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037 - The Buggane of St Trinian's · Manx Fairy Tales

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty six of Manx Fairy Tales. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Kurt from Tucson, Arizona. Manx Fairy Tales by
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  Speaker 1: Sophia Morrison. The Begaine of Saint Trinian's. A long time
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  Speaker 1: ago there came some monks to the broad Rough meadow,
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  Speaker 1: which is between dark Griba Mountain and the high Road,
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  Speaker 1: and they chose a nice place and set up a
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  Speaker 1: church to Saint Trinion on it. But they reckoned without
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  Speaker 1: the power of the Bagaine, who had his haunt in
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  Speaker 1: the mountain. The Bagaine was mighty angry, and he said
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  Speaker 1: to himself, I'll have no peace night or day with
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  Speaker 1: their jingling bells if I let them finish the building.
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  Speaker 1: And as he had nothing else to do, he took
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  Speaker 1: it into his head to amuse himself by tossing off
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  Speaker 1: the roof. So when the roof of the church was
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  Speaker 1: first put on, there was heard that very night a
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  Speaker 1: dreadful sound in it. And when the people of Greeba
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  Speaker 1: got up early next morning, they found their church roofless,
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  Speaker 1: and planks and broken beams all around the place. After
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  Speaker 1: a time, and with great effort, the roof was put
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  Speaker 1: on again. But when it was on, a great storm
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  Speaker 1: arose in the night, and it was blown down from
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  Speaker 1: the walls, exactly as had happened before. This fall put
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  Speaker 1: fear in the people, for they were sure now that
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  Speaker 1: it was the evil, destructive Gain himself that was doing
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  Speaker 1: the mischief. But though they were terrified, they resolved to
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  Speaker 1: make one more attempt, and the third roof was nearly finished.
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  Speaker 1: Now there was a brave little tailor living about a
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  Speaker 1: mile from Green, and because he had not too much
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  Speaker 1: worldly gear, he made a wager that when the new
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  Speaker 1: roof was on, he would not only spend the first
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  Speaker 1: night in the church, but also make a pair of
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  Speaker 1: breeches there. The wager was taken up eagerly, as they
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  Speaker 1: hoped that if the roof was one night up, it
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  Speaker 1: would be left on. So Timothy, that was the name
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  Speaker 1: of the little tailor, went to the church on the
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  Speaker 1: very first evening after the new roof had been put on.
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  Speaker 1: He started just when the shadow was beginning to get
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  Speaker 1: gray by the hedges. He took with him cloth needle
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  Speaker 1: and thread, thimble and scissors. He entered the church boldly,
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  Speaker 1: lit a couple of big candles, and looked all over
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  Speaker 1: the building to see that everything was right. Then he
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  Speaker 1: locked the door so that there was no way to
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  Speaker 1: get in. He cut out the cloth, and seating himself
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  Speaker 1: cross legged in the chancel, he put on his thimble
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  Speaker 1: and set to work at the breeches. He paid no
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  Speaker 1: heed to the darkness of the lonely church at dead
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  Speaker 1: of night, but with long thread and needle, he bent
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  Speaker 1: low over his work, his fingers moving backwards and forwards,
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  Speaker 1: rapidly casting strange, beckoning shadows on the walls. The breeches
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  Speaker 1: had got to be finished or he would lose his wager,
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  Speaker 1: so he stitched away as fast as he could, thinking
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  Speaker 1: about the good money the people would have to give him.
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  Speaker 1: The wind was beginning to rise, and trees scutched their
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  Speaker 1: arms against the windows. The tailor looked cautiously up and
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  Speaker 1: down and round about. Nothing strange came in sight, and
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  Speaker 1: he took courage. Then he threaded his needle and began
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  Speaker 1: his work again. He gave another sharp glance around, but
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  Speaker 1: saw nothing at all except the glimmer of the place
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  Speaker 1: near the candles, an empty, deep darkness away beyond them.
