The Gaelic for a shapeless thing. J.F.Campbell, in Popular Tales of the West Highlands (Vol.II, p.203), tells a Brollachan story which seems to be a variant of 'Maggie Moulach and the Brownie of Fincastle Mill' (see under brownie), which is one form of the 'Nemo' story. In this version, however, the point is missed of the human naming himself 'Me Myself. It is a widespread tale, best known in England as ainsel.

There was once a cripple called Ally Murray who lived in the Mill of the Glens on the charity of the miller and his neighbours, who put a
handful into his bowl for every bag of grain ground there. The lamiter usually slept in the mill, and one cold night when he was lying by the fire a brollachan came in, the child of a fuath, or 'vough', who lived in the millstream. This brollachan had eyes and a mouth, but it could say only two words, 'Mi-phrein' and 'Tu-phrein', that is, 'Myself and 'Thyself. Beyond his eyes and his mouth he had no shape that you could describe.

This brollachan stretched itself in front of the fire, which began to bum low. Murray threw a fresh peat on it, and the hot embers flew about and burnt the brollachan, who yelled and shrieked fearsomely.

The 'vough' rushed in very fierce, crying, 'Och my Brollachan, who then burnt you?' But all it could say was 'Me and thou!' 'Were it any other,' she said, 'wouldn't I be revenged!'

Murray slipped the peck measure over himself, and lay there among the machinery all night, praying with all his might to be saved. And so he was, for the brollachan and the vough left the mill. But the vough grew suspicious, for she chased a poor woman who was out alone that night, who put on a great turn of speed and got safe to her own house, safe except for her heel, and that the vough clawed off". The poor woman walked lame all the rest of her life.

[Type: 1137]