A ragged man visits the houses of the nobility. He entered ODonnels house unknown and asked the musicians to play for him. Then he took the harp from them and played far superior music with the harp between his feet, and he played the music with his toes. He insulted ODonnell and was surrounded by armed men, but he made some of the armed men assume his features, and they were attacked and killed. He restored them to life by getting the doorkeeper to rub their upper palates with an herb.
The beggar headed off to the earls house, went to bed, and began snoring heavily. When he met the household, he was given a book that was turned upside down and began reading it. He began playing chess with some of the best chess players in the area and beat them with only half of the pieces on the board.
The juggler plays various tricks on the household. He then moves onto the lawn and opens his bag. He throws a rope into the sky. A cat and mouse appear from the bag and race up the rope. The mouse rides on the cats back while the cat tries to unseat it. A hound and hare are released and race up the rope with the hare on the hounds back. The hound fails to dislodge the hare. The boy then goes up the rope but fails to carry out the jugglers instructions. He is restored to life by the juggler who departs.
About the author
Robert Daniel Collins was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, during World War II. He returned to Ireland with his parents. He went to primary and post-primary school in Ireland. He graduated from University College, Dublin, in economics and history. He taught in Ireland all his life and is presently retired. He can be reached at [email protected].
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