Read Online The Coming of the Unicorn by Duncan Williamson - Free Book Online

“The day afore I went to school!”
    He said, “How old are you, old man?”
    “Well,” he said, “I’ll be eighty-six on my birthday. Come my birthday I’ll be eighty-six!”
    And they said, “When did you pick up the bag with the money?”
    “Well,” he says, “the day before I went to school I picked up the bag!”
    And one justice says to the other, “Look, come on, let’s stop wasting wir time with a silly old fool!” And they drove on.
    And Jack was left with the bag of money. He shared it with his wee daughter and they lived happy ever after.

Mary Rushiecoats and the Wee Black Bull
    Little Mary’s father and mother were out going to the village with a pony and trap when there came a terrible storm. The pony got frightened in the thunder. It ran away, bolted, and little Mary’s father and mother were killed in the accident. She was left all alone – no one to take care of her. Then, after her mother and father’s services had finished, they were buried. Lo and behold, one old woman came forward.
    And she says, “I am Mary’s grandmother and I want to take care of the child.”
    So, everyone was happy. People in the village thought that poor Mary didn’t have any friends or anyone to take care of her, but up turned the old grandmother. Little Mary went to live with her and this is where my story begins.
    After a spell of time and many tears, Mary had cried because she missed her mother and father very much, she finally settled down with her grandmother in a little cottage beside a large forest. Her grandmother was a nice and kindly old soul and she loved Mary dearly. She kept some hens, some ducks and mostly geese, a lot of geese. Granny used to every month go to the market and sell some of the male geese, which she had brought and reared up, and kept the female geese to produce more. So, Mary really came to love her grandmother after she forgot about her daddy and mommy. She stayed with her grandmother for many, many months. Now she began to feel she was at home at last. She’d found someone who really did love her. But, her grandmother was very poor even though she owned some geese and some ducks and hens; because the few pennies she got at themarket she used to buy food for herself and for little Mary. But one evening Grandmother was sitting knitting by the fireside.
    Mary came in by the fire and sat beside her, said, “Granny, you know it’s all right for you to sit knitting here, but it’s not very fun for me.”
    And then Granny said, “Why, Mary, why?”
    “Well,” she says, “I don’t have any friends to speak to. I can’t play with the hens or the geese or ducks that you have and I feel very lonely.”
    “But, Mary, you have me!”
    “But, Granny, some days you’re knitting and some days you’re ironing. Some days you’re working and I need someone to speak to, someone to love and someone to take care of.”
    “Well,” she says, “Mary, probably I might get you a dog or a cat.”
    “No, Granny, I don’t like dogs and I don’t like cats.”
    “Well, then, Mary, would ye like to come with your granny to the market tomorrow?” The old woman felt very sad for her wee granddaughter. It was her only son’s daughter and she wanted to do everything in the world to please her and make her feel at home.
    “Oh, yes, Grandmother,” she says, “I would love to go with you to the market tomorrow.”
    “Well,” she said, “Mary, if you want to go with me, you must go to bed bright and early and make sure that you’re up to help me tomorrow, because I’ve got seven geese and we’re going to walk them to the market. We’ll sell them, get some money and then everything will be okay, and you’ll see some people there.”
    “Oh, Granny, I would love to go…” Because she had never been with her granny to the market before.
    Now, in this market all people came from around the country and they sold their animals. Some sold sheep and some sold goats; some sold calves and some