{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63866/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63866","id":"gutenberg_63866","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63866","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Ireland","Tales -- Ireland"],"text":"HERO-TALES\n                                   OF\n                                 IRELAND\n\n                              COLLECTED BY\n                             JEREMIAH CURTIN\n\n                                 LONDON\n                            MACMILLAN AND CO.\n                                  1894\n\n                            University Press:\n                 JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\nTO THE RIGHT HON. JOHN MORLEY,\n\nSECRETARY OF STATE FOR IRELAND.\n\n\nSIR,\u2014\n\nTo you, a thinker who values every age of human history, and a statesman\nwho takes deep interest in the nation which produced and kept these\ntales, I beg to dedicate this volume.\n\n                                                         JEREMIAH CURTIN.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                      PAGE\n\n    INTRODUCTION                                                        ix\n\n    ELIN GOW, THE SWORDSMITH FROM ERIN, AND THE COW GLAS GAINACH         1\n\n    MOR\u2019S SONS AND THE HERDER FROM UNDER THE SEA                        35\n\n    SAUDAN OG AND THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF SPAIN; YOUNG CONAL\n      AND THE YELLOW KING\u2019S DAUGHTER                                    58\n\n    THE BLACK THIEF AND KING CONAL\u2019S THREE HORSES                       93\n\n    THE KING\u2019S SON FROM ERIN, THE SPRISAWN, AND THE DARK KING          114\n\n    THE AMADAN MOR AND THE GRUAGACH OF THE CASTLE OF GOLD              140\n\n    THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE WHITE-BEARDED SCOLOG                        163\n\n    DYEERMUD ULTA AND THE KING IN SOUTH ERIN                           182\n\n    CUD, CAD, AND MICAD, THREE SONS OF THE KING OF URHU                198\n\n    CAHAL, SON OF KING CONOR, IN ERIN, AND BLOOM OF YOUTH, DAUGHTER\n      OF THE KING OF HATHONY                                           223\n\n    COLDFEET AND THE QUEEN OF LONESOME ISLAND                          242\n\n    LAWN DYARRIG, SON OF THE KING OF ERIN, AND THE KNIGHT OF\n      TERRIBLE VALLEY                                                  262\n\n    BALOR ON TORY ISLAND                                               283\n\n    BALOR OF THE EVIL EYE AND LUI LAVADA, HIS GRANDSON                 296\n\n    ART, THE KING\u2019S SON, AND BALOR BEIMENACH, TWO SONS-IN-LAW OF\n      KING UNDER THE WAVE                                              312\n\n    SHAWN MACBREOGAN AND THE KING OF THE WHITE NATION                  335\n\n    THE COTTER\u2019S SON AND THE HALF SLIM CHAMPION                        356\n\n    BLAIMAN, SON OF APPLE, IN THE KINGDOM OF THE WHITE STRAND          373\n\n    FIN MACCOOL AND THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF THE WHITE NATION       407\n\n    FIN MACCOOL, THE THREE GIANTS, AND THE SMALL MEN                   438\n\n    FIN MACCOOL, CEADACH OG, AND THE FISH-HAG                          463\n\n    FIN MACCOOL, FAOLAN, AND THE MOUNTAIN OF HAPPINESS                 484\n\n    FIN MACCOOL, THE HARD GILLA, AND THE HIGH KING                     514\n\n    THE BATTLE OF VENTRY                                               530\n\n    NOTES                                                              547\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe tales included in this volume, though told in modern speech, relate\nto heroes and adventures of an ancient time, and contain elements\npeculiar to early ages of story-telling. The chief actors in most of\nthem are represented as men; but we may be quite sure that these men are\nsubstitutes for heroes who were not considered human when the stories\nwere told to Keltic audiences originally. To make the position of these\nGaelic tales clear, it is best to explain, first of all, what an ancient\ntale is; and to do this we must turn to uncivilized men who possess such\ntales yet in their primitive integrity.\n\nWe have now in North America a number of groups of tales obtained from\nthe Indians which, when considered together, illustrate and supplement\none another; they constitute, in fact, a whole system. These tales we\nmay describe as forming collectively the Creation myth of the New World.\nSince the primitive tribes of North America have not emerged yet from\nthe Stone Age of development, their tales are complete and in good\npreservation. In some cases simple and transparent, it is not difficult\nto recognize the heroes; they are distinguishable at once either by\ntheir names or their actions or both. In other cases these tales are\nmore involved, and the heroes are not so easily known, because they are\nconcealed by names and epithets. Taken as a whole, however, the Indian\ntales are remarkably clear; and a comparison of them with the Gaelic\nthrows much light on the latter.\n\nWhat is the substance and sense of these Indian tales, of what do they\ntreat? To begin with, they give an account of how the present order\nof things arose in the world, and are taken up with the exploits,\nadventures, and struggles of various elements, animals, birds, reptiles,\ninsects, plants, rocks, and other objects before they became what they\nare. In other words, the Indian tales give an account of what all those\nindividualities accomplished, or suffered, before they fell from their\nformer positions into the state in which they are now. According to the\nearliest tales of North America, this world was occupied, prior to the\nappearance of man, by beings called variously \u201cthe first people,\u201d \u201cthe\noutside people,\u201d or simply \u201cpeople,\u201d\u2014the same term in all cases being\nused for people that is applied to Indians at present.\n\nThese people, who were very numerous, lived together for ages in harmony.\nThere were no collisions among them, no disputes during that period;\nall were in perfect accord. In some mysterious fashion, however, each\nindividual was changing imperceptibly; an internal movement was going\non. At last, a time came when the differences were sufficient to cause\nconflict, except in the case of a group to be mentioned hereafter, and\nstruggles began. These struggles were gigantic, for the \u201cfirst people\u201d\nhad mighty power; they had also wonderful perception and knowledge. They\nfelt the approach of friends or enemies even at a distance; they knew\nthe thought in another\u2019s heart. If one of them expressed a wish, it was\naccomplished immediately; nay, if he even thought of a thing, it was\nthere before him. Endowed with such powers and qualities, it would seem\nthat their struggles would be endless and indecisive; but such was not\nthe case. Though opponents might be equally dexterous, and have the power\nof the wish or the word in a similar degree, one of them would conquer in\nthe end through wishing for more effective and better things, and thus\nbecome the hero of a higher cause; that is, a cause from which benefit\nwould accrue to mankind, the coming race.\n\nThe accounts of these struggles and conflicts form the substance of\nthe first cycle of American tales, which contain the adventures of the\nvarious living creatures, plants, elements, objects, and phenomena in\nthis world before they became what they are as we see them. Among living\ncreatures, we are not to reckon man, for man does not appear in any of\nthose myth tales; they relate solely to extra-human existences, and\ndescribe the battle and agony of creation, not the adventures of anything\nin the world since it received its present form and office. According to\npopular modes of thought and speech, all this would be termed the fall\nof the gods; for the \u201cfirst people\u201d of the Indian tales correspond to\nthe earliest gods of other races, including those of the Kelts. We have\nthus, in America, a remarkable projection of thought, something quite as\nfar-reaching for the world of mind as is the nebular hypothesis for the\nworld of matter. According to the nebular hypothesis, the whole physical\nuniverse is evolved by the rotary motion of a primeval, misty substance\nwhich fills all space, and which seems homogeneous. From a uniform motion\nof this attenuated matter, continued through eons of ages, is produced\nthat infinite variety in the material universe which we observe and\ndiscover, day by day; from it we have the countless host of suns and\nplanets whose positions in space correspond to their sizes and densities,\nthat endless choral dance of heavenly bodies with its marvellous figures\nand complications, that ceaseless movement of each body in its own\nproper path, and that movement of each group or system with reference\nto others. From this motion, come climates, succession of seasons, with\nall the variety in this world of sense which we inhabit. In the theory\nof spiritual evolution, worked out by the aboriginal mind of America,\nall kinds of moral quality and character are represented as coming from\nan internal movement through which the latent, unevolved personality\nof each individual of these \u201cfirst people,\u201d or gods, is produced. Once\nthat personality is produced, every species of dramatic situation and\ntragic catastrophe follows as an inevitable sequence. There is no more\npeace after that; there are only collisions followed by combats which are\ncontinued by the gods till they are turned into all the things,\u2014animal,\nvegetable, and mineral,\u2014which are either useful or harmful to man, and\nthus creation is accomplished. During the period of struggles, the gods\norganize institutions, social and religious, according to which they\nlive. These are bequeathed to man; and nothing that an Indian has is of\nhuman invention, all is divine. An avowed innovation, anything that we\ncall reform, anything invented by man, would be looked on as sacrilege,\na terrible, an inexpiable crime. The Indian lives in a world prepared\nby the gods, and follows in their footsteps,\u2014that is the only morality,\nthe one pure and holy religion. The struggles in which creation began,\nand the continuance of which was creation itself, were bequeathed to\naboriginal man; and the play of passions which caused the downfall of\nthe gods has raged ever since, throughout every corner of savage life in\nAmerica.\n\nThis Creation myth of the New World is a work of great value, for by aid\nof it we can bring order into mythology, and reconstruct, at least in\noutline, and provisionally, that early system of belief which was common\nto all races: a system which, though expressed in many languages, and\nin endlessly varying details, has one meaning, and was, in the fullest\nsense of the word, one,\u2014a religion truly Catholic and \u0152cumenical, for it\nwas believed in by all people, wherever resident, and believed in with\na vividness of faith, and a sincerity of attachment, which no civilized\nman can even imagine, unless he has had long experience of primitive\nraces. In the struggle between these \u201cfirst people,\u201d or gods, there were\nnever drawn battles: one side was always victorious, the other always\nvanquished; but each could give one command, one fateful utterance,\nwhich no power could resist or gainsay. The victor always said to the\nvanquished: \u201cHenceforth, you\u2019ll be nothing but a \u2014\u2014,\u201d and here he named\nthe beast, bird, insect, reptile, fish, or plant, which his opponent was\nto be. That moment the vanquished retorted, and said: \u201cYou\u2019ll be nothing\nbut a \u2014\u2014,\u201d mentioning what he was to be. Thereupon each became what his\nopponent had made him, and went away over the earth. As a rule, there is\ngiven with the sentence a characteristic description; for example: \u201cThe\npeople to come hereafter will hunt you, and kill you to eat you;\u201d or,\n\u201cwill kill you for your skin;\u201d or, \u201cwill kill you because they hate you.\u201d\n\nOne opponent might be turned into a wolf, the other into a squirrel;\nor one into a bear, the other into a fox: there is always a strict\ncorrespondence, however, between the former nature of each combatant and\nthe present character of the creature into which he has been transformed,\nlooked at, of course, from the point of view of the original myth-maker.\n\nThe war between the gods continued till it produced on land, in the\nwater, and the air, all creatures that move, and all plants that grow.\nThere is not a beast, bird, fish, reptile, insect, or plant which is\nnot a fallen divinity; and for every one noted there is a story of its\nprevious existence.\n\nThis transformation of the former people, or divinities, of America\nwas finished just before the present race of men\u2014that is, the\nIndians\u2014appeared. This transformation does not take place in every\nAmerican mythology as a result of single combat. Sometimes a great hero\ngoes about ridding the world of terrible oppressors and monsters: he\nbeats them, turns them into something insignificant; after defeat they\nhave no power over him. We may see in the woods some weak worm or insect\nwhich, in the first age, was an awful power, but a bad one. Stories\nof this kind present some of the finest adventures, and most striking\nsituations, as well as qualities of character in the hero that invite\nadmiration.\n\nIn some mythologies a few personages who are left unchanged at the eve of\nman\u2019s coming, transform themselves voluntarily. The details of the change\nvary from tribe to tribe; but in all it takes place in some described\nway, and forms part of the general change, or metamorphosis, which is\nthe vital element in the American system. In many, perhaps in all, the\nmythologies, there is an account of how some of the former people, or\ngods, instead of fighting and taking part in the struggle of creation,\nand being transformed, retained their original character, and either went\nabove the sky, or sailed away westward to where the sky comes down, and\npassed out under it, and beyond, to a pleasant region where they live in\ndelight. This is that contingent to which I have referred, that part of\n\u201cthe first people\u201d in which no passion was developed; they remained in\nprimitive simplicity, undifferentiated, and are happy at present. They\ncorrespond to those gods of classic antiquity who enjoyed themselves\napart, and took no interest whatever in the sufferings or the joys of\nmankind.\n\nIt is evident, at once, that to the aborigines of America the field for\nbeautiful stories was very extensive.\n\nEverything in nature had a tale of its own, if some one would but tell\nit; and during the epoch of constructive power in the race,\u2014the epoch\nwhen languages were built up, and great stories made,\u2014few things of\nimportance to people of that time were left unconsidered; hence, there\nwas among the Indians of America a volume of tales as immense, one might\nsay, as an ocean river. This statement I make in view of materials which\nI have gathered myself, and which are still unpublished,\u2014materials which,\nthough voluminous, are comparatively meagre, merely a hint of what in\nsome tribes was lost, and of what in others is still uncollected. What\nis true of the Indians with reference to the volume of their stories, is\ntrue of all races.\n\nFrom what is known of the mind of antiquity, and from what data we have\ntouching savage life in the present, we may affirm as a theory that\nprimitive beliefs, in all places, are of the same system essentially as\nthe American. In that system, every individual existence beyond man is\na divinity, but a divinity under sentence,\u2014a divinity weighed down by\nfate; a divinity with a history behind it, a history which is tragedy or\ncomedy as the case may be. These histories extend along the whole line of\nexperience, and include every combination conceivable to primitive man.\n\nOf the pre-Christian beliefs of the Kelts, not much is known yet in\ndetail and with certainty. What we may say at present is this, that\nthey form a very interesting variant of that aforementioned \u0152cumenical\nreligion held in early ages by all men. The peculiarities and value of\nthe variant will be shown when the tales, beliefs, and literary monuments\nof the race are brought fully into evidence.\n\nNow that some statement has been made touching Indian tales and their\ncontents, we may give, for purposes of comparison, two or three of them,\neither in part or condensed. These examples may serve to show what Gaelic\ntales were before they were modified in structure, and before human\nsubstitutes were put in place of the primitive heroes.\n\nIt should be stated here that these accounts of a former people, and the\nlife of the world before this, as given in the tales, were delivered in\none place and another by some of these \u201cformer people\u201d who were the last\nto be transformed, and who found means to give needful instruction to\nmen. On the Klamath River, in Northwestern California, there is a sacred\ntree, a former divinity, which has been a great source of revelation. On\na branch of the Upper Columbia is a rock which has told whole histories\nof a world before this.\n\nAmong the Iroquois, I found a story in possession of a doctor,\u2014that is, a\nmagician, or sorcerer,\u2014who, so far as I could learn, was the only man who\nknew it, though others knew of it. This story is in substance as follows:\n\nOnce there was an orphan boy who had no friends; a poor, childless\nwidow took the little fellow, and reared him. When the boy had grown up\nsomewhat, he was very fond of bows and arrows, became a wonderful shot.\nAs is usual with orphans, he was wiser than others, and was able to hunt\nwhen much smaller than his comrades.\n\nHe began to kill birds for his foster-mother; gradually he went farther\nfrom home, and found more game. The widow had plenty in her house now,\nand something to give her friends. The boy and the woman lived on in this\nfashion a whole year. He was good, thoughtful, serious, a wise boy, and\nbrought game every day. The widow was happy with her foster-son.\n\nAt last he came late one evening, later than ever before, and hadn\u2019t half\nso much game.\n\n\u201cWhy so late, my son; and why have you so little game?\u201d asked the widow.\n\n\u201cOh, my mother, game is getting scarce around here; I had to go far to\nfind any, and then it was too late to kill more.\u201d\n\nThe next day he was late again, a little later than the day before, and\nhad no more game; he gave the same excuse. This conduct continued a week;\nthe woman grew suspicious, and sent out a boy to follow her foster-son,\nand see what he was doing.\n\nNow what had happened to the boy? He had gone far into the forest on the\nday when he was belated, farther than ever before. In a thick and dense\nplace he found a round, grassy opening; in the middle of this space was\na large rock, shaped like a millstone, and lying on one side, the upper\npart was flat and level. He placed his birds on the rock, sprang up, and\nsat on it to rest; the time was just after midday. While he was sitting\nthere, he heard a voice in the stone, which asked: \u201cDo you want me to\ntell a story?\u201d He was astonished, said nothing. Again the voice spoke,\nand he answered: \u201cYes, tell me a story.\u201d\n\nThe voice began, and told him a wonderful story, such as he had never\nheard before. He was delighted; never had he known such pleasure. About\nthe middle of the afternoon, the story was finished; and the voice said:\n\u201cNow, you must give me your birds for the story; leave them where you put\nthem.\u201d He went away toward home, shot what birds he could find, but did\nnot kill many.\n\nHe came the next day, with birds, and heard a second story; and so it\nwent on till the eighth day, when the boy sent by the foster-mother\nfollowed secretly. That boy heard the story too, discovered himself,\nand promised not to tell. Two days later the widow sent a second boy to\nwatch those two, and three days after that a third one. The boys were\ntrue to the orphan, however, and would not tell; the magic of the stories\novercame them.\n\nAt last the woman went to the chief with her trouble; he sent a man to\nwatch the boys. This man joined the boys, and would not tell. The chief\nthen sent his most trusty friend, whom nothing could turn aside from his\nerrand. He came on the boys and the man, while they were listening to a\nstory, and threatened them, was very angry. The voice stopped then, and\nsaid: \u201cI will tell no more to-day; but, you boys and you men, listen to\nme, take a message to the chief and the people,\u2014tell them to come here\nto-morrow, to come all of them, for I have a great word to say to every\nperson.\u201d\n\nThe boys and men went home, and delivered the message. On the following\nday, the whole people went out in a body. They cleared away the thick\ngrass in the open space; and all sat down around the stone, from which\nthe voice came as follows:\u2014\n\n\u201cNow, you chief and you people, there was a world before this, and a\npeople different from the people in the world now,\u2014another kind of\npeople. I am going to tell you of that people. I will tell you all about\nthem,\u2014what they did; how they fixed this world; and what they became\nthemselves. You will come here every day till I have told all the stories\nof the former people; and each time you will bring a little present of\nwhat you have at home.\u201d\n\nThe stone began, told a story that day, told more the next day. The\npeople came day after day, week after week, till the stone told all it\nknew. Then it said: \u201cYou have heard all the stories of the former world;\nyou will keep them, preserve them as long as you live. In after times\nsome man will remember nearly all of these stories; another will remember\na good many; a third, not so many; a fourth man, a few; a fifth, one\nstory; a sixth, parts of some stories, but not all of any story. No man\nwill remember every story; only the whole people can remember all. When\none man goes to another who knows stories, and he tells them, the first\nman will give him some present,\u2014tobacco, a bit of venison, a bird, or\nwhatever he has. He will do as you have done to me. I have finished.\u201d\n\nVery interesting and important are these statements touching the origin\nof stories; they indicate in the Indian system revelation as often as it\nis needed. In Ireland, the origin of every Fenian tale is explained in a\nway somewhat similar. All the accounts of Fin Mac Cool and his men were\ngiven to Saint Patrick by Ossian, after his return from Tir nan Og, the\nLand of the Young, where he had lived three hundred years. These Fenian\ntales were written down at that time, it is stated; but Saint Patrick\ngave an order soon after to destroy two-thirds of the number, for they\nwere so entertaining, he said, that the people of Erin would do nothing\nbut listen to them.\n\nIn every case the Fenian tales of Ireland, like the tales of America,\nare made up of the adventures of heroes who are not human. Some writers\nassert that there have never been such persons on earth as Fin Mac Cool\nand his men; others consider them real characters in Irish history. In\neither case, the substantial character of the tales is not changed. If\nFin and his men are historical personages, deeds of myth-heroes, ancient\ngods of Gaelic mythology, have been attributed to them, or they have been\nsubstituted for heroes who were in the tales previously. If Fin and his\nmen are not historical, they are either the original non-human heroes,\nor a later company of similar character substituted in the tales for the\noriginal heroes, or for some successors of those heroes; at this date it\nwould be difficult to decide how often such substitutions may have been\nmade.\n\nThe following tale of Pitis and Klakherrit, though condensed, is\ncomplete; it is given here not because it is the best for illustration,\nbut because it is accessible. The tale is dramatic; the characters\nare well known; it is ancient, and may be used to show how easily the\ncharacter of stories may be modified without changing their structure,\nsimply by changing the heroes. This tale of Pitis and Klakherrit is not\nmore than third rate, if compared with other Indian tales, perhaps not so\nhigh in rank as that, still, it is a good story.\n\nAt a place called Memtachnokolton lived the Pitis people; they were\nnumerous, all children of one father. They lived as they liked for a\nlong time, till one of them who had gone hunting did not return in the\nevening. Next day two of his brothers went to look for him, and found his\nheadless body four or five miles away, at the side of a deer-trail. They\ncarried the body home, and buried it.\n\nOn the following day, another went to hunt, and spent the night out in\nlike manner. Next day his headless body was found, brought home, and\nburied. Each day a Pitis went to hunt till the last one was killed; and\nthe way they died was this:\u2014\n\nNot very far south of the deer-trail were the Klak people, at\nKlakkewilton. They lived together in one great house, and were all blind\nexcept one Klakherrit, who was young and strong, bad, a great liar, and\nvery fond of gambling. This Klakherrit hated the Pitis people, and wanted\nto kill them all; he used to go out and watch for them. When a Pitis went\nhunting, and was following the deer, Klakherrit sat down at the trail,\nsome distance ahead; and, as the Pitis came up, he would groan, and call\nout, \u201cOh, I have a big splinter in my foot; I cannot take it out alone,\nhelp me!\u201d\n\nThe Pitis pitied him always, and said: \u201cI will pull it out for you;\u201d then\nhe sat down, took the foot in his hand, looked at it, and pulled at the\nsplinter.\n\n\u201cOh, you cannot pull it out with your fingers; you must take it between\nyour teeth.\u201d The Pitis took the end of the splinter between his teeth,\nand began to pull; that moment Klakherrit cut his head off, and carried\nit to Klakkewilton, leaving the body by the roadside.\n\nWhen Klakherrit killed the last Pitis, he took his skin, put it on and\nbecame just like Pitis. He went then to Memtachnokolton, and said to the\nPitis women and children, \u201cI killed a deer to-day; but Klakherrit ran off\nwith it, so I come home with nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have enough to eat; never mind,\u201d said the women, who thought he was\ntheir man.\n\nAbout dark that evening, Klakherrit, the counterfeit Pitis, killed all\nthe women and children except one little child, a boy, who escaped by\nsome wonderful fortune, and hid under the weeds. Klakherrit burned the\nvillage then, and went home, thinking: \u201cI have killed every Pitis.\u201d\n\nNext morning little Pitis came out of his hiding-place, and wandered\naround the burnt village, crying. Soon an old woman, Tsosokpokaila, heard\nthe child, found him, took him home, called him grandson, and reared him;\nshe gave him seeds to eat which she took from her own people,\u2014a great\nmany of them lived in her village. She was a small person, but active.\n\nIn a few days, little Pitis began to talk; and soon he was able to run\naround, and play with bows and arrows. The old woman said to him then:\n\u201cMy grandson, you must never go to the south nor to the east. Go always\nto the north or west, and don\u2019t go far; you needn\u2019t think to meet any of\nyour people, they are dead, every one of them.\u201d\n\nAll this time Klakherrit went out every morning, and listened long and\ncarefully; hearing no sound of a Pitis, he went in one day, and said to\nhis blind relatives: \u201cI hear nothing, I see nothing of the Pitis people;\nthey are all dead.\u201d\n\nThere was one old man in the house, an uncle of Klakherrit, and he\nanswered: \u201cMy nephew, I can\u2019t see anything; but some day you may see a\nPitis. I don\u2019t think all the Pitis people are dead yet; I think some are\nliving in this world somewhere.\u201d\n\nKlakherrit said nothing, but went out every morning as before; at last he\nsaw far away in the west a little smoke rising, a slender streak of it.\n\u201cSome people are living off there,\u201d thought he; \u201cwho can they be, I must\nknow.\u201d He hurried to the house for his choicest clothes, and weapons, and\nmade ready. He took his best bow, and a large quiver of black fox-skin,\nthis he filled with arrows; then he put beads of waterbone on his neck,\nand a girdle of shining shells around his waist. When dressed to his\nwish, he started, and went straight toward the fire. As he came near\nit, he walked slowly, to see who was there; for a time he saw no one,\nbut he heard pounding at the other side of a big pine-tree. He went\naround slowly to the other side, and saw a man pounding something. He\nwould pound a while, and then pick up nuts, crack the shells with his\nteeth, and eat the kernels. This person was Kaisusherrit; and he was so\nbusy that he did not see Klakherrit, who stood looking on a good while.\n\u201cHallo, my friend!\u201d said Klakherrit, at last, \u201cwhy are you alone; does no\none else live around here?\u201d\n\nKaisusherrit said nothing; he went on pounding pine cones, getting nuts\nout of them, didn\u2019t look at the stranger. Around his neck he had a net\nbag filled with pine nuts. After a while he stopped pounding, cracked\nsome nuts, put the kernels in his mouth, and then pounded pine cones\nagain.\n\n\u201cMy friend, you are alone in this place. I came here by myself; there\nare only two of us. I saw your smoke this morning; and I said, before I\nstarted, \u2018I will go and see a good man to-day.\u2019 I thought that you were\nhere, and I found you.\u201d\n\nKaisusherrit said nothing, but pounded away.\n\n\u201cMy friend, why not talk to me; why not say something? Let us gamble:\nthere is plenty of shade under the trees here; we might as well play.\u201d\n\nKaisusherrit was silent, didn\u2019t take his eyes off the pine cones.\n\n\u201cWhy not talk to me, my friend? If you don\u2019t talk to me, who will; there\nare only two of us in this place. I came to see you this morning, to have\na talk with you. I thought you would tell me what is going on around\nhere where you live; and I would tell you what I know. Stop eating;\nlet\u2019s gamble, and have a good talk.\u201d\n\nKlakherrit talked, and teased, and begged, all the forenoon. He didn\u2019t\nsit down once; he was on his feet all the time. At last, a little after\nnoon, Kaisusherrit looked up, and said: \u201cWhy do you make all this fuss?\nThat is not the way for one grown person to talk to another. You act like\nsome little boy, teasing, and talking, and hanging around. Why don\u2019t you\nsit down quietly, and tell me who you are, what you know, and where you\nlive? Then I can tell you what I like, and talk to you.\u201d\n\nKlakherrit sat down, and told who he was. Then he began again: \u201cWell, my\nfriend, let us play; the shade is good here under the trees.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you want to play?\u201d asked Kaisusherrit; \u201cdo you see anything here\nthat you like? I have nothing to bet against your things.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you have,\u201d said Klakherrit,\u2014\u201cyou have your pounding stone, your net\nfull of nuts, your pine cones.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Kaisusherrit; \u201cI will bet my things against yours;\u201d\nand he placed them in one pile. Klakherrit took off his weapons and\nornaments, and tied them up with Kaisusherrit\u2019s things in one bundle, so\nthat the winner might have them all ready to carry away. Kaisusherrit\nbrought sticks to play with, and grass to use with the sticks. He sat\ndown then with his back to the tree, and motioned to the other to sit\ndown in front. The bundle was near the tree, and each had a pile of grass\nbehind him.\n\n\u201cLet us go away from this tree to the shade out there; I don\u2019t like to be\nnear a tree,\u201d said Klakherrit.\n\n\u201cOh, I can\u2019t go there; I must have my back against a tree when I\nplay,\u201d said Kaisusherrit. \u201cOh, come, I like that place; let us go out\nthere.\u201d \u201cNo, my back aches unless I lean against a tree; I must stay\nhere.\u201d \u201cNever mind this time; come on, I want to play out there,\u201d urged\nKlakherrit. \u201cI won\u2019t go,\u201d said Kaisusherrit; \u201cI must play here.\u201d\n\nThey talked and disputed about the place till the middle of the\nafternoon: but Kaisusherrit wouldn\u2019t stir; and Klakherrit, who was dying\nto play, agreed at last to let Kaisusherrit put his back to the tree, and\nto sit opposite himself. They began, and were playing about two hours,\nwhen Klakherrit was getting the advantage; he was winning. Both were\nplaying their best now, and watching each other. Kaisusherrit said then\nin his mind, \u201cYou, Klakherrit\u2019s grass, be all gone, be grass no more,\nbe dust.\u201d The grass in Klakherrit\u2019s hand turned to dust. He reached\nbehind to get more grass, but found none; then he looked to see where it\nwas. That moment Kaisusherrit snatched the bundle, and ran up the tree.\nKlakherrit sprang to his feet, looked through the branches; and there he\nsaw Kaisusherrit with the bundle on his back.\n\n\u201cOh, my friend,\u201d cried he, \u201cwhat is the matter; what are you doing?\u201d\nKaisusherrit said nothing, sat on a limb, and looked at the stranger.\n\u201cOh, my friend, why go up in the tree? Come, let us finish the game;\nmaybe you\u2019ll win all my things. Come down.\u201d\n\nKlakherrit talked and talked. Kaisusherrit began to come down slowly,\nstopping every little while; he reached the lower limbs. Klakherrit\nthought he was coming surely; all at once he turned, and hurried up\nagain, went to the very top, and sat there. Klakherrit walked around\nthe tree, persuading and begging. Kaisusherrit slipped down a second\ntime, was near the ground, seemed to be getting off the tree; Klakherrit\nwas glad. Kaisusherrit didn\u2019t get off, though; he went up to the next\nlimb, smiled, and looked at Klakherrit, who was getting terribly angry.\nKaisusherrit went higher. Klakherrit could hold in no longer; he was\nraging. He ran, picked up sharp rocks, and hurled them at Kaisusherrit.\nThe first one hit the limb on which he was sitting, and cut it right\noff; but he was very quick and sprang on to another. Klakherrit hurled\nstone after stone at the tree, with such force and venom that a limb\nfell whenever a stone struck it. At dusk there wasn\u2019t a limb left on the\ntree; but Kaisusherrit was there yet. He was very quick and resolute, and\ndodged every stone. Klakherrit drew breath a moment, and began again to\nhurl stones at Kaisusherrit; wherever one struck the tree, it took the\nbark off. At dark the tree was all naked and battered, not a branch nor\na bit of bark left. Kaisusherrit was on it yet; but Klakherrit couldn\u2019t\nsee him. Klakherrit had to go home; when he went into the house, he said,\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ve met a man to-day who is lucky; he won all my things in play.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said Klakherrit\u2019s father, who was very old, \u201cyou have been\ntelling us that you are a great player; but I thought all the time that\nyou would meet a person some day who would beat you. You have travelled\nmuch to find such a one; you have found him.\u201d\n\nNext morning Klakherrit went out, and saw a smoke in the west. \u201cThat\nis my friend,\u201d said he; \u201cI must see him.\u201d He took his best dress and\nweapons, and soon reached the fire. \u201cHallo, my friend,\u201d said Klakherrit,\n\u201cI\u2019ve come to play with you to-day.\u201d \u201cVery well,\u201d answered Kaisusherrit,\nwho was wearing Klakherrit\u2019s clothes that he had carried up the tree.\n\u201cBut, my friend, you won\u2019t do as you did yesterday?\u201d \u201cOh, no; I\u2019ll\nplay nicely to-day, I\u2019ll play to please you.\u201d They tied the stakes in\none bundle, brought sticks and grass. Kaisusherrit put his back to a\ntree much larger than the first one. Klakherrit wished to play in the\nopen; Kaisusherrit wouldn\u2019t go there. They disputed and quarrelled till\nKlakherrit had to yield; but he made up his mind not to let Kaisusherrit\ngo up the tree this time.\n\nThey played as before till the middle of the afternoon, when Klakherrit\nwas winning. Kaisusherrit turned the grass into dust, and was up the\ntree before Klakherrit could stop him. The deeds of the day before\nwere repeated with greater force. Kaisusherrit was more cynical in his\nconduct. Klakherrit was more enraged; he cut all the limbs, and stripped\nall the bark from this tree with stone-throwing. At dark he had to go\nhome, leaving Kaisusherrit unhurt.\n\nOn the third morning, Klakherrit was watching for smoke; he wanted to\nwin back what he had lost in the west. Soon he saw a herd of deer pass,\nfollowed by a Pitis.\n\nIt was the end of summer; little Pitis had grown very fast, was a young\nman now. While Klakherrit was gambling, Pitis told his grandmother that\nhe wanted to hunt. \u201cOh, my grandson,\u201d said she, \u201cyou must never go\nhunting; all your people were killed while out hunting. I don\u2019t want you\nto hunt; I don\u2019t want you to be killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to be killed, my grandmother; but I don\u2019t like to stay\naround the house here all the time. I want to find food and bring it\nhome; I want, besides, to see where my people were killed. I want to see\nthe place where they died; I want to look at the person who killed them.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy grandson, I don\u2019t like to hear you talk in that way; I don\u2019t want you\nto go far from this house. There is a very bad person south of us: he is\nthe one who killed all your people; he is Klakherrit.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy grandmother, I can\u2019t help going,\u2014I must go; I must see the place\nwhere my people were killed. If I can find him, I must look at\nKlakherrit, who killed all my relatives.\u201d\n\nNext morning, young Pitis rose, and dressed himself beautifully. He took\na good bow, and a quiver of black fox-skin; his arrows were pointed with\nwhite flint; in his hair he had Winishuyat[1] to warn him of danger. \u201cMy\ngrandmother,\u201d said he, at parting, \u201cdo the best you can while I am gone.\u201d\nThe old woman began to cry, and said, \u201cOh, my grandson, be on the watch,\nand guard yourself well; take good care, my grandson.\u201d\n\nPitis started off; and, when out of sight, Winishuyat said, \u201cMy brother,\na little ahead of us are deer. All your relatives were killed by\nKlakherrit for the sake of these deer. The deer obeyed your people, and\nwent wherever they told them.\u201d Pitis saw twenty deer, and, a few moments\nlater, twenty more. He shouted; they ran around, stopped, and looked at\nhim. \u201cI want you, deer,\u201d said Pitis, \u201cto go toward the south, and go past\nKlakherrit\u2019s house, so that he can see you and I can see him.\u201d\n\nPitis shouted three times; and Klakherrit, who was watching for\nKaisusherrit\u2019s smoke, heard him. The forty deer went on one after another\nin a line, Pitis following. When Klakherrit saw them, he ran into the\nhouse, and called to his relatives: \u201cDeer are coming; and a Pitis is with\nthem!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my nephew,\u201d cried the blind uncle, \u201cyou kept saying all the time\nthat there was not another Pitis in this world; but I knew there were\nsome left somewhere. Didn\u2019t I say that you would see Pitis people; didn\u2019t\nI tell you that you hadn\u2019t killed all that people, my nephew? You will\nmeet a Pitis to-day.\u201d\n\nKlakherrit made no answer; he took his bow and quiver quickly, and\nhurried out. The deer had passed the house and Pitis was just passing.\nKlakherrit saw him well; and Pitis had a good look at Klakherrit.\nKlakherrit went away on one side of the trail, got ahead of the deer, and\nsat down at the side of the trail near a rock. When they came up, the\ndeer passed him; but Winishuyat said to Pitis, \u201cMy brother, Klakherrit\nis near that rock right there; when you pass, don\u2019t stop, don\u2019t speak to\nhim. It is he who killed our people; he wants to kill you.\u201d\n\nWhen Pitis came to the rock; Klakherrit jumped up on one leg, and cried,\n\u201cOh, my friend, I can\u2019t travel farther. I was going to help you, but I\nhave this great splinter in my foot; draw it out for me.\u201d Pitis didn\u2019t\nlook at him, went straight past. A little later, Winishuyat said, \u201cMy\nbrother, on the other side of that clump of bushes your enemy is sitting:\ngo by; don\u2019t speak to him.\u201d When Pitis came, Klakherrit begged him again\nto pull the splinter out of his foot; but Pitis didn\u2019t stop, didn\u2019t speak\nto him. Five times that day did Klakherrit run ahead by side-paths, and\nbeg Pitis to pull a splinter out of his foot; but Pitis never stopped,\nnever answered him. In the evening, Pitis said to the deer, \u201cYou, deer,\nmeet me in the morning where you met me to-day.\u201d That night, Pitis said\nto his grandmother, \u201cI saw Klakherrit; he bothered me all day. Five times\nhe was ahead of me with a sore foot; but if his foot is sore, how can he\ntravel so? There must be a great many of his people just like him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy grandson, Klakherrit has many relatives; but he is the only one of\nthat people who can travel. All the rest are blind; he is the one who was\nahead of you all day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, grandmother, I have seen Klakherrit; I know all about him. I know\nwhat I can do to him; I shall follow the deer to-morrow.\u201d (Pitis didn\u2019t\nhunt deer; he just followed them.) Next morning, Pitis rose very early,\nbathed in the creek, ate his breakfast, and dressed for the road; then\nhe brought two flat stones, a blue and a white one, each about a foot\nwide, put them down before the old woman, and said, \u201cMy grandmother,\nwatch these two stones all day. If you see thick black spots of blood\non the blue stone, you may know that I am killed; but if you see light\nred blood on the white stone, you may know that I am safe.\u201d The old\nwoman began to cry; but he went to the place where he met the deer the\nday before. He sent them by the same road; and, after a while, he met\nKlakherrit, who begged him to pull the splinter out of his foot. Pitis\npassed in silence; when out of sight, he stopped the deer, and said,\n\u201cNow, my deer, let the strongest of you go ahead; and if Klakherrit is\nby the trail again, run at him, and stamp him into the ground with your\nfore-feet; jump on him, every one of you.\u201d\n\nSome distance farther on, they saw Klakherrit sitting at the side of the\ntrail. The first deer ran and thrust his hoofs into his body; the second\nand the third did the same, and so did the whole forty. He was all cut\nto pieces, one lump of dirt and blood. The deer went on; Pitis followed.\nSoon Pitis called to the deer, \u201cWe\u2019ll go back again;\u201d and he walked ahead\ntill they returned to where they had trampled his enemy. Klakherrit was\nup again, begging, \u201cOh, my friend, pull this great splinter out of my\nfoot; I cannot do it alone, help me!\u201d Pitis sent the deer at him again;\nthey trampled him into the ground, and went on. When they had gone\nperhaps two miles, Klakherrit was sitting at the roadside as before, and\nbegged Pitis to pull the splinter out of his foot. Pitis was terribly\nangry now; he stopped in front of Klakherrit, and walked up to him. \u201cMy\nfriend,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat are you talking about; what do you want? Are you\none person, or are there many like you? You bothered me all yesterday;\nwhat do you want to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am only one person,\u201d said Klakherrit; \u201cbut, my friend, pull this\nsplinter out; my foot pains me terribly.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how do you run so fast, and go ahead of me every time, if your foot\nis hurt; how do you pull the splinter out?\u201d\n\n\u201cI get it out at last, and run ahead; but by that time there is another\nsplinter in my foot.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you follow me; what do you want; why don\u2019t you let me alone?\u201d\ninquired Pitis, sitting down.\n\n\u201cOh, my friend, pull this splinter out; my foot is so sore I cannot talk.\nPull the splinter, and I will tell you.\u201d\n\nPitis took hold of the splinter and pulled, but no use, he could not\ndraw it out. \u201cTake it between your teeth, that is the only way,\u201d said\nKlakherrit.\n\n\u201cMy brother,\u201d said Winishuyat, \u201clook out for your life now; that is the\nway in which Klakherrit killed all your people. Do what he says; but\ndodge when I tell you.\u201d\n\nPitis took the splinter between his teeth, and began to pull. That moment\nKlakherrit drew his knife, and struck; but before the knife came down,\nWinishuyat cried, \u201cDodge to the left!\u201d Pitis dodged, and just escaped.\nPitis struck now with his white-flint knife. Every blow he gave hit\nKlakherrit; he dodged every blow himself so that it struck only his\nclothes. Klakherrit was very strong, and fought fiercely. Pitis was\nquick, and hit all the time. The fight was a hard one. In the middle\nof the afternoon, Pitis was very tired, and had all his clothes cut to\npieces; and Klakherrit\u2019s head was cut off. But the head would not die; it\nfought on, and Pitis cut at it with his knife.\n\nNow Winishuyat called out, \u201cMy brother, you can\u2019t kill Klakherrit in that\nway; you can\u2019t kill him with any weapon on this earth. Klakherrit\u2019s life\nis in the sky; Klakherrit\u2019s heart is up there on the right side of the\nplace where the sun is at midday.\u201d\n\nPitis looked up, and saw the heart. He stretched out his right hand then,\npulled down the heart, and squeezed it; that moment Klakherrit died.\n\nPitis took the skin off Klakherrit\u2019s body, put it on himself, and\nbecame just like him. He cut up his enemy\u2019s flesh, then carried it to\nKlakkewilton, went into the house and said, \u201cI have some venison to-day;\nI will roast it.\u201d He roasted Klakherrit\u2019s flesh, and gave it to his\nrelatives. All ate except the old uncle, who grumbled, and said, \u201cThis\nmeat doesn\u2019t seem right to me; it has the smell of our people.\u201d Pitis\nwalked out, pulled off Klakherrit\u2019s skin, threw it into the house,\nand was himself again; then he set fire to the house, and stopped the\ndoor. He listened; there was a great noise inside and an uproar. If any\nbroke through, he threw them back again. At last one woman burst out,\nand rushed away; she escaped, and from her were born all the Klaks in\nthe world. But she and they were a people no longer; they had become\nrattlesnakes. The Pitis people became quails, and Kaisusherrit\u2019s people,\ngray squirrels.\n\nThe old woman, Tsosokpokaila, who reared Pitis, became a weed about a\nfoot high, which produces many seeds; the quails are fond of these seeds.\n\nThe following summary shows in outline the main parts of a tale which\ncould not be so easily modified as the preceding, and one which is much\nmore important as to contents.\n\nBefore thunder and lightning were in this world, Sulapokaila (trout old\nwoman) had a house on the river Winimem, near Mount Shasta. One evening,\na maiden called Wimaloimis (grisly bear maiden) came, and asked a night\u2019s\nlodging of the old woman; she gave it. Next morning, Wimaloimis wanted\nto eat Sulapokaila, and had almost caught her, when the old woman turned\ninto water, and escaped. Wimaloimis went her way then, but remained in\nthe neighborhood. She built a house, lay down near the door, and gazed at\nthe sun for a long time; at last she grew pregnant from gazing. In time\nshe had twins. When the first one was born, she tried to swallow it; but\nthe infant gave out a great flash of light and frightened her. When the\nsecond child was born, she tried to eat that; but it roared terribly, and\nshe was so frightened that she rushed out of the house, and ran off. The\nold woman, Sulapokaila, came and took the children home, washed them,\ncared for them, named the first-born Walokit (Lightning), and the second\nTumukit (Thunder).\n\nThe boys grew very fast, and were soon young men. One day, Walokit asked,\n\u201cBrother, do you know who our mother is, who our father is?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered Tumukit; \u201clet us ask our grandmother.\u201d\n\nThey went and asked the old woman. \u201cI know your father and mother,\u201d\nreplied the old woman. \u201cYour mother is very bad; she came to my house,\nand tried to eat me. She wanted to eat trees, bushes, everything she saw.\nWhen you were born, she tried to eat you; but somehow you little boys\nfrightened her. She ran away, and is living on that mountain yonder. Your\nfather is good; he is living up there in the sky.\u201d\n\nA couple of days later, Walokit said to his brother, \u201cLet us go and find\nour mother.\u201d They went off, and found her half-way up on the slope of\na mountain, sitting in front of her house, and weaving a basket. Her\nhead was down; she did not see them even when near. They stood awhile in\nsilence, and then walked right up to her.\n\n\u201cOh, my children!\u201d cried she, putting the basket aside, \u201ccome into the\nhouse, and sit down.\u201d She went in; the boys followed. She sat down.\n\n\u201cCome here, and I\u2019ll comb your hair; come both of you, my children.\u201d\nThey sat down in front of her, and bent their heads. She stroked their\nhair, took her comb, and began to comb; next, she opened her mouth wide,\nand was going to swallow both at one gulp. That moment some voice said,\n\u201cLook out, boys; she is going to eat you.\u201d They saw no one, but heard the\nvoice. Next instant, Walokit flashed, and Tumukit roared. The mother,\ndazzled, deafened, rushed out of the house in great terror.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe she is our mother,\u201d said Tumukit.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe she is either,\u201d answered Walokit. They were both very\nangry, and said, \u201cShe is a bad woman anyhow. She may be our mother; but\nshe is a bad woman.\u201d\n\nThey went home, and later Walokit found his mother, and killed her.\nTumukit merely stood by, and roared. The woman\u2019s body was torn to pieces,\nand scattered. The brothers wept, and went to their grandmother, who sent\nthem to various sacred springs to purify themselves, and wash away the\nblood of their mother. When they had done that, after many pilgrimages,\nthey said, \u201cWe will go to our father, if we can.\u201d\n\nNext day they said, \u201cGrandmother, we will stay with you to-morrow, and\nleave you the next day.\u201d On the second morning, they said, \u201cWe are going,\nand you, our grandmother, must do the best you can without us.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo what place are you going, my grandsons?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are going to our father, if we can.\u201d\n\nWhen the old woman heard this, she went into the house, and brought out a\nbasket cup full of trout blood (water), and gave it to Walokit, \u201cRub this\nover your whole body; use it always; it will give you strength. No matter\nhow much you use the blood, the basket will never be empty.\u201d\n\nThey took farewell of the old woman, and went to the upper side of the\nsky, but did not go to their father. They live up there now, and go over\nthe whole world, sometimes to find their father, sometimes for other\npurposes. When they move, we see one, and hear the other.\n\nThis tale has a few of the disagreeable features peculiar to some of\nthe early myth-tales of all races,\u2014tales which, if not forgotten, are\nmisunderstood as the race advances, and then become tragedies of horror.\nStill, such tales are among the most precious for science, if analyzed\nthoroughly.\n\nIn another tale, told me by the same man who related this one, the sun,\nafter his road had been marked out, finally, was warned against his own\nchildren, the grisly bears, who would beset his path through the sky, and\ndo their best to devour him.\n\nThe grisly bear maiden, Wimaloimis, is a terrible criminal; she piles\nhorror upon horror. She tries to eat up the hospitable trout woman who\ngives her lodging; she has twins from her own father; she tries to\neat her own children; she brings them to commit matricide under cruel\nconditions. The house of Pelops and Lot\u2019s daughters, combined, barely\nmatch her. If the tale of Wimaloimis had belonged to early Greece, and\nhad survived till the time of the Attic tragedians, the real nature\nof the actors in it would have been lost, in all likelihood, and then\nit might have served as a striking example of sin and its punishment.\nInstead of discovering who the _dramatis person\u00e6_ were really, the people\nof that time would have made them all human. In our day, we try to\ndiscover the point of view of the old myth-maker, to learn what it really\nwas that he dealt with. In case we succeed, we are able to see that many\nof the repulsive features of ancient myths were not only natural and\nexplicable, but absolutely unavoidable. The cloud, a grisly bear, is\na true daughter of the sun. The sun and the cloud are undoubtedly the\nparents of the twin brothers, Thunder and Lightning; there are no other\nparents possible for them. That the cloud, according to myth description,\ntried to devour her own children, and was destroyed at last, and torn\nto pieces by them, is quite true. When we know the real elements of the\ntale, we find it perfectly accurate and truthful. If the personages in it\nwere represented as human, it would become at once, what many a tale like\nit is made to be, repulsive and horrible.\n\nAmong Gaelic tales there are few in which the heroes are of the earliest\nperiod, though there are many in which primitive elements are prominent,\nand some in which they predominate. In a time sufficiently remote,\nGaelic tales were made up altogether of the adventures of non-human\nheroes similar to those in the tales of America,\u2014that is, heroes in the\ncharacter of beasts, birds, and other living creatures, as well as the\nphenomena and elements of nature.\n\nBeasts and birds are frequent in Gaelic tales yet; but they never fill\nthe chief r\u00f4le in any tale. At most they are friends of the hero, and\nhelp him; not infrequently he could not gain victory without them. If on\nthe bad side, the r\u00f4le is more prominent, a monster, or terrible beast,\nmay be the leading opponent, or be one in a series of powerful enemies.\n\nIn a few Gaelic tales, phenomena or processes of nature appear still as\nchief actors; but they appear in human guise. The two tales in which this\nposition is most evident, are those of Mor and Glas Gainach,\u2014not the tale\nof Mor as given in this volume, but an older tale, and one which, so far\nas I know, exists only in fragments and sayings. This tale of Mor, which\nI gathered bit by bit in one place and another through West Kerry, is, in\nsubstance, as follows:\n\nMor (big), a very large woman, came by sea to Dunmore Head, with her\nhusband, Lear, who could not live with Mor, and went around by sea to the\nextreme north, where he stayed, thus putting, as the phrase runs, \u201cAll\nIreland between himself and the wife.\u201d Mor had sons, and lived at Dun\nQuin (the ruins of her house Tivorye [Mor\u2019s house], are shown yet) at the\nfoot of Mount Eagle. She lived on pleasantly; much came to her from the\nsea. She was very proud of her sons, and cared for no one in the world\nexcept them. The woman increased greatly in substance, was rich and happy\ntill her sons were enticed away, and went to sea.\n\nOne day, she climbed to the top of Mount Eagle, and, for the first time,\nsaw Dingle Bay with the highlands of Iveragh and Killarney. \u201cOh, but\nisn\u2019t Erin the big country; isn\u2019t it widely spread out!\u201d cried she. Mor\nwas enormously bulky, and exerted herself to the utmost in climbing the\nmountain. At the top, certain necessities of nature came on her; as a\nresult of relieving these, a number of deep gullies were made in Mount\nEagle, in various directions. These serve to this day as water-courses;\nand torrents go through them to the ocean during rainfalls.\n\nNews was brought to Mor on the mountain that her sons had been enticed\naway to sea by magic and deceit. Left alone, all her power and\nproperty vanished; she withered, lost her strength, went mad, and then\ndisappeared, no man knew whither. \u201cAll that she had came by the sea,\u201d\nas people say, \u201cand went with the sea.\u201d She who had been disagreeable\nand proud to such a degree that her own husband had to leave her; the\nwoman whose delight was in her children and her wealth,\u2014became the most\ndesolate person in Erin, childless, destitute, a famishing maniac that\ndisappeared without a trace.\n\nThere is an interesting variant to this story, referring to Lear, Mor\u2019s\nhusband. This represents him not as going to the other end of Erin, but\nas stopping where he touched land first; there he died, and was buried.\nThis is the version confirmed by the grave mound at Dunmore Head.\n\nFrom the artistic point of view, it is to be regretted that the tale\nof Mor has not come down to us complete with its variants; but we may\nbe thankful for what we have. The fragments extant, and the sayings,\nestablish the character of the tale, especially in view of a most\ninteresting bit of testimony preserved in a book published in 1757.\n\nAfter I had collected all the discoverable scraps and remnants of the\ntale, I came upon the statement in Smith\u2019s \u201cHistory of Kerry,\u201d page 182,\nthat Dunmore Head was called by the people thereabout, \u201cMary Geerane\u2019s\nhouse.\u201d The author adds the name in Gaelic (which he did not know), in\nthe following incorrect form: \u201cTy-Vorney Geerane.\u201d Now this sentence does\nnot mean Mary Geerane\u2019s house at all, but the house of Mor, daughter of\nthe sun, Tigh Mhoire ni Greine, pronounced, \u201cThee Vorye nyee Grainye.\u201d\nHere is the final fact needed,\u2014a fact preserved with an ignorance of its\nnature and value that is absolutely trustworthy.\n\nWhat does the story mean now? Mor, daughter of the sun, leaves her\nhusband, Lear, and comes to land herself. The husband cannot follow; for\nLear is the plain of the sea,\u2014the sea itself in its outward aspect. Lear\nis the Neptune of the Gaels. One version represents Lear as coming to his\nend at Dunmore Head; the other, as going around the island to Donaghedee,\nto live separated from a proud and disagreeable wife by the land of all\nIreland. Each of these variants is equally consonant with the character\nof the couple. Let us pursue the tale further. Mor, the cloud woman,\u2014for\nthis she is,\u2014has issue at Dun Quin, has sons (the rain-drops), and is\nprosperous, is proud of her sons, cares only for them; but her sons\ncannot stay with her, they are drawn to the sea irresistibly. She climbs\nMount Eagle, is amazed at the view from the summit, sits down there and\nperforms her last act on earth, the result of which is those tortuous\nand remarkably deep channels on the sides of Mount Eagle. After that she\nhears on the mountain that her sons are gone, she vanishes from human\nken, is borne out of sight from the top of Mount Eagle.\n\nSuch is the myth of the cloud woman, Mor (the big one), a thing of wonder\nfor the people.\n\nIn \u201cGlas Gainach,\u201d with which this volume opens, we have, perhaps, the\nbest tale preserved by memory in Ireland. The tale itself is perfect,\napparently, and its elements are ancient.\n\nThe prize for exertion, the motive for action, in this tale, is a present\nfrom King Under the Wave to his friend the King of Spain. This King of\nSpain is, of course, supposititious. Who the former friend was whose\nplace he usurped, we have no means of knowing; but we shall not be far\nout of the way, I think, if we consider him to be the monarch of a\ncloud-land,\u2014a realm as intangible as the Nephelokokkygia of Aristophanes,\nbut real.\n\nIn Elin Gow, the swordsmith, we have a character quite as primitive\nas the cow or her owners. Elin Gow is found in Scotland as well as in\nIreland. Ellin Gowan\u2019s Height, in Guy Mannering, is simply Elin Gow\u2019s\nHeight, _Gowan_ (_Gobhan_ in Gaelic) being merely the genitive case of\n_Gow_ (_Gobha_). Elin Gow means simply Elin the smith. Under whatever\nname, or wherever he may be, Elin Gow occupies a position in Gaelic\nsimilar to that of Heph\u00e6stos in Greek, or Vulcan in Latin mythology; he\nis the maker of weapons, the forger of the bolt.\n\nIn a short tale of Glas Gavlen, which I obtained near Carrick, County\nDonegal, it is stated that the cow came down from the sky. According to\nthe tale, she gives milk in unlimited quantities to all people without\nexception. Time after time the rich or powerful try to keep her for\ntheir own use exclusively, but she escapes. Appearing first at Dun\nKinealy, she goes finally to Glen Columkil near the ocean, where a strong\nman tries to confine her; but she rises in the air, and, clearing the\nhigh ridge on the northern side of the glen, disappears. Since then,\nthere is no free milk in Erin, and none but that which common cows give.\n\nThe cow, Glas Gainach or Gaunach or Gavlen, for all three refer to the\nsame beast, betrays at once her relationship with those cows of India so\nfamous in the Rig Veda, those cloud cows whose milk was rain, cows which\nthe demon Vritra used to steal and hide away, thus causing drought and\nsuffering. Indra brought death to this demon with a lightning bolt; for\nthis deed he received the name Vritrahan (slayer of Vritra). The cows\nwere freed then from confinement; and the world was refreshed by their\nmilk, which came to all, rich and poor, in like manner. So far the main\ncharacters of the tale are quite recognizable. Cian and Cormac are simply\nnames current in Irish history, and are substituted for names of original\nheroes, who were characters as far from human and as mythologic as King\nUnder the Wave or Glas Gainach.\n\nA comparison of Gaelic tales with the Indian tales of America shows that\nthe Gaelic contain materials some of which is as ancient as the Indian,\nwhile the tales themselves are less primitive.\n\nThere are many Indian tales which we can analyze, genuine myths,\u2014a myth,\nin its earliest form, being a tale the substance of which is an account\nof some process in nature, or some collision between forces in nature,\nthe whole account being given as a narrative of personal adventure.\n\nAmong the Irish tales there are very few ancient myths pure and simple,\nthough there are many made up of myth materials altogether. The tale\nof Mor, reconstructed from fragments, is a myth from beginning to end;\nthe history of a cloud in the guise of a woman, as Glas Gainach is the\nhistory of a cloud in the guise of a cow.\n\nTales like Glas Gainach and Mor are not frequent in Gaelic at present;\nbut tales of modified structure, composite tales to which something\nhas been added, and from which something has been taken away, are met\nwith oftener than any. The elements added or taken away are not modern,\nhowever; they are, if we except certain heroes, quite ancient.\n\nIn course of time, and through change of religion, ancient heroes were\nforgotten in some cases, rejected in others, and new ones substituted;\nwhen the argument of a tale, or part of it, grew less distinct, it was\nstrengthened from the general stock, made more complete and vivid. In\nthis way came adventure tales, constructed of materials purely mythic\nand ancient. Parts were transferred from one tale to another, the same\nincidents and heroes being found in tales quite different in other\nrespects.\n\nThe results to be obtained from a comparison of systems of thought\nlike the Indian and the Gaelic would be great, if made thoroughly. If\nextended to all races, such a comparison would render possible a history\nof the human mind in a form such as few men at present even dream of,\u2014a\nhistory with a basis as firm as that which lies under geology. If this\nwork is to be accomplished, we must make large additions indeed to our\nknowledge of primitive peoples. We must complete the work begun in\nAmerica. We must collect the great tales of Africa, Asia, and the islands\nof the Pacific,\u2014tales which embody the philosophy of the races that made\nthem. The undertaking is arduous, and there is need to engage in it\npromptly. The forces of civilized society, at present, are destroying\non all sides, not saving that which is precious in primitive people.\nCivilized society supposes that man, in an early degree of development,\nshould be stripped of all that he owns, both material and mental, and\nthen be refashioned to serve the society that stripped him. If he will\nnot yield to the stripping and training, then slay him.\n\nIn view of this state of things, there is no time for delay; primitive\nman is changing, and the work is extensive.\n\nOf Chinese thought we know very little, especially of Taoism, the most\nancient system of the country,\u2014the one which has grown up from Chinese\nmyth-tales. Of African tales, only few have been collected, and those of\nsmall value mainly.\n\nIn Asia and Eastern Europe, the Russians have done the best work by far;\nbesides many good volumes of Slav tales, they have given us much from\nthe Tartars and Mongols of exceptional value and ancient. In the United\nStates, little was accomplished till recent years; of late, however,\npublic interest has been roused somewhat, and, since Major Powell entered\nthe field, and became Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, more has been\ndone in studying the native races of America than had been done from the\ndiscovery of the country up to that time.\n\nTo sum up, we may say, that the Indian tales reveal to us a whole system\nof religion, philosophy, and social polity. They take us back to the\nbeginning of things; they describe Creation and the establishment of the\npresent order in the world.\n\nThose tales form a complete series. The whole mental and social life\nof the race to which they belong is evident in them. The Gaelic tales\nare a fragment of a former system. The earliest tales in that system\nare lost; those which formed the Creation myth, and related directly to\nthe ancient faith and religious practices of the Gaels, were set aside\nand prohibited at the introduction of Christianity. In many of those\nthat remained, leading heroes were changed by design, or forgotten, and\nothers put in their places. In general, they were modified consciously\nand unconsciously,\u2014some greatly, others to a less degree, and a few very\nlittle.\n\nWe find various resemblances in the two systems, some of which are very\nstriking in details, and others in general features; the question,\ntherefore, rises readily enough: Can we not use the complete system to\naid us in explaining and reconstructing, in some degree, the imperfect\none? We can undoubtedly; and if to materials preserved by oral tradition,\nlike those in this volume, be added manuscript tales, and those scattered\nthrough chronicles ecclesiastical and secular, we may hope to give some\nidea of what the ancient system of Gaelic thought was, and discover\nwhether the Gaelic gods had a similar origin with the Indian. What is\ntrue of the Gaelic is true also of other ancient systems in Europe, such\nas the Slav and Teutonic. These have much less literary material than the\nGaelic; but the Slav has vastly greater stores of oral tradition, and\ntales which contain much precious thought from pre-Christian ages.\n\nDuring eight years of investigation among Indian tribes in North America,\nI obtained the various parts of that Creation myth mentioned in this\nintroduction, from tribes that were remote from one another, and in\ndifferent degrees of development. Such tales I found in the east, in\nthe central regions, and finally in California and Oregon. Over this\nspace, the extreme points of which are three thousand miles apart, each\ntribe has the Creation myth,\u2014one portion being brought out with special\nemphasis in one tribe, and another portion in a different one. In tribes\nleast developed, the earliest tales are very distinct, and specially\nvaluable on some points relating to the origin and fall of the gods.\nMaterials from the extreme west are more archaic and simple than those\nof the east. In fact the two regions present the two extremes, in North\nAmerica, of least developed and most developed aboriginal thought.\nIn this is their interest. They form one complete system, a single\nconception richly illustrated.\n\nShall we find among tribes of Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands,\ntales which are component parts of great Creation myths like that of\nNorth America? We shall find them no doubt, if we spend time and skilled\nlabor sufficient.\n\nThe discovery and collection of these materials, and the proper use of\nthem afterward, constitute, for scientific zeal and activity, a task as\nimportant as self-knowledge is important to man.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn 1887, I made a journey to Ireland; when I collected tales from which\nwere selected the twenty forming the \u201cMyths and Folk-lore of Ireland,\u201d\nBoston, Little, Brown, and Company, 1889. While in Ireland, during that\nfirst visit, and this one, I have met with much good will and kindness\nwhich are pleasant to remember.\n\nI must mention, to begin with, my indebtedness to Rev. P. A. Walsh, of\nthe St. Vincent Fathers, Cork, a widely known Gaelic scholar, and a man\nwhose acquaintance with the South of Ireland is extensive and intimate.\nFather Walsh gave me much information concerning the people, and letters\nto priests. I am greatly obliged to J. J. MacSweeny, Esq., of the Royal\nIrish Academy, for help in many ways, and for letters to people in\nDonegal. To Rev. Eugene O\u2019Growney, Professor of Gaelic at Maynooth, I am\ngrateful for letters and advice.\n\nIf I were to mention all who have done me deeds of kindness, the list\nwould be long indeed. I must name, however, in Dingle, the venerable\nCanon O\u2019Sullivan and Father Scollard, in Bally Ferriter, Rev. John\nO\u2019Leary. To Mr. Patrick Ferriter, of Dingle, a man of keen intelligence\nand an excellent Gaelic scholar, I am deeply indebted for assistance\nin Gaelic. Canon Brosnan, of Cahirciveen, placed all his knowledge of\nthe region where he lives at my service, and on one occasion led in an\nunwilling story-teller. Father MacDevitt, of Carrick, County Donegal,\nassisted me much in his neighborhood. Rev. James MacFadden, of Glena,\nCounty Donegal, and his curate, Rev. John Boyle, of Falcarra, helped me\neffectively, and showed the most courteous hospitality. I should return\nspecial thanks to Prof. Brian O\u2019Looney, of Dublin, whose knowledge of\nancient Gaelic lore is unmatched, and who at all times was as willing as\nhe was able to aid me.\n\nIn America, the list of my obligations is short; there is only one man\non that continent to whom thanks are due in connection with this volume,\nbut that man, like the hero in Gaelic tales, was worth more than the\nthousands on all four sides of him. The contents of this book would not\nhave been collected without the co-operation of Hon. Charles A. Dana, who\npublished fifty of these Gaelic tales in the Sunday edition of \u201cThe Sun.\u201d\nAt that time no other editor was willing to join in the enterprise; and\nI did not feel able to endure both the financial burden and the labor of\nfinding and collecting Gaelic tales, as I had done in 1887. Mr. Dana,\nwith his keen eye for literary character, noted at once in the \u201cMyths and\nFolk-lore\u201d the originality of Gaelic tales and their heroes. When I told\nhim that relics like the Cuculin and Gilla na Grakin of my first book\nwere on the verge of extinction, he joined hands with me to save them,\nand I set out on my second journey to Ireland.\n\n                                                         JEREMIAH CURTIN.\n\nLONDON, ENGLAND, August, 1894.\n\n\n\n\nHERO-TALES OF IRELAND.\n\n\n\n\nELIN GOW, THE SWORDSMITH FROM ERIN, AND THE COW GLAS GAINACH.\n\n\nOnce King Under the Wave went on a visit to the King of Spain, for the\ntwo were great friends. The King of Spain was complaining, and very sorry\nthat he had not butter enough. He had a great herd of cows; but for all\nthat, he had not what butter he wanted. He said that he\u2019d be the richest\nman in the world if he had butter in plenty for himself and his people.\n\n\u201cDo not trouble your mind,\u201d said King Under the Wave. \u201cI will give you\nGlas Gainach,\u2014a cow that is better than a thousand cows, and her milk is\nnearly all butter.\u201d\n\nThe King of Spain thanked his guest for the promise, and was very glad.\nKing Under the Wave kept his word; he sent Glas Gainach, and a messenger\nwith instructions how to care for the cow, and said that if she was\nangered in any way she would not stay out at pasture. So the king took\ngreat care of her; and the report went through all nations that the King\nof Spain had the cow called Glas Gainach.\n\nThe King of Spain had an only daughter, and he was to give the cow with\nthe daughter; and the cow was a great fortune, the best dower in the\nworld at that time. The king said that the man who would do what he put\non him would get the daughter and the cow.\n\nChampions came from every part of the world, each man to try his fortune.\nIn a short time hundreds and thousands of men lost their heads in combat.\nThe king agreed then that any man who would serve seven years, and bring\nthe cow safe and sound every day of that time to the castle, would have\nher.\n\nIn minding the cow, the man had to follow her always, never go before\nher, or stop her, or hold her. If he did, she would run home to the\ncastle. The man must stop with her when she wanted to get a bite or a\ndrink. She never travelled less than sixty miles a day, eating a good\nbite here and a good bite there, and going hither and over.\n\nThe King of Spain never told men how to mind the cow; he wanted them to\nlose their heads, for then he got their work without wages.\n\nOne man would mind her for a day; another would follow her to the castle\nfor two days; a third might go with her for a week, and sometimes a man\ncould not come home with her the first day. The man should be loose and\nswift to keep up with Glas Gainach. The day she walked least she walked\nsixty miles; some days she walked much more.\n\nIt was known in Erin that there was such a cow, and there was a smith in\nCluainte above here, three miles north of Fintra, and his name was Elin\nGow. He was the best man in Erin to make a sword or any weapon of combat.\nFrom all parts of Erin, and from other lands also, young princes who were\ngoing to seek their fortunes came to him to have him make swords for\nthem. Now what should happen but this? It came to him in a dream three\nnights in succession that he was to go for Glas Gainach, the wonderful\ncow. At last he said, \u201cI will go and knock a trial out of her; I will go\ntoward her.\u201d\n\nHe went to Tramor, where there were some vessels. It was to the King of\nMunster that he went, and asked would he lend him a vessel. Elin Gow\nhad made many swords for the king. The king said that he would lend the\nvessel with willingness, and that if he could do more for him he would\ndo it. Elin Gow got the vessel, and put stores in it for a day and a\nyear. He turned its prow then to sea and its stern to land, and was\nploughing the main ocean till he steered into the kingdom of Spain as\nwell as if he had had three pilots, and there was no one but himself in\nit. He let the wind guide the ship, and she came into the very harbor of\nthe province where the king\u2019s castle was.\n\nWhen Elin Gow came in, he cast two anchors at the ocean side and one at\nthe shore side, and settled the ship in such a way that there was not a\nwave to strike her, nor a wind to rock her, nor a crow to drop on her;\nand he left her so that nothing would disturb her, and a fine, smooth\nstrand before her: he left her fixed for a day and a year, though he\nmight not be absent an hour.\n\nHe left the vessel about midday, and went his way walking, not knowing\nwhere was he or in what kingdom. He met no man or beast in the place.\nLate in the evening he saw, on a broad green field at a distance, a\nbeautiful castle, the grandest he had ever set eyes on.\n\nWhen he drew near the castle, the first house he found was a cottage at\nthe wayside; and when he was passing, who should see him but a very old\nman inside in the cottage. The old man rose up, and putting his two\nhands on the jambs of the door, reached out his head and hailed him. Elin\nGow turned on his heel; then the old man beckoned to him to enter.\n\nThere were four men in front of the castle, champions of valor,\npractising feats of arms. Flashes of light came from their swords. These\nmen were so trained that they would not let a sword-stroke touch any part\nof their bodies.\n\n\u201cCome in,\u201d said the old man; \u201cmaybe you would like to have dinner. You\nhave eaten nothing on the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was a mistake of my own,\u201d said Elin Gow; \u201cfor in my ship are\nprovisions of all kinds in plenty.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the old man; \u201cyou will not need them in this place;\u201d\nand going to a chest, he took out a cloth which he spread on a table, and\nthat moment there came on it food for a king or a champion. Elin Gow had\nnever seen a better dinner in Erin.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name and from what place are you?\u201d asked the old man of his\nguest.\n\n\u201cFrom Erin,\u201d said he, \u201cand my name is Elin Gow. What country is this, and\nwhat castle is that out before us?\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you ever heard talk of the kingdom of Spain?\u201d asked the old man.\n\n\u201cI have, and \u2019tis to find it that I left home.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, this is the kingdom of Spain, and that building beyond is the\ncastle of the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd is it here that Glas Gainach is?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the old man. \u201cAnd is it for her that you left Erin?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is then,\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cI pity you,\u201d said the old man; \u201cit would be fitter for you to stop at\nhome and mind something else than to come hither for that cow. \u2019Tis not\nhundreds but thousands of men that have lost their heads for her, and I\nam in dread that you\u2019ll meet the same luck.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will try my fortune,\u201d said Elin Gow. \u201c\u2019Tis through dreams that I\ncame.\u201d\n\n\u201cI pity you,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand moreover because you are from Erin.\nI am half of your country, for my mother was from Erin. Do you know now\nhow this cow will be got?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d said Elin Gow; \u201cI know nothing in the world about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not be long,\u201d said the old man, \u201cwithout knowledge. I\u2019ll tell\nyou about her, and what conditions will be put on you by the king. He\nwill bind you for the term of seven years to bring the cow home safe and\nsound to his castle every evening. If you fail to bring her, your head\nwill be cut off that same evening. That is one way by which many kings\u2019\nsons and champions that came from every part of the world were destroyed.\nThere are spikes all around behind the castle, and a head on each spike\nof them. You will see for yourself to-morrow when you go to the castle,\nand a dreadful sight it is, for you will not be able to count the heads\nthat are there on the spikes. I will give you now an advice that I have\nnever given any man before this, but I have heard of you from my mother.\nYou would be a loss to the country you came from. You are a great man to\nmake swords and all kinds of weapons for champions.\n\n\u201cThe king will not tell you what to do, but I\u2019ll tell you: you\u2019ll be as\nswift as you can when you go with the cow; keep up with her always. The\nday she moves least she will travel thirty miles going and thirty miles\ncoming, and you will have rest only while she\u2019ll be feeding, and she will\ntake only a few minutes here and a few minutes there; wherever she sees\nthe best place she\u2019ll take a bite; and do not disturb her wherever she\nturns or walks, and do not go before her or drive her. If you do what I\nsay, there will be no fear of you, if you can be so swift as to keep up\nwith the cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not in dread of falling back,\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cThen there will be no fear of you at all,\u201d said the old man.\n\nElin Gow remained in the cottage that night. In the morning the old man\nspread his cloth on the table; food and drink for a king or a champion\nwere on it that moment. Elin Gow ate and drank heartily, left good health\nwith the old man, and went to the castle. The king had a man called the\nTongue-speaker, who met and announced every stranger. \u201cWho are you or why\ndo you come to the castle?\u201d asked this man of Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cI wish to speak to the king about Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the speaker, \u201cyou are badly wanted, for it is three days since\nthe last man that was after her lost his head. Come, and I will show it\nto you on the spike, and I am in dread your own head will be in a like\nplace.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said Elin Gow; \u201cmisfortune cannot be avoided. We will do\nour best.\u201d\n\nThe Tongue-speaker went to the king then, and said, \u201cThere is a man\noutside who has come for Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\nThe king went out, and asked Elin Gow what he wanted or what brought him.\nHe told him, as he told the speaker, that it was for the cow he had come.\n\n\u201cAnd is it in combat or in peace that you want to get her?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis in peace,\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cYou can try with swords or with herding, whichever you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will choose the herding,\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cthis is how we will bind ourselves. You are to\nbring Glas Gainach here to me every evening safe and sound during seven\nyears, and, if you fail, \u2019tis your head that you will lose. Do you see\nthose heads on the spikes there behind? \u2019Tis on account of Glas Gainach\nthey are there. If you come home with the cow every night, she will be\nyours when seven years are spent,\u2014I bind myself to that,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Elin Gow, \u201cI am satisfied with the conditions.\u201d\n\nNext morning Glas Gainach was let out, and both went together all day,\nshe and Elin Gow. She went so swiftly that he threw his cap from him; he\ncould not carry it half the day. All the rest he had was while she was\nfeeding in any place. He was after her then till she came home, and he\nbrought her back as safe and sound as in the morning. The king came out\nand welcomed him, saying, \u201cYou\u2019ve taken good care of her; many a man went\nafter her that did not bring her home the first day.\u201d\n\n\u201cLife is sweet,\u201d said Elin Gow; \u201cI did the best hand I could. I know what\nI have to get if I fail to bring her.\u201d\n\nThe king gave Elin Gow good food and drink, so that he was more improving\nthan failing in strength, and made his way and brought the cow every day\ntill he had the seven years spent; then he said to the king, \u201cMy time is\nup; will I get the cow?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, why not?\u201d said the king. \u201cYou will: you have earned her well; you\nhave done more than any man who walked the way before. See now how many\nhave lost their heads; count them. You are better than any of them. I\nwould not deny or break my word or agreement. You were bound to bring\nher, and I am bound to give her. Now she is yours and not mine, but if\nshe comes back here again, don\u2019t have any eye after her; you\u2019ll not get\nher.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will do,\u201d said Elin Gow. \u201cI will take good care not to let her come\nto you. I minded her the last seven years.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cI don\u2019t doubt you.\u201d\n\nThey gave the cow food that morning inside; did not let her out at all.\nElin Gow bound the cow in every way he wished, to bring her to the\nvessel. He used all his strength, raised the two anchors on the ocean\nside, pulled in the vessel to put the cow on board. When Elin Gow was\non board, he turned the stem of the ship toward the sea, and the stern\ntoward land. He was sailing across the wide ocean till he came to Tramor,\nthe port in Erin from which he had started when going to Spain. Elin Gow\nbrought Glas Gainach on shore, took her to Cluainte, and was minding her\nas carefully as when he was with the King of Spain.\n\nElin Gow was the best man in Erin to make swords and all weapons for\nchampions; his name was in all lands. The King of Munster had four sons,\nand the third from the oldest was Cian. He was neither dreaming nor\nthinking of anything night or day but feats of valor; his grandfather,\nArt Mac Cuin, had been a great champion, and was very fond of Cian. He\nused to say, \u201cKind father and grandfather for him; he is not like his\nthree brothers.\u201d\n\nWhen twenty years old, Cian said,\u201cI will go to try my fortune. My father\nhas heirs enough. I would try other kingdoms if I had a sword.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may have my sword,\u201d said the father.\n\nCian gave the sword a trial, and at the first turn he broke it. \u201cNo sword\nwill please me,\u201d said Cian, \u201cunless, while grasping the hilt with the\nblade pointed forward, I can bend the blade till its point touches my\nelbow on the upper side, then let it spring back and bend it again till\nthe point touches my elbow on the under side.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is not a man in Erin who could make a sword like that,\u201d said\nthe father, \u201cbut Elin Gow, and I am full sure that he will not make it\nat this time, for he is minding Glas Gainach. He earned her well, and\nhe will guard her; seven years did he travel bareheaded without hat or\ncap,\u2014a thing which no man could do before him. It would be useless to go\nto him, for he has never worked a stroke in the forge since he brought\nGlas Gainach to Erin, and he would not let her go. He would make the\nsword but for that. It\u2019s many a sword he made for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will try him,\u201d said Cian. \u201cI will ask him to make the sword.\u201d\n\nCian started, and never stopped till he stood before Elin Gow at\nCluainte, and told him who he was.\n\nElin Gow welcomed the son of the king, and said, \u201cYour father and I were\ngood friends in our young years. It was often I made swords and other\nweapons for him. And what is it that brought you to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a sword I want. I wish to go and seek my fortune in some foreign\nland. I want a good sword, and my father says you are the best man in\nErin to make one.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was,\u201d said Elin Gow; \u201cand I am sorry that I cannot make you one now. I\nam engaged in minding Glas Gainach; and I would not trust any one after\nher but myself, and I have enough to do to mind her.\u201d\n\nCian told how the sword was to be made.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Elin Gow, \u201cI would make it in any way you like but for the\ncow, and I would not wish to let your father\u2019s son go away without a\nsword. I will direct you to five or six smiths that are making swords\nnow, in place of me since I went for Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\nHe gave the names, and the king\u2019s son went away.\n\nNone of them could make the sword in the way Cian wanted. He came back to\nElin Gow.\n\n\u201cYou have your round made?\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said Cian, \u201cbut in vain; for none of them would make the sword\nin the way asked of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I do not wish to let you go. I will take the risk.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Cian; \u201cI will go after Glas Gainach to-morrow, while\nyou are making the sword, and if I don\u2019t bring her, you may have my head\nin the evening.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Elin Gow, \u201cI am afraid to trust you, for many a champion\nlost his head on account of her before; but I\u2019ll run the risk. I must\nmake the sword for you.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son stopped that night with Elin Gow, who gave him the best\nfood and drink he had, and let out Glas Gainach before him next morning,\nand told him not to come in front of her in any place where she might\nwant to feed or drink. He advised him in every way how to take care of\nher. Away went Cian with the cow, and he was doing the right thing all\nday. She moved on always, and went as far as Caorha, southwest of Tralee,\nthe best spot of land in Kerry for grass. When she had eaten enough,\nshe turned toward home, and Cian was at her tail all the day. When he\nand Glas Gainach were five miles this side of Tralee, near the water\nat Derrymor, where she used to drink, Cian saw her going close to deep\nwater; he came before her, and turned her back; and what did she do but\njump through the air like a bird, and then she went out through the sea\nand left him. He walked home sad and mournful, and came to Elin Gow\u2019s\nhouse. The smith asked him had he the cow, and he said, \u201cI have not. I\nwas doing well till I came to Derrymor, and she went so near deep water\nthat I was afraid she would go from me. I stopped her, and what did she\ndo but fly away like a bird, and go out through the sea.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod help us,\u201d said Elin Gow, \u201cbut the misfortune cannot be helped.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the cause,\u201d said Cian; \u201cyou may have my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is done, is done. I would never take the head off you, but she is a\ngreat loss to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am willing and satisfied to give you my head,\u201d said Cian. \u201cHave you\nthe sword made?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\nCian took the blade, tested it in every way, and found that he had the\nsword he wanted.\n\nHe swore an oath then to Elin Gow that he would not delay day or night,\nnor rest anywhere, till he had lost his head or brought back Glas Gainach.\n\n\u201cI am afraid your labor will be useless,\u201d said Elin Gow, \u201cand that you\nwill never be able to bring her back. I could not have brought her myself\nbut for the advice of an old man that I met before I saw the King of\nSpain.\u201d\n\nCian went home to his father\u2019s castle. The king saw him coming with the\nsword. \u201cI see that Elin Gow did not refuse you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe did not,\u201d said Cian. \u201cHe made the sword, and it is a sore piece of\nwork for him. He has parted with Glas Gainach. I promised to give my\nhead if I did not bring her home to him in safety while he was making the\nsword. I minded her well all day till she came to a place where she used\nto drink water. I did not know that; but it was my duty to know it, for\nhe directed me in every way needful how to mind her. I was bringing her\nhome in safety till I brought her to Derrymor River; and I went before\nher to turn her back,\u2014and that was foolish, for he told me not to turn\nher while I was with her,\u2014and she did nothing but spring like a bird and\nout to sea and away. I promised Elin Gow in the morning if I did not\nbring the cow to give him my head; and I offered it when I came, as I had\nnot the cow, but he said, \u2018I will never take the head off a son of your\nfather, even for a greater loss.\u2019 And for this reason I will never rest\nnor delay till I go for Glas Gainach and bring her back to Elin Gow, or\nlose my head; so make ready your best ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe best ship,\u201d said the king, \u201cis the one that Elin Gow took.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son put provisions for a day and a year in the vessel. He set\nsail alone and away with him through the main ocean, and he never stopped\ntill he reached the same place to which Elin Gow had sailed before. He\ncast two anchors on the ocean side, and one next the shore, and left\nthe ship where there was no wind to blow on her, no waves of the ocean\nto touch her, no crows of the air to drop on her. He went his way then,\nand was walking always till evening, when he saw at a distance the finest\ncastle he had ever set eyes on. He went toward it; and when he was near,\nhe saw four champions at exercise near the castle. He was going on the\nvery same road that Elin Gow had taken, and was passing the same cottage,\nwhen the old man saw him and hailed him. He turned toward the cottage.\n\n\u201cCome to my house and rest,\u201d said the old man. \u201cFrom what country are\nyou, and what brought you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a son of the King of Munster in Erin; and now will you tell me what\nplace is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in Spain, and the building beyond there is the king\u2019s castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well and good. It was to see the king that I left Erin,\u201d said Cian.\n\n\u201cIt is for Glas Gainach that you are here, I suppose,\u201d said the old man.\n\u201cIt is useless for you to try; you never can bring her from the king. It\nwas a hundred times easier when Elin Gow brought her; it is not that way\nnow, but by force and bravery she is to be taken. It is a pity to have\nyou lose your head, like so many kings and champions.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must try,\u201d said Cian; \u201cfor it was through me that Elin Gow lost Glas\nGainach. I wanted a sword to try my fortune, and there was not a smith in\nErin who could make it as I wanted except Elin Gow; he refused. I told\nhim that I would give my head if I did not bring the cow home to him in\nsafety. I followed her well till, on the way home, she went to drink near\nthe sea, and I went before her; that moment she sprang away like a bird,\nand went out through the water.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am afraid,\u201d said the old man, \u201cthat to get her is more than you can\ndo. You see those four men? You must fight and conquer them before you\nget Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\nThe old man spread out the table-cloth, and they ate.\n\n\u201cI care not,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201cwhat comes. I am willing to lose my\nhead unless I can bring back the cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old man, \u201cyou can try.\u201d\n\nNext morning breakfast was ready for Cian; he rose, washed his hands and\nface, prayed for mercy and strength, ate, and going to the pole of combat\ngave the greatest blow ever given before on it.\n\n\u201cRun out,\u201d said the king to the Tongue-speaker; \u201csee who is abroad.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the Tongue-speaker of Cian.\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s daughter and Glas Gainach,\u201d said Cian.\n\nThe speaker hurried in and told the king. The king went out and asked,\n\u201cAre you the man who wants my daughter and Glas Gainach?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d answered Cian.\n\n\u201cYou will get them if you earn them,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cIf I do not earn them, I want neither the daughter nor the cow,\u201d replied\nCian.\n\nThe king ordered out then the four knights of valor to kill Cian. He was\nas well trained as they, for he had been practising from his twelfth\nyear, and he was more active. They were at him all day, and he at them:\nhe did not let one blow from them touch his body; and if a man were to go\nfrom the Eastern to the Western World to see champions, \u2019tis at them he\nwould have to look. At last, when Cian was hungry, and late evening near,\nhe sprang with the strength of his limbs out of the joints of his bones,\nand rose above them, and swept the heads off the four before he touched\nground.\n\nThe young champion was tired after the day, and went to the old man. The\nold man asked, \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have knocked the heads off the four champions of valor.\u201d\n\nThe old man was delighted that the first day had thriven in that way with\nCian. He looked at the sword. \u201cOh, there is no danger,\u201d cried he; \u201cyou\nhave the best sword I have ever seen, and you\u2019ll need it, for you\u2019ll have\nmore forces against you to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThe old man and Cian spent the night in three parts,\u2014the first part in\neating and drinking, the second in telling tales and singing songs, the\nthird in sound sleep.\n\nThe old man told how he had been the champion of Spain, and at last when\nhe grew old the king gave him that house.\n\nNext morning Cian washed his face and hands, prayed for help and mercy,\nate breakfast with the old man, went to the pole of combat, and gave a\ngreater blow still than before.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want this day?\u201d asked the Tongue-speaker.\n\n\u201cI want three hundred men on my right hand, three hundred on my left,\nthree hundred after my poll, three hundred out in front of me.\u201d The king\nsent the men out four deep through four gates. Cian went at them, and as\nthey came he struck the heads off them; and though they fought bravely,\nin the evening he had the heads off the twelve hundred. Cian then left\nthe field, and went to the old man.\n\n\u201cWhat have you done after the day?\u201d asked the old man.\n\n\u201cI have stretched the king\u2019s forces.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll do well,\u201d said the old man.\n\nThe old champion put the cloth on the table, and there was food for a\nking or a champion. They made three parts of that night,\u2014the first for\neating and drinking, the second for telling tales and singing songs, the\nthird for sleep and sound rest.\n\nNext morning, Cian gave such a blow on the pole of combat that the king\nin his chamber was frightened.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want this time?\u201d asked the Tongue-speaker.\n\n\u201cI want the same number of men as yesterday.\u201d\n\nThe king sent the men out; and the same fate befell them as the other\ntwelve hundred, and Cian went home to the old man untouched. Next morning\nCian made small bits of the king\u2019s pole of combat.\n\n\u201cWell, what do you want?\u201d asked the Tongue-speaker.\n\n\u201cWhatever I want, I don\u2019t want to be losing time. Let out all your forces\nagainst me at once.\u201d\n\nThe king sent out all the forces he wished that morning. The battle was\nmore terrible than all the others put together; but Cian went through the\nking\u2019s forces, and at sunset not a man of them was living, and he let no\none nearer than the point of his sword.\n\n\u201cHow did the day thrive with you?\u201d asked the old man when Cian came in.\n\n\u201cI have killed all the king\u2019s champions.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think,\u201d said the old man, \u201cthat you have the last of his forces down\nnow; but what you have done is nothing to what is before you. The king\nwill come out and say to-morrow that you will not get the daughter with\nGlas Gainach till you eat on one biscuit what butter there is in his\nstorehouses, and they are all full; you are to do this in the space of\nfour hours. He will give you the biscuit. Take this biscuit from me, and\ndo you hide the one that he will give you,\u2014never mind it; put as much as\nyou will eat on this, and there\u2019ll be no tidings of what butter there is\nin the king\u2019s stores within one hour,\u2014it will vanish and disappear.\u201d\n\nCian was very glad when the old man told him what to do. They spent that\nnight as they had the nights before. Next morning Cian breakfasted, and\nwent to the castle. The king saw him coming, and was out before him.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want this morning?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI want your daughter and Glas Gainach,\u201d said Cian.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou will not get my daughter and Glas Gainach\nunless within four hours you eat on this biscuit what butter there is in\nall my storehouses in Spain; and if you do not eat the butter, your head\nwill be on a spike this evening.\u201d\n\nThe king gave him the biscuit. Cian went to the first storehouse, dropped\nthe king\u2019s biscuit into his pocket, took out the one the old man had\ngiven him, buttered it, and began to eat. He went his way then, and in\none hour there was neither sign nor trace of butter in any storehouse the\nking had.\n\nThat night Cian and the old man passed the time in three parts as usual.\n\u201cYou will have hard work to-morrow,\u201d said the old man, \u201cbut I will tell\nyou how to do it. The king will say that you cannot have his daughter and\nGlas Gainach unless within four hours you tan all the hides in Spain,\ndry and green, and tan them as well as a hand\u2019s breadth of leather that\nhe will give you. Here is a piece of leather like the piece the king\nwill give. Clap this on the first hide you come to; and all the hides\nin Spain will be tanned in one hour, and be as soft and smooth as the\nking\u2019s piece.\u201d\n\nNext morning the king saw Cian coming, and was out before him. \u201cWhat do\nyou want now?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cYour daughter and Glas Gainach,\u201d said Cian.\n\n\u201cYou are not to get my daughter and Glas Gainach unless within four hours\nyou tan all the dry and green hides in Spain to be as soft and smooth as\nthis piece; and if you do not tan them, your head will be on one of the\nspikes there behind my castle this evening.\u201d\n\nCian took the leather, dropped it into his pocket, and, taking the old\nman\u2019s piece, placed it on the first hide that he touched. In one hour all\nthe hides in Spain were tanned, and they were as soft and fine as the\npiece which the king gave to Cian.\n\nThe old man and Cian spent this night as they had the others.\n\n\u201cYou will have the hardest task of all to-morrow,\u201d said the old man.\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d asked the young champion.\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s daughter will come to a window in the highest chamber of\nthe castle with a ball in her hand: she will throw the ball through the\nwindow, and you must catch it on your hurley, and keep it up during two\nhours and a half; never let it touch the ground. There will be a hundred\nchampions striving to take the ball from you, but follow my advice. The\nchampions, not knowing where the ball will come down when the king\u2019s\ndaughter throws it, will gather near the front of the castle; and if\neither of them should get the ball, he might keep it and spoil you. Do\nyou stand far outside; you will have the best chance. I don\u2019t know,\nthough, what you are to do, as you have no hurley, but wait. In my youth\nI was great to play at hurley, and I never met a man that could match me.\nThe hurley I had then must be in this house somewhere.\u201d\n\nThe old man searched the house through, and where did he find the hurley\nbut up in the loft, and it full of dust; he brought it down. Cian swung\nit, knocked the dust from the hurley, and it was as clean as when made.\n\n\u201cIt is glad I am to find this, for any other hurley in the kingdom would\nnot do you, but only this very one. This hurley has the virtue in it, and\nonly for that it would not do.\u201d\n\nBoth were very glad, and made three parts of that night, as they had of\nthe nights before. Next morning Cian rose, washed his hands and face, and\nbegged mercy and help of God for that day.\n\nAfter breakfast he went to the king\u2019s castle, and soon many champions\ncame around him. The king was outside before him, and asked what he\nwanted that day.\n\n\u201cI want your daughter and Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not get my daughter and Glas Gainach till you do the work I\u2019ll\ngive, and I\u2019ll give you the toughest task ever put before you. At midday,\nmy daughter will throw out a ball through the window, and you must keep\nthat ball in the air for two hours and a half: it must never touch ground\nin that time, and when the two hours and a half are spent, you must drive\nit in through the same window through which it went out; if not, I will\nhave your head on a spike this evening.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod help us!\u201d said Cian.\n\nAll the champions were together to see which man would get the ball\nfirst; but Cian, thinking of the old man\u2019s advice, stood outside them\nall. At midday the king\u2019s daughter sent out the ball through the highest\nwindow; and to whom should it go but to Cian, and he had the luck of\ngetting it first. He drove the ball with his hurley, and for two hours\nand a half he kept it in the air, and did not let another man touch it.\nThen he gave it a directing blow, and sent it in through the window to\nthe king\u2019s daughter.\n\nThe king watched the ball closely; and when it went in, he ran to Cian,\nshook his hand warmly, and never stopped till he took him to his\ndaughter\u2019s high chamber. She kissed him with joy and great gladness. He\nhad done a thing that no other had ever done.\n\n\u201cI have won the daughter and Glas Gainach from you now,\u201d said Cian.\n\n\u201cYou have,\u201d said the king; \u201cand they are both yours. I give them with all\nmy heart. You have earned them well, and done what no other man could do.\nI will give you one-half of the kingdom till my death, and all of it from\nthat out.\u201d\n\nCian and the king\u2019s daughter were married. A great feast was made, and\na command given out that all people of the kingdom must come to the\nwedding. Every one came; and the wedding lasted seven days and nights, to\nthe pleasure of all, and the greatest delight of the king. Cian remained\nwith the king; and after a time his wife had a son, the finest and\nfairest child ever born in Spain, and he was increasing so that what of\nhim didn\u2019t grow in the day grew in the night, and what did not grow in\nthe night grew in the day, and if the sun shone on any child, it shone on\nthat one. The boy was called Cormac after Cian\u2019s father, Cormac Mac Art.\n\nCian remained with the King of Spain till Cormac\u2019s age was a year and\na half. Then he remembered his promise to Elin Gow to bring back Glas\nGainach.\n\nCian put stores in the vessel in which he had come, and placed Glas\nGainach inside, firmly fettered. He gave then the stem of his ship to\nthe ocean, the stern to land, raised the limber sails; and there was the\nwork of a hundred men on each side, though Cian did the work all alone.\nHe sailed through the main ocean with safety till he came to Tramor,\u2014the\nbest landing-place in Erin at that time. Glas Gainach was brought to\nshore carefully, and Cian went on his way with her to go to Elin Gow\u2019s\nhouse at Cluainte.\n\nThere was no highway from Tramor but the one; and on that one were three\nbrothers, three robbers, the worst at that time in Erin. These men knew\nall kinds of magic, and had a rod of enchantment. Cian had brought much\ngold with him on the way, coming as a present to his father.\n\nThe three brothers stopped Cian, saluted him, and asked would he play a\ngame. He said that he would. They played, and toward evening the robbers\nhad the gold won; then they said to Cian, \u201cNow bet the cow against the\ngold you have lost, and we will put twice as much with it.\u201d He laid the\ncow as a wager, and lost her.\n\nOne of the three robber brothers struck Cian with the rod of enchantment,\nand made a stone pillar of him, and made an earth mound of Glas Gainach\nwith another blow. The two remained there, the man and the cow, by the\nroadside.\n\nCian\u2019s son Cormac was growing to manhood in Spain, and heard his mother\nand grandfather talk of his father, and he thought to himself, \u201cThere\nwas no man on earth that could fight with my father; and I promise now\nto travel and be walking always till I find out the place where he is,\nliving or dead.\u201d\n\nAs Cormac had heard that his father was from Erin, to Erin he faced,\nfirst of all. The mother was grieved, and advised him not to go\nwandering. \u201cYour father must be dead, or on the promise he made me he\u2019d\nbe here long ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no use in talking; the world will not stop me till I know what\nhas happened to my father,\u201d said Cormac.\n\nThe mother could not stop him; she gave her consent. He turned then to\nhis grandfather. \u201cMake ready for me the best vessel you have,\u201d said he.\nThe vessel was soon ready with provisions for a day and a year, and gold\ntwo thousand pieces. He embarked, and went through the main ocean faster\nthan his father had gone till he sailed into Tramor. He was on his way\nwalking till he came to the robbers about midday.\n\nThey saluted him kindly, thinking he had gold, and asked, \u201cWill you play\na game with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Cormac; \u201cI have never refused.\u201d\n\nThey played. The robbers gained, and let him gain; they were at him the\nbest of the day, till they won the last piece of gold of his two thousand\npieces.\n\nWhen he had lost what he had, he was like a wild man, and knew not what\nto do for a while. At last Cormac said to himself, \u201cIt is an old saying\nnever contradicted that strength will get the upper hand of enchantment.\u201d\nHe jumped then, and caught two of the three robbers, one in each hand,\nand set them under his two knees. The third was coming to help the two;\nbut Cormac caught that one with his hand and held the three, kept them\nthere, and said, \u201cI will knock the heads off every man of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not do that,\u201d begged the three. \u201cWho are you? We will do what you ask\nof us.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking my father, Cian Mac Cormac, who left Spain eighteen years\nago with Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpare us,\u201d said the three brothers; \u201cwe will give back your gold and\nraise up your father with Glas Gainach.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can ye do that,\u201d asked Cormac, \u201cor where is my father?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is that pillar there opposite.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where is Glas Gainach?\u201d\n\nThey showed him the earth mound.\n\n\u201cHow can ye bring them back to their own shapes?\u201d asked Cormac.\n\n\u201cWe have a rod of enchantment,\u201d said the brothers; and they told where\nthe rod was. When Cormac had a true account of the rod, what he did was\nto draw out his sword and cut the heads off the three brothers, saying,\n\u201cYe will never again rob any man who walks this way.\u201d Cormac then found\nthe rod of enchantment, went to the pillar, gave it a blow, and his\nfather came forth as well and healthy as ever.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Cian of Cormac.\n\n\u201cI am your son Cormac.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear son, how old are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m in my twentieth year,\u201d said Cormac. \u201cI heard my mother and\ngrandfather talk of your bravery, and I made up my mind to go in search\nof you, and be walking always till I found you. I said I\u2019d face Erin\nfirst, for \u2019twas there you went with Glas Gainach. I landed this morning,\nmet these three robbers; they won all my gold. I was like a wild man. I\ncaught them, and swore I would kill them. They asked who was I; I told\nthem. They said you were the stone pillar; that they had a rod that would\nraise you up with Glas Gainach. They told where the rod was. I took the\nheads off them, and raised you with the rod.\u201d\n\nNow Cormac struck the earth mound, and Glas Gainach rose up as well as\nbefore. Everything was now in its own place, and they were glad. Cian\nwould not stop till he brought Glas Gainach to Elin Gow, so he was\nwalking night and day till he came here behind to Cluainte, where Elin\nGow was living. He screeched out Elin Gow\u2019s name, told him to come. He\ncame out; and when he saw Cian and Glas Gainach he came near fainting\nfrom joy. Cian put Glas Gainach\u2019s horn in his hand, and said, \u201cI wished\nto keep the promise I made when you spared my head; and it was gentle of\nyou to spare it, for great was the loss that I caused you;\u201d and he told\nall that had happened,\u2014how he had won and lost Glas Gainach, and lost her\nthrough the robbers.\n\n\u201cWho is this brave youthful champion with you?\u201d asked Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cThis is my son, and but for him I\u2019d be forever where the three robbers\nput me. I was eighteen years where they left me; but for that, the cow\nwould have been with you long ago. What were you doing all this time?\u201d\nasked Cian of Elin Gow.\n\n\u201cMaking swords and weapons, but I could not have lived without the\nsupport of your father.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe promised me that,\u201d said Cian, \u201cbefore I left Erin. I knew that he\nwould help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, he did!\u201d said Elin Gow.\n\nThe father and son left good health with Elin Gow, and never stopped nor\nstayed till they reached the castle of Cian\u2019s father. The old king had\nthought that Cian was dead, as he had received no account of him for so\nmany years. Great was his joy and gladness, and great was the feast that\nhe made.\n\nCian remained for a month, and then went to the house of the robbers,\ntook out all its treasures, locked up the place in the way that no man\ncould open it; then he gave one-half his wealth to his father. He took\nthe rest to Spain with his son, and lived there.\n\nElin Gow had grown old, and he was in dread that he had not the strength\nto follow Glas Gainach, and sent a message to Caol na Crua, the fleetest\nchampion in Kerry. Caol came. Elin Gow agreed to pay him his price for\nminding the cow, and was glad to get him. He told Caol carefully how to\nherd the cow. She travelled as before, and was always at home before\nnightfall.\n\nGlas Gainach had milk for all; and when any one came to milk her she\nwould stop, and there never was a vessel that she did not fill. One\nwoman heard this; and once when Glas Gainach was near a river, the woman\nbrought a sieve and began to milk. She milked a long time. At last the\ncow saw the river white with milk; then she raised her leg, gave the\nwoman a kick on the forehead, and killed her.\n\nCaol na Crua was doing well, minding the cow all the time, till one\nevening Glas Gainach walked between the two pillars where she used to\nscratch herself; when she was full, her sides would touch both pillars.\nThis evening she bellowed, and Elin Gow heard her. Instead of going home\nthen, she went down to a place northwest of Cluainte, near a ruin; she\nused to drink there at times, but not often. Caol na Crua did not know\nthis. He thought she was going into the sea, and caught her tail to hold\nher back. With that, instead of drinking, she went straight toward the\nwater. Caol tried to hold her. She swept him along and went through the\nocean, he keeping the grip he had, and she going with such swiftness that\nhe was lying flat on the sea behind her; and she took him with her to\nSpain and went to the king, and very joyful was the king, for they were\nin great distress for butter while Glas Gainach was gone.\n\n\n\n\nMOR\u2019S SONS AND THE HERDER FROM UNDER THE SEA.\n\n\nIn old times, there was a great woman in the southwest of Erin, and she\nwas called Mor. This woman lived at Dun Quin; and when she came to that\nplace the first time with her husband Lear, she was very poor. People say\nthat it was by the water she came to Dun Quin. Whatever road she took,\nall she had came by the sea, and went the same way.\n\nShe built a small house, and their property was increasing little by\nlittle. After a while she had three sons, and these grew to be very fine\nboys and then strong young men.\n\nThe two elder sons set out to try their fortunes; they got a vessel,\nsailed away on the sea, and never stopped nor halted till they came to\nthe Kingdom of the White Strand, in the eastern world. There they stayed\nfor seven years, goaling and sporting with the people.\n\nThe king of that country wished to keep them forever, because they were\nstrong men, and had risen to be great champions.\n\nThe youngest son remained at home all the time, growing to be as good\na man as his brothers. One day he went out to look at a large field of\nwheat which his mother had, and found it much injured.\n\n\u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he when he came in, \u201call our field is destroyed by\nsomething. I don\u2019t know for the world what is it. Something comes in,\ntramples the grain and eats it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWatch the field to-night, my son, and see what is devouring our grain.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, mother, boil something for me to eat to give me strength and good\nluck for the night.\u201d\n\nMor baked a loaf, and boiled some meat for her son, and told him to watch\nwell till the hour of night, when perhaps the cattle would be before him.\n\nHe was watching and looking there, till all at once, a little after\nmidnight, he saw the field full of cattle of different colors,\u2014beautiful\ncolors, blue, and red, and white. He was looking at them for a long time,\nthey were so beautiful. The young man wanted to drive the beasts home\nwith him, to show his mother the cattle that were spoiling the grain. He\nhad them out of the field on the road when a herder stood before him, and\nsaid, \u201cLeave the cattle behind you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son; \u201cI will drive them home to my mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not let them with you,\u201d said the herder.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll carry them in spite of you,\u201d replied Mor\u2019s son.\n\nHe had a good strong green stick, and so had the herder; the two faced\neach other, and began to fight. The herder was too strong for Mor\u2019s son,\nand he drove off the cattle into the sea.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the herder, as he was going, \u201cyour mother did not boil your\nmeat or bake your loaf rightly last night; she gave too much fire to the\nloaf and the meat, took the strength out of them. You might do something\nif your mother knew how to cook.\u201d\n\nWhen Mor\u2019s son went home, his mother asked, \u201cDid you see any cattle, my\nson?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did, mother; the field was full of them. And when I was bringing the\nherd home with me to show you, a man stood there on the road to take the\nbeasts from me; we fought, and when he beat me and was driving the cattle\ninto the sea, what did he say but that you boiled the meat and baked the\nloaf too much last night. To-night, when you boil my meat, do not give it\nhalf the fire; leave all the strength in the meat and the loaf.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the mother.\n\nWhen night came, the dinner was ready. The young man ate twice as much\nof the meat and the loaf as the evening before. About the same hour,\njust after midnight, he went to the field, for he knew now what time the\ncattle would be in it. The field was full of the same cattle of beautiful\ncolors.\n\nMor\u2019s son drove the beasts out, and was going to drive them home, when\nthe herder, who was not visible hitherto, came before him and said, \u201cI\nwill not let the cattle with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will take them in spite of you,\u201d replied Mor\u2019s son.\n\nThe two began to fight, and Mor\u2019s son was stronger this time.\n\n\u201cWhy do you not keep your cattle out of my wheat?\u201d asked he of the herder.\n\n\u201cBecause I know very well that you are not able to take them with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am not able to take the cattle, you may have them and the wheat as\nwell,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son.\n\nThe herder was driving the cattle one way, and Mor\u2019s son was driving them\nthe opposite way; and after they had done that for a while, they faced\neach other and began to fight again.\n\nMor\u2019s son was doubly angry at the herder this night for the short\nanswers that he gave. They fought two hours; then the herder got the\nupper hand. Mor\u2019s son was sorry; and the herder, as he drove the cattle\nto the sea, called out, \u201cYour mother gave too much fire to the meat and\nthe loaf; still you are stronger to-night than you were last night.\u201d\n\nMor\u2019s son went home.\n\n\u201cWell, my son,\u201d asked the mother, \u201chave you any news of the cattle and\nthe herder?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have seen them, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what did the herder do?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was too strong for me a second time, and drove the cattle into the\nsea.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are we to do now?\u201d asked the mother. \u201cIf he keeps on in this way,\nwe\u2019ll soon be poor, and must leave the country altogether.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe herder said, as he drove the cattle away, \u2018Your mother gave too much\nfire to the meat and the loaf; still you are stronger to-night than you\nwere last night.\u2019 Well, mother, if you gave too much fire to my dinner\nlast night, give but little to-night, and I will leave my life outside or\nhave the cattle home with me this time. If I do not beat him, he may have\nthe wheat as well as the cattle after to-night.\u201d\n\nMor prepared the dinner; and this time she barely let the water on the\nmeat begin to bubble, and to the bread she gave but one roast.\n\nHe ate and drank twice as much as the day before. The dinner gave him\nsuch strength that he said, \u201cI\u2019ll bring the cattle to-night.\u201d\n\nHe went to the field, and soon after midnight it was full of cattle of\nthe same beautiful colors; the grain was spoiled altogether. He drove\nthe cattle to the road, and thought he had them. He got no sight of the\nherder till every beast was outside the field, and he ready to drive them\nhome to his mother. Then the herder stood before him, and began to drive\nthe cattle toward the sea.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll not take them this time,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the herder.\n\nThey began to fight, caught each other, dragged, and struggled long, and\nin the heel of the battle Mor\u2019s son was getting the better of the herder.\n\n\u201cI think that you\u2019ll have the upper hand of me this time,\u201d said the\nherder; \u201cand \u2019tis my own advice I blame for it. You\u2019ll take the cattle\nto-night in spite of me. Let me go now, and take them away with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son. \u201cI will take them to the house, and please my\nmother.\u201d\n\nHe drove the cattle home, and said to his mother, \u201cI have the cattle here\nnow for you, and do whatever you wish with them.\u201d\n\nThe herder followed Mor\u2019s son to the house.\n\n\u201cWhy did you destroy all my grain with your cattle?\u201d asked Mor.\n\n\u201cLet the cattle go with me now, and I promise that after to-night your\nfield of wheat will be the best in the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are we to do?\u201d asked Mor of the son. \u201cIs it to let the cattle go\nwith him for the promise he gives?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do what you say, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will give him the cattle,\u201d said Mor.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the son to the herder, \u201cmy mother is going to give you the\ncattle for the promise that our grain will be the best in the country\nwhen \u2019tis reaped. We ought to be friends after the fighting; and now take\nyour cattle home with you, though you vexed and hurt me badly.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very grateful to you,\u201d said the herder to Mor\u2019s son, \u201cand for your\nkindness you will have plenty of cattle and plenty of wheat before you\ndie, and seeing that you are such a good man I will give you a chance\nbefore I leave you. The King of Mayo has an only daughter; the fairies\nwill take her from him to-morrow. They will bring her through Daingean,\non the shoulders of four men, to the fairy fort at Cnoc na Hown. Be at\nthe cross-roads about two o\u2019clock to-morrow night. Jump up quickly, put\nyour shoulder under the coffin, the four men will disappear and leave the\ncoffin on the road; do you bring what\u2019s in the coffin home with you.\u201d\n\nMor\u2019s son followed the herder\u2019s directions. He went toward Daingean in\nthe night, for he knew the road very well. After midnight, he was at\nthe cross-roads, waiting and hidden. Soon he saw the coffin coming out\nagainst him, and the four men carrying it on their shoulders.\n\nThe young man put his shoulder under the coffin; the four dropped it that\nminute, and disappeared. Mor\u2019s son took the lid off the coffin; and what\ndid he find lying inside but a beautiful woman, warm and ruddy, sleeping\nas if at home in her bed. He took out the young woman, knowing well that\nshe was alive, and placing her on his back, left the coffin behind at the\nwayside.\n\nThe woman could neither walk nor speak, and he brought her home to his\nmother. Mor opened the door, and he put the young woman down in the\ncorner.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s this you brought me? What do I want with the like of her in the\nhouse?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, mother; it may be our luck that will come with her.\u201d\n\nThey gave her every kind of drink and nourishing food, for she was very\nweak; when daylight came, she was growing stronger, and could speak. The\nfirst words she said were, \u201cI am no good to you in the way that I am now;\nbut if you are a brave man, you will meet with your luck to-morrow night.\nAll the fairies will be gathered at a feast in the fort at Cnoc na Hown;\nthere will be a horn of drink on the table. If you bring that horn, and I\nget three sips from it (if you have the heart of a brave man you will go\nto the fort, seize the horn, and bring it here), I shall be as well and\nstrong as ever, and you will be as rich yourself as any king in Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have stood in great danger before from the like of them,\u201d replied\nMor\u2019s son. \u201cI will make a trial of this work, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cBetween one and two o\u2019clock in the night you must go to the fort,\u201d said\nthe young woman, \u201cand you must carry a stick of green rowan wood in your\nhand.\u201d\n\nThe young man went to the fairy fort, keeping the stick carefully and\nfirmly in his hand. At parting, the young woman warned him, saying, \u201cThey\ncan do you no harm in the world while you have the stick, but without the\nstick there is no telling what they might do.\u201d\n\nWhen Mor\u2019s son came to Cnoc na Hown, and went in through the gate of the\nfairy fort, he saw a house and saw many lights flashing in different\nplaces. In the kitchen was a great table with all sorts of food and\ndrink, and around it a crowd of small men. When he was making toward the\ntable, he heard one of the men say,\u2014\n\n\u201cVery little good will the girl be to Mor\u2019s son. He may keep her in the\ncorner by his mother. There will be neither health nor strength in her;\nbut if she had three drinks out of this horn on the table here, she would\nbe as well as ever.\u201d\n\nHe faced them then, and, catching the horn, said, \u201cShe will not be long\nwithout the drink!\u201d\n\nAll the little men looked at one another as he hurried through the door\nand disappeared. He had the stick, and they could not help themselves;\nbut all began to scold one another for not having the courage to seize\nhim and take the horn from him.\n\nMor\u2019s son reached home with the horn. \u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he, \u201cwe have\nthe cure now;\u201d and he didn\u2019t put the horn down till the young woman had\ntaken three drinks out of it, and then she said,\u2014\n\n\u201cYou are the best champion ever born in Erin, and now take the horn back\nto Cnoc na Hown; I am as well and hearty as ever.\u201d\n\nHe took the horn back to the fairy fort, placed it on the table, and\nhurried home. The fairies looked at one another, but not a thing could\nthey do, for the stick was in his hand yet.\n\n\u201cThe woman is as well as ever now,\u201d said one of the fairies when Mor\u2019s\nson had gone, \u201cand we have lost her;\u201d and they began to scold one another\nfor letting the horn go with him. But that was all the good it did them;\nthe young woman was cured.\n\nNext day the young woman said to Mor\u2019s son, \u201cI am well now, and I will\ngive you a token to take to my father and mother in Mayo.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not take the token,\u201d said he; \u201cI will go and seek out your\nfather, and bring back some token to you first.\u201d\n\nHe went away, searched and inquired till he made out the king\u2019s castle;\nand when he was there, he went around all the cattle and went away home\nto his mother at Tivorye with every four-footed beast that belonged to\nthe king.\n\n\u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he, \u201cit is the luck we have now; and we\u2019ll have the\nwhole parish under stock from this out.\u201d\n\nThe young woman was not satisfied yet, and said, \u201cYou must go and carry a\ntoken to my father and mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait awhile, and be quiet,\u201d answered Mor\u2019s son. \u201cYour father will send\nherders to hunt for the stock, and these men will have token enough when\nthey come.\u201d\n\nWell, sure enough, the king\u2019s men hunted over hills and valleys, found\nthat the cattle had been one day in such a place and another day in\nanother place; and they followed on till at length and at last they came\nnear Mor\u2019s house, and there they saw the cattle grazing above on the\nmountain.\n\nThere was no house in Dun Quin at that time but Mor\u2019s house, and there\nwas not another in it for many a year after.\n\n\u201cWe will send a man down to that house,\u201d said the herders, \u201cto know can\nwe get any account of what great champion it was that brought the cattle\nall this distance.\u201d\n\nWhat did the man see when he came near the house but his own king\u2019s\ndaughter. He knew the young woman, and was struck dumb when he saw her,\nand she buried two months before at her father\u2019s castle in Mayo. He had\nno power to say a word, he forgot where he was, or why he was sent. At\nlast he turned, ran up to the men above on the mountain, and said, \u201cThe\nking\u2019s daughter is living below in that house.\u201d\n\nThe herders would not believe a word he said, but at last three other men\nwent down to see for themselves. They knew the king\u2019s daughter, and were\nfrightened; but they had more courage, and after a while asked, \u201cWhere is\nthe man that brought the cattle?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is sleeping,\u201d said the king\u2019s daughter. \u201cHe is tired after the long\njourney; if you wish, I will wake him.\u201d\n\nShe woke Mor\u2019s son, and he came out.\n\n\u201cWhat brought you here?\u201d asked he of the men.\n\n\u201cWe came looking for our master\u2019s cattle; they are above on the mountain,\ndriven to this place by you, as it seems. We have travelled hither and\nover till we found them.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo and tell your master,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son, \u201cthat I brought the cattle;\nthat Lear is my father, and Mor is my mother, and that I have his\ndaughter here with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no use in sending them with that message,\u201d said the young\nwoman; \u201cmy father would not believe them.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell your master,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son, \u201cthat it is I who brought the cattle,\nand that I have his daughter here in good health, and \u2019tis by my bravery\nthat I saved her.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf they go to my father with that message, he will kill them. I will\ngive them a token for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat token will you give?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give them this ring with my name and my father\u2019s name and my\nmother\u2019s name written inside on it. Do not give the ring,\u201d said she to\nthe men, \u201ctill ye tell my father all ye have seen; if he will not believe\nyou, then give the ring.\u201d\n\nAway went the men, and not a foot of the cattle did they take; and if all\nthe men in Mayo had come, Mor\u2019s son would not have let the cattle go with\nthem, for he had risen to be the best champion in Erin. The men went home\nby the straightest roads; and they were not half the time going to the\nking\u2019s castle that they were in finding the cattle.\n\nOn the way home, one man said to the others, \u201cIt is a great story we have\nand good news to tell; the king will make rich men of us for the tidings\nwe are taking him.\u201d\n\nWhen they reached the king\u2019s castle, there was a welcome before them.\n\n\u201cHave ye any news for me after the long journey?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cWe found your daughter with a man in Tivorye in the southwest of Erin,\nand all your cattle are with the same man.\u201d\n\n\u201cYe may have found my cattle, but ye could not get a sight of my\ndaughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you do not believe us in this way, you will, in another. We may as\nwell tell you all.\u201d\n\n\u201cYe may as well keep silent. I\u2019ll not believe a word of what ye say about\nmy daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you a token from your daughter,\u201d said one of the men,\npulling out a purse. He had the purse rolled carefully in linen. (And he\ndid well, for the fairies cannot touch linen, and it is the best guard in\nthe world against them. Linen thread, too, is strong against the fairies.\nA man might travel all the fairy forts of the world if he had a skein of\nflax thread around his neck, and a steel knife with a black handle in his\npocket.) He took out the ring, and gave it to the king. The king sent for\nthe queen. She came. He put the ring in her hand and said, \u201cLook at this,\nand see do you know it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do indeed,\u201d said she; \u201cand how did you come by this ring?\u201d\n\nThe king told the whole story that the men had brought.\n\n\u201cThis is our daughter\u2019s ring. It was on her finger when we buried her,\u201d\nsaid the queen.\n\n\u201cIt was,\u201d said the king, \u201cand what the men say must be true.\u201d He would\nhave killed them but for the ring.\n\nOn the following morning, the king and queen set out with horses, and\nnever stopped till they came to Tivorye (Mor\u2019s house). The king knew the\ncattle the moment he saw them above on the mountain, and then he was\nsure of the rest. They were sorry to find the daughter in such a small\ncabin, but glad that she was alive. The guide was sent to the house to\nsay the king and queen were coming.\n\n\u201cYour father and mother are coming,\u201d said he to the king\u2019s daughter.\n\nShe made ready, and was standing in the door before them. The father and\nmother felt weak and faint when they looked at her; but she ran out,\ntook them by the hands, and said, \u201cHave courage; I am alive and well, no\nghost, and ye ought to thank the man who brought me away from my enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cBring him to us,\u201d said they; \u201cwe wish to see him.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is asleep, but I will wake him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWake him,\u201d said the father, \u201cfor he is the man we wish to see now.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter roused Mor\u2019s son, and said, \u201cMy father and mother are\nabove in the kitchen. Go quickly, and welcome them.\u201d\n\nHe welcomed them heartily, and he was ten times gladder to see them than\nthey were to see him. They inquired then how he got the daughter, and\nshe buried at home two months before. And he told the whole story from\nfirst to last: How the herder from the sea had told him, and how he had\nsaved her at Cnoc na Hown. They had a joyful night in the cabin after the\nlong journey, and anything that would be in any king\u2019s castle they had\nin Mor\u2019s house that night, for the king had plenty of everything with\nhim from the castle. Next morning the king and queen were for taking the\ndaughter home with them; but she refused firmly, and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI will never leave the man who saved me from such straits. I\u2019ll never\nmarry any man but him, for I\u2019m sure that he is the best hero ever reared\nin Erin, after the courage that he has shown.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will never carry you away, since you like him so well; and we will\nsend him twice as many cattle, and money besides.\u201d\n\nThey brought in the priest of whatever religion was in it at the time (to\nbe sure, it was not Catholic priests were in Erin in those days), and\nMor\u2019s son and the king\u2019s daughter were married. The father and mother\nleft her behind in Tivorye, and enjoyed themselves on the way home, they\nwere that glad after finding the daughter alive.\n\nWhen Mor\u2019s son was strong and rich, he could not be satisfied till he\nfound his two brothers, who had left home years before, and were in the\nkingdom of the White Strand, though he did not know it. He made up a fine\nship then, and got provisions for a day and a year, went into it, set\nsail, and went on over the wide ocean till he came to the chief port of\nthe King of the White Strand. He was seven days on the water; and when he\ncame in on the strand, the king saw him, and thought that he must be a\nbrave man to come alone on a ship to that kingdom.\n\n\u201cThat must be a great hero,\u201d said he to his men. \u201cLet some of the best of\nyou go down and knock a trial out of him before he comes to the castle.\u201d\n\nThe king was so in dread of the stranger that out of all the men he\nselected Mor\u2019s two elder sons. They were the best and strongest men he\nhad, and he sent them to know what activity was in the new-comer. They\ntook two hurleys for themselves and one for the stranger, and a ball.\n\nThe second brother challenged the stranger to play. When the day was\nclosing, the stranger was getting the upper hand. They invited him to the\nking\u2019s castle for the night, and the elder brother challenged him to play\na game on the following day.\n\n\u201cHow did the trial turn out?\u201d asked the king of the elder brother.\n\n\u201cI sent my brother to try him, and it was the strange champion that got\nthe upper hand.\u201d\n\nMor\u2019s son remained at the castle that night, and found good welcome and\ncheer. He ate breakfast next morning, and a good breakfast it was. They\ntook three hurleys then and a ball, and went to the strand. Said the\neldest brother to the second, \u201cStop here and look at us, and see what the\ntrial will be between us.\u201d\n\nThey gave the stranger a choice of the hurleys, and the game began. It\ncouldn\u2019t be told who was the better of the two brothers. The king was in\ndread that the stranger would injure himself and his men. In the middle\nof the day, when it could not be determined who was the better man, the\nelder brother said, \u201cWe will try wrestling now, to know which of us can\nwin that way.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m well satisfied,\u201d said Mor\u2019s son.\n\nThey began to wrestle. The elder brother gave Mor\u2019s son several knocks,\nand he made several turns on the elder.\n\n\u201cWell, if I live,\u201d said the elder, \u201cyou are my brother; for when we used\nto wrestle at home, I had the knocks, and you had the turns. You are my\nyounger brother, for no man was able to wrestle with me when I was at\nTivorye but you.\u201d\n\nThey knew each other then, and embraced. Each told his story.\n\n\u201cCome home with me now,\u201d said the youngest brother, \u201cand see our mother.\nI am as rich as any king, and can give you good entertainment.\u201d\n\nThe three went to the King of the White Strand, and told him everything.\nThe eldest and second brother asked leave of him to go home to see their\nfather and mother. The king gave them leave, and filled their vessel with\nevery kind of good food, and the two promised to come back.\n\nThe three brothers set sail then, and after seven days came in on the\nstrand near Tivorye. The two found their brother richer than any king\nin any country. They were enjoying themselves at home for a long time,\nhaving everything that their hearts could wish, when one day above\nanother they saw a vessel passing Dun Quin, and it drew up at the quay in\nDaingean harbor. Next day people went to the ship; but if they did, not a\nman went on board, for no man was allowed to go.\n\nThere was a green cat on deck. The cat was master of the vessel, and\nwould not let a soul come near it. A report went out through the town\nthat the green cat would allow no one to go near the ship, and for three\nweeks this report was spreading. No one was seen on the vessel but the\ncat, and he the size of a big man.\n\nMor\u2019s sons heard of the ship and the green cat at Daingean, and they\nsaid, \u201cLet us have a day\u2019s pleasure, and go to the ship and see the cat.\u201d\n\nMor bade them stay at home. \u201cDon\u2019t mind the ship or the cat,\u201d said she,\n\u201cand follow my advice.\u201d But the sons would not follow her advice, nor be\nsaid by her, and away they went, in spite of all she could do.\n\nWhen the cat saw them coming, he knew very well who were in it. He jumped\nout on the shore, stood on two legs, and shook hands with the three\nbrothers. He was as tall himself as the largest man, and as friendly as\nhe could be. The three brothers were glad to receive an honor which no\none else could get.\n\n\u201cCome down now to the cabin and have a trial of my cooking,\u201d said the cat.\n\nHe brought them to the cabin, and the finest dinner was on the table\nbefore them,\u2014meat and drink as good as ever they tasted either in Tivorye\nor the kingdom of the White Strand.\n\nWhen the cat had them below in the cabin, and they eating and drinking\nwith great pleasure and delight, he went on deck, screwed down the\nhatches, raised the sails, and away went the vessel sailing out of the\nharbor; and before the three brothers knew where they were, the ship was\nmiles out on the ocean, and they thought they were eating dinner at the\nside of the quay in Daingean.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll go up now,\u201d said they when their dinner was eaten, \u201cthank the cat,\nand go on shore for ourselves.\u201d\n\nWhen on deck, they saw water on all sides, and did not know in the world\nwhere they were. The cat never stopped till he sailed to his own kingdom,\nwhich was the kingdom of the White Strand, for who should the cat be but\nthe King of the White Strand. He had come for the two brothers himself,\nfor he knew that they would never come of their own will, and he could\nnot trust another to go for them. The king needed them, for they were the\nbest men he had. In getting back the two, he took the third, and Mor was\nleft without any son.\n\nMor heard in the evening that the ship was gone, and her own three sons\ninside in it.\n\n\u201cThis is my misfortune,\u201d cried she. \u201cAfter rearing my three sons, they\nare gone from me in this way.\u201d She began to cry and lament then, and to\nscreech wonderfully.\n\nMor never knew who the cat was, or what became of her sons. The wife of\nMor\u2019s youngest son went away to her father in Mayo, and everything she\nhad went with her. Mor\u2019s husband, Lear, had died long before, and was\nburied at Dunmore Head. His grave is there to this day. Mor became half\ndemented, and died soon after.\n\nIf women are scolding at the present time, it happens often that one says\nto another, \u201cMay your children go from you as Mor\u2019s sons went with the\nenchanted cat!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSAUDAN OG AND THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF SPAIN; YOUNG CONAL AND THE\nYELLOW KING\u2019S DAUGHTER.\n\n\nRi Na Durkach (the King of the Turks) lived many years in Erin, where he\nhad one son, Saudan Og. When this son grew up to be twenty years old, he\nwas a prince whose equal was hard to be found.\n\nThe old king was anxious to find a king\u2019s daughter as wife for his son,\nand began to inquire of all wayfarers, rich and poor, high and low, where\nwas there a king\u2019s daughter fit for his son, but no one could tell him.\n\nAt last the king called his old druid. \u201cDo you know,\u201d asked he, \u201cwhere to\nfind a king\u2019s daughter for Saudan Og?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d said the druid; \u201cbut do you order your guards to stop all\npeople passing your castle, and inquire of them where such a woman may\nbe.\u201d\n\nAs the druid advised, the king commanded; but no man made him a bit the\nwiser.\n\nA year later, an old ship captain walked the way, and the guards brought\nhim to the king.\n\n\u201cDo you know where a fitting wife for my son might be found?\u201d asked the\nking.\n\n\u201cI do,\u201d said the captain; \u201cbut my advice to you, and it may be a good\none, is to seek a wife for your son in the land where he was born, and\nnot go abroad for her. You can find plenty of good women in Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201ctell me first who is the woman you have in mind.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you must know,\u201d said the old captain, \u201cthe daughter of the King of\nSpain is the woman.\u201d\n\nStraightway the king had a notice put up on the high-road to bring no\nmore tidings to the castle, as he had no need of them.\n\nWhen Saudan Og saw this notice, he knew that his father had the tidings,\nbut would not give them. Next morning he went to the father and begged\nhim to tell. \u201cI know,\u201d said he, \u201cthat the old captain told you.\u201d\n\nThe king would say nothing for he feared that his son might fall into\ntrouble.\n\n\u201cI will start to-morrow,\u201d said Saudan Og at last, \u201cin search of the\nwoman; and if I do not find her, I will never come back to you, so it is\nbetter to tell me at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe daughter of the King of Spain is the woman,\u201d said the father; \u201cbut\nif you take my advice, you\u2019ll stay at home.\u201d\n\nOn the following day, Saudan Og dressed himself splendidly, mounted a\nwhite steed, and rode away, overtaking the wind before him; but the wind\nbehind could not overtake him. He travelled all that was dry of Erin, and\ncame to the seashore; so he had nowhere else to travel on land, unless he\nwent back to his father. He turned toward a wood then, and saw a great\nash-tree: he grasped the tree, and tore it out with its roots; and,\nstripping the earth from the roots, he threw the great ash into the sea.\nLeaving the steed behind him, he sat on the tree, and never stopped nor\nstayed till he came to Spain. When he landed, he sent word to the king\nthat Saudan Og wished to see him.\n\nThe answer that Saudan got was not to come till the king had his castle\nprepared to receive such a great champion.\n\nWhen the castle was ready, the King of Spain sent a bellman to give\nnotice that every man, woman, or child found asleep within seven days\nand nights would lose their heads, for all must sing, dance, and enjoy\nthemselves in honor of the high guest.\n\nThe king feasted Saudan Og for seven days and nights, and never asked\nhim where was he going or what was his business. On the evening of the\nseventh day, Saudan said to the king, \u201cYou do not ask me what brought me\nthis way, or what is my business.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere you to stay twenty years I would not ask. I\u2019m not surprised that a\nprince of your blood and in full youthful beauty should travel the world\nto see what is in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was not to see the world that I came,\u201d said Saudan Og, \u201cbut hearing\nthat you have a beautiful daughter, I wished her for wife; and if I do\nnot get her with your consent, I will take her in spite of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would get my daughter with a hundred thousand welcomes,\u201d said the\nking; \u201cbut as you have boasted, you must show action.\u201d\n\nThe king then sent a messenger to three kings\u2014to Ri Fohin, Ri Laian,\nand Conal Gulban\u2014to help him. \u201cIf you will not come,\u201d said he, \u201cI am\ndestroyed, for Saudan Og will take my daughter in spite of me.\u201d\n\nThe kings made ready to sail for Spain. When Conal Gulban was going, he\ncalled up his three sons and said, \u201cStay here and care for the kingdom\nwhile I am gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not stay,\u201d said the eldest son. \u201cYou are old and feeble: I am\nyoung and strong; let me go in place of you.\u201d\n\nThe second son gave a like answer. The youngest had his father\u2019s name,\nConal, and the king said to him, \u201cStay here at home and care for the\nkingdom while I am gone, since your brothers will not obey me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do what you bid me,\u201d said Conal.\n\n\u201cNow I am going,\u201d said the old king; \u201cand if I and your brothers never\nreturn, be not bribed by the rich to injure the poor. Do justice to all,\nso that rich and poor may love you as they loved your father before you.\u201d\n\nHe left young Conal twelve advisers, and said, \u201cIf we do not return in\na day and a year, be sure that we are killed; you may then do as you\nlike in the kingdom. If your twelve advisers tell you to marry a king\u2019s\ndaughter of wealth and high rank, it will be of help to you in defending\nthe kingdom. You will be two powers instead of one.\u201d\n\nThe day and the year passed, and no tidings came of Conal\u2019s two brothers\nand father. At the end of the day and the year, the twelve told him they\nhad chosen a king\u2019s daughter for him, a very beautiful maiden. When the\ntwelve spoke of marriage, Conal let three screeches out of him, that\ndrove stones from the walls of old buildings for miles around the castle.\n\nNow an old druid that his father had twenty years before heard the three\nscreeches, and said, \u201cYoung Conal is in great trouble. I will go to him\nto know can I help him.\u201d\n\nThe druid cleared a mountain at a leap, a valley at a hop, twelve miles\nat a running leap, so that he passed hills, dales, and valleys; and in\nthe evening of the same day, he struck his back against the kitchen door\nof Conal\u2019s castle just as the sun was setting.\n\nWhen the druid came to the castle, young Conal was out in the garden\nthinking to himself, \u201cMy father and brothers are in Spain; perhaps they\nare killed.\u201d The dew was beginning to fall, so he turned to go, and\nsaw the old man at the door. The druid was the first to speak; but not\nknowing Conal, he said,\u2014\n\n\u201cWho are you coming here to trouble the child? It would be fitter for you\nto stay in your own place than to be trying to wake young Conal with your\nscreeches.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you,\u201d asked Conal, \u201cthe druid that my father had here years ago?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am that old druid; but are you little Conal?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Conal, and he gave the druid a hundred thousand welcomes.\n\n\u201cI was in the north of Erin,\u201d said the druid, \u201cwhen I heard the three\nscreeches, and I knew that some one was troubling you, and your father\nin a foreign land. My heart was grieved, and I came hither in haste. I\nhear that your twelve advisers have chosen a princess, and that you are\nto marry to-morrow. Put out of your head the thought of that princess;\nshe is not your equal in rank or power. Be advised by me, as your father\nwas. The right wife for you is the daughter of the Yellow King, Haughty\nand Strong. If the king will not give her, take her by force, as your\nfathers before you took their queens.\u201d\n\nConal was roused on the following morning by his advisers, who said,\n\u201cMake ready and go with us to the king\u2019s daughter we have chosen.\u201d\n\nHe mounted his steed, and rode away with the twelve till they came to\na cross-road. The twelve wished to turn to one side; and when Conal\nsaw this, he put spurs to his horse, took the straight road, and never\nstopped till he put seven miles between himself and the twelve. Then he\nturned, hurried back to the cross-road, came up to the adviser whom he\nliked best, and, giving him the keys of the castle, said,\u2014\n\n\u201cGo back and rule till I or my father or brothers return. I give you the\nadvice that I myself got: Never let the poor blame you for taking bribes\nfrom the rich; live justly, and do good to the poor, that the rich and\nthe poor may like you. If you twelve had not advised me to marry, I might\nbe going around with a ball and a hurley, as befits my age; but now I\nwill go out in the world and seek my own fortune.\u201d\n\nHe took farewell of them then, and set his face toward the Yellow King\u2019s\ncastle. A long time before it was prophesied that young Conal, son of\nGulban, would cut the head off the Yellow King, so seven great walls\nhad been built around the castle, and a gate to each wall. At the first\ngate, there were seven hundred blind men to obstruct the entrance; at the\nsecond, seven hundred deaf men; at the third, seven hundred cripples; at\nthe fourth, seven hundred sensible women; at the fifth, seven hundred\nidiots; at the sixth, seven hundred people of small account; at the\nseventh, the seven hundred best champions that the Yellow King had in his\nservice.\n\nAll these walls and defenders were there to prevent any man from taking\nthe Yellow King\u2019s daughter; for it had been predicted that the man who\nwould marry the daughter would take the king\u2019s head, and that this man\nwould be Conal, son of Conal Gulban.\n\nThe only sleep that the guards at the seven gates had was half an hour\nbefore sunrise and half an hour after sunset. During these two half\nhours, a plover stood on the top of each gate; and if any one came, the\nbird would scream, and wake all the people in one instant.\n\nThe Yellow King\u2019s daughter was in the highest story of the castle, and\ntwelve waiting-maids serving her. She was so closely confined that she\nlooked on herself as a prisoner; so one morning early she said to the\ntwelve maids, \u201cI am confined here as a criminal,\u2014I am never free even\nto walk in the garden; and I wish in my heart that some powerful young\nking\u2019s son would come the way to me. I would fly off with him, and no\nblood would be shed for me.\u201d\n\nIt was about this time that young Conal came, and, seeing all asleep,\nput spurs to his steed, and cleared the walls at a bound. If the birds\ncalled out, he had the gates cleared and was in before the champions were\nroused; and when he was inside, they did not attack him.\n\nHe let his horse out to graze near the castle, where he saw three poles,\nand on each one of two of them a skull.\n\n\u201cThese are the heads of two king\u2019s sons who came to win the Yellow King\u2019s\ndaughter,\u201d thought Conal, \u201cand I suppose mine will be the third head; but\nif I die, I shall have company.\u201d\n\nAt this time the twelve waiting-maids cast lots to know who was to walk\nin the yard, and see if a champion had come who was worthy of the\nprincess. The maid on whom the lot fell came back in a hurry, saying, \u201cI\nhave seen the finest man that I ever laid eyes on. He is beautiful, but\nslender and young yet. If there is a man born for you, it is that one.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo again,\u201d said the Yellow King\u2019s daughter, \u201cand face him. Do not speak\nto him for your life till he speaks to you; say then that I sent you, and\nthat he is to come under my window.\u201d\n\nThe maid went and crossed Conal\u2019s path three times, but he spoke not; she\ncrossed a fourth time, and he said, \u201cI suppose it is not for good that\nyou cross my path so early?\u201d\n\n(It is thought unlucky to meet a woman first in the morning.)\n\n\u201cMy mistress wishes you to go under her window.\u201d\n\nConal went under the window; and the king\u2019s daughter, looking down, fell\ndeeply in love with him. \u201cI am too high, and you are too low,\u201d said the\nYellow King\u2019s daughter. \u201cIf we speak, people will hear us all over the\ncastle; but I\u2019ll take some golden cord, and try can I draw you up to me,\nthat we may speak a few words to each other.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would be a poor case for me,\u201d said young Conal, \u201cto wait till you\ncould tie strings together to raise me.\u201d He stuck his sword in the earth\nthen, and, making one bound, went in at the window. The princess embraced\nhim and kissed him; she knew not what to give him to eat or to drink, or\nwhat would please him most.\n\n\u201cHave you seen the people at the seven gates?\u201d asked the Yellow King\u2019s\ndaughter.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d answered Conal.\n\n\u201cThey are all awake now, and I will go down and walk through the gates\nwith you; seeing me, the guards will not stop us.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not do that. It will never be said of young Conal of Erin that he\nstole his wife from her father. I will win you with strength, or not have\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid there is too much against you,\u201d said the Yellow King\u2019s\ndaughter.\n\nThese words enraged Conal, and, making one bound through the window, he\nwent to the pole of combat, and struck a blow that roused the old hag in\nthe eastern world, and shook the castle with all the land around it. The\nYellow King was sleeping at the time; the shake that he got threw him out\nof his bed. He fell to the floor with such force that a great lump came\nout on his forehead; he was so frightened that he said to the old druid\nwho ran in to help him, \u201cMany a year have I lived without hearing the\nlike of that blow. There must be a great champion outside the castle.\u201d\n\nThe guard was sent to see if any one was left alive near the castle.\n\u201cFor,\u201d said the king, \u201csuch a champion must have killed all the people at\nthe gates.\u201d The guard went, saw no one dead, but every one living, and a\nchampion walking around, sword in hand.\n\nThe guard hurried back, and said to the king, \u201cThere is a champion in\nfront of the castle, handsome, but slender and young.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to him,\u201d said the king, \u201cand ask how many men does he want for the\ncombat.\u201d The guard went out and asked.\n\n\u201cI want seven hundred at my right hand, seven hundred at my left, seven\nhundred behind me, and as many as all these out in front of me. Let them\ncome four deep through the gates: do you take no part in this battle; if\nI am victorious, I will see you rewarded.\u201d\n\nThe guard told the king how many men the champion demanded. Before the\nking opened the gates for his men, he said to the chief of them, \u201cThis\nyouth must be mad, or a very great champion. Before I let my men out, I\nmust see him.\u201d\n\nThe king walked out to young Conal, and saluted him. Conal returned the\nsalute. \u201cAre you the champion who ordered out all these men of mine?