Conall Cra Bhuidhe

An illustration of the fairy tale Conall Yellowclaw created by John D. Batten for Joseph Jacob's collection Celtic Fairy Tales (1892). Illustration of a giant sat blocking a cave's entrance. His hands are outstretched, feeling for a white goat nearby. Conall is hidden under the goat's skin, crawling on hands and knees.

This Scottish fairy tale has three stories within it and it is said to have been told to John Francis Campbell by a blind fiddler named James Wilson.

The story follows Conall who must tell a king tales of times he has been in trickier and trickier spots in order to save the lives of his sons.

In the first tale, Conall is chased by a band of singing cats until he hides up a tall tree. The leader of the band is a fox-coloured, one-eyed cat who orders them to dig at the tree's roots. When Conall cries out, a passing priest and his men hear and come to look. They see the cats attacking the tree and attack the cats and they all fight until they are all dead and Conall can escape. 

In the second tale, Conall is caught by a one-eyed giant. Conall pretends he can cure a one-eyed giant & instead blinds him. He then tricks the giant by wearing the skin of the giant's much-loved buck in order to escape his cave. The giant throws him a ring as a reward for his steadfastness but when Conall puts it on, he asks, 'Where are you, ring?' and the ring answers, 'Here I am'. The giant follows the sound, but Conall cuts of his finger with the ring and throw it into a deep loch. The giant follows the sound again, leaps into the water and drowns. 

In the third story, Conall must trick cannibal giant in order to save the life of a baby. He must then use the giant's own weapon to kill him, and stabs him in the one-eye he has in the centre of his face. Conall then gets the mother and baby back to safety.

The King's mother then announces that she was the woman and the baby was the King. Conall's sons are freed and he is rewarded with riches and returns home to his wife.

Sources:
'Conall Cra Bhuidhe' by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands.
Illustration by John D. Batten for Joseph Jacob's collection Celtic Fairy Tales (1892).