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  Speaker 1: So his courage rose high, and he said to himself,
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  Speaker 1: it's all foolishness that's at the people about the Begaine,
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  Speaker 1: for after all, the like isn't in. But at that
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  Speaker 1: very minute, the ground heaved up under him, and rumbling
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  Speaker 1: sounds came up from below. The sounds grew louder underneath,
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  Speaker 1: and Timothy glanced quickly up. All of a sudden, a great,
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  Speaker 1: big head broke a hole through the pavement just before him,
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  Speaker 1: and came slowly rising up through the hole. It was
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  Speaker 1: covered with a mane of coarse black hair. It had
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  Speaker 1: eyes like torches and glittering sharp tusks. And when the
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  Speaker 1: head had risen above the pavement, the fiery eyes glared
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  Speaker 1: fiercely at tim The big, ugly red mouth opened wide,
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  Speaker 1: and a dreadful voice said, thou rescal, what business hast
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  Speaker 1: thou here? Tim paid no heed, but worked harder still,
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  Speaker 1: for he knew he had no time to lose. Dost
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  Speaker 1: thou see this big head of mine? Yelled the Begaine.
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  Speaker 1: I see I see, replied tim mockingly. Up came a big,
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  Speaker 1: broad pair of shoulders, then a thick arms shot out,
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  Speaker 1: and a great fist shook in the tailor's face. Dost
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  Speaker 1: thou see my long arms, roared the voice. I see,
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  Speaker 1: I see, answered Tim boldly, and he stopped his tailoring
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  Speaker 1: to snuff one of the guttering candles, and he threw
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  Speaker 1: the burning snuff and the scowling face before him. Then
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  Speaker 1: he went on with his tailor. The bagane kept rising
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  Speaker 1: and rising up through the hole, until the horrible form
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  Speaker 1: black his ebony had covered with wrinkles like the leather
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  Speaker 1: of a blacksmith's bellows, had risen quite out of the ground.
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  Speaker 1: Dost thou see this big body of mine, roared the berigane,
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  Speaker 1: angry that Tim showed no fear of him. I see,
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  Speaker 1: I see, replied the tailor, at the same time, stitching
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  Speaker 1: with all his might at the breeches. Dost thou see
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  Speaker 1: my sharp claws, roared the begane, in a more angry
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  Speaker 1: voice than before. I see I see, answered again the
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  Speaker 1: little tailor, without raising his eyes, and continuing to pull
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  Speaker 1: out with all his might. Dost thou see my cloven
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  Speaker 1: foot under the begaine, drawing up one big foot and
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  Speaker 1: planking it down on the pavement with a thud that
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  Speaker 1: made the walls shake. I see, I see, replied the
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  Speaker 1: little tailor, as before, stitching hard at the breeches and
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  Speaker 1: taking long stitches, lifting up his other foot the Begaine,
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  Speaker 1: and a furious rage, he yelled, dost thou see my
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  Speaker 1: rough arms, my bony fingers, my hard fists. My Before
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  Speaker 1: he could utter another syllable or put the other foot
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  Speaker 1: out of the ground, the little tailor quickly jumped up
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  Speaker 1: and made two stitches together. The breeches were at last finished.
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  Speaker 1: Then with one spring, he made a leap through the
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  Speaker 1: nearest window. But scarcely was he outside the walls when
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  Speaker 1: down fell the new roof for a terrible crash that
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  Speaker 1: made him jump a great deal more nimbly than he
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  Speaker 1: ever did before. Hearing the Begaine's fiendish guffaws of laughter
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  Speaker 1: behind him, he took to his heels and sped hot
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  Speaker 1: foot along the Douglas Road. The breeches under his arms
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  Speaker 1: and the furious baganne and full chase, the tailor made
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  Speaker 1: for a Moroun church only a little distance away, and
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  Speaker 1: knew he would be safe if he could only reach
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  Speaker 1: the churchyard. He ran faster still he reached the wall,
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  Speaker 1: he leaped over it like a haunted hare, and fell
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  Speaker 1: weary and spent upon the grass under the shadow of
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  Speaker 1: the church, where the bagane had not power to follow.
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  Speaker 1: So furious was the monster at this that he seized
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  Speaker 1: his own head with his two hands, tore it off
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  Speaker 1: his body, and sent it flying over the wall after
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  Speaker 1: the tailor. He burst at his feet with a terrific explosion,
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  Speaker 1: and with that the Begaine vanished and was never seen
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  Speaker 1: or heard afterwards. Wonderful to relate, the tailor was not hurt,
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  Speaker 1: and he won the wager, for no person grumbled at
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  Speaker 1: the few long stitches put into the breeches. And as
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  Speaker 1: for Saint Trinian's Church, there is no name on it
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  Speaker 1: from that day till this, but Kiovrish broken church, for
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  Speaker 1: its roof was never replaced there. It stands in the
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  Speaker 1: green meadow under the shadow of Rocky Griba Mountain, and
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  Speaker 1: there its gray roofless ruins are to be found now.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter thirty six