\u201d\nasked the king.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said young Conal.\n\n\u201cThere is not one among them who would not kill a dozen like you,\u201d said\nthe king. \u201cYour bones are soft and young. It is better for you to go out\nas you came in.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou need not mind what will happen me,\u201d answered Conal. \u201cLet out the\nmen; the more the men, the quicker the work. If one man would kill me in\na short time, many will do it in less time.\u201d\n\nThe men were let out, and Conal went through them as a hawk goes through\na flock of birds; and when one man fell before him, he knocked the next\nman, and had his head off. At sunset every head was cut from its body.\nNext he made a heap of the bodies, a heap of the heads, and a heap of\nthe weapons. Young Conal then stretched himself on the grass, cut and\nbruised, his clothes in small pieces from the blows that had struck him.\n\n\u201cIt is a hard thing,\u201d said Conal, \u201cfor me to have fought such a battle,\nand to lie here dying without one glimpse of the woman I love; could I\nsee her even once, I would be satisfied.\u201d\n\nCrawling on his hands and knees, he dragged himself to the window to tell\nher it was for her he was dying. The princess saw him, and told him to\nlie there till she could draw him up to her and care for him.\n\n\u201cIt is a hard thing if I have to wait here till strings and cords are\nfastened together to raise me,\u201d said he, and, making one bound from where\nhe was lying on the flat of his back, he went up to her window; she\nsnatched at him, and pulled him into the chamber.\n\nThere was a magic well in the castle; the Yellow King\u2019s daughter bathed\nhim in the water of it, and he was made whole and sound as before he went\nto battle. \u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cyou must fly with me from this castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not go while there is anything that may be cast on my honor in\ntime to come,\u201d answered Conal.\n\nNext day he struck the pole of combat with double the force of the first\ntime, so that the king got a staggering fit from the shock that it gave\nhim.\n\nThe Yellow King had no forces now but the deaf, the blind, the cripples,\nthe sensible women, the idiots, and the people of small account. So out\nwent the king in his own person. He and young Conal made the hills,\ndales, and valleys tremble, and clear spring wells to rise out of hard,\ngravelly places. Thus they fought for three days and two nights. On the\nevening of the third day, the king asked Conal for a time to rest and\ntake food and drink.\n\n\u201cI have never begun any work,\u201d said Conal, \u201cwithout finishing it. Fight\nto the end, then you can rest as long as you like.\u201d\n\nSo they went at it again, and fought seven days and seven nights without\nfood, drink, or rest, and each trying to get the advantage of the other.\nOn the seventh evening, Conal swept the head off the king with one blow.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis your own skull that will be on the pole in place of mine, and I\u2019ll\nhave the daughter,\u201d said Conal.\n\nThe Yellow King\u2019s daughter came down and asked, \u201cWill you go with me now,\nor will you take the kingdom?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d answered Conal.\n\n\u201cYou did not go to the battle?\u201d asked Conal of the guard.\n\n\u201cI did not.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell for you that you did not. Now,\u201d said Conal to the princess,\n\u201cwhomever of the maids you like best, the guard may marry, and they will\ncare for this kingdom till we return.\u201d\n\nThe guard and maid were married, and put in charge of the kingdom. The\nfollowing morning young Conal got his steed ready and set out for home\nwith the princess. As they were riding along near the foot of a mountain,\nConal grew very sleepy, and said to the princess, \u201cI\u2019ll go down now and\ntake a sleep.\u201d\n\nThe place was lonely,\u2014hardly two houses in twenty miles. The Yellow\nKing\u2019s daughter advised Conal: \u201cTake me to some habitation and sleep\nthere; this place is too wild.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot wait,\u2014I\u2019m too drowsy and weary after the long battle; but if\nI might sleep a little, I could fight for seven days and seven nights\nagain.\u201d He dismounted, and she sat on a green mossy bank. Putting his\nhead on her lap, he fell asleep, and his steed went away on the mountain\nside grazing.\n\nConal had slept for three days and two nights with his head in the lap\nof the Yellow King\u2019s daughter, when on the evening of the third day the\nprincess saw the largest man she had ever set eyes on, walking toward\nher through the sea and a basket on his back. The sea did not reach to\nhis knees; a shield could not pass between his head and the sky. This\nwas the High King of the World. This big man faced up to where Conal and\nhis bride were; and, taking the tips of her fingers, he kissed her three\ntimes. \u201cBad luck to me,\u201d said the King of the World, \u201cif the young woman\nI am going for were beyond the ditch there I would not go to her. You\nare fairer and better than she.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere were you going?\u201d asked the princess. \u201cDon\u2019t mind me, but go on.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was going for the Yellow King\u2019s daughter, but will not go a step\nfurther now that I see you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo your way to her, for she is the finest princess on earth; I am a\nsimple woman, and another man\u2019s wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, pain and torments to me if I go beyond this without taking you\nwith me!\u201d\n\n\u201cIf this man here were awake,\u201d said the Yellow King\u2019s daughter, \u201che would\nput a stop to you.\u201d She was trying all this time to rouse Conal.\n\n\u201cIt is better for him to be as he is,\u201d said the High King; \u201cif he were\nawake, it\u2019s harm he\u2019d get from me, and that would vex you.\u201d\n\nWhen she saw that he would take her surely, she bound him not to make her\nhis wife for a day and a year.\n\n\u201cThis is the worst promise that ever I have made,\u201d said the High King,\n\u201cbut I will keep it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf this man here were awake, he would stop you,\u201d said the princess.\n\nThe High King of the World thrust the tip of his forefinger under the\nsword-belt of Conal, and hurled him up five miles in the air. When Conal\ncame down, he let out three waves of blood from his mouth.\n\n\u201cDo you think that is enough?\u201d asked the king of the princess.\n\n\u201cThrow him a second time,\u201d said the Yellow King\u2019s daughter.\n\nHe threw him still higher, and Conal put out three greater waves. \u201cIs\nthat enough?\u201d\n\n\u201cTry him a third time.\u201d He threw him still higher this time. Conal put\nout three greater waves, but waked not.\n\nWhile the High King was throwing up Conal, the princess was writing a\nletter telling all,\u2014that she knew not whither she was going, that she had\nbound the High King of the World not to make her his wife for a day and a\nyear, \u201cand,\u201d said she, \u201cI\u2019m sure that you will find me in that time.\u201d\n\nThe king took her in his arms, and away he went walking in the sea,\nthrowing fish into his basket as he travelled through the water.\n\nConal slept a hero\u2019s sleep of seven days and nights, and woke four days\nafter his bride had been stolen. He rubbed his eyes, and, glancing toward\nthe mountain side, saw neither steed nor wife, and said, \u201cNo wonder that\nI cannot see wife nor horse when I\u2019m so sleepy; what am I to do?\u201d\n\nNot far away were some small boys, and they herding cows. The boys began\nto make sport of Conal for sleeping seven days and nights. \u201cI do not\nblame you for laughing,\u201d said Conal (ever since, when there is a great\nsleeper, people say that he sleeps like Conal on the side of Beann\nEdain), \u201cbut have you tidings of my wife and my steed; where are they, or\nhas any man taken them?\u201d\n\nA boy older and wiser than the others said, \u201cYour horse is on the\nmountain side feeding; and every day he came hither and sniffed you, and\nyou sleeping, and then went away grazing for himself. Four days ago the\ngreatest giant ever seen by the eye of man walked in through the ocean;\nhe tossed you three times in the air. Every time we thought you\u2019d be\nbroken to dust; and the lady you had, wrote something and put it under\nyour belt.\u201d\n\nConal read the letter, and knew that, in spite of her, the Yellow King\u2019s\ndaughter had been carried away. He then preferred battle to peace, and\nasked the boys was there a ship that could take him to sea.\n\n\u201cThere is no right ship in the place, but there is an old vessel wrecked\nin a cove there beyond,\u201d said the oldest boy.\n\nThe boys went with Conal, and showed him the vessel.\n\n\u201cPut your backs to her now, and help me,\u201d said Conal.\n\nThe boys laughed, thinking that two hundred men could not move such a\nvessel. Conal scowled, and then they were in dread of him, and with one\nshove they and Conal put the ship in the sea; but the water was going in\nand out through her. Conal knew not at first what to do, as there was no\ntimber near by, but he killed seven cows, fastened the hides on the ship,\nand made it proof against water. When the boys saw the cows slaughtered,\nthey began to cry, saying, \u201cHow can we go home now, and our cows killed?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is not a cow killed,\u201d said Conal, \u201cbut you will get two cows in\nplace of her.\u201d He gave two prices for each cow of the seven, and said to\nthe boys, \u201cGo home now, and tell what has happened.\u201d\n\nConal sailed away for himself; and when his ship was in the ocean, he let\nher go with the wind. On the third afternoon, he saw three islands, and\non the middle island a fine open strand, with a great crowd of people. He\nthrew out three anchors, two at the ocean side and one at the shore side,\nso that the ship would not stir, no matter what wind blew, and, planting\nhis sword in the deck, he gave one bound and went out on the strand\nseven miles distant. He saluted a good-looking man, and asked, \u201cWhy are\nso many people here? What is their business?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere do you live? Of what nation are you that you ask such a question?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a stranger,\u201d said Conal, \u201cjust come to this island.\u201d\n\nThe islander showed Conal a man sitting on the beach as large as twelve\nof the big men of the island. \u201cDo you see him?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do,\u201d said Conal.\n\n\u201cThere are three brothers of us on these three islands; that man is our\nyoungest brother, and he has grown so strong and terrible that we are in\ndread he will drive us from our share of the islands, and that is why\nwe are here to-day. My eldest brother and I have come with what men we\nhave to this middle island, which belongs to our youngest brother. We\nare to play ball against all his forces; if we beat them, we shall think\nourselves safe. Now, which side will you take, young champion?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I go on your side, some may say that I fear your men; and if I go\nwith your younger brother, you and your elder brother may say that I fear\nyour strong brother\u2019s forces. Bring all the men of the three islands. I\nwill play against them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d asked the stranger, \u201cwhat wager will you lay?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll wager,\u201d said Conal, \u201cthose two islands out there on the ocean side.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are ours already,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cBad luck to you! Why claim everything?\u201d said Conal. \u201cWell, I\u2019ll lay\nanother wager. If I lose, I\u2019ll stand in the middle of the strand, and\nevery man of the three islands may give me a blow of the hurley; and if I\nwin, I am to have a blow on every man who played against me. But first, I\nmust have my choice of the hurleys; all must be thrown in a heap. I will\ntake the one I like best.\u201d\n\nThis was done, and Conal took the largest and strongest hurley he could\nfind. The ball was struck about the middle of the strand; and there was a\ngoal at each end of it, and these goals were fourteen miles apart. Conal\ntook the ball with hurley, hand and foot, and never let it touch ground\ntill he put it through the goal. \u201cIs that a fair inning?\u201d asked he of the\nother side.\n\nSome said it was foul, for he kept the ball in the air all the time.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll make a second trial; I will put it through the opposite\ngoal.\u201d He struck the ball in the middle of the strand, and sent it toward\nthe other goal with such force that whoever tipped it never drew breath\nagain, and every man whom it passed was driven sixty feet to one side or\nthe other. Conal was always within a few yards of the ball, and he put\nit through the goal seven miles distant from the middle of the strand\nwith two blows.\n\n\u201cIs that a fair inning?\u201d asked Conal.\n\n\u201cIt would be hard to say that it is not,\u201d said one man, and no man\ngainsaid him.\n\n\u201cLet all stand now in ranks two deep, till I get my blow on each man of\nyou.\u201d\n\nAll the men were arranged two deep; and when Conal came up, the foremost\nman sprang behind the one in the rear of him, and that one behind the man\nat his side, and so on throughout. None would stand to receive Conal\u2019s\nblow.\n\nAway rushed every man, woman, and child, and never stopped till they were\ninside in their houses. First of all, ran the brothers of the islands.\n\nWhen they reached the castle, they began to lament because they had\ninsulted the champion, and knew not who he was or whence he had come.\n\nThe three brothers had one sister; and when she saw them lamenting and\ngrieving, she asked: \u201cWhat trouble is on you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe fled from the champion, and the people followed us.\u201d\n\n\u201cNone of you invited the champion to the castle,\u201d said the sister; \u201cnow\nhe will fall into such a rage on the strand that in one hour he will not\nleave a person alive on the islands. If I had some one to go with me, I\nwould invite him, and the people would be spared.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d said her chief maid.\n\nAway they went, walking toward the strand; and when they had come near,\nthey threw themselves on their knees before Conal. He asked who they were\nand what brought them.\n\n\u201cMy brothers sent me to beg pardon for them, and invite you to the\ncastle.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d said Conal; \u201cand if you had not come, I would not have left\na man alive on the three islands.\u201d Conal went with the princess, and saw\nat the castle a very old and large man; and the old man rose up before\nhim and said, \u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you, young Conal from Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you who know me, and I never before on this island?\u201d asked Conal.\n\n\u201cMy name is Donach the Druid, from Erin. I was often in your father\u2019s\nhouse, and it was a good place for rich or poor to visit, for they were\nalike there; and now I hope you will take me home to be buried among my\nown people. It was God who drove you hither to this island to take me\nhome.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I will do that,\u201d said Conal, \u201cif I go there myself. Tell me now how\nyou came to this place.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was taken,\u201d said Donach, \u201cout on the wild arm of the wind, and was\nthrown in on this island. I am here ever since. I am old now, and I wish\nto be home in my own place in Erin.\u201d\n\nNow young Conal, the sister, and three brothers sat down to dinner. When\ndinner was over, and they had eaten and drunk, they were as happy as if\nthey had lived a thousand years together. The three brothers asked Conal\nwhere was he going, and what was his business. Conal did not say that\nhe was in search of his wife, but he said that he was going to his own\ncastle and kingdom. The old druid, two of the brothers, and the sister\nsaid, \u201cWe will go with you, and serve you till you come to your kingdom.\u201d\n\nThey got a boat and took him to the ship. He weighed anchor, and sailed\naway. For two or three days they saw nothing wonderful. The fourth day\nthey came to a great island; and as they neared it, they saw three\nchampions inside, and the three fighting with swords and spears. Young\nConal was surprised to see three fighting at the same time.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cit is nothing to see two champions in combat, but \u2019tis\nstrange to see three. I will go in and see why they are fighting.\u201d He\nthrew out his chains, and made his ship fast; then he made a rush from\nthe stern of the vessel to the bow, and as he ran, he caught Donach the\nDruid and carried him, and with one leap was in on the strand, seven\nmiles from the ship.\n\nYoung Conal faced the champions, and, saluting the one he thought best,\nasked the cause of their battle. The champion sat down, and began. \u201cI\nwill tell you the reason,\u201d said he. \u201cSeven miles from this place there\nstands a castle; in that castle is the most beautiful woman that the eye\nof man has ever seen, and the three of us are in love with her. She says\nshe will take only the best man; and we are striving to know who is best,\nbut no man of us three can get the upper hand of another. We can kill\nevery man who comes to the island, but no man of us can kill another of\nthe three.\u201d\n\nWhen Conal heard this he sprang up, and told the champions to face him\nand he would see what they could do. The three faced him, and went at\nhim. Soon he swept the heads off two of them, but the third man was\npressing hard on Conal. His name was the Short Dun Champion; but in the\nend Conal knocked him with a blow, and no sooner had he him knocked\nthan Donach the Druid had him tied with strong cords and strings of\nenchantment. Then young Conal spoke to Donach the Druid and said, \u201cCome\nto this champion\u2019s breastbone and split it, take out his heart and his\nliver, and give them to my young hound to eat;\u201d and turning to the Short\nDun Champion, he asked, \u201cHave you ever been so near a fearful death as\nyou are at this moment?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis hard for me to answer you,\u201d said he, \u201cfor \u2019tis firmly I am bound by\nyour Druid, bad luck to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnbind the champion,\u201d said Conal, \u201ctill he tells us at his ease was he\never nearer a fearful death than he is at this moment.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was,\u201d said the champion to Conal. \u201cSit down there on that stool. I\nwill sit here and tell you. I did not think much of your torture, for I\nknew that when my heart and liver were taken, I should be gone in that\nmoment. Once I had a longer torture to suffer. Not many months ago, I was\nsailing on my ship in mid-ocean when I saw the biggest man ever seen on\nearth, and he with a beautiful woman in his hand. The moment I saw that\nwoman I was in love with her, and I sailed toward the High King of the\nWorld, for it was he that was in it; but if I did, he let my ship go out\nin full sail between his two legs, and travelled on in another direction.\nI turned the ship again, and went after him. I climbed to the topmast,\nand stood there. I came up to the King of the World, for wind and wave\nwere with me, and, being almost as high as the woman in his hand, I made\na grasp at her; he let my ship out between his legs, but if he did, I\ntook the woman with me and kissed her three times. This enraged the High\nKing. He came to my ship, bound and tied me with strong hempen cords,\nthen, putting a finger under me, he tossed me out on the sea and let\nmy ship drift with the wind. I had some enchantment of my own, and the\nsea did not drown me. When little fish came my way, I swallowed them,\nand thus I got food. I was in this state for many days, and the hempen\ncords began to rot and weaken. Through good luck or ill, I was thrown\nin on this island. I pulled the cords, and struggled with them till one\nhand was free; then I unbound myself. I came to shore where the island\nis wildest. A bird called Nails of Daring had a nest in a high, rugged\ncliff. This bird came down, and, seizing me, rose in the air. Then she\ndropped me. I fell like a ball, and struck the sea close to land. I\nfeigned death well, and was up and down with the waves that she might not\nseize me a second time, but soon she swooped down and placed her ear near\nme to know was I living. I held my breath, and she, thinking me dead,\nflew away. I rose up, and ran with all speed to the first house I found.\nNow, was I not nearer a worse death than the one to which you condemned\nme? Nails of Daring would have given me a frightful and slow death, and\nyou wished to give me a quick one.\u201d\n\n\u201cShort Dun Champion,\u201d said Conal, \u201cthe woman you saw with the High King\nwas my wife. It was luck that brought me in your way, and it was luck\nthat Donach the Druid tied you in such a fashion. Now you must guide me\nto the castle of the High King.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, now, druid, bind my hands and feet, take my heart and liver and\ngive them to young Conal\u2019s hound whelp, rather than take me to that king.\nI got dread enough before from him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBelieve me, all I want of you now is to guide my ship; you will come\nback in safety and health,\u201d said young Conal.\n\n\u201cI will go with you and guide you, if you put me beneath your ship\u2019s\nballast when you see him nearing us, for fear he will get a glimpse of\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do that,\u201d said Conal.\n\nNow they went out to the ship, and steered away, with the Short Dun\nChampion as pilot. They were the fifth day at sea when he steered the\nship toward the castle of the High King. \u201cThat,\u201d said the Short Dun\nChampion, pointing to a great building on an island, \u201cis the castle of\nthe High King of the World; but as good a champion as you are, you cannot\nfree your wife from it. That castle revolves; and as it goes around it\nthrows out poison, and if one drop of that poison were to fall on you the\nflesh would melt from your bones. But the King of the World is not at\nhome now, for to-morrow the day and the year will be up since he stole\nthe wife from you. I have some power of enchantment and I will bring the\nwoman to you in the ship.\u201d\n\nThe Short Dun Champion went with one leap from the deck of the ship\nto the strand, and, caring for no man, walked straight to the castle\nwhere the Yellow King\u2019s daughter was held. The castle had an opening\nunderneath, and the Short Dun Champion, keeping the poison away by his\npower, passed in, found the princess, and wrapping her in the skirt of an\nenchanted cloak that he had, took her out, and running to the strand was\nin on the deck of the ship with one bound.\n\nThe moment the princess set eyes on Conal, she gave such a scream that\nthe High King heard her, and he off in the Western World inviting all the\ngreat people to his wedding. He started that minute for the castle, and\ndid not wait to throw fish in his basket as he went through the sea. When\nhe came home, the princess was not there before him. \u201cWhere has my bride\ngone, or has some one stolen her?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cA man who has a ship in the harbor came and stole the lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cA thousand deaths! What shall I do, and all the high people on the way\nto the wedding?\u201d\n\nHe seized a great club and killed half his servants, then rushed to the\nstrand, and seeing the ship still at anchor, shouted for battle.\n\nWhen the Short Dun Champion heard the king\u2019s voice, he screamed to be put\nunder the ballast. He was put there and hidden from sight. \u201cIf I whistle\nwith my fingers,\u201d asked young Conal, \u201cwill you come to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will, if I were to die the next moment,\u201d said the Short Dun Champion.\n\nConal told Donach the Druid to stand at the bows of the ship, then,\nwalking to the stern, he was so glad at having his wife on the vessel,\nand he going to fight with the High King, that he made a run, seized the\ndruid, and carried him with one leap to the strand, eleven miles distant.\n\nThe High King demanded his wife.\n\n\u201cShe is not your wife, but mine,\u201d said young Conal. \u201cI won her with my\nsword, and you stole her away like a thief, and I sleeping. Though she\nis mine, I did not flee when I took her away from you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is time for battle,\u201d said the king, and the two closed in combat.\nThe king, being so tall, had the advantage. \u201cI might as well make him\nshorter,\u201d thought Conal, and with one blow he cut the two legs off the\nking at the knee joints. The king fell. No sooner was he down than the\ndruid had him tied with hard cords of enchantment. Conal whistled through\nhis finger. The Short Dun Champion, hearing the whistle, screamed to be\nfreed from the ballast. The men took him out. He went in on the strand\nwith one bound, and when he came up to where the High King was lying,\nConal said, \u201cCut this man at the breastbone, take out his heart with his\nliver, and give them as food to my hound whelp.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is well bound by your druid; but firmly as he is bound, I am in dread\nto go near him to do this.\u201d\n\nConal then drew his own sword, and with a blow swept the head off the\nHigh King. Then Conal, Donach the Druid, and the Short Dun Champion went\nto the ship and sailed homeward. On their way, where should they sail but\nalong the coast of Spain? While they were sailing, Conal espied three\ngreat castles, and not far from them a herd of cattle grazing.\n\n\u201cWill one of you go and inquire why these three castles are built near\ntogether?\u201d asked Conal of the two island brothers.\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d said the elder.\n\nHe went on shore to the herdsman and asked, \u201cWhy are those three castles\nso near one another?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said the herdsman; \u201cbut you must come first and touch\nmy finger-tips.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had the champion done this, than the man drew a rod of\nenchantment, struck him a blow, and turned him to stone.\n\nConal saw this from the ship, and asked, \u201cWho will go in now?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d said the second brother. \u201cI have the best right.\u201d He went\nand met the same fate as his brother.\n\n\u201cI will go this time,\u201d said Conal.\n\nThe Yellow King\u2019s daughter, Donach the Druid, and the Short Dun Champion\nseized Conal to keep him from going.\n\n\u201cIf I do not live but a moment, I must go and knock satisfaction out of\nthe herdsman for what he has done to my men,\u201d cried out Conal. So he\nwent, and walking up to the herdsman, asked the same questions as the two\nbrothers.\n\n\u201cCome here and touch my finger tips.\u201d\n\nConal walked up to the herdsman, caught his fingers, then ran under the\nrod and seized the herdsman; but if he did, the herdsman had him that\nmoment on the flat of his back. But Conal was up, and had the herdsman\ndown, and, drawing his sword, said, \u201cI\u2019ll have your head now unless you\ntell me why these three castles are here close together.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you, but do you remember, young Conal, when in our father\u2019s\ncastle how I used to get the first blow on you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you my brother?\u201d asked Conal.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said the herdsman.\n\n\u201cWhy did you kill my men?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I killed them, I can raise them;\u201d and going to the two brothers, he\nstruck each a blow, and they rose up as well and strong as ever.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the brother to Conal, \u201cSaudan Og arrived in Spain the day\nbefore we did, and he had one-third of the kingdom taken before us. We\nwent against him the following day, and kept him inside that third, and\nwe have neither gained nor lost since. The King of Spain had a castle\nhere; my father and the King of Leinster built a second castle near that;\nSaudan Og built the third near the two, for himself and his men, and that\nis why the three castles are here. We are ever since in battle; Saudan\nhas the one-third, and we the rest of Spain.\u201d\n\nConal arrayed himself as a champion next morning, and went to Saudan\u2019s\ncastle. He struck a blow on the pole of combat that shook the whole\nkingdom, and that day he killed Saudan and every man of his forces.\n\nConal\u2019s eldest brother married the daughter of the King of Spain. He\ntook the second brother with him, married him to the sister of the two\nisland brothers, and gave him the three islands. He went home then, gave\nthe kingdom of the Yellow King to the Short Dun Champion, and had the\ntwo island brothers well married to king\u2019s daughters in Erin. All lived\nhappily and well; if they did not, may we!\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLACK THIEF AND KING CONAL\u2019S THREE HORSES.\n\n\nThere was a king once in Erin who had a beautiful queen, and the queen\u2019s\nheart was as good as her looks. Every one loved her, but, above all, the\npoor people. There wasn\u2019t a needy man or woman within a day\u2019s journey of\nthe castle who was not blessing the beautiful queen. On a time this queen\nfell ill suddenly, and said to the king, \u201cIf I die and you marry a second\nwife, leave not my three sons to a strange woman\u2019s rule. Send them away\nto be reared till they come to age and maturity.\u201d\n\nThe queen died soon after. The king mourned for her one year and a\nsecond; then his chief men and counsellors urged him to seek out a new\nqueen.\n\nThe king built a castle in a distant part of his kingdom, and put his\nthree sons there with teachers and servants to care for them. He married\na second wife then; and the two lived on happily till the new wife had a\nson. The young queen never knew that the king had other children than\nher son, or that there was a queen in the kingdom before her.\n\nOn a day when the king was out hunting in the mountains, the queen went\nto walk near the castle, and as she was passing the cottage of a greedy\nold henwife, she stumbled and fell.\n\n\u201cMay the like of that meet you always!\u201d said the henwife.\n\n\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d asked the queen, who overheard her.\n\n\u201cIt is all one to you what I say. It is little you care for me or the\nlike of me. It wasn\u2019t the same with the queen that was here before you.\nThere wasn\u2019t a week that she did not give support to poor people, and she\nshowed kindness to every one always.\u201d\n\n\u201cHad the king a wife before me?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cHe had, indeed; and I could tell enough to keep you thinking for a day\nand a year, if you would pay me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will pay you well if you tell all about the queen that was in it\nbefore me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you give me one hundred speckled goats, one hundred sheep, and one\nhundred cows I will tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you all those,\u201d said the queen, \u201cif you tell everything.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe queen that was here at first had three sons; and before the king\nmarried you, he prepared a great castle, and the sons are in that castle\nnow with teachers and men taking care of them. When the three are of age,\nyour son will be without a place for his head.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do to keep my son in the kingdom?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cPersuade the king to bring his three sons to the castle, then play\nchess with them. I will give you a board with which you can win. When\nyou have won of the three young men, put them under bonds to go for the\nthree steeds of King Conal for you to ride three times around all the\nboundaries of the kingdom. Many and many is the champion and hero who\nwent for King Conal\u2019s horses; but not a man of them was seen again, and\nso it will be with these three. Your son will be safe at home, and will\nbe king himself when his time comes.\u201d\n\nThe queen went home to the castle, and if ever she had a head full of\nplans it was that time. She began the same night with the king.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it a shame for you to keep your children away from me, and I\nwaiting this long time for you to bring them home to us?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow am I keeping my children from you?\u201d asked the king. \u201cHaven\u2019t you\nyour own son and mine with you always?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have three sons of your own. You were married before you saw me.\nBring your children home. I will be as fond of them as you are.\u201d\n\nNo matter what the king said, the queen kept up her complaining with\nsweet words and promises, and never stopped till the king brought his\nsons to the castle.\n\nThe king gave a great feast in honor of the young men. After the feast\nthe queen played chess for a sentence with the eldest. She played twice;\nwon a game and lost one. Next day she played one game with the second\nson. On the third day, she played with the youngest; won one game and\nlost one.\n\nOn the fourth day, the three were in the queen\u2019s company.\n\n\u201cWhat sentence do you put on me and my brothers?\u201d asked the eldest.\n\n\u201cI put you and your brothers under sentence not to sleep two nights in\nthe same house, nor to eat twice off the same table, till you bring me\nthe three steeds of King Conal, so that I may ride three times around the\nkingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you tell me,\u201d asked the eldest son, \u201cwhere to find King Conal?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are four quarters in the world; I am sure it is in one of these\nthat he lives,\u201d said the queen.\n\n\u201cI might as well give you sentence now,\u201d said the eldest brother. \u201cI put\nyou under bonds of enchantment to stand on the top of the castle and stay\nthere without coming down, and watch for us till we come back with the\nhorses.\u201d\n\n\u201cRemove from me your sentence; I will remove mine,\u201d said the queen.\n\n\u201cIf a young man is relieved of the first sentence put on him, he will\nnever do anything good,\u201d said the king\u2019s son. \u201cWe will go for the horses.\u201d\n\nNext day the three brothers set out for the castle of King Conal. They\ntravelled one day after another, stopping one night in one place and the\nnext in another, and they were that way walking till one evening, when\nwhom should they meet but a limping man in a black cap. The man saluted\nthem, and they returned the salute.\n\n\u201cWhat brought you this road, and where are you going?\u201d asked the stranger.\n\n\u201cWe are going to the castle of King Conal to know can we bring his three\nhorses home with us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the man, \u201cmy house is nearby, and the dark night is coming;\nstay with me till morning, and perhaps I can help you.\u201d\n\nThe young men went with the stranger, and soon came to his house. After\nsupper the man said, \u201cIt is the most difficult feat in the world to steal\nKing Conal\u2019s three horses. Many a good man went for them, and never came\nback. Why do you go for those horses?\u201d\n\n\u201cOur father is a king in Erin, and he married a second time. Our\nstepmother bound us to bring the three horses, so she may ride three\ntimes around our father\u2019s kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d said the man. \u201cWithout me, you would lose your\nlives; together, we may bring the horses.\u201d\n\nNext morning the four set out, and went their way, walking one day after\nanother, till at long last they reached the castle of King Conal at\nnightfall.\n\nOn that night, whatever the reason was, the guards fell asleep at the\nstables. The stranger and the three young men made their way to the\nhorses; but if they did, the moment they touched them the horses let\nthree screeches out of them that shook the whole castle and woke every\nman in the country around it.\n\nThe guards seized the young men with the stranger, and took the four to\nKing Conal.\n\nThe king was in a great room on the ground-floor of his castle. In front\nof him was an awfully big pot full of oil, and it boiling.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king when he saw the stranger before him, \u201conly that the\nBlack Thief is dead, I\u2019d say you were that man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the Black Thief,\u201d said the stranger.\n\n\u201cWe will know that in time,\u201d said the king; \u201cand who are these three\nyoung men?\u201d\n\n\u201cThree sons of a king in Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll begin with the youngest. But stir up the fire there, one of you,\u201d\nsaid King Conal to the attendants; \u201cthe oil is not hot enough.\u201d And\nturning to the Black Thief, he asked, \u201cIsn\u2019t that young man very near his\ndeath at this moment?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was nearer death than he is, and I escaped,\u201d said the Black Thief.\n\n\u201cTell me the story,\u201d said the king. \u201cIf you were nearer death than he is,\nI will give his life to that young man.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I was young,\u201d said the Black Thief, \u201cI lived on my land with\nease and plenty, till three witches came the way, and destroyed all my\nproperty. I took to the roads and deep forests then, and became the most\nfamous thief that ever lived in Erin. This is the story of the witches\nwho robbed and tried to kill me:\u2014\n\n\u201cThere was a king not long ago in Erin, and he had three beautiful\ndaughters. When they grew up to be old enough for marriage, they were\nenchanted in the way that the three became brazen-faced, old-looking,\nvenomous hags every night, and were three beautiful, harmless young women\nevery day, as before.\n\n\u201cI was living for myself on my land, and had laid in turf enough for\nseven years, and I thought it the size of a mountain. I went out at\nmidnight, and what did I see but the hags at my reek; and they never\nstopped till they put every sod of the turf into three creels on their\nbacks, and made off with it.\n\n\u201cThe following season I brought turf for another seven years, and the\nnext midnight the witches stole it all from me; but this time I followed\nthem. They went about five miles, and disappeared in a broad hole twenty\nfathoms deep. I waited, then looked down, and saw a great fire under a\npot with a whole bullock in it. There was a round stone at the mouth of\nthe hole. I used all my strength, rolled it down, broke the pot, and\nspoiled the broth on the witches.\n\n\u201cAway I ran then, but was not long on the road when I saw the three\nracing after me. I climbed a tree to escape from them. The witches came\nin a rage, stopped under the tree, and looked up at me. The eldest rested\nawhile, then made a sharp axe of the second, and a venomous hound of\nthe third, to destroy me. She took the axe herself then, gave one blow\nof it, and cut one-third of the tree; she gave a second blow, and cut\nanother third; she had the axe raised a third time when a cock crowed,\nand there before my eyes the axe turned into a beautiful woman, the hag\nwho had raised it into a second, and the venomous hound into a third. The\nthree walked away then, harmless and innocent as any young women in Erin.\nWasn\u2019t I nearer death that time than this young man?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you were,\u201d said the king; \u201cI give him his life, and it\u2019s his brother\nthat\u2019s near death now. He has but ten minutes to live.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I was nearer death than that young man,\u201d said the Black Thief.\n\n\u201cTell how it was. If you convince me, I\u2019ll give him his life, too.\u201d\n\n\u201cAfter I broke their pot, the witches destroyed my property night after\nnight, and I had to leave that place and find my support on the roads and\nin forests. I was faring well enough till a year of hunger and want came.\nI went out once into a great wood, walked up and down to know could I\nfind any food to take home to my wife and my children.\n\n\u201cI found an old white horse and a cow without horns. I tied the tails of\nthe two to each other, and was driving them home for myself with great\nlabor; for when the white horse pulled backward, the cow would pull\nforward, and when the horse tried to go on, the cow wouldn\u2019t go with him.\nThey were that way in disagreement till they drew the night on themselves\nand on me. I had a bit of flint in my pocket, and put down a fire. I\ncould not make my way out of the wood in the night-time, and sat down by\nthe fire. I was not long sitting when thirteen cats, wild and enormous,\nstood out before me. Of these, twelve were each the bulk of a man; the\nthirteenth, a red one, the master of the twelve, was much larger. They\nbegan to purr on the opposite side of the fire, and make a noise like the\nrumbling of thunder. At last the big red cat lifted his head, opened his\nwide eyes, and said to me, \u2018I\u2019ll be this way no longer; give me something\nto eat.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing to give you,\u201d said I, \u201cunless you take that white horse\nbelow there and kill him.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe went down then, and made two halves of the horse, left half to the\ntwelve, and ate the other half himself. They picked every bone, and were\nnot long at it.\n\n\u201cThe thirteen came up again, sat opposite me at the fire, and were\npurring. The big red cat soon spoke a second time, \u2018I\u2019ll not be long this\nway. Give me more food to satisfy my hunger.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I have nothing to give unless you take the cow without horns,\u2019 replied\nI.\n\n\u201cHe made two halves of the cow, ate one-half himself, and left the other\nto the twelve. While they were eating the cow, I took off my coat, for I\nknew what was coming, wrapped it around a block which I made like myself,\nand then climbed a tree quickly. The red cat came up to the fire a third\ntime, opened his great eyes, looked toward my coat, and said, \u2018I\u2019ll not\nbe long this way; give me more food.\u2019\n\n\u201cMy coat gave no answer. The big cat sprang at it, struck the block with\nhis tail, and found it was wood.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ah,\u2019 said he, \u2018you are gone; but whether above ground or under ground,\nwe will find you.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe put six cats above and six under ground to find me. The twelve cats\nwere gone in a breath. The big red cat sat there waiting; and when the\nother twelve had run through all Erin, above ground and under ground, and\ncome back to the fire, he looked up, saw me, and cried, \u2018Ah, there you\nare, you deceiver. You thought to escape, but you will not. Come, now,\u2019\nsaid he to the cats, \u2018and gnaw down this tree.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe twelve sprang at the tree under me, and they were not long cutting\nit through. Before it fell, I escaped to another tree near by, and they\nattacked that, gnawing it down. I sprang to a third. We were that way,\nI escaping and they cutting, till near daybreak, when I was on the last\ntree next the open country. When the tree was half cut, what should come\nthe way but thirteen terrible wolves,\u2014twelve, and a thirteenth above\nthem, their master. They fell upon the cats, and fought desperately a\ngood while. At length the twelve on each side were stretched, but the two\nchiefs were fighting each other yet. At last the wolf nearly took the\nhead off the cat with one snap; the cat whirled in falling, struck the\nwolf with the sharp hook in his tail, made two halves of his skull, and\nthe two fell dead, side by side.\n\n\u201cI slipped down then, but the tree shook in the way that I was in dread\nit would tumble beneath me, but it didn\u2019t. Now, wasn\u2019t I nearer death\nthat time than this young man?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you were,\u201d said King Conal. \u201cHe\u2019s not near death at all, for I give\nhis life to him; but if the two have escaped, we\u2019ll put the third man in\nthe pot; and have you ever seen any one nearer death than he is?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was nearer myself,\u201d said the Black Thief.\n\n\u201cIf you were, I will give his life to this young man as well as his\nbrothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had apprentices in my time,\u201d said the Black Thief. \u201cAmong them was\none, a young man of great wit, and he pleased me. I gave no real learning\nto any but this one; and in the heel of the story he was a greater man\nthan myself,\u2014in his own mind. There was a giant in the other end of the\nkingdom; he lived in a mountain den, and had great wealth gathered in\nthere. I made up my mind to go with the apprentice, and take that giant\u2019s\ntreasures. We travelled many days till we reached the mountain den. We\nhid, and watched the ways of the giant. He went out every day, brought\nback many things, but often men\u2019s bodies. At last we went to the place in\nhis absence. There was only one entrance, from the top. I was lowering\nthe young man with a rope, but when half-way to the bottom he called out\nas if in pain. I drew him up. \u2018I am in dread,\u2019 said he, \u2018to go down in\nthat place. Go yourself. I will do the work here for you.\u2019\n\n\u201cI went down, found gold and precious things in plenty, and sent up what\none man could carry. \u2018I will go out of this now,\u2019 thought I, \u2018before\nthe giant comes on me.\u2019 I called to the apprentice; no answer. I called\nagain; not a word from him. At last he looked down and said,\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018You gave me good learning, and I am grateful; I will gain my own living\nfrom this out. I hope you\u2019ll spend a pleasant night with the giant.\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that, he made off with himself, and carried the treasure. Oh, but\nI was in trouble then! How was I to bring my life home with me? How was\nI to escape from the giant? I looked, but found no way of escape. In one\ncorner of the giant\u2019s kitchen were bodies brought in from time to time.\nI lay down with these, and seemed dead. I was watching. After a while I\nheard a great noise at the entrance, and soon the giant came in carrying\nthree bodies; these he threw aside with the others. He put down a great\nfire then, and placed a pot on it: he brought a basket to the bodies, and\nbegan to fill it; me he threw in first, and put six bodies on the top\nof me. He turned the basket bottom upward over the pot, and six bodies\nfell in. I held firmly to my place. The giant put the basket aside in a\ncorner bottom upward,\u2014I was saved that time. When the supper was ready,\nthe giant ate the six bodies, and then lay down and slept soundly. I\ncrept from under the basket, went to the entrance; a tree trunk, standing\nupright in the wall at one end of it, was turned around. There were steps\nin its side from bottom to top; this was the giant\u2019s ladder. Whenever the\ngiant wished to go up, he turned the tree till the steps came outside;\nand when on top, he turned it till the smooth side was out in the way no\none could go down in his absence. When he wished to go down, he turned\nthe steps out; and when at the bottom, he turned them in again in the\nway no one could follow him. This time he forgot to turn the tree, and\nthat gave me the ladder. I went up without trouble; and, by my hand, I\nwas glad, for I was much nearer death at the giant\u2019s pot than this man at\nyours.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou were, indeed, very near death,\u201d said King Conal, \u201cand I give his\nlife to the third man. The turn is on you now; the three young men are\nsafe, and it\u2019s you that will go into the pot.\u201d\n\n\u201cMust I die?\u201d asked the Black Thief.\n\n\u201cYou must, indeed,\u201d said King Conal, \u201cand you are very near death.\u201d\n\n\u201cNear as I am,\u201d said the Black Thief, \u201cI was nearer.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me the story; and if you were ever nearer death than you are at\nthis minute, I will give your life to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI set out another day,\u201d said the Black Thief, \u201cand travelled far. I came\nat last to a house, and went into it. Inside was a woman with a child on\nher knee, a knife in her hand, and she crying. Twice she made an offer of\nthe knife at the child to kill it. The beautiful child laughed, and held\nout its hands to her.\n\n\u201c\u2018Why do you raise the knife on the child,\u2019 asked I, \u2018and why are you\ncrying?\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018I was at a fair,\u2019 said the woman, \u2018last year with my father and mother;\nand while the people were busy each with his own work, three giants came\nin on a sudden. The man who had a bite of bread in his hand did not put\nthe bread to his mouth, and the man who had a bite in his mouth did not\nswallow it. The giants robbed this one and that, took me from my father\nand mother, and brought me to this place. I bound them, and they promised\nthat none of the three would marry me before I was eighteen years of age.\nI\u2019ll be that in a few days, and there is no escape for me now unless I\nraise hands on myself.\n\n\u201c\u2018Yesterday the giants brought this child; they said it was the son of\nsome king, and told me to have it cooked and prepared in a pie for their\nsupper this evening.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Spare the child,\u2019 said I. \u2018I have a young pig that I brought to roast\nfor myself on the road; take that, and prepare it instead of the child.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018The giants would know the pig, and kill me,\u2019 said the woman.\n\n\u201c\u2018They would not,\u2019 said I; \u2018there is only a small difference between the\nflesh of a young pig and a child. We will cut off the first joint of the\nleft little finger. If they make a remark, show them that.\u2019\n\n\u201cShe cooked the pie, and I watched outside for the giants. At last I saw\nthe three coming. She hid the child in a safe place aside; and I went to\nthe cellar, where I found many dead bodies. I lay down among them, and\nwaited. When the giants came home, the eldest ate the pie, and called\nto the woman, \u2018That would be very good if we had enough of it.\u2019 Then he\nturned to his second brother, and sent him down to the cellar to bring\na slice from one of the bodies. The brother came down, took hold of one\nbody, then another, and, catching me, cut a slice from the end of my\nback, and went up with it. He was not long gone when he came down again,\nraised me on his back, and turned to take me with him. He had not gone\nmany steps when I sent my knife to his heart, and there he fell on his\nface under me. I went back, and lay in my old place.\n\n\u201cThe chief giant, who had tasted my flesh and was anxious for more of\nit, now sent the youngest brother. He came, saw the middle brother lying\nthere, and cried out,\u2014\n\n\u201c\u2018Oh, but you are the lazy messenger, to be sleeping when sent on an\nerrand!\u2019\n\n\u201cWith that, he raised me on his back, and was going, when I stabbed him\nand stretched him on the ground not far from his brother.\n\n\u201cThe big giant waited and waited, grew angry, took his great iron club\nwith nine lumps and nine hooks on it. He hurried down to the cellar, saw\nhis two brothers, shook them, found them dead. I had no chance of life\nbut to fight for it; I rose and stood a fair distance in front of the\ngiant. He ran toward me, raised the club, and brought it down with what\nstrength there was in him. I stepped aside quickly; the club sank in the\nearth to the depth of a common man\u2019s knee. While the giant was drawing\nthe club with both hands, I stabbed him three times in the stomach, and\nsprang away to some distance. He ran forward a second time, and came\nvery near hitting me; again the club sank in the ground, and I stabbed\nhim four times, for he was weaker from blood loss, and was a longer time\nfreeing the club. The third time the club grazed me, and tore my whole\nside with a sharp iron hook. The giant fell to his knees, but could\nneither rise nor make a cast of the club at me; soon he was on his elbow,\ngnashing his teeth and raging. I was growing weaker, and knew that I was\nlost unless some one assisted me. The young woman had come down, and\nwas present at the struggle. \u2018Run now,\u2019 said I to her, \u2018for the giant\u2019s\nsword, and take the head off him.\u2019 She ran quickly, brought the sword,\nand as brave as a man took the head off the giant.\n\n\u201c\u2018Death is not far from me now,\u2019 said I.\n\n\u201c\u2018I will carry you quickly to the giant\u2019s caldron of cure, and give you\nlife,\u2019 said the woman.\n\n\u201cWith that, she raised me on her back, and hurried out of the cellar.\nWhen she had me on the edge of the caldron, the death faint was on me, I\nwas dying; but I was not long in the pot when I revived, and soon was as\nwell as ever.\n\n\u201cWe searched the whole house of the giants, found all their treasures. I\ngave some to the woman, kept some myself, and hid the remainder. I took\nthe woman home to her father and mother. She kept the child, which was\nwell but for the tip of its little finger. Now wasn\u2019t I nearer death that\ntime than I was when I began this story?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou were, indeed,\u201d said King Conal; \u201cand even if you were not, I would\nnot put you in the pot, for if you had not been in the house of the three\ngiants that day there would be no sign of me now in this castle. I was\nthat child. Look here at my left little finger. My father searched for\nyou, and so did I when I grew up, but we could not find you. We made out\nonly one thing, that it was the Black Thief who saved me. Men told me\nthat the Black Thief was dead, and I never hoped to see you. A hundred\nthousand welcomes! Now we\u2019ll have a feast. The three young men will get\nthe three horses for your sake, and take them home after we have feasted\ntogether. You will stay with me now for the rest of your life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must go with the young men as far as my own house,\u201d said the Black\nThief; \u201cthen I\u2019ll come back to you.\u201d\n\nKing Conal made a feast the like of which had never been in his kingdom.\nWhen the feast was over, he gave the three horses to the young men, and\nsaid at parting, \u201cWhen you have done the work with the horses, let them\ngo, and they will run home to me; no man could stop them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will do that,\u201d said the brothers.\n\nThey set out then with them, stopped one night with the Black Thief at\nhis house, and after that travelled home to their father, and stood in\nfront of the castle. The stepmother was above, watching for them. She was\nglad when she saw them, and said, \u201cYe brought the horses, and I am to\nhave them.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf we were bound to bring the horses,\u201d said the elder brother, \u201cwe were\nnot bound to give them to you.\u201d\n\nWith that, he turned the horses\u2019 heads from the castle, and let them go.\nThey ran home to King Conal.\n\n\u201cI will go down now,\u201d said the queen, \u201cand it is time for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not go yet,\u201d said the youngest; \u201cI have a sentence which I had\nno time to give when we were going. I put you under sentence to stay\nwhere you are till you find three sons of a king to go again to King\nConal for the horses.\u201d\n\nWhen she heard that sentence, she dropped dead from the castle.\n\n\n\n\nTHE KING\u2019S SON FROM ERIN, THE SPRISAWN, AND THE DARK KING.\n\n\nThere was a king in Erin long ago who was called King of Lochlinn, and\nhis wife died. He had two sons. The elder of the two was Miach Lay; the\nsecond was Manus. Miach Lay was a fine champion, and trained in every art\nthat befitted a king\u2019s son.\n\nOne day the father called Miach Lay to his presence, and said, \u201cIt is\ntime for you to marry, and I have chosen for you a maiden of great beauty\nand high birth.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am willing to marry,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\nThe king and his son then left the castle, and went to the house of the\nyoung woman\u2019s father, and there they spent seven days and seven nights.\nOn their way home, the king said to his son, \u201cHow do you like the young\nlady?\u201d\n\n\u201cI like her well, but I\u2019ll not marry her.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my shame!\u201d said the father. \u201cHow can I ever face those people a\nsecond time?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot help that,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\nThe king was greatly confused. After another while he said to his son, \u201cI\nhave another maiden chosen for you, and it is well for us to go to her\nfather\u2019s, and settle the match.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am willing,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\nThey went away together, and never stopped nor stayed till they reached\nthe house of the young lady\u2019s father. They were welcomed there warmly,\nand spent seven days and seven nights, and were better attended each day\nthan the day before.\n\n\u201cWell, my son,\u201d asked the father, \u201chow do you like this match?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, and very well,\u201d said Miach Lay; \u201cbut I will not marry this lady\neither. She is ten times better than the first; and if I had married the\nfirst, I could not marry this one, and so I will not marry the second any\nmore than the first lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my shame!\u201d said the father. \u201cI can never show my face to these\npeople again.\u201d\n\nAfter another while the king told Miach Lay that he had a better lady\nthan ever selected, and asked him to go with him to arrange the marriage.\n\n\u201cI am willing,\u201d answered the son.\n\nThe two went to the father of the maiden; they spent seven days and seven\nnights at his house, and were fully satisfied with everything. They were\non the way home a third time. \u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou have no reason\nto refuse this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, and very well, do I like the match,\u201d said Miach Lay; \u201cbut I will\nnot marry this lady. If I had married the first lady, I should have had\nno chance of getting the second, and the second is ten times better than\nthe first; if I had married the second lady, I should have had no chance\nof this one, and she is twenty times better than the second.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have lost all patience with you,\u201d said the king, \u201cand I turn the back\nof my hand to you from this out.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m fully satisfied,\u201d said Miach Lay, so they came home, and passed\nthat night without conversation. The following morning, when Miach Lay\nrose, he said to his father, \u201cI am for leaving the house now; will you\nprepare for me the best ship that you have, and put in it a good store of\nprovisions for a long voyage?\u201d\n\nThe vessel was prepared, and fully provisioned for a day and a year. The\nking\u2019s son went on board, sailed out of the harbor, and off to sea. He\nnever stopped sailing till he entered a harbor in the kingdom of Greece.\nThere was a guard there on watch at the harbor with a keen eye on all\nships that were passing or coming. The King of Greece was at war in that\ntime with the King of Spain, and knew not what moment his kingdom would\nbe invaded.\n\nThe guard saw the vessel coming when she was so small to the eye that he\ncould not tell was it a bird or a vessel that he was looking at. He took\nquick tidings to the castle; and the king ordered him to go a second time\nand bring tidings. When he reached the sea, the ship was inside, in the\nharbor.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, when the guard ran to him a second time, \u201cthat is a\nwonderful vessel that was so far away a few minutes ago as not to be told\nfrom a bird, and is now sailing into harbor.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is but one man to be seen on board,\u201d said the guard.\n\nIn front of the king\u2019s castle was the landing-place, the only one of\nthe harbor; and even there no one went beyond the shore without passing\nthrough a gate where every man had to give an account of himself. There\nwas a chosen champion guarding the gate, who spoke to Miach Lay, and\nasked, \u201cWho are you, and from what country?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not the custom for a man of my people to answer a question like\nthat till he is told first what country he is in, and who asks the\nquestion.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was I asked the question,\u201d said the champion; \u201cand you must tell me\nwho you are, first of all.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not tell you,\u201d said Miach Lay. With that, he drew his ship nearer\nland till it grounded; then, taking an oar, he put the blade end in the\nsand, and sprang to shore. He asked then the champion at the gate to let\nhim pass, but the champion refused. Miach Lay raised his hand, gave him\na blow on the ear, and sent him backward spinning like a top, till he\nstruck the pillar of the gate and broke his skull. As Miach Lay had no\nthought to kill the man, he was grieved, and, delaying a short time, went\nto the castle of the king, not knowing what country he was in or what\ncity.\n\nWhen he came to the castle, he knelt down in front of it. The people in\nthe castle saw a young champion with bared head outside; the king came\nout, and asked what trouble was on him. Miach Lay told of all that had\nhappened at the harbor, and how he had killed the champion at the gate\nwithout wishing it.\n\n\u201cNever mind that,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cI did not intend to kill or harm him at all,\u201d said Miach Lay; \u201che wanted\nto know who I was, and from what country. By the custom of my land, I\ncannot tell that till I know where I am, and who are the people among\nwhom I am travelling.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know now where you are?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d answered Miach Lay.\n\n\u201cYou are in front of the castle of the King of Greece, and I am that\nking.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the son of the King of Lochlinn from Erin,\u201d said Miach Lay, \u201cand\nhave come this way to seek my fortune.\u201d\n\nThe King of Greece welcomed him then, took the young champion by the\nhand, and did not stop till he brought him to where all the princes and\nnobles were assembled; he was rejoiced at his coming, for, being at war,\nhe expected aid from this champion.\n\n\u201cWill you remain with me for a day and a year,\u201d asked the king, \u201cand\nperform what service I ask of you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\nManus, the second son of the King of Lochlinn, stopped going to school\nwhen Miach Lay, his elder brother, left home, and, after a time, the\nfather wished him to marry. As the elder son had acted, so did the\nsecond; he refused to marry each of the three maidens whom the king had\nchosen, and left his father at last.\n\nManus was watching when his brother sailed away, and noticed the course\nof the vessel, so now he sailed the same way.\n\nMiach Lay was gaining favor continually; and just as the day and the year\nof his service were out to a month, the king\u2019s guard saw a vessel sailing\nin swiftly. He ran with tidings to the king, and added, \u201cThere is only\none man on board.\u201d\n\nThe king and the nobles said it was best not to let him land till he gave\nan account of himself. Miach Lay was sent to the landing-place to get\naccount of him.\n\nHe was not long at the landing-place when the vessel came within hailing,\nand Miach Lay asked the one man on board who was he and from what land he\ncame. The man would not tell, as it was not the custom in his country.\n\u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201cI want something to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is plenty here,\u201d said Miach Lay; \u201cbut if there is, you will get\nnone of it,\u2014you would better be sailing away.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have enough of the sea; I\u2019ll come in.\u201d\n\nHe put down the blade of his oar, and sprang ashore. No sooner had he\ntouched land than he was grappled by Miach Lay. As neither man knew\nthe other, they were in hand grips all day. They were nearly equal in\nstrength, but at last Miach Lay was getting the worst of it. He asked\nManus for a truce.\n\n\u201cI will grant you that,\u201d said Manus; \u201cbut you do not deserve it, for you\nbegan the battle.\u201d\n\nThey sat apart then, and Miach Lay asked, \u201cHow long can you hold out?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is getting stronger and braver I am,\u201d replied Manus.\n\n\u201cNot so with me. I could not hold out five minutes longer,\u201d said Miach\nLay. \u201cMy bones were all falling asunder, and I thought the earth was\ntrembling beneath me. Till this day I thought to myself, \u2018There is no\nchampion I cannot conquer.\u2019 Now tell me your name and your country.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am from Erin and a son of the King of Lochlinn,\u201d said Manus.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Miach Lay, \u201cyou are my brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you Miach Lay?\u201d inquired Manus.\n\n\u201cI am.\u201d\n\nThey embraced each other, and sat down then to eat. Miach Lay was so\ntired that he could taste nothing, but Manus ate his fill. Then they went\narm in arm to the castle. The king and all the nobles of Greece had seen\nthe combat from the castle, and were surprised to see the men coming\ntoward them in such friendliness, and all went out to know the reason.\nThe king asked Miach Lay, \u201cHow is all this?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis man is my brother,\u201d said Miach Lay. \u201cI left him at home in Erin,\nand did not know him at the harbor till after the combat.\u201d\n\nThe king was well pleased that he had another champion. The following day\nManus saw the king\u2019s daughter, and fell in love with her and she with\nhim. Then the daughter told the king if she did not get Manus as husband,\nthe life would leave her.\n\nThe king called Miach Lay to his presence, and asked, \u201cWill you let your\nbrother marry my daughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf Manus wishes to marry her, I am willing and satisfied,\u201d answered\nMiach Lay. He asked his brother, and Manus said he would marry the king\u2019s\ndaughter.\n\nThe marriage was celebrated without delay, and there was a wedding feast\nfor three days and three nights; and the third night, when they were\ngoing to their own chamber, the king said, \u201cThis is the third husband\nmarried to my daughter, and after the first night no tidings could be had\nof the other two, and from that time to this no one knows where they are.\u201d\n\nMiach Lay was greatly enraged that the king had permitted the marriage\nwithout mentioning this matter first.\n\n\u201cI will do to-night,\u201d said the king, \u201cwhat has never been done hitherto;\nI will place sentries all around the grounds, and my daughter and Manus\nwill not lodge in the castle at all, but in one of the houses apart from\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll watch myself,\u201d said Miach Lay; \u201cand if it is the devil that is\ntaking the husbands, I\u2019ll not let him take my brother.\u201d\n\nSentries were stationed in all parts; a house was prepared in the\ncourtyard. Miach Lay stood on guard at the entrance all the time. Soon\nafter midnight a gust of wind blew through the yard; it blew Miach Lay to\nthe ground, and he fainted. When he recovered, he rushed to search for\nhis brother, but he was not in his chamber. He then roused the king\u2019s\ndaughter, and asked, \u201cWhere is my brother?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot tell where he is,\u201d said she: \u201cit is you who were on guard; it\nis you who should know where to find him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will have your head, wicked woman, unless you give tidings of my\nbrother.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not take my head; it would not serve you. I have no account of what\nhappened to your brother.\u201d\n\nMiach Lay then refrained from touching her, and waited till morning. The\nking came in the morning to see was Manus well; and when Miach Lay saw\nhim, he ran at him to destroy him, but the king fled away. After a while,\nwhen the household was roused, the king\u2019s daughter was brought in and\nasked where was her husband, or could she give any account of him.\n\n\u201cI cannot tell,\u201d replied she; \u201cbut one day before I was married the first\ntime, something came to my chamber window in the form of a black bee,\nand asked would I let it in. I said that I would not. The bee remained\noutside all the day, watching to see could it enter my chamber. I did not\nlet it come in; before going away in the evening, the black bee said,\n\u2018Well, I will worry the heart in you yet.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s old druid, who was present, slapped his knee with his hand,\nand said,\u201cI know the story now; that was Ri Doracha (the Dark King). He\nis a mighty magician, and it is he who has taken the husbands.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will travel the world till I find my lost brother,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\n\u201cI will go with you, and take all my forces,\u201d said Red Bow, the son of\nthe King of Greece.\n\n\u201cI need no assistance,\u201d said Miach Lay. \u201cIf I myself cannot find him, I\nthink that no man can; but if you wish to come, you are welcome.\u201d\n\nMiach Lay went to his vessel; and Red Bow chose the best ship from all\nthat his father had, and went on board of it. The two ships sailed away\ntogether. In time they neared land; and on reaching the mouth of the\nharbor, they saw a third ship sailing toward them as swiftly as the wind\nblew, and it was not long till it came alongside. There was only one man\non board; he hailed Miach Lay, and asked, \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would not be the custom of my country for me to tell you what you ask\ntill you tell me who you are yourself, and where your own journey lies.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know myself,\u201d said the warrior, \u201cwhere you are going; you are in\nsearch of the Dark King, and I myself would like to see him.\u201d\n\nWith that, he took a bundle of branches he had on deck, and blew them\noverboard. Then every rod and twig of the bundle became an enormous log\nof wood, so that the harbor was covered with one raft of timber, and then\nhe sailed away without waiting.\n\nAfter much struggling with the logs, shoving them hither and over, Miach\nLay was able by pushing with oars to make room for his vessel, and at\nlast came to land. Red Bow and his men were cast into deep sleep by the\nman on the vessel that had sailed away.\n\nAfter Miach Lay landed, he passed through a great stretch of wild\ncountry, and, drawing near a large forest, saw rising up a small, slender\nsmoke far in among trees. He made for the place where the smoke was, and\nthere he discovered a large, splendid castle in the depth of the forest,\nbut could find no sign of an entrance.\n\nWhen Miach Lay had stood outside some time, a young woman looked through\nthe window, hailed him, and said, \u201cYou are a stranger, and will find no\nlodgings in these parts; but if I could at all, I would let you come in\nhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cOpen the window if you are able,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\nThe window had hinges, and she opened it in the middle; he stepped\nbackward nine yards, and went in at one bound to the chamber.\n\n\u201cYou are welcome,\u201d said she, and soon she had dinner prepared for him.\nWhen he had eaten, she inquired who was he, from what place had he come,\nand what brought him that way.\n\nHe told her all that had happened to him from the first; and when he had\nfinished, he said, \u201cI know not where to find my brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not far from him now,\u201d said she; \u201c\u2019tis in this country he is\nliving, and the land he is in bounds our land.\u201d\n\nWhen they had talked long, she said, \u201cYou are tired and need rest, so\nsleep in this chamber.\u201d She went then to her own place. The following\nmorning his breakfast was ready before him; and after he had eaten, the\nyoung woman said, \u201cI suppose you will be thankful if I tell you where to\nfind the castle of the Dark King.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall, indeed,\u201d said he. Then she gave him full directions how to\ngo. He took his sword then, and sprang out as he had sprung in, in the\nevening, and went in the direction which she told him to take. About\nmidday he met a man, who hailed him, and asked, \u201cWho are you, and from\nwhat country?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis not the custom for a man of my country to answer that question till\ntold where he is, and to whom he is speaking.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know who you are and whither you are going. You are going to the\ncastle of the Dark King, and here he is before you; now show your daring.\u201d\n\nThey made at each other; and if they did, they made soft ground hard and\nhard ground soft, they made high places low and low places high, they\nbrought cold spring water through dry, gravelly places, and if any one\nwere to come from the Eastern to the Western World, it is to look at\nthese two he should come.\n\nThey were this way till evening, and neither had the better of the other.\nMiach Lay was equal to the Dark King; but the Dark King, having magic,\nblew a gust of wind at Miach Lay which knocked him flat on the earth,\nand left him half dead. Then the Dark King took Miach Lay\u2019s sword, and\nwent away. When he recovered, Miach Lay regretted his sword more than all\nelse, and went back to the castle where he had spent the night before. He\nwas barely able to go in at the window.\n\n\u201cHow have you fared this day?\u201d asked the young woman.\n\nHe told her of all that had happened.\n\n\u201cBe not grieved; you will meet him another time,\u201d said the young woman.\n\n\u201cWhat is the use? I have no sword now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf \u2019tis a sword you need, I will bring you a blade far better than the\none which the Dark King took from you.\u201d\n\nAfter breakfast next morning she brought him her father\u2019s sword, which\nhe grasped in his hand, and shook. Miach Lay bade farewell to the young\nwoman, and sprang out through the window. Knowing the way better this\ntime, he hastened forward, and met the Dark King just where he met him\nbefore.\n\n\u201cDid not yesterday tire you?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Miach Lay.\n\n\u201cYour journey is useless,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cWe shall see,\u201d answered Miach Lay, and they made at each other; and\nterrible as the battle was on the first day, it was more terrible on the\nsecond; but when the Dark King thought it time to go home, he blew a gust\nof wind which threw Miach Lay to the earth, and left him senseless. The\nDark King did not take the sword this time.\n\nAfter the Dark King had gone, another man came the way, who was called\nSprisawn Wooden Leg.[2]\n\n\u201cWell, my good man, you are nearly dead,\u201d said the Sprisawn.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Miach Lay, rousing up.\n\n\u201cYou are his equal but for the magic. I watched the combat these two\ndays, and you would have overcome him but for his magic; he will finish\nyou to-night if he finds you. He has three magic tricksters who are\nleaving his house at this moment. They have a spear which the rear man of\nthe three hurls forward, the trickster in front catches the spear in the\nheel of his foot, and in turn hurls it with all his force forward; those\nbehind rush ahead of the front man, and in turn catch the spear in their\nheels. No matter how far nor how often the spear is thrown forward, there\nis always a man there before it to catch it. They are rushing hither a\nlong distance apart.\u201d\n\nThe Sprisawn saw the tricksters approach, and told Miach Lay that they\nwere coming. When they came within a spear-cast, one of them hurled the\nspear at Miach Lay; it went through his heart, passed out through his\nbody, and killed him.\n\nWhen the Sprisawn saw Miach Lay lying dead, he fell to weeping and\nwailing; and so loud was his wail that every one heard it throughout the\nwhole kingdom. Red Bow was sleeping yet in the harbor; but so loud was\nthe wail of the mourning Sprisawn that it roused him from the slumber\nwhich the Dark King had put on him. He landed at once with his forces,\nand made on toward the wailing. When they came to the place, and saw\nMiach Lay lying dead, they themselves began to wail; they asked the\nSprisawn then, \u201cAre there any means by which we might raise him to life?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are,\u201d replied the Sprisawn. \u201cThe Dark King is rejoicing now in his\ncastle with the King of Mangling, and the Gruagach of Shields. They are\ndrinking each other\u2019s health from a horn, and the Dark King is telling\nthe other two that Miach Lay was the best man that ever stood in front of\nhim; and if he could drink from that horn, he would rise up as well as he\never was.\u201d\n\n\u201cI with my men will go for that horn,\u201d said Red Bow.\n\n\u201cNot you nor all the men like you living on earth could bring that horn\nfrom the castle of the Dark King,\u201d replied the Sprisawn. \u201cThat castle\nis surrounded by three walls. Each wall is four feet in thickness and\ntwenty feet high. Each wall has a gate as high and as thick as the wall\nis itself. How could you pass through those walls? Remain here and watch\nover this body; I will bring the horn hither myself.\u201d\n\nOff went the Sprisawn, and he had more control over magic than even the\nDark King. When he arrived at the castle, he struck the gate with the\nheel of his wooden foot and it opened before him; the second and third\ngate opened too, in like manner, when he struck them. In he went to the\nroom where the king and his two friends were drinking. There he found\nthem raising toasts to each other. He was himself invisible. As soon as\nthey rested the horn on the table, he snatched it and made off for the\nplace where Miach Lay was lying dead. Then Red Bow and his men raised up\nthe dead man, and poured down his throat some of the wine or whatever\nliquor was held in the horn.