Lucky Dip Number 31
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Finn McCool
An Irish giant called Finn McCool Was big and strong as could be With a wife as clever as he was huge, A formidable pair you'll agree. The brawniest giant he was by far And none disputed the fact For defeated he had the others with ease And laid them flat on their back. He sorrowed as said of Alexander the Great And yearned for one fight more Then heard of another giant of fame Who dwelt on a farther shore. So keen was he to encounter at once This rumoured Scottish foe He bellowed across the straits between And a gale soon started to blow. So prolonged a challenge he uttered and loud It travelled through valley and glen Till it reached the other giant ere long Quietly ensconced in his den. His mighty kilt he pulled over his thighs For breeches he never would wear And strode over heather and bracken and gorse To darken the coast south of Ayr. Bestriding the Antrim coastline McCool Thought he had nothing to fear For the giant seen from a distance like that Was smaller than if he was near! Six-sided* huge stones on the Antrim coast Are remains of the causeway he'd built To entice the Scottish giant across, But his courage then started to wilt. The nearer Fingal** came to the shore For that was the giant's name The bigger and bigger his stature grew Putting poor Finn to shame. Hastening back to the home he shared With his wife, he was quickly advised When she heard that Fingal was coming soon To comply with the plan she devised. His bathtub she used as a baby's cot Put a frilly cap on his head And when Fingal came to look for Finn She showed him the cot instead. Finn lay quietly sucking his thumb While Fingal was filled with distress; With such a baby, the size of the sire Was something he dared not guess! An urgent appointment he said he had made Before leaving his Scottish home And wrenching the stones from the causeway behind Hastened back the way he had come. Now Ireland's an island that's most beloved By its emigrants, who oft have impressed, But for wit and a kiss of the Blarney Stone Those remaining compete with the best. |
* the most symmetrical stones at the Giant's Causeway are hexagonal
** the giant Benandonner is called Fingal in the Scottish version of the legend |