me, daddy dear, and I'll bring you a whole herd of
little sheep."

"Well, see that you do it," and he let the wolf go.

Then he sat down, and began sharpening his knife again. The fox put out
her little snout, and asked him: "Be so kind, dear daddy, and tell me
why you are sharpening your knife!"

"Little foxes," said the old man, "have nice skins that do capitally for
collars and trimmings, and I want to skin you!"

"Oh! Don't take my skin away, daddy dear, and I will bring you hens and
geese."

"Very well, see that you do it," and he let the fox go.

The hare now alone remained, and the old man began sharpening his knife
on the hare's account.

"Why do you do that?" asked Puss. He replied: "Little hares have nice
little, soft, warm skins, which will make me nice gloves and mittens
against the winter!"

"Oh! daddy dear! Don't flay me, and I'll bring you kale and good
cauliflower, if only you let me go!"

Then he let the hare go also.

Then they went to bed; but very early in the morning, when it was
neither dusk nor dawn, there was a noise in the doorway like "Durrrrrr!"

"Daddy!" cried the old woman, "there's some one scratching at the door;
go and see who it is!"

The old man went out, and there was the bear carrying a whole hive full
of honey. The old man took the honey from the bear; but no sooner did he
lie down again than there was another "Durrrrr!" at the door. The old
man looked out and saw the wolf driving a whole flock of sheep into the
court-yard. Close on his heels came the fox, driving before him the
geese and hens, and all manner of fowls; and last of all came the hare,
bringing cabbage and kale, and all manner of good food.

And the old man was glad, and the old woman was glad. And the old man
sold the sheep and oxen, and got so rich that he needed nothing more.

As for the straw-stuffed ox, it stood in the sun till it fell to pieces.

187

"The Adventures of Connla the Comely" is one of
the romances in _The Book of the Dun Cow_, the
oldest manuscript of miscellaneous Gaelic
literature in existence. It was made about 1100
A.D. and is now preserved in the Royal Irish
Academy at Dublin. The contents were
transcribed from older books, some of the
stories being older by many centuries. The
story of Connla is "one of the many tales that
illustrate the ancient and widespread
superstition that fa