\n\nAfter a time Miach Lay opened his eyes, and yawned. They were all so\ndelighted that they raised three shouts of joy.\n\n\u201cCome on with me now,\u201d said the Sprisawn, \u201cto the castle of the Dark\nKing. We will have a trial of strength with him. I will take the Dark\nKing in hand myself. Do you, Miach Lay, take the King of Mangling, and\nyou, Red Bow, take the Gruagach of Shields.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis will be very good for us to keep,\u201d said Red Bow, when he saw the\nvirtue of the horn.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Sprisawn; \u201cit is good for the man who owns it, and I will\nreturn it.\u201d\n\nThe Sprisawn, who could travel as swiftly as his own thought, vanished\nwith the horn, placed it on the table from which he had snatched it, and\ncame back to the others. No one had missed the horn; when they turned\nto use it, it was there on the table before them, in the chamber of the\nDark King. Miach Lay and his friends went on together, and never stopped\ntill they stood in the chamber where the Dark King was sitting with his\nfriends. The gates had remained open since the Sprisawn opened them. When\nthe Dark King saw the dead man alive, standing in his chamber before him,\nhe said, \u201cNever a welcome to you, you miserable creature with the wooden\nfoot. What brought you hither, or how did you come?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come to you with combat,\u201d said the Sprisawn; \u201cand now do you\nchoose the manner of fighting.\u201d\n\nIn the castle were three chambers, in each chamber a cross-beam as high\nfrom the floor as a man\u2019s throat; in the middle of each cross-beam was a\nhole, through this hole passed a chain, at each end of the chain was an\niron loop; above the hole and lengthwise with the beam was a sword with\na keen edge on it. Each pair of champions was to take one room of the\nthree, and each man of them was to place a loop on his own neck; each\nthen was to pull the other to the hole if he could, and then pull till\nthe sword cut his head off.\n\nThe Sprisawn and the Dark King took one room, Miach Lay and the King of\nMangling another, Red Bow and the Gruagach of Shields took the third.\n\nThe first pair were not long at each other, as the Sprisawn was greatly\nanxious for the other two, and with the second pull that he gave he had\nthe head off the Dark King. He ran then to see how it fared with Miach\nLay. Miach Lay was tired and nearly beaten.\n\n\u201cCome out of that for me,\u201d said the Sprisawn. \u201cWhat playing is it you\nhave with him?\u201d\n\n\u201cFully satisfied am I to give this place to you,\u201d said Miach Lay, raising\nthe loop; and the Sprisawn put it quickly on his own neck.\n\nWith the first pull the Sprisawn gave he had the head off the King of\nMangling. They ran then to Red Bow, whose head was within two feet of the\nsword.\n\n\u201cGo on out of this,\u201d said the Sprisawn, putting the loop on his own neck.\nThe Gruagach, by reason of having Red Bow so near the beam, was himself\nat a distance, but at the first pull which the Sprisawn gave he drew the\nGruagach within a foot of the beam. Fearing that if he killed the third\nman there would be no one to give an account of those carried off by the\nDark King, the Sprisawn offered the Gruagach his life if he told him\nwhere Manus and the other two husbands of the king\u2019s daughter were.\n\n\u201cIf I tell you that,\u201d said the Gruagach, \u201cthe Dark King will knock the\nhead off me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you saw the head of the Dark King would you tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would.\u201d\n\nThe Sprisawn sent Miach Lay for the head of the Dark King; he brought it.\n\n\u201cIs that his head?\u201d asked the Sprisawn.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the Gruagach.\n\n\u201cWell, tell me now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere I to tell you,\u201d said the Gruagach, \u201cthe King of Mangling would\nknock the head off me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you saw his head would you tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would.\u201d\n\nThe head of the King of Mangling was brought.\n\n\u201cIs this the head?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, tell me, or you\u2019ll lose your own head.\u201d\n\n\u201cNear this castle is a lake,\u201d said the Gruagach, \u201cand under its water is\nan enchanted steel tower, with high walls three feet in thickness; around\nthat tower on the outside a long serpent has wound herself closely from\nthe bottom to the top. This serpent is called the Worm of Nine Eyes.\nInside in the tower are the three men.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how can we come at them?\u201d asked the Sprisawn.\n\n\u201cWhoever wants to free them,\u201d said the Gruagach, \u201cmust stand on the shore\nof the lake and shout to the serpent, calling her the Worm of Nine Eyes.\nHearing this, the serpent will unwind, and with lashing will drive all\nthe water of the lake in showers through the country and flood the whole\nland. The basin of the lake will be dry then, and the serpent will rush\nat the man who uttered the insult and try to devour him. The serpent must\nbe killed, and the champion must run to the tower; if he can break in, he\nwill rescue the three men.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d asked the Sprisawn.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the Gruagach. \u201cI have no further account of the matter;\nthat is all I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you\u2019ll lose your head, too,\u201d said the Sprisawn; and with one pull\nof the chain he swept the head off the Gruagach. The three champions went\nto the lake then. Miach Lay and Red Bow wished to help the Sprisawn, but\nhe forced them to remain behind, saying that they would be swept away by\nthe waters if they went.\n\nThe Sprisawn, coming to the bank of the lake, shouted: \u201cWorm of Nine\nEyes!\u201d No sooner did the serpent hear the name than she uncoiled from the\ntower, lashed the lake, and sent the water over the country. When the\nlake bed was dry the serpent rushed toward the Sprisawn with open mouth.\nWhen the Sprisawn saw the serpent he took his sword in both hands and\nheld it crosswise in front of his face, and when the serpent was coming\nto swallow him so great was the force with which she rushed forward and\nsucked the air to draw him in, that the Sprisawn split her in two from\nthe mouth to the tail, dividing the back from the belly, and the two\npieces fell apart like the two halves of a split log of timber.\n\nMiach Lay and Red Bow came then to the Sprisawn and went to the tower,\nbut if they did, they could not go in.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the Sprisawn, \u201cif you had all the arms in the world you could\nnot break through that tower.\u201d He went himself to the door then, and\nstriking it slightly with his wooden foot, for fear of killing the men\ninside by too hard a blow, he burst in the door. The three men inside\ncame out, and Miach Lay embraced his own brother. All were glad, and\nall started for home, but had not gone far when the other two men began\nto dispute whose would the king\u2019s daughter be. The first husband said\nhis claim was strongest; the second said his was. The Sprisawn tried to\nsettle the quarrel, but could not. \u201cI would advise you,\u201d said he, \u201cto\nleave the matter to the first man you meet.\u201d\n\nAll agreed to do this.\n\nThe Sprisawn now left them and vanished as if he had never been with\nthem. They had not gone far when they met a man. \u201cWell met,\u201d said they;\n\u201cwe are glad to see you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the trouble that is on you?\u201d asked the man.\n\n\u201cSo and so,\u201d said they, telling him the whole story; \u201cand now you are to\nbe our judge.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do my best,\u201d said the man, \u201cif each one will be satisfied with my\ndecision.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cNow let each man tell his story.\u201d\n\nEach man told his story to the end.\n\n\u201cWho rescued you?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cMiach Lay and his forces,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cHad not this man and his forces come, you would have been there till\nthis time?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe should,\u201d said the three.\n\n\u201cIf so,\u201d said the man, \u201cmy decision is that the first and second husband\nshould each be thankful, go to his own people, and get another wife for\nhimself; and that the daughter of the King of Greece belongs to the\nbrother of the man who rescued all three.\u201d\n\nThe two princes went away toward their own homes, and the man remained,\nand who was he when he took his own form again but the Sprisawn. They\nwent then to the castle where the young lady had entertained Miach Lay,\nand whose castle was it but the Sprisawn\u2019s; the young woman was his\ndaughter. After resting there for some days, the Sprisawn asked Miach Lay\nwould he marry his daughter. Miach Lay was willing and glad, and remained\nthere.\n\nManus and Red Bow returned to the King of Greece. Manus lived in Greece\nhappily, and so did his children.\n\nThe two brothers did well not to marry any woman their father found for\nthem, for they would not have had the grand ladies that they had in the\nend, and Miach Lay had the dominions of the Dark King, as well as those\nof the Sprisawn, and they were very rich kingdoms.\n\n\n\n\nTHE AMADAN MOR AND THE GRUAGACH OF THE CASTLE OF GOLD.\n\n\nOn a time in Erin the King of Leinster resolved to make war on the King\nof Munster, and sent him a message to be ready for battle on a day\nmentioned. They raised flags for combat when the day came, and stood face\nto face. The forces closed in battle, and were at one another then till\nthe King of Leinster and his men killed all the warriors of the King of\nMunster and the king himself.\n\nAfter the King of Munster and all his champions were slain, the King of\nLeinster thought it better to live in Munster than in his own kingdom, so\nhe took possession of Munster and went to live in the king\u2019s castle.\n\nThe wife of the King of Munster fled in haste to a forest, a thing easily\ndone, for all Erin was under forests in that time. The queen had a son in\nthe forest, and after a time she had no clothes for herself or the child.\nHair came out on them as on wild beasts of the wilderness. The child was\nthriving and growing; what of him did not grow in the day grew threefold\nat night, till at last there was no knowing what size was he.\n\nThe queen was seven years without leaving the place around her hut in the\nforest. In the eighth year she went forth from the forest and saw her\nhusband\u2019s castle and open kingdom, and began to weep and lament. There\nwas a great crowd of people around the castle where she had herself lived\nin past years. She went to see what was happening. It was a summer of\ngreat want, and the king was giving out doles of meal to people daily,\nand the man who was giving the meal gave her a dole also. He was greatly\nsurprised when he saw her, and in the evening he was telling the king\nthat he had never seen such a sight in his life; she was all covered with\nhair like a beast of the forest.\n\n\u201cShe will come again to-morrow,\u201d said the king; \u201cthen do you inquire what\nsort is she, and where is her place of abode.\u201d\n\nShe went next day to the castle; the man in charge gave her meal. After\nshe had gone he followed her, and when he was coming near she sat down at\nthe roadside from shame.\n\n\u201cFear me not,\u201d said the man. \u201cI wish to know if you are of the dead or\nthe living, and what sort are you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a living person, though I may seem like one from the dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere do you live?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no house or home save a small hut in the forest, and I have the\nlook of a beast because I eat fruits and leaves of trees and grass of the\nearth.\u201d\n\nThe man told the king, and the king said, \u201cTell the woman to-morrow that\nI will give her a house of some kind to live in.\u201d\n\nThe king gave the strange woman a house, and she went to live with her\nson in it. The son was seven years old at that time, and not able to walk\nor speak, although he was larger than any giant. His mother had called\nhim Micky, and soon he was known as Micky Mor (Big Micky).\n\nShe was there for awhile in the house with her son, and she taking doles\nof food like any poor person. One fine summer day she was sitting at the\ndoorstep, and she began to weep and lament.\n\n\u201cWhat is the cause of your crying?\u201d asked the boy, who had never spoken\nbefore till that moment.\n\n\u201cGod\u2019s help be with us,\u201d said the mother. \u201cIt is time for you to get\nspeech. Thank God you are able to talk now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is never too late, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is right, my child,\u201d said she, \u201cit is better late than never.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me, mother, why do you cry in this way and lament?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is no use for me to tell you, my child; three men have just gone back\nto the strand, and once I was able to give the like of them a good warm\ndinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, mother, you must go and invite them to dinner this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat have I to give them to eat, my poor child?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you have nothing to give them but only to be talking till morning,\nyou will have to go and invite them.\u201d\n\nWhen she was ready he said: \u201cMother, before you go tie my two hands to\nthe beam that is here in the house above the hearth, that I may not fall\nin the fire while you are absent.\u201d\n\nBefore the mother went out she passed a rope under his arms, tied him to\nthe cross-beam, and put a stool under his feet. He kicked the stool away;\nhe had to pull and drag himself to swing, the fire was catching his feet,\nthe beam was cracking from his weight and the swinging. The sinews of his\nlegs stretched, he got his footing then, and walked to the door.\n\n\u201cThanks be to God,\u201d said the mother, when she came back. \u201cIt is curious\nhow your talk and your walk came to you on the one day.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is nearly always the case that \u2019tis together talk and walk come to\na child; but now it is time for us to be providing something for the\nfriends that are coming to-night.\u201d\n\nHe went away then and asked the man who brought turf out of the reeks to\nthe king\u2019s castle to give him as much as would make fire for himself and\nhis mother for the night.\n\n\u201cGo away,\u201d said the man; \u201cI will not give you a sod of turf. Go to the\nking and get an order; then I will give you turf in plenty.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not be tiring myself going for an order, but I will have plenty\nin spite of you.\u201d\n\nMicky took away then a great basket of turf and no thanks to the man.\n\n\u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he, \u201chere is turf enough for you, and make down a\ngood fire.\u201d\n\nHe went to the mill and said to the miller: \u201cMy mother sent me for flour.\nThere will be three at the house to-night, and what will not be used will\nbe brought to you in the morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou stump of a fool, why should I give you flour? Go to my master, the\nking; if he gives an order, I will give you flour in plenty.\u201d\n\nMicky caught the miller. \u201cI will put you,\u201d said he, \u201cin one of the\nhoppers of the mill unless you make away with yourself out of this.\u201d\n\nThe miller ran away in dread that Micky would kill him. Micky laid hold\nof a strong, weighty chain, and tied a great sack of flour and put it on\nhis back. When the sack was across his back he could not pass through the\ndoorway, and knew not what to do.\n\n\u201cIt would be a shame for me to say of the first load I put on my back\nthat I left that same after me.\u201d He stepped backward some paces and made\nsuch a rush that he carried out the frame of the door with him.\n\n\u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he, \u201cwe have fire and flour enough now, and let you\nbe making loaves for the visitors.\u201d\n\nHe went next to the woman in charge of the milk-house. \u201cIt is hither my\nmother sent me for a firkin of butter. There are three strangers above\nin our house. What will be left of the butter I will bring back in the\nmorning, and all my own help and assistance to you for a week to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe out of my milk-house, you stump of a fool,\u201d said the woman. \u201cWhat\nassistance can you give to pay for my milk and butter?\u201d\n\n\u201cLet you be out of this, my good woman,\u201d said Micky, \u201cor I will not\nleave much life in you from this day out.\u201d\n\nShe went away in a hurry, and he carried a firkin of butter home on his\nshoulder.\n\n\u201cNow, mother,\u201d said he, \u201cyou have bread, fire, butter, and all things you\nneed. If we had a bit of meat, that would be all that we care for.\u201d\n\nHe went away then and never stopped nor stayed till he reached the place\nwhere all the king\u2019s fine fat sheep were. He caught up one and brought it\nhome on his shoulder.\n\nNext day the turf-keeper, the miller, the dairywoman, and the shepherd\nwent to complain to the king of what Micky had done.\n\n\u201cIt is not luck we asked for the first day we drew him on us,\u201d said the\nking.\n\nThe king started and never stopped nor stayed till he went to his old\ndruid. \u201cSuch a man as we have brought on us,\u201d said the king. \u201cTell me now\nhow to put an end to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d said the druid, \u201ca black mad hound in a wood beyond the\nmountain. Tell Micky that you lost that hound one day in the hunt, and to\nbring her and he will be well paid for his trouble.\u201d\n\nThe king sent for Micky, and told him all as the druid advised.\n\n\u201cWill you send any man with me to show me the road?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the king.\n\nMicky and the man were soon travelling along the road toward the\nmountain. When Micky thought it too slow the man was walking, he asked,\n\u201cHave you any walk better than that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, then, I have not,\u201d said the man, \u201cand I am tired, and it is because\nI have such a good walk that I was sent with you.\u201d\n\nMicky took up his guide, put him under his arm, with the man\u2019s head near\nhis own breast, and they began to talk as Micky moved forward. When they\ncame near the wood, the man said, \u201cPut me down, and beware of the hound.\nBe not rash with her, or she may harm you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf she is a hound belonging to a king or a man of high degree, it must\nbe that she has training and will come with me quietly. If she will not\ncome gently, I will make her come in spite of her.\u201d\n\nWhen he went into the wood the hound smelt him and rushed at his throat\nto tear him to pieces. He hurled her off quickly, and then she made a\nsecond drive at him, and a fierce one.\n\n\u201cIndeed,\u201d said Micky, \u201cyou are an impudent hound to belong to a king;\u201d\nand, taking a long, strong tree branch, he gave her a blow on the flank\nthat raised her high in the air.\n\nAfter that blow the hound ran away as fast as her legs could carry her,\nand Micky made after her with all the speed of his own legs to catch\nher. On account of the blow she was losing breath fast, and he was\ncoming nearer and nearer, till at length he ran before her and drove her\nin against the ditch. When she tried to go one way he shook the branch\nbefore her, and when she tried to rush off in another direction, he shook\nit there too, till he forced her into the road, and then she was mild and\nquiet and came with him as gently as any dog.\n\nWhen he was near home some one saw Micky and the mad hound with him. A\nmessenger ran and told the king he was coming and the mad hound walking\nwith him. The king gave orders to close every door in the castle. He was\nin dread that the hound would devour every one living.\n\nWhen the hound was brought before the closed door of the castle the king\nput his head out the window and said, \u201cThat hound has been so long astray\nthat she is of no use to me now; take her to your mother, and she will\nmind the house for her.\u201d\n\nMicky took the hound home, and she was that tame and watchful that not a\nhen, nor a duck, nor a goose belonging to the king\u2019s castle could come\nnear the house.\n\nThe king went to the druid a second time, and asked, \u201cWhat can I do to\nkill Micky Mor?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a raging wild boar in the woods there beyond that will tear him\nto pieces,\u201d said the druid. \u201cTell Micky Mor that one of the servants,\nwhen coming from the town, lost a young pig, that the pig is in that\nwood, and to bring him.\u201d\n\nThe king sent for the boy, and said, \u201cOne of my men lost a young pig\nwhile coming from the town; it is in that wood there beyond. If you\u2019ll go\nto the wood and bring the pig hither, I\u2019ll pay you well when you come.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go,\u201d said the boy, \u201cif you will send some one to show me the wood\nwhere the pig is.\u201d\n\nThe king sent a man, but not the man who went the first time with Micky\nMor, for that man said, \u201cI am tired, and haven\u2019t the strength to go.\u201d\nThey went on then, walking toward the wood. This guide grew tired like\nthe first man, for the wood was far distant from the castle of the king.\nWhen he was tired, the boy put him under his arm, and the two began to\nchat away as they journeyed. When near the wood, the man begged and said,\n\u201cMicky Mor, put me down now: it is a mad boar that is in the wood; and if\nyou are not careful, he will tear you to pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod help you!\u201d said Micky; \u201c\u2019tis the innocent man you are to let such a\nsmall thing put dread on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will leave you,\u201d said the guide: \u201cI cannot help you; you are able to\nfight the battle yourself.\u201d\n\nAway went the man; and when Micky Mor entered the wood, the wild boar was\nfacing him, and the beast foaming from both sides of the mouth. As the\nguide had warned him to be on his guard, Micky gave one spring out of\nhis body, and came to the boar with such a kick that his leg went right\ninto the mouth of the beast, and split his jaw back to the breast. The\nwild boar dropped lifeless, and the boy was going home, leaving the great\nbeast behind him. He stopped then, and said to himself, \u201cIf I go back\nwithout the boar, the king will not believe that I met him at all.\u201d He\nturned back, caught the wild boar by the hind legs, and threw him across\nhis shoulders.\n\nThe king thought, \u201cAs he brought the mad hound the first day, he may\nbring the wild boar to me this time.\u201d He placed guards on all roads\nleading to the castle.\n\nThe guards saw Micky coming with the boar on his back. Thinking the boar\nalive, they ran hither and over, closed every door, window, hole, or\nplace that a mouse might pass through, for fear the wild boar would tear\nthem to pieces.\n\nThe youth went up to the castle, and struck the door; the king put his\nhead out the window, and asked, \u201cCan it be that you have the wild boar?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have him; but if I have, he is dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs he is dead, you might take him home to your mother; and, believe me,\nhe will keep you in meat for a long while.\u201d\n\nThe king went to the druid again.\n\n\u201cI have no advice for you this time,\u201d said the druid, \u201cbut one: he is of\nas good blood as yourself; and the best thing you can do is to give him\nyour daughter to marry.\u201d\n\nThis daughter was the king\u2019s only child, and her name was Eilin Og. The\nking sent for the youth then, and said, \u201cI will give you my daughter to\nmarry.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d said Micky Mor; \u201cif you give her in friendship, I will take\nher.\u201d\n\nMicky Mor made himself ready; they gave him fine clothes, and he seemed\nfit to marry any king\u2019s daughter. After the marriage he was a full week\nwithout going to see his own mother.\n\nWhen he went to her at the end of the week, she cried out, \u201cWhat is\nkeeping you away from me a whole week?\u201d\n\n\u201cDear mother,\u201d said he, \u201cit is I that have met with the luck. I got the\nking\u2019s daughter to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo away out of my sight, and never come near me again!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy so, mother, what ails you? Could I get a better wife than a king\u2019s\ndaughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear son, if she is a king\u2019s daughter, you are a king\u2019s son, so you\nare as high as she.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am a king\u2019s son, why have you and I been so poor?\u201d\n\nShe told him then that the king had killed his father and all his forces,\nand that the whole castle and kingdom had belonged to his father.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not tell me that long ago?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would never have told you,\u201d said she, \u201cbut that you have married the\nmurderer\u2019s daughter.\u201d\n\nAway went the son when he heard what his mother said, and the eyes\ngoing out of his head with wild rage, and he saying that he would kill\nevery one living about the king\u2019s castle. The people in the castle saw\nhim coming, and thought from his looks that his mother had said some\nstrong words to him, and they closed every door and window against him.\nThe young man put his shoulder to the door of the castle, and it flew\nin before him. He never stopped nor stayed till he went to the highest\nchamber of the castle to the king and queen, killing every one that came\nin his way. \u201cPardon me! Spare me!\u201d cried the king.\n\n\u201cI will never kill you between my own two hands; but I\u2019ll give you the\nchance that you gave my own father while the spear was going from the\nhand to his breast.\u201d With that, he caught the king, and threw him out\nthrough the window. When he had all killed who did not flee before\nhim, he could find no sight of his own wife, though he looked for her\neverywhere.\n\n\u201cWell, mother,\u201d said he when he went home, \u201cI have all killed before me,\nbut I cannot find my own wife.\u201d\n\nThe mother went with him to search for the wife, and they found her in a\nbox. When they opened the box, she screamed wildly.\n\n\u201cSure, you know well that I did not marry you to kill you; have no fear.\u201d\n\nShe was glad to have her life. Micky Mor then moved into the castle, and\nhad his father\u2019s kingdom and property back again. After awhile he went to\nwalk one day with his wife, Eilin Og. While he was walking for himself,\nthe sky grew so dark that it seemed like night, and he knew not where to\ngo; but he went on till he came at last to a roomy dark glen. When he was\ninside in the glen, the greatest drowsiness that ever came over a man\ncame over him.\n\n\u201cEilin Og,\u201d said he, \u201ccome quickly under my head, for sleep is coming on\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not sleep that is troubling you, but something in this great\ngloomy glen, where you were never before in your life.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Eilin Og, come quickly under my head.\u201d\n\nShe came under his head, and he got a short nap of sleep. When he woke,\nhunger and thirst came on him greater than ever came upon any man ever\nborn. Then a vessel came to him filled with food, and one with drink.\n\n\u201cTaste not the drink, take not a bite of the food, in this dark glen,\ntill you know what kind of a place is it.\u201d\n\n\u201cEilin Og, I must take one drink. I\u2019ll drink it whomsoever it vexes.\u201d\n\nHe took a draught hard and strong from the vessel; and that moment the\ntwo legs dropped off Micky Mor from the knees down.\n\nWhen Eilin Og saw this, she fell to wailing and weeping.\n\n\u201cHold, hold, Eilin Og! silence your grief; a head or a leg will not be in\nthe country unless I get my two legs again.\u201d\n\nThe fog now dispersed, and the sky became clear. When he saw the sky\nclear, he knew where to go; and he put his knife and spear and wife on\nthe point of his shoulder. Then his strength and activity were greater,\nand he was swifter on his two knees than nine times nine other men that\nhad the use of their whole legs.\n\nWhile he was going on, he saw huntsmen coming toward him. A deer passed\nhim. He threw the spear that he had in his hand; it went through\nthe deer, in one side and out through the other. A white dog rushed\nstraightway after the deer. Micky Mor caught the deer and the dog, and\nkept them.\n\nNow a young Gruagach, light and loose, was the first of the huntsmen to\nfollow the white dog. \u201cMicky Mor,\u201d said he, \u201cgive me the white dog and\nthe deer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said Micky. \u201cFor it is myself that did the slaughter,\nstrong and fierce, that threw the spear out of my right hand and put it\nthrough the two sides of the deer; and whoever it be, you or I, who has\nthe strongest hand, let him have the white dog and the deer.\u201d\n\n\u201cMicky Mor,\u201d said Eilin Og, \u201cyield up the white dog and the deer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said he, \u201cand more if you ask; for had I obeyed you in the\nglen, the two legs from the knees down would not have gone from me.\u201d\n\nThe hunter, who was the Gruagach of Dun an Oir, was so glad to get his\nwhite dog and deer that he said, \u201cCome with me, Micky Mor, to my castle\nto dinner.\u201d\n\nThe three were then passing along by the strand of Ard na Conye to the\nGruagach\u2019s castle, when whom should they meet but a champion who began to\ntalk with the men; but, seeing Eilin Og, he stopped on a sudden and asked\nMicky Mor, \u201cWho is this woman with you? I think there is not another of\nsuch beauty in all the great world.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my wife, Eilin Og,\u201d said Micky Mor.\n\n\u201cIt is to find her that I am here, and to take her in spite of herself or\nher father,\u201d said the champion.\n\n\u201cIf you take her, you will take her in spite of me,\u201d said Micky Mor; \u201cbut\nwhat champion are you with such words?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Maragach of the Green Gloves from Great Island. I have travelled\nthe world twice, and have met no man to match me. No weapons have hurt my\nskin yet or my body. Where are your arms of defence in this great world,\nMicky Mor?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never wished for a weapon but my own two fists that were born\nwith me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI name you now and forever,\u201d said Maragach, \u201cthe Big Fool (Amadan Mor).\u201d\n\n\u201cNot talk of the mouth performs deeds of valor, but active, strong bones.\nLet us draw back now, and close with each other. We shall know then who\nis the best man; and if there is valor in you, as you say, you dirty\nlittle Maragach, I will give you a blow with strength that will open your\nmouth to the bone.\u201d\n\nThey went toward each other then threateningly, and closed like two\nstriking Balors or two wild boars in the days of the Fenians, or two\nhawks of Cold Cliff, or two otters of Blue Pool. They met in close,\nmighty struggle, with more screeching than comes from a thousand. They\nmade high places low, and low places high. The clods that were shot away\nby them, as they wrestled, struck out the eye of the hag in the Eastern\nWorld, and she spinning thread at her wheel.\n\nNow Maragach drew his sword strong, keen-edged, and flawless; this sword\nalways took with the second blow what it did not cut with the first; but\nthere was no blow of it that time which the Big Fool did not dodge, and\nwhen the sun was yellow at setting, the sword was in small bits, save\nwhat remained in the hand of the champion. That moment the Fool struck\nthe champion a blow \u2019twixt neck and skull, and took the head off his body.\n\nThe three went on then to the castle of Dun an Oir (Castle of Gold), and\nhad a fine dinner. During the dinner they were discoursing and telling\ntales; and the Gruagach\u2019s wife took greatly to heart the looks that her\nhusband was giving Eilin Og, and asked, \u201cWhich is it that you will have,\nNegil Og\u2019s daughter or the wife of the Big Fool?\u201d\n\nSaid Eilin Og to the Gruagach\u2019s wife, \u201cThis man\u2019s name is not the Big\nFool in truth or in justice, for he is a hero strong and active; he\nis master of all alive and of every place. All the world is under his\ncommand, and I with the rest.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he is all this, why did he let the legs go from him?\u201d asked the\nGruagach\u2019s wife.\n\nEilin Og answered, \u201cI have said that he has high virtues and powers; and\nonly for the drink that was brought him in the dark lonely glen, he would\nnot have let the legs go from him.\u201d\n\nThe Gruagach was in dread that the Big Fool might grow angry over their\ntalks, and that enchantment would not get the upper hand of strength, and\nsaid, \u201cGive no heed to woman\u2019s talk, Micky Mor, but guard my castle, my\nproperty, and my wife, while I go to the Dun of the Hunt and return.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf any man comes in in spite of me,\u201d said Micky Mor, \u201cwhile you are\nabsent, believe me, he will not go out in spite of me till you return.\u201d\n\nThe Gruagach went off then, and with the power of his enchantment put a\nheavy sleep on Micky Mor.\n\n\u201cEilin Og,\u201d said he, \u201ccome quickly under my head, for over-strong sleep\nhas come on me.\u201d\n\nEilin Og came under his head, and he got a short nap of sleep. The\nGruagach returned soon in a different form altogether, and he took a kiss\nfrom his own wife.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Eilin Og to her husband, \u201cyou are in your sleep, and it is to\nmy grief that you are in it, and not at the right time.\u201d\n\nMicky Mor heard her, and he, between sleeping and waking, gave one leap\nfrom his body when he heard Eilin Og\u2019s words, and stopped at the door.\nIt would have been a greater task to break any anvil or block made by\nblacksmith or wood-worker, than to force the Big Fool from the door.\n\n\u201cMicky Mor,\u201d said the Gruagach, disguised, \u201clet me out.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not let you out till the Gruagach of Dun an Oir comes home, and\nthen you will pay for the kiss that you took from his wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you a leg swift and strong as your own was; it is a leg I\ntook from the Knight of the Cross when he was entering his ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you give me one of my legs swift and strong as ever, perhaps I may\nlet you go out.\u201d\n\nThat moment the Fool got the leg. He jumped up then, and said, \u201cThis is\nmy own leg, as strong and as active as ever.\n\n\u201cThe other leg now, or your head!\u201d said Micky Mor.\n\nThe Gruagach gave him the other leg, blew it under him with power of\nenchantment. Micky Mor jumped up. \u201cThese are my own legs in strength and\nactivity. You\u2019ll not go out of this now till the Gruagach comes, and you\npay for the kiss you took from his wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no wish to knock a trial out of you,\u201d said the Gruagach, and he\nchanged himself into his own form again. \u201cYou see who I am; and I am the\nhuntsman who took your legs with the drink that you got from the cup, and\nI am your own brother born and bred.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere were you,\u201d asked the Big Fool, \u201cwhen my father was killed with all\nhis men?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was in the Eastern World at that time, learning enchantment and magic.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are my brother,\u201d said the Big Fool, \u201cwe will go with each other\nforevermore. Come with me now to such a wood. We will fight there four\ngiants who are doing great harm to our people these many years.\u201d\n\n\u201cDear brother,\u201d said the Gruagach, \u201cthere is no use for us to go against\nthe four giants; they are too powerful and strong for us, they will kill\nus.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me fight with three of them,\u201d said Micky Mor, \u201cand I\u2019ll not leave a\nfoot or a hand of them living on earth; you can settle one.\u201d\n\nThe Gruagach had his great stallion of the road brought from the stable\nfor himself and his brother to ride. When they led him out, the stallion\ngave three neighs,\u2014a neigh of lamentation, a neigh of loyalty, and a\nneigh of gladness.\n\nThis stallion had the three qualities of Fin MacCool\u2019s slim bay steed,\u2014a\nkeen rush against a hill, a swift run on the level, a high running leap;\nthree qualities of the fox,\u2014the gait of a fox gay and proud, a look\nstraight ahead taking in both sides and turning to no side, neat in his\ntread on the road; three qualities of a bull,\u2014a full eye, a thick neck, a\nbold forehead.\n\nThey rode to the forest of the giants; and the moment they entered, the\ngiants sniffed them, and one of them cried out, \u201cI find the smell of men\nfrom Erin, their livers and lights for my supper of nights, their blood\nfor my morning dram, their jawbones for stepping-stones, and their shins\nfor hurleys. We think you are too big for one bite and too small for two\nbites, and sooner or later we\u2019ll have you out of the way.\u201d\n\nThe Big Fool and three of the giants made at one another then; and he\ndidn\u2019t leave a hand nor a foot of the three alive. He stood looking then\nat his brother and the other giant. The young Gruagach was getting too\nmuch from the giant; and he called out, \u201cDear born brother, give me some\naid, or the giant will put me out of the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give him,\u201d said the Big Fool, \u201ca blow of my fist that will drive\nhis head through the air.\u201d\n\nHe ran to him then, gave the giant one blow under the jawbone, and sent\nhis head through the air. It is not known to man, woman, or child to this\nday where the head stopped, or did it stop in any place.\n\n\n\n\nTHE KING\u2019S SON AND THE WHITE-BEARDED SCOLOG.\n\n\nNot in our time, nor the time of our fathers, but long ago, there lived\nan old king in Erin. This king had but the one son, and the son had risen\nup to be a fine strong hero; no man in the kingdom could stand before him\nin combat.\n\nThe queen was dead, and the king was gloomy and bitter in himself because\nold age was on him. The strength had gone from his limbs, and gladness\nfrom his heart. No matter what people said, they could not drive sorrow\nfrom him.\n\nOne day the king called up his son, and this is what he said to him, \u201cYou\nare of age to marry. We cannot tell how long I\u2019ll be here, and it would\ncheer and delight me to see your wife; she might be a daughter to me in\nmy last days.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am willing to obey you,\u201d said the son; \u201cbut I know no woman that I\ncare for. I have never seen any one that I would marry.\u201d\n\nWith that, the old king sent for a druid, and said, \u201cYou must tell where\nmy son can find the right bride for himself. You must tell us what woman\nhe should marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is but one woman,\u201d said the druid, \u201cwho can be the right wife for\nyour son, and she is the youngest daughter of the white-bearded scolog;\nshe is the wisest young woman in the world, and has the most power.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere does her father live, and how are we to settle it?\u201d asked the king\nof the druid.\n\n\u201cI have no knowledge of the place where that scolog lives,\u201d said the\ndruid, \u201cand there is no one here who knows. Your son must go himself, and\nwalk the world till he finds the young woman. If he finds her and gets\nher, he\u2019ll have the best bride that ever came to a king\u2019s son.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am willing to go in search of the scolog\u2019s daughter,\u201d said the young\nman, \u201cand I\u2019ll never stop till I find her.\u201d\n\nWith that, he left his father and the druid, and never stopped till he\nwent to his foster-mother and told her the whole story,\u2014told her the wish\nof his father, and the advice the old druid had given him.\n\n\u201cMy three brothers live on the road you must travel,\u201d said the\nfoster-mother; \u201cand the eldest one knows how to find that scolog, but\nwithout the friendship of all of them, you\u2019ll not be able to make the\njourney. I\u2019ll give you something that will gain their good-will for you.\u201d\n\nWith that, she went to an inner room, and made three cakes of flour and\nbaked them. When the three were ready, she brought them out, and gave\nthem to the young man.\n\n\u201cWhen you come to my youngest brother\u2019s castle,\u201d said she, \u201che will rush\nat you to kill you, but do you strike him on the breast with one of the\ncakes; that minute he\u2019ll be friendly, and give you good entertainment.\nThe second brother and the eldest will meet you like the youngest.\u201d\n\nOn the following morning, the king\u2019s son left a blessing with his\nfoster-mother, took one for the road from her, and went away carrying the\nthree cakes with him. He travelled that day with great swiftness over\nhills and through valleys, past great towns and small villages, and never\nstopped nor stayed till he came in the evening to a very large castle. In\nhe went, and inside was a woman before him.\n\n\u201cGod save you!\u201d said he to the woman.\n\n\u201cGod save yourself!\u201d said she; \u201cand will you tell me what brought you the\nway, and where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI came here,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201cto see the giant of this castle, and\nto speak with him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe said by me,\u201d replied the woman, \u201cand go away out of this without\nwaiting for the giant.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not go without seeing him,\u201d said the king\u2019s son. \u201cI have never\nset eyes on a giant, and I\u2019ll see this one.\u201d\n\n\u201cI pity you,\u201d said the woman; \u201cyour time is short in this life. You\u2019ll\nnot be long without seeing the giant, and it\u2019s not much you\u2019ll see in\nthis world after setting eyes on him; and it would be better for you to\ntake a drink of wine to give you strength before he comes.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son had barely swallowed the wine when he heard a great noise\nbeyond the castle.\n\n\u201cFee, faw, foh!\u201d roared some one, in a thundering voice.\n\nThe king\u2019s son looked out; and what should he see but the giant with a\nshaggy goat going out in front of him and another coming on behind, a\ndead hag above on his shoulder, a great hog of a wild boar under his left\narm, and a yellow flea on the club which he held in his right hand before\nhim.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know will I blow you into the air or put my foot on you,\u201d said\nthe giant, when he set eyes on the king\u2019s son. With that, he threw his\nload to the ground, and was making at his visitor to kill him when the\nyoung man struck the giant on the breast with one of the three cakes\nwhich he had from the foster-mother.\n\nThat minute the giant knew who was before him, and called out, \u201cIsn\u2019t it\nthe fine welcome I was giving my sister\u2019s son from Erin?\u201d\n\nWith that, he changed entirely, and was so glad to see the king\u2019s son\nthat he didn\u2019t know what to do for him or where to put him. He made a\ngreat feast that evening; the two ate and drank with contentment and\ndelight. The giant was so pleased with the king\u2019s son that he took him\nto his own bed. He wasn\u2019t three minutes in the bed when he was sound\nasleep and snoring. With every breath that the giant took in, he drew\nthe king\u2019s son into his mouth and as far as the butt of his tongue; with\nevery breath that he sent out, he drove him to the rafters of the castle,\nand the king\u2019s son was that way going up and down between the bed and the\nroof until daybreak, when the giant let a breath out of him, and closed\nhis mouth; next moment the king\u2019s son was down on his lips.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing to me?\u201d cried the giant.\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d said the king\u2019s son; \u201cbut you didn\u2019t let me close an eye all\nthe night. With every breath you let out of you, you drove me up to the\nrafters; and with every breath you took in, you drew me into your mouth\nand as far as the butt of your tongue.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you wake me?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could I wake you when time failed me to do it?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then, sister\u2019s son from Erin,\u201d said the giant, \u201cit\u2019s the poor\nnight\u2019s rest I gave you; but if you had a bad bed, you must have a good\nbreakfast.\u201d\n\nWith that, the giant rose, and the two ate the best breakfast that could\nbe had out of Erin.\n\nAfter breakfast, the king\u2019s son took the giant\u2019s blessing with him, and\nleft his own behind. He travelled all that day with great speed and\nwithout halt or rest, till he came in the evening to the castle of the\nsecond giant. In front of the door was a pavement of sharp razors, edges\nupward, a pavement which no man could walk on. Long, poisonous needles,\nset as thickly as bristles in a brush, were fixed, points downward, under\nthe lintel of the door, and the door was low.\n\nThe king\u2019s son went in with one start over the razors and under the\nneedles, without grazing his head or cutting his feet. When inside, he\nsaw a woman before him.\n\n\u201cGod save you!\u201d said the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cGod save yourself!\u201d said the woman.\n\nThe same conversation passed between them then as passed between himself\nand the woman in the first castle.\n\n\u201cGod help you!\u201d said the woman, when she heard his story. \u201c\u2019Tis not\nlong you\u2019ll be alive after the giant comes. Here\u2019s a drink of wine to\nstrengthen you.\u201d\n\nBarely had he the wine swallowed when there was a great noise behind\nthe castle, and the next moment the giant came in with a thundering and\nrattling.\n\n\u201cWho is this that I see?\u201d asked he, and with that, he sprang at the\nstranger to put the life out of him; but the king\u2019s son struck him on the\nbreast with the second cake which he got from his foster-mother. That\nmoment the giant knew him, and called out, \u201cA strange welcome I had for\nyou, sister\u2019s son from Erin, but you\u2019ll get good treatment from me now.\u201d\n\nThe giant and the king\u2019s son made three parts of that night. One part\nthey spent in telling tales, the second in eating and drinking, and the\nthird in sound, sweet slumber.\n\nNext morning the young man went away after breakfast, and never stopped\ntill he came to the castle of the third giant; and a beautiful castle\nit was, thatched with the down of cotton grass, the roof was as white\nas milk, beautiful to look at from afar or near by. The third giant was\nas angry at meeting him as the other two; but when he was struck in the\nbreast with the third cake, he was as kind as the best man could be.\n\nWhen they had taken supper together, the giant said to his sister\u2019s son,\n\u201cWill you tell me what journey you are on?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will, indeed,\u201d said the king\u2019s son; and he told his whole story from\nbeginning to end.\n\n\u201cIt is well that you told me,\u201d said the giant, \u201cfor I can help you; and\nif you do what I tell, you\u2019ll finish your journey in safety. At midday\nto-morrow you\u2019ll come to a lake; hide in the rushes that are growing\nat one side of the water. You\u2019ll not be long there when twelve swans\nwill alight near the rushes and take the crests from their heads; with\nthat, the swan skins will fall from them, and they will rise up the most\nbeautiful women that you have ever set eyes on. When they go in to bathe,\ntake the crest of the youngest, put it in your bosom next the skin, take\nthe eleven others and hold them in your hand. When the young women come\nout, give the eleven crests to their owners; but when the twelfth comes,\nyou\u2019ll not give her the crest unless she carries you to her father\u2019s\ncastle in Ardilawn Dreeachta (High Island of Enchantment). She will\nrefuse, and say that strength fails her to carry you, and she will beg\nfor the crest. Be firm, and keep it in your bosom; never give it up till\nshe promises to take you. She will do that when she sees there is no help\nfor it.\u201d\n\nNext morning the king\u2019s son set out after breakfast, and at midday he was\nhidden in the rushes. He was barely there when the swans came. Everything\nhappened as the giant had said, and the king\u2019s son followed his counsels.\n\nWhen the twelve swans came out of the lake, he gave the eleven crests\nto the older ones, but kept the twelfth, the crest of the youngest, and\ngave it only when she promised to carry him to her father\u2019s. The moment\nshe put the crest on her head, she was in love with the king\u2019s son. When\nshe came in sight of the island, however much she loved him when they\nstarted from the lakeside, she loved him twice as much now. She came to\nthe ground at some distance from the castle, and said to the young man at\nparting,\u2014\n\n\u201cThousands of kings\u2019 sons and champions have come to give greeting to\nmy father at the door of his castle, but every man of them perished.\nYou will be saved if you obey me. Stand with your right foot inside the\nthreshold and your left foot outside; put your head under the lintel. If\nyour head is inside, my father will cut it from your shoulders; if it is\noutside, he will cut it off also. If it is under the lintel when you cry\n\u2018God save you!\u2019 he\u2019ll let you go in safety.\u201d\n\nThey parted there; she went to her own place and he went to the scolog\u2019s\ncastle, put his right foot inside the threshold, his left foot outside,\nand his head under the lintel. \u201cGod save you!\u201d called he to the scolog.\n\n\u201cA blessing on you!\u201d cried the scolog, \u201cbut my curse on your teacher.\nI\u2019ll give you lodgings to-night, and I\u2019ll come to you myself in the\nmorning;\u201d and with that he sent a servant with the king\u2019s son to a\nbuilding outside. The servant took a bundle of straw with some turf and\npotatoes, and, putting these down inside the door, said, \u201cHere are bed,\nsupper, and fire for you.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son made no use of food or bed, and he had no need of them,\nfor the scolog\u2019s daughter came soon after, spread a cloth, took a small\nbundle from her pocket, and opened it. That moment the finest food and\ndrink were there before them.\n\nThe king\u2019s son ate and drank with relish, and good reason he had after\nthe long journey. When supper was over, the young woman whittled a small\nshaving from a staff which she brought with her; and that moment the\nfinest bed that any man could have was there in the room.\n\n\u201cI will leave you now,\u201d said she; \u201cmy father will come early in the\nmorning to give you a task. Before he comes, turn the bed over; \u2019twill be\na shaving again, and then you can throw it into the fire. I will make you\na new bed to-morrow.\u201d\n\nWith that, she went away, and the young man slept till daybreak. Up he\nsprang, then turned the bed over, made a shaving of it, and burned it.\nIt was not long till the scolog came, and this is what he said to the\nking\u2019s son, \u201cI have a task for you to-day, and I hope you will be able to\ndo it. There is a lake on my land not far from this, and a swamp at one\nside of it. You are to drain that lake and dry the swamp for me, and have\nthe work finished this evening; if not, I will take the head from you\nat sunset. To drain the lake, you are to dig through a neck of land two\nmiles in width; here is a good spade, and I\u2019ll show you the place where\nyou\u2019re to use it.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son went with the scolog, who showed the ground, and then left\nhim.\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d said the king\u2019s son. \u201cSure, a thousand men couldn\u2019t\ndig that land out in ten years, and they working night and day; how am I\nto do it between this and sunset?\u201d\n\nHowever it was, he began to dig; but if he did, for every sod he threw\nout, seven sods came in, and soon he saw that, in place of mending his\ntrouble, \u2019twas making it worse he was. He cast aside the spade then, sat\ndown on the sod heap, and began to lament. He wasn\u2019t long there when the\nscolog\u2019s daughter came with a cloth in her hand and the small bundle in\nher pocket.\n\n\u201cWhy are you lamenting there like a child?\u201d asked she of the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I lament when the head will be taken from me at sunset?\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis a long time from this to sunset. Eat your breakfast first of all;\nsee what will happen then,\u201d said she. Taking out the little bundle, she\nput down before him the best breakfast a man could have. While he was\neating, she took the spade, cut out one sod, and threw it away. When she\ndid that, every spadeful of earth in the neck of land followed the first\nspadeful; the whole neck of land was gone, and before midday there wasn\u2019t\na spoonful of water in the lake or the swamp,\u2014the whole place was dry.\n\n\u201cYou have your head saved to-day, whatever you\u2019ll do to-morrow,\u201d said\nshe, and she left him.\n\nToward evening the scolog came, and, meeting the king\u2019s son, cried out,\n\u201cYou are the best man that ever came the way, or that ever I expected to\nlook at.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son went to his lodging. In the evening the scolog\u2019s daughter\ncame with supper, and made a bed for him as good as the first one. Next\nmorning the king\u2019s son rose at daybreak, destroyed his bed, and waited to\nsee what would happen.\n\nThe scolog came early, and said, \u201cI have a field outside, a mile long\nand a mile wide, with a very tall tree in the middle of it. Here are two\nwedges, a sharp axe, and a fine new drawing knife. You are to cut down\nthe tree, and make from it barrels to cover the whole field. You are to\nmake the barrels and fill them with water before sunset, or the head will\nbe taken from you.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son went to the field, faced the tree, and gave it a blow with\nhis axe; but if he did, the axe bounded back from the trunk, struck him\non the forehead, stretched him on the flat of his back, and raised a lump\non the place where it hit him. He gave three blows, was served each time\nin the same way, and had three lumps on his forehead. He was rising from\nthe third blow, the life almost gone from him, and he crying bitterly,\nwhen the scolog\u2019s daughter came with his breakfast. While he was eating\nthe breakfast, she struck one little chip from the tree; that chip became\na barrel, and then the whole tree turned into barrels, which took their\nplaces in rows, and covered the field. Between the rows there was just\nroom for a man to walk. Not a barrel but was filled with water. From a\nchip she had in her hand, the young woman made a wooden dipper, from\nanother chip she made a pail, and said to the king\u2019s son,\u2014\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll have these in your two hands, and be walking up and down between\nthe rows of barrels, putting a little water into this and a little into\nthat barrel. When my father comes, he will see you at the work and invite\nyou to the castle to-night, but you are not to go with him. You will\nsay that you are content to lodge to-night where you lodged the other\nnights.\u201d With that, she went away, and the king\u2019s son was going around\namong the barrels pouring a little water into one and another of them,\nwhen the scolog came.\n\n\u201cYou have the work done,\u201d said he, \u201cand you must come to the castle for\nthe night.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am well satisfied to lodge where I am, and to sleep as I slept since I\ncame here,\u201d said the young man, and the scolog left him.\n\nThe young woman brought the supper, and gave a fresh bed. Next morning\nthe scolog came the third time, and said, \u201cCome with me now; I have a\nthird task for you.\u201d With that, the two went to a quarry.\n\n\u201cHere are tools,\u201d said the scolog, pointing to a crowbar, a pickaxe, a\ntrowel, and every implement used in quarrying and building. \u201cYou are to\nquarry stones to-day, and build between this and sunset the finest and\nlargest castle in the world, with outhouses and stables, with cellars and\nkitchens. There must be cooks, with men and women to serve; there must\nbe dishes and utensils of every kind and furniture of every description;\nnot a thing is to be lacking, or the head will go from you this evening\nat sunset.\u201d\n\nThe scolog went home; and the king\u2019s son began to quarry with crowbar and\npickaxe, and though he worked hard, the morning was far gone when he had\nthree small pieces of stone quarried. He sat down to lament.\n\n\u201cWhy are you lamenting this morning?\u201d asked the scolog\u2019s daughter, who\ncame now with his breakfast.\n\n\u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t I lament when the head will be gone from me this evening?\nI am to quarry stones, and build the finest castle in the world before\nsunset. Ten thousand men couldn\u2019t do the work in ten years.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake your breakfast,\u201d said the young woman; \u201cyou\u2019ll see what to do after\nthat.\u201d\n\nWhile he was eating, she quarried one stone; and the next moment every\nstone in the quarry that was needed took its place in the finest and\nlargest castle ever built, with outhouses and cellars and kitchens. A\nmoment later, all the people were there, men and women, with utensils\nof all kinds. Everything was finished but a small spot at the principal\nfireplace.\n\n\u201cThe castle is ready,\u201d said the scolog\u2019s daughter; \u201cyour head will stay\nwith you to-day, and there are no more tasks before you at present. Here\nis a trowel and mortar; you will be finishing this small spot at the fire\nwhen my father comes. He will invite you to his castle to-night, and you\nare to go with him this time. After dinner, he will seat you at a table,\nand throw red wheat on it from his pocket. I have two sisters older than\nI am; they and I will fly in and alight on the table in the form of three\npigeons, and we\u2019ll be eating the wheat; my father will tell you to choose\none of his three daughters to marry. You\u2019ll know me by this: there will\nbe a black quill in one of my wings. I\u2019ll show it; choose me.\u201d\n\nAll happened as the scolog\u2019s daughter said; and when the king\u2019s son was\ntold to make his choice in the evening, he chose the pigeon that he\nwanted. The three sprang from the table, and when they touched the floor,\nthey were three beautiful women. A dish priest and a wooden clerk were\nbrought to the castle, and the two were married that evening.\n\nA month passed in peace and enjoyment; but the king\u2019s son wished to go\nback now to Erin to his father. He told the wife what he wanted; and this\nis what she said to him, \u201cMy father will refuse you nothing. He will\ntell you to go, though he doesn\u2019t wish to part with you. He will give you\nhis blessing; but this is all pretence, for he will follow us to kill us.\nYou must have a horse for the journey, and the right horse. He will send\na man with you to three fields. In the first field are the finest horses\nthat you have ever laid eyes on; take none of them. In the second field\nare splendid horses, but not so fine as in the first field; take none of\nthese either. In the third field, in the farthest corner, near the river,\nis a long-haired, shaggy, poor little old mare; take that one. The old\nmare is my mother. She has great power, but not so much as my father, who\nmade her what she is, because she opposed him. I will meet you beyond the\nhill, and we shall not be seen from the castle.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son brought the mare; and when they mounted her, wings came\nfrom her sides, and she was the grandest steed ever seen. Away she flew\nover mountains, hills, and valleys, till they came to the seashore, and\nthen they flew over the sea.\n\nWhen the servant man went home, and the scolog knew what horse they had\nchosen, he turned himself and his two daughters into red fire, and shot\nafter the couple. No matter how swiftly the mare moved, the scolog\ntravelled faster, and was coming up. When the three reached the opposite\nshore of the sea, the daughter saw her father coming, and turned the\nmare into a small boat, the king\u2019s son into a fisherman, and made a\nfishing-rod of herself. Soon the scolog came, and his two daughters with\nhim.\n\n\u201cHave you seen a man and a woman passing the way riding on a mare?\u201d asked\nhe of the fisherman.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said the fisherman. \u201cYou\u2019ll soon overtake them.\u201d\n\nOn went the scolog; and he never stopped till he raced around the whole\nworld, and came back to his own castle.\n\n\u201cOh, then, we were the fools,\u201d said the scolog to his daughters. \u201cSure,\nthey were the fisherman, the boat, and the rod.\u201d\n\nOff they went a second time in three balls of red fire; and they\nwere coming near again when the scolog\u2019s youngest daughter made a\nspinning-wheel of her mother, a bundle of flax of herself, and an old\nwoman of her husband. Up rushed the scolog, and spoke to the spinner,\n\u201cHave you seen a mare pass the way and two on her back?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cI have, indeed,\u201d said the old woman; \u201cand she is not far ahead of you.\u201d\n\nAway rushed the scolog; and he never stopped till he raced around the\nwhole world, and came back to his own castle a second time.\n\n\u201cOh, but we were the fools!\u201d said the scolog. \u201cSure, they were the old\nwoman with the spinning-wheel and the flax, and they are gone from us\nnow; for they are in Erin, and we cannot take our power over the border,\nnor work against them unless they are outside of Erin. There is no use in\nour following them; we might as well stay where we are.\u201d\n\nThe scolog and his daughters remained in the castle at Ardilawn of\nEnchantment; but the king\u2019s son rode home on the winged mare, with his\nwife on a pillion behind him.\n\nWhen near the castle of the old king in Erin, the couple dismounted, and\nthe mare took her own form of a woman. She could do that in Erin. The\nthree never stopped till they went to the old king. Great was the welcome\nbefore them; and if ever there was joy in a castle, there was joy then in\nthat one.\n\n\n\n\nDYEERMUD ULTA AND THE KING IN SOUTH ERIN.\n\n\nThere was a king in South Erin once, and he had an only daughter of\ngreat beauty. The daughter said that she would marry no man but the man\nwho would sail to her father\u2019s castle in a three-masted ship, and the\ncastle was twenty miles from deep water. The father said that even if\nthe daughter was willing, he\u2019d never give her to any man but the man who\nwould come in a ship.\n\nDyeermud Ulta was the grandson of a great man from Spain who had settled\nin Erin, and he lived near Kilcar. Dyeermud heard of the daughter of the\nking in South Erin, and fixed in his mind to provide such a ship and go\nto the castle of the king.\n\nDyeermud left home one day, and was walking toward Killybegs, thinking\nhow to find such a ship, or the man who would make it. When he had gone\nas far as Buttermilk Cliff, he saw a red champion coming against him in a\nship that was sailing along over the country like any ship on the sea.\n\n\u201cWhat journey are you on?\u201d asked the red champion of Dyeermud; \u201cand where\nare you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going,\u201d answered Dyeermud, \u201cto the castle of a king in South\nErin to know will he give me his daughter in marriage, and to know if\nthe daughter herself is willing to marry me. The daughter will have no\nhusband unless a man who brings a ship to her father\u2019s castle, and the\nking will give her to no other.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d said the red man. \u201cTake me as comrade, and what will you\ngive me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you what is right,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWhat will you give me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you the worth of your trouble.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went in the ship, and they sailed on till they came to Conlun,\na mile above Killybegs. There they saw twelve men cutting sods, and a\nthirteenth eating every sod that they cut.\n\n\u201cYou must be a strange man to eat what sods twelve others can cut for\nyou,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cwhat is your name?\u201d\n\n\u201cSod-eater.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are going,\u201d said the red man, \u201cto the castle of a king in South Erin.\nWill you come with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat wages will you give me?\u201d\n\n\u201cFive gold-pieces,\u201d said the red man.\n\n\u201cI will go with you.\u201d\n\nThe three sailed on till they came to the river Kinvara, one mile below\nKillybegs, and saw a man with one foot on each bank, with his back toward\nthe sea and his face to the current. The man did not let one drop of\nwater in the river pass him, but drank every drop of it.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the red man, \u201cwhat a thirst there is on you to drink a whole\nriver! How are you so thirsty?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I was a boy, my mother used to send me to school, and I did not\nwish to go there. She flogged and beat me every day, and I cried and\nlamented so much that a black spot rose on my heart from the beating;\nthat is why there is such thirst on me now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name, and will you go with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Gulping-a-River. I will go with you if you give me wages.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you five gold-pieces,\u201d said the red man.\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d said Gulping-a-River.\n\nThey sailed on then to Howling River, within one mile of Dun Kinealy.\nThere they saw a man blowing up stream with one nostril, and the other\nstopped with a plug.\n\n\u201cWhy blow with one nostril?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cIf I were to blow with the two,\u201d replied the stranger, \u201cI would send you\nwith your ship and all that are in it up into the sky and so far away\nthat you would never come back again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you, and will you take service with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Greedy-of-Blowing, and I will go with you for wages.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will have five gold-pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your man,\u201d said Greedy-of-Blowing.\n\nThey sailed away after that to Bunlaky, a place one mile beyond Dun\nKinealy; and there they found a man crushing stones with the end of his\nback, by sitting down on them suddenly.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cMy name is Ironback,\u201d answered the stranger. \u201cI am breaking stones with\nthe end of my back to make a mill, a bridge, and a road.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you come with us?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cI will for just wages,\u201d said Ironback.\n\n\u201cYou will get five gold-pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go in your company,\u201d said Ironback.\n\nThey went on sailing, and were a half a mile below Mount Charles when\nthey saw a man running up against them faster than any wind, and one leg\ntied to his shoulder.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, and what is your hurry? Why are you travelling on\none leg?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cI am running to find a master,\u201d said the other. \u201cIf I were to go on my\ntwo legs, no man could see me or set eyes on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do? I may take you in service.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a very good messenger. My name is Foot-on-Shoulder.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you five gold pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d said the other.\n\nThe ship moved on now, and never stopped till within one mile of Donegal\nthey saw, at a place called Kilemard, a man lying in a grass field with\nhis cheek to the earth.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cHolding my ear to the ground, and hearing the grass grow.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must have good ears. What is your name; and will you take service\nwith me?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Hearing Ear. I will go with you for good wages.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will have five gold-pieces.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am your man,\u201d said Hearing Ear.\n\nThey went next to Laihy, where they found a man named Fis Wacfis (Wise\nman, Son of Knowledge), and he sitting at the roadside chewing his thumb.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cI am learning whatever I wish to know by chewing my thumb.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake service with me, and come on the ship.\u201d\n\nHe went on the same terms as the others, and they never stopped nor\nhalted till they came to the castle of the king. They were outside the\nwalls three days and three nights before any man spoke a word to them. At\nlast the king sent a messenger to ask who were they and what brought them.\n\n\u201cI have come in a ship for your daughter, and my name is Dyeermud Ulta,\u201d\nwas the answer the king got.\n\nThe king was frightened at the answer, though he knew himself well enough\nthat it was for the daughter Dyeermud had come in the ship, and was\ngreatly in dread that she would be taken from him. He went then to an old\nhenwife that lived near the castle to know could he save the daughter,\nand how could he save her.\n\n\u201cIf you\u2019ll be said by me,\u201d said the henwife, \u201cyou\u2019ll bid them all come to\na feast in the castle. Before they come, let your men put sharp poisoned\nspikes under the cushions of the seats set apart for the company. They\nwill sit on the spikes, swell up to the size of a horse, and die before\nthe day is out, every man of them.\u201d\n\nHearing Ear was listening, heard all the talk between the king and the\nhenwife, and told it.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Fis Wacfis to Dyeermud, \u201cthe king will invite us all to a\nfeast to-morrow, and you will go there and take us. It is better to send\nIronback to try our seats, and sit on them, for under the cushion of each\none will be poisoned spikes to kill us.\u201d\n\nThat day the king sent a message to Dyeermud. \u201cWill you come,\u201d said he,\n\u201cwith your men, to a feast in my castle to-morrow? I am glad to have such\nguests, and you are welcome.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery thankful am I,\u201d said Dyeermud. \u201cWe will come to the feast.\u201d\n\nBefore the company came, Ironback went into the hall of feasting, looked\nat everything, sat down on each place, and made splinters of the seats.\n\n\u201cThose seats are of no use,\u201d said Ironback; \u201cthey are no better than so\nmany cabbage stalks.\u201d\n\nThe king had iron seats brought in, strong ones. There was no harm to\nDyeermud and his company from that feast.\n\nAway went the king to the henwife, and told how the seats had been\nbroken. \u201cWhat am I to do now?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cSay that to get your daughter they must eat what food is in your castle\nat one meal.\u201d\n\nNext day Dyeermud went to the castle, and asked, \u201cAm I to have your\ndaughter now?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not,\u201d said the king, \u201cunless your company will eat what food is\nin my castle at one meal.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201chave the meal ready.\u201d\n\nThe king gave command to bring out the hundred and fifty tons of\nprovisions in the castle all prepared and ready for eating.\n\nDyeermud came with his men, and Sod-eater began; and it was as much as\nall the king\u2019s servants could do to bring food as fast as he ate it, and\nhe never stopped till there wasn\u2019t a pound of the hundred and fifty tons\nleft.\n\n\u201cIs this all you have to give me?\u201d asked Sod-eater. \u201cI could eat three\ntimes as much.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we have no more,\u201d said the servants.\n\n\u201cWhere is our dinner?\u201d asked Dyeermud.\n\nThe king had nothing for the others, and he had nothing for himself.\nAll had to go away hungry, and there was great dissatisfaction in the\ncastle, and complaining.\n\nThe king had nothing to do now but to go to the henwife a third time for\nadvice in his trouble.\n\n\u201cYou have,\u201d said she, \u201cthree hundred and fifty pipes of wine. If his\ncompany cannot drink every drop of the wine, don\u2019t give him the daughter.\u201d\n\nNext day Dyeermud went to the castle. \u201cAm I to have the daughter now?\u201d\nasked he of the king.\n\n\u201cI will not give my daughter,\u201d said the king, \u201cunless you and your\ncompany will drink the three hundred and fifty pipes of wine that are in\nmy castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cBring out the wine,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cwe\u2019ll come to-morrow, and do the\nbest we can to drink it.\u201d\n\nDyeermud and his men went next day to where the wine was. Gulping-a-River\nwas the man for drinking, and they let him at it. After he got a taste,\nhe was that anxious that he broke in the head of one pipe after another,\nand drank till there wasn\u2019t a drop left in the three hundred and fifty\npipes. All the wine did was to put thirst on Gulping-a-River; and he was\nthat mad with thirst that he drank up the spring well at the castle, and\nall the springs in the neighborhood, and a loch three miles distant, so\nthat in the evening there wasn\u2019t a drop of water for man or beast in the\nwhole place.\n\nWhat did the king do but go to the henwife the fourth time.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said she, \u201cthere is no use in trying to get rid of him this way;\nyou can make no hand of Dyeermud by eating or drinking. Do you send him\nnow to the Eastern World to get the bottle of cure from the three sons\nof Sean [pronounced Shawn,\u2014John] Mac Glinn, and to have it at the castle\nbefore noon to-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cAm I to get the daughter now?\u201d asked Dyeermud of the king.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll not get my daughter,\u201d said the king, \u201cunless you have for me here\nto-morrow the bottle of cure which the three sons of Sean Mac Glinn have\nin the Eastern World.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went to his ship with the king\u2019s answer.\n\n\u201cLet me go,\u201d said Foot-on-Shoulder. \u201cI will bring you the bottle in\nseason.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may go,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nAway went Foot-on-Shoulder, and was at the sea in a minute. He made a\nship of his cap, a mast of his stick, a sail of his shirt, and away with\nhim sailing over the sea, never stopping nor halting till he reached the\nEastern World.\n\nIn five hours, he came to a castle where the walls of defence were\nsixty-six feet high and fifty-five feet thick. Sean Mac Glinn\u2019s three\nsons were playing football on the top of the wall.\n\n\u201cSend down the bottle of cure to me,\u201d said Foot-on-Shoulder, \u201cor I\u2019ll\nhave your lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not give you the bottle of cure; and if you come up, it will be\nas hard to find your brains five minutes after as to find the clay of a\ncabin broken down a hundred years ago.\u201d\n\nFoot-on-Shoulder made one spring, and rose six feet above the wall. They\nwere so frightened at the sight of what he did, and were so in dread of\nhim that they cried, \u201cYou\u2019ll get what you want, only spare us,\u2014leave us\nour lives. You are the best man that we have ever seen coming from any\npart; you have done what no man could ever do before this. You\u2019ll get the\nbottle of cure; but will you send it back again?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not promise that,\u201d said Foot-on-Shoulder; \u201cI may send it, and I\nmay not.\u201d\n\nThey gave him the bottle, he went his way to his ship, and sailed home\nto Erin. Next morning the henwife dressed herself up as a piper, and,\ntaking a rod of enchantment with her, went away, piping on a hill which\nFoot-on-Shoulder had to cross in coming to the castle. She thought he\nwould stop to listen to the music she was making, and then she would\nstrike him with the rod, and make a stone of him. She was piping away\nfor herself on the hill like any poor piper making his living. Hearing\nEar heard the music, and told Dyeermud. Fis Wacfis chewed his thumb at\nDyeermud\u2019s command, and found out that the piper was the king\u2019s henwife,\nand discovered her plans.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Fis Wacfis to Dyeermud, \u201cunless you take her out of that, she\nwill make trouble for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cGreedy-of-Blowing, can you make away with that old woman on the hill?\u201d\nasked Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cI can indeed,\u201d said Greedy-of-Blowing.\n\nWith that, he ran to the foot of the hill; and with one blast from both\nnostrils, he sent the old hag up into the sky, and away she went sailing\nso that neither tale nor word of her ever came back.\n\nFoot-on-Shoulder was at the ship outside the castle walls half an hour\nbefore noon, and gave the bottle of cure to Dyeermud. Dyeermud went that\nminute to the castle, and stood before the king.\n\n\u201cHere is the bottle of cure which I got from the three sons of Sean Mac\nGlinn in the Eastern World. Am I to get the daughter now?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll send you my answer to the ship,\u201d said the king.\n\nWhere should the king go now in his trouble but to find the henwife.\nShe was not at home. He sent men to look for the old woman; no tidings\nof her that day. They waited till the next day; not a sight of her. The\nfollowing morning the king sent servants and messengers to look for the\nhenwife. They searched the whole neighborhood; could not find her. He\nsent all his warriors and forces. They looked up and down, searched the\nwhole kingdom, searched for nine days and nights, but found no trace of\nthe henwife.\n\nThe king consented at last to give the daughter to Dyeermud, and he had\nto consent, and no thanks to him, for he couldn\u2019t help himself. The\ndaughter was glad and willing; she loved Dyeermud from the first, but the\nfather would not part with her.