Fair, Brown, and Trembling
King Aedh Cúrucha lived in Tir Conal, and he had three daughters, whose names were
Fair, Brown, and Trembling.
Fair and Brown had new dresses, and went to church every Sunday. Trembling was kept at
home to do the cooking and work. They would not let her go out of the house at all; for
she was more beautiful than the other two, and they were in dread she might marry before
themselves.
They carried on in this way for seven years. At the end of seven years the son of the
king of Omanya [the ancient Emania in Ulster] fell in love with the eldest sister.
One Sunday morning, after the other two had gone to church, the old henwife came into
the kitchen to Trembling, and said, "It's at church you ought to be this day, instead
of working here at home."
"How could I go?" said Trembling. "I have no clothes good enough to wear
at church; and if my sisters were to see me there, they'd kill me for going out of the
house."
"I'll give you," said the henwife, "a finer dress than either of them
has ever seen. And now tell me what dress will you have?"
"I'll have," said Trembling, "a dress as white as snow, and green shoes
for my feet."
The henwife put on the cloak of darkness, clipped a piece from the old clothes the
young woman had on, and asked for the whitest robes in the world and the most beautiful
that could be found, and a pair of green shoes.
That moment she had the robe and the shoes, and she brought them to Trembling, who put
them on. When Trembling was dressed and ready, the henwife said, "I have a honey-bird
here to sit on your right shoulder, and a honey-finger to put on your left. At the door
stands a milk-white mare, with a golden saddle for you to sit on, and a golden bridle to
hold in your hand."
Trembling sat on the golden saddle; and when she was ready to start, the henwife said,
"You must not go inside the door of the church, and the minute the people rise up at
the end of mass, do you make off, and ride home as fast as the mare will carry you."
When Trembling came to the door of the church there was no one inside who could get a
glimpse of her but was striving to know who she was; and when they saw her hurrying away
at the end of mass, they ran out to overtake her. But no use in their running; she was
away before any man could come near her. From the minute she left the church till she got
home, she overtook the wind before her, and outstripped the wind behind.
She came down at the door, went in, and found the henwife had dinner ready. She put off
the white robes, and had on her old dress in a twinkling.
When the two sisters came home the henwife asked, "Have you any news today from
the church?"
"We have great news," said they. "We saw a wonderful, grand lady at the
church door. The like of the robes she had we have never seen on woman before. It's little
that was thought of our dresses beside what she had on; and there wasn't a man at the
church, from the king to the beggar, but was trying to look at her and know who she
was."
The sisters would give no peace till they had two dresses like the robes of the strange
lady; but honey-birds and honey-fingers were not to be found.
Next Sunday the two sisters went to church again, and left the youngest at home to cook
the dinner.
After they had gone, the henwife came in and asked, "Will you go to church
today?"
"I would go," said Trembling, "if I could get the going."
"What robe will you wear?" asked the henwife.
"The finest black satin that can be found, and red shoes for my feet."
"What color do you want the mare to be?"
"I want her to be so black and so glossy that I can see myself in her body."
The henwife put on the cloak of darkness, and asked for the robes and the mare. That
moment she had them. When Trembling was dressed, the henwife put the honey-bird on her
right shoulder and the honey-finger on her left. The saddle on the mare was silver, and so
was the bridle.
When Trembling sat in the saddle and was going away, the henwife ordered her strictly
not to go inside the door of the church, but to rush away as soon as the people rose at
the end of mass, and hurry home on the mare before any man could stop her.
That Sunday the people were more astonished than ever, and gazed at her more than the
first time; and all they were thinking of was to know who she was. But they had no chance;
for the moment the people rose at the end of mass she slipped from the church, was in the
silver saddle, and home before a man could stop her or talk to her.
The henwife had the dinner ready. Trembling took off her satin robe, and had on her old
clothes before her sisters got home.
"What news have you today?" asked the henwife of the sisters when they came
from the church.
"Oh, we saw the grand strange lady again! And it's little that any man could think
of our dresses after looking at the robes of satin that she had on! And all at church,
from high to low, had their mouths open, gazing at her, and no man was looking at
us."
The two sisters gave neither rest nor peace till they got dresses as nearly like the
strange lady's robes as they could find. Of course they were not so good; for the like of
those robes could not be found in Erin.
When the third Sunday came, Fair and Brown went to church dressed in black satin. They
left Trembling at home to work in the kitchen, and told her to be sure and have dinner
ready when they came back.
After they had gone and were out of sight, the henwife came to the kitchen and said,
"Well, my dear, are you for church today?"
"I would go if I had a new dress to wear."
"I'll get you any dress you ask for. What dress would you like?" asked the
henwife.
"A dress red as a rose from the waist down, and white as snow from the waist up; a
cape of green on my shoulders; and a hat on my head with a red, a white, and a green
feather in it; and shoes for my feet with the toes red, the middle white, and the backs
and heels green."
The henwife put on the cloak of darkness, wished for all these things, and had them.
When Trembling was dressed, the henwife put the honey-bird on her right shoulder and the
honey-finger on her left, and placing the hat on her head, clipped a few hairs from one
lock and a few from another with her scissors, and that moment the most beautiful golden
hair was flowing down over the girl's shoulders. Then the henwife asked what kind of a
mare she would ride. She said white, with blue and gold-colored diamond-shaped spots all
over her body, on her back a saddle of gold, and on her head a golden bridle.
The mare stood there before the door, and a bird sitting between her ears, which began
to sing as soon as Trembling was in the saddle, and never stopped till she came home from
the church.
The fame of the beautiful strange lady had gone out through the world, and all the
princes and great men that were in it came to church that Sunday, each one hoping that it
was himself would have her home with him after mass.
The son of the king of Omanya forgot all about the eldest sister, and remained outside
the church, so as to catch the strange lady before she could hurry away.
The church was more crowded than ever before, and there were three times as many
outside. There was such a throng before the church that Trembling could only come inside
the gate.
As soon as the people were rising at the end of mass, the lady slipped out through the
gate, was in the golden saddle in an instant, and sweeping away ahead of the wind. But if
she was, the prince of Omanya was at her side, and, seizing her by the foot, he ran with
the mare for thirty perches, and never let go of the beautiful lady till the shoe was
pulled from her foot, and he was left behind with it in his had. She came home as fast as
the mare could carry her, and was thinking all the time that the henwife would kill her
for losing the shoe.
Seeing her so vexed and so changed in the face, the old woman asked, "What's the
trouble that's on you now?"
"Oh! I've lost one of the shoes off my feet," said Trembling.
"Don't mind that; don't be vexed," said the henwife; "maybe it's the
best thing that ever happened to you."
Then Trembling gave up all the things she had to the henwife, put on her old clothes,
and went to work in the kitchen. When the sisters came home, the henwife asked, "Have
you any news from the church?"
"We have indeed," said they; "for we saw the grandest sight today. The
strange lady came again, in grander array than before. On herself and the horse she rode
were the finest colors of the world, and between the ears of the horse was a bird which
never stopped singing from the time she came till she went away. The lady herself is the
most beautiful woman ever seen by man in Erin."
After Trembling had disappeared from the church, the son of the king of Omanya said to
the other kings' sons, "I will have that lady for my own."
They all said, "You didn't win her just by taking the shoe off her foot, you'll
have to win her by the point of the sword; you'll have to fight for her with us before you
can call her your own."
"Well," said the son of the king of Omanya, "when I find the lady that
shoe will fit, I'll fight for her, never fear, before I leave her to any of you."
Then all the kings' sons were uneasy, and anxious to know who was she that lost the
shoe; and they began to travel all over Erin to know could they find her. The prince of
Omanya and all the others went in a great company together, and made the round of Erin;
they went everywhere -- north, south, east, and west. They visited every place where a
woman was to be found, and left not a house in the kingdom they did not search, to know
could they find the woman the shoe would fit, not caring whether she was rich or poor, of
high or low degree.
The prince of Omanya always kept the shoe; and when the young women saw it, they had
great hopes, for it was of proper size, neither large nor small, and it would beat any man
to know of what material it was made. One thought it would fit her if she cut a little
from her great toe; and another, with too short a foot, put something in the tip of her
stocking. But no use, they only spoiled their feet, and were curing them for months
afterwards.
The two sisters, Fair and Brown, heard that the princes of the world were looking all
over Erin for the woman that could wear the shoe, and every day they were talking of
trying it on; and one day Trembling spoke up and said, "Maybe it's my foot that the
shoe will fit."
"Oh, the breaking of the dog's foot on you! Why say so when you were at home every
Sunday?"
They were that way waiting, and scolding the younger sister, till the princes were near
the place. The day they were to come, the sisters put Trembling in a closet, and locked
the door on her. When the company came to the house, the prince of Omanya gave the shoe to
the sisters. But though they tried and tried, it would fit neither of them.
"Is there any other young woman in the house?" asked the prince.
"There is," said Trembling, speaking up in the closet; "I'm here."
"Oh! we have her for nothing but to put out the ashes," said the sisters.
But the prince and the others wouldn't leave the house till they had seen her; so the
two sisters had to open the door. When Trembling came out, the shoe was given to her, and
it fitted exactly.
The prince of Omanya looked at her and said, "You are the woman the shoe fits, and
you are the woman I took the shoe from."
Then Trembling spoke up, and said, "Do stay here till I return."
Then she went to the henwife's house. The old woman put on the cloak of darkness, got
everything for her she had the first Sunday at church, and put her on the white mare in
the same fashion. Then Trembling rode along the highway to the front of the house. All who
saw her the first time said, "This is the lady we saw at church."
