Hello and welcome to Fairy Tale Friday. Are you
sitting comfortably? Good. Then I’ll begin.
Last week we looked at an Anglicised version of this
tale that was collected by Joseph Jacobs. There are two more Scottish versions I
want to deal with today. The first was written by George Douglas in his
1901 book Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales. It is a tale that retains
some of the Scots Gaelic dialect and vocabulary, but still makes it accessible
to the reader.
This story, like last week’s version by Joseph Jacobs,
contains a calf as the magical helper.
Last week the calf produced food from
its ears, but this week it takes out heroine through the woods to a “bonnie hoosie”
(lovely house) where a nice dinner was waiting for them. As in other versions,
when the antagonist gets wind that a magical animal is helping the protagonist
the usual response is to kill the animal. Normally our mistreated girl refuses
to eat the meat of her dear departed friend and retrieves the bones and it is
the bones that continue to help her. This version is a bit more bloodthirsty. The
mother (notice it is not a stepmother here) hatches a plan that they will
slaughter the red calf. The plan is for her favourite daughter (described as “ugly
and ill natured”) to hold the calf’s head and the bonnie lass who is our
heroine was to actually decapitate her friend. Naturally, she is reluctant to
harm her animal friend, but the calf hatches a plan that she should instead cut
off the head of her sister (not stepsister) and then she and the calf can run
away together. This they do and because
she has not had the time to pack any clothes it is the calf that dresses her in
a coat of rushes not her family.
Rashin Coatie gets a job as a lowly servant in the
King’s house. At Christmas when everyone is going to kirk (church) she has to
stay home and cook the dinner. The red calf provides her with clothes and
offers to cook dinner for her so she may attend church. As you would expect the
Prince sees her, falls in love, she loses a shoe and all the actions that traditionally
follow. However, in other versions our heroine is still living at home. When
the steward or the Prince travel from house to house they are bound to end up
at the home of our heroine eventually, but in this version the lady he seeks
is under his own roof and he does not try the slipper on any woman in his own
household.
Also, in all other versions it is her own sister (or
stepsisters) who mutilate their own feet to fit into the shoe. In this version,
her family are never heard from again after she murdered her sister and ran
away. In this version, it is the daughter of the henwife who clips off her toes
to fit into the shoe. As in last week’s version, a little birdie tells him that
the true bride is sitting by the kitchen fire. He goes home and finds her
there, working as a servant in his household and then marries her. It is great
that there seem to be no class issues here (she does not need to be of noble
birth), but I wonder how he would feel knowing that his wife is an escaped
murderer.
Rashin-Coatie source
Once,
a long time ago, there was a gentleman had two lassies. The oldest was ugly and
ill natured, but the youngest was a bonnie lassie and good; but the ugly one
was the favourite with her father and mother. So they ill used the youngest in
every way, and they sent her into the woods to herd cattle, and all the food
she got was a little porridge and whey.
Well,
amongst the cattle was a red calf, and one day it said to the lassie, "Gee
that porridge and whey to the doggie, and come wi' me."
So
the lassie followed the calf through the wood, and they came to a bonnie
hoosie, where there was a nice dinner ready for them; and after they had
feasted on everything nice they went back to the herding.
Every
day the calf took the lassie away and feasted her on dainties; and every day
she grew bonnier. This disappointed the father and mother and the ugly sister.
They expected that the rough usage she was getting would take away her beauty;
and they watched and watched until they saw the calf take the lassie away to
the feast. So they resolved to kill the calf; and not only that, but the lassie
was to be compelled to kill him with an axe. Her ugly sister was to hold his
head, and the lassie who loved him had to give the blow and kill him.
