The Tinker rose up in a rage and made an attempt to get hold of the Buideach, but he gave him another fist at the butt of the ear and threw him out again under the feet of the Black Donkey.
The donkey began to bray pitifully, and when the Buideach went out to see [why], the Tinker was dead. "You have killed my master," said the Black Donkey, "and indeed I am not sorry for it, he often gave me a heavy beating without cause."
The Buideach was astonished when he heard the Black Donkey speaking, and he said, "You are not a proper donkey."
"Indeed, I have only been an ass for seven years. My story is a pitiful one. I was the son of a gentleman."
"Musha, then, I would like to hear your story," said the Buideach.
"Come in, then, to the end of the house. Cover up the Tinker in the dunghill, and I will tell you my story."
The Buideach drew the dead man over to the dunghill and covered him up. The Black Donkey walked into the house and said, "I was the son of a gentleman, but I was a bad son, and I died under a heavy load of deadly sins on my poor soul; and I would be burning in hell now were it not for the Virgin Mary. I used to say a little prayer in honour of her every night, and when I went into the presence of the Great Judge I was sentenced to hell until His mother spoke to the Judge and He changed his sentence, and there was made of me a Black Donkey, and I was given to the Tinker for the space of seven years, until he should die a worldly [or corporeal] death. The Tinker was a limb of the devil, and it was I who gave you strength to kill him; but you are not done with him yet. He will come to life again at the end of seven days, and if you are there before him he will kill you as sure as you are alive."
"I never left this townland since I was born," said the Buideach, "and I would not like to desert my mother."
"Would it not be better for you to leave your mother than to lose your life in a state of mortal sin and be for ever burning in hell?"
"I don't know any place where I could go into hiding," said the Buideach; "but since it has turned out that it was you who put strength into my hand to kill the Tinker, perhaps you would direct me to some place where I could be safe from him."