Irish Tales / Ирландские сказки. Книга для чтения на английском языке

He sprang on the giant, and with the first squeeze and thrust he put him to his knees in the hard ground, with the second thrust to his waist, and with the third to his shoulders.

�I have you at last; you’re done for now!’ said the cowboy.

Then he took out his knife, cut the five heads off the giant, and when he had them off he cut out the tongues and threw the heads over the wall.

Then he put the tongues in his pocket and drove home the cattle. That evening the Gruagach couldn’t find vessels enough in all his place to hold the milk of the five golden cows.

But when the cowboy was on the way home with the cattle, the son of the king of Tisean came and took the giant’s heads and claimed the princess in marriage when the Gruagach Gaire should laugh.

After supper the cowboy would give no talk to his master, but kept his mind to himself, and went to the bed of silk to sleep[36 - went to the bed of silk to sleep – ср. русск. спал на пуховой перине].

On the morning the cowboy rose before his master, and the first words he said to the Gruagach were, �What keeps you from laughing, you who used to laugh so loud that the whole world heard you?’

�I’m sorry,’ said the Gruagach, �that the daughter of the king of Erin sent you here.

’

�If you don’t tell me of your own will, I’ll make you tell me,’ said the cowboy; and he put a face on himself that was terrible to look at, and running through the house like a madman, could find nothing that would give pain enough to the Gruagach but some ropes made of untanned sheepskin hanging on the wall.

He took these down, caught the Gruagach, fastened him by the three smalls, and tied him so that his little toes were whispering to his ears. When he was in this state the Gruagach said, �I’ll tell you what stopped my laughing if you set me free.’

So the cowboy unbound him, the two sat down together, and the Gruagach said, �I lived in this castle here with my twelve sons.

We ate, drank, played cards, and enjoyed ourselves, till one day when my sons and I were playing, a slender brown hare came rushing in, jumped on to the hearth, tossed up the ashes to the rafters and ran away.

�On another day he came again; but if he did, we were ready for him, my twelve sons and myself. As soon as he tossed up the ashes and ran off we made after him, and followed him till nightfall, when he went into a glen. We saw a light before us.