The Princess and the White Cat

a traditional Celtic Tale

Fado, (a long time ago) on the island of Skellig, lived a giant called Trencoss. He lived in a formidable castle, surrounded by the sea and forests. The castle had a hundred wooden doors, each one guarded by a large, shaggy Irish wolfhound.

Now Trencoss had won a battle against the king of the Torrents and carried off his only daughter, Princess Eileen, who he loved very much and hoped one day to marry her. Eileen was very miserable in the giant’s castle and had no intention at all of marrying the giant. To win her favor, Trencoss gave her a beautiful tower to live in, several servants and three harpists to play sweet music for her. He bought her fine diamond jewelry, beautiful silk dresses and provided the finest food that money could buy. He provided scented gardens for her to walk in, but one thing he would not allow, and that was for her to leave the castle. If she took one step beyond the castle door, the giant threatened to set the dogs on her.

Princess Eileen became more and more miserable; she rarely smiled and cried often as if her heart would break. Each morning, she would open the window in her tower to see if there was any chance of escape. But the window was too high above the ground and hungry wolfhounds circled down below. With a heavy heart, she was about to close the window one day when she caught a glimpse of a small white cat in the branches of a nearby tree.

“Mew!” called the cat.

“Poor wee thing,” said Eileen, “Come here, come to me.” Eileen stepped aside, and the cat jumped into the room, looking around to see if Princess Eileen was alone.

“Where have you come from little cat?” whispered Eileen.

“I have come as a friend to help you. I know you are very unhappy,” said the cat.

“Indeed, I am,” sighed Eileen. “I miss my father so much.”

“I know that,” said the cat. “Listen to me carefully. When the giant returns home this evening say that you will marry him.”

“But I will never marry him!” gasped Eileen. Oh, please help me!” she cried.

“Do what I tell you and all will be well,” insisted the cat. “When Trencoss asks you to marry him, say you will if his servants will wind for you three small balls of thread made from fairy dew that comes from the bushes on a misty morning.”

“That won’t take long,” cried the princess.

“Ah, that’s the thing,” said the cat. “The giant will think it won’t take long too and will readily agree to your request, but each ball will take at least a month and a day to make.”

The cat told Eileen to keep looking at the tree outside her window and if she should see someone there to throw the balls into the tree and not to utter a single word. With that, the cat said her farewell to Princess Eileen; she jumped out of the window into the tree and in a moment disappeared.

Later that evening, when the giant returned home, he called Eileen to him and told her that they would be married the next morning. Eileen tried to look cheerful as she said, “I will marry you but first you must give me three balls of thread made from fairy dew as a wedding present.”

“Of course, you can have these,” promised the giant, willing to do anything to please the princess. Eileen returned to her tower; the giant ordered his servants to go forth to gather all the fairy dew lying on the bushes and to wind it into three balls – one green, one blue and one yellow.

The next morning, and the next and many more after that, the servants searched the hedgerows and bushes for miles around. But they could only gather a few tiny threads of dew. The giant fumed and threatened but to no avail: fairy dew was very difficult to find.

Meanwhile, the cat travelled for many miles across sea, hills and valleys until she reached the castle of the Prince of the Silver River. The prince had once thought that Princess Eileen would be his bride until she was stolen away by the giant Trencoss. Now he was sad and lonely, spending his days sitting staring into the Silver River. This is where the white cat found him and hearing that Princess Eileen was being held captive in the giant’s castle, the prince set off at once to rescue her.

The white cat had instructed him to wait until dawn then enter the castle grounds and climb the tree next to the tower. He was to take some raw meat to distract the wolfhounds, other wise he would be torn to pieces. Once hidden amongst the branches, he was to wait patiently until Eileen opened her window.

After three long months of travelling over land and sea, the prince eventually arrived at the forest surrounding the giant’s castle. There was no doubt he had found the right place for the sound of a hundred wolfhounds howling was deafening. As dawn broke, he sneaked into the castle scattering chunks of meat which were quickly snatched up by the hungry wolfhounds. While they were distracted, the prince climbed the tree and hid among the branches.

Several hours passed before the prince heard the tower window open and he saw the Princess Eileen, looking lovelier than ever. He was going to call out her name, but she placed her fingers on her lips to warn him to speak no words. In silence, the princess threw the three tiny balls of fairy dew threads to him. Immediately, the thread from the green ball unravelled and wove itself into a ladder reaching from the tree to the window. Without hesitating, the prince climbed across towards the tower, but he was spotted by the furious giant.

“Who comes to challenge me on my wedding day?” shouted the giant.

“It is I, Prince of the Silver River. I have come to rescue the Princess Eileen.”

The giant, foaming with rage, seized his heaviest iron club and rushed into the castle in search of his challenger.

Taking Eileen by the hand, the prince sprinted down the stairs and through the castle. He threw the blue ball and as it hit the ground, it sent out a hundred shards of blue light. As they landed on each wolfhound, they all fell into a deep sleep. In the great hall the giant and the prince came face to face. “Take this,” roared the giant, as he aimed a blow with all its force at the prince, but the prince, darting forward like a flash of lightening, threw the yellow ball at the giant. It unravelled into a long thick rope like a snake, coiling itself tightly around the giant, and with a groan, he fell over the bodies of his sleeping hounds.

With the giant and his hounds made harmless, the prince and Eileen set out for the castle of the Silver River, which with the help of the white cat, they reached the very next day. Princess Eileen was desperate to discover why a little white cat should help them. The cat told her tale of how the princess’s father had saved the lives of the white cat and her family many years before and she promised the king a special favour should he ever be in need, Eileen was soon reunited with her father who was only too pleased to grant his daughter’s request to marry the prince. From that day to this there never has been a happier wedding than the wedding of the Prince of the Silver River and the Princess Eileen. And as for the giant and his wolfhounds…well, luckily for them, the effect of things made from fairy dew don’t really last long!