\n\nThe wedding lasted a day and a year, and when that time was over,\nDyeermud went home on the ship to Kilcar, and there he paid all his men\ntheir wages, and they went each to his own place.\n\nThe red man stayed sometime in the neighborhood, and what should he do\none day but seize Dyeermud\u2019s wife, put her in the ship, and sail away\nwith her. When going, she put him under injunction not to marry her for a\nday and a year.\n\nNow Dyeermud, who was hunting when the red man stole his wife, was in\ngreat grief and misery, for he knew not where the red man lived nor where\nhe should travel to find him. At last he sent a message of inquiry to the\nKing of Spain; and the king\u2019s answer was, \u201cOnly two persons in the whole\nworld know where that man lives, Great Limper, King of Light, and Black\nThorn of Darkness. I have written to these two, and told them to go to\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe two men came in their own ship through the air to Kilcar, to\nDyeermud, and talked and took counsel.\n\n\u201cI do not know where the red man can be,\u201d said Black Thorn, \u201cunless in\nKilchroti; let us go to that place.\u201d\n\nThey sailed away in their ship, and it went straight to the place they\nwanted. They had more power than the red man, and could send their ship\nanywhere.\n\nIn five days and nights they were at Kilchroti. They went straight to the\nhouse, and no one in the world could see the red man\u2019s house there but\nthese two. Black Thorn struck the door, and it flew open. The red man,\nwho was inside, took their hands, welcomed them heartily, and said, \u201cI\nhope it is not to do me harm that ye are here.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not to harm you or any one that we are here,\u201d replied they. \u201cWe\nare here only to get what is right and just, but without that, we will\nnot go from this.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the right and just that ye are here for?\u201d asked the red man.\n\n\u201cDyeermud\u2019s wife,\u201d replied Black Thorn, \u201cand it was wrong in you to take\nher; you must give her up.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will fight rather than give her,\u201d said the red man.\n\n\u201cFighting will not serve you,\u201d said Black Thorn, \u201cit is better for you to\ngive her to us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYe will not get her without seven tons of gold,\u201d said the red man. \u201cIf\nye bring me the gold, I will give her to you. If ye come without it,\nye\u2019ll get fight from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will give you the gold,\u201d said Great Limper, \u201cwithin seven days.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgreed,\u201d said the red man.\n\n\u201cCome to the ship,\u201d said Great Limper to Black Thorn.\n\nThey went on board, and sailed away.\n\n\u201cI was once on a ship which was wrecked on the coast of Spain with\nforty-five tons of gold. I know where that gold is; we will get it,\u201d said\nGreat Limper.\n\nThe two sailed to where the gold was, took seven tons of it, and on the\nsixth day they had it in Kilchroti, in front of the red man\u2019s house. They\nweighed out the gold to him. They went then to find Dyeermud\u2019s wife. She\nwas behind nine doors; each door was nine planks in thickness, and bolted\nwith nine bars of iron. The red man opened the doors; all went in, and\nlooked at the chamber. The woman went out first, next the red man; and,\nseizing the door, he thought to close it on Great Limper and Black Thorn,\nbut Black Thorn was too quick for him, and before the red man could close\nthe door he shot him, first with a gold and then with a silver bullet.\n\nThe red man fell dead on the threshold.\n\n\u201cI knew he was preparing some treachery,\u201d said Black Thorn. \u201cWhen we\nweighed the gold to him, he let such a loud laugh of delight out of him.\u201d\n\nThey took the woman and the gold to Dyeermud; they stayed nine days and\nnights with him in Kilcar, eating, drinking, and making merry. They\ndrank to the King of Spain, to all Erin, to themselves, and to their\nwell-wishers. You see, I had great work to keep up with them these nine\ndays and nights. I hope they will do well hereafter.\n\n\n\n\nCUD, CAD, AND MICAD, THREE SONS OF THE KING OF URHU.\n\n\nThere was a king once in Urhu, and he had three sons. The eldest was\nthree, the second two, the youngest one year old. Their names were Cud,\nCad, and Micad. The three brothers were playing one day near the castle,\nwhich was hard by the seashore; and Cud ran in to his father, and said,\n\u201cI hope you will give me what I ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnything you ask that I can give you will get,\u201d said the father.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis all I ask,\u201d said Cud, \u201cthat you will give me and my brothers one of\nyour ships to sail in till evening.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you that and welcome, but I think you and they are too weak\nto go on a ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us be as we are; we\u2019ll never go younger,\u201d said Cud.\n\nThe king gave the ship. Cud hurried out, and, catching Cad and Micad,\none under each of his arms, went with one spring to the best ship in\nthe roadstead. They raised the sails then, and the three brothers did\nas good work as the best and largest crew. They left the harbor with\nthe fairest wind a ship ever had. The wind blew in a way that not a\ncable was left without stretching, an oar without breaking, nor a helm\nwithout cracking with all the speed the ship had. The water rose in three\nterrible ridges, so that the rough gravel of the bottom was brought to\nthe top, and the froth of the top was driven down to the bottom of the\nsea. The sight of the kingdom of the world soon sank from the eyes of the\nbrothers; and when they saw nothing but blue sea around them, a calm fell\non the water.\n\nCud was going back and forth on the deck, sorry for what was done; and a\ngood right he had to be sorry, but he was not sorry long. He saw a small\ncurrachan (boat) a mile away, and went with one spring from his ship to\nthe currachan. The finest woman in the world was sleeping in the bottom\nof the boat. He put a finger under her girdle, and went back with a\nspring to the ship. When he touched his own deck, she woke.\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds and the misfortune of the world,\u201d cried she, \u201cto\nleave me where you saw me first, and to be going ever and always till you\nfind me again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat name am I to call you when I go in search of you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Cat of Fermalye, or the Swan of Endless Tales,\u201d said the woman.\n\nHe took her with one spring to the little boat, and with another spring\nwent back to his own ship. Whatever good wind they had coming, they had\nit twice better going home. In the evening the ship was anchored among\nthe others again. The brothers went ashore in a boat. When Cud came in,\nhis father put out a chair for him, and gave him great welcome. Cud sat\ndown; but as he did, he broke three rungs in the chair, two ribs in\nhimself, and a rafter in the roof of the castle.\n\n\u201cYou were put under bonds to-day,\u201d said the father.\n\n\u201cI was,\u201d said Cud.\n\n\u201cWhat bonds?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be going ever and always till I find the Cat of Fermalye, or the Swan\nof Endless Tales.\u201d\n\nHimself and his father spent that night together, and they were very\nsad and downhearted. As early as the dawn came, Cud rose and ate his\nbreakfast.\n\n\u201cStay with me; I\u2019ll give you half my kingdom now, and all when I die,\u201d\nsaid the father.\n\n\u201cI cannot stay under bonds; I must go,\u201d replied Cud.\n\nCud took the ship he liked best, and put supplies for a day and seven\nyears in her.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the father, \u201cask for something else; anything in the world I\ncan give, I will give you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want nothing but my two brothers to go with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI care not where they go if yourself leaves me,\u201d said the king.\n\nThe three brothers went aboard the ship; and if the wind was good the\nfirst day, it was better this time. They never stopped nor rested till\nthey sailed to Fermalye. The three went on shore, and were walking the\nkingdom. They had walked only a short piece of it when they saw a grand\ncastle. They went to the gate; Cud was just opening it when a cat came\nout. The cat looked at Cud, bowed to him, and went her way. They saw\nneither beast nor man in the castle, or near it; only a woman at the\nhighest window, and she sewing.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll not stop till we go as far as the woman,\u201d said Cud.\n\nThe woman welcomed them when they came to her, put out a gold chair to\nCud and a wooden chair to each of his brothers.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis strange,\u201d said Micad, \u201cto show so much greater respect to one than\nthe other two.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo cause for wonder in that,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI show respect to this\none, for he is my brother-in-law.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe do not wonder now, but where is his wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe went out a cat when ye came in.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, was that she?\u201d cried Cud.\n\nThey spent the night with good cheer and plenty of food, the taste of\nhoney in every bit they ate, and no bit dry. As early as the day dawned,\nthe three rose, and the sister-in-law had their breakfast before them.\n\n\u201cGrief and sorrow, I\u2019m in dread \u2019tis bad cooking ye have on the ship.\nTake me with you; you\u2019ll have better food.\u201d\n\n\u201cWelcome,\u201d said Cud. \u201cCome with us.\u201d\n\nEach of the others welcomed her more than Cud. The four went on board;\nthe brothers raised sails, and were five days going when they saw a ship\nshining like gold and coming from Western waters.\n\n\u201cThat ship has no good appearance,\u201d said Cud. \u201cWe must keep out of\ndanger;\u201d and he took another course. Whatever course he took, the other\nship was before him always, and crossing him.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it narrow the ocean is, that you must be crossing me always?\u201d\nshouted Cud.\n\n\u201cDo not wonder,\u201d cried a man from the other ship; \u201cwe heard that the\nthree sons of the King of Urhu were sailing on the sea, and if we find\nthem, it\u2019s not long they\u2019ll be before us.\u201d\n\nThe three strangers were the three sons of the King of Hadone.\n\n\u201cIf it is for these you are looking,\u201d said Cud, \u201cyou need go no farther.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is to find you that we are here,\u201d said the man on the shining ship,\n\u201cto take you on a visit to our own kingdom for a day and seven years.\nAfter that, we will go for the same length of time to your kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will get that and welcome,\u201d said Cud.\n\n\u201cCome on board my ship,\u201d said the eldest son of the King of Hadone:\n\u201cwe\u2019ll make one company; your ship is not much to look at.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf the food that our father gave us,\u201d said Cud, \u201cthere is no bit dry,\nand we have plenty on board. If it is dry food that you have in that big\nship, leave it and come to us.\u201d\n\nThe sons of the King of Hadone went to the small ship, and let the big\none go with the wind. When Cud saw that they let their own ship go, he\nmade great friends of them.\n\n\u201cHave you been on sea ever before?\u201d asked he of the eldest of the\nstrangers.\n\n\u201cI am on sea since I was of an age to walk by myself,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cThis is my first voyage,\u201d said Cud. \u201cNow as we are brothers and\nfriends, and as you are taking us to visit your kingdom, I\u2019ll give you\ncommand of my ship.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son took this from Cud willingly, and steered home in a\nstraight course.\n\nWhen the sons of the King of Hadone were leaving home, they commanded all\nin the kingdom, big and little, small and great, weak and strong, to be\nat the port before them when they came back with the sons of the King of\nUrhu. \u201cThese,\u201d said they, \u201cmust never be let out alive on the shore.\u201d\n\nIn the first harbor the ship entered, the shore was black and white with\npeople.\n\n\u201cWhy are all those people assembled?\u201d asked Cud.\n\n\u201cI have no knowledge of that,\u201d said the king\u2019s son; \u201cbut if you\u2019ll let\nyour two brothers go with me and my brothers, we\u2019ll find out the reason.\u201d\n\nThey anchored the ship, put down a long-boat, and Cad and Micad went into\nit with the three sons of the King of Hadone. Cud and his sister-in-law\nstayed behind on the ship. Cud never took his eyes off his brothers as\nthey sat in the boat. He watched them when near the shore, and saw them\nboth killed. With one bound he sprang from the bowsprit to land, and went\nthrough all there as a hawk through small birds. Two hours had not passed\nwhen the head was off every man in the kingdom. Whatever trouble he had\nin taking the heads, he had twice as much in finding his brothers. When\nhe had the brothers found, it failed him to know how to bury them. At\nlast he saw on the beach an old ship with three masts. He pulled out the\nmasts, drew the ship further on land, and said to himself, \u201cI will have\nmy brothers under this ship turned bottom upward, and come back to take\nthem whenever I can.\u201d\n\nHe put the bodies on the ground, turned the ship over them, and went his\nway.\n\nThe woman saw all the slaughter. \u201cNever am I to see Cud alive,\u201d thought\nshe, and fell dead from sorrow.\n\nCud took the woman to shore, and put her under the ship with his\nbrothers. He went to his ship then, sailed away alone, and never stopped\ntill he came to the kingdom where lived Mucan Mor Mac Ri na Sorach. Cud\nwent ashore, and while walking and looking for himself, he came to a\ncastle. He was wondering at the pole of combat, such a terribly big one,\nand he gave a small blow to it. The messenger came out, and looked up and\ndown to know could he find the man who gave the blow. Not a soul could he\nsee but a white-haired young child standing near the pole. He went into\nthe castle again.\n\n\u201cWho struck the pole?\u201d asked Mucan Mor.\n\n\u201cI saw no one but a small child with white hair; there is no danger from\nhim.\u201d\n\nCud gave a harder blow.\n\n\u201cThat blow is harder,\u201d said Mucan Mor, \u201cthan any child can give. Go and\nsee who is in it.\u201d\n\nThe man searched high and low, and it failed him to find any one but the\nchild.\n\n\u201cIt would be a wonder if you are the one, you little child, that struck\nthe blow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat harm,\u201d said the little child, \u201cif I gave the pole a touch?\u201d\n\n\u201cMucan Mor is going to dinner soon,\u201d said the messenger; \u201cand if you vex\nhim again, \u2019tis yourself that he\u2019ll eat in place of the dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs dinner ready?\u201d asked Cud.\n\n\u201cIt is going to be left down,\u201d was the answer he got.\n\nWhen the man went in, Cud gave the pole a hard blow, and didn\u2019t leave\ncalf, foal, lamb, kid, or child awaiting its birth, or a bag of poor oats\nor rye, that didn\u2019t turn five times to the left, and five to the right\nwith the fright that it got. He made such a noise and crash that dishes\nwere broken, knives hurled around, and the castle shaken to its bottom\nstone. Mucan Mor himself was turned five times to the left and five to\nthe right before he could put the soles of his feet under him. When he\nwent out, and saw the small child, he asked, \u201cWas it you that struck the\npole?\u201d\n\n\u201cI gave it a little tip,\u201d said Cud.\n\n\u201cYou are a child of no sense to be lying so, and it is yourself that I\u2019ll\neat for my supper.\u201d\n\nHe thought he had only to take Cud into the castle, and roast him on the\nspit. He went to catch the child; but if he did, the child faced him, and\nsoon they were fighting like two bulls in high grass. When it was very\nlate in the day, Mucan Mor rose up in a lump of fog, and Cud didn\u2019t know\nwhere he had gone.\n\nAll Cud had to do was to go to the forest, and gather twigs for a fire\nto keep himself warm until morning. It wasn\u2019t many twigs he had gathered\nwhen twelve swans came near him.\n\n\u201cLove me!\u201d said he. \u201cI believe ye are the blessed birds that came from my\nfather\u2019s kingdom to be food to relieve me in need.\u201d\n\n\u201cSorry am I that I have ever looked on you or you on me,\u201d said one of the\nswans; and the twelve rose and flew away.\n\nCud gathered the twigs for the fire, and dried the blood in his wounds.\nIn the morning, Mucan Mor struck his own pole of combat. He and Cud\nfaced each other, and fought till late in the day, when Mucan Mor rose\nas a lump of fog in the air. Cud went to the forest as before to gather\ntwigs. It was few he had gathered when the twelve swans came again.\n\n\u201cAre ye the blessed birds from my own kingdom?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said one of the swans; \u201cbut I put you under bonds not to turn me\naway as you did last night.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you put me under bonds,\u201d said Cud, \u201cI will not turn you away.\u201d\n\nThe twelve began to gather twigs, and it wasn\u2019t long till they had a\ngreat fire made. One of the twelve sat at the fire then with Cud, and\nsaid, \u201cThere is nothing in the world to kill Mucan Mor but a certain\napple. For the last three days I have been looking for that apple. I\nfound it to-day, and have it here for you. To-morrow you\u2019ll be getting\nthe upper hand of Mucan Mor earlier than other days. He has no power to\nrise as a fog until a given hour. When the time comes, he\u2019ll raise his\ntwo hands and be striving to go in the air. If you strike him then in the\nright side in the ribs with the apple, you\u2019ll make a green stone of him.\nIf you do not, he\u2019ll come down and make a green stone of you.\u201d\n\nCud took the apple, and had great thanks for the swan. She left down the\nbest food then before him. She had the food with her always. Glad was\nhe, for he was greatly in want of it after the fast of two days. She put\nher own wing and head over his head and sheltered him till day break.\nThere wasn\u2019t a wound on him next morning that wasn\u2019t cured. As early as\nthe day dawned she roused him.\n\n\u201cBe up now,\u201d said she, \u201cand have the soles of your feet under you.\u201d\n\nHe went first to the pole and struck a blow that took three turns out of\nthe stomach of Mucan Mor and three more out of his brain, before he could\nstand on the soles of his feet, so great was the dread that came on him.\n\nThey fought the third day, and it wasn\u2019t very late when Cud was getting\nthe upper hand. Mucan Mor raised his two arms toward the sky, striving to\nescape in a fog from his enemy. Cud struck him then with the apple, and\nmade a green stone of him. Hardly had he Mucan Mor killed when he saw an\nold hag racing up; she took one hill at a step and two at a leap.\n\n\u201cYour face and your health to you,\u201d said the hag, when she stood before\nCud. \u201cI am looking at you for three days, fighting without food or drink.\nI hope that you\u2019ll come with me now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s long that you were thinking of asking me,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI hope you\u2019ll not refuse me,\u201d said the hag.\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d replied Cud.\n\n\u201cGive me your hand,\u201d said the hag, \u201cand I\u2019ll help you to walk.\u201d\n\nHe took the hag\u2019s hand. There wasn\u2019t a jump that she gave while she had a\ngrip of his hand but he thought she was dragging the arm from him.\n\n\u201cCurses on you for an old hag! Is it little I have gone through that you\ntreat me in this way?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a cloth about my shoulders. Go into that, and I will carry you,\u201d\nsaid the hag.\n\nThere wasn\u2019t a joint in the hag\u2019s back that wasn\u2019t three inches long.\nWhen she had him on her back there wasn\u2019t a leap that she gave that the\njoints of her backbone were not going into Cud\u2019s body.\n\n\u201cHard luck to you for a hag, after all I have gone through to have me\nkilled at last.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have not far to go now,\u201d said she; and after a few leaps she was at\nthe end of her journey. She took him into a grand castle. The best table\nof food that he had ever set eyes on was left down there before him.\n\n\u201cSit there, now, son of the King of Urhu; eat and drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never taken food without company,\u201d said Cud, \u201cand I will not take\nit this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you eat with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBad luck to you for a hag, I will not.\u201d\n\nShe opened a door and let in twelve pigs, and one pig, the thirteenth,\nwithout a head.\n\n\u201cWill you take food with these, son of the King of Urhu?\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, then, old hag, bad as you are yourself, I\u2019d rather eat with you\nthan with these, and I\u2019ll not eat with you.\u201d\n\nShe put them back, opened another door and let out twelve of the\nrustiest, foulest, ugliest old hags that man could set eyes on.\n\n\u201cWill you take food with these?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cIndeed, then, I will not.\u201d\n\nShe hurried them back, opened a door, and brought out twelve beautiful\nyoung women.\n\n\u201cWill you take food with these?\u201d\n\n\u201cThese are fit to take food with any one,\u201d said Cud.\n\nThey sat down and ate with good-will and pleasure. When they had the\ndinner eaten the hag opened the door, and the twelve went back to their\nown chamber.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll get great blame,\u201d said the old hag, \u201cfor all the delay I\u2019ve had.\nI\u2019ll be going now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat trouble is on you that you\u2019ll be blamed for your delay?\u201d\n\n\u201cThose twelve pigs that you saw,\u201d said the hag, \u201care twelve sons of\nmine, and the pig without a head is my husband. Those twelve foul, yellow\nhags that you saw are my twelve daughters. The twelve beautiful women who\nate with you are my daughters\u2019 attendants.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are your twelve sons and your husband pigs, and your twelve\ndaughters yellow old hags?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Awus in that house there beyond has them enchanted and held in\nsubjection. There isn\u2019t a night but I must go with a gold apple to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go with you to-night,\u201d said Cud.\n\n\u201cThere is no use in going,\u201d said the hag.\n\nThey were talking a long time before she would let him go. She went\nfirst, and he followed. She knocked, and they opened the door. Cud was\nin with her that instant. One Awus rose and put seven bolts and seven\nlocks on the door. Cud rose and put on seven locks and seven bolts more.\nAll began to laugh when they saw Cud doing this. The old chief, who was\nstanding at the hearth, let such a roar out of him that Cud saw the heart\ninside in his body.\n\n\u201cWhy are you laughing?\u201d asked Cud.\n\n\u201cWe think you a nice bit of meat to roast on the spit. Rise up,\u201d said he\nto a small attendant, \u201cand tie that fellow.\u201d\n\nThe attendant rose and tried to tie Cud, but soon Cud had him down and\ntied.\n\n\u201cBad luck to you, \u2019tis sorry I am that I ever lost food on the like of\nyou,\u201d said the old chief to the small attendant. \u201cRise up,\u201d said he to a\nbig attendant, \u201cand tie him.\u201d\n\nThe big one rose up, and whatever time the small one lasted, the big one\ndidn\u2019t last half that length. Cud drew strings from his pocket and began\ntying the Awuses. He caught the old Awus by the shins, dragged him down,\nand put his knee on him.\n\n\u201cYou are the best champion ever I have seen,\u201d said the old Awus. \u201cGive me\nquarter for my soul; there is never a place where you need it but my help\nwill attend you with bravery. I\u2019ll give you also my sword of light that\nshines in the dark, my pot of cure that makes the dead alive, and the rod\nof enchantment to help the pot of cure.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find them?\u201d asked Cud.\n\n\u201cIn a hole in the floor under the post of my bed. You cannot get them\nwithout help.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt cannot be but I can do anything that has been done ever in your\nhouse,\u201d said Cud.\n\nWith that he went to the bed, and whatever work he had in his life he\nnever found a harder task than to move the post of the bed; but he found\nthe sword of light, the pot of cure, and the rod of enchantment. He came\nto the Awus with the sword in one hand, and the two other things in the\nother hand.\n\n\u201cThe head off you now if you don\u2019t take this hag and her family from\nunder enchantment. Make men and women of her sons and daughters, a king\nof her husband, and a queen of herself in this kingdom, while water is\nrunning, and grass is growing, and you are to go to them with a gold\napple every evening and morning as long as you live or any one lives who\ncomes after you to the end of all ages.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do that,\u201d said the Awus.\n\nHe gave the word, and the hag was as fine a queen as she was before. She\nand Cud went back to the castle. The twelve pigs were twelve young men,\nand the thirteenth without a head was the king. She opened the chamber of\nthe twelve yellow hags, and they were as beautiful as ever. All were very\ngrateful to Cud for the good turn he had done them.\n\n\u201cI had one son,\u201d said the queen; \u201cwhile he was here he gave the old Awus\nenough to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d inquired Cud.\n\n\u201cIn the Eastern World, in a field seven miles in length, and seven in\nwidth, and there isn\u2019t a yard of that field in which a spike is not\nstanding taller than a man. There is not a spike, except one, without a\nking\u2019s son or a champion on it, impaled through his chin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat name had your son?\u201d\n\n\u201cGold Boot.\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise to bring Gold Boot here to you, or leave my own head on the\nspike.\u201d\n\nAs early as the day rose Cud was ready, and away he went walking, and\nvery little food had he with him. About midday he was at the enchanted\nfield, in the Eastern World. He was walking till he came to Gold Boot.\nWhen he touched the body, the foot gave him a kick that sent him seven\nacres and seven ridges away, and put three bunches of the blood of his\nheart out of him.\n\n\u201cI believe what your mother said, that when you were living you were\nstrong, and the strength you have now to be in you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t think we are dead,\u201d said Gold Boot; \u201cwe are not. It is how we are\nenchanted and unable to rise out of this.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat put you in it?\u201d asked Cud.\n\n\u201cA man will come out by and by with pipes, making music, and he\u2019ll bring\nso much sleep on you that he\u2019ll put you on that empty spike, and the\nfield will be full. If you take my advice you will not wait for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy grief and my sorrow! I will never stir till I see all that is here,\u201d\nreplied Cud.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t long he was waiting when the piper came out, and the very first\nsound that he heard Cud ran and caught the pipes; whatever music the man\nwas making, Cud played seven times better.\n\nWhen Cud took the pipes, the piper ran crying into the castle where the\nwizard was.\n\n\u201cWhat is on you?\u201d asked the wizard.\n\n\u201cA man caught my pipes, and he is a twice better player than what I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that, take these with you; these are the pipes that won\u2019t be\nlong in putting sleep on him.\u201d\n\nWhen Cud heard the first note of these pipes, he struck the old ones\nagainst a stone, and ran and caught the new pipes. The piper rushed to\nthe wizard; the old man went out, threw himself on his knees, and begged\nmercy.\n\n\u201cNever give him mercy,\u201d said Gold Boot, \u201ctill he burns the hill that is\nstanding out opposite him.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have no pardon to get till you set that hill there on fire,\u201d\nanswered Cud.\n\n\u201cThat is as bad for me as to lose my head,\u201d said the wizard.\n\n\u201cThat same is not far from you unless you do what I bid,\u201d replied Cud.\n\nSooner than lose his head he lighted the hill. When the hill began to\nburn, all the men except Gold Boot came from under enchantment as sound\nas ever, and rose off the spikes. Every one was making away, and no one\nasking who let him out. The hill was on fire except one spot in the\nmiddle of it. Gold Boot was not stirring. \u201cWhy did you not make him set\nall the hill on fire?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not set the whole hill on fire?\u201d demanded Cud of the wizard.\n\n\u201cIs it not all on fire?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you see the centre is not burning yet?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo see that bit on fire,\u201d said the wizard, \u201cis as bad for me as to lose\nthe head itself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat same is not far from you,\u201d said Cud.\n\n\u201cSooner than lose the head I will light it.\u201d\n\nThat moment he lighted the hill, and Cud saw the very woman he saw the\nfirst day sleeping in the little boat come toward him from the hill. He\nforgot that he had seen Gold Boot or the enchanted hag and her sons. The\nwizard, seeing this, stopped the centre fire, and Gold Boot was left on\nthe spike. Cud and the woman embraced till they smothered each other with\nkisses and drowned each other with tears. After that they neither stopped\nnor stayed till they reached his little ship and sailed away on it; they\nnever delayed till they came to where his two brothers and sister-in-law\nwere under the boat. Cud took out the three bodies, put a drop of the\ncure on each one, and gave each a blow of the rod. They rose up in good\nhealth and sound vigor. All entered the ship and sailed toward Urhu.\n\nThey had only the sailing of one day before them, when Cud recollected\nhis promise to bring Gold Boot to his mother.\n\n\u201cTake the wife to Fermalye,\u201d said he to his brothers. \u201cI must go for Gold\nBoot; the king will give you food till I come. If you were to go to our\nown father he\u2019d think that it is dead I am.\u201d\n\nCud drew out his knife, cut a slip from a stick; this he threw into the\nsea. It became a ship, and away he sailed in that ship, and never stopped\ntill he entered the harbor next the enchanted field. When he came to\nGold Boot he gave him a drop of cure and a blow of the rod. He rose from\nthe spike, well and strong. The two embraced then, went to the ship, and\nsailed away. They had not gone far when such a calm came that they cast\nanchor near shore, and Gold Boot began to get dinner. It wasn\u2019t long he\nwas at it when they saw food at the foot of a tree on the shore.\n\n\u201cWho would be getting trouble with cooking, and such food as that on the\nshore?\u201d said Gold Boot.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t mind that food,\u201d replied Cud.\n\n\u201cWhatever I think of I do,\u201d said Gold Boot.\n\nHe went to shore with one jump, caught the food, sprang back, and laid it\ndown for himself and Cud. When this was done there was food seven times\nbetter on the land again.\n\n\u201cWho would taste of this, and that table over there?\u201d cried Gold Boot.\n\n\u201cNever mind it,\u201d said Cud. \u201cIf the man who owns this table was sleeping\nwhen you took it, he is not sleeping now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever I think of I must do,\u201d replied Gold Boot.\n\n\u201cIf you did that before, I will do it now,\u201d said Cud, and he sprang to\nland. He looked up in the tree, and there he saw a man ready to take the\nlife from him.\n\n\u201cGrief and sorrow!\u201d said the man. \u201cI thought it was Gold Boot again. Take\nthis table, with welcome, but I hope you\u2019ll invite me to dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will, indeed,\u201d said Cud; \u201cand what name am I to give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Wet Mantle Champion.\u201d\n\nCud took one end of the table and the champion the other. Out they went\nto the ship with one bound. They sat down then together with Gold Boot\nat the table. When dinner was over, the wind rose, and they sailed on,\nnever delaying till they came to the castle of Gold Boot\u2019s father, where\nthere was a great welcome before them, and thanks beyond estimate.\n\n\u201cI will give you half my kingdom while I live and all of it when I die,\u201d\nsaid the king, \u201cand the choice of my twelve daughters.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany thanks to you,\u201d replied Cud; \u201cthe promise of marriage is on me\nalready, but perhaps Wet Mantle is not married or promised.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not,\u201d said Wet Mantle.\n\n\u201cYou must have my chance,\u201d said Cud.\n\nWet Mantle took Cud\u2019s place, and the king sent for a big dish priest, and\na great wooden clerk. They came, and the couple were married. When the\nthree days\u2019 wedding was over, Cud went away alone. While sailing near\nland he saw a castle by the sea, and as he drew near he wondered more and\nmore. A raven was going in and out at the uppermost window, and each time\nbringing out something white. Cud landed, walked up from the strand, and\nwent to the top of the castle. He saw a woman there, and the whole room\nfull of white pigeons. She was throwing them one by one from a loft to\nthe raven.\n\n\u201cWhy do you throw those to the raven?\u201d asked Cud of the woman.\n\n\u201cThe raven is an enchanted brother of mine, who comes to this castle once\nin seven years. I can see him only while I am throwing him pigeons. I get\nas many pigeons as possible, to keep him with me while I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep him for a while yet,\u201d said Cud.\n\nHe rushed to the ship, took his rod, and ran to the loft where the woman\nwas. \u201cEntice him in further,\u201d said Cud.\n\nCud struck the raven a blow, and he rose up as fine a champion as ever\nwas seen.\n\n\u201cYour blow on me was good,\u201d said the champion, \u201cand \u2019tis work you have\nnow before you. Your two brothers are killed and under seven feet of\nearth in Fermalye. Your wife and her sister are to their knees in foul\nwater and filth in the stable, and are getting two mouthfuls of water,\nand two of bread in the day till they die.\u201d\n\nCud did not wait to hear more of the story. Away he went, and never\nstopped till he came to Fermalye. When he was coming to the castle all\nthe children he met he was throwing at each other, he was so vexed. He\ntook the wife and sister out of the stable, then dug up the brothers and\nbrought them to life with the rod. The five made no delay after that, but\nwent to the ship and sailed to Urhu. When near land he raised white flags\non every mast.\n\n\u201cA ship is coming!\u201d cried a messenger, running to the king. \u201cI am\nthinking it is Cud that is in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I will never believe,\u201d said the king, \u201ctill he puts his hand\ninto my hand.\u201d\n\nSince Cud left home, the father and mother had never risen from the\nfireside, but were sitting there always and crying. When the ship was\nthree miles from land, Cud ran from the stern to the stem, sprang to\nland, ran into the castle, gave one hand to his mother, and the other to\nhis father.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t one boat, but boats, that went out to the ship for the brothers\nand the women. When they came, all spent the night with great pleasure\nin the castle. Next day the king sent seven score of ships and one ship\nto sea to bring supplies for the wedding. When the ships came back laden\nfrom foreign parts, he sent messengers to invite all the people in the\nkingdom. They were coming till they blackened the hills and spotted the\nvalleys. I was there myself, and we spent nine nights and nine days in\ngreat glee and pleasure.\n\n\n\n\nCAHAL, SON OF KING CONOR, IN ERIN, AND BLOOM OF YOUTH, DAUGHTER OF THE\nKING OF HATHONY.\n\n\nThere was a king in Hathony long ago who had an old castle by the sea.\nThis king went out walking one day along the clean, smooth strand, and,\nwhile walking, the thought rose in him to take a sail near the shore. He\nstepped into his boat with attendants and men, and was sailing about in\nenjoyment and pleasure, when a wind came with a mist of enchantment, and\ndrove the boat away through the sea with the king and his men.\n\nThey were going before the wind, without a sight of sky or sea; no man in\nthe boat could see the man who sat next to him. They were that way moving\nin the mist without knowledge of where they were, or where they were\ngoing, and the boat never stopped till it sailed into a narrow harbor in\na lonely place without house or habitation.\n\nThe king left the boat well fastened at the shore, and went his way,\nwalking till he came to a castle, and what castle should it be but the\ncastle of King Conor, in Erin.\n\nKing Conor received the King of Hathony with great hospitality and\nwelcome.\n\nWhen the two had spent some days in company, they became great friends,\nand made a match between their two children. The King of Hathony had a\ndaughter called Bloom of Youth, who was nine years of age, and King Conor\nhad a son ten years old, named Cahal.\n\nWhen the King of Hathony wished to go back to his own land, King Conor of\nErin gave a ship to him, and the king sailed away with good wishes and\nwith supplies for a day and a year.\n\nBloom of Youth grew up in such beauty that she had not her equal in\nHathony or in other lands, and Cahal, King Conor\u2019s son, became such a\nhero that no man knew was the like of him in any place.\n\nOn a day Cahal said to his father, \u201cMake up some treasure for me and\nstores for my ship. I must leave home now and be travelling through the\nworld till I know is there a better man than myself in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is, indeed, time for you to be going,\u201d said King Conor, \u201cfor in\nthree years you are to marry Bloom of Youth, the daughter of the King\nof Hathony, and you should be making out the place now where her father\nlives.\u201d\n\nNext morning Cahal took what treasures his father gave him, and\nprovisions, went to his ship and raised sails. Away he went on his\nvoyage, sailing over the sea in one way and another, in this direction\nand that. He sailed one year and three-quarters of a second year, but\nfound no man to give tale or tidings of the King of Hathony.\n\nOnce on a gloomy day he was sailing along through the waves, when a\nstrong north wind rose, and blew with such force that he let his ship go\nwith it.\n\nThree days and nights the ship went before the north wind, and on the\nfourth day, in the morning, it was thrown in on a rocky coast.\n\nCahal saved his life and his sword, and went away walking through the\ncountry. On the evening of the fifth day he came to an old castle near\nthe seashore, and said to himself, \u201cI will not go in here to ask for\nlodgings like any poor traveller.\u201d With that he walked up and put a blow\non the pole of combat that made the whole castle tremble.\n\nOut rushed the messenger. \u201cWhat brought you here, and what do you want?\u201d\nasked he of King Conor\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cI want men to meet me in combat, seven hundred champions on my right\nhand, seven hundred on my left, seven hundred behind me, and the same\nnumber in front of me.\u201d\n\nThe man ran in and gave the message to the king.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the King of Hathony, \u201cthat is my son-in-law from Erin;\u201d and\nout he went.\n\n\u201cAre you the son of King Conor?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Cahal.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cThankful am I for the welcomes, and glad to receive them,\u201d said Cahal.\n\u201cI had great trouble in coming; it is not easy to find you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not easy to find any man unless you know the road to his house,\u201d\nsaid the king.\n\nThere was great feasting that night and entertainment for Cahal. Next\nday the king said, \u201cYour bride, my daughter, is gone these two months.\nStriker, son of the King of Tricks, came to my castle and stole her away\nfrom me.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy word for it, he will not keep her unless he is a better man than I\nam,\u201d said Cahal.\n\n\u201cI am sure of that,\u201d said the king, \u201cand I said so.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy own ship was wrecked on your coast, and now you must give me another\nin place of it,\u201d said Cahal.\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the king, \u201cand a good one; but you can do nothing on sea\nagainst Striker.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am more used to the sea now than to land, I am so long on it,\u201d\nanswered Cahal.\n\n\u201cIf you were born on the water and had lived every day of your life on\nit, you could do nothing at sea against Striker. There is not a man\nliving who can face him at sea.\u201d\n\nNothing would satisfy Cahal but to go against Striker by sea; so he took\nthe ship which the king gave and sailed away, sailed week after week till\nhe was within a day\u2019s journey of Striker\u2019s castle. Striker thrust his\nhead up through the top of the castle then, and let a blast out through\nhis mouth that sent Cahal\u2019s ship back twice the distance it had come.\n\nKing Conor\u2019s son sailed forward again, and again Striker blew him back as\nfar as he had the first time.\n\nCahal sailed now to the castle of the King of Hathony.\n\n\u201cI said that you could do nothing against Striker on sea. If you wish to\nget the upper hand of him I will tell you what to do. Take this bridle\nand shake it behind the castle; whatever beast comes to you take that\none, and ride away against Striker.\u201d\n\nWhen Cahal shook the bridle, out came the smallest and ugliest beast in\nthe stables, a lean, shaggy mare.\n\n\u201cOh, then, bad luck to you for coming,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201cand so many\nfine steeds in the stables.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the pony my daughter used to ride, that is the best horse in\nthe stables; take her. She is not easy to ride though, for she is full\nof tricks and enchantment, but if you are the right man she\u2019ll not throw\nyou. She goes on water as well as land, and you will be at your enemy\u2019s\ncastle to-day.\u201d\n\nCahal mounted, and away went the mare. She crossed one hill at the first\nleap, three at the second, then twelve hills and valleys at the third\nleap; went over land and sea, and never stopped till she was in front of\nStriker\u2019s castle, two hours before sunset.\n\nCahal sprang from the mare, and struck the pole of combat.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the attendant, running out.\n\n\u201cI want seven hundred champions in combat at my right side, seven hundred\nat my left, seven hundred behind me, and seven hundred out before my\nface.\u201d\n\nThe attendant went in, and out came the twenty-eight hundred against\nCahal.\n\nHe went at the champions, and before sunset he had them in three heaps, a\nheap of their bodies, a heap of their heads, and a heap of their weapons.\n\nNext morning Cahal struck the pole again.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want this time?\u201d asked the attendant.\n\n\u201cSeven thousand champions against me for every hundred that I had\nyesterday.\u201d\n\nOut came the champions in thousands. As they were coming Cahal was going\nthrough them, and before the day was ended he had them in three heaps\nwithout leaving a man, a heap of their heads, a heap of their bodies, and\na heap of their weapons.\n\nHe struck the pole on the third morning, and before the attendant had\ntime to open his mouth, Cahal shouted, \u201cSend out every man in the place.\nI may as well spend one day on them all as to be calling for champions\noccasionally.\u201d\n\nThe forces of Striker, son of the King of Tricks, were coming as fast as\never they could make their way through the gates. They were rushing at\nCahal like showers of hail on a stormy day, but they could neither kill\nhim nor get the upper hand. They could neither defend themselves nor hurt\nhim, and Cahal never stopped till he had them all in a heap at one side.\n\nCahal struck the pole on the fourth day.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want now?\u201d asked the attendant.\n\n\u201cStriker, son of the King of Tricks, in combat before me.\u201d\n\nOut came Striker, and fell upon Cahal. The two fought seven days and six\nnights without stopping or resting, then Striker called for a truce and\ngot it. He went into his castle, healed himself in his caldron of cure,\nate enough, slept, and was as fresh as ever next morning. They spent\nthree days and two nights in combat after that without rest.\n\nStriker called for cessation a second time and got it. On the eleventh\nmorning a goldfinch perched opposite Cahal and said, \u201cBad luck to you for\na foolish young man to be giving your enemy rest, time to eat, drink, and\ncure himself, and you lying outside at the foot of the wall in hunger and\ncold. Keep him working till he yields. Give him no rest till you snatch\nfrom his breast the pin which he has in the left side of it.\u201d\n\nThey were struggling four days and nights without rest or cessation till\nthe fifth morning, when Cahal snatched the pin from the bosom of Striker.\n\n\u201cOh, spare my life!\u201d cried Striker. \u201cI\u2019ll be your servant in every place,\nonly spare me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want nothing of you,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cbut this: Send out my bride to\nme; you took her from her father, the King of Hathony, and she was to\nbe my wife soon when you took her. Send her to me, and put no fog or\nenchantment on us while we are on the way home.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou ask more than I can give,\u201d said Striker, \u201cfor Wet Mantle, the hero,\ntook that maiden from me two months ago. When going, she put him under\nbonds not to molest her for two days and two years.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find Wet Mantle?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is more than I can tell; but put your nose before you and follow\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a short answer, and I would take your life for three straws on\naccount of it; but I\u2019ll let some other man have his chance to take the\nhead off you.\u201d\n\nCahal mounted his mare then, and was travelling over seas and dry\nland,\u2014travelling a long time till he came at last to Wet Mantle\u2019s castle.\nHe struck the pole of combat, and out came the messenger.\n\n\u201cWho are you, and what do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cSeven hundred at my right hand, seven hundred at my left, seven hundred\nbehind me, and seven hundred before my face.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s more men than you can find in this place,\u201d said the messenger.\n\u201cWet Mantle lives here in his own way, without forces or company; he\nkeeps no man but me, and is very well satisfied.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo then,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cand tell him to come out himself to me.\u201d\n\nWet Mantle came out, and the two fought seven days and six nights. Wet\nMantle called for a truce then and got it. The hero went to his castle,\ncured himself, and was as fresh the eighth morning as the first. They\nbegan to fight, and the struggle continued three days and two nights.\nWet Mantle called for a truce, and received it the second time. On the\neleventh morning he was well again, and ready for the struggle.\n\n\u201cOh, then, it is foolish and simple you are, and small good in your\ntravelling the world,\u201d cried a goldfinch to Cahal. \u201cWhy are you out here\nin hunger and cold, and he cured and fresh in his castle? Give him no\nrest the next time, but fight till you tire him and take the mantle from\nhim. He\u2019ll be as weak as a common man then, for it is in the mantle his\nstrength is.\u201d\n\nOn the eleventh morning they began for the third time and fought fiercely\nall day. In the evening Wet Mantle called for a rest.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cyou\u2019ll get no rest. There is no rest for either of us.\nYou must fight till you or I yield.\u201d\n\nThey fought on till the following evening. Wet Mantle called for rest a\nsecond time.\n\n\u201cNo rest till this battle is ended,\u201d cried Cahal.\n\nThey held on all that night venomously, and were fighting at noon of the\nfollowing day. Then Cahal closed on his enemy, and tore the mantle from\nhis body.\n\nThe hero without his mantle had no more strength than a common man.\n\n\u201cYou are the best champion that ever I have met,\u201d said he to Cahal. \u201cI\nwill give you all that you ask, but don\u2019t kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no wish to kill or to hurt you, though good treatment is not what\nyou deserve from me. You caused me great trouble and hardship searching\nand travelling, not knowing where to find you. I want nothing of you but\nmy bride, and your promise not to put fog or magic on us or harm us until\nwe reach Erin in safety.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is more than I can promise,\u201d said Wet Mantle.\n\n\u201cWhy so?\u201d asked Cahal.\n\n\u201cThe gruagach, Long Sweeper, took that maiden from me, and she put him\nunder bonds not to molest her, or come near her for three days and three\nyears.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find Long Sweeper?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is more than I can tell,\u201d said Wet Mantle. \u201cThe world is wide, you\nhave free passage through it, and you can be going this way and that\ntill you find him; he lives in a very high castle, and he is a tall man\nhimself; he has a very long broom, and when he likes he sweeps the sky\nwith that broom three times in the morning, and the day that he sweeps,\nthere is no man in the world that can contradict him or conquer him.\u201d\n\nCahal went riding his pony from the north to the south, from the east to\nthe west, and west to east, three years and two days. At daylight of the\nthird day he saw a tall castle in the ocean before him. So tall was the\ncastle that he could not tell the height of it, and a man on the summit\ntwice as tall as the castle itself, and he with a broom sweeping the sky.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said Cahal to himself, \u201cI have you at last.\u201d\n\nHe rode forward then to the castle, and struck the pole of combat.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the messenger.\n\n\u201cI want men to meet me in combat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, that is what you\u2019ll not get in this place. There is no man living\non this island but Long Sweeper and myself. The Black Horseman came from\nthe Western World three months ago, and killed every man, gave Long\nSweeper great hardship and trouble, and after terrible fighting got the\nupper hand of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if he has no men, let him come out himself, for I\u2019ll never leave\nthe spot till I knock satisfaction out of Long Sweeper for the trouble he\ngave me before I could find him.\u201d\n\nLong Sweeper came out, and they began to fight; they fought for seven\ndays and six nights. Toward evening of the seventh day Long Sweeper\ncalled for rest and got it. He went into his high castle, ate, drank,\nhealed himself in his caldron of cure, and slept well and soundly, while\nCahal had to rest as best he was able on the ground beyond the wall. The\neighth morning Long Sweeper went up on his castle and swept the sky back\nand forth three times, and got such strength that no man on earth could\novercome him that day.\n\nThey fought three days and two nights, and fought all the time without\nrest. Long Sweeper called for rest then and got it, and was cured and\nrefreshed as before. Next morning he mounted the castle, swept the sky\nthree times with his broom, and was ready for combat.\n\nBefore Long Sweeper came, the goldfinch perched in front of Cahal and\nsaid, \u201cMisfortune to you, son of King Conor in Erin; \u2019tis to a bad place\nyou came with your life to lose it, and isn\u2019t it foolish of you to give\nyour enemy rest, while yourself has nothing to lie on but the earth, and\nnothing to put in your mouth but cold air? Give neither rest nor truce to\nyour enemy. He will be losing strength till three days from now. If he\ngets no chance to sweep the sky, he\u2019ll be no better than a common man.\u201d\n\nThat evening Long Sweeper called for rest.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cyou\u2019ll get no rest from me. We must fight till either\none or the other yields.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not fair fighting.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not, indeed. I am ten days and nights without food, drink, or\nrest, while you have had them twice. We have not fought fairly so far,\nbut we will hereafter. You must remain as you are now till one of us is\nconquered.\u201d\n\nThey were fighting till noon, the thirteenth day. \u201cI am beaten,\u201d said\nLong Sweeper. \u201cWhatever I have I am willing to give you, but spare my\nlife, for if there is a good hero in the world you are he.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want nothing of you,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cbut to send out to me my bride,\nBloom of Youth, daughter of the King of Hathony, the maiden you took from\nWet Mantle. You have caused me great hardship and trouble, but I\u2019ll let\nsome one else take your life, or may you live as you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot send out your bride,\u201d said Long Sweeper, \u201cfor she is not in my\ncastle. The Black Horseman took her from me three months ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere am I to find that man?\u201d\n\n\u201cI might tell you to put your nose before you and walk after it, but I\nwill not; I will give you a guide. Here is a rod; whichever way the rod\nturns, follow it till you come to the Western World, where the Black\nHorseman lives.\u201d\n\nCahal mounted his mare, made off with the rod in his hand, and rode\nstraight to the Black Horseman\u2019s castle. The messenger was in front of\nthe castle before him.\n\n\u201cTell your master to send out champions against me, or to come himself,\u201d\nsaid Cahal.\n\nThat moment the Black Horseman himself was on the threshold. \u201cI am here\nall alone,\u201d said he to Cahal. \u201cI have lost all my wealth, all my men, all\nmy magic. I am now in a poor state, though I was living pleasantly and in\ngreatness after the conflict in which I got the better of Long Sweeper.\nIt\u2019s rich and strong I was after parting with that man, and I was waiting\nhere to marry when White Beard from the Western World came, made war on\nme, and continued it for a day and a year; then he left me poor and\nlonely, as I am at this moment.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Cahal, \u201cyou have caused me great labor and hardship; but\nI ask nothing of you except to send out my bride, Bloom of Youth, to\nme, and not to bring fog or magic on her or on me till we reach home in\nsafety.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhite Beard took your bride from me, and he cannot marry her for four\ndays and four years, for she put him under bond not to do so. I will\ntell you now how to find her. Do you see that broad river in front of\nus? It flows from the Northern to the Southern World, and there is no\nway to cross it unless a good hero does so by springing from one bank to\nthe other. When White Beard took the maiden from me, they walked to the\nbrink of the river; he placed the woman then on his shoulder and sprang\nover the river to the west. \u2018Let me down, now,\u2019 said the woman. \u2018I will\nnot,\u2019 replied White Beard, \u2018I have such regard for you that I will show\nyou every place on the road.\u2019 He did not let her down till he showed\nher everything between the river and the castle. \u2018You may come down,\u2019\nsaid he, when they entered the castle (she could see everything from his\nshoulder, but nothing from the ground). When coming down she thrust a\nsleeping pin that she had in the head of the old man, and he fell fast\nasleep standing there. She has whatever she wishes to eat or to drink in\nthe castle. All is in a mist of enchantment. She can see nothing outside\nthe castle, but everything within. That was my home at one time. I was\nborn and reared in that castle, and lived in it till White Beard drove\nme away with magic and violence. I came to this place and lived here a\ntime without trouble, till I took Bloom of Youth from Long Sweeper. I was\nwaiting to marry her, when White Beard came, destroyed all my forces,\ntook away my enchantment, carried off Bloom of Youth, and left me here\nwithout strength or defence. But one thing is left me, and that I will\ngive you. Here is a torch. When you cross the river, light it. You\u2019ll\nfind the road, and no one has found it since I was there. When you light\nthe torch follow the road to an old cottage, at one side from the castle.\nIn this cottage is a henwife, who has lived there since my childhood. She\nwill show the way to the castle and back to her cottage. From there you\nmay journey homeward in safety, by lighting the torch a second time, and\nkeeping it till you ride out of the castle\u2019s enchantment. This is all I\nhave to tell you.\u201d\n\nCahal rode briskly to the river, rode across, lighted his torch on the\nother side, saw a narrow bright road, but nothing on either side. The\nroad was a long one, but he came to the end of it at the door of the\nhenwife\u2019s old cottage. Cahal greeted the henwife.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes,\u201d said the old woman. \u201cYou are here from my\nmaster, the Black Horseman, or you could not be in it. Can I help you in\nany way?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want nothing of you but to show me the way to the castle of White\nBeard, where my bride is, and then bring me back to this place.\u201d\n\n\u201cFollow me,\u201d said the henwife, \u201cand leave your horse here.\u201d\n\nShe took Cahal by the hand and went forward till she came to the castle\nand entered it. There Cahal saw the finest woman that ever he had met\nin the world. \u201cWell,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cI am not sorry, after all my\ntroubles and hardships, if you are the woman I am to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cA greeting to you, young hero,\u201d said the woman. \u201cWho are you who have\nbeen able to come to this castle, and why are you here?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Cahal, son of King Conor, in Erin. I am long travelling and\nfighting to find and to rescue my bride, Bloom of Youth, daughter of the\nKing of Hathony. Who are you, fair lady?\u201d asked Cahal.\n\n\u201cI am the daughter of the King of Hathony. The day before I was taken\nby Striker, son of the King of Tricks, my father told me that the son of\nKing Conor, in Erin, was betrothed to me. You, I suppose, are that man?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Cahal. \u201cCome with me now, I will free you; but what are we\nto do with White Beard?\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave him as he is. There is no knowing what he would do should we rouse\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe two went with the henwife to her cottage. Cahal lighted the torch a\nsecond time, mounted the mare, put Bloom of Youth in front, rode first to\nHathony, and then home to Erin.\n\nKing Conor made a great feast of welcome for Cahal and his bride. There\nwere seven hundred guests at the short table, eight hundred at the long\ntable, nine hundred at the round table, and a thousand in the grand hall.\nI was there and heard the whole story, but got no present except shoes of\npaper and stockings of buttermilk, and these a herder stole from me in\ncrossing the mountains.\n\n\n\n\nCOLDFEET AND THE QUEEN OF LONESOME ISLAND.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, and a long time ago it was, there lived an old woman\nin Erin. This old woman\u2019s house was at the northeast corner of Mount\nBrandon. Of all the friends and relatives that ever she had in the\nworld there was but one left, her only son, Sean,[3] nicknamed Fuarcosa\n(Coldfeet).\n\nThe reason that people called the boy Coldfeet was this: When a child he\nwas growing always; what of him did not grow one hour grew another; what\ndid not grow in the day grew in the night; what did not grow in the night\ngrew in the day; and he grew that fast that when seven years old he could\nnot find room enough in his mother\u2019s house. When night came and he was\nsleeping, whatever corner of the house his head was in, it was out of\ndoors that his feet were, and, of course, they were cold, especially in\nwinter.\n\nIt was not long till his legs as well as his feet were out of the house,\nfirst to the knees, and then to the body. When fifteen years old it was\nall that he could do to put his head in, and he lived outdoors entirely.\nWhat the mother could gather in a year would not support the son for a\nday, he was that large and had such an appetite.\n\nColdfeet had to find his own food, and he had no means of living but to\nbring home sheep and bullocks from whatever place he met them.\n\nHe was going on in this way, faring rather ill than well, when one day\nabove another he said, \u201cI think I must go into the great world, mother. I\nam half starving in this place. I can do little good for myself as I am,\nand no good at all for you.\u201d\n\nHe rose early next morning, washed his face and hands, asked assistance\nand protection of God, and if he did not, may we. He left good health\nwith his mother at parting, and away he went, crossing high hills,\npassing low dales, and kept on his way without halt or rest, the clear\nday going and the dark night coming, taking lodgings each evening\nwherever he found them, till at last he came to a high roomy castle.\n\nHe entered the castle without delaying outside, and when he went in, the\nowner asked was he a servant in search of a master.\n\n\u201cI am in search of a master,\u201d said Coldfeet.\n\nHe engaged to herd cows for small hire and his keeping, and the time of\nhis service was a day and a year.\n\nNext morning, when Coldfeet was driving the cattle to pasture, his master\nwas outside in the field before him, and said, \u201cYou must take good care\nof yourself, for of all the herders who took service with me never a\nman but was killed by one or another of four giants who live next to my\npastures. One of these giants has four, the next six, the third eight,\nand the fourth twelve heads on him.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my hand!\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cI did not come here to be killed by the\nlike of them. They will not hurt me, never fear.\u201d\n\nColdfeet went on with the cattle, and when he came to the boundary he put\nthem on the land of the giants. The cows were not long grazing when one\nof the giants at his castle caught the odor of the strange herder and\nrushed out. When coming at a distance he shouted, \u201cI smell the blood of a\nman from Erin; his liver and lights for my supper to-night, his blood for\nmy morning dram, his jawbones for stepping-stones, his shins for hurleys!\u201d\n\nWhen the giant came up he cried, \u201cAh, that is you, Coldfeet, and wasn\u2019t\nit the impudence in you to come here from the butt of Brandon Mountain\nand put cattle on my land to annoy me?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t to give satisfaction to you that I am here, but to knock\nsatisfaction out of your bones,\u201d said Coldfeet.\n\nWith that the giant faced the herder, and the two went at each other and\nfought till near evening. They broke old trees and bent young ones; they\nmade hard places soft and soft places hard; they made high places low and\nlow places high; they made spring wells dry, and brought water through\nhard, gray rocks till near sunset, when Coldfeet took the heads off the\ngiant and put the four skulls in muddy gaps to make a dry, solid road for\nthe cows.\n\nColdfeet drove out his master\u2019s cattle on a second, third, and fourth\nmorning; each day he killed a giant, each day the battle was fiercer, but\non the fourth evening the fourth giant was dead.\n\nOn the fifth day Coldfeet was not long on the land of the dead giants\nwhen a dreadful enchanted old hag came out against him, and she raging\nwith anger. She had nails of steel on her fingers and toes, each nail of\nthem weighing seven pounds.\n\n\u201cOh, you insolent, bloodthirsty villain,\u201d screamed she, \u201cto come all\nthe way from Brandon Mountain to kill my young sons, and, poor boys,\nonly that timber is dear in this country it\u2019s in their cradles they\u2019d be\nto-day instead of being murdered by you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t to give satisfaction to you that I\u2019m here, you old witch, but\nto knock it out of your wicked old bones,\u201d said Coldfeet.\n\n\u201cGlad would I be to tear you to pieces,\u201d said the hag; \u201cbut \u2019tis\nbetter to get some good of you first. I put you under spells of heavy\nenchantment that you cannot escape, not to eat two meals off the one\ntable nor to sleep two nights in the one house till you go to the Queen\nof Lonesome Island, and bring the sword of light that never fails, the\nloaf of bread that is never eaten, and the bottle of water that is never\ndrained.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is Lonesome Island?\u201d asked Coldfeet.\n\n\u201cFollow your nose, and make out the place with your own wit,\u201d said the\nhag.\n\nColdfeet drove the cows home in the evening, and said to his master,\n\u201cThe giants will never harm you again; all their heads are in the muddy\ngaps from this to the end of the pasture, and there are good roads now\nfor your cattle. I have been with you only five days, but another would\nnot do my work in a day and a year; pay me my wages. You\u2019ll never have\ntrouble again in finding men to mind cattle.\u201d\n\nThe man paid Coldfeet his wages, gave him a good suit of clothes for the\njourney, and his blessing.\n\nAway went Coldfeet now on the long road, and by my word it was a strange\nroad to him. He went across high hills and low dales, passing each night\nwhere he found it, till the evening of the third day, when he came to a\nhouse where a little old man was living. The old man had lived in that\nhouse without leaving it for seven hundred years, and had not seen a\nliving soul in that time.\n\nColdfeet gave good health to the old man, and received a hundred thousand\nwelcomes in return.\n\n\u201cWill you give me a night\u2019s lodging?\u201d asked Coldfeet.\n\n\u201cI will indeed,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand is it any harm to ask, where are\nyou going?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat harm in a plain question? I am going to Lonesome Island if I can\nfind it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will travel to-morrow, and if you are loose and lively on the road\nyou\u2019ll come at night to a house, and inside in it an old man like myself,\nonly older. He will give you lodgings, and tell where to go the day\nafter.\u201d\n\nColdfeet rose very early next morning, ate his breakfast, asked aid of\nGod, and if he didn\u2019t he let it alone. He left good health with the old\nman, and received his blessing. Away with him then over high hills and\nlow dales, and if any one wished to see a great walker Coldfeet was the\nman to look at. He overtook the hare in the wind that was before him, and\nthe hare in the wind behind could not overtake him; he went at that gait\nwithout halt or rest till he came in the heel of the evening to a small\nhouse, and went in. Inside in the house was a little old man sitting by\nthe fire.\n\nColdfeet gave good health to the old man, and got a hundred thousand\nwelcomes with a night\u2019s lodging.\n\n\u201cWhy did you come, and where are you going?\u201d asked the old man. \u201cFourteen\nhundred years am I in this house alone, and not a living soul came in to\nsee me till yourself came this evening.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to Lonesome Island, if I can find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no knowledge of that place, but if you are a swift walker you\nwill come to-morrow evening to an old man like myself, only older; he\nwill tell you all that you need, and show you the way to the island.\u201d\n\nNext morning early Coldfeet went away after breakfast, leaving good\nhealth behind him and taking good wishes for the road. He travelled this\nday as on the other two days, only more swiftly, and at nightfall gave a\ngreeting to the third old man.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes,\u201d said the old man. \u201cI am living alone in\nthis house twenty-one hundred years, and not a living soul walked the way\nin that time. You are the first man I see in this house. Is it to stay\nwith me that you are here?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cfor I must be moving. I cannot spend two\nnights in the one house till I go to Lonesome Island, and I have no\nknowledge of where that place is.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then, it\u2019s the long road between this and Lonesome Island, but I\u2019ll\ntell where the place is, and how you are to go, if you go there. The road\nlies straight from my door to the sea. From the shore to the island no\nman has gone unless the queen brought him, but you may go if the strength\nand the courage are in you. I will give you this staff; it may help you.\nWhen you reach the sea throw the staff in the water, and you\u2019ll have a\nboat that will take you without sail or oar straight to the island. When\nyou touch shore pull up the boat on the strand; it will turn into a staff\nand be again what it now is. The queen\u2019s castle goes whirling around\nalways. It has only one door, and that on the roof of it. If you lean on\nthe staff you can rise with one spring to the roof, go in at the door,\nand to the queen\u2019s chamber.\n\n\u201cThe queen sleeps but one day in each year, and she will be sleeping\nto-morrow. The sword of light will be hanging at the head of her bed, the\nloaf and the bottle of water on the table near by. Seize the sword with\nthe loaf and the bottle, and away with you, for the journey must be made\nin a day, and you must be on this side of those hills before nightfall.\nDo you think you can do that?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do it, or die in the trial,\u201d said Coldfeet.\n\n\u201cIf you make that journey you will do what no man has done yet,\u201d said\nthe old man. \u201cBefore I came to live in this house champions and hundreds\nof king\u2019s sons tried to go to Lonesome Island, but not a man of them had\nthe strength and the swiftness to go as far as the seashore, and that is\nbut one part of the journey. All perished, and if their skulls are not\ncrumbled, you\u2019ll see them to-morrow. The country is open and safe in the\ndaytime, but when night falls the Queen of Lonesome Island sends her wild\nbeasts to destroy every man they can find until daybreak. You must be in\nLonesome Island to-morrow before noon, leave the place very soon after\nmidday, and be on this side of those hills before nightfall, or perish.\u201d\n\nNext morning Coldfeet rose early, ate his breakfast, and started at\ndaybreak. Away he went swiftly over hills, dales, and level places,\nthrough a land where the wind never blows and the cock never crows, and\nthough he went quickly the day before, he went five times more quickly\nthat day, for the staff added speed to whatever man had it.\n\nColdfeet came to the sea, threw the staff into the water, and a boat was\nbefore him. Away he went in the boat, and before noon was in the chamber\nof the Queen of Lonesome Island. He found everything there as the old\nman had told him. Seizing the sword of light quickly and taking the\nbottle and loaf, he went toward the door; but there he halted, turned\nback, stopped a while with the queen. It was very near he was then to\nforgetting himself; but he sprang up, took one of the queen\u2019s golden\ngarters, and away with him.\n\nIf Coldfeet strove to move swiftly when coming, he strove more in going\nback. On he raced over hills, dales, and flat places where the wind never\nblows and the cock never crows; he never stopped nor halted. When the\nsun was near setting he saw the last line of hills, and remembering that\ndeath was behind and not far from him, he used his last strength and was\nover the hilltops at nightfall.\n\nThe whole country behind him was filled with wild beasts.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the old man, \u201cbut you are the hero, and I was in dread that\nyou\u2019d lose your life on the journey, and by my hand you had no time to\nspare.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had not, indeed,\u201d answered Coldfeet. \u201cHere is your staff, and many\nthanks for it.\u201d\n\nThe two spent a pleasant evening together. Next morning Coldfeet left his\nblessing with the old man and went on, spent a night with each of the\nother old men, and never stopped after that till he reached the hag\u2019s\ncastle. She was outside before him with the steel nails on her toes and\nfingers.\n\n\u201cHave you the sword, the bottle, and the loaf?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said Coldfeet; \u201chere they are.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive them to me,\u201d said the hag.\n\n\u201cIf I was bound to bring the three things,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cI was not\nbound to give them to you; I will keep them.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive them here!\u201d screamed the hag, raising her nails to rush at him.\n\nWith that Coldfeet drew the sword of light, and sent her head spinning\nthrough the sky in the way that \u2019tis not known in what part of the world\nit fell or did it fall in any place. He burned her body then, scattered\nthe ashes, and went his way farther.\n\n\u201cI will go to my mother first of all,\u201d thought he, and he travelled till\nevening. When his feet struck small stones on the road, the stones never\nstopped till they knocked wool off the spinning-wheels of old hags in the\nEastern World. In the evening he came to a house and asked lodgings.\n\n\u201cI will give you lodgings, and welcome,\u201d said the man of the house; \u201cbut\nI have no food for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have enough for us both,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cand for twenty more if they\nwere in it;\u201d and he put the loaf on the table.\n\nThe man called his whole family. All had their fill, and left the loaf as\nlarge as it was before supper. The woman of the house made a loaf in the\nnight like the one they had eaten from, and while Coldfeet was sleeping\ntook his bread and left her own in the place of it. Away went Coldfeet\nnext morning with the wrong loaf, and if he travelled differently from\nthe day before it was because he travelled faster. In the evening he came\nto a house, and asked would they give him a night\u2019s lodging.\n\n\u201cWe will, indeed,\u201d said the woman, \u201cbut we have no water to cook supper\nfor you; the water is far away entirely, and no one to go for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have water here in plenty,\u201d said Coldfeet, putting his bottle on the\ntable.\n\nThe woman took the bottle, poured water from it, filled one pot and then\nanother, filled every vessel in the kitchen, and not a drop less in the\nbottle. What wonder, when no man or woman ever born could drain the\nbottle in a lifetime.\n\nSaid the woman to her husband that night, \u201cIf we had the bottle, we\nneedn\u2019t be killing ourselves running for water.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need not,\u201d said the man.\n\nWhat did the woman do in the night, when Coldfeet was asleep, but take\na bottle, fill it with water from one of the pots, and put that false\nbottle in place of the true one. Away went Coldfeet next morning, without\nknowledge of the harm done, and that day he travelled in the way that\nwhen he fell in running he had not time to rise, but rolled on till the\nspeed that was under him brought him to his feet again. At sunset he was\nin sight of a house, and at dusk he was in it.\n\nColdfeet found welcome in the house, with food and lodgings.\n\n\u201cIt is great darkness we are in,\u201d said the man to Coldfeet; \u201cwe have\nneither oil nor rushes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can give you light,\u201d said Coldfeet, and he unsheathed the sword\nfrom Lonesome Island; it was clear inside the house as on a hilltop in\nsunlight.\n\nWhen the people had gone to bed Coldfeet put the sword into its sheath,\nand all was dark again.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the woman to her husband that night, \u201cif we had the sword we\u2019d\nhave light in the house always. You have an old sword above on the loft.\nRise out of the bed now and put it in the place of that bright one.\u201d\n\nThe man rose, took the two swords out doors, put the old blade in\nColdfeet\u2019s sheath, and hid away Coldfeet\u2019s sword in the loft. Next\nmorning Coldfeet went away, and never stopped till he came to his\nmother\u2019s cabin at the foot of Mount Brandon. The poor old woman was\ncrying and lamenting every day. She felt sure that it was killed her son\nwas, for she had never got tale or tidings of him. Many is the welcome\nshe had for him, but if she had welcomes she had little to eat.\n\n\u201cOh, then, mother, you needn\u2019t be complaining,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cwe have\nas much bread now as will do us a lifetime;\u201d with that he put the loaf on\nthe table, cut a slice for the mother, and began to eat himself. He was\nhungry, and the next thing he knew the loaf was gone.\n\n\u201cThere is a little meal in the house,\u201d said the mother. \u201cI\u2019ll go for\nwater and make stirabout.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have water here in plenty,\u201d said Coldfeet. \u201cBring a pot.\u201d\n\nThe bottle was empty in a breath, and they hadn\u2019t what water would make\nstirabout nor half of it.\n\n\u201cOh, then,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cthe old hag enchanted the three things before\nI killed her and knocked the strength out of every one of them.\u201d With\nthat he drew the sword, and it had no more light than any rusty old blade.\n\nThe mother and son had to live in the old way again; but as Coldfeet was\nfar stronger than the first time, he didn\u2019t go hungry himself, and the\nmother had plenty. There were cattle in the country, and all the men\nin it couldn\u2019t keep them from Coldfeet or stop him. The old woman and\nthe son had beef and mutton, and lived on for themselves at the foot of\nBrandon Mountain.