The children of Lir

Old Celtic tales by E. M. Wilmot-Buxton

The Children of Lir.

Lir, a powerful Irish chieftain, had married the eldest of three

beautiful maidens, and in course of time they had four fair

children--a daughter and three sons. Sad to say, the mother died

when they were still very young; and Lir married again. His new

wife, who was named Eva, was also very beautiful, but, though no one

knew it, she was a very wicked sorceress. She could not bear to see

her husband go to fondle and play with his children, and at last she

determined to do away with them altogether. So one day she enticed

them to a lonely spot among the mountains, near a smooth lake, and,

leaving them to play together, she tried to bribe her servants to put

them to death. But they would not, and so she returned to them

determined to do the deed herself. Now, when she reached the spot,

and saw how fair they looked as they ran races about the valley, her

heart failed her, and she could not do this wicked thing. But she

was determined that they should not return to their father Lir, so

she called to her an ancient Druid who lived in a cave near that

spot, and persuaded him to use his enchantment to obtain her wish.

When the Druid had advised her what to do, she called the little ones

to her, and said to them: "Children dear, how warm you are with your

running! Come and let me bathe you in Lake Dairbreak, that you may

be cool and refreshed."

The children were delighted to do so, and were soon splashing about

in the clear water, but no sooner had the water covered them than by

the magic spells of Eva and the Druid they were all four changed into

swans.

"Birds shall ye be," chanted the Druid from the bank as the change

took place, "until, long ages hence, ye hear the voice of a Christian

bell."

So the four beautiful milk-white swans swam sadly away over the

smooth water; and when the cruel Eva saw what she had done, she

feared to face her husband, and repented bitterly of her evil deed.

But it was too late. All she could do was to grant to the birds the

use of their native speech, their human reason, and the power of

singing plaintive fairy music, so sweet that those who heard it

should be soothed and calmed, however sad and angry they had been

before.

A terrible punishment overtook their wicked persecutor. When the

King of that country heard of her cruel deed, he sent for her, and

asked: "What shape of all others on the earth, or below the earth, or

over the earth, do you most abhor?" She replied: "A demon of the

air."

Then the King pronounced judgment on her: "A demon of the air shalt

thou be till the end of time."

Meantime hundreds of years passed away, and still the beautiful swans

swam up and down their lake and looked for deliverance. Sometimes

they took flight, and entered the Western Sea, and sailed around the

coast; but all Ireland was in heathen darkness, and never the sound

of a Christian bell was heard.

The dwellers of those coast lands used to visit the shore in crowds

to hear their sweet music and watch their graceful movements. But

after a time they were caught by the strong current of Mull, and this

drove the fair birds into the stormy seas between Erin and Alba.

Here they endured many a woe; for sometimes they were separated from

one another by the storm and darkness, and sometimes they were almost

frozen to death in the icy floods. And so, tormented by the restless

waves and the chill winds of winter, they waited for three hundred

years. But one soft spring morning, when the ice-floes had drifted

away and the wind sang gently over the mountains, as they floated

along their own Lake Dairbreak, they heard the sound of a Christian

bell. For St Patrick had come to Ireland with the glad Gospel news,

and everywhere men were building churches, and hastening to fill them

with worshippers.

So when the sound of the distant bell floated over the water, the

spell was broken, and the Children of Lir returned to their own

shapes. But they had lived so long that, after they had learnt the

Christian faith, they were glad to lie down and rest for ever. They

were all buried in the self-same tomb, and after their death men made

songs about them; and every Irish boy and girl to this day loves to

hear the story of the Swan-Children of Lir.