Munachar and Manachar
by Joseph Jacobs
Muna's Raspberry Adventure
One day, Muna and Mana picked raspberries. The berries were red and sweet. Muna picked many berries in her basket. Mana picked some, but he was still hungry.
"Yum, berries!" said Mana. He ate all of Muna's berries. Every single one.
Muna felt very sad. Her basket was empty. "That was not kind," she said quietly. "I will get a stick. I will make a gadget for Mana."
Muna went to find a good stick. She found a long, strong one. But the stick spoke! "Get an axe for me," said the stick. "Then you can take me."
Muna needed help. She asked for many things. She asked for a stone and water. She asked for a deer and a dog. She asked for butter, a cat, and milk. She asked farmers and a miller for help.
The miller wanted water in a sieve. "Fill this sieve for me," he said.
Muna tried to fill the sieve. She scooped water from the river. But the water fell out, plop, plop, plop. The sieve had many holes.
A crow flew by. Caw, caw! "Use clay!" said the crow. "Put clay on the sieve."
Muna found some soft, brown clay. She put clay on the sieve. She covered all the holes. Now the sieve was strong. She filled it with water. It held! No more drips.
Now Muna could get all the things. She worked fast. She got the cake for the farmers. She got straw for the cow. She got milk for the cat. She got butter for the dog. She got all the things she needed.
Finally, she got her stick. She made her stick into a special gadget. It was shiny and clever.
Muna went to find Mana. She wanted to show him the gadget. But Mana was not there. Mana had gone away to play somewhere else.
Muna shrugged. The gadget felt heavy in her hand. She learned a simple thing. Sharing berries is much better than making gadgets. It saves a lot of work. Muna smiled and walked home.
Original Story
MUNACHAR AND MANACHAR here once lived a Munachar and a Manachar, a long time ago, and it is a long time since it was, and if they were alive now they would not be alive then. They went out together to pick raspberries, and as many as Munachar used to pick Manachar used to eat. Munachar said he must go look for a rod to make a gad to hang Manachar, who ate his raspberries every one; and he came to the rod. "What news the day?" said the rod. "It is my own news that I'm seeking. Going looking for a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the rod, "until you get an axe to cut me." He came to the axe. "What news to-day?" said the axe. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for an axe, an axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." [93] "You will not get me," said the axe, "until you get a flag to edge me." He came to the flag. "What news to-day?" says the flag. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," says the flag, "till you get water to wet me." He came to the water. "What news to-day?" says the water. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the water, "until you get a deer who will swim me." He came to the deer "What news to-day?" says the deer. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the deer, "until you get a hound who will hunt me." He came to the hound. "What news to-day?" says the hound. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the hound, "until you get a bit of butter to put in my claw." He came to [94] the butter. "What news to-day?" says the butter. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for butter, butter to go in claw of hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the butter, "until you get a cat who shall scrape me." He came to the cat. "What news to-day?" said the cat. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a cat, cat to scrape butter, butter to go in claw of hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get me," said the cat, "until you will get milk which you will give me." He came to the cow. "What news to-day?" said the cow. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a cow, cow to give me milk, milk I will give to the cat, cat to scrape butter, butter to go in claw of hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get any milk from me," said the cow, "until you bring me a whisp of straw from those threshers yonder." He came to the threshers. "What news to-day?" said the threshers. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for a whisp [95] of straw from ye to give to the cow, the cow to give me milk, milk I will give to the cat, cat to scrape butter, butter to go in claw of hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get any whisp of straw from us," said the threshers, "until you bring us the makings of a cake from the miller over yonder." He came to the miller. "What news to-day?" said the miller. "It's my own news I'm seeking. Going looking for the makings of a cake which I will give the threshers, the threshers to give me a whisp of straw, the whisp of straw I will give to the cow, the cow to give me milk, milk I will give to the cat, cat to scrape butter, butter to go in claw of hound, hound to hunt deer, deer to swim water, water to wet flag, flag to edge axe, axe to cut a rod, a rod to make a gad, a gad to hang Manachar, who ate my raspberries every one." "You will not get any makings of a cake from me," said the miller, "till you bring me the full of that sieve of water from the river over there." He took the sieve in his hand and went over to the river, but as often as ever he would stoop and fill it with water, the moment he raised it the water would run out of it again, and sure, if he had been there, from that day till this, he never could have filled it. A crow went flying by him, over his head, "Daub! daub!" said the crow. "My blessings on ye, then," said Munachar, "but it's the good advice you have," [96] and he took the red clay and the daub that was by the brink, and he rubbed it to the bottom of the sieve, until all the holes were filled, and then the sieve held the water, and he brought the water to the miller, and the miller gave him the makings of a cake, and he gave the makings of the cake to the threshers, and the threshers gave him a whisp of straw, and he gave the whisp of straw to the cow, and the cow gave him milk, the milk he gave to the cat, the cat scraped the butter, the butter went into the claw of the hound, the hound hunted the deer, the deer swam the water, the water wet the flag, the flag sharpened the axe, the axe cut the rod, and the rod made a gad, and when he had it ready to hang Manachar he found that Manachar had Burst . [97]
Characters
Munachar ★ protagonist
None explicitly mentioned, likely a common person of the era.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple peasant attire appropriate for raspberry picking.