Then she went away a second time, and a second time came back on the black mare in the
second dress which the henwife gave her. All who saw her the second Sunday said,
"That is the lady we saw at church."
A third time she asked for a short absence, and soon came back on the third mare and in
the third dress. All who saw her the third time said, "That is the lady we saw at
church." Every man was satisfied, and knew that she was the woman.
Then all the princes and great men spoke up, and said to the son of the king of Omanya,
"You'll have to fight now for her before we let her go with you."
"I'm here before you, ready for combat," answered the prince.
Then the son of the king of Lochlin stepped forth. The struggle began, and a terrible
struggle it was. They fought for nine hours; and then the son of the king of Lochlin
stopped, gave up his claim, and left the field. Next day the son of the king of Spain
fought six hours, and yielded his claim. On the third day the son of the king of Nyerfó
fought eight hours, and stopped. The fourth day the son of the king of Greece fought six
hours, and stopped. On the fifth day no more strange princes wanted to fight; and all the
sons of kings in Erin said they would not fight with a man of their own land, that the
strangers had had their chance, and as no others came to claim the woman, she belonged of
right to the son of the king of Omanya.
The marriage day was fixed, and the invitations were sent out. The wedding lasted for a
year and a day. When the wedding was over, the king's son brought home the bride, and when
the time came a son was born. The young woman sent for her eldest sister, Fair, to be with
her and care for her.
One day, when trembling was well, and when her husband was away hunting, the two
sisters went out to walk; and when they came to the seaside, the eldest pushed the
youngest sister in. A great whale came and swallowed her.
The eldest sister came home alone, and the husband asked, "Where is your
sister?"
"She has gone home to her father in Ballyshannon; now that I am well, I don't need
her."
"Well," said the husband, looking at her, "I'm in dread it's my wife
that has gone."
"Oh! no," said she; "it's my sister Fair that's gone."
Since the sisters were very much alike, the prince was in doubt. That night he put his
sword between them, and said, "If you are my wife, this sword will get warm; if not,
it will stay cold."
In the morning when he rose up, the sword was as cold as when he put it there.
It happened when the two sisters were walking by the seashore, that a little cowboy was
down by the water minding cattle, and saw Fair push Trembling into the sea; and next day,
when the tide came in, he saw the whale swim up and throw her out on the sand.
When she was on the sand she said to the cowboy, "When you go home in the evening
with the cows, tell the master that my sister Fair pushed me into the sea yesterday; that
a whale swallowed me, and then threw me out, but will come again and swallow me with the
coming of the next tide; then he'll go out with the tide, and come again with tomorrow's
tide, and throw me again on the strand. The whale will cast me out thee times. I'm under
the enchantment of this whale, and cannot leave the beach or escape myself. Unless my
husband saves me before I'm swallowed the fourth time, I shall be lost. He must come and
shoot the whale with a silver bullet when he turns on the broad of his back. Under the
breast fin of the whale is a reddish-brown spot. My husband must hit him in that spot, for
it is the only place in which he can be killed."
When the cowboy got home, the eldest sister gave him a draught of oblivion, and he did
not tell.
Next day he went again to the sea. The whale came and cast Trembling on shore again.
She asked the boy, "Did you tell the master what I told you to tell him?"
"I did not," said he; "I forgot."
"How did you forget?" asked she.
"The woman of the house gave me a drink that made me forget."
"Well, don't forget telling him this night; and if she gives you a drink, don't
take it from her."
As soon as the cowboy came home, the eldest sister offered him a drink. He refused to
take it till he had delivered his message and told all to the master.
The third day the prince went down with his gun and a silver bullet in it. He was not
long down when the whale came and threw Trembling upon the beach as the two days before.
She had no power to speak to her husband till he had killed the whale. Then the whale went
out, turned over once on the broad of his back, and showed the spot for a moment only.
That moment the prince fired. He had but the one chance, and a short one at that; but he
took it, and hit the spot, and the whale, mad with pain, made the sea all around red with
blood, and died.
That minute Trembling was able to speak, and went home with her husband, who sent word
to her father what the eldest sister had done. The father came, and told him any death he
chose to give her to give it. The prince told the father he would leave her life and death
with himself. The father had her put out then on the sea in a barrel, with provisions in
it for seven years.
In time Trembling had a second child, a daughter. The prince and she sent the cowboy to
school, and trained him up as one of their own children, and said, "If the little
girl that is born to us now lives, no other man in the world will get her but him."
The cowboy and the prince's daughter lived on till they were married. The mother said
to her husband, "You could not have saved me from the whale but for the little
cowboy; on that account I don't grudge him my daughter."
The son of the king of Omanya and Trembling had fourteen children, and they lived
happily till the two died of old age.
Jeremiah Curtin: Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland. Boston 1890, p. 37 ff. (AT
510A, Irland)
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