The Goban Saor: 'The Backward Horse'
The Goban had somehow managed to
acquire a very fine horse. It was a fiery steed, difficult to manage, but that
didn't prevent the Goban from being very proud to be seen sitting astride
it.
One day, dismounting and tossing the reins carelessly to one of the
local lads standing by, the Goban strode into the tavern to quench his thirst
after the exertions required to manage such a beast.
The villagers of
course immediately gathered round the horse to admire it and it wasn't long
before mischief entered their heads.
While some of them went in to engage
the Goban in a conversation about horses, others took the horse away to the
farrier who quickly took off the horse's shoes and nailed them on again back to
front.
The Goban was immediately suspicious on leaving the tavern to be
greeted by a cheerful, gleeful crowd around his mount and the horse itself
seemed restless.
He hadn't trotted more than fifty yards before he found
out why.
The horse, puzzled and annoyed by the new, uncomfortable feeling
at his feet, suddenly gave vent to his irritation with a mighty buck which
landed the Goban in the bushes by the roadside, to the great delight of the
onlookers.
Ruefully getting to his feet and squinting after the
fast-disappearing horse, the Goban called loudly to the villagers to help him
catch it.
The villagers eventually arrived, out of breath, shaking their
heads and pretending to be puzzled as to where the horse could have
gone:
"..He's just disappeared into the forest, not a minute ago !"
shouted the Goban in frustration "..After him! After Him!"
Cairbre O
Loingsigh , the sea-captain's son - in fact ringleader of the pranksters -
assumed an innocent expression, scratching his head and
protesting:
"..But Goban, we've examined the hoof-prints on the road and
clearly the horse has galloped off in the opposite direction to what you're
telling us!"
The villagers tittered gleefully and the Goban limped over
to ease his backside ruefully onto a fallen tree-trunk:
"..It's bad
enough dealing with a backward horse .." he muttered darkly "..besides having to
deal with backward humans!"
"..What did you say, Goban?" called one of
the onlookers gleefully.
"..I said:" said the Goban through gritted teeth
"..People don't always look in the right direction for what they're
seeking!"