The great MacDonald of Saddell Castle on Kintyre was in need of a new pair of trews. They were fashionable in the day, with the vest and the breeches united in one piece. Finely tailored trews could be ornamented with fringes and made from tartan cloth and were very comfortable indeed.
The MacDonald was a well respected man, held in awe by all. Especially by himself. He once dined at Edinburgh Castle as a guest of the King of Scotland. The king apologized to the MacDonald for placing him far away from the head of the table.
The MacDonald responded: “Where the MacDonald sits IS the head of the table!”
And so of course the tailor arrived posthaste when summoned to Saddell Castle. He carried with him needle and thread, as well a sufficient amount of tartan cloth for the trews. The tailor quoted his standard price for a pair of trews, which the MacDonald accepted as fair.
But the MacDonald added two conditions. The first was that the trews had to be made that very night. And the second was that the trews had to be made in the ruins of the old church. The MacDonald added that if both conditions were met, he would pay the tailor double the standard price.
Everyone knew, or at least believed, that the ruins of the old church were haunted. Fearsome things could be seen there at night. Why the MacDonald added these conditions, one may never know. Perhaps he placed a wager on whether the tailor could complete the task. Or perhaps he wished to see if the tailor could survive such an ordeal. As far as he knew, no one ever survived a night in the church ruins. But whatever the reason, the MacDonald dared the tailor to make the trews that night within the church ruins.
The tailor was well aware of the stories. He too knew that the church ruins were haunted. But he was a sprightly man and would not be daunted. He took the challenge, eager to earn twice his ordinary wage for a single pair of trews.
Night came, and the sprightly tailor left Saddell Castle. He went up the glen about a half a mile till he came to the church. Or at least what was once a church. There were but two walls still standing. The other two walls, as well as the roof and the floor, had long since disappeared.
The old church was nearly surrounded by a graveyard. In fact, there were graves in what used to be the inside. It was indeed difficult to tell which was the outside of the old church and which was the inside.
The tailor set to work on the trews straight away. He chose a nice gravestone for a seat and lit his candles. He put on his thimble and plyed his needle quite nimbly, thinking about the nice wages he would receive from the MacDonald.
For some time, the tailor got on pretty well, stitching together the tartans with neat, close stitches. This was especially important for making a garment for a great man, since close stitching made the trews far stronger and more durable.
Suddenly, though, the tailor felt the ground tremble and quake. Looking about, but keeping his fingers at work, he saw the appearance of a human head rising up through the ground. When the head had risen completely above the surface, there came a great, loud voice.
And the voice said: “Do you see this great head of mine?”
“I see that, but I’ll sew this!” replied the sprightly tailor, as he continued stitching the trews.
The head rose higher up through the ground until the neck appeared. When the neck was completely above the ground, the voice came again and said: “Do you see this great neck of mine?”
“I see that, but I’ll sew this!” said the tailor, stitching away at the trews. But as he did so, the stitching became longer and longer, and further and further apart.
The head and neck rose higher still, until the great shoulders and chest were completely above the ground.
And the mighty voice said: “Do you see this great chest of mine?”
“I see that, but I’ll sew this!” said the tailor again and he continued to stitch, with the stitching, though, becoming still longer and further apart.
The figure kept rising through the ground until it shook a great pair of arms in the air. And it said: “Do you see these great arms of mine?”
“I see that, but I’ll sew this!” answered the tailor, stitching faster still for he knew he had no time to lose.
The stitches were becoming longer and longer as the tailor saw the figure gradually rising through the floor. It lifted out a great leg and stamped it on the ground.
It roared: “Do you see this great leg of mine?”
“I see that, but I’ll sew this!” cried out the tailor as his fingers flew with the needle.
The tailor was coming to the end of the trews when the creature took up its last leg. But before it could pull itself out of the ground, the tailor had finished his task. He blew out the candle, jumped off the gravestone and ran out of the church with the trews tucked under his arm.
The fearsome thing gave a large roar, stamped both feet on the ground, and out of the church he went after the sprightly tailor.
Down the glen they ran, faster than the river flows during a flood. The tailor had a head start and a nimble pair of legs, and he did not wish to lose the reward from the MacDonald. He held the trews close, did not let the darkness slow him down, until he reached Saddell Castle.
He reached the gate, got inside, and shut the gate behind him. The creature was furious and struck the wall above the gate. It left a mark of five great fingers before it returned to the church.
You can see the marks of the five great fingers above the gate at Saddell Castle to this very day.
The sprightly tailor received his bonus. The MacDonald paid the tailor handsomely for completing the trews that night at the ruins of the church.
The MacDonald never did discover that many of the stitches in the trews were somewhat long.
Note: This story is an historic Celtic fairy tale. Illustrations from top to bottom: (1) The Sprightly Tailor illustration by John D. Battan from Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, 1892, (2) Scottish man in trews, German broadside, c. 1631, (3) the ruins of Layde church, County Antrim, Ireland, photograph by Linda McDonnell, and (4) Saddell Castle from Travel Scotland.