A poor man returned home after seven years' work with only a...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1960.140.A7
Original Tape ID
Summary
A poor man returned home after seven years' work with only a loaf, but it had seven years' wages in it.
A poor Irishman left his wife and son to travel in search of work and was given employment by a baker. After seven years the baker asked him to choose between his wages and, alternatively, a big loaf and three pieces of advice. The man took the loaf and advice. He had two narrow escapes on the way home when he forgot his master's advice to avoid a house with red-headed people in it and to avoid taking a short cut over a hill. When he reached home he found a man in the house with his wife and went to get an axe to cut off his head. His wife told him to think before he acted, which was the third piece of advice from the baker. The young man was his own son who had grown up in his father's absence. The man apologised to his wife for bringing home only a loaf after seven years, but when they cut it open it contained seven years' wages.
Recording Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Old Deer
Village/Place - Fetterangus
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good