Cape Breton's Magazine

Dan Angus Beaton: a Gaelic Tale Dan Angus Beaton is proficient as a storyteller both in Gaelic and in English. The following tale, there? fore, should not be considered as simply a translation from one language into another. While Dan Angus un? doubtedly first heard this story in Gaelic, he has told it over the years in both languages. Rather than seek a word-for-word translation, we asked him to tell the story twice. A Tale about Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig Naidheachd aig an fhear a bha 'g eughachd air anns a' chladh, da cheud bliadhna mun do rugadh e. Bha leithid de dhuine ann, fear ris an abradh iad Raghnall Mac Ailein Dig. Bha cladh thall ann an Albainn agus bha guth ag eughachd air anns a' chladh, da cheud bliadhna mun do rugadh e riamh. Leis an sin, dh'fhalbh daoine as an aite, cha robh iad a' fuireach mu chuairt ann id? ir- -chaidh fhagail uile. Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig a bha seo--'se Mac? Leoid a bh'ann dar a rugadh e. Ach mu dheireadh thall, bha teaghlach de Mhac- Leoid ann an Albainn anns an robh da Ail- ean--Seann Ailein is Ailean 5g. Dar a thainig Ailean 5g gu aois--ph6s e. An deidh beagan bhliadhnaichean bha mac aige. Nuair a bha mac la neo dha dh'aois chaidh falbh leis gu bhi air a bhaisteadh agus bha'n eaglais suas ri fichead mile air falbh. An deidh dhaibh falbh, thainig seann choimhearsnach a dh'ionnsaidh an tighe a choimhead air an fhear 6g a rugadh agus dh'fhoighneachd e airson an leanabh. Thuirt iad ris, "Tha iad an deidh falbh leis gu bhi air a bhaisteadh." "An e gille neo nighean a th'ann?" "0, 'se gille th'ann." "De'n t-ainm a thug sibh air?" "Se Raghnall a thug sinn air." "0, an ainm Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig--he stopped a lot of crime over in Scotland in the old days, you know, He was a noted man in Scotland in the old times. He was a tremendous strong man. He was one of the ablest men that Scotland ever produced, you know, a MacLeod. An awful lot of stories about Ragh? nall Mac Ailein Oig, not 1 or 2 or 3 or 4--there's lots of stories about Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig. How he defeated The Head? less Woman in the cave, and how that came about. That was one. There's even a tune. You know, where she lived in that cave-- there were hundreds of bodies and brains and heads and skulls in there where she killed them. And he did away with that. And how he got there in the first place. You heard when he was called for in the graveyard 200 years before he was bom? This is the last one I'll tell you. There are too many about him. But I'll give you this one, and this is the last one. Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig--he was Young Al? lan's son--Ailean Og • Ronald Young Allan-- you understand me? Okay, now I'll tell it in English, but it was all in Gaelic. There was a family in Scotland. Well, there was a graveyard in Scotland. And for (41)