Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 1 1883.djvu/62

 54 her hands cut off. He then called his wife to know what did it, and she said she did not know. Then he thought it might be himself that cut it off. And every night after he stopped up and could not find any more of the cats.

The next story comes from Tralee, Tipperary. The narrator was one John O'Connell, who was lodging in Pat Weather's house, and dictated it to him. It is unnecessary to point out the many points of interest which it presents. I have a variant or expansion which I may send later: meanwhile I may point out as evidence of its antiquity the occupation of "Jack"—the usual name of Irish folk-tale heroes—in "minding cows for a king in Ireland." I think the "blue glass shoes" worn by Jack are noteworthy, as Mr. Ralston says, "The well-known substitution of verre for vair in the French description of Cinderella's slipper enables us to detect the French origin of some variants of the history: wherever she is found wearing a slipper of glass we may be sure that her story has at least been subjected to a French influence, and that at a comparatively recent period."

III.

There was once a lad whose name was Jack, and he was minding cows for a king in Ireland. It happened one day that he drove his cows rather farther than usual, and it was fine rich grass for the cows to feed on. Jack had not been there very long when a giant came and asked him what he and his cows were doing in the field. Jack asked him what business that was of his. The giant said he would fight him and see. Jack consented, and they fought. The giant at first was getting the best of Jack, but he was soon the best man, and the giant was a dead man. That night when Jack went home the king noticed how good the milk was, but Jack never told what happened. The second day Jack killed a second giant, and the third day he killed another.

It happened that there was a great sea serpent came out of the sea every year to eat one of the king's daughters. Jack