Bones

I recall one year in middle school the class I was in being assigned to find old folklore from an ancestral country and adapt it in our own words. I was quite proud of having a fair amount of Scottish blood- my great grandmother, "mum mum," had a thick accent- I thought it wouldn't be too hard. I always loved Greek mythology best so when it came to Scottish tales, I couldn't find what I was looking for at that time. The story I ended up choosing was already told in someone's own words, passed down generation to generation. I really could have made the whole thing up, probably. What I recall was The Singing Breastbone. I haven't tried to look it up recently, but I think about it every once in awhile. It was something that stuck with me, for one reason or another. I can't even find it on google now, so the mystery continues, I suppose.

The Singing Breastbone

There lived a family with two bonnie daughters on a farm between a village and the rocks. The rocks boosted a cliff with a long dive down to the raging sea. It was rocky and gruesome, so no boats or people ventured down. One day, a noble family came through to visit the village to collect taxes for the land they were inhabiting. They had a son, handsome and strong. He fell in love with the youngest daughter. She shared his affections and soon they were to be wed. The eldest daughter was wrought with jealousy. Wasn't she just as bonnie as her little sister? She became full of rage and vengeance of unrequited love. She concocted a plan to get rid of her sister so she could have the handsome bridegroom all to herself. She lured her sister to the cliff where she pushed her over the edge and into the rocks below. Her body was badly mangled by the rocks, her insides spread over the waves. Red splashed between the green and blue waves, white mist and foam turned pink over the side of the cliff. The next day, the man found a note scorning him of any love and a promise to end her life over the cliffs. The man couldn't believe it to be true. He climbed down and searched the rocks, looking for any signs of his beloved bonnie lass. He found her rib cage, some broken off, with the breastbone intact. He returned to the family with the grueling news of their bonnie daughter's demise. Grief stricken, and a drunk as well, her father turned to whiskey. He sold the eldest daughter to another suitor where she was beaten and treated ill, bearing child after child that was weak and perished young. The man kept the breastbone of his beloved and carved it into an instrument. He whistled into the bone and sang his deep songs, the scorn of his lover, the tragedy of her untimely death, all of his sorrows. He sat on the cliff, singing his songs until one day, the bone sang back. It told the tale of a jealous elder, unloved fully, who chose vanity and fortune over her own love and blood. It was a long, sad tune, and the lover sat in wait until it was finished. He finally understood, the truth of what had happened, and he was going to get his justice. The man heaved himself over the cliff, leaving the bone resting in the grass. It sang no words to any other and so, the sister suffered instead in her marriage.