The Rider Of Grianaig, And Iain The Soldier's Son facts for kids

"The Rider Of Grianaig, And Iain The Soldier's Son" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell. He wrote it down in his book Popular Tales of the West Highlands between 1860 and 1862. The story was told to him by Donald MacNiven in Bowmore, Islay, on July 5, 1859. Andrew Lang also included a version of this tale called "Ian, the Soldier's Son" in his book The Orange Fairy Book in 1906.

The Knight's Missing Daughters

Once, there was a knight who lived in a place called Grianaig. He had three daughters. Sadly, a mysterious beast came and took all three of them away. The knight was very sad and missed his daughters terribly.

Iain and His Brothers Help Out

A soldier had three sons. One Christmas, the three brothers planned to play a game. The youngest son, named Iain, insisted they play on the knight's lawn. He said it was the smoothest place to play.

His older brothers warned him that this might upset the knight. Playing on the lawn reminded the knight of his missing daughters. Iain's brothers were right; the knight was indeed offended.

Iain, being brave, told the knight that he should give them a ship. He promised that they would go and find his daughters. The knight, seeing their determination, agreed to give them a ship.

The Search for the Princesses

The three brothers set sail on their new ship. After some time, they found a place where many men were busy. These men were getting ready for a big wedding. It turned out the three daughters were going to marry three giants!

Near the wedding preparations, there was a large basket called a creel. This special basket could lift people up to where the daughters were being held. Each brother decided to try to reach them.

The two older brothers went first. But a raven attacked them, pecking at them fiercely. They got scared and quickly turned back.

Then it was Iain's turn. The same raven attacked him. But Iain was brave! He shouted to the men below to pull him up even faster.

Iain Meets the Raven

When Iain reached the top, the raven stopped attacking. It then asked Iain for some tobacco. Iain refused to give him any.

The raven then told Iain to go to a giant's house. There, he would find the oldest daughter. Iain followed the raven's instructions.

Rescuing the First Daughter

Iain arrived at the giant's house. The oldest daughter was there. She told him that rattling a chain would make the giant appear. However, she warned him that only Iain, the soldier's son, could fight the giant.

Iain bravely rattled the chain. The giant appeared, and a fierce wrestle began. Iain wished the raven was there to help him. Suddenly, the raven appeared and helped Iain win the fight! The raven then gave Iain a knife to cut off the giant's head.

More Rescues and a Warning

The raven then told Iain not to let the daughter stop him. He had to keep going to rescue the others. The raven asked for tobacco again. Iain offered him half of what he had. The raven told him he had much more to do and shouldn't give away so much.

The raven then gave Iain some important advice. It told him to clean himself and bathe before he slept. This would make him feel strong and whole in the morning. Iain did as he was told.

He then continued his journey and successfully rescued the second daughter. After that, he rescued the youngest daughter too. With all three daughters safe, Iain gathered the giants' gold and silver. They all went back to the creel.

The raven gave Iain one last warning. It told him to go down first in the creel, and then have the daughters lowered after him. But Iain didn't listen. He lowered the daughters first, keeping only the youngest daughter's cap. The creel did not come back for him. His brothers had left him behind!

Iain's New Journey

The raven told Iain to spend the night at the giant's house. In the morning, the raven took him to the stables. The stable door was opening and shutting very fast. Inside, there was a special horse for him, but he had to get through the fast-moving door.

Iain asked the raven to go first. The raven went through and only lost a single feather. Iain tried to go through, but sadly, he was killed by the door. The raven quickly brought him back to life.

The raven then told Iain to walk and not to be surprised by anything he saw. He also had to promise not to touch anything. Iain walked on and found three dead men. He pulled out the spears that were in them. The men immediately sat up! They made him come with them to the cave of the black fisherman.

The Hag and Living Water

Inside the cave, a hag (an old, ugly woman) turned the three men to stone. Iain fought the hag and defeated her. But he was then sent on a new quest: to find "living water" to bring the men back to life.

The raven sent him with the special horse. This horse could travel over both land and sea. When they arrived at their destination, Iain put the horse in the stable himself, just as the raven had instructed. He drank nothing but whey and water.

The horse warned him not to sleep. But Iain was enchanted by beautiful music and fell asleep anyway. The horse had to break into the stable to wake him up. They barely escaped! With the living water, Iain revived the three men.

The Truth Revealed

The raven told Iain to leave the youngest daughter's cap with him. It then sent Iain off on the special horse. Iain's mission was to interrupt the wedding. His own brothers were going to marry the two older princesses, and the foreman of the wedding preparations was going to marry the youngest!

Iain rode off quickly. When he arrived, the horse asked him to cut off its head. Iain refused at first. The horse then explained that she was actually a young maiden. The raven was a young man who had wanted to marry her. But the giants had used magic to change them into a horse and a raven. Iain then understood and cut off the horse's head. As soon as he did, a beautiful young woman appeared!

A Happy Ending

At the castle, Iain heard that the youngest princess was demanding a cap just like the one her sisters had. Iain wished for the raven. The raven appeared and brought him the cap. Iain then cut off the raven's head, and it turned into a handsome young man!

They went back to where the horse had been. The young woman was there, and they all went off together. Iain gave the cap to the smith (a person who works with metal).

The youngest princess demanded to know where the smith got the cap. The smith told her it was Iain who gave it to him. The youngest princess then married Iain, the true hero. The false bridegrooms, Iain's brothers and the foreman, were driven away from the castle.