“What’s that?” quoth he.

“Oh,” quoth she, “it’s a wee bannock.”

Quoth he, “I could eat the half of it.”

“Grip it,” quoth the wife, “and I’ll have a bit too.”

“Cast your breeches at it!” The goodman shied his breeches, and had nearly smothered it.  But it wriggled out and ran, and the goodman after it without his breeches; and there was a clean chase over the craft park, and in among the whins; and the goodman lost it, and had to come away, trotting home half naked.  But now it was grown dark, and the wee bannock couldn’t see; but it went into the side of a big whin bush, and into a fox’s hole.  The fox had had no meat for two days.  “O welcome, welcome,” quoth the fox, and snapped it in two in the middle.  And that was the end of the wee bannock.

Johnny Gloke

Johnny Gloke was a tailor by trade, but like a man of spirit he grew tired of his tailoring, and wished to follow some other path that would lead to honour and fame.  But he did not know what to do at first to gain fame and fortune, so for a time he was fonder of basking idly in the sun than in plying the needle and scissors.  One warm day as he was enjoying his ease, he was annoyed by the flies alighting on his bare ankles.  He brought his hand down on them with force and killed a goodly number of them.  On counting the victims of his valour, he was overjoyed at his success; his heart rose to the doing of great deeds, and he gave vent to his feelings in the saying:—­

     “Well done!  Johnny Gloke,
      Kilt fifty flies at one stroke.”

His resolution was now taken to cut out his path to fortune and honour.  So he took down from its resting-place a rusty old sword that had belonged to some of his forebears, and set out in search of adventures.  After travelling a long way, he came to a country that was much troubled by two giants, whom no one was bold enough to meet, and strong enough to overcome.  He was soon told of the giants, and learned that the King of the country had offered a great reward and the hand of his daughter in marriage to the man who should rid his land of this scourge.  John’s heart rose to the deed, and he offered himself for the service.  The great haunt of the giants was a wood, and John set out with his old sword to perform his task.  When he reached the wood, he laid himself down to think what course he would follow, for he knew how weak he was compared to those he had undertaken to kill.  He had not waited long, when he saw them coming with a waggon to fetch wood for fuel.  My! they were big ones, with huge heads and long tusks for teeth.  Johnny hid himself in the hollow of a tree, thinking only of his own safety.  Feeling himself safe, he peeped out of his hiding-place, and watched the two at work.  Thus watching he formed his plan of action.  He picked up a pebble, threw it with force at one of them, and struck him