The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends (28 page)

The king was in his chamber one day and thinking of the future. Some day, he realized, one of his sons must inherit the kingdom, but his problem was – which one? Who was the worthiest? How
could he compensate those who did not become king? There was only one thing he possessed of real value, and that was his golden crown studded with precious jewels and silver mountings. Now, as
everyone knows, a crown went with being the king, so whoever inherited the kingdom would have to inherit the crown. But he had three sons and that meant that two of them would have to go without
any form of inheritance. Without inheritance, how
could they even marry? The Manx saying goes:
gyn skeddan, gyn bannish
! No herring, no wedding.

The king wondered whether he ought to divide the kingdom in three but, even if he did so, he could not divide the crown. It would also seem foolish if there were three kings in Ellan Vannin and
only one of them ruled with a crown. That would surely be a recipe for disaster?

It was while he was considering the problem that his three sons, Bris, Cane and Gil came in.

“We were considering, father,” began Bris, “our future.”

“We have all reached the age when we should be married,” Cane observed.

“Therefore we were wondering whether you could find us wives,” added Gil.

Ascon the king grew very sad. “You have come to me with the very problem that I have been wrestling with, my sons. Because, if you are to marry, you will need some inheritance to keep your
wives. Now it is hard to divide this land between you. If one inherits, then the other two will be without.”

“That’s all right, father,” said Bris cheerfully. “Why not divide the land in three? We do not mind sharing.”

“If I give you equal parts of the kingdom, the crown cannot be divided; and to be king, one must have the crown. As well as you like each other now, it could eventually lead to war between
you, and that I would not have for all the world.”

The boys assured the old king that they would never go to war with one another. But they did see the logic of what the king was saying. Indeed, what use was a kingdom without a crown? Indeed,
the eldest son was already beginning to think – as I am the eldest, why should my younger brothers have the crown? The middle brother was thinking – as I am the brightest, why should my
brothers have the crown, when I would make a better king? Only Gil, the youngest, thought that he would not mind if his brothers inherited, for he was young and fit and could surely make his own
way in life.

The old king sat in thought, and then an idea struck him. He would make a test for his sons and whoever passed the test would receive the entire kingdom and the crown.

“Each year, my sons, there comes to the palace window the
Lossyr-ny-Keylley, which sings its heart out before my window. It pleases me, that little goldfinch. But then
it flies off to the west. If the little bird stayed with me all year, I would be rested and happy. So, my sons, I shall set you this test. Whoever finds the home of the Lossyr-ny-Keylley, and
brings it back to this land, shall inherit my kingdom and my crown.”

Straightaway, his eldest son, Bris, was boastful. “I can bring the goldfinch back without hardship.”

“As could I,” added Cane quickly.

The young brother, Gil, smiled. “I doubt not that either of my brothers could perform this deed. Perhaps, though, I should go with them, because there might be a way of seeking my fortune
in the land of the goldfinch.”

The three brothers made to set out but, as they were poor, they only had one boat. After some discussion, they decided that they would leave the shores of Ellan Vannin together in that one
boat.

That dawn, they set sail westward and, by nightfall of the first day, they spied an island. They came ashore to an hostel and the hostel keeper, a pleasant woman, came forward.

“Welcome, sons of King Ascon, welcome.”

The three boys were puzzled.

“How do you come to know us, for we have not travelled beyond the shore of Ellan Vannin before this day?”

“I know who you are and where you are bound,” the woman replied.

“Then you know more than we do, woman,” Bris stated. “For we are looking for the land of the goldfinch and know not where that is.”

“Tomorrow, as the sun rises, you will sail on until you strike land. Once ashore, you will come to a straight road, but do not take it. Take the small side road that leads south.”
The woman smiled. “From then on, your must find your own path.”

So it happened the next morning they sailed on and, as the woman said, they came to land and a straight road. There they found a path south and, at the place where it began, they met an elderly
man.

“
Kys t’ou
?” greeted Bris, in the language of Ellan Vannin.