\n\nIn three quarters of a year the Queen of Lonesome Island had a son, the\nfinest child that sun or moon could shine on, and he grew in the way that\nwhat of him didn\u2019t grow in the day grew in the night following, and what\ndidn\u2019t grow that night grew the next day, and when he was two years old\nhe was very large entirely.\n\nThe queen was grieving always for the loaf and the bottle, and there was\nno light in her chamber from the day the sword was gone. All at once she\nthought, \u201cThe father of the boy took the three things. I will never sleep\ntwo nights in the one house till I find him.\u201d\n\nAway she went then with the boy,\u2014went over the sea, went through the land\nwhere wind never blows and where cock never crows, came to the house of\nthe oldest old man, stopped one night there, then stopped with the middle\nand the youngest old man. Where should she go next night but to the woman\nwho stole the loaf from Coldfeet. When the queen sat down to supper the\nwoman brought the loaf, cut slice after slice; the loaf was no smaller.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get that loaf?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cI baked it myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my loaf,\u201d thought the queen.\n\nThe following evening she came to a house and found lodgings. At supper\nthe woman poured water from a bottle, but the bottle was full always.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get that bottle?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was left to us,\u201d said the woman; \u201cmy grandfather had it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my bottle,\u201d thought the queen.\n\nThe next night she stopped at a house where a sword filled the whole\nplace with light.\n\n\u201cWhere did you find that beautiful sword?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cMy grandfather left it to me,\u201d said the man. \u201cWe have it hanging here\nalways.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is my sword,\u201d said the queen to herself.\n\nNext day the queen set out early, travelled quickly, and never stopped\ntill she came near Brandon Mountain. At a distance she saw a man coming\ndown hill with a fat bullock under each arm. He was carrying the beasts\nas easily as another would carry two geese. The man put the bullocks in a\npen near a house at the foot of the mountain, came out toward the queen,\nand never stopped till he saluted her. When the man stopped, the boy\nbroke away from the mother and ran to the stranger.\n\n\u201cHow is this?\u201d asked the queen; \u201cthe child knows you.\u201d She tried to take\nthe boy, but he would not go to her.\n\n\u201cHave you lived always in this place?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cI was born in that house beyond, and reared at the foot of that mountain\nbefore you. I went away from home once and killed four giants, the first\nwith four, the second with six, the third with eight, and the fourth with\ntwelve heads on him. When I had the giants killed, their mother came\nout against me, and she raging with vengeance. She wanted to kill me at\nfirst, but she did not. She put me under bonds of enchantment to go to\nthe castle of the Queen of Lonesome Island, and bring the sword of light\nthat can never fail to cut or give light, the loaf of bread that can\nnever be eaten, and the bottle of water that can never be drained.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you go?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cI did.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could you go to Lonesome Island?\u201d\n\n\u201cI journeyed and travelled, inquiring for the island, stopping one night\nat one place, and the next night at another, till I came to the house of\na little man seven hundred years old. He sent me to a second man twice as\nold as himself, and the second to a third three times as old as the first\nman.\n\n\u201cThe third old man showed me the road to Lonesome Island, and gave me a\nstaff to assist me. When I reached the sea I made a boat of the staff,\nand it took me to the island. On the island the boat was a staff again.\n\n\u201cI sprang to the top of the queen\u2019s turning castle, went down and entered\nthe chamber where she was sleeping, took the sword of light, with the\nloaf and the bottle, and was coming away again. I looked at the queen.\nThe heart softened within me at sight of her beauty. I turned back and\ncame near forgetting my life with her. I brought her gold garter with me,\ntook the three things, sprang down from the castle, ran to the water,\nmade a boat of the staff again, came quickly to mainland, and from that\nhour till darkness I ran with what strength I could draw from each bit of\nmy body. Hardly had I crossed the hilltop and was before the door of the\noldest old man when the country behind me was covered with wild beasts.\nI escaped death by one moment. I brought the three things to the hag who\nhad sent me, but I did not give them. I struck the head from her, but\nbefore dying she destroyed them, for when I came home they were useless.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you the golden garter?\u201d\n\n\u201cHere it is,\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cColdfeet,\u201d said the stranger.\n\n\u201cYou are the man,\u201d said the queen. \u201cLong ago it was prophesied that a\nhero named Coldfeet would come to Lonesome Island without my request or\nassistance, and that our son would cover the whole world with his power.\nCome with me now to Lonesome Island.\u201d\n\nThe queen gave Coldfeet\u2019s old mother good clothing, and said, \u201cYou will\nlive in my castle.\u201d\n\nThey all left Brandon Mountain and journeyed on toward Lonesome Island\ntill they reached the house where the sword of light was. It was night\nwhen they came and dark outside, but bright as day in the house from the\nsword, which was hanging on the wall.\n\n\u201cWhere did you find this blade?\u201d asked Coldfeet, catching the hilt of the\nsword.\n\n\u201cMy grandfather had it,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cHe had not,\u201d said Coldfeet, \u201cand I ought to take the head off your\nhusband for stealing it when I was here last.\u201d\n\nColdfeet put the sword in his scabbard and kept it. Next day they reached\nthe house where the bottle was, and Coldfeet took that. The following\nnight he found the loaf and recovered it. All the old men were glad to\nsee Coldfeet, especially the oldest, who loved him.\n\nThe queen with her son and Coldfeet with his mother arrived safely in\nLonesome Island. They lived on in happiness; there is no account of their\ndeath, and they may be in it yet for aught we know.\n\n\n\n\nLAWN DYARRIG, SON OF THE KING OF ERIN, AND THE KNIGHT OF TERRIBLE VALLEY.\n\n\nThere was a king in his own time in Erin, and he went hunting one day.\nThe king met a man whose head was out through his cap, whose elbows and\nknees were out through his clothing, and whose toes were out through his\nshoes.\n\nThe man went up to the king, gave him a blow on the face, and drove three\nteeth from his mouth. The same blow put the king\u2019s head in the dirt. When\nhe rose from the earth the king went back to his castle, and lay down\nsick and sorrowful.\n\nThe king had three sons, and their names were Ur, Arthur, and Lawn\nDyarrig. The three were at school that day and came home in the evening.\nThe father sighed when the sons were coming in.\n\n\u201cWhat is wrong with our father?\u201d asked the eldest.\n\n\u201cYour father is sick on his bed,\u201d said the mother.\n\nThe three sons went to their father and asked what was on him.\n\n\u201cA strong man that I met to-day gave me a blow in the face, put my head\nin the dirt, and knocked three teeth from my mouth. What would you do to\nhim if you met him?\u201d asked the father of the eldest son.\n\n\u201cIf I met that man,\u201d replied Ur, \u201cI would make four parts of him between\nfour horses.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are my son,\u201d said the king. \u201cWhat would you do if you met him?\u201d\nasked he then, as he turned to the second son.\n\n\u201cIf I had a grip on that man I would burn him between four fires.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou, too, are my son. What would you do?\u201d asked the king of Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cIf I met that man I would do my best against him, and he might not stand\nlong before me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not my son. I would not lose lands or property on you,\u201d said the\nfather. \u201cYou must go from me, and leave this to-morrow.\u201d\n\nOn the following morning the three brothers rose with the dawn; the\norder was given Lawn Dyarrig to leave the castle, and make his own way\nfor himself. The other two brothers were going to travel the world to\nknow could they find the man who had injured their father. Lawn Dyarrig\nlingered outside till he saw the two, and they going off by themselves.\n\n\u201cIt is a strange thing,\u201d said he, \u201cfor two men of high degree to go\ntravelling without a servant.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need no one,\u201d said Ur.\n\n\u201cCompany wouldn\u2019t harm us,\u201d said Arthur.\n\nThe two let Lawn Dyarrig go with them then as a serving-boy, and set out\nto find the man who had struck down their father. They spent all that day\nwalking, and came late to a house where one woman was living. She shook\nhands with Ur and Arthur, and greeted them. Lawn Dyarrig she kissed and\nwelcomed, called him son of the King of Erin.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis a strange thing to shake hands with the elder and kiss the\nyounger,\u201d said Ur.\n\n\u201cThis is a story to tell,\u201d said the woman; \u201cthe same as if your death\nwere in it.\u201d\n\nThey made three parts of that night. The first part they spent in\nconversation, the second in telling tales, the third in eating and\ndrinking, with sound sleep and sweet slumber. As early as the day dawned\nnext morning, the old woman was up and had food for the young men. When\nthe three had eaten she spoke to Ur, and this is what she asked of him,\n\u201cWhat was it that drove you from home, and what brought you to this\nplace?\u201d\n\n\u201cA champion met my father, took three teeth from him, and put his head\nin the dirt. I am looking for that man to find him alive or dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was the Green Knight from Terrible Valley. He is the man who took\nthe three teeth from your father. I am three hundred years living in\nthis place, and there is not a year of the three hundred in which three\nhundred heroes fresh, young, and noble have not passed on the way to\nTerrible Valley, and never have I seen one coming back, and each of them\nhad the look of a man better than you. And now, where are you going,\nArthur?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am on the same journey with my brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Lawn Dyarrig?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going with these as a servant,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cGod\u2019s help to you, it\u2019s bad clothing that\u2019s on your body,\u201d said the\nwoman; \u201cand now I will speak to Ur. A day and a year since a champion\npassed this way; he wore a suit as good as was ever above ground. I had a\ndaughter sewing there in the open window. He came outside, put a finger\nunder her girdle, and took her with him. Her father followed straightway\nto save her, but I have never seen daughter or father from that day to\nthis. That man was the Green Knight of Terrible Valley. He is better than\nall the men that could stand on a field a mile in length and a mile\nin breadth. If you take my advice you\u2019ll turn back and go home to your\nfather.\u201d\n\n\u2019Tis how she vexed Ur with this talk, and he made a vow to himself to go\non. When Ur did not agree to turn home, the woman said to Lawn Dyarrig,\n\u201cGo back to my chamber, you\u2019ll find in it the apparel of a hero.\u201d\n\nHe went back, and there was not a bit of the apparel that he did not go\ninto with a spring.\n\n\u201cYou may be able to do something now,\u201d said the woman, when Lawn Dyarrig\ncame to the front. \u201cGo back to my chamber and search through all the old\nswords. You will find one at the bottom; take that.\u201d\n\nHe found the old sword, and at the first shake that he gave he knocked\nseven barrels of rust out of it; after the second shake, it was as bright\nas when made.\n\n\u201cYou may be able to do well with that,\u201d said the woman. \u201cGo out now to\nthat stable abroad, and take the slim white steed that is in it. That one\nwill never stop nor halt in any place till he brings you to the Eastern\nWorld. If you like, take these two men behind you; if not, let them walk.\nBut I think it is useless for you to have them at all with you.\u201d\n\nLawn Dyarrig went out to the stable, took the slim white steed, mounted,\nrode to the front, and catching the two brothers, planted them on the\nhorse behind him.\n\n\u201cNow, Lawn Dyarrig,\u201d said the woman, \u201cthis horse will never stop till he\nstands on the little white meadow in the Eastern World. When he stops,\nyou\u2019ll come down and cut the turf under his beautiful right front foot.\u201d\n\nThe horse started from the door, and at every leap he crossed seven hills\nand valleys, seven castles with villages, acres, roods, and odd perches.\nHe could overtake the whirlwind before him seven hundred times before the\nwhirlwind behind could overtake him once. Early in the afternoon of the\nnext day he was in the Eastern World. When he dismounted, Lawn Dyarrig\ncut the sod from under the foot of the slim white steed in the name of\nthe Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and Terrible Valley was down under him\nthere. What he did next was to tighten the reins on the neck of the steed\nand let him go home.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig to the brothers, \u201cwhich would ye rather be\ndoing, making a basket or twisting gads (withes)?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe would rather be making a basket; our help is among ourselves,\u201d\nanswered they.\n\nUr and Arthur went at the basket and Lawn Dyarrig at twisting the gads.\nWhen Lawn Dyarrig came to the opening with the gads, all twisted and made\ninto one, they hadn\u2019t the ribs of the basket in the ground yet.\n\n\u201cOh, then, haven\u2019t ye anything done but that?\u201d\n\n\u201cStop your mouth,\u201d said Ur, \u201cor we\u2019ll make a mortar of your head on the\nnext stone.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be kind to one another is the best for us,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig. \u201cI\u2019ll\nmake the basket.\u201d\n\nWhile they\u2019d be putting one rod in the basket he had the basket finished.\n\n\u201cOh, brother,\u201d said they, \u201cyou are a quick workman.\u201d\n\nThey had not called him brother since they left home till that moment.\n\n\u201cWho will go in the basket now?\u201d asked Lawn Dyarrig, when it was\nfinished, and the gad tied to it.\n\n\u201cWho but me?\u201d said Ur. \u201cI am sure, brothers, if I see anything to\nfrighten me ye\u2019ll draw me up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will,\u201d said the other two.\n\nHe went in, but had not gone far when he cried to pull him up again.\n\n\u201cBy my father and the tooth of my father, and by all that is in Erin dead\nor alive, I would not give one other sight on Terrible Valley!\u201d cried he,\nwhen he stepped out of the basket.\n\n\u201cWho will go now?\u201d asked Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cWho will go but me?\u201d answered Arthur.\n\nWhatever length Ur went, Arthur didn\u2019t go the half of it.\n\n\u201cBy my father and the tooth of my father, I wouldn\u2019t give another look at\nTerrible Valley for all that\u2019s in Erin dead or alive!\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go now,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig, \u201cand as I put no foul play on you, I\nhope ye\u2019ll not put foul play on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not, indeed,\u201d said they.\n\nWhatever length the other two went, Lawn Dyarrig didn\u2019t go the half of\nit till he stepped out of the basket and went down on his own feet. It\nwas not far he had travelled in Terrible Valley when he met seven hundred\nheroes guarding the country.\n\n\u201cIn what place here has the Green Knight his castle?\u201d asked he of the\nseven hundred.\n\n\u201cWhat sort of a sprisawn goat or sheep from Erin are you?\u201d asked they.\n\n\u201cIf we had a hold of you, that\u2019s a question you would not put the second\ntime; but if we haven\u2019t you, we\u2019ll not be so long.\u201d\n\nThey faced Lawn Dyarrig then and attacked him; but he went through them\nlike a hawk or a raven through small birds. He made a heap of their feet,\na heap of their heads, and a castle of their arms.\n\nAfter that he went his way walking, and had not gone far when he came to\na spring. \u201cI\u2019ll have a drink before I go farther,\u201d thought he. With that\nhe stooped down and took a drink of the water. When he had drunk he lay\non the ground and fell asleep.\n\nNow there wasn\u2019t a morning that the lady in the Green Knight\u2019s castle\ndidn\u2019t wash in the water of that spring, and she sent a maid for the\nwater each time. Whatever part of the day it was when Lawn Dyarrig fell\nasleep, he was sleeping in the morning when the girl came. She thought it\nwas dead the man was, and she was so in dread of him that she would not\ncome near the spring for a long time. At last she saw he was asleep, and\nthen she took the water. Her mistress was complaining of her for being so\nlong.\n\n\u201cDo not blame me,\u201d said the maid. \u201cI am sure that if it was yourself that\nwas in my place you\u2019d not come back so soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow so?\u201d asked the lady.\n\n\u201cThe finest hero that a woman ever laid eyes on is sleeping at the\nspring.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a thing that cannot be till Lawn Dyarrig comes to the age of a\nhero. When that time comes he\u2019ll be sleeping at the spring.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is in it now,\u201d said the girl.\n\nThe lady did not stay to get any drop of the water on herself, but ran\nquickly from the castle. When she came to the spring she roused Lawn\nDyarrig. If she found him lying, she left him standing. She smothered\nhim with kisses, drowned him with tears, dried him with garments of\nfine silk, and with her own hair. Herself and himself locked arms and\nwalked into the castle of the Green Knight. After that they were inviting\neach other with the best food and entertainment till the middle of the\nfollowing day. Then the lady said,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhen the Green Knight bore me away from my father and mother, he brought\nme straight to this castle, but I put him under bonds not to marry me for\nseven years and a day, and he cannot; still I must serve him. When he\ngoes fowling he spends three days away, and the next three days at home.\nThis is the day for him to come back, and for me to prepare his dinner.\nThere is no stir that you or I have made here to-day but that brass head\nbeyond there will tell of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is equal to you what it tells,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig, \u201conly make ready a\nclean, long chamber for me.\u201d\n\nShe did so, and he went back into it. Herself rose up then to prepare\ndinner for the Green Knight. When he came she welcomed him as every day.\nShe left down his food before him, and he sat to take his dinner. He was\nsitting with knife and fork in hand when the brass head spoke. \u201cI thought\nwhen I saw you taking food and drink with your wife that you had the\nblood of a man in you. If you could see that sprisawn of a goat or sheep\nout of Erin taking meat and drink with her all day, what would you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my suffering and sorrow!\u201d cried the knight. \u201cI\u2019ll never take another\nbite or sup till I eat some of his liver and heart. Let three hundred\nheroes fresh and young go back and bring his heart to me, with the liver\nand lights, till I eat them.\u201d\n\nThe three hundred heroes went, and hardly were they behind in the chamber\nwhen Lawn Dyarrig had them all dead in one heap.\n\n\u201cHe must have some exercise to delay my men, they are so long away,\u201d said\nthe knight. \u201cLet three hundred more heroes go for his heart, with the\nliver and lights, and bring them here to me.\u201d\n\nThe second three hundred went, and as they were entering the chamber,\nLawn Dyarrig was making a heap of them, till the last one was inside,\nwhere there were two heaps.\n\n\u201cHe has some way of coaxing my men to delay,\u201d said the knight. \u201cDo you go\nnow, three hundred of my savage hirelings, and bring him.\u201d\n\nThe three hundred savage hirelings went, and Lawn Dyarrig let every\nman of them enter before he raised a hand, then he caught the bulkiest\nof them all by the two ankles and began to wallop the others with him,\nand he walloped them till he drove the life out of the two hundred and\nninety-nine. The bulkiest one was worn to the shin bones that Lawn\nDyarrig held in his two hands. The Green Knight, who thought Lawn Dyarrig\nwas coaxing the men, called out then, \u201cCome down, my men, and take\ndinner!\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be with you,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig, \u201cand have the best food in the\nhouse, and I\u2019ll have the best bed in the house. God not be good to you\nfor it, either.\u201d\n\nHe went down to the Green Knight and took the food from before him and\nput it before himself. Then he took the lady, set her on his own knee,\nand he and she went on eating. After dinner he put his finger under her\ngirdle, took her to the best chamber in the castle, and remained there\ntill morning. Before dawn the lady said to Lawn Dyarrig,\u2014\n\n\u201cIf the Green Knight strikes the pole of combat first, he\u2019ll win the\nday; if you strike first, you\u2019ll win, if you do what I tell you. The\nGreen Knight has so much enchantment that if he sees it is going against\nhim the battle is, he\u2019ll rise like a fog in the air, come down in the\nsame form, strike you, and make a green stone of you. When yourself and\nhimself are going out to fight in the morning, cut a sod a perch long in\nthe name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; you\u2019ll leave the sod on the\nnext little hillock you meet. When the Green Knight is coming down and is\nready to strike, give him a blow with the sod; you\u2019ll make a green stone\nof him.\u201d\n\nAs early as the dawn Lawn Dyarrig rose and struck the pole of combat. The\nblow that he gave did not leave calf, foal, lamb, kid, or child waiting\nfor birth, without turning them five times to the left and five times to\nthe right.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the knight.\n\n\u201cAll that\u2019s in your kingdom to be against me the first quarter of the\nday, and yourself the second quarter.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have not left in the kingdom now but myself, and it is early enough\nfor you that I\u2019ll be at you.\u201d\n\nThe knight faced him, and they went at each other and fought till late in\nthe day. The battle was strong against Lawn Dyarrig when the lady stood\nin the door of the castle.\n\n\u201cIncrease on your blows and increase on your courage,\u201d cried she. \u201cThere\nis no woman here but myself to wail over you, or to stretch you before\nburial.\u201d\n\nWhen the knight heard the voice, he rose in the air like a lump of fog.\nAs he was coming down, Lawn Dyarrig struck him with the sod on the right\nside of his breast, and made a green stone of him.\n\nThe lady rushed out then, and whatever welcome she had for Lawn Dyarrig\nthe first time, she had twice as much now. Herself and himself went into\nthe castle and spent that night very comfortably. In the morning they\nrose early, and collected all the gold, utensils, and treasures. Lawn\nDyarrig found the three teeth of his father in a pocket of the Green\nKnight, and took them. He and the lady brought all the riches to where\nthe basket was. \u201cIf I send up this beautiful lady,\u201d thought Lawn Dyarrig,\n\u201cshe may be taken from me by my brothers; if I remain below with her, she\nmay be taken from me by people here.\u201d He put her in the basket, and she\ngave him a ring so that they might know each other if they met. He shook\nthe gad, and she rose in the basket.\n\nWhen Ur saw the basket he thought, \u201cWhat\u2019s above let it be above, and\nwhat\u2019s below let it stay where it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll have you as wife forever for myself,\u201d said he to the lady.\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds,\u201d said she, \u201cnot to lay a hand on me for a day and\nthree years.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat itself would not be long even if twice the time,\u201d said Ur.\n\nThe two brothers started home with the lady; on the way Ur found the head\nof an old horse with teeth in it and took them, saying, \u201cThese will be my\nfather\u2019s three teeth.\u201d\n\nThey travelled on, and reached home at last. Ur would not have left a\ntooth in his father\u2019s mouth, trying to put in the three that he had\nbrought; but the father stopped him.\n\nLawn Dyarrig, left in Terrible Valley, began to walk around for himself.\nHe had been walking but one day when whom should he meet but the lad\nShortclothes, and he saluted him. \u201cBy what way can I leave Terrible\nValley?\u201d asked Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cIf I had a grip on you that\u2019s what you wouldn\u2019t ask of me a second\ntime,\u201d said Shortclothes.\n\n\u201cIf you have not touched me you will before you are much older.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I do, you will not treat me as you did all my people and my master.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll do worse to you than I did to them,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig.\n\nThey caught each other then, one grip under the arm and one grip on\nthe shoulder. \u2019Tis not long they were wrestling when Lawn Dyarrig had\nShortclothes on the earth, and he gave him the five thin tyings dear and\ntight.\n\n\u201cYou are the best hero I have ever met,\u201d said Shortclothes; \u201cgive me\nquarter for my soul,\u2014spare me. When I did not tell you of my own will, I\nmust tell in spite of myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is as easy for me to loosen you as to tie you,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig,\nand he freed him. The moment he was free, Shortclothes said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds, and the misfortune of the year to be walking and\ngoing always till you go to the northeast point of the world, and get\nthe heart and liver of the serpent which is seven years asleep and seven\nyears awake.\u201d\n\nLawn Dyarrig went away then, and never stopped till he was in the\nnortheast of the world, where he found the serpent asleep.\n\n\u201cI will not go unawares on you while you are asleep,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig,\nand he turned to go. When he was going, the serpent drew him down her\nthroat with one breath.\n\nInside he found three men playing cards in her belly. Each laughed when\nhe looked at Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cWhat reason have you for laughing?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cWe are laughing with glee to have another partner to fill out our\nnumber.\u201d\n\nLawn Dyarrig did not sit down to play. He drew his sword, and was\nsearching and looking till he found the heart and liver of the serpent.\nHe took a part of each, and cut out a way for himself between two ribs.\nThe three card-players followed when they saw the chance of escape.\n\nLawn Dyarrig, free of the serpent, never stopped till he came to\nShortclothes, and he was a day and three years on the journey, and doing\nthe work.\n\n\u201cSince you are not dead now,\u201d said Shortclothes, \u201cthere is no death\nallotted to you. I\u2019ll find a way for you to leave Terrible Valley. Go and\ntake that old bridle hanging there beyond and shake it; whatever beast\ncomes and puts its head into the bridle will carry you.\u201d\n\nLawn Dyarrig shook the bridle, and a dirty, shaggy little foal came and\nput head in the bridle. Lawn Dyarrig mounted, dropped the reins on the\nfoal\u2019s neck, and let him take his own choice of roads. The foal brought\nLawn Dyarrig out by another way to the upper world, and took him to\nErin. Lawn Dyarrig stopped some distance from his father\u2019s castle, and\nknocked at the house of an old weaver.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked the old man.\n\n\u201cI am a weaver,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can spin for twelve and twist for twelve.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a very good man,\u201d said the old weaver to his sons. \u201cLet us try\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe work they would be doing for a year he had done in one hour. When\ndinner was over the old man began to wash and shave, and his two sons\nbegan to do the same.\n\n\u201cWhy is this?\u201d asked Lawn Dyarrig.\n\n\u201cHaven\u2019t you heard that Ur, son of the king, is to marry to-night the\nwoman that he took from the Green Knight of Terrible Valley?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said Lawn Dyarrig; \u201cbut as all are going to the wedding, I\nsuppose I may go without offence.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you may,\u201d said the weaver. \u201cThere will be a hundred thousand\nwelcomes before you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre there any linen sheets within?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are,\u201d said the weaver.\n\n\u201cIt is well to have bags ready for yourself and two sons.\u201d\n\nThe weaver made bags for the three very quickly. They went to the\nwedding. Lawn Dyarrig put what dinner was on the first table into the\nweaver\u2019s bag, and sent the old man home with it. The food of the second\ntable he put in the eldest son\u2019s bag, filled the second son\u2019s bag from\nthe third table, and sent the two home.\n\nThe complaint went to Ur that an impudent stranger was taking all the\nfood.\n\n\u201cIt is not right to turn any man away,\u201d said the bridegroom; \u201cbut if that\nstranger does not mind he will be thrown out of the castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me look at the face of the disturber,\u201d said the bride.\n\n\u201cGo and bring the fellow who is troubling the guests,\u201d said Ur, to the\nservants.\n\nLawn Dyarrig was brought right away, and stood before the bride, who\nfilled a glass with wine and gave it to him. Lawn Dyarrig drank half the\nwine, and dropped in the ring which the lady had given him in Terrible\nValley.\n\nWhen the bride took the glass again the ring went of itself with one leap\nto her finger. She knew then who was standing before her.\n\n\u201cThis is the man who conquered the Green Knight, and saved me from\nTerrible Valley,\u201d said she to the King of Erin; \u201cthis is Lawn Dyarrig,\nyour son.\u201d\n\nLawn Dyarrig took out the three teeth, and put them in his father\u2019s\nmouth. They fitted there perfectly, and grew into their old place. The\nking was satisfied; and as the lady would marry no man but Lawn Dyarrig\nhe was the bridegroom.\n\n\u201cI must give you a present,\u201d said the bride to the queen. \u201cHere is a\nbeautiful scarf which you are to wear as a girdle this evening.\u201d\n\nThe queen put the scarf around her waist.\n\n\u201cTell me now,\u201d said the bride to the queen, \u201cwho was Ur\u2019s father?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat father could he have but his own father, the King of Erin?\u201d\n\n\u201cTighten, scarf,\u201d said the bride.\n\nThat moment the queen thought that her head was in the sky, and the lower\nhalf of her body down deep in the earth.\n\n\u201cOh, my grief and my woe!\u201d cried the queen.\n\n\u201cAnswer my question in truth, and the scarf will stop squeezing you. Who\nwas Ur\u2019s father?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe gardener,\u201d said the queen.\n\n\u201cWhose son is Arthur?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s son.\u201d\n\n\u201cTighten, scarf,\u201d said the bride.\n\nIf the queen suffered before, she suffered twice as much this time, and\nscreamed for help.\n\n\u201cAnswer me truly, and you\u2019ll be without pain; if not, death will be on\nyou this minute. Whose son is Arthur?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe swine-herd\u2019s.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is the king\u2019s son?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe king has no son but Lawn Dyarrig.\u201d\n\n\u201cTighten, scarf.\u201d\n\nThe scarf did not tighten, and if the bride had been commanding it for a\nday and a year it would not have tightened, for the queen told the truth\nthat time. When the wedding was over, the king gave Lawn Dyarrig half his\nkingdom, and made Ur and Arthur his servants.\n\n\n\n\nBALOR ON TORY ISLAND.\n\n\nLong ago Ri Balor lived on Tory Island, and he lived there because it was\nprophesied that he was never to die unless he\u2019d be killed by the son of\nhis only daughter.\n\nBalor, to put the daughter in the way that she\u2019d never have a son, went\nto live on Tory, and built a castle on Tor Mor, a cliff jutting into the\nocean. He put twelve women to guard the daughter, and all around the\ncastle he had cords fixed, and every one of them tied to bells, so that\nno man could come in secret. If any man touched a cord all the bells\nwould ring and give notice, and Balor would seize him.\n\nBalor lived that way, well satisfied. He was full sure that his life was\nout of danger.\n\nOpposite on the mainland, at Druim na Teine (hill of fire), lived a\nsmith, Gavidin, who had his forge there. The smith owned a cow called\nGlas Gavlen, and she was his enchanted step-sister.\n\nThis cow was called Gavlen because she was giving milk, and she the fifth\nyear without a calf. Glas Gavlen was very choice of food; she would eat\nno grass but the best. But if the cow ate much good grass there was no\nmeasuring the milk she gave; she filled every vessel, and the milk was\nsweet and rich.\n\nThe smith set great value on Glas Gavlen, and no wonder, for she was the\nfirst cow that came to Erin, and at that time the only one.\n\nThe smith took care of the cow himself, and never let her out of his\nsight except when working in his forge, and then he had a careful man\nminding her.\n\nBalor had an eye on Glas Gavlen, and wanted to bring her to Tory for his\nown use, so he told two agents of his, Maol and Mullag, who were living\nnear Druim na Teine, to get the cow for him. The smith would not part\nwith Glas Gavlen for any price, so there was no way left but to steal\nher. There was no chance for stealing till one time when three brothers,\nnamed Duv, Donn, and Fin, sons of Ceanfaeligh (Kinealy), went to the\nforge to have three swords made.\n\n\u201cEach man of you is to mind the cow while I am working,\u201d said the smith,\n\u201cand if he loses her I\u2019ll take the head off him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will agree to that,\u201d said the brothers.\n\nDuv and Donn went with Glas Gavlen on the first day and the second,\nand brought her back to the smith safely. When his turn came Fin took\nthe cow out on the third day, but when some distance from the forge he\nbethought himself and ran back to tell the smith not to make his sword\nso heavy as those of his brothers. The moment he was inside in the forge\nMaol and Mullag, Balor\u2019s men, stole the cow, and away they went quickly,\ndriving her toward Baile Nass. When they came to the brow of the slope,\nwhere the sand begins, they drew her down to the water\u2019s edge by the\ntail, and put her into a boat which they had there prepared and ready.\n\nThey sailed toward Tory, but stopped at Inis Bofin (island of the white\ncow) and put the cow out on land. She drank from a well there, which is\ncalled since that time Tobar na Glaise (well of the gray cow). After that\nthey sailed on, and landed the same day at Port na Glaise, on Tory Island.\n\nWhen Fin came out of the forge he saw nothing of Glas Gavlen,\u2014neither\ntrace nor sign of her. He ran back then with the evil tidings to the\nsmith.\n\n\u201cIf you fail to bring her back to me within three days,\u201d said Gavidin,\n\u201cI\u2019ll take the head off you, according to our bargain. I made the sword\nto oblige you, and you promised to bring the cow or give your head.\u201d\n\nAway with Fin then, travelling and lamenting, looking for Glas Gavlen. He\nwent toward Baile Nass and came to a place on the strand where a party of\nmen were playing ball. He inquired of them about the cow, but they began\nto make game of him, he looked so queer in himself, and was so sad. At\nlast one of the players, whose name was Gial Duv (Black Jaw), came up to\nFin and spoke to him: \u201cStand aside till the game is over, and I\u2019ll talk\nto you. This is a party of players that you should not interfere with;\nthey are lucht sidhe [people of the mounds, fairies]. I know what your\ntrouble is. I will go with you, and do my best to bring the cow. I know\nwhere she is, and if I cannot bring her, no one can.\u201d\n\nThey searched down as far as Maheroerty, and went then to Minlara, where\na boat was found. They sailed away in the boat, and reached Tory that\nnight a few hours after Maol and Mullag.\n\n\u201cGo now,\u201d said Gial Duv to Fin, \u201cand ask Balor what would release the\ncow, and what can you do to earn her. I\u2019ll stay here till you come back\nto me.\u201d\n\nFin went to Balor and asked the question.\n\n\u201cTo get the cow,\u201d said Balor, \u201cyou must eat seven green hides while one\ninch of a rush-light is burning, and I\u2019ll light it myself.\u201d\n\nFin returned and told Gial Duv. \u201cGo,\u201d said Gial, \u201cand tell him you will\ntry to do that. He will put you in a room apart with the hides and take\nthe rush himself. Cut the hides quickly, and if you can cut them I\u2019ll\nmake away with them. I\u2019ll be there with you, invisible.\u201d\n\nAll this was done. Fin cut the hides and Gial Duv put them away. The\nmoment the rush-light was burned Balor came in, and there wasn\u2019t a hand\u2019s\nbreadth of the hides left.\n\n\u201cI have the seven hides eaten,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cCome to me to-morrow. My daughter will throw the cow\u2019s halter. If she\nthrows it to you the cow will be yours.\u201d\n\nFin was let out of the room then.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Gial Duv, \u201cI\u2019ll take you to Balor\u2019s daughter. There is a\nwall between the castle and the rest of the island, and I\u2019ll take you\nover it. There are cords along the wall everywhere, and whoever tries to\npass over will touch them and sound all the bells in the place. I will\nraise you above them all and take you in without noise. You will go first\nto Balor\u2019s daughter; she will be pleased with you and like you. After\nthat you will see all the other women, and do you be as intimate with\nthem as with Balor\u2019s daughter, so that they will not tell that you were\nin it, and be sure to tell the daughter to throw you the cow\u2019s halter\nto-morrow.\u201d\n\nFin was taken into the castle by Gial Duv without noise, and he did all\nthat Gial directed. Next day Fin went to Balor and asked for the cow.\n\n\u201cWell, come with me. Let my daughter throw the halter. If she throws it\nto you the cow will be yours.\u201d\n\nThey went. She threw the halter at Fin, and Balor was very angry. \u201cOh,\ndaughter,\u201d cried he, \u201cwhat have you done?\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you know,\u201d said she, \u201cthat there is a false cast in every woman\u2019s\nhand? There is a crooked vein in my arm, and I could not help it; that\u2019s\nwhat gave the halter to Fin.\u201d\n\nBalor had to give the cow and forgive the daughter. Fin took Glas Gavlen\nto the mainland that day and gave her to the smith.\n\nBefore the year was out Gial Duv went to Fin and said, \u201cMake ready and\ncome with me to Tory; if you don\u2019t Balor will find out what happened when\nyou were on the island, and kill his own daughter, with the twelve women\nand all the children.\u201d\n\nThe two went to Tory that evening, and when the children were born the\nwomen gave twelve of them to Fin in a blanket, and one, Balor\u2019s grandson,\nby himself in a separate cloth. Fin took his place in the boat with the\ntwelve on his back, and one at his breast. The blanket was fastened\nat his throat with a dealg (thorn); the thorn broke (there was a great\nstress on it, for the weather was rough), and the twelve children fell in\nthe water at Sruth Deilg and became seals.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d cried Gial, \u201cthe children are lost. Have you Balor\u2019s grandson?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d answered Fin.\n\n\u201cThat is well. We don\u2019t care for the others while we have him.\u201d\n\nThey brought the child to the mainland, where a nurse was found, but the\nchild was not thriving with her.\n\n\u201cLet us return to Tory with the boy,\u201d said Gial Duv. \u201cThere is nothing\nthat Balor wishes for so much as trees. He has tried often to make trees\ngrow on the island, but it was no use for him. Do you promise that you\u2019ll\nmake a grand forest on Tory if he\u2019ll let some of the women nurse the\nchild. Tell him that your wife died not long ago. Balor will say, \u2018How\ncould we find a nurse here when there is no woman on the island who has\na child of her own?\u2019 You will say that \u2019tis a power this child has that\nwhatever woman touches him has her breast full of milk. I will put you in\nwith the women in the evening, and do you tell them what is wanted. The\nmother is to take the child first when you go in to-morrow, and she will\nhand him quickly to another and that one to a third, and so on before any\ncan be stopped.\u201d\n\nFin gave the child to Balor\u2019s daughter before her father could come near\nher; she gave him to one of the women, and he was passed on till all\ntwelve had had him. It was found that all had milk, and Balor consented\nto let the child be nursed.\n\nGial Duv made a large fine forest of various trees. For two years Balor\nwas delighted; he was the gladdest man, for all he wanted was trees and\nshelter on Tory Island.\n\nThe child was in good hands now with his mother and the twelve women,\nand when able to walk, Fin used to bring him out in the daytime. Once he\nkept him and went to the mainland. The next day a terrible wind rose, and\nit didn\u2019t leave a tree standing on Tory. Balor knew now that the forest\nwas all enchantment and deceit, and said that he would destroy Fin and\nall his clan for playing such a trick on him. Balor sent his agents and\nservants to watch Fin and kill him.\n\nFin was warned by Gial Duv, and took care of himself for a long time,\nbut at last they caught him. It was his custom to hunt in Glen Ath, for\nthere were many deer and much game there in those days, and Fin was very\nfond of hunting; but he shunned all their ambushes, till one evening when\nthey were lying in wait for him in the bushes by a path which he was\ntravelling for the first time. They leaped up when he was near, caught\nhim, and bound him.\n\n\u201cTake the head off me at one blow,\u201d said he, \u201cand be done with it.\u201d\n\nThey put his head on a stone and cut it off with one blow. In this way\ndied Fin MacKinealy, the father of Balor\u2019s grandson. This grandson was\na strong youth now. He was a young man, in fact, and his name was Lui\nLavada (Lui Longhand). He was called Lavada because his arms were so long\nthat he could tie his shoes without stooping. Lui did not know that he\nwas Balor\u2019s grandson. He knew that his father had been killed by Balor\u2019s\nmen, and he was waiting to avenge him.\n\nA couple of years later there was a wedding on the mainland, and it was\nthe custom that no one was to begin to eat at a wedding till Maol and\nMullag should carve the first slices. They did not come this time in\nseason, and all the guests were impatient.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll carve the meat for you,\u201d said Balor\u2019s grandson. With that he carved\nsome slices, and all present began to eat and drink.\n\nAfter a while Maol and Mullag came, and they were in a great rage because\nthe people were eating, drinking, and enjoying the wedding feast without\nthemselves.\n\nWhen all had finished eating and drinking, and were ready to go home,\nMaol said, \u201cThe bride will go with me.\u201d\n\nThe bride began to cry when she heard that, and was in great distress.\nLui Lavada asked what trouble was on her, and the people told him, that\nsince Balor\u2019s two deputies were ruling on the mainland it was their\ncustom at weddings that Maol, the first in authority, should keep company\nwith the bride the first evening, and Mullag the second evening.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to put a stop to that,\u201d said Lui Lavada, Balor\u2019s grandson.\nWith that he walked up to the two and said, \u201cYe\u2019ll go home out of this as\nye are.\u201d\n\nMaol answered with insult, and made an offer to strike him. Lui caught\nMaol then and split his tongue; he cut a hole in each of his cheeks, and\nputting one half of the tongue through the left cheek, and the other\nthrough the right, he thrust a sliver of wood through the tips of each\nhalf. He took Mullag then and treated him in like manner.\n\nThe people led the two down to the seashore after that. Lui put Maol\nin one boat and Mullag in another, and let them go with the wind, which\ncarried them out in the ocean, and there is no account that any man saved\nthem.\n\nBalor swore vengeance on the people for destroying his men, and\nespecially on Lui Lavada. He had an eye in the middle of his forehead\nwhich he kept covered always with nine shields of thick leather, so that\nhe might not open his eye and turn it on anything, for no matter what\nBalor looked at with the naked eye he burned it to ashes. He set out in a\nrage then from Tory, and never stopped till he landed at Baile Nass and\nwent toward Gavidin\u2019s forge. The grandson was there before him, and had a\nspear ready and red hot.\n\nWhen Balor had eight shields raised from the evil eye, and was just\nraising the ninth, Lui Lavada sent the red spear into it. Balor pursued\nhis grandson, who retreated before him, going south, and never stopped\ntill he reached Dun Lui, near Errigal Mountain. There he sat on a rock,\nwearied and exhausted. While he was sitting there, everything came to\nhis mind that he did since the time that his men stole Glas Gavlen from\nGavidin Gow. \u201cI see it all now,\u201d said he. \u201cThis is my grandson who has\ngiven the mortal blow to me. He is the son of my daughter and Fin\nMacKinealy. No one else could have given that spear cast but him.\u201d With\nthat Balor called to the grandson and said, \u201cCome near now. Take the\nhead off me and place it above on your own a few moments. You will know\neverything in the world, and no one will be able to conquer you.\u201d\n\nLui took the head off his grandfather, and, instead of putting it on his\nown head, he put it on a rock. The next moment a drop came out of the\nhead, made a thousand pieces of the rock, and dug a hole in the earth\nthree times deeper than Loch Foyle,\u2014the deepest lake in the world up to\nthat time,\u2014and so long that in that hole are the waters of Gweedore Loch,\nthey have been there from that day to this.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe above tale I wrote down on the mainland, where I found also another\nversion, but inferior to this. On Tory itself I found two versions, both\nincomplete. Though differing in particulars, the argument is the same\nin all. Balor is represented as living on Tory to escape the doom which\nthreatens him through a coming grandson; he covets the cow Glas Gavlen,\nand finally gains her through his agents.\n\nThe theft of the cow is the first act in a series which ends with the\ndeath of Balor at Gweedore, and brings about the fulfilment of the\nprophecy. In all the variants of the tale Balor is the same unrepentant,\nunconquerable character,\u2014the man whom nothing can bend, who tries to\navenge his own fate after his death by the destruction of his grandson.\nThe grandson does not know whom he is about to kill. He slays Balor to\navenge his father, Fin MacKinealy, according to the vendetta of the time.\n\n\n\n\nBALOR OF THE EVIL EYE AND LUI LAVADA HIS GRANDSON.\n\n\nLong ago there were people in Erin called Firbolgs; and they lived\nundisturbed many years, till a king called Balor Beiman came from Lochlin\nwith great forces, made war on the Firbolgs, killed their king, and drove\nthemselves out of Erin.\n\nThe Firbolgs went to Spain; and there they were looking for means of\nsupport, but could find none, unless what they got for work in carrying\nmortar.\n\nThey carried mortar, and lived that way till at long last the Spaniards\nsaid, \u201cThese people are too many in number; let us drive them out of the\ncountry.\u201d So the Spaniards drove out the Firbolgs, and they came back to\nErin. In Erin they attacked Balor and his Lochlin men, but were defeated\nwith loss a second time. When they left Erin again, the Firbolgs went to\nthe lands of Gallowna, and there they lived undisturbed and unharmed.\n\nWhen the Firbolgs were driven out of Erin the second time, Balor Beiman\nsummoned his chief men, and said to them, \u201cI will go back to Lochlin now\nand live there in quiet. I am too old to fight with new enemies. I will\nleave my sons here with you to rule in place of myself; and do ye obey\nthem, and be as brave under them as ye were under me.\u201d\n\nWith that Balor left Erin, sailed away, and never stopped till he reached\nhome in Lochlin.\n\nAt that time there was a smith in Erin named Gaivnin Gow, and he had a\ncow called Glas Gownach. The smith had a magic halter with which he used\nto tie the cow every night.\n\nGlas Gownach travelled three provinces of Erin every day, and came home\nin the evening; the halter had power over her, and she went always to the\nhalter in the evening if left to herself.\n\nThe cow gave milk to every one on her journey each day,\u2014no matter how\nlarge the vessels were that people brought, or how many, she filled them;\nthere was no lack of milk in Erin while that cow was in it. She was sent\nto give food and comfort to all, and she gave it, but especially to poor\npeople.\n\nBalor Beiman had his eye on the cow, and, when going back to Lochlin from\nErin, he watched his chance and stole the halter. Gaivnin Gow saw the\ntheft, but too late to prevent it. Balor escaped with the halter, and\nmade off to Lochlin.\n\nGaivnin Gow ran quickly to Glas Gownach, caught her by the tail, and held\nher that way till evening, when he drove her home carefully, and shut her\nup in the forge behind the bellows, where he milked her.\n\nGaivnin Gow stopped work in his forge now, and did nothing but mind the\ncow. He went out in the morning, followed her through every place, and\nbrought her back in the evening. He held her tail all the day, and never\nlet go his hold of her till he had her fastened behind the bellows.\n\nThe people got milk as before from Glas Gownach wherever she went through\nthe country; but the smith got no milk till he had the cow enclosed in\nthe forge.\n\nThe widow of the king of the Firbolgs took a new husband in the land of\nGallowna, and had seven sons there. When the eldest, Geali Dianvir, had\ngrown up, she said to him, \u201cI will give you ships now, and go you to Erin\nwith warriors and good champions to know can we get satisfaction of those\npeople who hunted us out of our country like hares or foxes.\u201d\n\nThe son took the ships, and sailed away with champions and heroes, and\nnever stopped till he sailed into Caola Beag (Killybegs, in Donegal). He\nlanded in that place, left his ships safely fastened, and went forward\ntravelling. He never stopped on his way nor halted till he came to a\nplace called Blan Ri. He halted in that place, for before him were three\narmies fighting.\n\nWhen they saw the new forces coming, the armies stopped fighting.\n\n\u201cWhy are ye fighting here with three armies?\u201d asked Dianvir; \u201cwhat is the\ncause of your struggle?\u201d\n\nThe leader of one army said, \u201cWe are brothers; our father died not long\nsince; he was king of three provinces, and I think it my right to be king\nin his place.\u201d\n\nThe leader of the second army, the middle brother, said, \u201cI have as much\nright to be king after my father as he has.\u201d\n\nThe third brother said, \u201cI have as much right to be king as either of\nthem.\u201d\n\nNeither of the three was willing to yield his claim, or obey one of the\nothers; but they were all ready to fight while their strength lasted.\n\n\u201cYour trouble can be settled easily,\u201d said Dianvir; \u201cif ye are willing.\u201d\n\n\u201cSettle it, and do us a service,\u201d said the eldest brother.\n\n\u201cI will; but ye must take my judgment and obey it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will,\u201d said all the brothers. \u201cWe will accept your decision, and do\nwhat you tell us.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, then,\u201d said Dianvir: \u201cyou, the eldest, will be king for this\nyear. You, the second, will be king in his place the second year; and\nyou, the youngest brother, will be king the third year. The fourth year,\nyou, the eldest brother, will be king again for a year; and so it will go\non, and you and your two brothers will be spending time happily all your\nlives.\u201d\n\nThe three brothers agreed, and were glad. The eldest was king that first\nyear. Dianvir went his way; but he had hardly gone out of their sight\nwhen the youngest of the three brothers said, \u201cThat man will make trouble\nfor us yet; my advice is to follow him, and put an end to himself and his\nmen before they can harm us.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the eldest, \u201csure ye would not kill the man who gave us good\ncounsel and settled our difficulty?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo matter what he did,\u201d said the youngest; \u201che will give you trouble yet\nif ye let him go. Follow him, put an end to him, or he will put an end to\nus.\u201d\n\nThey sent men after Dianvir. As Dianvir was a stranger in Erin he had no\nknowledge of the roads: when a lake was before him he was long going\naround it; when he came to a deep river he was long finding a ford.\n\nDianvir\u2019s men were cut off, most of them fell, and he himself fell with\nothers. A small number escaped to the ships, took one of them, and sailed\nto the land of Gallowna. They told the queen the whole story, told how\nthey had been treated with treachery.\n\n\u201cI will have satisfaction for my son,\u201d said the mother. \u201cI will have it\nwithout waiting long.\u201d With that she had ships and boats prepared, and\nwent herself with her other sons, and strong forces, to take vengeance on\nthe brothers. The queen and her forces were six weeks sailing hither and\nover, driven by strong winds, when one morning a sailor at the topmast\ncried, \u201cI see land!\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it more or less of it that you see?\u201d asked the queen.\n\n\u201cI see land, the size of a pig\u2019s back,\u201d said the sailor, \u201cand a black\nback it is.\u201d\n\nThey sailed three days and nights longer, and on the fourth morning they\nwere near shore, and landed in Bantry (White Strand). The queen fixed\nher house at Ardneevy, and prepared for action; but instead of the three\nbrothers it was the sons of Balor she had against her.\n\nWar began, and the Lochlin men were getting the upper hand the first\ndays. At some distance from their camp was a well of venom, and into this\nwell they dipped their swords and spears before going to battle, and the\nman of the enemy who was barely grazed by a weapon dipped in the well\nwas as badly off as the man whose head was taken from him. There was no\nchance now for the queen\u2019s forces, so she called her sons and said to\nthem, \u201cWe\u2019ll be destroyed to the last one unless we find help against\nthis venom. Go to the Old Blind Sage, and ask advice of him.\u201d\n\nThe sons went to the sage, and the advice they got was this,\u2014\n\n\u201cThere is a well of venom not far from the camp of the Lochlin men.\nBefore going to battle they dip their swords and spears in that water,\nand the enemy who is touched by those weapons that day is killed as\nsurely as if the head had been swept from him. Ye are to get twenty\nmeasures of the milk of Glas Gownach, and pour it into that well in the\nnight-time; the milk will be going down in the well and the poison will\nbe rising and going out till it flows away and is lost altogether. Take,\nthen, a hundred swords and spears to Gaivnin Gow, the smith, to put\ntemper on their points and edges. He will do this if ye follow the cow\nall day for him and bring her home safely in the evening.\u201d\n\nThe queen\u2019s sons did what the sage advised. The venom went from the well\nwhen the cow\u2019s milk was poured into it. From that night out the weapons\nof the Lochlin men were common swords and spears.\n\nWhen the queen\u2019s sons went with the swords and spears to Gaivnin Gow,\nhe said, \u201cI cannot work for you. I am minding this cow, Glas Gownach,\nthat travels three provinces of Erin every day; I must go with her\nwherever she goes, bring her home, and put her behind the bellows in the\nforge every night. If the cow goes from me I am lost, with my wife and\nchildren. We have no means of support but her milk.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am as good a man as you,\u201d said the best of the brothers; \u201cI will mind\nthe cow, and bring her back in the evening.\u201d\n\nThe smith let the cow go with him at last, and went to work at the swords\nand spears. The young man followed the cow faithfully, all day, brought\nher back in the evening, left her outside the forge, and went in himself.\nThe smith had the swords and spears tempered.\n\n\u201cWhere is the cow Glas Gownach?\u201d asked Gaivnin Gow.\n\n\u201cOutside at the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cBad luck to you, she is gone from me now, gone forever!\u201d\n\nThey went out. Not a trace of Glas Gownach. She had gone to Balor Beiman\nin Lochlin, for he had the halter.\n\nThere was a great battle on the following day, the queen fell and her\nsons, except two. Balor\u2019s sons were all killed, and the Lochlin men\ndriven away.\n\nBalor rose up in anger when the news came to Lochlin. \u201cI\u2019ll have\nsatisfaction for my sons,\u201d said he. \u201cI will burn all Erin!\u201d\n\nBesides his two eyes Balor had a third one, an evil eye, in the middle\nof his forehead, with the power to burn everything in the world that it\nlooked upon. Over this eye he kept seven steel shields, and a lock on\neach one of them.\n\n\u201cI will destroy Erin, and no man can stop me,\u201d said Balor; \u201cfor no man\ncan kill me but the son of my daughter. She has no son, and if she had\nitself, he could kill me only with the red spear made by Gaivnin Gow, and\nit cast into my eye the moment I raise the last shield from it, when I am\nstanding on Muin Duv[4] [Black Back] to burn Erin.\u201d\n\nOne day the two brothers were talking, and Cian, the youngest son of the\nqueen of the Firbolgs, said to his only living brother, \u201cWe have done\ngreat harm to Gaivnin Gow. It is by us that the cow went from him, and we\nshould bring her back.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is more than we can do,\u201d said the second brother, \u201cunless we get\nhelp from Bark an Tra, the druid.\u201d\n\nThe two brothers went to Bark an Tra, and Cian told their story.\n\n\u201cThe work is a hard one; I don\u2019t know can you do it,\u201d said the druid;\n\u201cbut you can try; I will help you. The cow is with Balor Beiman, in\nLochlin. He stole her halter when he went from Erin; and she followed it\nthe day your brother left her outside the forge. No man can bring the cow\nwith him unless he has the halter, and it is hard to get that.\n\n\u201cBalor Beiman can be killed only by the son of his daughter; he has\nher behind seven locked doors. No living person sees the daughter but\nhimself. He sees her every day, takes food and drink to her. To bring\nback the cow you must make the acquaintance of Balor\u2019s daughter. I will\ngive you a cloak of darkness; put it over you, and make your way to\nLochlin. When Balor goes to see his daughter, you go with him. He opens\none door, goes in and locks it, opens the second, goes in and locks\nthat, and so on. When he is inside in his daughter\u2019s chamber the seven\ndoors are locked behind him.\u201d\n\nCian put on the cloak of darkness, and no man could see him; he went to\nLochlin then, and followed Balor to his daughter\u2019s chamber. He waited\ntill the night when she was sleeping, went then to her bedside, and put\nhis hand on her heavily.\n\nShe screamed, saying, \u201cSome one is in the chamber.\u201d\n\nBalor came, very angry and with an evil face, to see who was in it. He\nsearched the chamber through, searched many times, found no one. Failing\nto find any one, he returned to his own place and went to bed. Cian came\nagain and put a heavier hand on Balor\u2019s daughter. She roared out that\nsome one was in the chamber. Balor came, searched, and looked several\ntimes, and went away. The third time the young man put a still heavier\nhand on the maiden, and she screamed louder. Balor searched this time\nmore carefully, found no man, and said, \u201cOh, you are a torment; it\u2019s\ndreaming you are. You are hoping for some one to be in the world to\ndestroy me, but that is what never will be. If I hear another scream here\nI will take the head off you surely.\u201d\n\nNo sooner was Balor gone this time, and the seven doors locked, than the\nyoung man came again, and put a heavier hand than ever on the maiden. She\ndid not scream then; she was in dread of her father, but said slowly,\n\u201cAre you a living man or a ghost?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am so and so,\u201d said Cian, \u201cthe best champion in the world, and I have\ncome here to win you.\u201d He talked on till he pleased her, they agreed\nthen. He spent three days in her company. On the fourth day he followed\nBalor out of the chamber, and away with him back to Erin. He went to Bark\nan Tra, the druid.\n\n\u201cWere you in Lochlin with Balor?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you behave?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo and so,\u201d said Cian.\n\n\u201cYou must be there again at the right time.\u201d\n\nCian was back in Lochlin at the right time, unseen in his cloak of\ndarkness, and brought away a child with him to Erin. The child was not\nthriving for three years, hardly lived, and was puny.\n\n\u201cThe child is not doing well,\u201d said Cian to the druid.\n\n\u201cThe child will do well yet,\u201d answered Bark an Tra. \u201cTake him now to\nLochlin as far as Balor; the child will not thrive till his grandfather\ncalls him by name.\u201d\n\nCian went to Balor. \u201cWell,\u201d said Balor, \u201cwho are you and what journey are\nyou on?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a poor man looking for service.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat child is that you have with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy own child,\u201d said Cian; \u201cmy wife is dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d asked Balor.\n\n\u201cI am the best gardener in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a better gardener than you,\u201d said Balor.\n\n\u201cYou have not. What can your gardener do?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe tree that he plants on Monday morning has the finest ripe apples in\nthe world on Saturday night.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s nothing. The tree that I plant in the morning I\u2019ll pluck from it\nin the evening the finest ripe apples you have ever set eyes on.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not like to have any child near my castle,\u201d said Balor; \u201cbut I will\nkeep you for a time, even with the child, if your wages are not too great\nfor me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will work a day and a year for the cow.\u201d\n\nBalor agreed to the terms, and took Cian. Balor spoke no word to the\nchild, good or bad, and the boy was not thriving. One day Cian was\nbringing to Balor a lot of fine apples from one of his trees; he stumbled\non the threshold, and the apples fell to the floor. All the people\npresent ran to gather the apples, the child better than others. He worked\nso nimbly that he picked up two-thirds of all that had fallen, though a\nwhole crowd was picking as well as himself.\n\n\u201cTog leat Lui Lavada [Take away with you Little Long Hand],\u201d cried Balor.\n\n\u201cOh, he has the name now,\u201d said Cian.\n\nCian worked his time out then, and said, \u201cI will take my pay another day.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may take it when you like,\u201d said Balor.\n\nCian took his son to Erin; the child grew wonderfully after that, and was\nsoon of full strength.\n\nCian went to the druid.\n\n\u201cThe time is near,\u201d said the druid, \u201cwhen Balor will stand on Muin Duv.\nHe\u2019ll raise his eye-shields; and if the red spear is not put in his eye\nwhen the last shield is raised, all Erin will be burned in one flash. Go\nnow and ask Balor Beiman for your wages; say that you want the cow Glas\nGownach, for we want her and must have her. He will refuse, dispute, and\nquarrel, give bad names. You will say that he must pay you, must give the\ncow or go to judgment. He will go to judgment rather than give the cow;\nand do you choose his daughter as judge; she will give the cow to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go to judgment,\u201d said Balor, when Cian insisted on getting the\ncow. \u201cWhat judgment will you have?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy case is a true one,\u201d said Cian. \u201cI ask no judge but the one yourself\nwill take. I ask no judge but your own daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet her be the judge,\u201d said Balor.\n\nCian put on his cloak of darkness, and, going to the daughter, explained\nhis case to her. Next day Balor went in and told her all the story of the\ncow Glas Gownach.\n\n\u201cI must have nine days to think the matter over,\u201d said Balor\u2019s daughter.\n\nShe got the time, then she asked three days more. On the thirteenth\nmorning Balor went to her and said, \u201cThe judgment must be made to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the daughter, \u201cgo out now and stand before the window, you\nand the gardener, and to whomever the halter comes from me he\u2019ll have the\ncow.\u201d\n\nWhen they stood in front of the window, she threw the halter to Cian.\n\n\u201cHow could you do that?\u201d cried out Balor.\n\n\u201cOh, father, they say there is always a crooked cast in a woman\u2019s hand. I\nthrew toward you; but it\u2019s to the gardener the halter went.\u201d\n\nBalor let the cow go. He was very angry, but could not help himself.\n\u201cYou have Glas Gownach; but I\u2019ll have satisfaction in my own time,\u201d cried\nhe, as Cian went away.\n\n\u201cWe have troubled you greatly with our work,\u201d said Cian to Gaivnin Gow;\n\u201cbut here is the cow for you, and with her the halter. You can stay at\nhome now and rest; you need follow her no longer.\u201d\n\nCian went that night to the druid, and said, \u201cI have the cow back in\nErin.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well that you have,\u201d answered the druid. \u201cIn five days from\nthis Balor will be here to burn Up Erin. He will stand on Muin Duv at\ndaybreak. He will raise all the shields from his eye; and unless a spear\nmade by Gaivnin Gow is hurled into his eye by his grandson that instant,\nhe will have all Erin in flames. You must bring Gaivnin Gow and the forge\nwith you to Muin Duv, have the spear made, and all things prepared there;\nand your son must be ready to throw the red spear at the right moment.\u201d\n\nGaivnin Gow came. They brought the forge, the spear, and all that was\nneeded, put them behind a rock on the side of Muin Duv. On the fifth\nmorning, at daylight, Balor was on the top of Muin Duv; and the instant\nthe last shield reached his upper eyelid Lui Lavada struck him with the\nspear, and Balor fell dead.\n\n\n\n\nART, THE KING\u2019S SON, AND BALOR BEIMENACH, TWO SONS-IN-LAW OF KING UNDER\nTHE WAVE.\n\n\nThe King of Leinster was at war for twenty years, and conquered all\nbefore him. He had a son named Art; and, when the wars were over, this\nson was troubled because he could find no right bride for himself. No\nprincess could suit him or his father; for they wanted an only daughter.\nIn this trouble they went to the old druid.\n\n\u201cWait,\u201d said the druid, \u201ctill I read my book of enchantment; and then I\nwill tell you where to find such a woman.\u201d\n\nHe read his book, but could find no account of an only daughter of the\nright age and station. At last the druid said to the king, \u201cProclaim over\nall Erin that if any man knows of such a princess he is to come to this\ncastle and tell you.\u201d\n\nThe king did as the druid advised. At long last a sailor walked the way,\nand went to the king. \u201cI know,\u201d said he, \u201cof the woman you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is she?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cThe only daughter of the King of Greece, and she is beautiful. But it is\nbetter to keep your son at home than to send him abroad; for there is no\nman who could not find a good wife in Erin.\u201d\n\nArt would not listen to this advice, but said, \u201cI will go and get that\none.\u201d\n\nNext morning he made ready, took farewell of his father, and away he\nwent on his journey. He rode a fine steed to the seashore; there he took\na ship, and nothing more is told of him till he touched land in Greece.\nThe King of Greece received Art with great welcome, gave a feast of seven\ndays in his honor, and sent heralds through the city declaring that any\nman who would fall asleep till the end of the seven days would have the\nhead swept off his body.\n\nSilk and satin were spread under Art\u2019s feet, and respect of every kind\nshown him. He was entertained seven days, and at last, when the king\ndidn\u2019t ask him what journey he was on, he said, \u201cIt is a wonder to me\nthat you do not ask what brought me, and why I am travelling.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not surprised at all,\u201d said the king. \u201cA good father\u2019s son like\nyou, and a man of such beauty, ought to travel all nations, and see every\npeople.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not travelling to show myself nor to see people. Men told me that\nyou have an only daughter. I want her in marriage, and \u2019tis for her sake\nthat I am here.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never heard news I liked better,\u201d said the king; \u201cand if my\ndaughter is willing, and her mother is satisfied, you have my blessing.\u201d\n\nArt went to the queen and told her the cause of his coming.\n\n\u201cIf the king and my daughter are satisfied,\u201d replied she, \u201cthat is the\nbest tale that man could bring me.\u201d\n\nArt went to the princess, and she said, \u201cIf my father and mother are\nwilling, your words are most welcome to me; but there is one obstacle\nbetween us,\u2014I can marry no man but the man who will bring me the head of\nthe Gruagach of Bungling Leaps.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is he to be found?\u201d asked Art.\n\n\u201cIf \u2019twas in the east he was, I would direct you to the west; and if\n\u2019twas in the west he was, I would send you to the east: but not to harm\nyou would I do this, for thousands of men have gone toward that gruagach,\nand not a man of them has ever come back.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour opinion of me is not very high. I must follow my nose and find the\nroad.\u201d\n\nNext morning Art took farewell of the king, and went his way travelling\nto know could he find the gruagach. At that time gruagachs and heroes\nlived in old castles. Art inquired and inquired till he heard where the\ngruagach lived.\n\nAt last he came to the castle, and shouted outside; but if he did it was\nno use for him, he got no answer. Art walked in, found the gruagach on\nthe flat of his back, fast asleep and snoring. The gruagach had a sword\nin his hand. Art caught the sword, but could not stir it from the grasp\nof the gruagach.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis hard to say,\u201d thought he, \u201cthat I could master you awake, if I can\ndo nothing to you in your slumber; but it would be a shame to strike a\nsleeping man.\u201d\n\nHe hit the gruagach with the flat of his sword below the knee, and woke\nhim. The gruagach opened his eyes, sat up, and said, \u201cIt would be fitter\nfor you to be herding cows and horses than to be coming to this place to\nvex me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not here to give excuse or satisfaction to you,\u201d said Art, \u201cbut to\nknock satisfaction out of your flesh, bones, and legs, and I\u2019ll take the\nhead off you if I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems, young man, that it is a princess you want; and she will not\nmarry you without my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked the gruagach; \u201cand from what country do you\ncome?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Art, and I am son of the King of Leinster, in Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour name is great, and there is loud talk of you, but your size is not\nmuch; and if the princess were in question between us, I would think as\nlittle of putting that small hill there on the top of the big one beyond\nit as of killing you. For your father\u2019s sake, I would not harm you; your\nfather is as good a man for a stranger to walk to as there is in the\nworld; and for that reason go home and don\u2019t mind me or the princess, for\nyour father and mother waited long for you, and would be sorry to lose\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery thankful am I,\u201d said Art, \u201cfor your kind speech; but as I came\nso far from home, and want the princess, I\u2019ll knock a trial out of you\nbefore I leave this place.\u201d\n\nNext morning the two faced each other, and fought like wild bulls, wild\ngeese, or wolves, fought all day with spears and swords. Art was growing\nweak, and was not injuring the gruagach till evening, when he thought,\n\u201cFar away am I from father, mother, home, and country.\u201d With that he got\nthe strength of a hundred men, gave one blow to the gruagach under the\nchin, and sent his head spinning through the air. That moment the body\nwent down through the earth.\n\nWhen the body disappeared, Art thought the head would come down like any\nother thing; but the earth opened, and the head flew into the earth and\nvanished.\n\n\u201cI will go back to the castle of the King of Greece,\u201d thought Art, \u201cand\ntell him the whole story.\u201d\n\nOn the way to the castle, and while passing a cabin, a big old man came\nout of the cabin, and cried, \u201cWelcome, Art, son of the King of Leinster.\nIt is too far you are going to-night. Stay with me, if you like my\nentertainment.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery thankful am I,\u201d said Art, \u201cand glad to stay with you. It is weak\nand tired I am.\u201d\n\nWhen he went in, the old man stripped him, put him first into a caldron\nof venom, and then into a caldron of cure, and he was as well as ever.\n\n\u201cWould go against the gruagach to-morrow?\u201d asked the old man.\n\n\u201cI would if I knew where to find him.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will find him where he was to-day; but he will be twice as strong\nto-morrow, since you vexed him to-day.\u201d\n\nAfter breakfast Art went to the castle, and found the gruagach asleep, as\nthe first time, struck him with the flat of his sword, but so hard that\nhe saw stars.\n\n\u201cArt, son of the King of Leinster, you are not satisfied yet; but you\nwill suffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not satisfied,\u201d said Art. \u201cI\u2019ll have your head or you will have\nmine.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo home to your father and mother; don\u2019t trouble me: that is my advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am thankful to you,\u201d said Art, jestingly; \u201cbut I\u2019ll take a trial of\nyou.\u201d\n\nThey fought as before. The gruagach had twice the strength of the first\nday; and Art was knocking no quarters out of him, but suffering from\nevery blow, his flesh falling and his blood flowing.\n\n\u201cI am not to last long,\u201d thought Art, \u201cunless I can do something.\u201d He\nremembered his father and mother then, and how far he was from home; that\nmoment the strength of two hundred men came to him. With one blow he\nswept off the gruagach\u2019s head and sent it twice as far into the sky as on\nthe first day; the body sank through the earth. Art stood at the place\nwhere the body had vanished.\n\nWhen the head was coming down, and was near, he caught it and held it\nfirmly by the hair; then, cutting a withe, he thrust it through the ears\nand, throwing the head over his shoulder, started for the castle of the\nKing of Greece; but before reaching the old man\u2019s cabin, he met three men\nand with them a headless body.\n\n\u201cWhere are ye going?\u201d asked Art.\n\n\u201cThis body lost its head in the eastern world, and we are travelling the\nearth to know can we find a head to match it.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think this one would do?\u201d asked Art of one of the men.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said he; \u201cit is only for us to try.\u201d\n\nThe moment the head was put on the body, men, head, and body went down\nthrough the earth.\n\nArt went to the old man, and told him of all that had happened.\n\n\u201cYou were very foolish,\u201d said the old man, \u201cto do what you did. Why did\nyou not keep the head and bring it to me? I would tell you what to do.\u201d\nThe old man cured Art\u2019s wounds, and after supper he asked, \u201cWill you\nfight the gruagach again?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you have the luck to knock the head off him a third time, never\npart with it till you come to me.\u201d\n\nArt went a third time to the gruagach, struck him with the flat of his\nsword, and knocked ferns out of his eyes.\n\n\u201cOh, ho! Art, son of the King of Leinster, you are not satisfied yet, it\nseems. To-day will tell all. You\u2019ll fall here.\u201d\n\nThey went at each other with venom; and each sought the head of the other\nso fiercely that each hair on him would hold an iron apple. The gruagach\nhad the upper hand till evening. Art thought of home then, of the young\nprincess, and of the mean opinion that she had of him, and gave such a\nblow that the gruagach\u2019s head vanished in the sky. The body went through\nthe earth, and Art stood as before at the place where it sank till he saw\nthe head coming; he seized it, cut two withes, passed them through the\nears, threw the head over his shoulder, and went toward the old man\u2019s\ncabin. He was within one mile of the house, when he saw, flying from the\nsoutheast, three ravens, and each bird seemed the size of a horse. At\nthat time a terrible thirst came on him; he put the gruagach\u2019s head on\nthe ground, and stooped to drink from a spring near the wayside; that\nmoment one of the ravens swept down and carried off the head.