to try and hide her. He had been captured by them, and had to cook for them. The girl explained what had happened to her. The man suggested that the boy who had abandoned the girl could be one of the robbers.
The girl hid in a cupboard where she could see them. After a while the boy appeared. He was the robber who had taken the biggest amount of money. The robbers began to drink brandy to celebrate, and eventually all of them fell down drunk. The cook threw meat to their dogs, and the girl and the cook escaped. The girl took with her what she had lost and a lot more.
She and the cook reached a ship and told the captain what had happened. He said he would catch the boy when he came to collect the trunk on the quay. When the boy came, the captain invited him aboard, where he saw the girl and the cook. He was then held captive by the captain.
The girl offered her companion from Mull some money when they parted, but he refused it. She returned to Skye a wealthy woman.
Item Notes
The contributor learned this story from a Skyeman.
Language
Gaelic
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good