The Demi-Gods · Chapter
XXXII explained
In the stillness of night, the narrator speaks with a wise ass who recounts visions of Cyclopes, fairy hosts, centaurs, and wild asses, before returning home out of loyalty to Mary Ni Cahan.
What happens
In the stillness of night, the narrator speaks with a wise ass who recounts visions of Cyclopes, fairy hosts, centaurs, and wild asses, before returning home out of loyalty to Mary Ni Cahan.
Themes in this chapter
Storytelling and Wisdom
The ass shares fantastical tales, blending wisdom with imagination.
Nature and Survival
The ass's loyalty to Mary Ni Cahan over wild companions reflects survival and connection to home.
Characters to notice
- Mary Mac Cann
Remembered by the ass as Mary Ni Cahan, the reason he returned home.
Key passages
“Little ass, how is everything with you?”
The narrator asks the ass how he is doing.
Opening of the dialogue between narrator and ass.
“I saw the Cyclops striding across a hill; there were forty of them, and each man was forty feet high; they had only one eye in their heads and they looked through that; they looked through it the way a fire stares through a hole and they could see well.”
The ass describes seeing forty Cyclopes, each forty feet tall, with a single eye that sees like fire through a hole.
First vision recounted by the ass.
“I saw seven girls in a meadow and they were playing together; when they were tired playing they lay on the grass and they went to sleep; I drew near and stretched beside them on the grass, and I watched them for a long time; but when they awakened they disappeared into the air and were gone like puffs of smoke.”
The ass saw seven girls playing in a meadow, slept beside them, and they vanished upon waking.
Second vision of ephemeral fairy-like beings.
“I saw the fairy host marching through a valley in the hills; wide, silken banners were flying above their heads; some had long swords in their hands and some had musical instruments, and there were others who carried a golden apple in their hands, and others again with silver lilies and cups of heavy silver; they were beautiful and proud and they marched courageously; they marched past me for three gay hours while I stood on the slope of a hill.”
The ass witnessed a fairy procession with banners, swords, instruments, golden apples, and silver items, marching proudly for three hours.
Third vision of a fairy host.
“I saw three centaurs riding out of a wood; they raced round and round me shouting and waving their hands; one of them leaned his elbows on my back, and they talked of a place in the middle of a forest; they pelted me with tufts of grass; then they went by a narrow path into the wood, and they rode away.”
The ass saw three centaurs who circled him, talked, playfully threw grass, and then rode into the woods.
Fourth vision of centaurs.
“I saw a herd of wild asses in a plain; men were creeping around them in the long grass, but the asses ran suddenly, and they killed the men with their hoofs and their teeth; I galloped in the middle of them for half a night, but I remembered Mary Ni Cahan, and when I remembered her I turned from all my companions and I galloped home again.”
The ass joined wild asses in a battle against men, but left them to return home upon remembering Mary Ni Cahan.
Fifth vision and the ass's choice of loyalty.