Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 6 1888.djvu/196

188 coachman's presence, telling him that he would be shot dead if he looked back when on the ice.

On they went, on the thin ice, and as soon as the leaders had their fore-feet on dry land the coachman looked back, and saw "twa black craws" on the front of the coach. The ice immediately gave way, and down went the carriage and wheelers; but the leaders, being very powerful animals, dragged them all to land.

The powder in the pistols got wet, and would not burn, which saved the coachman's life.

The crows were two familiar imps or devils.—(J. Rose, Skibo.)

xxx.—.

There is a sprite, who is very easy and good-natured to those that are civil to him.

Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, a man was walking from Tain to Assynt with a basket on his back, which was full of bottles of wine. At a bridge he meets the sprite, who offers to carry the basket for him. Well, they walked on together till they came to Loch Assynt, where the sprite says they had better sit down at the side of the loch. This they did, and the bogie began to take out the bottles of wine, and roll them one after the other over the ice for mischief, because the ice was only of two nights' frost; and though it carried the bottles, would not bear a man's weight. Says the man then to the hobgoblin, "Since you have sent out the bottles, you will have to get them back, or I shall be in trouble."

"Since you are so good-natured about it, I will do that same," said the sprite, and he gathered all the bottles into the creel again, and the two men went on their way. The man soon asked the hobgoblin if he ever did any harm, saying that he seemed very obliging. "Well," said the other, "since you have asked me, I will tell you all the harm that ever I did. At Tallachie there was a servant lass that angered me with aye saying she had seen me, and telling lies on me, and she never saw me but once, and that once I broke her leg for her pains." "And did you ever do any more tricks?" "I thrashed a