“
Ta shiu cheet
!” replied the old man, in the same language. “I am Yn Oallagh. You are those seeking the land of the goldfinch?”

“What must we do?” nodded Cane.

“Do you see that chariot there?”

There was a golden chariot parked nearby with white horses pounding the road with their forefeet.

“We do,” agreed Gil.

“Let Bris take the reins. Let Cane take the left side and Gil take the right. Drive on until you find a tall rock. Then dismount and take the spear on the right side and give a blow on
it.”

“Is that all?”

“For the time being,” smiled the old man mysteriously.

So they mounted the chariot and Bris flicked the reins and away they went. Sure enough, it was not long before they came to a tall rock. Bris dismounted and examined it, while Gil came forward
and took the spear on his side of the chariot. Then he gave a blow on the rock. A large piece fell from it and revealed a great opening, as if into a bottomless hole.

There, behind them, was the very same man who had directed them. How he had been able to keep up with them, they were unsure.

“Welcome, sons of the King of Ellan Vannin. This is the road by which you must go to find the land of the goldfinch.”

Bris peered downwards. “How can we get down there?”

“I have a rope and may lower you down.”

“Then do so,” snapped Bris. “Let me down immediately, for I am the eldest and wish to bring back the goldfinch.”

The old man smiled. “Is there not a saying in Ellan Vannin
– ta lane eddyr raa as jannoo
?” That meant, there is much between saying and doing.

Bris flushed in annoyance. “Do you doubt my ability?”

“You might reach the bottom, Bris. But there are dangers. You might lose your life in the descent.”

Bris, in annoyance, urged the old man to let him down the rope and he went down and down in the darkness. The rope began to sway and he struck the rocks in the darkness. It
frightened Bris and, before long, as he could not see the bottom, he called to be let up.

Cane was smiling cruelly at his brother’s failure. “You let me down,” he instructed the old man. “I’ll soon find this bird, as I am the cleverest. I’ll give
you another saying, old man:
ta keeall ommijys ny slooid ny t’ee ec dooinney creeney dy reayll
.” That meant that wit was folly, unless a wise man had it to keep, which was a slur
on his elder brother.

The old man said nothing but let him down on the rope. The same thing happened. Cane grew very frightened when the rope began to sway and he started to hit the sides of the rocky hole. He called
to be let up.

Gil, the youngest, was all for turning back with his brothers, but the old man said: “Why not try your luck? There is yet another saying in your country –
ta cree doie ny share na
kione croutagh
.” Now that saying young Gil could not see the meaning of, for it meant that a kind heart was better than a crafty head.

Now Bris and Cane added their voices to persuade him, thinking that if he brought up the bird, he would it give it to either one of them, as he did not want the kingdom.

So Gil was let down on the rope and, within moments, he was at the bottom and into a bright wonderful country. He set off along the road and came to a palace.

“Bannaghtyn
,” called a voice in his own language. He looked up and saw a young woman standing at the gates of the palace. “Welcome to you, Gil, son of the King of Ellan
Vannin.”

“There’s a wonder,” remarked Gil. “How do you know my name?”

“I know you and what has brought you to this land. But there is great hardship in front of you. To find the place of the goldfinch will take you seven years, and to come back to this spot
again will take a further seven years.”

“Why, that’s no use to my brothers, for they are waiting above for me. They will think I am dead and depart. The old man with the rope won’t keep that rope dangling for me to
climb back up. I should give up.”

He was about to turn round and go back when the woman
held up her hand to stay him. “You can be there and back in less than a day, if you have a horse. I have a stable
full of fine horses and, if you choose the right one, you may travel like the wind.”

So Gil went into the stable and examined all the horses that were there.

There were magnificent horses there. But Gil, examining each of them in turn, felt that this one was too short in the leg, another was too tall, another too fretful and so on, until he came
across a poor, wretched-looking mare which looked as though it stood in need of a good feed. His heart was filled with sorrow and kindness for the beast, for he felt it surely needed some
exercise.

