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An itheadh sibh ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ? Uill, a rèir beul-aithris, dh’ith fear de ghaisgich nan Gàidheal tè.

            Nise, bu chòir dhomh dhèanamh soilleir dè tha mi a’ ciallachadh le ‘³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µâ€™. Tha mi a’ ciallachadh toad. Ann am mòran sgìrean thathar a’ cleachdadh ‘³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µâ€™, no facal coltach, airson frog.

            Chan eil sinn uabhasach dèidheil air uisge-thìrich mar bhiadh, a bheil? An do dh’ith sibh riamh dearc-luachrach, mar eisimpleir? Sin a’ Ghàidhlig air newt – dearc-luachrach.

            ’S dòcha gun do dh’fheuch sibh losgann no frog. Tha na Frangaich measail orra – co-dhiù air na casan aca. Dh’fheuch mi casan losgainn aon turas. Ach bha sin ann an Thailand. Ach – ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ – toad – ’s e sin ceist eile.

            Agus cò e an gaisgeach Gàidhealach a dh’ith ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ? Cò, ach Alasdair mac Colla Chiotaich. B’ esan sàr-shaighdear a bha a-mach cuide ri Montròs ann am meadhan an t-seachdamh linn deug.

            An e ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ no losgann a dh’ith e? Chan eil mi cinnteach. Ach bha daoine a’ creidsinn gun robh clach luachmhor ann an ceann nan ainmhidhean sin. Bha sin eadhon anns an dealbh-chluich ‘As You Like It’ le Uilleam Shakespeare.

Agus sgrìobh an sgoilear Cuimreach, Eideard Lhuyd, mu dheidhinn na cloiche sin. Sgrìobh e gun cuireadh i stad air losgadh taighe, agus cur-fodha bàta. Nam biodh tè aig commandair air blàr-catha, bhiodh buaidh aige air an latha, no bhiodh na daoine gu lèir aige a’ faighinn bàs sa spot.

            Chaidh stòiridh annasach a chlàradh mu mhuile-mhàgag mhòr aig Ach a’ Ghobhail ann am Morbhairne. Dh’fheuch fear ri a glacadh – airson a’ chlach fhaighinn. Bha sin air latha fuar geamhraidh nuair a bha an lòn reòite. Rinn am fear toll san deigh. Leig e le dòbhran, a bha aige mar pheata, a dhol troimhe. Dh’fhan e gus an tigeadh a’ mhuile-mhàgag suas tron toll, agus an dòbhran às a dèidh. Bha bata aige na làimh.

Would you eat a toad? Well, according to oral tradition, one of the heroes of the Gaels ate one.

        Now, I should make clear what I mean by ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ. I mean ‘toad’. In many areas ³¾³Ü¾±±ô±ð-³¾³óವ²¹²µ, or a similar word, is used to mean ‘toad’.

        We’re not very keen on amphibians as food, are we? Have you ever eaten a dearc-luachrach, for example? That’s the Gaelic for newt – dearc-luachrach.

        Perhaps you’ve tried a losgann or frog. The French are keen on them – at least on their legs. I tried frog legs once. But that was in Thailand. But a toad, that’s another question.

        And who is the Gaelic hero that ate a toad? Who, but Alasdair mac Colla. He was a great soldier who was out with Montrose in the middle of the seventeenth century.

        Was it a toad or frog that he ate? I’m not sure. But people believed there was a valuable stone in the heads of those creatures. That was even in the play ‘As You Like It’ by William Shakespeare.

        And the Welsh scholar, Edward Lhuyd, wrote about that stone. He wrote that it would prevent the burning of a house or the sinking of a boat. If a commander in the field had one, he would be victorious on the day, or all his men would lose their lives on the spot.

        A strange story was recorded about a large toad at Achagavel in Morvern. A man tried to catch it – to get the stone. That was on a cold winter’s day when the pool was frozen. The man made a hole in the ice. He let an otter, which he had as a pet, go through it. He remained until the toad would come up through the hole, followed by the otter. He had a stick in his hand.