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Dun Edinbane

Broch

Folklore

This just has to be the location of the following story.
Two hunchbacks lived at Edinbane, about fourteen miles from Portree. One of these fell ill, and asked his comrade in misfortune to go and feed his herd of cattle, the beautiful shaggy creatures one still sees in the Highlands. As the neighbour, a kindly, merry man, proceeded on his mission, he heard sounds coming from a small hill, and, listening, he heard a voice chanting continuously, "Monday, Tuesday."
With a sudden impulse he joined in, "Wednesday, Thursday."
A voice inquired, "Who will be adding nice verses to my song?"
"A hunchback bodach," the man replied.
"Come in to my house," said the voice, and the hunchback obeyed.
An old fairy man greeted him, and in gratitude for the addition to his song he took off the disfiguring hump.

We can picture the neighbour's astonishment when the transformed hunchback returned home. Jealousy consumed him, and the next day he hurried to the same place and heard the same song, which now included the nice new verses. Jealous of his neighbour's good fortune, for he was a sullen, discontented man, he joined in, "Friday, Saturday."

But this did not have the desired effect, for a wrathful voice demanded, "Who will be spoiling my nice song?" and the fairy man emerged and dragged him inside. With somewhat arbitrary cruelty he added the neighbours hump to that already on his back and drove him out.
p203-4 in
Folk-Lore of the Isle of Skye
Mary Julia MacCulloch
Folklore, Vol. 33, No. 2. (Jun. 30, 1922), pp. 201-214.
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
2nd May 2007ce

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