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'S iomadh rud a tha ag adhbharachadh buidhre. Many things cause deafness. 'S iomadh rud a tha ag adhbharachadh buidhre. Bha fear uaireigin a’ fuireach ann an Ìle – co-dhiù a rèir beul-aithris – agus bha e bodhar air adhbhar annasach.

'S e 'Iain' a bha air an duine mar ainm. 'S ann à Muile a bha e. Bha eathar aige. Latha a bha seo, bha e ag iasgach. Chunnaic spùinneadairean e. Aig an àm sin, bha spùinneadairean cumanta air taobh an iar na h-Alba.

Ghoid na spùinneadairean a h-uile càil a bha aige. Chuir iad an eathar aige fodha. ‘Tha sinn a’ dol gad mharbhadh,’ thuirt an ceannard. ‘Ach bheir sinn roghainn dhut. Thèid do shàthadh le sgian. No bidh thu air do chur beò ann am baraille a bhios air a dhùnadh. Agus thèid am baraille a thilgeil don fhairge. Dè a b’ fheàrr leat?’

Roghnaich Iain am baraille. Ach dh’iarr e air na spùinneadairean toll beag a dhèanamh ann gus am biodh èadhar aige. Rinn iad sin.

Cha do mhothaich na spùinneadairean gun robh sgian bheag aig Iain. Nuair a bha e air bhog anns a’ bharaille, chùm Iain an toll suas. Agus thòisich e air a mheudachadh. 

Mu dheireadh thall, bha an toll mòr gu leòr airson a ghàirdean a chur troimhe. Thug e sùil troimhe. Chunnaic e cladach creagach. Bha e cinnteach nach e Muile a bha ann.

Bha crodh ag ionaltradh air feamainn. Nam measg bha tarbh. Thàinig an tarbh faisg air a’ bharaille agus ghreimich Iain air earball. Tharraing e tron toll e agus thug e draghadh mòr air.

Ghabh an tarbh eagal. Ruith e air falbh. Bha am baraille a’ bualadh air na creagan agus a’ briseadh ann am pìosan. An ceann greis, bha e na spealgan. 

Bha croitear ag obair faisg air làimh. Chaidh e sìos agus tharraing e Iain gu chasan. Dh’inns e do dh’Iain gun robh e ann an Ìle. Ach cha chuala Iain facal dheth. Dh’fhàg an ùpraid e cho bodhar ri creag. Sheatlaig e ann an Ìle ach cha do thill a chlaisneachd. Bha muinntir an eilein eòlach air mar ‘Iain Bodhar’.

'S iomadh rud a tha ag adhbharachadh buidhre. Many things cause deafness. 'S iomadh rud a tha ag adhbharachadh buidhre. There was a man at one time living on Islay – at least according to oral tradition – and he was deaf for a strange reason.

The man’s name was 'John'. It’s from Mull that he was. He had a boat. One day, he was fishing. Pirates saw him. At that time, pirates were common in the west of Scotland.

The pirates stole everything he had. They sank his boat. ‘We’re going to kill you,’ said their leader. ‘But we’ll give you a choice. You’ll be stabbed with a knife. Or you’ll be put alive in a barrel which will be sealed. And the barrel will be thrown into the seas. What would you prefer?

John chose the barrel. But he asked the pirates to make a small hole in it so that he would get air. They did that.

The pirates did not notice that John had a small knife. When he was afloat in the barrel, John kept the hole upwards. And he started to enlarge it.

Eventually, the hole was big enough to put his arm through it. He looked through it. He saw a rocky shore. He was certain that it wasn’t Mull.

There were cattle grazing on seaweed. Among them was a bull. The bull came close to the barrel and John grabbed its tail. He pulled it through the hole and gave it a big yank.

The bull took fright. It ran away. The barrel was banging on the rocks and breaking into pieces. After a while, it was in fragments. 

There was a crofter working nearby. He went down and pulled John to his feet. He told John that he was on Islay. But John heard not a word of it. The uproar [had] left him as deaf as a post [‘rock’]. He settled on Islay but his hearing did not return. The people of the island knew him as ‘Deaf John’.