\n\n\u201cI am in a worse state now than ever,\u201d said Art, lamenting.\n\nHe went to the cabin of the old man, who received him well, and cured\nhim, and said, \u201cYou may go home now, since you did not keep the head when\nyou had it; or you may go into a forest where there is a boar, and that\nboar is far stronger and fiercer than the gruagach: but if you can kill\nthe boar, you will win yet, if you do what I tell you. When the boar is\ndead, open the body and hide in it. The three ravens will come after\nawhile to eat; you can catch one of them, and hold it till the others\nbring the head.\u201d\n\nArt went away to the forest. He was not long in it when the boar caught\nthe scent of him, and ran at him, snapped at his body, and took pieces\nout of it. Art defended himself till evening, and was more losing than\ngaining, when he remembered home and that princess who thought so little\nof his valor. He got the strength of four hundred men then, and made two\neven halves of the boar. When Art tried to draw his sword, it was broken\nat the hilt: and he let three screeches out of him that were heard all\nover the kingdom. He could not prepare the carcass, so he went to the old\nman with the sword hilt.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you,\u201d said the old man; \u201cand you deserve\nthem. You are the best man I have seen in life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not deserve the welcomes,\u201d said Art; \u201c\u2019Tis badly the day has gone\nwith me: my sword is broken.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you a better one,\u201d said the old man, taking him to a room\nwhere there was nothing but swords. \u201cHere are swords in plenty; take your\nchoice of them.\u201d\n\nArt tried many, but broke one after another. At last he caught an old\nrusty blade, and shook it. The sword screeched so fiercely that it was\nheard in seven kingdoms, and his father and mother heard it in Erin.\n\n\u201cThis blade will do,\u201d said Art.\n\n\u201cCome, now, and we\u2019ll prepare the boar,\u201d said the old man.\n\nThe two went and dressed the boar in the way to give Art room within the\nbody, and a place to seize the raven. The old man went to a hilltop, at a\ndistance, and sat there till he heard the three ravens coming, and they\ncawing as before. \u201cOh, it is ye that are coming!\u201d thought he. The birds\ncame to the ground, and walked about, till at last one of them began to\npeck at the carcass. Art caught that one quickly by the neck; the bird\nstruggled and struggled.\n\n\u201cYou might as well stop,\u201d said Art; \u201cyou\u2019ll not go from me. This fellow\u2019s\nhead, or the head ye took yesterday,\u201d said Art to the other two.\n\n\u201cKill not our brother,\u201d cried they; \u201cwe\u2019ll bring the head quickly.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has but two hours to live, unless ye bring here the head ye took from\nme.\u201d\n\nThe ravens were not gone one hour when the gruagach\u2019s head was in Art\u2019s\nhands, and the raven was free.\n\n\u201cCome home with me now,\u201d said the old man. Art went with him. \u201cShow this\nhead to the princess,\u201d said the old man; \u201cbut do not give it to her;\nbring it back here to me.\u201d\n\nArt went to the king\u2019s castle, and, showing the head to the princess,\nsaid, \u201cHere is the head which you wanted; but I will not marry you.\u201d He\nturned away then, went to the old man, and gave him the head. The old man\nthrew the head on a body which was lying in the cabin; the head and the\nbody became one, and just like the old man.\n\n\u201cNow, Art, king\u2019s son from Erin, the gruagach was my brother, and for the\nlast three hundred years he was under the enchantment of that princess,\nthe only daughter of the King of Greece. The princess is old, although\nyoung in appearance; my brother would have killed me as quickly as he\nwould you; and he was to be enchanted till you should come and cut the\nhead off him, and show it to the princess, and not marry her, and I\nshould do as I have done. My brother and I will stay here, take care of\nour forests, and be friends to you. Go you back to Erin: a man can find a\ngood wife near home, and need not look after foreign women.\u201d\n\nArt went to Erin, and lived with his father and mother. One morning he\nsaw a ship coming in, and only one man on board, the Red Gruagach, and\nhe having a golden apple on the end of a silver spindle, and throwing the\napple up in the air and catching it on the spindle.\n\nThe Red Gruagach came to Art, and asked, \u201cWill you play a game with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never refused to play,\u201d said Art; \u201cbut I have no dice.\u201d\n\nThe gruagach took out dice; they played. Art won. \u201cWhat is your wish?\u201d\nasked the gruagach.\n\n\u201cGet for me in one moment the finest woman on earth, with twelve\nattendant maidens and thirteen horses.\u201d\n\nThe Red Gruagach ran to his ship, and brought the woman with her maidens;\nthe horses came bridled and saddled. When Art saw the woman, he fell in\nlove, took her by the hand, and went to the castle. They were married\nthat day. The Red Gruagach would not sail away; he stayed near the castle\nand watched. Art\u2019s young wife knew this, and would not let her husband\nleave the castle without her.\n\nTwo or three months later she fell ill, and sent for the old king. \u201cYou\nmust guard Art, and keep him safe,\u201d said she, \u201ctill I recover.\u201d\n\nNext morning the king was called aside for some reason, and Art went out\nof the castle that moment. At the gate he met the gruagach, who asked\nhim to play. They played with the gruagach\u2019s dice, and Art lost.\n\n\u201cGive your sentence,\u201d said he to the gruagach.\n\n\u201cYou will hear it too soon for your comfort. You are to bring me the\nsword of light, and the story of the man who has it.\u201d\n\nArt\u2019s wife saw the king coming back. \u201cWhere is Art?\u201d asked she.\n\n\u201cOutside at the gate.\u201d\n\nShe sprang through the door, though sick, but too late.\n\n\u201cYou are not a husband for me now, you must go from me,\u201d said she to\nArt. \u201cThe man who has the sword of light is my sister\u2019s husband; he has\nthe strength of thousands in him, and can run with the speed of wild\nbeasts. You did not know me, did not know that I was not that gruagach\u2019s\ndaughter; you did not ask me who I was. Now you are in trouble, you must\ngo. Sit on the horse that I rode, and that the gruagach gave you, take\nthe bridle in your right hand, and let the horse go where he pleases;\nhe will face the ocean, but a road will open before him, and he will\nnever stop till he comes to my father\u2019s castle. My father is King Under\nthe Wave. The horse will stop at steps in front of the castle; you will\ndismount then. My father will ask where you got that steed, and you will\nsay you got him when you won him and the daughter of King Under the Wave\nfrom the Red Gruagach.\u201d\n\nNext morning Art took farewell of his wife and his father and mother,\nstarted, and never stopped nor dismounted till he came to the steps\noutside the castle-yard where horsemen used to mount and dismount. He\ncame down then.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get that horse?\u201d asked King Under the Wave; \u201cand where is\nthe rider who left my castle on his back?\u201d\n\n\u201cI won him and the daughter of King Under the Wave from the Red Gruagach.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, \u2019tis easily known to me that it was the Foxy Gruagach who stole my\nchild. Now, who are you, and where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Art, son of the King of Leinster, in Erin.\u201d\n\nKing Under the Wave gave a hundred thousand welcomes to Art then, and\nsaid, \u201cYou are the best king\u2019s son that has ever lived; and if my\ndaughter was to go from me, I am glad that it is to you she went. It is\nfor the fortune that you are here, I suppose?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not here for a fortune; but I am in heavy trouble. I am in search\nof the sword of light.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you are going for that sword, I fear that you will not be a\nson-in-law of mine long. It is the husband of another daughter of mine\nwho has the sword of light now; and while he has it, he could kill\nthe whole world. But I like you better, and will send servants to the\nstable to get you the worst horse for to-night; you will need the best\nafterward. Balor Beimenach, this son-in-law of mine, will grow stronger\neach time you go to his castle. One of my men will ride with you, and\nshow you where Balor lives, and show you the window of the room where\nhe sleeps. You will turn your horse\u2019s back to the window, and call out,\n\u2018Are you asleep, Balor Beimenach?\u2019 He will reply, and call out, \u2018What do\nyou want?\u2019 You will answer, \u2018The sword of light and the story of Balor\nBeimenach.\u2019 Put spurs to your horse that instant, and ride away, with\nwhat breath the horse has. I will have the twelve gates of this castle\nopen before you, to know will you bring the life with you. Balor is\nbound not to cross a gate or a wall of this castle without my request,\nor to follow any man through a gate or over a wall of mine. He must stop\noutside.\u201d\n\nOn the following day, Art and a serving-man rode away; the man pointed\nout Balor\u2019s castle, and the window of his bedchamber. In the evening, Art\nrode up to the window, and shouted, \u201cAre you asleep, Balor Beimenach?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot very soundly. What do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe sword of light and the story of Balor Beimenach.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait, and you will get them!\u201d\n\nArt put spurs to his horse, and shot away. Balor Beimenach was after him\nin a flash. Art\u2019s horse was the worst in the stables of King Under the\nWave, though better than the best horse in another kingdom. Still Balor\nwas gaining on him, and when he came near the castle, he had not time to\nreach the gate. He spurred over the wall; but if he did, Balor cut his\nhorse in two behind the saddle, and Art fell in over the wall with the\nfront half.\n\nBalor was raging; he went to his castle, but slept not a wink,\u2014walked his\nchamber till morning to know would Art come again.\n\nNext evening, Art rode to the window on a better horse, and called out,\n\u201cBalor Beimenach, are you asleep?\u201d and raced away. Balor followed, and\nfollowed faster. Art could not reach the gate before him, so he spurred\nhis horse over the wall. Balor cut this one in two just at the saddle.\nArt tumbled down from the wall with his life.\n\nThis enraged Balor more than the first escape; he slept not a wink that\nnight, but was walking around the whole castle and cursing till morning.\n\nKing Under the Wave gave Art the best horse in his stable, for the third\nnight, and said, \u201cThis is your last chance with horses. I hope you will\nescape; but I\u2019m greatly in dread that Balor will catch you. Now put this\nhorse to full speed before you shout, and you will have some chance if\nyour horse runs with what speed there is in him.\u201d\n\nArt obeyed the king. But Balor killed that horse as he had the other two,\nand came nearer killing Art; for he cut a piece of the saddle behind him,\nand Art came very near falling outside the wall; but he fell in, and\nescaped with his life.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said King Under the Wave, on the fourth day, \u201cno horse that ever\nlived could escape him the fourth time. Every vein in his body is wide\nopen from thirst for blood; he would use every power that is in him\nbefore he would let you escape. But here is where your chance is. Balor\nhas not slept for three nights; he will be sound asleep this time; the\nsword of light will be hanging above his head near his grasp. Do you slip\ninto the room, and walk without noise; if you can touch the sword, you\nwill have all Balor\u2019s strength, and then he will give you the story.\u201d\n\nArt did as the king directed. He slipped into the room, saw the sword of\nlight hanging just above Balor\u2019s head. He went up without noise till he\ncaught the hilt of the sword; and that moment it let out a screech that\nwas heard throughout the dominions of King Under the Wave, and through\nall Erin.\n\nBalor woke, and was very weak when he saw Art. The moment Art touched the\nhilt of the sword, he had all the strength that Balor had before. The\nscreech that the sword gave put Balor in such fear that he fell to the\nfloor, struck his face against the bed-post, and got a great lump on his\nforehead.\n\n\u201cBe quiet,\u201d said Art; \u201cthe sword is mine, and now I want the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Balor, \u201cand what land are you from? It seems that\nyou are a friend of my father-in-law; for he is shielding and aiding you\nthese four nights.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a friend of his, and also his son-in-law. I wish to be your friend\nas well.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked Balor.\n\n\u201cArt, son of the King of Leinster, in Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would rather you had the sword than any other man save myself.\u201d\n\nBalor rose, and went to his wife, and said, \u201cCome with me to your\nfather\u2019s castle.\u201d\n\nKing Under the Wave gave a great feast, and when the feast was over\nBalor Beimenach took Art aside, and told him this story: \u201cI was married\nto my wife but a short time, and living in that castle beyond, when I\nwanted to go to a fair. When not far from the castle, I found I had left\nmy whip behind, and went back for it. For years there had lived in my\ncastle a cripple. On returning I found that my wife had disappeared with\nthis cripple. I went after them in a rage. When I reached her, she struck\nme with a rod of enchantment, and made a white horse of me. She gave me\nthen to a servant, who was to take grain to a mill with me. I had no\nsaddle on my back, only a chain to cut and gall me. Though a horse, I had\nmy own knowledge. I wanted freedom. The boy who drove me misused me, and\nbeat me. I broke his leg with a kick, and ran away among wild hills to\npasture. I had the best grass, and lived for a time at my ease; but my\nwife heard of me, and had me brought home. She struck me again with her\nrod of enchantment, made a wolf of me. I ran away to rocky places. The\nwolves of the mountains bit and tore me; but at last they grew friendly.\nI took twelve of these with me, and we killed my wife\u2019s cattle, day and\nnight. She collected hunters and hounds, who killed six of the wolves.\nThe other six and I were more harmful than ever. A second party killed\nthe other six, and I was alone. They surrounded me; there was no escape\nthen. I saw among the hunters my own father-in law. I ran to King Under\nthe Wave, fell down before him, looked into his face; he pitied and saved\nme, took me home with him.\n\n\u201cMy wife was at her father\u2019s that day, and knew me. She begged the king\nto kill me; but he would not; he kept me. I served him well, and he\nloved me. I slept in the castle. One night a great serpent came down\nthe chimney, and began to crawl toward the king\u2019s little son, sleeping\nthere in the cradle. I saw the serpent, and killed it. My wife was at her\nfather\u2019s castle that night, and rose first on the following morning. She\nsaw the child sleeping, and the serpent lying dead. She took the child to\nher own chamber, rubbed me with blood from the serpent, and told the king\nthat I had eaten the child. \u2018I begged you long ago to kill that wolf,\u2019\nsaid she to her father; \u2018if you had followed my advice you would not be\nwithout your son now.\u2019 She turned and went out.\n\n\u201cRight there on a table was the rod of enchantment, which my wife had\nforgotten. I sprang toward the king; he was startled, and struck me with\nthe rod, without knowing its power. I became a man, was myself again,\nand told the king my whole story. We went to my wife\u2019s chamber; there the\nking found his son living and well. King Under the Wave gave command then\nto bring seven loads of turf with seven barrels of pitch, make one pile\nof them, and burn his daughter and the cripple on the top of the pile.\n\n\u201c\u2018Grant me one favor,\u2019 cried I. \u2018I will,\u2019 said the king. \u2018Spare your\ndaughter; she may live better now.\u2019 \u2018I will,\u2019 said the king; \u2018but they\nwill burn the cripple.\u2019\n\n\u201cThat is my story for you. Go now, and tell it to the Red Gruagach;\nkeep the sword in your hand while telling the story; and when you have\nfinished, throw the sword into the air, and say, \u2018Go to Balor Beimenach!\u2019\nIt will come to me. When you need the sword, send me word; I will throw\nit to you; and we\u2019ll have the strength of thousands between us.\u201d\n\nArt gave a blessing to all, and mounted his wife\u2019s steed; the road\nthrough the sea opened before him. The wife received him with a hundred\nthousand welcomes. After that he went to the Red Gruagach, and,\nholding the sword of light in his hand, told the story. When the story\nwas finished, he threw the sword in the air, and said, \u201cGo to Balor\nBeimenach.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not give me the sword?\u201d cried the Red Gruagach, in a rage.\n\n\u201cIf I was bound to bring the sword, I was not bound to give it to you,\u201d\nanswered Art. \u201cAnd now leave this place forever.\u201d\n\nArt lived happily with his wife, and succeeded his father.\n\n\n\n\nSHAWN MACBREOGAN AND THE KING OF THE WHITE NATION.\n\n\nThere was a very rich man once who lived near Brandon Bay, and his name\nwas Breogan.\n\nThis Breogan had a deal of fine land, and was well liked by all people\nwho knew him. One morning as he was walking on the strand for himself, he\nfound, above the highest tide, a little colt, barely the size of a goat;\nand a very nice colt he was.\n\n\u201cOh, what a beautiful little beast!\u201d said Breogan; \u201che doesn\u2019t belong to\nany one in this country. He is not mine; but still and all I\u2019ll take him.\nIf an owner comes the way, sure he can prove his claim, if he is able.\u201d\n\nBreogan carried the colt to the stable, and fed him as well as any beast\nthat he had. The colt was thriving well; and when twelve months were\npassed, it was a pleasure to look at him. Breogan put him in a stable by\nhimself after that, and kept him three years. At the end of the third\nyear, it isn\u2019t a little colt he was, but a grand, fiery steed. Breogan\ninvited all his friends and neighbors to a feast and a great merrymaking.\n\u201cThis will be a good time,\u201d thought he, \u201cto find a man to ride the\nstrange colt.\u201d\n\nThere was a splendid race-course on the seashore. The appointed day came,\nand all the people were assembled. The horse was brought out, bridled\nand saddled, and led to the strand. The place was so crowded that a pin\nfalling from the sky would not fall on any place but the head of some\nperson old or young, some man, woman, or child that was there at the\nfestival.\n\nFor three days the women of the village were cooking food for all that\nwould come; there was enough ready, and to spare. Breogan strove to come\nat a man who would ride the horse; but not a man could he find. The horse\nwas so fiery that all were in dread of him.\n\nNot to spoil sport for the people, Breogan made up his mind to ride\nhimself. As soon as the man mounted, and was firm in the saddle, the\nhorse stood on his hind-legs, rose with a leap in the air, and away with\nhim faster than any wind, first over the land, and then over the sea. The\nhorse never stopped till he came down on his fore-feet in Breasil, which\nis a part of Tir nan Og (the Land of the Young).\n\nBreogan found himself now in the finest country man could set eyes on. He\nrode forward, looking on all sides with delight and pleasure, till out\nbefore him he saw a grand castle, and a beautiful gate in front of it,\nand the gate partly open.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d thought he, \u201cI\u2019ll go in here for a bit, to know are there people\nliving inside.\u201d With that he tied the bridle to one of the bars of the\ngate, and left the horse, thinking to come back in a short time. He went\nto the door of the castle, and knocked on it. A woman came and opened the\ndoor to him.\n\n\u201cOh, then, a hundred thousand welcomes to you, Breogan from Brandon,\u201d\nsaid she.\n\nHe thanked her, and was greatly surprised when he heard her calling him\nby name. She brought him then to a parlor; and, though he had fine rooms\nin his own house, he hardly knew at first how to sit in this parlor, it\nwas that grand and splendid. He wasn\u2019t long sitting, when who should come\nin but a young woman, a beauty; the like of her he had never seen before\nin his life. She was first in every way, in good looks as well as in\nmanners. She sat down at his side, and welcomed him.\n\nBreogan remained in the castle a few hours, eating, drinking, talking,\nand enjoying himself. At long last he thought, \u201cI must be going;\u201d and\nthen he said so.\n\nThe first woman laughed. \u201cWell, now, my good friend,\u201d said she, \u201cof all\nthe men that ever came to this place,\u2014and it\u2019s many a man that came here\nin my time,\u2014there never was a worse man to care for his horse than what\nyou are. Your poor beast is tied to a bar of the gate outside since you\ncame, and you have never as much as thought that he was dry or hungry;\nand if I had not thought of him, it\u2019s in a bad state he\u2019d be now. How\nlong do you think you are in this castle?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then, I am about seven hours in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in this country just seven years,\u201d said the woman. \u201cThe beauty\nand comfort of this Land of the Young is so great that the life of twelve\nmonths seems the length of one hour in another place.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am here that long, I must be going this minute,\u201d said Breogan.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the woman, \u201cif you are going, I must ask you one question.\nThere will be a child in this castle; and as you are the father, \u2019tis you\nthat should name it. Now what will the name be?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf \u2019tis a son, you\u2019ll call him Shawn, the son of Breogan, from Brandon\nin Erin. You\u2019ll rear him for seven years. At the end of that time give\nhim your blessing and the means of making a journey to Erin. Tell him who\nI am; and if he is anything of a hero, he\u2019ll not fail to make me out.\u201d\n\nBreogan left his blessing with the women, went to the gate, and found his\nhorse standing there, tied in the same way that he left him. He untied\nthe beast, mounted, and away through the air with him, leaving Breasil\nbehind, and never stopped nor halted till he came down about a mile from\nhis own house, near Brandon, exactly seven years from the day that he\nleft it. Seeing on the strand a great number of people, he wondered why\nthey were in it, and what brought them together. A large, fine-looking\nman was passing the way, and Breogan called out to him: \u201cWhat are these\npeople all doing that I see on the strand?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cYou must be a stranger,\u201d said the man, \u201cnot to know what these people\nare here for.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am no stranger,\u201d said Breogan; \u201cbut I went out of the country a few\nyears before this, and while I was gone there were changes.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf a man leaves his own country for a short time itself,\u201d said the\nother, \u201che will find things changed when he comes again to it. I will\ntell you why these people are here. We had in this place a fine master,\nand it\u2019s good and kind he was to us. He went out to the strand one day,\nwalking, and found a little colt above the high tide. He took the colt\nhome, reared and fed him three years. Then this man gathered the people\nto give them a feast, and to know could he find some one to ride the\nhorse. When no one would venture, he mounted himself; and all saw how the\nhorse rose in the air, made a leap over the harbor, and then away out of\nsight. We think that he fell, and was drowned in the sea; for neither\nBreogan nor the horse was seen ever after. We are sorry for the man,\nbecause he was kind to us; but \u2019tis equal what became of the horse. After\nwaiting seven years, Breogan\u2019s wife is to be married this evening to some\ngreat man from the North. We don\u2019t know what kind is he. He may destroy\nus, or drive us out of our houses.\u201d\n\nBreogan thanked the man for his words, and hurried on toward his own\nhouse. The servants saw him coming, knew him, and cried, \u201cHere comes the\nmaster!\u201d and there was a great stir up and down in the house. Next minute\nthe wife heard the news; and out she ran to meet her husband. Any man\nwould think she was glad to see Breogan. \u201cWhy are all the people here\nto-day?\u201d asked he of the wife.\n\n\u201cAnd was not it this day seven years that you put the country behind\nyou, wherever you went? You left dinner here ready; and the dinner is in\nthe same state it was the day you went away from me. I thought it better\nto send for the people again, and eat the dinner in memory of you that\nprepared it.\u201d\n\nThe husband said nothing. The people ate the dinner; and every man,\nwoman, and child went home satisfied.\n\nAt the end of another seven years, Breogan made a great dinner again. All\nwas ready; a great crowd of people were present. The day being fine, you\ncould see far in every direction.\n\n\u201cLook, now,\u201d said Breogan, to one of his men who had very good eyesight.\n\u201cLook out toward the water, to know can you see any one coming. Seven\nyears ago to-day, I came home from Breasil, in the Land of the Young; and\nmy son, if I have one, is to be here to-day. He ought to be coming by\nthis time.\u201d\n\nThe man looked out as well as he could. \u201cI see a boat with one mast\ncoming toward us,\u201d said he; \u201cand it\u2019s sailing faster than any boat I have\never set eyes on. In the boat I can see only one young man; and very\nyoung he is too.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that is he,\u201d said Breogan.\n\nThe boat came in at full sail; and it wasn\u2019t long till the youth was\nstanding before his father. \u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Breogan.\n\n\u201cMy name is Shawn MacBreogan.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that is your name, sit down here at dinner; for you are my son.\u201d\n\nWhen the feast was over, the people went home. When Breogan\u2019s wife found\nout who the boy was, she wouldn\u2019t give the breadth of a ha\u2019penny piece of\nhis body for a fortune, she was that fond of him.\n\nThings went on well till one day when Breogan and his son were out\nhunting. The day being warm, they sat down to rest; and the son said to\nthe father, \u201cSince I came to you in Erin, you seem vexed in yourself. I\nhave not asked what trouble is on you, or is there anything amiss with\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll things are well with me but one thing,\u201d said Breogan. \u201cThere is\nsome understanding between my wife and a man in the north of Erin. I\u2019m\nin dread of my life; for while I was in Breasil she saw this man, and\nthe day I came home they were going to be married. Since then I have not\nslept soundly in bed; for messages are passing between them.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, father, I\u2019ll put an end to that soon,\u201d said Shawn. He rose on\nthe following morning, caught his hurley in his right hand, and his ball\nin the left. He threw up the ball, then struck it with the hurley, and\nwas driving it that way before him till he reached the north of Erin, and\nnever let his ball touch the ground even one time. He inquired for his\nfather\u2019s opponent. When he found out the house, he knocked at the door.\n\u201cIs your master inside?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cHe is,\u201d said the servant.\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d said Shawn, \u201cand tell him that I want him, and not to delay, as I\nmust be at dinner in Brandon this evening.\u201d\n\nThe master of the house came out, and, seeing a boy there before him,\nthought it strange that he should speak rudely to a man like himself. \u201cIf\nyou don\u2019t beg my pardon this minute, I\u2019ll take the head off you,\u201d said\nthe man.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Shawn, \u201cI am not here to beg pardon of you nor of any man;\nbut I came to have satisfaction for the trouble you put on my father, and\nI far away from him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is your father?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father is Breogan of Brandon.\u201d\n\nOut the man went; and the two stood on a fine green plain, and began to\nfight with swords, cutting each other\u2019s flesh. They were not long at\nthe swords when Shawn said, \u201cIt is getting late, and I must be at home\nbefore dinner to-day, as I promised; there is no use in delaying.\u201d With\nthat he rose out of his body, and gave the man a blow between the head\nand shoulders that put the head a mile from the body. Shawn caught the\nhead before it touched earth; then, grasping it by the hair, he left the\nbody where it fell, took his hurley in his right hand, threw his ball\nin the air, and drove it far to the south with the hurley; and he drove\nit across Erin in that way, the ball never touching ground from the far\nnorth of Erin to Brandon. Holding the ball and hurley in his hand, he\nwent into the house, and laid the head at his father\u2019s feet.\n\n\u201cNow, my dear father,\u201d said he, \u201chere is the head of your enemy; he\u2019ll\ntrouble you no more from this out.\u201d\n\nWhen Breogan\u2019s wife saw the head, she was cut to the heart and troubled;\nthough she would not let any man know it. One day when the father and son\ncame home from killing ducks, she was groaning, and said she was ready to\ndie.\n\n\u201cIs there any cure for you here or there in the world?\u201d asked Shawn.\n\n\u201cThere is no getting the cure that would heal me; there is no cure but\nthree apples from the white orchard in the White Nation.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the boy, \u201cI promise you not to eat the third meal at the one\ntable, nor sleep the second night in the one bed, till I get three apples\nfrom the White Nation.\u201d\n\nThe father was very angry when they came out of the bed-room. \u201cSure,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cit would be enough for you to risk your life for your own\nmother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I must go now,\u201d said Shawn; \u201cthe promise is given; I\u2019ll not break\nmy word.\u201d So away with him on the following morning; and on that day\u2019s\njourney he came to a glen, and in it a house. In the house there was no\nliving creature but a white mare with nine eyes.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you, Shawn MacBreogan from Brandon. You\nmust be tired and hungry after the day\u2019s journey,\u201d cried the mare. \u201cGo in\nnow to the next room, and take supper, and strengthen yourself.\u201d\n\nHe went to the next room, and inside in it was a table, and on the table\nwas everything that the best king could wish for. He ate, drank, and went\nthen and gave a hundred thousand thanks for the supper. He stood near the\nfire for a while; then the mare said, \u201cCome here, and lie under my head;\nwonder at nothing you see, and let no word out of you.\u201d\n\nHe did as the mare said. About dusk three seals came in, and went to the\nsupper-room. They threw off their sealskins, and became three as fine\nyoung men as one could look at.\n\n\u201cI wish Shawn MacBreogan from Brandon were here to-night. I\u2019d be glad to\nsee him, and give him a present, and have his good company,\u201d said one of\nthe three.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d be glad to see him, too,\u201d said the second; \u201cand I\u2019d give him a\npresent.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo would I,\u201d said the third.\n\n\u201cGo to them now,\u201d said the mare; \u201cenjoy their company. In the morning\nyou\u2019ll ask for the presents.\u201d\n\nHe went out among them.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you, Shawn MacBreogan,\u201d cried the young\nmen; \u201cand \u2019tis glad we are to see you.\u201d\n\nThey drank wine then, sang songs, and told tales, and never slept a wink\nall the night. Before sunrise they went as seals; and when going Shawn\nsaid,\u201cI hope you will not forget the presents you promised last evening.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not,\u201d said the eldest. \u201cHere is a cloak for you. While it is on\nyou, you\u2019ll be the finest man in the world to look at.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere is a ball,\u201d said the second. \u201cIf you throw it in the air, and wish\nfor anything you like, you will have it before the ball comes to the\nground.\u201d\n\nThe third gave a whistle: \u201cWhen you blow this,\u201d said he, \u201cevery enemy\nthat hears it will lie down asleep, and be powerless; and, besides,\nyou\u2019re to have the white mare to ride.\u201d\n\nHe took the gifts.\n\n\u201cGive me a feed of grain before we start,\u201d said the mare. \u201cNo man has sat\non me without being turned into froth and blown away, or else thrown and\nkilled. This will not happen to you; still I must throw you three times:\nbut I\u2019ll take you to a soft place where you\u2019ll not be killed.\u201d\n\nShawn mounted her then, and she tossed him. She threw him very far the\nfirst time. He was badly shocked, but recovered. The second and third\ntimes it was easier. The fourth time he mounted for the journey. It was\nnot long till he came to the seashore. On the third day he was in sight\nof land in the White Nation. The mare ran over the water and swiftly,\nwithout trouble; no bird ever went with such speed.\n\nWhen Shawn came near the castle, he stopped before a house at the edge of\nthe town, and asked a lodging of the owner, an old man.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll give you that,\u201d said the old man, \u201cand welcome, and a place for\nyour horse.\u201d After supper Shawn told his errand.\n\n\u201cI pity you,\u201d said the man. \u201cI am in dread you\u2019ll lose your life; but\nI\u2019ll do what I can for you. No man has ever been able to get one of\nthose apples; and if a stranger is caught making up to them, the king\ntakes his head without mercy or pardon. There is no kind of savage beast\nin the world but is guarding the apples; and there is not a minute in the\nnight or the day when some of the beasts are not watching.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know what virtue is in the apples?\u201d asked Shawn.\n\n\u201cI do well,\u201d said the old man; \u201cand it\u2019s I that would like to have one\nof them. If a man is sick, and eats even one bite of an apple, he\u2019ll be\nwell; if old, he\u2019ll grow young again, and never know grief from that out;\nhe will always be happy and healthy. I\u2019ll give you a pigeon to let loose\nin the orchard; she will go flying from one tree to another till she\ngoes to the last one. All the beasts will follow her; and while they are\nhunting the pigeon, you will take what you can of the apples: but I hope\nyou will not think it too much to give one to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever fear,\u201d said Shawn, \u201cif I get one apple, you\u2019ll have the half of\nit; if two, you\u2019ll have one of them.\u201d\n\nThe old man was glad. Next morning at daybreak Shawn took the pigeon,\nmounted the mare, and away with him then to the orchard. When the pigeon\nflew in, and was going from tree to tree with a flutter, the beasts\nstarted after her. Shawn sprang in on the back of the mare, left her, and\nwent to climb the first tree that he met for the apples; but the king\u2019s\nmen were at him before he could touch a single apple, or go back to the\nmare. They caught him, and took him to the king. The mare sprang over the\nwall, and ran to the house of the old man. Shawn told the king his whole\nstory, said that his father was Breogan of Brandon, and his mother the\nPrincess of Breasil in the Land of the Young.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou are the hero that I am waiting for this long\ntime. A fine part of my kingdom is that island beyond; but \u2019tis taken by\na giant who holds it with an army of hirelings. Clear that island of the\ngiant and his men, bring me his head, and you\u2019ll have the apples.\u201d\n\nShawn went to the old man, then to the mare, and told her.\n\n\u201cYou can do that without trouble,\u201d said she; \u201cyou have the power needed\nto do it.\u201d\n\nShawn took his breakfast, then sat on the mare, and rode toward the\nisland. Just before the mare touched the land, Shawn sounded the whistle;\nand every one who heard it was asleep the next instant. Shawn took his\nsword then, swept the head off the giant, and before evening there\nwasn\u2019t a man alive on the island except Shawn himself. He tied the\ngiant\u2019s head to the saddle-bow, mounted the mare, and was ready to start,\nwhen she spoke to him: \u201cBe careful not to look back toward the island\ntill you come down from my back.\u201d With that she swept on, and soon they\nwere nearing the castle. While crossing the yard, Shawn thought, \u201cI have\nthe island cleared; the head is safe on me; and the apples are mine.\u201d\nWith that he forgot the mare\u2019s words, and turned to look back at the\nisland; but as he did, he fell from the saddle, and where should he fall\nbut down on a dust-heap. A son of the comb woman, a youth who fed dogs\nand small animals, was lying there at the time, and he sickly and full of\nsores. Shawn\u2019s cloak slipped from his shoulders, and fell on this dirty,\nfoul fellow; that moment he sprang up the finest-looking man in the\nkingdom. He fastened the cloak on his shoulders, mounted the white mare,\nand rode to the castle. The king was that glad when he looked at the head\nof the giant that he didn\u2019t know where to put the counterfeit hero who\nbrought it.\n\n\u201cHow did you clear the island?\u201d asked the king; \u201cand was it a hard task\nto take the head off the giant?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then,\u201d said the dog-feeder, \u201cthere was never such a battle in the\nworld as the battle to-day on that island between myself and the giant\nwith his forces; and \u2019tis well I earned what will come to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll get good pay,\u201d said the king; \u201cI promised you apples from my\nwhite orchard; but I\u2019ll give you more, I\u2019ll give you my youngest daughter\nin marriage, and that island for her portion. My daughter will not be of\nage to marry for a year and a day. Till that time is out, you\u2019ll live\nwith me here in the castle.\u201d\n\nBelieve me, the dog-feeder was a great man in his own mind that evening.\n\nThere was one woman in the yard who saw the deception, and that was the\nhenwife. She knew well what the dog-feeder was, and \u2019tis often she said,\n\u201cHe\u2019s the greatest liar on earth, and kind mother for him.\u201d She drew\nShawn into her own house, and he sick and full of sores, just like the\ndog-feeder, not a man in the world would have known him. She nursed and\ntended Shawn. On the sixth day he was able to speak; but he lay in great\nweakness, and covered with sores.\n\n\u201cHow am I to be cured?\u201d asked he of the henwife.\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d answered she; \u201cI spoke to a wise woman to-day, and got the\nright cure for you.\u201d With that the henwife went down to a spring that\nbelonged to the king\u2019s youngest daughter, and pulled up nine rushes\ngrowing near it. Three of these she threw away, and kept six of them. She\ncut the white from the green parts, crushed them in water, gave Shawn\nsome of the water to drink, and rubbed the rest on his body. A week was\nnot gone, when he was as sound and well as ever.\n\nShawn heard now the whole story of the dog-feeder\u2019s lies and prosperity.\nHe took service himself in the castle; and a few days after that the king\ngave a hunt, and invited all the guests in the castle to go with him.\nShawn had to go as a basket-boy, and carry provisions like any servant.\nToward evening, when the company were on a wild moor twenty miles from\nthe castle, a thick mist fell, and all were afraid that their lives would\nbe gone from them.\n\n\u201cI can take you to a castle,\u201d said Shawn.\n\n\u201cTake us,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cI will if you will give me your daughter to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is promised to another,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cI have the best right to her,\u201d said Shawn. \u201cIt was I cleared the island.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe you,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll be lost, every man of us,\u201d said the chief hunter; \u201cgive him the\npromise, he may be dead before the day of the wedding.\u201d\n\nThe king gave his promise. The basket-boy stepped behind a great rock,\nthrew up the ball, and wished for the finest castle on earth. Before the\nball touched the ground the king, the guests, and attendants were in a\ncastle far finer than any they had looked on in daylight or seen in a\ndream. The best food and drink of all kinds were in it, shining chambers\nand beds of silk and gold. When all had eaten and drunk their fill, they\nfell asleep to sweet music, and slept soundly till morning. At daybreak\neach man woke up, and found himself lying on the wild moor, a tuft of\nrushes under his head, and the gray sky above him. Glad to see light,\nthey rose and went home.\n\nNow the henwife told the king\u2019s daughter the story of Shawn, who had\ncleared out the island, and the comb-woman\u2019s son, the deceiver. When the\nyear was ended, and the day came for the marriage, the king\u2019s daughter\nsaid she would marry no man but the man who would ride the white mare\nwith nine eyes (the mare could either kill or make froth of a man). The\ncomb-woman\u2019s son was the first man to mount; but the cloak fell from him,\nand he vanished in froth blown away by the wind, and no one saw sight of\nhim from that day to this. Sixteen king\u2019s sons tried to ride the white\nmare, and were killed every man of them; but their bodies were found.\nShawn, who had taken the cloak, sat on the mare, and rode three times\npast the castle. At the door the mare knelt for him to come down.\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter would have jumped through her window, and killed\nherself, if her maids had not held her. She rushed down the stairs,\nkissed Shawn, and embraced him. The wedding began then. It lasted for a\nday and a year, and the last was the best day of all.\n\nWhen the wedding was over, Shawn remembered the mare, and went to the\nstable. She had not been fed, and a white skin was all that was left of\nher. When Shawn came to the mare\u2019s place, three young men and two women\nwere playing chess in it.\n\n\u201cOh, I forgot the mare from the first day of the wedding till this\nmoment,\u201d said Shawn; and he began to cry.\n\n\u201cWhy are you crying?\u201d asked the elder of the two women.\n\nHe told the reason.\n\n\u201cYou needn\u2019t cry,\u201d said the woman; \u201cI can revive her.\u201d With that she took\nthe skin, put it on herself; and that minute she was the white mare.\n\u201cWould you rather see me a white mare as I am now, or the woman that I\nwas a minute ago?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe woman,\u201d said Shawn.\n\nShe took off the skin, and was a woman again. She told him then how the\nking, her father, made three seals of her brothers and a white mare of\nherself, to be in those forms till a hero should come who could clear\nout the island. \u201cYou cleared the island,\u201d said she; \u201cand we are all free\nagain.\u201d\n\nThe king gave the island to his son-in-law, and as many apples from the\norchard as he wished. The first thing that Shawn did was to take an apple\nto the old man who gave him lodgings when he came to the White Nation.\nAt the first bite he swallowed, the old man was twenty-one years of age,\nyoung and hearty, and so happy that it would do any man good to have one\nlook at him.\n\nShawn and his young wife lived another day and a year with her father,\nand then they went to visit his father in Brandon. From pretending to be\nsick, Breogan\u2019s wife became sick in earnest, and died. Breogan himself\nwas now old and dissatisfied.\n\n\u201cThe least I can do,\u201d thought Shawn, \u201cis to give him an apple.\u201d He gave\nhim the apple. Breogan ate it, was twenty-one years of age; and if ever a\nman was glad in Erin, \u2019twas he was.\n\nShawn left the father young and happy at Brandon, and went back himself\nwith his wife to the island.\n\n\n\n\nTHE COTTER\u2019S SON AND THE HALF SLIM CHAMPION.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a poor cotter in Erin, and he had three sons.\nWhether it was well or ill that he reared them, he reared them, and then\ndied. When their father was dead and buried, the three sons lived with\ntheir mother for a day and a year; and at the end of that time the eldest\nbrother said, \u201cI will go to seek my fortune in the world.\u201d\n\nHe took his mother\u2019s blessing with him, and went away on the following\nmorning.\n\nThe two sons and the mother lived on together for another day and a year,\nwhen the second son said, \u201cI will go out to seek my fortune.\u201d\n\nHe went away like the first brother.\n\nThe mother and the youngest son lived on together for a day and a year,\nand then the mother died. When she was buried, the youngest of the\nthree brothers, whose name was Arthur, went out in the world to seek\nhis fortune. He travelled, and was walking always for a day and a year\nwithout finding a master, till on the afternoon of the last day of the\nyear he took service with a hill.\n\nOn the last day of Arthur\u2019s service with the hill, the Half Slim Champion\ncame in the afternoon, and asked would he play a game of cards.\n\n\u201cIf you win,\u201d said the champion, \u201cyou will have a castle with lands and\ncattle of all kinds; if you lose, you will do me a service.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will play,\u201d answered Arthur.\n\nWith that they sat down to play; and Arthur won. Now, Arthur had lands\nand a castle, cattle of all kinds, and wealth in abundance.\n\nThe Half Slim Champion went his way; and Arthur lived for a day and a\nyear on his lands. On the last day of the year, the champion came in the\nafternoon, and with him was the most beautiful lady that man could set\neyes on. \u201cWill you play a second game?\u201d asked the champion. \u201cIf you lose,\nyou will do me a service; if you win, I give you this lady as wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will play with you,\u201d said Arthur.\n\nThey played, and Arthur won.\n\nArthur lived with his wife in the castle for a day and a year; and on the\nlast afternoon, the champion came the way leading a hound.\n\nThey played the third time, and Arthur won the hound. The champion went\nhis way; and again Arthur lived for a day and a year with his wife in\nthe castle in ease, in plenty, and in great delight.\n\nOn the afternoon of the last day, the champion came the fourth time.\nArthur\u2019s wife saw him at a distance, and said to her husband, \u201cMy advice\nis to play no more with that champion. Remain as you are, and keep out of\nharm\u2019s way.\u201d\n\nBut Arthur would not listen to the wife, nor be said by her. He went out\nto play with the champion, and lost.\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds,\u201d said the champion, \u201cnot to sleep two nights in\nthe same bed, nor eat two meals off the same table; but to be walking\nthrough the world, and searching always till you find the birth that has\nnever been born, and that never will be.\u201d\n\nThe champion turned, walked away, and disappeared. Arthur went home in\ngrief; and when he sat down the chair that was under him broke into\npieces.\n\n\u201cI told you,\u201d said the wife, \u201cnot to play with him. What has he put on\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be walking and searching, ever and always, through the world till I\nfind the birth that has never been born, and never will be.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake the hound with you,\u201d said the wife, \u201cand go first to the castle of\nthe son of the King of Lochlin. Take service with him; you may learn\nsomething there.\u201d\n\nAway went Arthur next morning, and the hound with him. They were long on\nthe road, lodging one time at a house, and another time where the night\nfound them, till at last a great castle was in sight. When the hound saw\nthe castle, he grew so wild with delight that he broke his chain, and\nrushed away. But if he did, Arthur followed; and when the hound sprang\ninto the castle, Arthur was at his side.\n\n\u201cIt was lucky for you,\u201d cried the son of the King of Lochlin, \u201cto come in\nwith the hound. Without that you\u2019d have been done for. Who are you, and\nwhere are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a man in search of a master.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking a man,\u201d said the king\u2019s son. \u201cWill you take service with\nme?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d answered Arthur.\n\nHe hired for a day and a year, and wages according to service.\n\nArthur went to work on the following morning, and his first task was to\nbring fagots from the forest. When he went to the forest, he found half\nof it green, and the other half dry. Nothing was growing in the dry part;\nall was withered and dead. Arthur collected dry fagots, and brought them\nto the castle. In the evening he spoke to the king\u2019s son, and this is\nwhat he asked of him, \u201cWhy is half of your forest green, and the other\nhalf withered and dry?\u201d\n\n\u201cA day and seven years ago,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201ca terrible serpent\ncame the way, and took half of my forest for herself. In that part she is\nliving till this time,\u2014that is the green part. She knocked the life out\nof my half,\u2014that is the dry part.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you not take wood from the green part?\u201d asked Arthur.\n\n\u201cNeither you nor all who ever came before you could do that,\u201d said the\nson of the king. Next morning Arthur went out for fagots the second time.\nHe stopped before the largest green tree to be found in the forest, and\nwas cutting away at it. The moment the serpent saw this, she came out,\nand called, \u201cWhy are you cutting my timber?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am cutting it because I am sorry to see you as you are,\u201d said Arthur,\n\u201cwithout a roof over you or a shelter of any kind. I wish to build a\nhouse to protect you.\u201d\n\nWhen the serpent heard this, she was glad and thankful to Arthur. When\nhe had two wedges in the tree, and it partly cut, he said, \u201cIf yourself\nwould only come over now, and put your tail in the cut and help me, we\ncould throw down this tree.\u201d\n\nShe went to him then, and put her tail in the cut. Arthur knocked out the\nwedges, and left her tail in the tree. She begged and cried, screaming,\n\u201cThe tree is killing me; the tree is killing me! Let me free! Let me out\nof this!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t to let you out that I put you in,\u201d replied Arthur.\n\nWhat he did then was to jump behind her, and vex her until he got her in\nthe way that, out of rage and great strength, she tore up the tree with\nits roots, and seven acres and seven ridges of land with it. Arthur was\nvexing the serpent until she rushed into the dry part of the forest, and\nwas fastened among the trees; then he cut down dry trees, and piled them\non the serpent and on the green tree till they were the size of a hill.\nIn the evening he drove her to the castle before him, with all the hill\nof dry wood on her. When a maid was going from the castle for water, and\nsaw this, she ran in with the story that Arthur was coming home with the\nserpent, and all the dry wood of the forest above on her back.\n\nWhen the people inside heard this, they were in dread that she\u2019d kill\nthem all, and they rushed out to run away. There was one girl in the\ncastle who heard the tidings too late, or was slow in preparing, for when\nshe was ready, the serpent was at the door.\n\n\u201cWhere are the people of the castle?\u201d asked Arthur.\n\n\u201cAll made away, and took their lives with them,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cRun now and call them back,\u201d said Arthur.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m in dread to go out. I will not go unless you take the head off the\nserpent.\u201d\n\nArthur swept the head off the serpent. The girl ran after the people, and\nbrought them back. Arthur piled all the wood near the castle. The king\u2019s\nson was delighted to have so much fuel, and was so glad that he took\nArthur to his bed to sleep that night with him.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a wonder,\u201d said Arthur, \u201csuch a good king\u2019s son as you to be\nwithout a wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had a wife,\u201d said the king\u2019s son; \u201cbut the giant with five heads, five\nnecks, and five lumps on his heads, came and took her to the Eastern\nWorld.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not take her from him?\u201d\n\n\u201cNeither I, nor you, nor all that ever came before us could do that.\u201d\n\nOn the following morning Arthur rose, washed his face, rubbed his eyes,\nand said to the king\u2019s son, \u201cI am going to the Eastern World to bring\nback your wife.\u201d Away he went; but the king\u2019s son would not believe that\nany man living could bring back the wife.\n\nWhen Arthur came to the castle of the giant in the Eastern World, the\ngiant himself was not in it, only the wife of the King of Lochlin\u2019s son,\nwho said, \u201cThere is no use in your delaying in this place; you\u2019ll be\nkilled, if you stay till the giant comes home.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll never leave this castle till I see the giant; and when I go home\nyou\u2019ll go with me.\u201d\n\nIt wasn\u2019t long till Arthur heard the great voice of the giant. As he came\ntoward the castle the bottom of the forest was rising to the top, and the\ntop of the forest was going to the bottom. In front of the giant went a\nshaggy goat, and another behind him. In his hand was a club with a yellow\nflea on the end of it; on one shoulder he carried a dead hag, and on the\nother a great hog of a wild boar.\n\n\u201cFu fa my beard!\u201d cried the giant. \u201cI catch the smell of a lying rogue\nfrom Erin, too big for one bite and too small for two. I don\u2019t know\nwhether to blow him away through the air, or put him under my feet.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou filthy giant, \u2019tis not to give satisfaction to you, or the like of\nyou, that I came, but to knock satisfaction out of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want only time till morning to give you what you came for,\u201d said the\ngiant.\n\nIt was daybreak when Arthur was up and struck the pole of combat. There\nwasn\u2019t a calf, kid, lamb, foal, or child awaiting birth that didn\u2019t turn\nfive times to the right and five times to the left from the strength of\nthe blow.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the answering man.\n\n\u201cSeven hundred against me, and then seven hundred to every hundred of\nthese, till I find the man who can put me down.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou fool of the world, it would be better for you to hide under a leaf\nthan to stand before the giant.\u201d\n\nThe giant came out to Arthur; and the two went at each other like two\nlions of the desert or two bulls of great growth, and fought with rage.\nThey made the softest places hardest, and the hardest places softest;\nthey brought spring wells up through dry slate rocks, and great tufts of\ngreen rushes through their own shoe-strings. The wounds that they made on\neach other were so great that little birds flew through them, and men of\nsmall growth could crawl through on their hands and knees.\n\nIt was dark and the end of the day, when Arthur cried out, \u201cIt is a bad\nthing for me, filthy giant, to have a fine day spent on you!\u201d\n\nWith that he gave him one blow on the five necks, and sent the five\nheads flying through the air. After a while the heads were coming down,\ncroning (singing the coronach), Arthur caught them, and struck the\ngiant\u2019s breast with them; the body and heads fell dead on the ground. The\nwife of the son of the King of Lochlin ran out now, smothered Arthur with\nkisses, washed him with tears, and dried him with a cloak of fine silk;\nshe put her hand under his arm, and they went to the castle of the giant.\nThe two had good entertainment, plenty to eat, and no bit dry. They made\nthree parts of that night,\u2014one part for conversation, one for tales, and\none for soft sleep.\n\nWhen they rose in the morning, the woman said, \u201cIt is a poor thing for us\nto go and leave here behind all the gold the giant had.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us not be in so great a hurry; we\u2019ll find a cure for that,\u201d said\nArthur.\n\nThey went out, found three ships belonging to the giant, and filled them\nwith gold. When the three ships were laden, Arthur took hawsers and\nlashed the first ship to the second, the second to the third, raised the\nanchors, and sailed away. When he was in sight of Lochlin, a messenger\nwas walking toward the water, and saw the ships coming. He ran to the\ncastle, and cried to the king\u2019s son, \u201cThe servant-boy is coming, and\nbringing your wife with him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I will never believe,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201ctill she puts her hand\nin my hand.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son had kept his head by the fire, without rising from the\nhearth, all the time that Arthur was away. When the wife came in, and\nput her hand on his hand, he rose up, and shook seven tons of ashes from\nhimself, with seven barrels of rust.\n\nThere was great gladness in the castle; and the king\u2019s son was ready to\ndo anything for Arthur, he was so thankful to him. Arthur\u2019s time was out\non the following day. The king\u2019s son spoke to him, and asked, \u201cWhat am I\nto give you now for the service? What wages do you expect?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo more than is just. I hope that you will find out for me who is the\nbirth that has never been born, and that never will be.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is no great thing for me to discover,\u201d said the king\u2019s son.\n\nThere was a hollow place in the wall of the castle near the fireplace,\nand in that hollow the king\u2019s son kept his own father, and gave him food.\nHe opened a secret door, and brought out the old king.\n\n\u201cNow tell me, father,\u201d said he, \u201cwho is it that has never been born, and\nnever will be?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a thing of which no tidings have been given, or ever will be,\u201d\nreplied the king.\n\nWhen the father wasn\u2019t giving him the answer he wanted, the son put the\nold king, standing, on a red-hot iron griddle.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s fried and roasted you\u2019ll be till you answer my question, and tell\nwho is the birth that has never been born, and that never will be,\u201d said\nthe son.\n\nThe old king stood on the griddle till the marrow was melting in the\nbones of his feet. They took him off then; and the son asked him a second\ntime.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a question not to be answered by me,\u201d said the king.\n\nHe was put, standing, again on the red-hot griddle, and kept on it, till\nthe marrow was melting in the bones to his knees.\n\n\u201cRelease me out of this now,\u201d cried the king; \u201cand I will tell where that\nbirth is.\u201d\n\nThey took him from the griddle. He sat down then, and told this story to\nhis son, in presence of Arthur:\u2014\n\n\u201cI was walking out beyond there in the garden one day, when I came on a\nbeautiful rod, which I cut and took with me. I discovered soon after that\nthat was a rod of enchantment, and never let it go from me. When I went\nwalking or riding in the day, I took the rod with me. In the night, I\nslept with it under my pillow. Misfortune came on me at last; for I left\nthe rod in my chamber one time that I started away to go fowling. After\nI had gone a good piece of road, I remembered the rod, and hurried home\nthen to get it.\n\n\u201cWhen I came to the castle I found a dark tall man inside in my chamber\nwith the queen. They saw me, and I turned from the door to let them slip\nout, and think that I had not seen them. I went to the door not long\nafter, and opened it. Your mother was standing inside, not two feet from\nthe threshold. She struck me right there with the rod, and made a wild\ndeer of me.\n\n\u201cWhen she had me a deer, she let out a great pack of hounds; for every\nhand\u2019s breadth of my body there was a savage dog to tear me, and hunt me\nto death. The hounds chased me, and followed till I ran to the far away\nmountains. There I escaped. So great was my swiftness and strength that I\nbrought my life with me.\n\n\u201cAfter that I went back to injure the queen; and I did every harm in my\npower to her grain, and her crops, and her gardens.\n\n\u201cOne day she sprang up from behind a stone wall, when I thought no one\nnear, struck me with the rod, and made a wolf of me. She called a hunt\nthen. Hounds and men chased me fiercely till evening. At nightfall I\nescaped to an island in a lake where no man was living. Next day I went\naround each perch of that island. I searched every place, and found only\na she-wolf.\n\n\u201cBut the wolf was a woman enchanted years before,\u2014enchanted when she was\nwithin one week of her time to give birth to a hero. There she was; but\nthe hero could not be born unless she received her own form again.\n\n\u201cThere was little to eat on the island for the she-wolf, and still less\nafter I came. What I suffered from hunger in that place no man can know;\nfor I had a wolf\u2019s craving, and only scant food to stop it. One day above\nanother, I was lying half asleep, half famished, and dreaming. I thought\nthat a kid was there near me. I snapped at it, and awoke. I had torn open\nthe side of the she-wolf. Before me was an infant, which grew to the size\nof a man in one moment. That man is the birth that has never been born,\nand never will be; that man is the Half Slim Champion.\n\n\u201cWhen I snapped at the she-wolf, I bit her so deeply that I took a piece\nfrom behind the ear of the child, and killed the mother. When you go back\nto the Half Slim Champion, and he asks who is the man that has never been\nborn, and never will be, you will say: Try behind your own ear, you will\nfind the mark on him.\n\n\u201cThe infant, grown to a man before my eyes, attacked me, to kill me. I\nran, and he followed. He hunted me through every part of that island. At\nlast I had no escape but to swim to the country-side opposite. I sprang\nto the water, though I had not the strength of the time when I went from\nthe hunters; but on the way were two rocks. On these I drew breath, and\nthen came to land. I could not have swum five perches farther.\n\n\u201cI lived after that in close hiding, and met with no danger till I was\ngoing through a small lane one evening, and, looking behind, saw the hero\nwhose mother I killed on the island. I started; he rushed along after me.\nI came to a turn, and was thinking to go over the wall, and escape by\nthe fields, when I met my false queen. She struck me with the rod in her\nfright, and I got back my own form again. I snatched the rod quickly, and\nstruck her. \u2018You\u2019ll be a wolf now,\u2019 said I; \u2018you\u2019ll have your own share\nof misfortune.\u2019 With that she sprang over the wall, a gray wolf, and ran\noff through the pastures.\n\n\u201cThe dark tall man was a little behind and saw everything. He turned to\nescape; but I struck him with the rod, and made a sheep of the traitor,\nin hopes that the gray wolf might eat him. The hero saw all, saw the wolf\nthat I was, turned into a man. I entered the castle; he followed me. I\ntook you at once with me, showed you this hollow place near the chimney,\nand hid in it. The hero searched every foot of the castle, but found no\ntrace of me. He had no knowledge of who I was; and when you denied that\nI was here, he waited one day, a second day, and then went away, taking\nyour sister and the best hound at the castle.\n\n\u201cThat hero of the island, whose mother I killed, is the Half Slim\nChampion. There is nothing he wishes so much as my death; and when he\nhears who it was that has never been born, and never will be, he will\nknow that I am alive yet, and he\u2019ll kill half the people in Lochlin,\nunless he kills me first of all, or this champion kills him.\u201d\n\nWhen Arthur heard this story, he went away quickly from the castle of\nthe King of Lochlin, and never stopped till he came to the hill where he\nplayed cards the first time. The Half Slim Champion was before him there,\nstanding.\n\n\u201cHave you found the answer, and can you tell who has never been born, and\nnever will be?\u201d\n\n\u201cTry behind your own ear, and you\u2019ll find the mark on him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said the champion, \u201cand the man who killed my mother is\nalive yet; but if he is, he will not be so long, and you\u2019ll not leave\nthis till you and I have a trial.\u201d\n\nThe two went at each other then; and it was early enough in the day when\nArthur had the head off the champion. He put a gad through his ears, took\nthe head on his shoulder, hurried back to the King of Lochlin, and threw\nit on the floor, saying, \u201cHere is the head of the Half Slim Champion.\u201d\n\nWhen the old king heard these words in his place of concealment, he burst\nout the wall, and went through the end of the castle, so great was his\njoy. As soon as he was in the open air, free from confinement and dread,\nhe became the best man in Lochlin.\n\nThey made three parts of that night, which they passed in great\nenjoyment, and discovered that Arthur\u2019s wife was the sister of the son\nof the King of Lochlin, the lady who was carried away by the Half Slim\nChampion, and lost in a game of cards.\n\nWhen the old king got the head of the Half Slim Champion, he gave the\nthree ships full of gold to Arthur, and would have given six ships, if he\nhad had them, he was so glad to be free. Arthur took farewell of the old\nking and his son, and sailed away with his three ships full of gold to\nErin, where his wife was.\n\n\n\n\nBLAIMAN, SON OF APPLE, IN THE KINGDOM OF THE WHITE STRAND.\n\n\nThere was a king in Erin long ago who had two sons and one daughter. On a\nday of days, the daughter walked into her father\u2019s garden, in which she\nsaw an apple-tree with only one apple on it; she took the apple, and ate\nit.\n\nThere was an old druid in the castle, who saw the king\u2019s daughter going\nout, and met her coming in.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cyou had the look of a maiden when you were going out,\nand you have the look of a married woman coming in.\u201d\n\nThose who were near heard the saying of the druid, and it was going the\nrounds till it came to the king. The king went at once to the druid, and\nasked, \u201cWhat is this that you say about my daughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cI say nothing,\u201d answered the druid.\n\n\u201cYou must tell me your words,\u201d said the king, \u201cand prove them, or lose\nyour head.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, as you are going that far you must give me time, and if a few months\ndo not prove my words true, you may cut the head off me.\u201d\n\nThe princess was then taken to the top of the king\u2019s castle, where no one\ncould see her but her maid. There she remained till she gave birth to a\nson with a golden spot on his poll, and a silver spot on his forehead.\nHe was so beautiful that if sunshine and breeze ever rested on a child,\nthey would rest on him; and what of him did not grow in the day grew at\nnight. He grew so quickly that soon he was as large as the king\u2019s sons,\nhis uncles, and rose out to be a great champion.\n\nOne day when the two sons of the king were hunting, there was snow on\nthe ground, and they killed a hare. Some of the hare\u2019s blood fell on the\nsnow, and they said that that was a beautiful meeting of colors. They\nwere wondering could any woman be found with such colors on her face,\nwhite shining through the red. When they came home in the evening, they\nasked the old druid could a woman of that sort be found. He answered that\nif she could itself, little good would it do them; they could find wives\ngood enough for them near home. They said that that was no matter, but to\ntell them where was the woman they had asked for.\n\n\u201cThat woman,\u201d said the druid, \u201cis the daughter of the King of the\nkingdom of the White Strand. Hundreds of champions have lost their heads\nfor her; and if you go, you will lose your heads too.\u201d\n\nThe elder son said, \u201cWe do not mind that; we will go.\u201d\n\nThe brothers had no vessel to take them to the kingdom of the White\nStrand; and the elder said he would build one. He took tools one morning,\nand started for the seashore. When just outside the castle, he heard a\nvoice, asking, \u201cWhere are you going, king\u2019s son?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to make a turkey-pen,\u201d answered the young man. \u201cMay you\nprosper in justice and truth,\u201d said the voice.\n\nThe king\u2019s son began to build the ship that day; and in the evening what\nhad he built but a turkey-pen? When he came home, they asked what had he\nmade.\n\n\u201cNothing; I made only a turkey-pen.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the second son, \u201cyou are a fool. I knew that you could do\nnothing good.\u201d\n\nOn the following morning, the second son started for the seashore; and\nthe voice spoke to him, and asked, \u201cWhere are you going, king\u2019s son?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo build a pig-sty,\u201d answered he. \u201cMay you prosper in justice and\ntruth,\u201d said the voice.\n\nHe worked all day; and in the evening it was a pig-sty that he had. He\ncame home; and now the brothers were doleful because they had not a ship\nin which to sail to the princess.\n\nThe following morning, the king\u2019s grandson said, \u201cGive me the tools, to\nsee can I myself do anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do, you fool?\u201d asked the uncles.\n\n\u201cThat matters not,\u201d replied he. He left the castle; and at the place\nwhere the voice spoke to his uncles, it spoke to him also, and asked,\n\u201cWhat are you going to do, Blaiman, son of Apple?\u201d (He did not know his\norigin till then.)\n\n\u201cI am going to build a ship,\u201d said Blaiman.\n\n\u201cThat it may thrive with you in justice and truth,\u201d said the voice.\n\nHe went off to the edge of a wood that was growing at the seashore, gave\none blow to a tree, and it went to its own proper place in the vessel. In\nthe evening Blaiman had the nicest ship that ever moved on the deep sea.\nWhen finished, the ship was at the edge of the shore; he gave it one blow\nof a sledge, and sent it out to deep water. Blaiman went home full of\ngladness.\n\n\u201cWhat have you made?\u201d asked the uncles.\n\n\u201cGo out and see for yourselves,\u201d answered Blaiman.\n\nThe two went, and saw the ship in the harbor. They were delighted to see\nthe fine vessel, as they themselves could not build it. The voice had\nbuilt it with Blaiman in return for his truth.\n\nNext morning provisions for a day and a year were placed in the vessel.\nThe two sons of the king went on board, raised the sails, and were moving\nout toward the great ocean. Blaiman saw the ship leaving, and began to\ncry; he was sorry that, after building the ship, it was not he who had\nthe first trial of his own work. When his mother heard him, she grew\nsorry too, and asked what trouble was on him; and he told her that after\nhe had built the ship, he wanted to have the first trial of it.\n\n\u201cYou are foolish,\u201d said she. \u201cYou are only a boy yet; your bones are not\nhard. You must not think of going to strange countries.\u201d\n\nHe answered, that nothing would do him but to go. The old king, the\ngrandfather, wanted Blaiman to stay; but he would not.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cwhat I have not done for another I will do now\nfor you. I will give you my sword; and you will never be put back by any\nman while you keep that blade.\u201d\n\nBlaiman left the house then; the vessel was outside the harbor already.\nHe ran to the mouth of the harbor, and, placing the point of his sword\non the brink of the shore, gave one leap out on board. The two uncles\nwere amazed when they saw what their nephew had done, and were full of\njoy at having him with them. They turned the ship\u2019s prow to the sea,\nand the stern to land. They raised to the tops of the hard, tough,\nstained masts the great sweeping sails, and took their capacious,\nsmoothly-polished vessel past harbors with gently sloping shores, and\nthere the ship left behind it pale-green wavelets. Then, with a mighty\nwind, they went through great flashing, stern-dashing waves with such\nforce that not a nail in the ship was unheated, or a finger on a man\ninactive; and so did the ship hurry forward that its stern rubbed its\nprow, and it raised before it, by dint of sailing, a proud, haughty ridge\nthrough the middle of the fair, red sea.\n\nWhen the wind failed, they sat down with the oars of fragrant beech\nor white ash, and with every stroke they sent the ship forward three\nleagues on the sea, where fishes, seals, and monsters rose around them,\nmaking music and sport, and giving courage to the men; and the three\nnever stopped nor cooled until they sailed into the kingdom of the\nWhite Strand. Then they drew their vessel to a place where no wave was\nstriking, nor wind rocking it, nor the sun splitting it, nor even a crow\nof the air dropping upon it; but a clean strand before it, and coarse\nsand on which wavelets were breaking. They cast two anchors toward the\nsea, and one toward land, and gave the vessel the fixing of a day and a\nfull year, though they might not be absent more than one hour.\n\nOn the following day they saw one wide forest as far as the eye could\nreach; they knew not what manner of land was it.\n\n\u201cWould you go and inquire,\u201d said Blaiman to the elder uncle, \u201cwhat sort\nof a country that is inside?\u201d The uncle went in, very slowly, among the\ntrees, and at last, seeing flashes of light through the forest, rushed\nback in terror, the eyes starting out of his head.\n\n\u201cWhat news have you?\u201d asked Blaiman.\n\n\u201cI saw flashes of fire, and could not go farther,\u201d said the elder king\u2019s\nson.\n\n\u201cGo you,\u201d said Blaiman to the other, \u201cand bring some account of the\ncountry.\u201d\n\nHe did not go much farther than the elder brother, then came back, and\nsaid, \u201cWe may as well sail home again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cye have provisions for a day and a year in this\nvessel. I will go now, and do ye remain here; if I am not back before\nthe end of the day and the year, wait no longer.\u201d He gave them good by,\nthen went on, and entered the forest. It was not long till he met with\nthe flashes. He did not mind them, but went forward; and when he had gone\na good distance, he found the trees farther apart and scattered. Leaving\nthe trees, he came out on a broad, open plain; in the middle of the plain\nwas a castle; in front of the castle twelve champions practising at feats\nof arms; and it was the flashes from the blows of their swords that he\nand his uncles had seen in the forest. So skilled were the champions that\nnot one of them could draw a drop of blood from another.\n\nBlaiman was making toward them. By the side of the path there was a\nsmall hut, and as he was passing the door, an old woman came out, and\nhailed him. He turned, and she said, \u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you,\nBlaiman, son of Apple, from Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, good woman,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cyou have the advantage. You know me;\nbut I have no knowledge of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know you well,\u201d said she; \u201cand it\u2019s sorry I am that you are here. Do\nyou see those twelve men out there opposite? You are going to make for\nthem now; but rest on your legs, and let the beginning of another day\ncome to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour advice may be good,\u201d said Blaiman, and he went in. The old woman\nprepared his supper as well as it was ever prepared at his grandfather\u2019s\nhouse at home, and prepared a bed for him as good as ever he had. He\nslept enough, and he wanted it. When day overtook him on the morrow, he\nrose, and washed his face and hands, and asked mercy and help from God,\nand if he did not he let it alone; and the old woman prepared breakfast\nin the best way she could, and it was not the wrong way. He went off then\nin good courage to the castle of the king; and there was a pole of combat\nin front of the castle which a man wanting combat would strike with his\nsword. He struck the pole a blow that was heard throughout the whole\nkingdom.\n\n\u201cGood, good!\u201d said the king; \u201cthe like of that blow was not struck while\nI am in this castle.\u201d\n\nHe put his head through a window above, and saw Blaiman outside.\n\nAround the rear of the castle was a high wall set with iron spikes.\nFew were the spikes without heads on them; some heads were fresh, some\nwith part of the flesh on them, and some were only bare skulls. It was\na dreadful sight to see; and strong was the man that it would not put\nfright on.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the king of Blaiman.\n\n\u201cYour daughter to marry, or combat.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis combat you will get,\u201d said the king; and the twelve champions of\nvalor were let out at him together. It was pitiful to see him; each one\nof the twelve aiming a blow at him, he trying to defend himself, and he\nall wounded and hacked by them. When the day was growing late, he began\nto be angry; the noble blood swelled in his breast to be uppermost; and\nhe rose, with the activity of his limbs, out of the joints of his bones\nover them, and with three sweeping blows took the twelve heads off the\nchampions. He left the place then, deeply wounded, and went back to the\nold woman\u2019s cabin; and if he did, it was a pleasure for the old woman to\nsee him. She put him into a caldron of venom, and then into a caldron of\ncure. When he came out, he was perfectly healed; and the old woman said,\u2014\n\n\u201cVictory and prosperity to you, my boy. I think you will do something\ngood; for the twelve were the strongest and ablest of all the king\u2019s\nforces. You have done more than any man that ever walked this way before.\u201d\n\nThey made three parts of the night: the first part, they spent in eating\nand drinking; the second, in telling tales and singing ballads; the\nthird, in rest and sound sleep.\n\nHe had a good sleep, and he needed it. Being anxious, he rose early; and\nas early as he rose, breakfast was ready before him, prepared by the old\nwoman. He ate his breakfast, went to the king\u2019s castle, and struck the\npole.