THE ENCHANTED CAVE OF CESH CORRAN – A tale of Finn MacCumhail

ISSN: 2397-9607 Issue 306
In this 306th  issue of the Baba Indaba’s Children's Stories series, Baba Indaba narrates the Irish fairty “THE ENCHANTED CAVE OF CESH CORRAN” – A tale of Finn MacCumhail.

ONCE upon a time, long ago in far away in Ireland, Fionn mac Uail (Finn MacCumhail) was the most prudent chief of an army in the world. He would take any opportunity that presented for an adventure; for he was not only a soldier, he was a poet and also a man of science. He could lead the Fianna out of any hole they got into, but such an inveterate poet was he that all the Fianna together could scarcely retrieve him from the abysses into which he tumbled. 

One day Fionn, with Conarann the Swearer and the dogs Bran and Sceo’lan, was sitting on the hunting-mound atop Cesh Corran watching the beaters of the hunt. Now the king of the Shi’ of Cesh Corran, Conaran, son of Imidel, was also watching the hunt, but Fionn did not see him, and Fionn was not thinking of Faery at that moment. Conaran did not like Fionn, and, seeing that the great champion was alone, save for Conaran and the two hounds Bran and Sceo’lan, he thought the time had come to get Fionn into his power. We do not know what Fionn had done to Conaran, but it must have been bad enough, for the king of the Shi’ of Cesh Coran was filled with joy at the sight of Fionn thus close to him, unprotected and unsuspicious.

Conaran had four daughters. He was fond and proud of them, but if one were to search the Shi’s of Ireland, the equal of these four would not be found for ugliness, bad humour and twisted temperaments. Their hair was black as ink and tough as wire: it stuck up and poked out and hung down about their heads in bushes, spikes and tangles.

Their eyes were bleary and red. Their mouths were black and twisted, and in each of these mouths there was a hedge of curved yellow fangs. They had long scraggy necks that could turn all the way round like the neck of a hen…. you get the picture..
Conaran called these three to him.
“Fionn is alone my treasures,” said he.
“Ah!” said Caevo’g, and her jaw crunched upwards and stuck outwards.
“When the chance comes take it,” Conaran continued, and he smiled a black, beetle-browed, unbenevolent smile.
And that’s when the fun started…….. What was “the Chance” you ask? How do the four sisters and Conaran of the Shi’ fit into this and what did they intend to do to Fionn and the Fianna? To answer this and the myriad of questions you have swirling in your mind, download and read this story to find out how, or indeed IF, Fionn can lead the Fianna out of the trap being set for them by Conaran.

Baba Indaba is a fictitious Zulu storyteller who narrates children's stories from around the world. Baba Indaba translates as "Father of Stories".

Each issue also has a "WHERE IN THE WORLD - LOOK IT UP" section, where young readers are challenged to look up a place on a map somewhere in the world. The place, town or city is relevant to the story. HINT - use Google maps.

33% of the profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities.
INCLUDES LINKS TO DOWNLOAD 8 FREE STORIES