Tonight we begin the Fenian Cycle, the stories of Fionn mac Cumhaill. Before he was a great leader, he was a boy working for an old poet by the River Boyne. The poet had spent seven years trying to catch one fish.
Myths of Ireland · Part 7 · The Fenian Cycle · A2–B1
The Salmon of Knowledge
Part 7 of Myths of Ireland: how the boy Fionn mac Cumhaill gained all the wisdom of the world by burning his thumb on a magic salmon. Imperatives and instructions (Cook the fish. Don’t eat it!), must / mustn’t / have to, sequence words (first, then, while, as soon as), and kitchen words, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Seven years for one fish? He must be a terrible fisherman.
SOPHIA
It was no ordinary fish, Marcos. It was the Salmon of Knowledge. Whoever ate the first taste of it would know everything in the world. When the poet finally caught it, he gave it to the boy and said: cook it, but don’t eat any of it.
DEMETRIA
Oh no. I can guess what happened.
Before you read
The River Boyne, in the age of the Fianna
Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool in English) is the hero of the Fenian Cycle. He led the Fianna, a band of warrior-hunters who served the high king Cormac mac Airt. His stories were written down from the 12th century onwards and are still told all over Ireland and Scotland.
As a boy, Fionn’s father had been killed, and he grew up in hiding under the name Demne. He went to learn poetry from Finnéces (or Finegas), who lived beside a deep pool on the River Boyne. In the pool lived a salmon that had eaten nine hazelnuts that fell from the trees around a magic well. Hazelnuts were the nuts of wisdom, and whoever ate the first taste of the salmon would receive all the knowledge of the world.
When Finnéces caught it, he told the boy to cook it but not to eat any of it. While it was cooking, a blister rose on the salmon’s skin, and the boy pressed it down with his thumb, burned himself, and put his thumb in his mouth. And so the knowledge went to him. Ever after, when Fionn needed wisdom, he only had to put his thumb in his mouth. The poet, a generous man, gave him the rest of the fish, and called him Fionn, “the fair one”.
Wisdom often comes by accident to those who are ready for it.
The story
Retold for this lesson from “The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn” (Macgnímartha Finn).
Long ago, by a deep, dark pool on the River Boyne, there lived an old poet called Finnéces. Every morning for seven years he sat by the water with his fishing line, because in that pool lived the Salmon of Knowledge. Around the magic well where the river began grew nine hazel trees, and the salmon had eaten nine hazelnuts that fell from them into the water. A prophecy said that whoever ate the first taste of the salmon would know everything there was to know.
One day, a boy came to Finnéces and asked to learn poetry. He said his name was Demne. He was quick and clever, and he worked hard: he carried water, cut wood and kept the fire. The old poet liked him, and the boy stayed.
And then, one bright morning, after seven years of waiting, Finnéces felt a great pull on his line, and he pulled out the Salmon of Knowledge, silver and shining. He laughed with joy. He gave it to the boy. “Make a fire,” he said. “Cook this fish for me, slowly and carefully. But you must not eat any of it, not even a tiny piece. Call me when it is ready.” And he went to rest.
The boy put the salmon on a spit over the fire and turned it slowly. While it was cooking, a big blister rose on its skin. The boy was afraid it would spoil the fish, so he pressed the blister down with his thumb. It burst, and the hot fat burned him. Without thinking, he put his burning thumb in his mouth.
When the poet came back and looked at the boy’s face, he saw that something had changed. “Did you eat any of the salmon?” he asked. “No,” said the boy, “but I burned my thumb on it and put it in my mouth.” The old poet was silent for a long time. Then he said: “The prophecy was not for me. It was for you. Eat the fish. Your name is not Demne: it is Fionn.” And from that day, whenever Fionn needed to know something, he only had to put his thumb in his mouth.
Read: the boy and the salmon
PHILO
Read the story. Why did the poet want the salmon? What did he tell the boy? What happened while the fish was cooking? What can Fionn do now?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
Imperatives and instructions
MARCOS
Cook the fish. Turn it slowly. Don’t eat any of it! Call me when it’s ready.
SOPHIA
The imperative is the verb alone, for orders and instructions. Negative: Don’t + verb. To be polite: Please cook the fish. Could you cook the fish?
Must, mustn’t and have to
DEMETRIA
You must cook it carefully. You mustn’t eat it. The boy had to watch the fire. He didn’t have to catch the fish.
SOPHIA
must / have to = it is necessary; mustn’t = it is not allowed; don’t have to = it isn’t necessary. Past of must: had to.
Sequence words
PHILO
First, the poet caught the fish. Then he gave it to the boy. While it was cooking, a blister rose. As soon as he touched it, he burned his thumb. In the end, Fionn ate the fish.
SOPHIA
first, then, after that, while, as soon as, in the end. Kitchen words: to cook, to turn, to roast, a fire, a spit, a blister, to burn, hot, raw, ready.
Sophia’s comparison: Solomon, and the tree of knowledge
PHILO
When God asked young King Solomon what gift he wanted, he did not ask for gold or long life, but for wisdom, and he became the wisest of kings. And in the garden of Eden there was a tree whose fruit gave the knowledge of good and evil, and it was forbidden to eat it. Forbidden food and knowledge: an old story.
SOPHIA
And we Greeks say that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of wisdom, so that her wisdom would be inside him for ever. Wisdom you can eat! The Irish chose a salmon; Zeus chose a goddess.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb alone / Don’t + verb | imperatives: instructions | Cook the fish. Don’t eat it! |
| must / have to | necessary | You must cook it carefully. |
| mustn’t | not allowed | You mustn’t eat it. |
| had to / didn’t have to | past necessity | He had to watch the fire. |
| first, then, while, as soon as, in the end | sequence words | As soon as he touched it, he burned his thumb. |
Practice
Read the story for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · The story
Read the story and choose the best answer.
1. What did the salmon eat?
2. What would happen to whoever ate the first taste?
3. What did the poet tell the boy?
4. How did Fionn get the knowledge?
5. What does Fionn do when he needs wisdom?
6. What was Fionn’s name as a boy?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. the fish slowly. (imperative: cook)
8. eat any of it! (negative imperative)
9. You eat it. (not allowed)
10. The boy to watch the fire. (past necessity)
11. it was cooking, a blister rose.
12. As as he touched it, he burned his thumb.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “Don’t to eat the fish!”
14. “You mustn’t eat it.”
15. “He musted watch the fire.”
16. “As soon as he touched it, he burned his thumb.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Recipe for wisdom. In pairs, write instructions for cooking the Salmon of Knowledge (or your favourite dish), with imperatives and sequence words.
Discuss. 1. Was it fair that Fionn got the knowledge, not the poet? 2. If you could know everything about one subject, which would you choose? 3. Can wisdom be learned, or does it come by accident?
Write (70–90 words). The poet’s diary. Write the poet’s diary for the day he caught the salmon, using must / had to and sequence words.
Now play the gamebook: an old scholar, a secret scroll, and an apprentice who must not read it.Play the gamebook →