Determined, persistent, vengeful (initially), resourceful (later).
Manachar ⚔ antagonist
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple peasant attire.
Gluttonous, lazy, passive.
The Rod ○ minor
A piece of wood, suitable for making a gad.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Axe ○ minor
A tool with a blade, capable of cutting wood.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Flag ○ minor
A sharpening stone or flagstone.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Water ○ minor
A body of water, like a river or stream.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Deer ○ minor
A wild deer, capable of swimming.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Hound ○ minor
A hunting dog with a claw.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Butter ○ minor
A soft, yellow dairy product.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Cat ○ minor
A domestic cat, capable of scraping butter.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Cow ○ minor
A dairy cow, capable of giving milk.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Threshers ○ minor
None explicitly mentioned, likely farmers.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely working clothes.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Miller ○ minor
None explicitly mentioned.
Attire: None explicitly mentioned, likely simple working clothes.
Demanding, uncooperative (initially).
The Crow ◆ supporting
A black bird, flying overhead.
Helpful, observant, wise (offering advice).
Locations
Raspberry Patch
A patch of land where raspberries grow.
Mood: Initially peaceful, then frustrating and vengeful.
Munachar and Manachar are picking raspberries, leading to Munachar's quest for revenge.
River Bank with Red Clay
The bank of a river, with red clay and daub nearby.
Mood: Frustrating, then resourceful and triumphant.
Munachar attempts to fill a sieve with water, fails, and then uses the clay to seal it with the help of a crow's advice.
Story DNA
Plot Summary
Munachar is frustrated when Manachar eats all his raspberries, prompting him to seek a rod to make a gad for revenge. This quest initiates a long, cumulative chain of requests, where each item Munachar needs demands another item or service in return. After a seemingly impossible task of filling a sieve with water is solved by a crow's advice, Munachar successfully completes the entire chain in reverse. However, upon returning with the rod, he discovers Manachar has already 'Burst,' rendering his elaborate plan for retribution pointless.
Themes
Emotional Arc
frustration to determined pursuit to anticlimax
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Joseph Jacobs collected and published this tale, likely from an oral tradition, as part of his 'Celtic Fairy Tales' (1892).
Plot Beats (16)
- Munachar and Manachar pick raspberries; Manachar eats all of Munachar's.
- Munachar decides to get a rod to make a gad to hang Manachar.
- The rod demands an axe to cut it.
- The axe demands a flag to edge it.
- The flag demands water to wet it.
- The water demands a deer to swim it.
- The deer demands a hound to hunt it.
- The hound demands butter for its claw.
- The butter demands a cat to scrape it.
- The cat demands milk.
- The cow demands straw from threshers.
- The threshers demand makings of a cake from the miller.
- The miller demands a sieve full of water from the river.
- Munachar struggles to fill the sieve until a crow advises him to daub it with clay.
- Munachar successfully fills the sieve, then completes the entire chain of requests in reverse order.
- Munachar returns with the rod, only to find Manachar has 'Burst'.
