Aodhán the Shepherd’s Son
Aodhán the shepherd’s son,
Was born of blue moon and oft when young
Would surpass his peers amid the good children of Dublin
As he agéd, the children would dare
To challenge Aodhán’s intelligence and compare
Their own strengths against his in the chance they could trump him.
But Aodhán continued to win
No matter who challenged him, he’d never give in.
One haughty young chap
With freckles and a tooth-gap
Challenged Aodhán to a test during a swim
To see who had the mightiest wind.
Aodhán accepted the bet, and never once did he falter
But sat at the bottom of the lake on his knees, as if praying before an alter
For three whole days! He sat thus…
He sat under the waves so long; his buttons had begun to rust.
When Aodhán was fifteen and ten,
He was a renowned champion amongst men
Revered on his and in every land
The champion and hero – The Great Irish Aodhán.
The greatest of men from that green place called Dublin
No longer did his father have to heard sheep
He could take up a hobby if he wished, or catch up on sleep
But his father continued to shepherd the herd
And Aodhán would send him word via a messenger bird.
One day the bird arrived
Pecking around at the glass of the window outside
The bird was grey and small in structure
He looked as though he had used every ounce of strength he could muster.
“You must have come from so far!” cried the Shepherd in greeting
He could see the birds wings trembling, the journey’s hardships unyielding.
He took the letter from the bird, with agéd hands
It was sealed and bound several times with canvas bands.
The Shepherd settled down by the fire, and unrolled the news
Aodhán was in Bucharest
A rather nasty Banshee had been terrorizing the town
It’s wailing could be heard, they said, as far as the Crown* *England
The ghoul had been snatching up and away
Any and all of the children that at night would stray.
Aodhán was called, when the Dutchess’ son
Was taken one night upon his nightly run.
All of the Dutchess’ family had gathered
To plead with the hero to settle this matter
Aodhán gracefully accepted this challenge of might
But first assured the Dutchess that he would make it all right
And calmed her with words as smooth as the sky
He talked with the Lady until she no longer cried.
As the salt dried upon her cheek
Forth to the forest, the Banshee Aodhán did seek.
In the midst of the forest, by a crystalline stream
A wail could be heard, an otherworldly scream
At once the hero started, at a pitch such as this
Sweat began to bead on his brow and upon his lips
He clutched at his steel, a one-handed grip
And prayed to his God that his hold would not slip
As the wailing grew closer, Aodhán crouched low
He came upon a clearing in the wood, and lo –
A maiden stood there, with softly-flowing robes
Every beauty in the world Aodhán suddenly seemed to loathe
For this fair creature, he could never compare
A flower or starry sky – he wouldn’t dare.
He knew at once that he loved
And silently prayed she would be his dove* *wife
He decided to move closer
Surely then he could coax her
She seemed in a trance, and as he approached
He considered if she might be a mirage, or a ghost
A twig cracked beneath his boot, and she turned
And a horrifying wail curdled his blood as he learned.
It was the beast he must fight – this gorgeous creature was tainted
His heart broke at once and he very near fainted.
“Ah, me!” he cried as the wailing took on an angry tone
A menacing sound, no longer a moan.
Aodhán remembered his grip as his decietful love advanced
He gripped the hilt and thrust with all his might, taking his first chance
The Banshee’s wail now morphed into a scream
The hero was no longer questioning if his reality was dream
He turned to see what damage was done
The sword had cut into the creature’s chest and Aodhán knew he had won
He flicked his wrist, turning the hilt
Then pulled the steel out of the creature he’d kilt.* *killed
But life is sometimes ironic and cruel
He was not expecting what came after this duel.
A creature he’d fought and a creature he felled,
But a beautiful maiden dead and staring was what he beheld
The great hero Aodhán was crushed beyond speech
He dropped to his knees, and with one hand he reached
Across her fair frame to touch one of her cheeks.
Her eyes fixed on him and her mouth formed an o
As a final gurgling wail escaped her throat, his blood ran cold
The beast gripped at his arm, ripping his furs with her nails
In a last-ditch effort to prevail
This sudden animation snapped Aodhán into reality
He snatched up his sword and finished the deed.
The Banshee’s head rolled and left a trail of blood
Aodhán took the head as proof of the kill, and dumped the body in the mud.
“Be proud of me, father, for I once again have prevailed
I will soon travel home and we can celebrate with some ale.
But first back to the distinguished Dutchess I must go
To bring her the head of this fallen foe.”
As he finished his letter and sent it off with the bird
He heard a rustling sound in the bushes, a stir
Hand on hilt again, he crept over to the plant
And holding his breath, listening he heard a chant:
“God, please help me! Please please God help me!”
A child was whimpering from the bush beyond the clearing
Aodhán pushed the leaves aside to find the Dutchess’ son
And two other young children the Banshee had yet to dine on
He untied the children and assured them with skill
He regaled them with the news that their captor was killed
They seemed to warm up and he caught them some food
And fed them and let them rest and regroup
Then once they were strong enough the company set out for town
When a child would stumble Aodhán would slow down
Back to the castle in Bucharest Aodhán and the children didst go
They traveled upstream and around a meadow
The Dutchess was waiting, her court in attendance
Fine lords and ladies, stable workers and maids were all present
“My Lady,” Aodhán made a sweeping bow
“I have made good on my promise to take out the beast, and now…”
The hero gestured with a rippling arm,
For the Dutchess to look behind him toward the barn* *stables
Three shadows there moved
Three short shadows there proved
Not only did Aodhán remove the threat of the ghoul
But the hero had brought back her child, too.
Now the salt on her cheeks was for joy and not sorrow
She no longer hated the thought of tomorrow
And Aodhán proudly accepted a reward
His own chateau and personal steward
But that was not all that was given that day
Aodhán also received from the fray
A staff made of silver and gold and diamonds
The Dutchess’ personal steward had mined them.
And the finest blacksmith had woven the metals together
Inserting the gems and making it look clever.
Aodhán was proud to receive such gifts
And promising to come back, revealed he must first make a trip
A journey home he must make, he explained to the Lady
Who put him up for the night and saw him off safely
The next morning at dawn he saddled up his mighty steed
To make the long journey home to Dublin
He rode on for weeks, he pressed the horse hard
And the horse gave it all, every bit of her heart
They reached the sea and Aodhán set sail for his home
With a crew that he paid most handsomely and then some
When he finally reached Dublin
His father had passed away; on life he had closed the door
Aodhán grieved and took time to mourn his loss
But couldn’t remain where his fathers body grew moss
He went back to Romania
He traveled slowly, though he had never been stronger
The Dutchess at once noticed something amiss
And sealed his fate to hers with a kiss.
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