Sean of the Brushes

The Irish have their own form of logic.  This story is a good example of that.

A long time ago a poor man and his wife lived in Buffickle.  He made his living by making and selling brushes in Cork.

It so happened that the mayor of Cork died.  Three men wanted the job, but when the election came all three had the same number of votes.  The three men went to the magistrate to decide who should become the next mayor, but he shook his head and said he couldn't settle the matter.  He told the three men to go out the next morning to a certain place at the edge of the city and tell their troubles to the first man who came along.  The magistrate declared that whoever the man named would become the mayor.  And so they did.

The first man to come along that morning was Sean of the Brushes, loaded down with a bundle of brushes on his shoulder.  The three men stopped him and told him their story.  Realizing that whichever man he chose to be mayor, the other two would be very put out, Sean told the three men that he couldn't choose any one of them, they were all so good.  He told them he thought it would be better for he himself to be elected mayor than for any of them not to be chosen.  And so, Sean was made the mayor. 

In the meantime, Sean's old wife was at home.  When she heard that her husband was mayor of Cork with a gold chain across his chest and two gray horses drawing him from place to place she set out at once for Cork.

She looked about, and next day she saw Sean being drawn by two gray horses, a Caroline hat on his head and a big gold chain hanging down from his neck.  Happy to find her husband, the woman ran towards Sean, but he exclaimed, "Stay away from me, old woman!"

"Are you my husband, Sean?" she asked in surprise.

"I am," said he, "but keep away from me and don’t pretend to know me. I don’t even know myself!"

(retold from stories provided by Hutman Productions)