The Story of the Young Cuckoo (Irish folktale)
"The Story of the Young Cuckoo" is an Irish folktale that explores themes of dependence and the struggle for independence through the lens of a young cuckoo. The narrative centers around a young cuckoo trapped in a hollow tree, struggling to escape due to the small size of the opening. His foster-parents, who had raised him after his birth-mother abandoned her egg, grow weary from their efforts and eventually flee, leaving the cuckoo alone. As he attempts to free himself, a woodpecker offers advice, warning him about drawing attention to his cries, which might attract predators. The tale culminates in a storm that ultimately forces the cuckoo from his confinement, symbolizing liberation but also the tumultuous nature of growth and change.
This folktale is part of Pádraic Colum's larger work, "The King of Ireland's Son," and reflects broader cultural beliefs surrounding cuckoos in Irish mythology, where these birds are seen as symbols of spring, transformation, and supernatural powers. The cuckoo’s behavior as a brood parasite also carries deeper meanings about resourcefulness and the complexities of nature, making this story rich in allegorical significance. Overall, "The Story of the Young Cuckoo" offers listeners a poignant reflection on the journey to self-discovery and the challenges of leaving behind the familiar for the unknown.
The Story of the Young Cuckoo (Irish folktale)
Author: Padriac Colum
Time Period: 999 BCE–1 BCE; 1 CE–500 CE
Country or Culture: Ireland
Genre: Folktale
PLOT SUMMARY
A young cuckoo screams in frustration while he frantically tries to squeeze through the narrow opening of a hollow tree in order to free himself. While other birds whose children have already left the nest live joyful lives, the young cuckoo’s foster-parents have taken care of him for too long and are now old and tired. When they hear his screams of frustration, they are reminded of the sound a hawk. Frightened, they fly away although they express regret for abandoning their foster-child.
The foster-parents built their nest inside a hollow tree that contained a small opening. The young cuckoo grew up there because his birth-mother had laid egg on the ground and carried it up the hollow tree in her beak and placed it in the nest. Although this strange egg pushed out their own young birds, the foster-parents treated the bizarre-looking bird as their own child, but they were tired after collecting food for him.
The cuckoo thrived in the hollow tree, but when it came time for him to leave the nest, he could not fit through the small opening. Before fleeing, the foster-parents had brought him food until he had grown so big there was no longer any room for them inside the hollow. With their home overtaken by the peculiar bird and startled by the scream, the foster-parents vow to never return to the hollow tree.
While the young cuckoo attempts to make his way out, a curious woodpecker stops by and asks how the bird got in there. The cuckoo explains that he had been born there, and then he opened his mouth wide and asks the woodpecker to give him some food. The woodpecker denies the request and explains that he has trouble enough finding food for himself. The young cuckoo continues to struggle at the opening in the tree and lets out another scream. Then the woodpecker advises the cuckoo not to draw too much attention to himself with all of the screaming because other creatures might mistake him for a young hawk and rip him apart.
Desperate to get out of the tree, the cuckoo asks the woodpecker what he is supposed to do. The woodpecker replies that the cuckoo has to do what is in his nature. The cuckoo replies that it is his nature to swing on high branches, spread his wings and soar over the land, and be alone with the sound of his own voice. After this declaration, the cuckoo cries “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!”
The woodpecker leaves the cuckoo with a warning that a storm is approaching. With renewed energy, the cuckoo struggles against the tree’s opening but more forcefully than before. Just then, a bolt of lightning strikes the hollow tree and tears away the opening. The young cuckoo falls from the tree and lands on the wet grass. He walks clumsily among the blue bellflowers and comments on the amount of fire and noise that it took to free him: “What a world!”
SIGNIFICANCE
Padriac Colum’s “The Story of Young Cuckoo” is featured in the children’s novel The King of Ireland’s Son (1916). Colum was a poet, playwright, and novelist who wrote many of his own interpretations of classic Irish legends and folktales. He was a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival, which was a literary movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when interest was renewed in Ireland’s Gaelic heritage. In The King of Ireland’s Son, Colum writes about the eldest of the king’s sons and his endeavors to win the hand of Fedelma, the Enchanter’s Daughter. The book features several Irish folktales, including “The Story of the Young Cuckoo.”
Celtic mythology contains several beliefs concerning cuckoo birds, also known as “gowks.” Cuckoos are common migrating birds around Europe and they typically appear in early April and coincide with the arrival of spring, so their call is often synonymous with violent storms, much like the one that frees the young cuckoo in the folktale. Young boys often imitate the cuckoo’s call (an early April Fools’ Day joke) to trick others into thinking a storm is coming.
The birds are often depicted with supernatural powers. Many believe that their call can summon the souls of the dead and that the birds are able to move between the worlds of the living and the dead. Other legends portray the cuckoo as being able to foretell when a person will marry and how many children he or she will have. It is considered a bad omen if a cuckoo’s call is heard while fasting or hungry, but it is a good sign if the call is heard after a feast.
The cuckoo appears in other tales as a sign of spring, warm weather, and harvest. Swiss legend says that a cuckoo cannot sing until April 3 and never after midsummer. In Great Britain, legends tell of cuckoos transforming into hawks at the end of spring and reverting back to their original form every April. This legend was a likely influence on Colum and can be seen in the young cuckoo’s hawk-like scream in the story.
A real-life attribute of the cuckoo bird that is used in the story is its brood parasitic nature. Brood parasites manipulate members of the same or different species to raise their young, and cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds for that purpose. The cuckoo’s brood parasitic behavior was first observed by Aristotle in the fourth century BCE. He believed that this trait made the cuckoo resourceful by nature. The young cuckoo in Colum’s story, however, needs advice from the woodpecker in order to be truly free.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Glynn. Birds of Ireland: Facts, Folklore & History. Cork: Collins, 2009. Print.
Armstrong, Richard. “Cuckoos and Cuckoldry.” Engines of Our Ingenuity. John Lienhard, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013.
Collins, Richard. “The Cuckoo: Ireland’s Most Scandalous Bird!” RTÉ Radio. RTÉ Commercial Enterprises, n.d. Web 30 May 2013.
Colum, Pádraic. The King of Ireland’s Son. Mineola: Dover, 1997. Print.
Glassie, Henry, ed. Irish Folktales. New York: Pantheon, 1997. Print.