Long ago, a beautiful lady lived in a castle beside a lake near Cong, in Ireland. She had fallen in love with a king’s son, and the two had promised to marry. Their happiness, however, came to a terrible end when the young prince was murdered and his body was thrown into the lake.
The lady was heartbroken. Unable to bear the loss of the man she loved, she gradually lost her reason and wasted away with grief. Eventually, nobody saw her again. The people of the neighbourhood believed that the fairies had taken her away.
For a long time, the story of the missing lady remained in people’s memories. Then something unusual appeared in the nearby stream.
The Appearance of the White Trout
One day, the villagers noticed a strange white trout swimming in the water. They had never seen a fish like it before. Its unusual appearance attracted their attention, and they wondered where it had come from.
The trout remained in the same stretch of water year after year. Even the oldest people in the village could not remember a time when it had not been there.
As the years passed, the villagers began to believe that the fish was no ordinary creature. They thought it might be a fairy, perhaps connected to the beautiful lady who had disappeared after the prince’s death.
Out of respect for this belief, nobody attempted to catch or harm it. The white trout was allowed to swim freely, and the people regarded it as something mysterious and deserving of protection.
This peaceful arrangement continued until a group of soldiers arrived in the neighbourhood.
The Soldier Who Refused to Believe
Unlike the villagers, the soldiers laughed at the idea that the white trout could be a fairy. They mocked the people for treating an ordinary fish as something supernatural.
One soldier was particularly determined to prove them wrong. He declared that he would catch the trout and cook it for his dinner.
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He went to the stream, caught the unusual fish and carried it home. Without considering the villagers’ warnings, he placed a frying pan over the fire and put the trout inside.
As the fish began to heat, it made a terrible cry. The sound resembled the scream of a human being, but the soldier found the situation amusing. He laughed and turned the fish over, expecting it to cook like any other trout.
To his surprise, the fish showed no signs of burning. He turned it again and again, but neither side appeared affected by the heat.
The soldier could not understand what was happening. Rather than becoming frightened, he decided to test the fish further. He took up his knife and fork, intending to cut a piece for himself.
The Lady Emerges from the Trout
The moment the soldier pressed his knife into the fish, a terrible scream filled the room.
The trout leapt out of the frying pan and fell onto the floor. But instead of remaining a fish, it transformed into a beautiful woman.
She wore a white dress, and a golden band rested in her hair. A stream of blood ran down one of her arms.
The soldier stared at her in horror.
The woman held out her injured arm and accused him of cutting her. She explained that he had disturbed her while she was carrying out an important duty in the water.
She had not been an ordinary trout. According to her explanation, she had been waiting in the river for the return of her true love.
The soldier trembled with fear. He begged the lady to forgive him, insisting that he had not known what she was.
The woman told him that she was watching for her beloved, who was expected to come to her by water. If he arrived while she was away and she failed to meet him, she threatened to transform the soldier into a pinkeen, a small creature mentioned in the tale, and pursue him for the rest of his days.
The soldier became even more frightened. He begged for his life and promised to change his behaviour.
The White Trout Returns to the River
The lady ordered the soldier to abandon his wicked ways. She told him to become a good man, attend to his religious duties regularly and return her to the river where he had caught her.
The soldier protested that he could not bear to throw such a beautiful woman back into the water. However, before he could say anything more, the lady suddenly disappeared.
On the floor lay the little white trout once again.
The soldier was left alone with the fish. He placed it carefully on a clean plate and hurried back towards the river. He feared that the lady’s true love might arrive while she remained away from her appointed place.
When he reached the water, he threw the trout back into the stream.
For a brief moment, the water turned as red as blood. The colour gradually disappeared as the current carried it away. Yet the fish retained a small red mark on its side, exactly where the soldier’s knife had cut it.
The villagers’ belief in the mysterious trout was strengthened by this strange occurrence. The fish continued to live in the water, carrying the mark of its injury.
The Soldier Changes His Ways
The encounter transformed the soldier’s life.
From that day onwards, he abandoned his former behaviour and became a more religious and disciplined man. He attended his religious duties regularly and fasted three times a week.
However, the experience had left him with such a strong fear of fish that he refused to eat it, even on fasting days.
As time passed, he eventually left the army and became a hermit. He devoted himself to prayer and, according to the story, continued praying for the soul of the White Trout.
The unusual fish remained in the stream, and its small red mark became a lasting reminder of the soldier’s encounter with the mysterious lady.
Thus, the legend of the White Trout of Cong was remembered as a story of lost love, supernatural mystery and the consequences of disturbing something that others had long regarded with respect.
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Moral Lesson
The story teaches respect for what we do not understand and warns against cruelty driven by arrogance. The soldier mocked the villagers’ beliefs and harmed a creature they considered sacred. His frightening encounter forced him to reconsider his behaviour and change his ways.
Knowledge Check
1. Where did the beautiful lady live?
She lived in a castle beside a lake near Cong, in Ireland.
2. What happened to the lady’s promised husband?
The king’s son was murdered, and his body was thrown into the lake.
3. Why did the villagers believe the white trout was a fairy?
The fish had an unusual appearance and remained in the same stream for many years. They connected it with the missing lady.
4. What happened when the soldier tried to cook the trout?
The fish screamed, but it did not burn, even after he repeatedly turned it in the frying pan.
5. What did the lady ask the soldier to do?
She ordered him to abandon his wicked ways, become a good man, attend to his religious duties and return the trout to the river.
6. What happened to the trout after the soldier returned it?
The water briefly turned red, and the trout retained a small red mark where the soldier had cut it.
Source
Adapted from “The White Trout; A Legend of Cong” by S. Lover (Samuel Lover), included in W. B. Yeats’s Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888), page 35.
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