More Fairy Tales
1 › 1 › 4		The Winning of Maggie There was once a king and queen who had a little boy, and they called him Arim. The queen fell ill soon after his birth. As she could not take care of him herself she sent him to a woman she knew up in the mountains so that he might learn to go out in all weathers and bear heat and cold and grow tall and strong. Arim was quite happy with his nurse, and ran races and climbed hills with the children who were his playfellows. And in the winter when the snow lay on the ground, sometimes a man with a harp would stop and beg for shelter and in return would sing them songs of strange things that had happened in the years gone by.       But changes had taken place in the court of Arim's father long before this. Soon after the queen had sent her baby away she became much worse, and at length, seeing that she was going to die, she called her husband to her and said:       "I shall never again rise from this bed, and as time goes by you will take another wife. But so that the one you choose shall not make you forget you son, I charge you not to take a wife till you see a briar with two blossoms on my grave."       This he promised her. Then she further bade him to see to her grave that nothing might grow on it. This he promised too. Soon she died, and for seven years the king sent a man every morning to see that nothing was growing on the queen's grave, but at the end of seven years they forgot about it.       One day when the king was out hunting he rode past the place where the queen lay buried, and there he saw a briar growing with two blossoms on it.       "It is time that I took a wife," said he, and after long looking he found one. But he did not tell her about his son, for he hardly remembered that he had one. At last she heard it from an old woman she had gone to visit. The new queen was very pleased, and sent messengers to fetch the boy, and in his father's court he stayed, while the years went by. Then one day the queen told him that a prophecy had foretold that he was to win for his wife Maggie the daughter of Forkan Memmon.       When he heard this Arim felt proud and happy. Surely he must be a man now, he thought, or there would be no talk of a wife for him, and his mind dwelt all day on his promised bride and what she would be like when he beheld her.       "What is the matter, son?" asked his father at last, when Arim had forgotten something he had been bidden to do.       Arim blushed red as he answered: "My stepmother says that none but Maggie, the daughter of Forkan Memmon, shall be my wife."       "That can be easily fulfilled," answered his father. "Arthur the king is you cousin. Go therefore to him and beg him to cut your hair, and to grant you this boon."       Then the youth pricked forth on a four years old dapple-grey horse that looked good. In his hand he bore two handsome spears; a war-horn of ivory was slung round his shoulder, and by his side hung a keen sword. Before him were two brindled white-breasted greyhounds, and like two sea swallows they sported round him. He wore a nice purple too. There was nothing wrong with his outfit as he journeyed toward the gate of Arthur's castle.       "Is there a porter?" cried Arim, looking round for someone to open the gate.       "There is; and I am Arthur's porter every first day of January," answered a man that came out to him. "The rest of the year there are other porters, and none of them is here at this moment."       "Open the portal, you, then."       "None can enter save the son of a king or a peddler who has goods to sell. But elsewhere there will be food for your dogs and hay for your horse, and for you there will be meat slices cooked and peppered, and sweet wine shall be served in the guest chamber."       "That will not do for me," answered Arim. "If you will not open the gate I will send up three shouts that shall be heard far and wide."       "What clamour you may make," said the porter. "I will go and speak with Arthur about you."       Then the porter went into the hall, and Arthur said to him: "Have you got news from the gate? Is there someone at the gate?" The porter answered, "Yes."       "If you came to me walking, return running," answered Arthur, "for keep no one waiting outside in the wind and rain."       So the porter unbarred the gate and Arim rode in on his horse.       "Greetings, king," he cried, "and greetings also the rest here."       "Greeting to you too," answered Arthur. "Sit between two of my warriors. You shall have minstrels about you while you remain in my castle."       "I have not come," answered Arim, "for meat and drink, but to get a boon from you. If you grant it I will pay it back and will carry your praise to the four winds of heaven. But if you will not grant it to me, then I will say you were discourteous."       "What you ask you shall receive," said Arthur, "save only my ship and my mantle, my sword and my lance, my shield and my dagger, and Guinevere my wife."       "I would that you bless my hair," spoke Arim. Arthur answered, "Okay." Then he bade his men fetch him a comb and a scissors, and he combed the hair of his guest. "Tell me who you are," he said, "for it warms my heart to see you, and I feel you are come of my blood."       "I am Arim, son of Kilydd," answered the youth.       "Then you are my cousin," answered Arthur.       "The boon I crave is that you may win for me Maggie, the daughter of Forkan Memmon, and this boon I seek likewise at the hands of you warriors. From all your mighty men I crave this boon."       "Arim," said Arthur, "never have I heard of the maiden you speak of, nor of her kindred, but I will send messengers to seek her if you will give me time."       "I can wait from tonight to the end of the year," answered Arim. But when the end of the year came and the messengers returned without finding her, his impatience grew into harsh words; the demanding youth even said something unbecoming.       One of Arthur's warriors countered, "Rash youth, come with us and we will not part company till we have won that maiden, or till you confess that she does not exist at all."       