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A man enchanted by a laird of the black art changes sex then changes back again during a storytelling session.

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1973.162

Original Tape ID

SA1973.162

Summary

A man enchanted by a laird of the black art changes sex then changes back again during a storytelling session.

A laird of the black art had a farm. Everyone had to tell a story at the annual cèilidh, and the biggest lie would win a guinea. They had a big pot of sowans [the contributor explains what this is] and sat round taking their turn with a story. A simple cattleman said when it was his turn that he had nothing to tell, so the laird sent him out to clean his boat. When the man got into the boat to bail it out it took off with him across the water.

Halfway across the man realised he had changed into a young woman. At the other side 'she' was met by a young man, and they eventually married and had children. Then one day the girl saw the boat she had come in and stepped into it. It took off across the water again, and the girl changed back into a cattleman. When the cattleman got back the cèilidh was still in progress. He told what had happened to him, and won the guinea for the biggest lie.

Language

Scots

Genre

Story

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good