This week on Myths and Legends, it's a story from Irish folklore with an evil queen,

a brave hero, and a very drunk giant. You'll learn a horrifying recipe for pie,

and see how story time might just save your life. Then, on The Creature of the Week,

it's a very nice woman who will very quickly tear you to pieces if you give her any trouble

walking around at night.

This is Myths and Legends, Episode 128. Give them the finger.

This is a podcast where I tell stories from mythology and folklore. Some are incredibly

popular stories you think you know, but with surprising origins. Others are stories that

might be new to you, but are definitely worth listening. Today's story is one that I loved when I

read it because I never knew where it was going. You'll see. Unfortunately, there's no background

for it at all. It's an Irish fairy tale that much we know, but it's not linked to anything

historical like a legend or anything religious like a myth. We'll jump into the place where a lot

of fairy tales begin with the queen died.

It was late and the queen sat huddled in bed. Her body shook,

overcome by another coughing fit, as she pulled her husband closer. The queen knew how precious

time had become, and she asked the king one final request. He nodded to his wife, the love of his

life, who was now dying before her time. Yes, anything. After she was gone, the queen began.

He would get remarried, and the new wife was guaranteed to be horrible, just the worst.

The king sat up and looked at his wife with a furrow brow. This wasn't really the time to

have this conversation, love. What was this about being horrible? The queen labored to speak again.

She insisted that the next woman would be terrible. An early modern Irish king with three sons

losing his wife prematurely, I mean, that was just how it went. With a gentle pat on his wife's

...