There lived a fisherman named Ein Macrae on the Kintyre Peninsula in Ardelwe. One winter day, when there was no hope of a successful catch, because there was a storm at sea, Ein decided to stock up on a new keel for his boat and went to the forest that lies between Totag and Glenelg, hoping there to find a tree of just the length he needed.
But as soon as he spotted a suitable tree, a thick fog descended from the mountains and the forest became pitch-dark. The place where Ein wandered was far from his home, and as soon as the fog descended, the unlucky fisherman’s first desire was to return back as quickly as possible. He did not at all want to get lost in an unfamiliar forest and spend a cold winter night under the open sky.
And he walked along a path that he could barely distinguish, thinking that this was the same one along which he had come into the forest, and that it would certainly lead him to Ardelve. But very soon he realized that he was mistaken, since the path led him out of the forest to some unfamiliar place at the foot of the hill, and by the time dusk fell, he had completely lost his way.
The poor fellow was just about to wrap himself tightly in a blanket and spend the rest of the night hiding in the heather thickets, when he suddenly noticed a flickering light in the distance. He hurried to the light and, coming closer, saw that it was a light burning in the window of a dilapidated stone hut, the kind that shepherds use when they drive their cattle out to the summer pasture.
“It seems I’m lucky,” Ein thought. “Here you can spend the night and warm yourself by the burning fire.”
And he knocked loudly on the rickety door.
To his surprise, no one answered.
“Someone must be there,” Ein reasoned. “After all, the candle itself does not burn.”
And he knocked on the door again. And again no one answered him, although this time he clearly heard someone’s muffled voices in the hut.
Then Ein got angry and shouted:
“What kind of people are you if you don’t want to let a tired traveler warm up by the fire on such a cold night?”
Shuffling steps were heard in the house, the door opened slightly - just enough to let the cat in - and the head of a decrepit old woman poked out and carefully examined the fisherman.
“So be it, you can stay here for the night,” she muttered displeasedly. — There is no other housing nearby. Come in and sit by the fire.
She opened the door wider, let Ein in, and then slammed it behind him. In the middle of the cramped hut, the peat was burning hot on the hearth, and two more old women were sitting on either side of the fire. The old women did not say a word to Ein. The one who opened the door for him pointed to the hearth, and he, wrapped in a blanket, lay down by the fire.
However, Ein could not sleep. Something strange seemed to him in the very air of this wretched house, and he decided that perhaps he should keep his ears open here.
A little later the old women looked at him and, apparently, deciding that their uninvited guest had fallen asleep, they were very pleased. One old woman then got up and went to a large wooden chest that stood in the corner of the hut. Ein lay motionless and watched as the old woman lifted the heavy lid of the chest, took out a blue cap and very solemnly put it on her head. And then she croaked in a squeaky voice:
- To Carlisle!
And right before the eyes of the astonished fisherman she disappeared, as if she had never existed.
Following her, the other two old women approached the chest, each took out a blue cap, put them on their heads, and shouted:
- To Carlisle! - and they were.
Before the third old woman had time to disappear, Ein jumped up from his hard bed and also approached the chest. Lifting the lid, he saw another blue cap at the bottom. It’s easy to imagine how curious the poor fisherman was. He was dying to know where the three old witches had gone. Therefore, it is not surprising that he, too, put a blue cap on the top of his head and boldly shouted, just like the three old women:
- To Carlisle!
And immediately the stone walls of the wretched hut seemed to move apart, and he was spun, spun and carried as if on wings with indescribable speed. And then he plopped down - well, where do you think? - on the floor! And, looking around, he saw that he found himself in a huge wine cellar next to three old witches, who were also sitting on the floor and sipping wine from bottles.
However, as soon as the old women noticed him, they threw down their bottles, jumped up and croaked: “Home, home, to Kentroy!” - immediately disappeared.
This time, for some reason, Ein did not want to follow them. He carefully examined all the barrels and casks in the cellar, all the bottles and carboys, trying a sip here and there, and then lay down in a corner and fell into a deep sleep.
And this cellar, where fate threw Ein in such a strange way, belonged to the Bishop of Carlisle himself and was located under his castle in England. In the morning, the bishop's servants went down to the cellar to get wine and were horrified by the chaos they found there: empty bottles were lying everywhere, and from some barrels wine was pouring straight onto the floor.
“I have been noticing for a long time that bottles of wine are disappearing,” said the chief housekeeper of the castle, “but I have never seen such brazen theft.”
Then one of the servants saw Ein sleeping in the corner with a wild cap on top of his head.
- What a thief! What a thief! - everyone shouted.
Ein woke up and felt that his arms and legs were tightly tied.
The poor man was taken to the bishop, having first torn off his blue cap from his head, because, as you yourself understand, it would be disrespectful to appear before His Eminence with a covered head.
The unfortunate Ein was tried and sentenced to be burned at the stake for theft. And so, in the middle of the market square in Carlisle, they drove a high wooden pole, threw a lot of dry brush around it and tied the condemned man to the pole. More people gathered in the square than on a market day for the holiday.
Ein had completely resigned himself to his bitter fate and was preparing to heroically meet his last hour, when suddenly a happy thought came to his mind.
- Last wish! Last wish! - he shouted. - I wish to go to the other world wearing a blue cap!
The prisoner's last wish, as expected, was fulfilled. But as soon as they put his blue cap on Ein’s head, he boldly shouted:
- Home, home, to Kentroy!
And to the great amazement of the honest inhabitants of Carlisle, at that very moment both the prisoner and the post to which he was tied disappeared. They were never seen again in England.
When Ein awoke, he found himself lying on the slope of a hill at the edge of the forest that stretches between Toteg and Glenelg. However, there was no trace of the hut of the three old witches. The foggy night had long since given way to a clear sunny day. Ein saw an old shepherd not far away and called out to him:
- Please, help me get rid of this damned pillar!
The shepherd came up and helped Ein free himself.
- Who tied you up? - asked the shepherd. Ein cast a sad glance at the pillar and only then noticed that it was a beautiful tree trunk, completely straight and strong, and then he remembered why he had wandered into the forest, so far from his home.
“You see, I’ve been looking for a long time for a suitable smooth trunk to make a new keel for my boat.” And finally I found it. The Bishop of Carlisle himself gave it to me! And yesterday there was fog, and in order not to lose him, I tied him to me. Understand?
The shepherd explained to Ein how to find the way to Ardelve, and Ein, whistling a cheerful song, went home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru