horse.’
‘What’s wrong with the horse?’ he said. ‘It’s my horse, it’s my wife’s horse.’
‘Well,’ he says, ‘if I was you, I’d be more careful!’
He said, ‘What do you mean, man?’
He said, ‘Your horse is lame in the front left foot.’
Said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with my horse’s left foot.’
‘There’s something serious wrong with your horse’s foot and it’s going to get worse, and,’ he says, ‘can you excuse me a moment.’ And he walked over and he picked up the horse’sfoot and he looked at it. He says, ‘Where did you get your horse shod last?’
He said, ‘Of course my local blacksmith shoes my horse for me.’
‘Well,’ he says, ‘eh, it wasn’t the local blacksmith that done that.’
‘No, in fact, it wasn’t,’ he said, ‘it was the apprentice – the boy!’
‘Well, I’ll tell you something,’ he said, ‘the apprentice made a big mistake. One of the nails in your horse’s shoe is piercing the quick of your horse’s foot, and I would get it removed immediately if I was you!’
‘What do you know about this?’ said the young laird, ‘What’s your name, old man?’
He said, ‘My name is Johnny McGill.’
‘Oh! This is Johnny McGill. Yah, I’ve heard about you,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard about you from some of my friends. You’re supposed to be a vet.’
‘Well,’ Johnny said, ‘they say that, but if I was you, sir, I would get that shoe removed as soon as possible. One of the nails is piercing the quick of your horse’s hoof, it’s been drawn too close to the hoof by the apprentice, and I would get it removed immediately if I was you.’
And the laird turned round, he said, ‘Could you remove it for me?’
Johnny McGill said, ‘Of course I could remove it for you. But I’ll remove it on one condition, you walk it home!’ And he went into his tool box and he took out a pair of grips, things that he used for the material, and within seconds he removed the horse’s shoe. ‘Now,’ he says, ‘walk it home! And, I think this belongs to you,’ and he handed the laird’s wife’s ring to the laird.
And the laird looked at it, and ‘Where in the world,’ he said, ‘did you get that?’
Johnny says, ‘I got it from my crow, that little fellow there, that little fellow picked it up this morning.’
And the laird said to him, ‘Listen, pay no attention to my wife! My wife was along here this morning. But she’ll be more than delighted to receive her ring back. And I’m more than delighted to know that my horse will be . . .’
‘On one condition,’ says Johnny McGill, ‘that you don’t go on its back for the next three or four days to come, but leave it running around in the field! And don’t shoe it again for another week.’
And the laird turned round, he said, ‘Let me tell you something, youse people; you stay here, as long as you want, and if anybody bothers you again, send them to me!’ And the laird led his horse away. And the next morning the Travellers were gone. They were all gone.
And it was the laird passed by in his old car, and he stopped, and he said, ‘These strange, strange people! You tell them to move and they stay, and you tell them to stay and they’re gone.’
Now these were the stories of Johnny McGill, and of course he was a legend in his own time. But the Travellers were a wee bit eerie of him because of all the stuff he carried, but some of them began to understand; it took them a long, long time to really understand Johnny McGill, and these are the stories my father used to tell us in the tent a long time ago. Many, many wonderful stories, personal experiences from Johnny McGill because he knew him. And then, he was gone! His voice was gone as if he’d never existed, but his stories are still with us today after all those years. And that’s the truth about Johnny McGill, so if ever you tell one of his stories, remember you’re telling a story about something that really took place
‘What’s wrong with the horse?’ he said. ‘It’s my horse, it’s my wife’s horse.’
‘Well,’ he says, ‘if I was you, I’d be more careful!’
He said, ‘What do you mean, man?’
He said, ‘Your horse is lame in the front left foot.’
Said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with my horse’s left foot.’
‘There’s something serious wrong with your horse’s foot and it’s going to get worse, and,’ he says, ‘can you excuse me a moment.’ And he walked over and he picked up the horse’sfoot and he looked at it. He says, ‘Where did you get your horse shod last?’
He said, ‘Of course my local blacksmith shoes my horse for me.’
‘Well,’ he says, ‘eh, it wasn’t the local blacksmith that done that.’
‘No, in fact, it wasn’t,’ he said, ‘it was the apprentice – the boy!’
‘Well, I’ll tell you something,’ he said, ‘the apprentice made a big mistake. One of the nails in your horse’s shoe is piercing the quick of your horse’s foot, and I would get it removed immediately if I was you!’
‘What do you know about this?’ said the young laird, ‘What’s your name, old man?’
He said, ‘My name is Johnny McGill.’
‘Oh! This is Johnny McGill. Yah, I’ve heard about you,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard about you from some of my friends. You’re supposed to be a vet.’
‘Well,’ Johnny said, ‘they say that, but if I was you, sir, I would get that shoe removed as soon as possible. One of the nails is piercing the quick of your horse’s hoof, it’s been drawn too close to the hoof by the apprentice, and I would get it removed immediately if I was you.’
And the laird turned round, he said, ‘Could you remove it for me?’
Johnny McGill said, ‘Of course I could remove it for you. But I’ll remove it on one condition, you walk it home!’ And he went into his tool box and he took out a pair of grips, things that he used for the material, and within seconds he removed the horse’s shoe. ‘Now,’ he says, ‘walk it home! And, I think this belongs to you,’ and he handed the laird’s wife’s ring to the laird.
And the laird looked at it, and ‘Where in the world,’ he said, ‘did you get that?’
Johnny says, ‘I got it from my crow, that little fellow there, that little fellow picked it up this morning.’
And the laird said to him, ‘Listen, pay no attention to my wife! My wife was along here this morning. But she’ll be more than delighted to receive her ring back. And I’m more than delighted to know that my horse will be . . .’
‘On one condition,’ says Johnny McGill, ‘that you don’t go on its back for the next three or four days to come, but leave it running around in the field! And don’t shoe it again for another week.’
And the laird turned round, he said, ‘Let me tell you something, youse people; you stay here, as long as you want, and if anybody bothers you again, send them to me!’ And the laird led his horse away. And the next morning the Travellers were gone. They were all gone.
And it was the laird passed by in his old car, and he stopped, and he said, ‘These strange, strange people! You tell them to move and they stay, and you tell them to stay and they’re gone.’
Now these were the stories of Johnny McGill, and of course he was a legend in his own time. But the Travellers were a wee bit eerie of him because of all the stuff he carried, but some of them began to understand; it took them a long, long time to really understand Johnny McGill, and these are the stories my father used to tell us in the tent a long time ago. Many, many wonderful stories, personal experiences from Johnny McGill because he knew him. And then, he was gone! His voice was gone as if he’d never existed, but his stories are still with us today after all those years. And that’s the truth about Johnny McGill, so if ever you tell one of his stories, remember you’re telling a story about something that really took place
Similar Books
