Conall Cra Bhuidhe facts for kids

Conall Cra Bhuidhe or Conall Yellowclaw is a famous Scottish fairy tale. It was first written down by John Francis Campbell in his book Popular Tales of the West Highlands. He heard the story from James Wilson, a blind fiddler. Another writer, Joseph Jacobs, also included it in his book Celtic Fairy Tales. He made some parts of the story a bit softer. A version of this tale also appears in A Book of Giants by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

A King's Difficult Request

Conall Cra Bhuidhe was a loyal tenant of a king. He had four sons. One day, Conall's sons got into a fight with the king's son. Sadly, the king's oldest son was killed. The king told Conall that he could save his sons. To do this, Conall had to steal a special brown horse. This horse belonged to the king of Lochlann.

Conall agreed to steal the horse. He said he would do it to please the king, even if his sons were not in danger. Conall's wife was very upset. She wished he had let the king punish their sons instead of risking his own life.

The Journey to Lochlann

Conall set off for Lochlann with his sons. When they arrived, Conall told them to find the king's miller. They stayed with the miller. Conall then gave the miller a bribe. He asked the miller to hide him and his sons inside sacks of bran. These sacks were delivered to the king's stables.

Inside the stables, Conall and his sons made small hiding spots. They tried to steal the horse. But each time they tried, the horse made a lot of noise. Servants would come to check. Conall and his sons would quickly hide. After a while, the king realized there were men in his stables. He found Conall and his sons.

Conall's Clever Stories

Conall explained his situation to the king of Lochlann. Because Conall was forced to steal the horse, the king decided not to hang him. However, he said he would hang Conall's sons. The king then made a deal. He said if Conall could tell a story about being in a worse situation, he would give Conall his youngest son back.

The Cat Bard's Demand

Conall began his first story. He told of a time he went to get a cow and its calf with his servant. They met a group of cats. The leader of the cats was a bard, a storyteller. This cat bard told other cats to sing to Conall. Then, he demanded a reward for their songs.

First, Conall had to give them the calf. Then, he had to give them the cow. In some versions of the story, he even had to give his servant. Finally, the cats started chasing Conall himself. He climbed up a tree to escape. He managed to kill one cat that came after him. But the other cats began digging at the tree's roots. Luckily, a priest and some workers were traveling nearby. They heard the noise and came to Conall's rescue.

The king of Lochlann listened to the story. He agreed that Conall had been in a very difficult spot. So, he gave Conall his youngest son back. The king then offered another challenge. If Conall could tell an even harder story, he would get his next youngest son back.

Outsmarting the Giant

Conall told his next tale. He spoke of following some smoke and falling into a giant's cave. The giant threatened to kill him. But the giant was blind in one eye. Conall offered to cure that eye. Instead, he blinded the giant in its other eye!

In the morning, the giant ordered Conall to let out its goats. Conall killed one of the goats. He then hid inside its skin and escaped with the other goats. The giant soon realized what happened. It offered Conall a magic ring for his bravery. Conall told the giant to throw the ring to the ground. He would pick it up.

The giant threw the ring. But when Conall tried to take it, the ring called out to the giant. Conall couldn't take it off his finger. So, he cut off his finger and threw it into the sea. When the ring called out again, the giant followed the sound. The giant drowned in the sea. Conall took all the giant's gold and silver. He even showed the king his missing finger as proof.

The king agreed that this was an even tougher situation. He gave Conall his next youngest son. He then offered one last challenge. If Conall could tell a story about an even harder time, he would get his oldest son back.

A Life Saved

Conall told his final story. He was married, but he went to sea. He found a woman trying to harm a baby near a large cooking pot. He asked her why. She explained that a giant would kill her if she didn't. Conall managed to trick the giant. The giant caught him, but Conall fought hard. He managed to defeat the giant just in time.

The king's mother was listening to all of Conall's stories. She then spoke up. She told the king that she had been the woman in Conall's last story. And the baby was the king himself! Conall had saved the king's life when he was a baby.

Because Conall had saved his life, the king was very grateful. He gave Conall the brown horse. He also gave him gold and silver. And most importantly, he gave Conall back all of his sons.