She
could do nothing but greet [weep]; but the calf told her not to greet, but to
do as he bade her; and his plan was that instead of coming down on his head she
was to come down on the lassie's head who was holding him, and then she was to
jump on his back, and they would run off. Well, the day came for the calf to be
killed, and everything was ready -- the ugly lassie holding his head, and the
bonnie lassie armed with the axe. So she raised the axe and came down on the
ugly sister's head; and in the confusion that took place she got on the calf's
back and they ran away. And they ran and better nor ran till they came to a
meadow where grew a great lot of rashes; and, as the lassie had not on many
clothes, they pu'ed rashes, and made a coatie for her. And they set off again
and traveled, and traveled, till they came to the king's house. They went in and
asked if they wanted a servant. The mistress said she wanted a kitchen lassie,
and she would take Rashin-Coatie.
So
Rashin-Coatie said she would stop, if they keepit the calf too. They were
willing to do that. So the lassie and the calf stoppit in the king's house, and
everybody was well pleased with her; and when Yule came, they said she was to
stop at home and make the dinner, while all the rest went to the kirk. After they
were away the calf asked if she would like to go. She said she would, but she
had no clothes, and she could not leave the dinner. The calf said he would give
her clothes and make the dinner too. He went out, and came back with a grand
dress, all silk and satin, and such a nice pair of slippers. The lassie put on
the dress, and before she left she said:
Ilka
peat gar anither burn,
An' ilka spit gar anither turn,
An' ilka pot gar anither play,
Till I come frae the kirk on gude Yule day.
So
she went to the kirk, and nobody kent it was Rashin-Coatie. They wondered who
the bonnie lady could be; and, as soon as the young prince saw her, he fell in
love with her, and resolved he would find out who she was, before she got home;
but Rashin-Coatie left before the rest, so that she might get home in time to
take off her dress and look after the dinner.
When
the prince saw her leaving, he made for the door to stop her; but she jumped
past him, and in the hurry lost one of her shoes. The prince kept the shoe, and
Rashin-Coatie got home all right, and the folk said the dinner was very nice.
Now
the prince was resolved to find out who the bonnie lady was, and he sent a
servant through all the land with the shoe. Every lady was to try it on, and
the prince promised to marry the one it would fit. That servant went to a great
many houses but could not find a lady that the shoe would go on, it was so
little and neat. At last he came to a henwife's house, and her daughter had
little feet. At first the shoe would not go on, but she paret her feet, and
clippit her toes, until the shoes went on. Now the prince was very angry. He
knew it was not the lady that he wanted; but, because he had promised to marry
whoever the shoe fitted, he had to keep his promise.
The
marriage day came, and, as they were all riding to the kirk, a little bird flew
through the air, and it sang:
Clippit
feet an' paret taes is on the saidle set;
But bonnie feet an' braw feet sits in the kitchen neuk.
"What's
that ye say?" said the prince
"Oh,"
says the henwife, "would ye mind what a feel bird says?"
But
the prince said, "Sing that again, bonnie birdie."
So
the bird sings:
Clippit
feet an' paret taes is on the saidle set;
But bonnie feet an' braw feet sits in the kitchen neuk.
The
prince turned his horse and rode home, and went straight to his father's
kitchen, and there sat Rashin-Coatie. He kent her at once, she was so bonnie;
and when she tried on the shoe it fitted her, and so the prince married
Rashin-Coatie, and they lived happy, and built a house for the red calf, who
had been so kind to her.
Now, normally I would have the next story as a separate
entry, but I cannot seem to track down the true author of this very Scots Gaelic
version. The source claims that is by noted folklorist Andrew Lang who published all the coloured fairy books (The Blue Fairy
Book, The Red Fairy book etc.) It claims that they were published in his English and Scotch Fairy Tales but I
find no record of this book or any other reference to Andrew Lang connected to a version
of Rushin Coatie and so I am presenting it here as a contrast to the version
above. The Scots Gaelic is very thick, so it helps to have read the version
above.
