Black Bull of Norroway facts for kids
The Black Bull of Norroway is a classic fairy tale from Scotland. It's a story about adventure, magic, and finding true love. A similar tale, The Red Bull of Norroway, was first printed in 1842 by Robert Chambers. The version known as The Black Bull of Norroway became popular later. It was reprinted by Joseph Jacobs in his 1894 book More English Fairy Tales.
This tale was also included in famous collections like The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Even famous author J. R. R. Tolkien mentioned it in his essay "On Fairy-Stories". He used it as a great example of a "eucatastrophe" – a sudden, happy turn of events in a story. This type of story, where someone searches for a lost partner, is known as Aarne–Thompson type 425A. Other tales like this include East of the Sun and West of the Moon and White-Bear-King-Valemon.
The Story of the Black Bull
A washerwoman had three daughters. Each daughter wanted to go on a journey to find their fortune. They asked their mother to cook them food for their trip.
They decided to ask a witch for advice on how to find their fortune. The witch told them to look out her back door. On the third day, the oldest daughter saw a fancy coach pulled by six horses. She was thrilled and left with it. The second daughter saw a coach with four horses and also left happily. But the third and youngest daughter only saw a black bull. The witch told her she had to go with the bull.
The youngest daughter was scared at first. But the bull surprised her by being very kind and gentle. When she got hungry, he told her to eat from his right ear and drink from his left.
Their journey led them to three different castles. The first night, they stayed at a castle belonging to the bull's oldest brother. The daughter was treated like royalty. As a gift, she received a beautiful apple. She was told to save it for her first great need. The second night, they stayed at the bull's second brother's castle. There, she received a beautiful pear. This was for her second great need. On the third night, they were hosted at the youngest brother's castle. She received a beautiful plum, meant for her third great need.
Finally, the girl and the bull arrived at a valley made of glass. "You must wait here," the bull told her. "Do not move at all, or I won't be able to find you." He explained that he had to fight the devil who ruled the valley. If the sky turned blue, it meant he had won. If it turned red, he had lost.
The black bull left the girl. After some time, she saw the sky turn blue. She was so happy that she shifted her position slightly. Because of this small move, the black bull could not find her when he returned.
A Long Search
The girl could not climb out of the glass valley by herself. She wandered until she found a blacksmith. He told her that if she worked for him for seven years, he would make her a pair of iron shoes. These shoes would help her climb out.
After seven years, the blacksmith kept his promise. He made her strong iron shoes and nailed them to her feet. With these special shoes, the young woman was finally able to climb out of the glass valley.
The young woman eventually found her way back to the witch's home. The witch offered her a place to stay if she could clean some very dirty shirts. Both the witch and her daughter had tried but failed to clean them. The witch said that whoever cleaned the shirts would marry a brave young knight staying at her home. The shirts belonged to him.
Even though others had failed, the young woman touched the soap to the shirts. The stains vanished instantly! Also, her feet healed perfectly, as if they had never been hurt. The witch was delighted. She took the clean shirts to the knight. But she lied and said her own daughter had cleaned them. So, the knight and the witch's daughter were set to be married.
The young woman felt desperate. She realized this was her first great need. She broke open the apple she had saved. Inside, it was full of beautiful jewelry! She offered the jewelry to the witch's daughter. In return, she asked to sing outside the knight's room at night. But the witch gave her daughter a special drink to give the knight. This drink made him sleep very deeply. So, the young woman could not wake him, even though she sang and cried:
- "Seven long years I served for thee,
- The glassy hill I clamb for thee,
- Thy dirty clothes I wrang for thee;
- And wilt thou not waken and turn to me?"
This was her second great need. She tried the pear. It was full of even richer jewelry than the apple. But the second night went just like the first. The knight was given the sleeping drink and did not wake.
Finally, the young woman was in her third great need. She broke open the plum. It held the richest jewelry yet! This time, the sleeping drink was brought again. But the knight accidentally knocked it over. So, when the young woman bought her third and final chance to sing, the knight was awake! He heard her song and learned the truth about everything.
The young woman married the knight. He turned out to be her black bull all along! The witch and her daughter were punished for their actions. The knight and the washerwoman's youngest daughter lived happily ever after.
Where the Story Comes From
The story of The Black Bull of Norroway is very old. An English scholar named James Orchard Halliwell published a version called The Bull of Norroway. He said it was a modern telling of the "very old tale" Black Bull of Norroway. This older tale was even mentioned in a book from 1548 called The Complaynt of Scotland.
Another expert, Joseph Jacobs, also noted its mention in The Complaynt of Scotland. He also found it mentioned in Arcadia by Phillip Sidney.