He summoned his five best comrades, and he and them and Arim journeyed together till they reached a vast open plain in which was a fair castle. But though it seemed so close it was not till the evening of the third day that they really drew near to it, and in front of it a flock of sheep was spread. A shepherd stood on a mound watching over them, and by his side was a large dog.       "Who owns this castle, herdsmen?" asked the knights.       "This is the castle of Forkan Memmon," said the herdsman. "I am someone he has treated very badly throughout. And who are you?"       "We come from King Arthur to seek Maggie the daughter of Forkan."       At this news the shepherd gave a cry: "Men, be warned and turn back while there is yet time. Others have gone on that quest, but none have escaped to tell the tale," and he rose to his feet as if to leave them.       Then Arim held out to him a ring of gold, and the herdsman tried to put it on his finger, but it was too small, so he placed it in his glove and went home and gave it to his wife.       "Where did this ring come from?" she asked, "for such good luck is not wont to befall you."       "The ring was given me by Arim, son of Kilydd, cousin to king Arthur, and he has come to seek Maggie." The wife at once recognised that Arim was her nephew, and her heart yearned after him, half with joy at the thought of seeing him, and half with sorrow for the doom she feared.       Soon they heard steps approaching, and the seven men entered into the house and ate and drank.       "What is your errand here?" asked the woman.       "We seek Maggie for this youth," answered the great warrior.       "She comes every Saturday to wash her hair, and in the vessel where she washes she leaves all her rings, and never does she so much as send a messenger to fetch them."       "Will she come if she is bidden?" asked the warrior, pondering.       "She will come."       A fair sight she was when she entered and sat down on a bench beside Arim. He said to her: "Since first I heard you name I have been obsessed with you. Will you come away with me from this place?"       "I cannot," she answered, "for I have given my word to my father not to go without his knowledge. This is because his life will only last till I am betrothed. Go and ask me of my father, and whatever he shall require of you grant it, and you shall win me. But if you deny him anything, you will not win me, and then it will be well for you if you escape with you life."       "Okay," he said.       She returned to the castle with Arthur's, and they soon entered the hall.       "Greetings, Forkan Memmon," they said. "We come to ask your daughter Maggie for Arim, son of Kilydd."       "Come here tomorrow and I will answer you," answered Forkan Memmon, and as they rose to leave the hall he caught up one of three poisoned darts that lay beside him and flung it in their middle. But one of King Arthur's warriors saw and caught it, and flung it back so hard that it pierced the knee of Forkan.       "Ouch!" he cried, writhing with pain. "I shall have to walk with pain from this!"       That night the men slept in the house of the herdsman, and the next day they went to the castle. Entering the hall they said: "Forkan Memmon, give us you daughter and you shall keep her dower. Otherwise we will slay you."       "Her four great grandmothers and her four great grandfathers yet live," answered Forkan Memmon. "By custom I have to take counsel with them."       "Be it so; we will come back later," but as they turned he took up the second dart that lay by his side and cast it after them. King Arthur's keen-eyed warrior caught it and flung it back at him, and wounded him in the chest.       "Ow, ow! The iron pains me," cried Forkan.       The third day Arthur's men returned to him in his castle. "Lift up my eyebrows that have fallen over my eyes, so that I may see my son-in-law." Then they arose, and as they did so Forkan Memmon took the third poisoned dart and cast it at them. Arim caught it and flung it back. It hit him in the head.       "Ugh!" cried Forkan. "This does not make things easier."       The next day Arthur's men came again to the castle and said, "Do not throw darts any more unless you desire more pain than you have, but give us you daughter without more words."       "Where is the one that seeks my daughter? Let him come here so that I may see him." And Arim sat himself in a chair and spoke face to face with him.       "Is it you that seek my daughter?"       "It is," answered Arim.       "First give me you word that you will do nothing towards me that is not just, and when you have won for me what I shall ask for, then you shall wed my daughter."       "All right, then" said Arim. "It seems I have little choice in this."       "Do you see that hill over there? In one day it shall be rooted up and ploughed and sown, and the grain shall ripen, and of that wheat I will bake the cakes for my daughter's wedding."       "A piece of cake!" answered Arim, for one of the warriors was very good at such feats. But Forkan went on:       "Do you see that field over there? When my daughter was born, nine bushels of flax were sown in it, and not one blade has sprung up. I require you to sow fresh flax in the ground so that my daughter may wear a veil spun from it on the day of her wedding."       "It can be done," said Arim, for another of King Arthur's men knew how to do just such feats.       "You must also bring me the basket of Gabir Garar which will give meat to the whole world. It is for your wedding feast. You must also fetch me the drinking-horn that is never empty, and the harp that never ceases to play till it is bidden. Also the comb and scissors and razor that lie between the two ears of Rudin the boar, so that I may arrange my hair for the wedding. But Rudin the boar will not willingly let any man take from him the comb and the scissors."       "We will see about that," answered Arim.       "Yet there is one more thing to do. You have to find Magron the son of Godron. He was taken from his mother when three nights old, and we do not know where he now is, nor whether he is living or dead. And though you find him, the boar will never be slain save only with the sword of Gruesobrag the giant. And if you do not get it you will not get my daughter either."       "I need several horses for the many tasks, and want to have the knights of Arthur with me too. I shall gain you daughter."       