Popular Tales of the West Highlands Vol. II: XLIX. The Cat and the Mouse

From Hector MacLean, Islay. 1. THUIRT an luch bheag 's i 'san toll, "Dé 'm fonn a th' air a' chat ghlas?" "Fonn math is deagh shaod Gum faodadh thusa tighinn a mach." 2. "’S mor m' eagal romh na dubhain chrom, A th' agad ann am bonn do chas Mharbh thu mo phiuthrag an dé 'S fhuair mi fein air eigin as." 3. Cha mhis' a bha 'sin ach cat mhic Iain Ruaigh A b' àbhaist a bhi ruagadh chearc, Ghoid i 'n caise 'bha 's a' chliabh, 'S dh'ith i 'n t-iasg a bha 's a' phreas." TRANSLATION. Said the mousie in the hole, "What is that purr of the grey cat?" "A good purr and a pleasant mood, That thou mightest come out of that." "Great is my fear for the crooked hooks That thou hast got in the sole of thy feet; Thou killedst my sister yesterday, And I myself got hardly quit." "That was not me, but John Roy's cat, That used to be the hen's distress: She stole the cheese that was in the creel, And ate the fish that was in the press." This old rhyme has become proverbial. A part of it was sent as a proverb from Inverary. J. F. C. 404:1 You speak of Nursery Rhymes. The following is a very trifling one, which I remember myself, and have never been able to forget. HECTOR MACLEAN, Islay.