“A man came the way of the smithy to-day, having with him two old women; he asked from me a while of the bellows and anvil, and he made the fairest woman that man’s eye ever saw, out of the two old women. My own mother and your mother are here with us, and I think I will try to make one right woman of the two since I saw the other man doing it.”
“Do,” she said, “I am quite willing.”
Next day he took out the two old women, put the hoop about their middle, and threw them in the smithy fire. It was not long before it became likely that he would not have even the bones of them left. The smith was in extremity, not knowing what to do, but a voice came behind him,
“You are perplexed, smith, but perhaps I will put you right.” With that he caught the bellows and blew harder at them; he then took them out and put them on the anvil, and made as fair a woman out of the two old wives. Then he said to the smith,
“You had need of me to-day, but,” said he, “you better engage me; I will not ask from you but the half of what I earn, and that this will be in the agreement, that I shall have the third of my own will.” The smith engaged him.
At this time O’Neil sent abroad word that he wanted one who would make the hair of his head to grow, for there was none on the head of O’Neil or O’Donnell, his brother, and that whoever could do it, would get the fourth part of his means. The servant lad said to the smith,
“We had better go and make a bargain with O’Neil that we will put hair on his head,” and they did this. “Say you to him,” said the servant lad, “that you have a servant who will put hair on his head for the fourth part of what he possesses.”
O’Neil was agreeable to this, and the servant lad desired to get a room for themselves, and asked a cauldron to be put on a good fire. It was done as he wished. O’Neil was taken in and stretched on a table. The servant lad then took hold of the axe, threw off O’Neil’s head, and put it face foremost in the cauldron. After some time he took hold of a large prong which he had, and he lifted up the head with it, and hair was beginning to come upon it. In a while he lifted it up again with the same prong, this time a ply of the fine yellow hair would go round his hand. Then he gave the head such a lift, and stuck it on the body. O’Neil then called out to him to make haste and let him rise to his feet, when he saw the fine yellow hair coming in into his eyes. He did as he had promised; he gave the smith and the servant lad the fourth part of his possessions. When they were going home with the cattle the servant lad said to the smith,
“We are now going to separate, we will make two halves or divisions of the cattle.”
The smith was not willing to agree to this, but since it was in his bargain he got the one half. They then parted, and the animal the smith would not lose now, he would lose again, he did not know where he was going before he reached home, and he had only one old cow that he did not lose of the cattle.