--- title: The Lad With the Goat-skin — Celtic Fairy Tales · full text with trees · page 2 description: The Lad With the Goat-skin, «Celtic Fairy Tales» by Joseph Jacobs: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: Long ago, a poor widow woman lived down near the iron forge, by Enniscorth, and she was so poor she had no clothes to put on her son; so she used t --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/33/page/2/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Celtic Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/) / The Lad With the Goat-skin # The Lad With the Goat-skin · page 2 [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/33/) **2** The king shouted out, "O Tom with the Goat-skin, take away that terrible wolf, and you must have all my daughter."[49](../../49/ "tree and pragmatics") But Tom didn't mind him a bit.[50](../../50/ "tree and pragmatics") He pulled out his flute and began to play like vengeance; and dickens a man or boy in the yard but began shovelling away heel and toe, and the wolf himself was obliged to get on his hind legs and dance "Tatther Jack Walsh," along with the rest.[51](../../51/ "tree and pragmatics") A good deal of the people got inside, and shut the doors, the way the hairy fellow wouldn't pin them; but Tom kept playing, and the outsiders kept dancing and shouting, and the wolf kept dancing and roaring with the pain his legs were giving him; and all the time he had his eyes on Redhead, who was shut out along with the rest.[52](../../52/ "tree and pragmatics") Wherever Redhead went, the wolf followed, and kept one eye on him and the other on Tom, to see if he would give him leave to eat him.[53](../../53/ "tree and pragmatics") But Tom shook his head, and never stopped the tune, and Redhead never stopped dancing and bawling, and the wolf dancing and roaring, one leg up and the other down, and he ready to drop out of his standing from fair tiresomeness.[54](../../54/ "tree and pragmatics") When the princess seen that there was no fear of any one being kilt, she was so divarted by the stew that Redhead was in, that she gave another great laugh; and well become Tom, out he cried, "King of Dublin, I have two halves of your daughter."[55](../../55/ "tree and pragmatics") "Oh, halves or alls," says the king, "put away that divel of a wolf, and we'll see about it."[56](../../56/ "tree and pragmatics") So Tom put his flute in his pocket, and says he to the baste that was sittin' on his currabingo ready to faint, "Walk off to your mountain, my fine fellow, and live like a respectable baste; and if ever I find you come within seven miles of any town, I'll--"[57](../../57/ "tree and pragmatics") He said no more, but spit in his fist, and gave a flourish of his club.[58](../../58/ "tree and pragmatics") It was all the poor divel of a wolf wanted: he put his tail between his legs, and took to his pumps without looking at man or mortal, and neither sun, moon, or stars ever saw him in sight of Dublin again.[59](../../59/ "tree and pragmatics") At dinner every one laughed but the foxy fellow; and sure enough he was laying out how he'd settle poor Tom next day.[60](../../60/ "tree and pragmatics") "Well, to be sure!" says he, "King of Dublin, you are in luck.[61](../../61/ "tree and pragmatics") There's the Danes moidhering us to no end.[62](../../62/ "tree and pragmatics") Deuce run to Lusk wid 'em! and if any one can save us from 'em, it is this gentleman with the goat-skin.[63](../../63/ "tree and pragmatics") There is a flail hangin' on the collar-beam, in hell, and neither Dane nor devil can stand before it."[64](../../64/ "tree and pragmatics") "So," says Tom to the king, "will you let me have the other half of the princess if I bring you the flail?"[65](../../65/ "tree and pragmatics") "No, no," says the princess; "I'd rather never be your wife than see you in that danger."[66](../../66/ "tree and pragmatics") But Redhead whispered and nudged Tom about how shabby it would look to reneague the adventure.[67](../../67/ "tree and pragmatics") So he asked which way he was to go, and Redhead directed him.[68](../../68/ "tree and pragmatics") Well, he travelled and travelled, till he came in sight of the walls of hell; and, bedad, before he knocked at the gates, he rubbed himself over with the greenish ointment.[69](../../69/ "tree and pragmatics") When he knocked, a hundred little imps popped their heads out through the bars, and axed him what he wanted.[70](../../70/ "tree and pragmatics") "I want to speak to the big divel of all," says Tom: "open the gate."[71](../../71/ "tree and pragmatics") It wasn't long till the gate was thrune open, and the Ould Boy received Tom with bows and scrapes, and axed his business.[72](../../72/ "tree and pragmatics") "My business isn't much," says Tom. "[73](../../73/ "tree and pragmatics") I only came for the loan of that flail that I see hanging on the collar-beam, for the king of Dublin to give a thrashing to the Danes."