“This one will do for me,” Gil said. “I shall comb and groom her and she may serve me better than those others.”

So he set to and combed, cleaned and saddled the mare, then led her out of the stable.

The woman, waiting outside, was pleased when she saw his choice.

“Luck is on you, Gil, for that is the best horse in the stable. Truly, a kind heart is better than a crafty head.”

Gil mounted up and set off across the countryside.

They had not gone far when suddenly the mare spoke. “Gil, son of the King of Ellan Vannin, what is it that you see around you?”

Gil, rather surprised, replied: “There is a beautiful country.”

“And directly before you?”

“Before me is a great sea.”

“Then, if it is your destiny, and you are the rightful heir of your father, we shall cross this sea without trouble.”

So saying, the mare galloped forward across the shore and into the sea. Gil was amazed when, instead of sinking into the waves, the mare cantered easily across them as though they were nothing
but dry land.

They continued on a long time until they saw, in the sea, three small islands and on each island the mare said she had to rest. Gil, being kindly, though worried about his brothers and the old
man waiting for him, allowed the mare to rest as long as she liked.

Finally they came to a magnificent shore.

“What do you see now, Gil, son of the King of Ellan Vannin?” called the mare.

Gil looked along the shore. “Why, I see a splendid palace of white stone with golden currents. Who lives in this palace?”

“The King of the Land of the Goldfinch,” replied the mare. “The bird that you are looking for is in that palace. But there are difficulties in finding it. Behind the castle are
thirteen stables. At each of the first twelve stables, ostlers will come out and try to take me from you, saying they will tend and care for my needs. You must refuse them. Go on until you reach
the thirteenth stable, and there you may dismount and lead me into it.”

So it transpired as the mare said.

At each one of the first twelve stables, ostlers ran out and tried to take away the mare, but Gil told them to go away. He rode on to the thirteenth stable and there dismounted.

At that moment, a tall man with a red-gold crown came striding out. His face was wreathed in anger. “Do you dare refuse my ostlers? Are they not good enough to take care of your shabby
mare?”

“Not they,” replied Gil boldly. “I will rest any place, but you will not deny me the choice of stable for my mare, who has brought me through many dangers to this
palace.”

The King of the Land of the Goldfinch, for such he was, gave a sigh. “You are Gil, son of the King of Ellan Vannin. I know why you have come here.”

“That makes my task the easier,” smiled Gil.

“Not so. For you cannot take the goldfinch until you have performed twice times three deeds.”

“What are they?”

“We will start with the first deed. At dawn tomorrow, I shall go off and hide. You must find me.”

“Easy enough.”

“If you do not find me before sunset, your head will be cut off,” added the king with a smile. Then he went away, chuckling to himself.

Gil went into the stable and fed his mare and sadly
observed that his task was going to be harder than he imagined.

“You must follow my advice. Tonight, sleep in the stable, in this manger before me.”

So Gil did and, in the morning, the mare nudged him when dawn came.

“Now, Gil, you must go into the palace garden. There will be many beautiful maidens there and each one will shower praise on you and give you spectacular blooms and invite you to walk with
her. Do not pay any attention to them, but go straight to the end of the garden. There you will find an apple tree. On it a single rosy-red apple will be growing. Pluck it and break it in half. It
is in the apple that the king will be hiding.”

As the mare had said, when Gil went into the palace garden, beautiful maidens came to him and tried to give him magnificent flowers and invited him to walk with them. He kept his eyes lowered
and did not even look on them. He made his way straight to the apple tree and plucked the apple.

One of the maidens came up.

“You must not take that, for that is my father’s apple.”

Gil smiled and took out a knife. “Then I shall take only the half of it.”

So saying, he cut the apple in half and out jumped the King of the Land of the Goldfinch.

“You have beaten me today,” he said sourly. “But you have not won yet. Tomorrow I shall hide again and you must find me. That is the second task.”