Rashin
Coatie source
THERE
was a king and a queen, as mony anes been, few have we seen, and as few may we
see. The queen she deeit, and left a bonnie little lassie; and she had naething
to gie to the wee lassie but a little red calfy, and she telt the lassie
whatever she wanted, the calfy would gie her. The king married again, an
ill-natured wife, wi’ three ugly dochters o’ her ain. They did na like the
little lassie because she was bonnie; they took awa’ a’ her braw claes that her
ain mither had geen her, and put a rashin coatie on her, and gart her sit in
the kitchen neuk, and a’ body ca’d her Rashin Coatie. She did na get ony thing
to eat but what the rest left, but she did na care, for she went to her red
calfy, and it gave her everything she asked for. She got good meat from the
calfy, but her ill-natured step-mother gart the calfy be killed, because it was
good to Rashin Coatie. She was very sorry for the calfy, and sat down and grat.
The dead calfy said to her:
“Tak’
me up, bane by bane,
And pit me aneth yon grey stane,
and
whatever you want, come and seek it frae me, and I will give you it.”
Yuletide
came, and a’ the rest put on their braw claes, and was gaen awa’ to the kirk.
Rashin Coatie said, “Oh, I wad like to gang to the kirk too!” but the others
said, “What would you do at the kirk, you nasty thing? You must bide at hame
and make the dinner.” When they were gone to the kirk, Rashin Coatie did na ken
how to make the dinner, but she went out to the grey stone, and she told the
calfy that she could not make the dinner, and she wanted to win to the kirk.
The calfy gave her braw claes, and bade her gang into the house, and say:
“
Every
peat gar ither burn,
Every spit gar ither turn,
Every pot gar ither play,
Till I come frae the kirk this good Yule day.”
Rashin
Coatie put on the braw claes that the calfy gave her, and went awa’ to the
kirk, and she was the grandest and the brawest lady there. There was a young
prince in the kirk, and he fell in love with her. She cam’ awa’ before the
blessing, and she was hame before the rest, and had off her braw claes, and had
on her rashin coatie, and the calfy had covered the table, and the dinner was
ready, and every thing in good order when the rest came hame. The three sisters
said to Rashin Coatie, “Oh, lassie, if you had only seen the braw bonnie lady
that was in kirk to-day, that the young prince fell in love with!” She said:
“Oh, I wish you would let me gang with you to the kirk to-morrow”; for they
used to gang three days after ither to the kirk.
They said: “What should the like
o’ you do at the kirk—nasty thing? The kitchen neuk is good enough for you.”
The next day they went away and left her, but she went back to her calfy, and
he bade her repeat the same words as before, and he gave her brawer claes, and
she went back to the kirk, and a’ the world was looking at her, and wondering
where sic a grand lady came from; and as for the young prince, he fell more in
love with her than ever, and bade somebody watch where she went back to. But
she was back afore anybody saw her, and had off her braw claes and on her
rashin coatie, and the calfy had the table covered, and everything ready for
the dinner.
The
next day the calfy dressed her in brawer claes than ever, and she went back to
the kirk. The young prince was there, and he put a guard at the door to keep
her, but she jumped over their heads, and lost one of her beautiful satin
slippers. She got hame before the rest, and had on the rashin coatie, and the
calfy had all things ready. The young prince put out a proclamation that he would
marry whoever the satin slipper would fit All the ladies of the land went to
try on the slipper, and with the rest the three sisters, but none would it fit,
for they had ugly broad feet. The hen wife took in her daughter, and cut her
heels and her toes, and the slipper was forced on her, and the prince must
marry her, for he had to keep his promise. As he rode along with her behind him
to be married, there was a bird began to sing, and ever it sang:
“Minched
fit, and pinched fit,
Beside the king she rides,
But braw fit, and bonny fit,
In the kitchen neuk she hides.”
The
prince said, “What is that the bird sings?” but the hen wife said, “Nasty lying
thing! never mind what it says”; but the bird sang ever the same words. The
prince said, “Oh, there must be some one that the slipper has not been tried
on”; but they said, “There is none but a poor dirty thing that sits in the
kitchen neuk and wears a rashin coatie.” But the prince was determined to try
it on Rashin Coatie, but she ran awa’ to the grey stone, where the red calf
dressed her yet brawer than ever, and she went to the prince, and the slipper
jumped out of his pocket and on to her foot, and the prince married her, and
they lived happy all their days.
That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a
version similar to King Lear.
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