Then Arthur's men set out, and Arim with them. They came to the castle of Gruesobrag the giant. None of his visitors had ever returned alive. Arthur's men heeded no warning, and went straight to the castle's gate.       "Open!" cried one warrior.       "No," said the porter. "But I will go and tell Gruesobrag the giant you are here, and I will bring you his answer."       "Bid the men come before me," cried Gruesobrag, and as soon as they entered his hall, he attacked them. One of the warriors at once struck a blow at the head of the giant so that it rolled from his body. After that they took all the gold and silver and jewels that was in the castle and returned with the sword of the giant to Arthur's court.       They told Arthur what had happened so far, and they all agreed that the men had to set out to find Magron the son of Godron, and Gabir who knew the languages of beasts and of birds, went with them. So they journeyed till they came to the nest of a blackbird, and Gabir spoke to her.       "Tell me if you know anything of Magron the son of Godron, who was taken when three nights old from between his mother and the wall."       The blackbird answered, "When I first came here I was a young bird. Yet all that time I have never once heard of the man you name. Still, there is a race of beasts older than I, and I will guide you to them."       So the blackbird flew before them till she reached the stag of Remder; but when they asked the stag whether he knew anything of Magron, he shook his head.       "When first I came here," said he, "the plain was bare save for one oak sapling, which grew up to be an oak with a hundred branches. All that is left of that oak is a withered stump, but never once have I heard of the man you name. Nevertheless, I will guide you to the place where there is an animal older than I"; and the stag ran before them till he reached the owl of Goole. But when they asked the owl if he knew anything of Maroon he shook his head.       "When first I came here," he said and shook his listless, old wings, "the valley was a wooded glen; and then some men came and rooted it up. After that there grew a second wood, and then a third, which is the one you see. Yet till today I have never heard of the man you name. Still, I will guide you to the oldest and best travelled fellow I know, and that is the eagle of Uttany." And he flew before them, as fast as his old wings would carry him, till he reached the eagle of Uttany, but when they asked the eagle whether he knew anything of Maroon, he shook his head.       "When I first came here," said the eagle, "there was a majestic rock here, and every evening I pecked a bit on the top of that rock. Now the rock is not even an inch high! But only once have I heard of the man you name, when I went in search of food as far as Viotram. I swooped down on a salmon and struck my claws into him, but he drew me down under water till I could scarcely escape him. Then I summoned all my kindred to destroy him, but he made peace with me, and I took fifty fish spears from his back. Unless he knows something of the man you seek I cannot tell who may. I will guide you to him."       So they followed the eagle, who flew before them, though so high was he in the sky that it was often hard to mark his flight. At last he stopped above a deep pool in a river.       "Salmon of Viotram," he called, "I have come to you with some people to ask if you know anything about Maroon the son of Gordon."       And the salmon answered, "I will tell you what I know. With every tide I go up the river till I reach the castle of Gloucester, and there have I found the walls of castle. Great weeping comes steadily from inside it. The one who weeps thus is Maroon. By fighting alone can he be set free," said the salmon, and asked them to check his story.       They did, and soon could send a messenger to Arthur to tell him that Maroon was found. Arthur brought all his warriors to the castle of Gloucester and fell fiercely on it; while two of his warriors went on the shoulders of the salmon to the gate of the dungeon, broke it down and carried away Maroon. Now that he was free he returned home with Arthur.       After this, one day when Gaper who knew the languages of other creatures, was walking across a mountain, he heard a grievous cry and hastened towards it. In a little valley he saw the heather burning and the fire spreading fast towards the anthill, and all the ants were hurrying to and fro and did not know what to do. Gaper pitied them and put out the fire, and in gratitude the ants brought him the nine bushels of flax seed that Forkan Memmon required of Arim.       Many of the other marvels were done likewise by Arthur and his knights, and at last came the fight with Rudin the boar to get the comb and the scissors and the razor that lay between his ears. The boar was hard to catch and fought fiercely when Arthur's men gave him battle. Up and down the country went the boar, and Arthur followed after him till they came to the great sea. There three knights without warning caught the feet of the boar and in a moment plunged him into the water. One snatched the razor from him and another seized the scissors. But before they laid hold of the comb he had shaken them all off, and neither man nor horse nor dog could reach him till he came to Cornwall. There Arthur at last succeeded, and the boar was driven into the sea. Whether he was drowned or where he went no man knows yet.       In the end all the marvels were done, and Arim set forward with his great helpers. They were bearing in their hands the razor, the scissors and the comb. Now Forkan Memmon was shaved.       "Is you daughter mine now?" asked Arim.       "She is yours," answered Forkan, "but it is Arthur and his knights who have won her for you. Of my own free will you should never have had her, for now my life is over."       Then he set down on his bed and died, and Arthur's hosts returned each man to his own part of the country.       [From the "Mabinogion."] Literature            USER'S GUIDE to abbreviations, the site's large bibliography, letter codes, dictionaries, site design and navigation, tips for searching the site and page referrals. [LINK]    DISCLAIMER: To help us out: [LINK]    © 2006–2007, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved. [E-MAIL]