Cape Breton's Magazine

robh am feasgar cho blath, leig mi mi-fhin 'nam shineadh fo'n chraoibh. Cha d'rinn mi ach mi-fhin a shochrachadh nuair a chuala mi a bhith 'g eigheach orm. Leum mi 'nam sheasamh agus bha a' bhean a' coiseachd anuas far na robh mi agus thuirt i, "Tha tri uairean an uaireadair bho'n a thanaig thu anuas agus a shin thu thu-fhein fo'n chraoibh. Tha chairman fheasgair ri dhean? amh agus tha gille bg de choigreach as? taigh 'gad fheitheamh agus toil aige t'fhaicinn." Choisich sinn suas chun an taighe agus chaidh sinn astaigh. Co bha astaigh 'gam fheitheamh ach Iain. Tha e air ur-thighinn dha'n duthaich. Agus an deaghaidh failt' a chur air agus breith air 13.imh air agus tacan a thoirt a' seanachas ris, dh'fhoigh- neachd e dhomh a robh naidheachd sam bith agam a dh'innsinn dha. Thuirt mi gu robh, agus dh'inns' mi dha an naidheachd a thug mi dhuibh ann a' seo. Cha n-eil mi cinn? teach co-dhiubh chreid e mi, air neo nach do chreid: cha d'thuirt e guth. 'S e mo bharail gu bi pairt agaibh nach creid'an naidheachd seo a chionn bithidh mi fhin an dala h-uair fo imcheisd co-dhiubh a chrei- deas mi i neo nach creid. Sin agaibh an naidheachd again. heard during his youth from an uncle, Neil MacLellan, a man of remarkable gifts, and his grandfather. It is a good indication of the vitality of Gaelic story-telling remaining in Cape Breton that an original Gaelic tale of such quality, composed a- long traditional lines, should appear in this decade. Although most tales were ac? quired through oral transmission, it was by no means unknown for reciters to make their own: Donald ('Dbmhnall Thormaid') MacDonald, a famous bard in Lauchie's area, is known to have made a tale about a magic apron which has since been lost. Lauchie's tale contains elements of another tale known in Cape Breton as Iain Mac an las- gair Mhbir 'Iain the Big Fisherman's Son' and elsewhere called A' Mhaighdean Mhara 'The Mermaid' (WHT 1, pp-. 72-10', AT type 300, 302) which was recited by Joe Neil MacNeil for Cape Breton's Magazine (Issues 16 and 17). It IS possible that additional motifs may have been drawn from a variant of Righ 5g Easaidh Ruaidh 'The Young King of Easaidh Ruaidh' (WHT 1, pp. 1-24). Lauchie adds that the sniithlainn-siachaidh 'sprain-thread' referred to in the tale is a thread of wool wound twice around a sprained wrist or ankle and secured with? out a knot to promote healing. Our thanks to The Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies. The National Museum of Man, The National Museums of Canada for their permission for publication of this story outside Museum auspices. "Little bit of Paris" for reservations 539'1671 aUNCH: Mon. to Fri. 12 to 2 DINNER: Mon. to Sat. 6 to 10 t'(Closed Sunday) 233 Esplanade! Sydney Nova Scotia FuU Wine CeUar pn Trans'Canada Hwy. V '' 5 miles west of Tk Baddeck • Heated Swimming Pool • Laundromat - Camper's Store • Playground - Hot Showers • Hookups • Canoeing BADDECK - CABOT TRAIL KAMPGROUND Rt. 19, near Inverness' Inverness 1/2 mile off Cabot Trail Neil's Harbour Rt. 105, 6 miles West of Baddeck Baddeck'Rivers' emitoat Enjoy your favorite seafood: