Lang, Andrew

The Lilac Fairy Book

In this lively Irish folk tale, a widow’s son decides he will live by stealing and sets out to learn every trick he can. His uneasy mother tries to steer him toward a better path, but the Shifty Lad is drawn deeper into mischief when he apprentices himself to the Black Gallows Bird. From outwitting shepherds to turning his cunning on his own master, he keeps raising the stakes until his boldness and violence bring trouble he cannot escape. A sharp, fast-moving trickster story with a darker edge.