Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/151

 Charm against the Child-stealing Witch.

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When the mother heard the child screaming she got up quickly and felt with her hand in the cradle. When she found the cradle empty she cried aloud, ' Wake up, my brother, for the Devil has stolen my child.' Hearing his sister cry bitterly, the saint rose quickly, mounted his horse, took the lance in his hand, and began to pursue the Devil. On the v^^ay he came to a willow-tree, and he asked, ' Hast thou, O willow of God, seen the Devil passing hereby with a child in his arms ? ' The willow had seen them, but it said, ' I have not seen.' Saint Sisoe then cursed the willow and said, ' O wicked willow ! cursed thou shalt be, thou shalt only bloom and never bear fruit.' And he went on his way until he came to a briar, and Saint Sisoe said, ' O briar of God, hast thou seen the Devil running past with a little child in his arms?' The briar had seen them, but said, ' I have not.' Saint Sisoe cursed it, saying, ' Cursed shalt thou be, O briar ! thy roots shall be where thy branches ought to be ; thou shalt catch at all, and tear and be cursed by all.' And Saint Sisoe went further, following the traces of the Devil, until he came to a plane-tree. ' Hast thou, O plane-tree of God, seen the Devil running past with a child ? ' The plane-tree said, ' I have not seen them, but I have heard singing on the road.' The saint replied, ' Blessed shalt thou be, and thou shalt stand in front of the church [probably to be used as the knocking- board or plank still in use in the East instead of church bells] to call the people to service and the sinners to repentance.' Then he went on further after the Devil, until he came to an olive-tree standing by the seashore, and he said to it, ' Olive-tree of God, hast thou seen the Devil running past with the child in his arms ? ' And the olive-tree replied, ' Yes, I have seen him plunging into the sea, and he is playing with the fishes of the deep.' The saint replied, ' Blessed shalt thou be, from thee shall come the holy ointment, and no church shall be without thee.' The saint dismounted from his horse by the shore of the