[74](../../74/ "tree and pragmatics") "Well," says the other, "the Danes is much better customers to me; but since you walked so far I won't refuse.[75](../../75/ "tree and pragmatics") Hand that flail," says he to a young imp; and he winked the far-off eye at the same time.[76](../../76/ "tree and pragmatics") So, while some were barring the gates, the young devil climbed up, and took down the flail that had the handstaff and booltheen both made out of red-hot iron.[77](../../77/ "tree and pragmatics") The little vagabond was grinning to think how it would burn the hands o' Tom, but the dickens a burn it made on him, no more nor if it was a good oak sapling.[78](../../78/ "tree and pragmatics") "Thankee," says Tom. "[79](../../79/ "tree and pragmatics") Now would you open the gate for a body, and I'll give you no more trouble."[80](../../80/ "tree and pragmatics") "Oh, tramp!" says Ould Nick; "is that the way?[81](../../81/ "tree and pragmatics") It is easier getting inside them gates than getting out again.[82](../../82/ "tree and pragmatics") Take that tool from him, and give him a dose of the oil of stirrup."[83](../../83/ "tree and pragmatics") So one fellow put out his claws to seize on the flail, but Tom gave him such a welt of it on the side of the head that he broke off one of his horns, and made him roar like a devil as he was.[84](../../84/ "tree and pragmatics") Well, they rushed at Tom, but he gave them, little and big, such a thrashing as they didn't forget for a while.[85](../../85/ "tree and pragmatics") At last says the ould thief of all, rubbing his elbow, "Let the fool out; and woe to whoever lets him in again, great or small."[86](../../86/ "tree and pragmatics") So out marched Tom, and away with him, without minding the shouting and cursing they kept up at him from the tops of the walls; and when he got home to the big bawn of the palace, there never was such running and racing as to see himself and the flail.[87](../../87/ "tree and pragmatics") When he had his story told, he laid down the flail on the stone steps, and bid no one for their lives to touch it.[88](../../88/ "tree and pragmatics") If the king, and queen, and princess, made much of him before, they made ten times more of him now; but Redhead, the mean scruff-hound, stole over, and thought to catch hold of the flail to make an end of him.[89](../../89/ "tree and pragmatics") His fingers hardly touched it, when he let a roar out of him as if heaven and earth were coming together, and kept flinging his arms about and dancing, that it was pitiful to look at him.[90](../../90/ "tree and pragmatics") Tom run at him as soon as he could rise, caught his hands in his own two, and rubbed them this way and that, and the burning pain left them before you could reckon one.[91](../../91/ "tree and pragmatics") Well the poor fellow, between the pain that was only just gone, and the comfort he was in, had the comicalest face that you ever see, it was such a mixtherum-gatherum of laughing and crying.[92](../../92/ "tree and pragmatics") Everybody burst out a laughing--the princess could not stop no more than the rest; and then says Tom, "Now, ma'am, if there were fifty halves of you, I hope you'll give me them all."[93](../../93/ "tree and pragmatics") Well, the princess looked at her father, and by my word, she came over to Tom, and put her two delicate hands into his two rough ones, and I wish it was myself was in his shoes that day\![94](../../94/ "tree and pragmatics") Tom would not bring the flail into the palace.[95](../../95/ "tree and pragmatics") You may be sure no other body went near it; and when the early risers were passing next morning, they found two long clefts in the stone, where it was after burning itself an opening downwards, nobody could tell how far.[96](../../96/ "tree and pragmatics") But a messenger came in at noon, and said that the Danes were so frightened when they heard of the flail coming into Dublin, that they got into their ships, and sailed away.[97](../../97/ "tree and pragmatics") Well, I suppose, before they were married, Tom got some man, like Pat Mara of Tomenine, to learn him the "principles of politeness," fluxions, gunnery, and fortification, decimal fractions, practice, and the rule of three direct, the way he'd be able to keep up a conversation with the royal family.[98](../../98/ "tree and pragmatics") Whether he ever lost his time learning them sciences, I'm not sure, but it's as sure as fate that his mother never more saw any want till the end of her days.[99](../../99/ "tree and pragmatics") MAN OR WOMAN BOY OR GIRL THAT READS WHAT FOLLOWS 3 TIMES SHALL FALL ASLEEP AN HUNDRED YEARS[100](../../100/ "tree and pragmatics") [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/33/) **2** - ← previous: [page 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/33/) - next →: [Notes and References](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/34/) - ↑ back to [Celtic Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7885/)