The following story, now edited for the first time, will interest folklorists as an early Irish setting of two well-known and widely spread motives — the king with horse's ears, and the disclosure of a secret by musical instruments. A similar Irish story containing the same fusion of these two motives was published by Whitley Stokes in the second volume of the Revue Celtique, pp. 197 seq., from the commentary on the Amra Coluimb Chille in the Yellow Book of Lecan. Our version, which I would ascribe to the 10th century, is found in the Stowe manuscript D. 4. 2, fo. 32b1–53b2. It is entitled: Inni diata cuslinn Brighde & Aidhed mic Dhíchóime 'Whence is (St.) Brigit's pipe, and the Death of Dichoim's Son.'
I give here only the first part of this story leaving out the end which tells how St. Brigit took the pipe away from Mac Dichoime for having abducted a maiden in the service of her namesake Sen-Brigit, and how Mac Dichoime, deprived at the same time of his paramour and his beloved pipe, died.
The manuscript is carelessly written and requires numerous corrections.