Tobar an Dualchais - Kist O Riches

Title - A pupil of the black arts offended his master by showing off...
Contributors - Betsy Whyte
Reporters - Barbara McDermitt

Summary - A pupil of the black arts offended his master by showing off, and was enchanted, but got the best of it.

The captain of a ship took a simpleton away for a year and a day, and he came back much improved. After another year and a day he was rather cocky and was showing off what he had learned from the captain, a laird of the black art. The laird was annoyed and turned the lad into a horse. He chained the horse up with only salt food to eat. The lad persuaded the girl who fed the horses to take him to a burn [stream] for a drink. He turned himself into a salmon and escaped. The laird turned himself into an otter and pursued him. The lad turned himself into a ring on the finger of a lady sitting by the river.

The laird, disguised as a workman, repaired the house where the lady lived. There was a bonfire when the work was finished. The lad appeared in his own shape to the lady and told her to scatter peas and barley around the bonfire. The boy changed himself into a grain of barley and the laird changed himself into a bantam cock pecking at the barley. The lad changed into a fox, grabbed the cockerel and flung it into the fire. That was the end of the laird. The lad went back to his mother and became the laird of the black art himself, but he had learned his lesson and never showed off his magic powers.

Track Duration (h:m:s) - 00:11:10
Date Recorded - 1979.04.28
Language - Scots
Genre - Story
Collection - School of Scottish Studies

Track ID - 91035
Original Tape ID - SA1979.127
Original Track ID - SA1979.127
Audio Quality - Good
Audio Format - R2R



Recording Location:
  County - Midlothian
  Parish - Edinburgh
  Village - Edinburgh

Item Notes -

Permanent Link - http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/91035/1

Segments:
Play part 1 (00:11:10)
Play part 2 (00:01:37)


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