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d asked the king, thrusting his head through the window.\n\n\u201cSeven hundred men at my right hand, seven hundred at my left, seven\nhundred behind me, and as many as on the three sides out before me.\u201d\n\nThey were sent to him four deep through four gates. He went through\nthem as a hawk through a flock of small birds on a March day, or as a\nblackbird or a small boy from Iraghti Conor between two thickets. He made\nlanes and roads through them, and slew them all. He made then a heap\nof their heads, a heap of their bodies, and a heap of their weapons.\nTrembling fear came on the king, and Blaiman went to the old woman\u2019s\ncabin.\n\n\u201cVictory and prosperity to you, my boy; you have all his forces stretched\nnow, unless he comes out against you himself; and I\u2019m full sure that he\nwill not. He\u2019ll give you the daughter.\u201d\n\nShe had a good dinner before him. He had fought so well that there\nwas neither spot nor scar on his skin; for he had not let a man of the\nforty-two hundred come within sword\u2019s length of his body. He passed the\nnight as the previous night.\n\nNext morning after breakfast, he went to the castle, and with one blow\nmade wood lice of the king\u2019s pole of combat. The king went down to\nBlaiman, took him under the arm, and, leading him up to the high chamber\nwhere the daughter was, put her hand in his.\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter kissed Blaiman, and embraced him, and gave him a ring\nwith her name and surname written inside on it. This was their marriage.\n\nNext day Blaiman, thinking that his uncles had waited long enough, and\nmight go back to Erin, said to the king, \u201cI will visit my uncles, and\nthen return hither.\u201d\n\nHis wife, an only child, was heir to the kingdom, and he was to reign\nwith her.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, \u201csomething else is troubling me now. There are three\ngiants, neighbors of mine, and they are great robbers. All my forces are\nkilled; and before one day passes the giants will be at me, and throw me\nout of the kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cI will not leave you till I settle the giants;\nbut now tell where they are to be found.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the king; and he gave him all needful instruction. Blaiman\nwent first to the house of the youngest giant, where he struck the pole\nof combat, and the sound was heard over all that giant\u2019s kingdom.\n\n\u201cGood, good!\u201d said the giant; \u201cthe like of that blow has never been\nstruck on that pole of combat before,\u201d and out he came.\n\n\u201cA nerve burning of the heart to you, you miserable wretch!\u201d said the\ngiant to Blaiman; \u201cand great was your impudence to come to my castle at\nall.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not caring to give you pleasure that I am,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cbut to\nknock a tormenting satisfaction out of your ribs.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it hard, thorny wrestling that you want, or fighting with sharp gray\nswords in the lower and upper ribs?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cI will fight with sharp gray swords,\u201d said Blaiman.\n\nThe giant went in, and fitted on his wide, roomy vest, his strong,\nunbreakable helmet, his cross-worked coat-of-mail; then he took his\nbossy, pale-red shield and his spear. Every hair on his head and in his\nbeard was so stiffly erect from anger and rage that a small apple or a\nsloe, an iron apple or a smith\u2019s anvil, might stand on each hair of them.\n\nBlaiman fitted on his smooth, flowery stockings, and his two dry warm\nboots of the hide of a small cow, that was the first calf of another cow\nthat never lay on any one of her sides. He fitted on his single-threaded\nsilken girdle which three craftsmen had made, underneath his\nbroad-pointed, sharp sword that would not leave a remnant uncut, or, if\nit did, what it left at the first blow it took at the second. This sword\nwas to be unsheathed with the right hand, and sheathed with the left. He\ngave the first blood of battle as a terrible oath that he himself was,\nthe choice champion of the Fenians, the feather of greatness, the slayer\nof a champion of bravery; a man to compel justice and right, but not give\neither justice or right; a man who had earned what he owned in the gap\nof every danger, in the path of every hardship, who was sure to get what\nbelonged to him, or to know who detained it.\n\nThey rushed at each then like two bulls of the wilderness, or two wild\nechoes of the cliff; they made soft ground of the hard, and hard ground\nof the soft; they made low ground of high, and high ground of low. They\nmade whirling circles of the earth, and mill-wheels of the sky; and if\nany one were to come from the lower to the upper world, it was to see\nthose two that he should come. They were this way at each other to the\nheight of the evening. Blaiman was growing hungry; and through dint of\nanger he rose with the activity of his limbs, and with one stroke of his\nsword cut off the giant\u2019s head. There was a tree growing near. Blaiman\nknocked off a tough, slender branch, put one end of it in through the\nleft ear and out through the right, then putting the head on the sword,\nand the sword on his shoulder, went home to the king. Coming near the\ncastle with the giant\u2019s head, he met a man tied in a tree whose name was\nHung Up Naked.\n\n\u201cVictory and prosperity to you, young champion,\u201d said the man; \u201cyou have\ndone well hitherto; now loose me from this.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you long there?\u201d asked Blaiman.\n\n\u201cI am seven years here,\u201d answered the other.\n\n\u201cMany a man passed this way during that time. As no man of them loosed\nyou, I will not loose you.\u201d\n\nHe went home then, and threw down the head by the side of the castle. The\nhead was so weighty that the castle shook to its deepest foundations. The\nking came to the hall-door, shook Blaiman\u2019s hand, and kissed him. They\nspent that night as the previous night; and on the next day he went to\nmeet the second giant, came to his house, and struck the pole of combat.\nThe giant put out his head, and said, \u201cYou rascal, I lay a wager it was\nyou who killed my young brother yesterday; you\u2019ll pay for it now, for I\nthink it is a sufficient length of life to get a glimpse of you, and I\nknow not what manner of death I should give you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not to offer satisfaction that I am here,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cbut to\ngive you the same as your brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it any courage you have to fight me?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cIt is indeed,\u201d said Blaiman; \u201c\u2019tis for that I am here.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you have?\u201d asked the giant; \u201chard, thorny wrestling, or\nfighting with sharp gray swords?\u201d\n\n\u201cI prefer hard, thorny wrestling,\u201d said Blaiman; \u201cas I have practised it\non the lawns with noble children.\u201d\n\nThey seized each other, and made soft places hard, and hard places soft;\nthey drew wells of spring water through the hard, stony ground in such\nfashion that the place under them was a soft quagmire, in which the\ngiant, who was weighty, was sinking. He sank to his knees. Blaiman then\ncaught hold of him firmly, and forced him down to his hips.\n\n\u201cAm I to cut off your head now?\u201d asked Blaiman.\n\n\u201cDo not do that,\u201d said the giant. \u201cSpare me, and I will give you my\ntreasure-room, and all that I have of gold and silver.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you your own award,\u201d said Blaiman. \u201cIf I were in your place,\nand you in mine, would you let me go free?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not,\u201d said the giant.\n\nBlaiman drew his broad, shadowy sword made in Erin. It had edge, temper,\nand endurance; and with one blow he took the two heads off the giant, and\ncarried the heads to the castle. He passed by Hung Up Naked, who asked\nhim to loose him; but he refused. When Blaiman threw the heads down, much\nas the castle shook the first day, it shook more the second.\n\nThe king and his daughter were greatly rejoiced. They stifled him with\nkisses, drowned him with tears, and dried him with stuffs of silk and\nsatin; they gave him the taste of every food and the odor of every\ndrink,\u2014Greek honey and Lochlin beer in dry, warm cups, and the taste of\nhoney in every drop of the beer. I bailing it out, it would be a wonder\nif I myself was not thirsty.\n\nThey passed that night as the night before. Next morning Blaiman was very\ntired and weary after his two days\u2019 fight, and the third giant\u2019s land\nwas far distant.\n\n\u201cHave you a horse of any kind for me to ride?\u201d asked he of the king.\n\n\u201cBe not troubled,\u201d said the king. \u201cThere is a stallion in my stable that\nhas not been out for seven years, but fed on red wheat and pure spring\nwater; if you think you can ride that horse, you may take him.\u201d\n\nBlaiman went to the stable. When the horse saw the stranger, he bared\nhis teeth back to the ears, and made a drive at him to tear him asunder;\nbut Blaiman struck the horse with his fist on the ear, and stretched\nhim. The horse rose, but was quiet. Blaiman bridled and saddled him,\nthen drove out that slender, low-sided, bare-shouldered, long-flanked,\ntame, meek-mannered steed, in which were twelve qualities combined:\nthree of a bull, three of a woman, three of a fox, and three of a hare.\nThree of a bull,\u2014a full eye, a thick neck, and a bold forehead; three of\na woman,\u2014full hips, slender waist, and a mind for a burden; three of a\nhare,\u2014a swift run against a hill, a sharp turn about, and a high leap;\nthree of a fox,\u2014a light, treacherous, proud gait, to take in the two\nsides of the road by dint of study and acuteness, and to look only ahead.\nHe now went on, and could overtake the wind that was before him; and the\nwind that was behind, carrying rough hailstones, could not overtake him.\n\nBlaiman never stopped nor stayed till he arrived at the giant\u2019s castle;\nand this giant had three heads. He dismounted, and struck the pole a blow\nthat was heard throughout the kingdom. The giant looked out, and said,\n\u201cOh, you villain! I\u2019ll wager it was you that killed my two brothers. I\nthink it sufficient life to see you; and I don\u2019t know yet what manner of\ndeath will I put on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not to give satisfaction to you that I am here, you vile worm!\u201d\nsaid Blaiman. \u201cUgly is the smile of your laugh; and it must be that your\ncrying will be uglier still.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it hard, thorny wrestling that you want, or fighting with sharp gray\nswords?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cI will fight with sharp gray swords,\u201d said Blaiman.\n\nThey rushed at each other then like two bulls of the wilderness. Toward\nthe end of the afternoon, the heavier blows were falling on Blaiman. Just\nthen a robin came on a bush in front of him, and said, \u201cOh, Blaiman, son\nof Apple, from Erin, far away are you from the women who would lay you\nout and weep over you! There would be no one to care for you unless I\nwere to put two green leaves on your eyes to protect them from the crows\nof the air. Stand between the sun and the giant, and remember where men\ndraw blood from sheep in Erin.\u201d\n\nBlaiman followed the advice of the robin. The two combatants kept at each\nother; but the giant was blinded by the sun, for he had to bend himself\noften to look at his foe. One time, when he stretched forward, his helmet\nwas lifted a little, Blaiman got a glimpse of his neck, near the ear.\nThat instant he stabbed him. The giant was bleeding till he lost the\nlast of his blood. Then Blaiman cut the three heads off him, and carried\nthem home on the pommel of his saddle. When he was passing, Hung Up\nNaked begged for release; but Blaiman refused and went on. Hung Up Naked\npraised him for his deeds, and continued to praise. On second thought,\nBlaiman turned back, and began to release Hung Up Naked; but if he did,\nas fast as he loosened one bond, two squeezed on himself, in such fashion\nthat when he had Hung Up Naked unbound, he was himself doubly bound; he\nhad the binding of five men hard and tough on his body. Hung Up Naked was\nfree now; he mounted Blaiman\u2019s steed, and rode to the king\u2019s castle. He\nthrew down the giant\u2019s heads, and never stopped nor stayed till he went\nto where the king\u2019s daughter was, put a finger under her girdle, bore\nher out of the castle, and rode away swiftly.\n\nBlaiman remained bound for two days to the tree. The king\u2019s swine-herd\ncame the way, and saw Blaiman bound in the tree. \u201cAh, my boy,\u201d said he,\n\u201cyou are bound there, and Hung Up Naked is freed by you; and if you had\npassed him as you did twice before, you need not be where you are now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt cannot be helped,\u201d said Blaiman; \u201cI must suffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, then,\u201d said the swine-herd, \u201cit is a pity to have you there and me\nhere; I will never leave you till I free you.\u201d\n\nUp went the swine-herd, and began to loosen Blaiman; and it happened to\nhim as to Blaiman himself: the bonds that had been on Blaiman were now on\nthe swine-herd.\n\n\u201cI have heard always that strength is more powerful than magic,\u201d said\nBlaiman. He went at the tree, and pulled it up by the roots; then, taking\nhis sword, he made small pieces of the tree, and freed the swine-herd.\n\nBlaiman and the swine-herd then went to the castle. They found the king\nsitting by the table, with his head on his hand, and a stream of tears\nflowing from his eyes to the table, and from the table to the floor.\n\n\u201cWhat is your trouble?\u201d asked Blaiman.\n\n\u201cHung Up Naked came, and said that it was himself who killed the giant;\nand he took my daughter.\u201d\n\nWhen he found that his wife was taken, and that he knew not where to look\nfor her, Blaiman was raging.\n\n\u201cStay here to-night,\u201d said the king.\n\nNext morning the king brought a table-cloth, and said, \u201cYou may often\nneed food, and not know where to find it. Wherever you spread this, what\nfood you require will be on it.\u201d\n\nAlthough Blaiman, because of his troubles, had no care for anything, he\ntook the cloth with him. He was travelling all day, and at nightfall came\nto a break in the mountain, a sheltered spot, and he saw remains of a\nfire.\n\n\u201cI will go no farther to-night,\u201d said he. After a time he pulled out the\ntable-cloth, and food for a king or a champion appeared on it quickly. He\nwas not long eating, when a little hound from the break in the mountain\ncame toward him, and stood at some distance, being afraid to come near.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the hound, \u201chave you crumbs or burned bread-crusts that you\nwould give me to take to my children, now dying of hunger? For three days\nI have not been able to hunt food for them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have, of course,\u201d said Blaiman. \u201cCome, eat enough of what you like\nbest, and carry away what you can.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have my dear love forever,\u201d said the hound. \u201cYou are not like the\nthief that was here three nights ago. When I asked him for help, he threw\na log of wood at me, and broke my shoulder-blade; and I have not been\nable to find food for my little children since that night. Doleful and\nsad was the lady who was with him; she ate no bite and drank no sup the\nwhole night, but was shedding tears. If ever you are in hardship, and\nneed my assistance, call for the Little Hound of Tranamee, and you will\nhave me to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cStay with me,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201ca part of the night; I am lonely, and you\nmay take with you what food you can carry.\u201d\n\nThe hound remained till he thought it time to go home; Blaiman gave him\nwhat he could carry, and he was thankful.\n\nBlaiman stayed there till daybreak, spread his cloth again, and ate what\nhe wanted. He was in very good courage from the tidings concerning his\nwife. He journeyed swiftly all day, thinking he would reach the castle of\nHung Up Naked in the evening; but it was still far away.\n\nHe came in the evening to a place like that in which he had been the\nnight previous, and thought to himself, I will stay here to-night. He\nspread his cloth, and had food for a king or a champion. He was not long\neating, when there came opposite him out a hawk, and asked, \u201cHave you\ncrumbs or burned crusts to give me for my little children?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201ccome and eat your fill, and take away what you are\nable to carry.\u201d\n\nThe hawk ate his fill. \u201cMy love to you forever,\u201d said the hawk; \u201cthis is\nnot how I was treated by the thief who was here three nights ago. When\nI asked him for food, he flung a log of wood at me, and almost broke my\nwing.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me your company a part of the night; I am lonely,\u201d said Blaiman.\n\nThe hawk remained with him, and later on added, \u201cThe lady who went with\nthe thief was doleful and careworn; she ate nothing, but shed tears all\nthe time.\u201d When going, and Blaiman had given him all the food he could\ncarry, the hawk said, \u201cIf ever you need my assistance, you have only to\ncall for the Hawk of Cold Cliff, and I will be with you.\u201d\n\nThe hawk went away, very thankful; and Blaiman was glad that he had\ntidings again of his wife. Not much of next day overtook him asleep. He\nrose, ate his breakfast, and hastened forward. He was in such courage\nthat he passed a mountain at a leap, a valley at a step, and a broad\nuntilled field at a hop. He journeyed all day till he came to a break in\nthe mountain; there he stopped, and was not long eating from his cloth,\nwhen an otter came down through the glen, stood before him, and asked,\n\u201cWill you give me crumbs or burned crusts for my little children?\u201d\n\nBlaiman gave him plenty to eat, and all he could carry home. \u201cMy love\nto you forever,\u201d said the otter. \u201cWhen you need aid, call on the Otter\nof Frothy Pool, and I will be with you. You are not like the thief who\nwas here three nights ago, having your wife with him. She was melting\nall night with tears, and neither ate nor drank. You will reach the\ncastle of Hung Up Naked to-morrow at midday. It whirls around like a\nmillstone, continually, and no one can enter but himself; for the castle\nis enchanted.\u201d\n\nThe otter went home. Blaiman reached the castle at midday, and knew the\nplace well, from the words of the otter. He stood looking at the castle;\nand when the window at which his wife was sitting came before him, she\nsaw him, and, opening the window, made a sign with her hand, and told him\nto go. She thought that no one could get the upper hand of Hung Up Naked;\nfor the report had gone through the world that no man could kill him.\n\n\u201cI will not go,\u201d said Blaiman. \u201cI will not leave you where you are; and\nnow keep the window open.\u201d\n\nHe stepped back some paces, and went in with one bound through the\nwindow, when it came around the second time.\n\nWhile Hung Up Naked was tied to the tree, the tributes of his kingdom\nremained uncollected; and when he had the woman he wanted safe in his\ncastle, he went to collect the tributes. She had laid an injunction on\nhim to leave her in freedom for a day and a year. She knew when he would\nbe returning; and when that time was near she hid Blaiman.\n\n\u201cGood, good!\u201d cried Hung Up Naked, when he came. \u201cI smell on this little\nsod of truth that a man from Erin is here.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could a man from Erin be here?\u201d asked Blaiman\u2019s wife. \u201cThe only\nperson from Erin in this place is a robin. I threw a fork at him. There\nis a drop of blood on the fork now; that is what you smell on the little\nsod.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat may be,\u201d said Hung Up Naked.\n\nBlaiman and the wife were planning to destroy Hung Up Naked; but no one\nhad knowledge how to kill him. At last they made a plan to come at the\nknowledge.\n\n\u201cIt is a wonder,\u201d said the woman to Hung Up Naked, \u201cthat a great man\nlike yourself should go travelling alone; my father always takes guards\nwith him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI need no guards; no one can kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my life is in that block of wood there.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it is there, \u2019tis in a strange place; and it is little trouble you\ntake for it. You should put it in some secure spot in the castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe place is good enough,\u201d said he.\n\nWhen Hung Up Naked went off next day, the wife told Blaiman all she had\nheard.\n\n\u201cHis life is not there,\u201d answered Blaiman; \u201ctry him again to-night.\u201d\n\nShe searched the whole castle, and what silk or satin or jewels she\nfound, she dressed with them the block of wood. When Hung Up Naked came\nhome in the evening, and saw the block so richly decked, he laughed\nheartily.\n\n\u201cWhy do you laugh?\u201d asked the woman.\n\n\u201cOut of pity for you. It is not there that my life is at all.\u201d\n\nOn hearing these words, she fainted, was stiff and cold for some time,\ntill he began to fear she was dead.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d asked Hung Up Naked.\n\n\u201cI did not think you would make sport of me. You know that I love you,\nand why did you deceive me?\u201d\n\nHung Up Naked was wonderfully glad. He took her to the window, and,\npointing to a large tree growing opposite, asked, \u201cDo you see that tree?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you see that axe under my bed-post?\u201d He showed the axe. \u201cI cannot be\nkilled till a champion with one blow of that axe splits the tree from\nthe top to the roots of it. Out of the tree a ram will rush forth, and\nnothing on earth can come up with the ram but the Hound of Tranamee. If\nthe ram is caught, he will drop a duck; the duck will fly out on the sea,\nand nothing on earth can catch that duck but the Hawk of Cold Cliff.\nIf the duck is caught, she will drop an egg into the sea, and nothing\non earth can find that egg but the Otter of Frothy Pool. If the egg is\nfound, the champion must strike with one cast of it this dark spot here\nunder my left breast, and strike me through the heart. If the tree were\ntouched, I should feel it, wherever I might be.\u201d\n\nHe went away next morning. Blaiman took the axe, and with one blow split\nthe tree from top to roots; out rushed the ram. Blaiman rushed after him\nthrough the fields. Blaiman hunted the ram till he was dropping from\nweariness. Only then did he think of the hound, and cry, \u201cWhere are you\nnow, Little Hound of Tranamee?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am here,\u201d said the hound; \u201cbut I could not come till you called me.\u201d\n\nThe hound seized the ram in one moment; but, if he did, out sprang a\nduck, and away she flew over the sea. Blaiman called for the Hawk of Cold\nCliff. The hawk caught the duck; the duck dropped an egg. He called the\nOtter of Frothy Pool; the otter brought the egg in his mouth. Blaiman\ntook the egg, and ran to the castle, which was whirling no longer; the\nenchantment left the place when the tree was split. He opened the door,\nand stood inside, but was not long there when he saw Hung Up Naked\ncoming in haste. When the tree was split, he felt it, and hurried home.\nWhen nearing the castle, his breast open and bare, and he sweating and\nsweltering, Blaiman aimed at the black spot, and killed Hung Up Naked.\n\nThey were all very glad then. The hawk, hound, and otter were delighted;\nthey were three sons of the king of that kingdom which Hung Up Naked had\nseized; they received their own forms again, and all rejoiced.\n\nBlaiman did not stay long. He left the three brothers in their own\ncastle and kingdom. \u201cIf ever you need my assistance,\u201d said Blaiman to the\nbrothers, \u201csend for me at my father-in-law\u2019s.\u201d On his return, he spent a\nnight at each place where he had stopped in going.\n\nWhen the king saw his daughter and Blaiman, he almost dropped dead from\njoy. They all spent some days very happily. Blaiman now thought of his\nuncles; and for three days servants were drawing every choice thing to\nhis vessel. His wife went also to the ship. When all was ready, Blaiman\nremembered a present that he had set aside for his mother, and hurried\nback to the castle, leaving his wife on the ship with his uncles. The\nuncles sailed at once for Erin. When Blaiman came back with the present,\nhe found neither wife, ship, nor uncles before him. He ran away like one\nmad, would not return to his father-in-law, but went wild in the woods,\nand began to live like the beasts of the wilderness. One time he came out\non an edge of the forest, which was on a headland running into the sea,\nand saw a vessel near land; he was coming that time to his senses, and\nsignalled. The captain saw him, and said, \u201cThat must be a wild beast of\nsome kind; hair is growing all over his body. Will some of you go to see\nwhat is there? If a man, bring him on board.\u201d\n\nFive men rowed to land, and hailed Blaiman. He answered, \u201cI am from Erin,\nand I am perishing here from hunger and cold.\u201d They took him on board.\nThe captain treated him kindly, had his hair cut, and gave him good\nclothing. Where should the captain be sailing to but the very same port\nof his grandfather\u2019s kingdom from which Blaiman had sailed. There was a\nhigh tide when the ship neared, and they never stopped till she was in at\nthe quay. Blaiman went on shore, walked to the chief street, and stood\nwith his back to a house. Soon he saw men and horses carrying and drawing\nmany kinds of provisions, and all going one way.\n\n\u201cWhy are these people all going one way?\u201d inquired Blaiman of a man in\nthe crowd.\n\n\u201cYou must be a stranger,\u201d answered the man, \u201csince you do not know that\nthey are going to the castle. The king\u2019s elder son will be married this\nevening. The bride is the only daughter of the King of the kingdom of the\nWhite Strand; they brought her to this place twelve months ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a stranger,\u201d said Blaiman, \u201cand have only come now from sea.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll are invited to the wedding, high and low, rich and poor.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go as well as another,\u201d said Blaiman; and he went toward the\ncastle. He met a sturdy old beggar in a long gray coat. \u201cWill you sell me\nthe coat?\u201d inquired Blaiman.\n\n\u201cTake your joke to some other man,\u201d answered the beggar.\n\n\u201cI am not joking,\u201d said Blaiman. \u201cI\u2019ll buy your coat.\u201d\n\nThe beggar asked more for the coat than he thought would be given by any\none.\n\n\u201cHere is your money,\u201d said Blaiman.\n\nThe beggar gave up the coat, and started to go in another direction.\n\n\u201cCome back here,\u201d said Blaiman. \u201cI will do you more good, and I need your\ncompany.\u201d\n\nThey went toward the castle together. There was a broad space in front\nof the kitchen filled with poor people, for the greater part beggars,\nand these were all fighting for places. When Blaiman came, he commanded\nthe crowd to be quiet, and threatened. He soon controlled all, and was\nhimself neither eating nor drinking, but seeing justice done those who\nwere eating and drinking. The servants, astonished that the great,\nthreatening beggar was neither eating nor drinking, gave a great cup of\nwine to him. He took a good draught of the wine, but left still a fair\nshare in the cup. In this he dropped the ring that he got from his wife\nin her own father\u2019s castle, and said to a servant, \u201cPut this cup in the\nhand of the bride, and say, \u2018\u2019Tis the big beggar that sends back this\nmuch of his wine, and asks you to drink to your own health.\u2019\u201d\n\nShe was astonished, and, taking the cup to the window, saw a ring at the\nbottom. She took the ring, knew it, and ran out wild with delight through\nthe people. All thought \u2019twas enchantment the beggar had used; but she\nembraced him and kissed him. The servants surrounded the beggar to seize\nhim. The king\u2019s daughter ordered them off, and brought him into the\ncastle; and Blaiman locked the doors. The bride then put a girdle around\nthe queen\u2019s waist, and this was a girdle of truth. If any one having\nit on did not tell the truth, the girdle would shrink and tighten, and\nsqueeze the life out of that person.\n\n\u201cTell me now,\u201d said the bride, \u201cwho your elder son\u2019s father is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is he,\u201d said the queen, \u201cbut the king?\u201d\n\nThe girdle grew tighter and tighter till the queen screamed, \u201cThe\ncoachman.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is the second son\u2019s father?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe butler.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is your daughter\u2019s father?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe king.\u201d\n\n\u201cI knew,\u201d said the bride, \u201cthat there was no kingly blood in the veins\nof the two, from the way that they treated my husband.\u201d She told them all\npresent how the two had taken her away, and left her husband behind. When\nBlaiman\u2019s mother saw her son, she dropped almost dead from delight.\n\nThe king now commanded his subjects to bring poles and branches and all\ndry wood, and put down a great fire. The heads and heels of the queen\u2019s\ntwo sons were tied together, and they were flung in and burned to ashes.\n\nBlaiman remained awhile with his grandfather, and then took his wife back\nto her father\u2019s kingdom, where they lived many years.\n\n\n\n\nFIN MACCOOL AND THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF THE WHITE NATION.\n\n\nOne day Fin MacCool and the Fenians of Erin set out on a hunt from the\nCastle of Rahonain, and never stopped till they came near Brandon Creek,\nand started a hornless deer in a field called Parcnagri.\n\nOver hills and through valleys they chased the deer till they came to Aun\nna Vian (the river of the Fenians). The deer sprang from one side of this\nriver toward the other, but before reaching the bank was taken on a spear\nby Dyeermud.\n\nWhen the hunt was over, Fin and the Fenians went back to the place where\nthe deer had been started at Parcnagri, for they always returned to the\nspot where they roused the first game, and there they feasted.\n\nThe feast was nearly ready when Fin saw a boat sailing in toward the\nharbor of Ard na Conye (Smerwick Harbor), and no one on board but a\nwoman.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis a wonder to me,\u201d said Fin, \u201cthat one woman should manage a boat\nunder sail on the sea. I have a great wish to know who that woman is.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis not long I would be in bringing you tidings,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nFin laughed; for Dyeermud was fond of the women. \u201cI would not refuse you\npermission to go, but that I myself will go, and be here before our feast\nis ready.\u201d\n\nFin went down from Parcnagri, and stood at the strand of Ard na Conye.\nThough great was his speed, the woman was there before him, and her boat\nanchored safely four miles from shore.\n\nFin saluted the woman with friendly greeting; and she returned the salute\nin like manner.\n\n\u201cWill you tell me, kind man, where I am now?\u201d asked the woman.\n\n\u201cIn the harbor of Ard na Conye.\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks to you for that answer,\u201d said the woman. \u201cCan you tell where is\nFin MacCool\u2019s dwelling-place?\u201d\n\n\u201cWherever Fin MacCool\u2019s dwelling-place is, I am that man myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks to you a second time,\u201d said the woman; \u201cand would you play a game\nof chess for a sentence?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would,\u201d replied Fin, \u201cif I had my own board and chessmen.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you as good as your own,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cI have never refused, and never asked another to play,\u201d said Fin. \u201cI\nwill play with you.\u201d\n\nThey sat down, and Fin won the first game.\n\n\u201cWhat is your sentence, Fin MacCool?\u201d asked the woman.\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds of heavy enchantment,\u201d said Fin, \u201cnot to eat twice\nat the one table, nor to sleep two nights in the one bed, till you bring\na white steed with red bridle and saddle to me, and the same to each man\nof the Fenians of Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are very severe, O Fin,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI beg you to soften the\nsentence.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered Fin, \u201cyou must give what is asked; I will not soften the\nsentence.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook behind,\u201d said the woman.\n\nFin turned, and saw a white steed for himself, and the like for each man\nof the Fenians of Erin, all with red bridles and saddles.\n\n\u201cPlay a second game, now,\u201d said the woman.\n\nThey played, and she won.\n\n\u201cHasten, kind woman,\u201d said Fin, \u201cand tell me the sentence.\u201d\n\n\u201cToo soon for you to hear it,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cThe sooner I hear it, the better,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cI put you, O Fin, under bonds of heavy enchantment to be my husband\ntill a shovel puts seven of its fulls of earth on your head.\u201d\n\n\u201cSoften the sentence, good woman,\u201d said Fin; \u201cfor this cannot be.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe gad may tighten on my throat if I do,\u201d said the woman; \u201cfor you did\nnot soften your sentence on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you stop here,\u201d said Fin to the woman, \u201ctill I give my men the\nsteeds, tell them how I am, and return. But where are the steeds?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I was bound by sentence to bring you the steeds, I was not bound to\nkeep them.\u201d\n\nFin went his way to Parcnagri, where the Fenians were waiting, and though\ndinner was ready, no man tasted it from that day to this.\n\nFin posted his men on watch at various harbors, left Dyeermud on Beann\nDyeermud (Dyeermud\u2019s peak), just above the harbor of Ard na Conye, and\nwent to the woman. She took his hand; they sprang together, and came down\nin the woman\u2019s boat, which was four miles from land.\n\nThe woman weighed anchor, raised sails, and never stopped ploughing the\nweighty sea till she came to the White Nation in the Eastern World, where\nher father was king. She entered the harbor, cast anchor, and landed.\n\n\u201cWhen you were at home,\u201d said the woman to Fin, \u201cyou were Chief of the\nFenians of Erin, and held in great honor; I will not that men in this\nkingdom belittle you, and I am the king\u2019s only daughter. From the place\nwhere we are standing to my father\u2019s castle there is a narrow and a short\npath. I\u2019ll hasten forward on that. There is another way, a broad and long\none; do you choose that. I fear that for you there will not be suitable\nseat and a place in the castle, unless I am there to prepare it before\nyou.\u201d\n\nFin went the long way, and the woman took the short path. It was many a\nday since the woman had seen her own father. For twenty-one years she\nhad travelled the world, learning witchcraft and every enchantment. She\nhurried, and was soon at the door of the castle. Great was the welcome\nbefore her, and loud was the joy of her father. Servants came running,\none after another, with food, and one thing better than the other.\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d said she, \u201cI will taste neither food nor drink till you tell me\nthe one thing to please your mind most.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy child,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou have but small chance of coming at that.\nThe one thing on earth to delight my mind most is the head of Fin MacCool\nof Erin. If there was a poor man of my name, he would not be myself if I\nhad that head.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany a year do I know your desire, my father; and it was not for me to\ncome back after twenty-one years without bringing Fin\u2019s head. You have\nit now, without losing one drop of your blood or a single night\u2019s rest.\nFin is coming hither over the broad road; and do you put men out over\nagainst him with music to meet him, and when he comes between your two\nstorehouses, let the men dash him against one corner and the other, and\ngive every reason worse than another to bring him to death.\u201d\n\nThe king obeyed his daughter, and sent out guards and musicians.\n\nFin, going over the broad road, saw men coming with music, and said to\nhimself, \u201cGreat is my joy, or may be my sorrow, for I fear that my life\nwill be ended in trouble.\u201d\n\nThe men received Fin with shouts, and, running up, pushed him from side\nto side till he was bruised and bleeding; then they brought him into the\ncastle.\n\nGlad was the king, and far was the laugh heard that he let out of himself\nat sight of Fin MacCool.\n\nThe king gave command then to bind the captive, putting seven knots of\ncord on every joint of his body, to throw him into a deep vault, and\ngive him one ounce of black bread with a pint of cold water each day.\n\nFin was put in the vault, and a very old little woman brought his daily\nallowance of food.\n\nOn his eighth day in prison, Fin said to the old little woman, \u201cGo now to\nthe king, and say that I have a petition. I ask not my head, as I would\nnot get it; but say that my right arm is rotting. I ask to be free in the\ngarden for one hour; let him send with me men, if he chooses.\u201d\n\nThe old woman told the request; and the king said, \u201cI will grant that\nwith willingness; for it will not take his head from me.\u201d\n\nThirty armed men were sent, and Fin was set free in the garden. While\nwalking, he asked the chief of the thirty, \u201cHave you musical instruments?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have not,\u201d said the chief; \u201cwe forgot them. If they were here, we\nwould give music; for I pity you, Fin MacCool.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I was at home,\u201d said Fin, \u201chaving the care and charge over men, we\nhad music; and, if it please you, I will play some of the music of Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would be more than glad if you would do that,\u201d said the chief.\n\nThe Fenians of Erin had a horn called the borabu; and when one of them\nwent wandering he took the borabu with him, as Fin had done this time. It\nwas the only instrument on which he could play. Fin blew the horn, and\nthe sound of it came to Beann Dyeermud from the Eastern World. Dyeermud\nhimself was in deep sleep at the moment; but the sound entered his right\near and came out through the left. The spring that he made then took him\nacross seven ridges of land before he was firm on his feet. Dyeermud,\nwiping his eyes, said, \u201cGreat is the trouble that is on you, Fin; for the\nsound of the borabu has never yet entered my right ear unless you were in\nperil.\u201d\n\nThen, going at a spring to Cuas a Wudig, he found the remains of an old\ncurrachan, and, drawing out a chisel, knife, and axe, made a fine boat\nof the old one. With one kick of his right foot, he sent the boat seven\nleagues from land, and, following with a bound, dropped into it. He\nhoisted sails, not knowing whither to go, north, south, east, or west,\nbut held on his way, and ploughed the mighty ocean before him, till, as\ngood luck would have it, he reached the same harbor to which the woman\nhad come with Fin MacCool.\n\nDyeermud saw the boat which had brought them, and said, laughing\nheartily, \u201cI have tidings of Fin; he\u2019s in this kingdom in some place,\nfor this is the boat that brought him from Erin.\u201d\n\nDyeermud cast anchor, and, landing, drew his sword; and a man seeing his\nlook at that moment would have wished to be twenty miles distant. On he\nwent, walking, till he had passed through a broad tract of country. On\nthe high-road, he saw men, women, and children all going one way, and\nnone any other. High and low, they were hurrying and hastening; the man\nbehind outstripping the man in front.\n\nDyeermud sat on a ditch to rest, and soon a wayfarer halted in front of\nhim. \u201cWhere are these people all hastening?\u201d asked Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cFrom what country or place are you,\u201d asked the man, \u201cnot to know whither\nall these people are going?\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely I am not of this place or your country,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cand I\ncare not to know whither you or these people are going, since you cannot\ngive a civil answer to an honest question.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe patient, good man,\u201d said the wayfarer \u201cFrom what country or place are\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom Erin,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cI suppose, then, you have known Fin MacCool, or have heard of him?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have, indeed,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cIf you take my advice,\u201d said the wayfaring man, \u201cyou\u2019ll go out on the\nsame road by which you came in, or else not acknowledge Fin MacCool of\nErin, for that man will be hanged this day before the king\u2019s castle; the\ngallows is ready and built for him. When the life is gone out of him, his\nhead will be struck off, and left as a plaything to please the king\u2019s\nmind forever. The body is to be dragged between four wild horses; and the\nsame will be done to you, if you acknowledge Fin MacCool of Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you for your answer,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cand only because I don\u2019t\nlike to lay a weighty hand on you, you would never again give advice like\nthat to a man of the Fenians of Erin. But show me the way to the castle.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you were on the top of that mountain,\u201d said the wayfarer, pointing\nnorthward, \u201cyou would see the king\u2019s castle.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went on in strong haste, and from the mountain-top saw the\nking\u2019s castle. On the green field in front of it so many people had\ngathered to see Fin MacCool\u2019s death, that if a pin were to drop from the\nmiddle of the sky it could not fall without striking the head of man,\nwoman, or child. When Dyeermud came down to the field, it was useless to\nask for room or for passage, since each wished himself to be nearest\nthe place of Fin\u2019s death. Dyeermud drew his sword; and as a mower goes\nthrough the grass of a meadow on a harvest day, or a hawk through a\nflock of starlings on a chilly March morning, so did Dyeermud cut his\nway through the crowd till he came to the gallows. He turned then toward\nthe castle, struck the pole of combat, and far was the sound of his blow\nheard. The king put his head through the window.\n\n\u201cWho struck that blow?\u201d asked the king. \u201cHe must be an enemy!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou could not expect a friend to do the like of that,\u201d replied Dyeermud.\n\u201cI struck the blow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d cried the king.\n\n\u201cMy name when in Erin is Dyeermud.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat brought you hither?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI came,\u201d replied Dyeermud, \u201cto succor my chief, Fin MacCool.\u201d\n\nThe king let a laugh out of him, and asked, \u201cHave any more men come\nbesides you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen you finish with me, you may be looking for others,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want to-day?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI want to see Fin MacCool, or to fight for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cFight you may,\u201d said the king; \u201cbut see him you will not.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cit is too early in the evening for me to rest\nwithout having the blood of enemies on my sword, so send out against me\nseven hundred of your best-armed men on my right hand, seven hundred\non my left, seven hundred behind me, and twenty one hundred before my\neyesight.\u201d\n\nFin\u2019s death was delayed; and the men that he asked for put out against\nDyeermud. Coming sunset, he had the last head cut from the last body,\nand, going through his day\u2019s work, made heaps of the bodies, and piles of\nthe heads.\n\n\u201cWill you give me shelter from the night air?\u201d asked Dyeermud, then\nturning to the castle.\n\n\u201cI will, and welcome,\u201d said the king, pointing to a long house at a\ndistance.\n\nDyeermud went to the long house, and to his wonder saw there a troop of\nwild small men without faith, but no food, fire, or bed. These men were\nthe agents of the king, who put to death all people who went against\nhis law. Though a small race of people, they were strong through their\nnumbers.\n\nWhen Dyeermud entered, they rose, and began to fill every cranny and\ncrack they could find in the building.\n\n\u201cWhy are you doing that?\u201d inquired Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cFor fear that you might escape; for it\u2019s our duty to eat you.\u201d\n\nDyeermud then seized by the ankles the one who gave him this answer,\nand flailed the others with this man, till he wore him down to the two\nshin-bones; all the others were killed saving one, who was chief. The\nsmall chief untouched by Dyeermud fell on his knees, and cried out,\n\u201cSpare my head! O Dyeermud, there is not a place where you will put one\nfoot, in which I will not put my two feet, nor a place on which you\u2019ll\nput one hand, in which I will not put my two hands; and I can be a good\nservant to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo man ever asked his head of me with peace, but I gave it to him,\u201d said\nDyeermud.\n\nSitting down then, Dyeermud asked, \u201cHave you any food?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said the small chief. \u201cWe have nothing to eat but men sent\nhere from one time to another. If you go to the king\u2019s bakery, you may\nfind loaves of bread.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went to the baker, and asked, \u201cWill you give me two loaves of\nbread?\u201d\n\n\u201cHardened ruffian,\u201d said the baker, \u201chow dare you come to this place for\nbread, or any other thing, you who killed so many of our friends and near\nneighbors? Go out of this, or I\u2019ll burn you in the oven.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am thankful,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cbut before you can do to me what you\nthreaten, I will do the same to you.\u201d\n\nWith that he opened the oven-door, threw in the baker, and burned him to\ndeath. Then he caught up as much bread as he could carry, and went to the\nlong house; but, being used to good food, could not eat bread alone, and\nasked the small chief, \u201cWhere can I find drink and meat to go with the\nbread?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a slaughter-house behind us, not far from here,\u201d said the\nchief, \u201cand the head butcher might give you a piece to roast or boil.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went then to the butcher. \u201cWill you give me meat for supper?\u201d\nasked he.\n\n\u201cYou scoundrel from Erin, if you don\u2019t leave this place I\u2019ll cut off your\nhead on the block here, and separate it from the body.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever have I met better people to oblige a stranger; but before you can\ndo to me what you promise, I will do the like to you.\u201d\n\nSo Dyeermud caught the butcher, stretched him across the block, and with\nthe butcher\u2019s own cleaver struck the head off him.\n\nTurning around, Dyeermud saw two fine stalled bullocks dressed for the\nking\u2019s table. Taking one under each arm, he brought them to the long\nhouse, and cut them up with his sword; then the small chief cooked\nnicely what was needed. The two ate a hearty supper.\n\nNext morning Dyeermud rose up refreshed, and went to the castle, where he\nstruck the pole of combat.\n\n\u201cWhat is your wish?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cTo see Fin MacCool, or get battle.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many men do you wish for?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne thousand of your best armed men on my right hand, as many on\nmy left, as many behind me, and twice three thousand in front of my\neyesight.\u201d\n\nThe champions were sent out to Dyeermud. They went at him, and he at\nthem; they were that way all day, and when the sun was setting there was\nnot a man of the nine thousand that had his head on him.\n\nIn the evening he made piles of the bodies and heaps of the heads.\n\nThen he went back to the long house, and it was better there than the\nfirst night; the small chief had food and drink ready in plenty.\n\nThe combats continued for seven days in succession as on this day. On the\neighth morning, when Dyeermud appeared, the king asked for a truce.\n\n\u201cI will grant it,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cif you give me a sight of Fin\nMacCool.\u201d\n\n\u201cA sight of Fin MacCool you are not to have,\u201d said the king, \u201ctill you\nbring the hound-whelp with the golden chain.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find that Whelp?\u201d inquired Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cThe world is wide,\u201d said the king. \u201cFollow your nose. It will lead you.\nIf I were to say \u2019tis in the west the whelp is, maybe \u2019tis in the east\nhe\u2019d be; or in the north, maybe he\u2019d be in the south. So here and now you\ncannot blame me if I say not where he is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cas I am going for the whelp, I ask you to loose\nFin MacCool from what bonds he is in, to place him in the best chamber of\nyour castle, to give him the best food and drink, the best bed to lie on,\nand, besides, the amusements most pleasing to his mind.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you ask shall be granted,\u201d said the king, who thought to himself,\n\u201cYour head and Fin\u2019s will be mine in the end.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went home to the long house, sat down in his chair, and gloomy\nwas his face.\n\n\u201cO Dyeermud,\u201d said the small chief, \u201cyou are not coming in with such\nlooks, nor so bright in the face, as when you left here this morning.\nI\u2019ll lay my head as a wager that you are sent to bring the hound-whelp\nwith the golden chain.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cand where to find him I know not.\u201d\n\n\u201cEat your supper, then sleep, and to-morrow I\u2019ll show you where that\nwhelp is. Indeed, it is the task you have on you; for many a good\nchampion lost his head in striving to come at that whelp.\u201d\n\nNext morning Dyeermud and the small chief set out, and toward evening\nthey came within sight of a grand, splendid castle.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the small chief, \u201cthis castle was built by the Red Gruagach\nBlind-on-One-Side; within is the hound-whelp with the golden chain; and\nnow let me see what you\u2019ll do.\u201d\n\nDyeermud entered the castle, where he found a great chamber, and in it\nthe gruagach asleep. The hound was tied to the gruagach\u2019s bed with a\ngolden chain. Untying the chain from the bed, Dyeermud carried whelp and\nchain with him under his arm, and hurried on homeward. When he had gone\nthree miles of road, he turned to the small chief and said, \u201cThat was a\nmean act I did to the gruagach.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s on you now?\u201d asked the small chief.\n\n\u201cIt would be hard for a man to call me anything higher than a thief; for\nI have only stolen the man\u2019s whelp and golden chain.\u201d So Dyeermud went\nback to the gruagach, and put the hound-whelp and chain where he had\nfound them. As the gruagach was sleeping, Dyeermud struck a slight blow\non his face to rouse him.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the gruagach, \u201cI catch the foul smell of a man from Erin. He\nmust be Dyeermud, who has destroyed the champions of our country.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the man that you mention,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cand I am not here to ask\nsatisfaction of you or thanks, but to wear out my anger on your body and\nflesh, if you refuse what I want of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is it that you want of me?\u201d asked the gruagach.\n\n\u201cThe hound-whelp with the golden chain.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not get him from me, nor will another.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe on your feet, then,\u201d said Dyeermud. \u201cThe whelp is mine, or your head\nin place of him; if not, you\u2019ll have my head.\u201d\n\nOne champion put his back to the front wall, and the other to the rear\nwall; then the two went at each other wrestling, and were that way till\nthe roof of the house was ready to fly from the walls, such was the\nstrength in the hands of the combatants.\n\n\u201cShame on you both!\u201d cried the gruagach\u2019s wife, running out. \u201cShame on\ntwo men like you to be tumbling the house on my children.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue,\u201d said Dyeermud. And the two, without letting go the hold that they\nhad, went through the roof with one bound, and came down on the field\noutside. The first wheel that Dyeermud knocked out of the gruagach, he\nput him in the hard ground to his ankles, the second to his hips, and the\nthird to his neck.\n\n\u201cSuffer your head to be cut off, O gruagach.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpare me, Dyeermud, and you\u2019ll get the hound-whelp with the golden\nchain, and my good wish and desire.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you had said that at first, you would not have gone through this\nhardship or kindled my anger,\u201d said Dyeermud. With that he pulled out the\ngruagach, and spared his head.\n\nThe two spent that night as two brothers, eating and drinking of the\nbest, and in the morning the gruagach gave Dyeermud the whelp with the\ngolden chain.\n\nDyeermud went home with the small chief, and went to the castle next\nmorning.\n\n\u201cHave you brought the hound-whelp with the golden chain?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d answered Dyeermud; \u201cand I had no trouble in bringing them. Here\nthey are before you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, am I to have them now?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cYou are not,\u201d answered Dyeermud. \u201cIf I was bound to bring them, I was\nnot bound to give them to you. The man who reared this whelp has a better\nright to him than you or I.\u201d\n\nThen Dyeermud went home to the long house, followed by the small chief;\nand the next morning he asked battle of the king.\n\n\u201cI am not ready for battle to-day,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cAm I to get sight of Fin MacCool?\u201d inquired Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cYou are not,\u201d said the king, \u201ctill you bring me an account of how the\nRueful Knight Without-Laughter lost his eye and his laugh.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find that knight?\u201d asked Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cThe world is wide,\u201d said the king; \u201cand it is for you alone to make out\nwhere that man is.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went home to the long house, sat in his chair, dropped his head,\nand was gloomy.\n\n\u201cO Dyeermud,\u201d said the small chief, \u201csomething has gone wrong to-day, and\nI\u2019ll lay my head that you are sent to get knowledge of the Rueful Knight\nWithout-Laughter; but sit down and take supper, then sleep, and to-morrow\nyou\u2019ll not go astray; I\u2019ll lead you to where that man lives.\u201d\n\nNext morning the two set out together, that evening reached the\ngruagach\u2019s castle, where there was many a welcome before them, and not\nlike the first time. The whelp was returned to his owner; and that night\nwas spent in pleasure by the gruagach, Dyeermud, and the small chief.\n\nThe next morning Dyeermud went forward attended by his two friends,\nand toward evening came in sight of a large splendid castle. Dyeermud\napproached it, and when he went in, saw that he had never before set foot\nin a grander building.\n\nThe Rueful Knight Without-Laughter was sitting alone in his parlor at a\ngreat heavy table. His face, resting on the palm of one hand, was worn by\nit; his elbow, placed on the table, had worn a deep trench in the table;\nand there he sat, trusting to the one eye that was left him.\n\nDyeermud shook the sleeping man gently; and when he woke, the knight\nwelcomed Dyeermud as one of the Fenians of Erin. Dinner was made ready\nfor all; and when they sat down at the table, Dyeermud thrust his fork\nin the meat as a sign of request. \u201cIs there something you wish to know?\u201d\nasked the knight.\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d answered Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cAll in my power or possession is for you, except one thing,\u201d said the\nknight, \u201cand ask not for that.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is that thing that brought me,\u201d said Dyeermud. \u201cI\u2019ll take no refusal.\nI\u2019ll have your head or that knowledge.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Dyeermud, eat your dinner, and then I will tell you; though I have\nnever told any one yet, not even my own lawful wife.\u201d\n\nWhen the dinner was over, the knight told his story to Dyeermud, as\nfollows,\u2014\n\n\u201cI was living once in this place here, both happy and well. I had twelve\nsons of my own and my own wife. Each of my twelve sons had his pack of\nhounds. I and my wife had one pack between us. On a May morning after\nbreakfast, I and my sons set out to hunt. We started a deer without\nhorns, and, rushing forward in chase of her, followed on swiftly all day.\nToward evening the deer disappeared in a cave. In we raced after her, and\nfound ourselves soon in the land of small men, but saw not a trace of the\ndeer.\n\n\u201cGoing to a great lofty castle, we entered, and found many people inside.\nThe king of the small men bade us welcome, and asked had I men to prepare\nus a dinner. I said that I had my own twelve sons. The small men then\nbrought in from a forest twelve wild boars. I put down twelve kettles\nwith water to scald and dress the game. When the water was boiling, it\nwas of no use to us; and we could not have softened with it one bristle\non the wild boars from that day to this. Then a small man, putting the\ntwelve boars in a row with the head of one near the tail of the other,\ntook from the hall-door a whistle, and, blowing first on one side of the\nrow and then on the other, made all the twelve white and clean; then he\ndressed, cut, and cooked them, and we all ate to our own satisfaction.\n\n\u201cIn the course of the evening, the king of the small men asked had I\nanyone who could shorten the night by showing action. I said that I\nhad my own twelve sons. Twelve small men now rose, and drew out a long\nweighty chain, holding one end in their hands. My sons caught the other\nend, pulled against the twelve small men, and the small men against them;\nbut the small men soon threw a loop of the chain around the necks of my\ntwelve sons, and swept the heads off them; one of the small men came\nthen with a long knife, and, opening the breasts of my sons, took out\ntheir twelve hearts, and put them all on a dish; then they pushed me to a\nbench, and I had to sit with my twelve sons stretched dead there before\nme. Now they brought the dish to make me eat the twelve hearts for my\nsupper. When I would not, they drove them down my throat, and gave me a\nblow of a fist that knocked one eye out of me. They left me that way in\ntorment till morning; then they opened the door, and threw me out of the\ncastle.\n\n\u201cFrom that day to this I have not seen my children, nor a trace of them;\nand \u2019tis just twenty-one years, coming May-day, since I lost my twelve\nsons and my eye. There is not a May-day but the deer comes to this castle\nand shouts, \u2018Here is the deer; but where are the hunters to follow?\u2019 Now\nyou have the knowledge, Dyeermud, of how I lost my eye and my laugh.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d asked Dyeermud, \u201cwill May-day come soon in this country?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo-morrow, as early as you will rise.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there any chance that the deer will come in the morning?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d said the knight; \u201cand you\u2019ll not have much of the morning\nbehind you when she\u2019ll give a call.\u201d\n\nNext morning the deer shouted, \u201cHere is the deer; but where are the\nhunters to follow?\u201d and made away swiftly.\n\nDyeermud, the small chief, the gruagach, and the knight hurried on in\npursuit. Coming evening, the knight saw the cave, and called out to\nDyeermud, \u201cHave a care of that place; for \u2019tis there she will enter.\u201d\n\nWhen the deer reached the cave, Dyeermud gave a kick with his right foot,\nand struck off one half her hind-quarter.\n\nBarely was this done, when out rushed a dreadful and ugly old hag, with\nevery tooth in her upper jaw a yard long, and she screaming, \u201cYou hungry,\nscorched scoundrel from Erin, how dared you ruin the sport of the small\nmen?\u201d\n\nThe words were hardly out of her mouth, when Dyeermud made at her with\nhis fist, and sent jaws and teeth down her throat. What the old hag did\nnot swallow, went half a mile into the country behind her.\n\nThe hag raced on through the land of the small men, and Dyeermud with his\nforces made after her. When they came to the castle, the king let a loud\nlaugh out of him.\n\n\u201cWhy do you give such a laugh?\u201d inquired Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cI thought that the knight had enough the first time he came to this\ncastle.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis proves to you that he had not,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cor he would not be\nin it the second time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d asked the king of the knight, \u201chave you any man now to cook\ndinner?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cand it\u2019s long since you or he had the like of\nhim. I\u2019ll cook your dinner, and we\u2019ll find the food.\u201d\n\nOut they went to a forest, and brought in twelve wild boars. Dyeermud\nskinned the game with his sword, dressed, cut, and cooked it. All ate to\nsatisfaction.\n\nLater on in the evening, the king asked the knight, \u201cHave you any man to\nshow action?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cif you will put out the same twelve men as you\ndid the first evening.\u201d\n\nThe king put them out; and Dyeermud took the end of the chain to pull\nagainst them. He pulled till he sank in the floor to his ankles; then he\nmade a whirl of the chain, and swept their twelve heads off the small\nmen. He opened the twelve, put their hearts on a plate, and made the king\neat them. \u201cYou forced the knight to swallow the hearts of his own sons,\u201d\nsaid Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWalk out of the castle, and punish us no more,\u201d cried the king. \u201cI\u2019ll\nlet out to the knight his sons, with their horses and hounds, and his own\nhorse and hounds, if you will not come to this kingdom again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will go if you do that,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cbut you are not to offend\nthe knight or his people; if you do, I am a better guide to find you a\nsecond time than I was the first.\u201d\n\nThe king took his rod of enchantment, went out to twelve stones, struck\nthe first, out came the first son on horseback, and a pack of hounds\nafter him. The king struck stone after stone till he put the twelve sons\nin front of the castle, with their horses and hounds; then he struck the\nthirteenth stone, and the horse and hounds of the knight appeared.\n\nThe knight looked around, and saw his eye in the hole of the chimney, and\nas much soot on it as would manure land under two stone of seed-potatoes.\n\n\u201cLook at my eye,\u201d said the knight.\n\nDyeermud looked. Then the king put the eye in the head of the knight, who\ncould see with it better than when he had it before.\n\nOut they went now from the king, safe and sound, and never stopped till\nthey reached the knight\u2019s castle for dinner. When dinner was over,\nDyeermud, the gruagach, and the small chief hastened on to the gruagach\u2019s\ncastle, and slept there.\n\nNext day Dyeermud and the small chief went home. On the following\nmorning, Dyeermud went to the king, told him the Rueful Knight\u2019s story,\nand said, \u201cNow I must have battle, or a sight of Fin MacCool.\u201d\n\n\u201cBattle I\u2019ll not give you,\u201d said the king; \u201cand a sight of Fin MacCool\nyou\u2019ll not have till you tell me what happened to the Lad of True Tales.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sorry,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cthat this was not said by you sooner. It\nis late for me now to be tearing my shoes on strange roads, and tiring\nmy feet in a foreign land.\u201d With that he sprang at the king, brought him\ndown by the throat from the window to the ground, and there broke every\nbone in his body. Then he put the castle foundation upward, looking for\nFin, and destroying all that he met, but could not find Fin till he met\nthe old little woman.\n\n\u201cO Dyeermud,\u201d said she, \u201cspare my head. I am more than a hundred years\nold. I have been faithful to Fin since he came here. I have never refused\nto do what he asked of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour head shall be spared,\u201d replied Dyeermud, \u201cthough old life is as\ndear to you as it is to young people; and take me now to where Fin is.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went with the old little woman to the door of Fin\u2019s chamber, and\nknocked. Fin knew the knock, and cried out, \u201cReach me your sword.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake it,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nFin\u2019s strength was trebled at sight of Dyeermud; and when he grasped the\nsword, he swore by it, saying, \u201cI will cut off your head if you come a\nfoot nearer.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not in your mind to speak thus to the man who has gone through\nso much for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am in my mind,\u201d said Fin; \u201cbut if we were to close our arms embracing\neach other in friendship, we could not open them for seven days and\nnights. Now, the woman who brought me from Ard na Conye, the bay which\nwe love most in Erin, save Fintra, will be here soon. Though there was\nnothing on earth to please the King of the White Nation more than my\nhead, there is another good man in the world, and the king wishes his\nhead as greatly as mine. The daughter has gone, and is using her highest\nendeavor to bring that head to her father; so hasten on to the boat,\nDyeermud, I will follow. If you find food, take it with you.\u201d\n\nDyeermud hurried off. In passing through the king\u2019s meadow he saw two\nfat bullocks grazing. He caught them, and, clapping one under each arm,\nran off to the boat. When Fin came, he found both bullocks skinned and\ndressed there before him.\n\nThey weighed anchor now and raised sails for Erin, ploughing the weighty\nsea before them night and day. Once Fin said to Dyeermud, \u201cLook behind.\u201d\nDyeermud looked, but saw nothing.\n\nThree hours later, Fin said, \u201cLook behind, and look keenly.\u201d\n\nDyeermud looked, and cried, \u201cI see behind us in the sky some bird like an\neagle, and flashes of fire blazing out from her beak.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we are caught at last, and it\u2019s a bad place we are in on the sea; we\ncannot fight here.\u201d\n\nThe bird was coming nearer, and gaining; but the wind favored, filled\nevery sail, and sent them bounding along till they were within five\nleagues of land; then they made one spring, and came down in Ferriter\u2019s\nCove.\n\nNo sooner had they landed, than the bird perched on the boat, turned it\nover, stood on the bottom, and from that saw Fin and Dyeermud on land.\nShe made for them; and the moment she touched shore became a woman.\n\nShe rushed to Fin, caught him in her arms most lovingly, and said,\nturning to Dyeermud, \u201cYou are the wicked man who put words between me and\nmy husband and parted us.\u201d\n\nThen, turning to Fin, she said, \u201cNow, my darling, come home with me. You\nwill be King of the White Nation, and I, your loving wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cRight and true for you,\u201d said Dyeermud. \u201cIt\u2019s the good wife and friend\nyou were to this man; and now I ask how long must he be your husband?\u201d\n\n\u201cTill a shovel puts seven of its fulls of earth on his head.\u201d\n\nDyeermud drew his sword, and struck a champion\u2019s blow on a ridge of land\nthat was near him; he was so enraged that he made a deep glen with that\nblow; then he caught Fin, and, stretching him in the glen, thrust his\nsword in the earth, and, throwing it as with a shovel on Fin, counted\none, two, three, four, five, six, seven. \u201cYour time is up with Fin,\u201d\nsaid he to the king\u2019s daughter; \u201che is in his own country, and you are a\nstranger. Take him a second time if you can, and I pledge you the faith\nof a champion that I will not put words between you.\u201d\n\nThe woman stooped down to put away the seven shovels of earth, and said\nto Fin while she was working, \u201cWe\u2019ll both be happy this time.\u201d\n\nWith that Dyeermud gave her one blow of his fist on the left ear, and\nsent her spinning through the air. She never stopped till she fell at the\nedge of the ocean, and became Fail Mahisht; and not another cliff in Erin\nhas so many limpets and periwinkles on it as that one.\n\nSo the daughter of the King of the White Nation gives much food to people\nin Erin from that day to this.\n\n\n\n\nFIN MACCOOL, THE THREE GIANTS, AND THE SMALL MEN.\n\n\nOn a day of the days when Fin MacCool was living at Rahin, he went out to\nwalk near Fintra. He had many cows and sheep at that time, and was going\namong his cattle, when all at once he saw a big man coming in from the\nsea.\n\nAt first he saw the man\u2019s head and shoulders, then half his body, and at\nlast his whole body. When the big man stood on the strand, he saluted\nFin. Fin returned the salute, and asked, \u201cWho are you, and what brought\nyou to Erin?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come from the King of the Big Men; and I want to see Fin MacCool.\u201d\n\n\u201cFin MacCool is not at home now,\u201d said Fin. \u201cAre you here with a message?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said the big man.\n\n\u201cI will give the message to Fin MacCool when he comes home; there is no\none he trusts more than me.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy master, the King of the Big Men, has heard much of Fin MacCool, and\ninvites him to come to his castle. The king lost two children. Some\none came in the night and stole them. Though guarded with wonderful\nstrictness, the children were carried away. The king fears to lose a\nthird child soon, unless Fin MacCool comes to advise and assist him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give that message to Fin MacCool,\u201d said Fin.\n\nThe big man left good health with Fin, then turned and went forward,\ngoing deeper till his head disappeared under water.\n\nA few days later Fin was walking in the same place where he had met the\nmessenger from the King of the Big Men, and he saw some very small men\nplaying hurley on the strand. He went to them, and spoke. They answered,\nand called him King of the Fenians.\n\n\u201cYou seem to know me,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cWe do indeed, and we know you very well,\u201d said the small men.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Fin, \u201cor what can you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we have many virtues,\u201d replied they.\n\n\u201cWhat virtue have you?\u201d asked Fin, turning to the biggest of the small\nmen.\n\n\u201cWell, whenever I sit down in any place I stay in it as long as I like;\nno man can lift me; no power can take me out of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cLazy Back,\u201d said the little fellow. \u201cNo man can stir me when I sit down.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow am I to know that you have that virtue?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cYou are a strong man yourself,\u201d answered Lazy Back; \u201cgive me a trial.\u201d\n\nThe little man sat down. Fin caught him with one hand, and tried to raise\nhim; but not a stir could he take out of Lazy Back.\n\n\u201cTry with both hands now,\u201d said Lazy Back.\n\nFin tried with both hands, tried with all the strength that was in him,\nbut could not move the little man.\n\n\u201cWhat is your virtue?\u201d asked Fin, turning to the second man; \u201cand who are\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy name is Hearing Ear.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you hear?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can hear a whisper in the Eastern World, and I sitting in this place.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked Fin of the third player.\n\n\u201cMy name is Far Feeler.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you feel?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cI can feel an ivy-leaf falling at the Eastern World, and I playing here\nat Fintra.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your name?\u201d asked Fin, turning to the fourth player.\n\n\u201cMy name is Knowing Man.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you know?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know all that will happen in every part of the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat power have you, and who are you?\u201d asked Fin of the fifth man.\n\n\u201cI am called Always Taking; I steal.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you steal?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever I set my mind on. I can steal the eggs from a snipe, and she\nsitting on them; and the snipe is the wariest bird in existence.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d asked Fin, looking at the sixth man.\n\n\u201cMy name is Climber. I can climb the highest castle in the world, though\nits sides were as slippery as glass.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked he of the seventh stranger.\n\n\u201cI am called Bowman.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can hit any midge out of a cloud of midges dancing in the air.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have good eyesight,\u201d said Fin, \u201cand good aim as well.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Fin of the eighth.\n\n\u201cI am called Three Sticks. I understand woodwork.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cI can make anything I please out of wood.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you make a ship?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow long would it take you to make one?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile you would be turning on your heel.\u201d\n\nHe took a chip of wood then from the shore, and asked Fin to turn on his\nheel. While Fin was turning, Three Sticks flung the piece of wood out on\nthe sea, and there it became a beautiful ship.\n\n\u201cWell, have you the ship made?\u201d asked Fin, looking on the strand.\n\n\u201cThere it is,\u201d said Three Sticks, \u201cfloating outside.\u201d\n\nFin looked, and saw the finest vessel that ever sailed on the deep\nsea; the butt of no feather was in, nor the tip of one out, except one\nbrown-backed red feather that stood at the top of the mast, and that\nmaking music and sport to encourage whatever champion would come on board.\n\n\u201cWill you all take service with me?\u201d asked Fin, looking at the eight\nsmall strangers. \u201cI wish to go to the kingdom of the Big Men. Will you\nguide me on the journey, and help me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are willing to serve you,\u201d answered they. \u201cThere is no part of the\nworld to which we cannot guide you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are your wages?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cFive gold-pieces to each man of us for a day and a year.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow much time do we need for the journey to the kingdom of the Big Men?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot many days,\u201d said Knowing Man.\n\nStores and provisions were put on the ship. Fin and the small men went\non board, and set sail; before many days they arrived at the kingdom of\nthe Big Men, and drew up their ship high and dry. They set out then for\nthe castle of the king; and no greater wonder was ever seen in that place\nthan Fin and his eight little men.\n\nThe king invited Fin and his company to a great feast. At the end of the\nfeast, the king said, \u201cMy third son was born to-day. My first son was\ntaken away on the night after his birth, and so was my second. I am full\nsure that this one will be taken from me to-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will guard the child,\u201d said Fin; \u201cand if I let your son go with any\none, I will give you my head.\u201d\n\nThe king was satisfied. Fin asked for a strong chamber and two nurses.\nThe strongest chamber in the castle was made ready; then Fin and his men,\nwith the child and two nurses, took their places inside.\n\n\u201cDo you know what will happen to-night?\u201d asked Knowing Man.\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d replied Fin; \u201cand I do not like to chew my thumb.[5] You can\ntell me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou gave your head in pledge,\u201d said Knowing Man, \u201cfor the safety of the\nchild; and you were a strange man to do so, for the child will be taken\nfrom this to-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you say that?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cI do. And do you know who will do it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you. In the Eastern World lives a sister of this king, a\nsavage hag and a terrible witch. This hag went to the Eastern World\nbecause she had a dispute with her brother. She is ungrateful, and full\nof malice; she comes now and steals away her brother\u2019s children to leave\nhim without heirs to his kingdom. When she finds this room closed on\nevery side, and sees no other way of reaching the child, she will climb\nto the roof, and stretch her arm down to catch the king\u2019s little son, and\ntake him away with her.\u201d\n\nLazy Back sat down near the hearth, and swore a great oath that if the\nhag thrust her hand down, he would hold her or keep the hand.\n\nA little after midnight, Hearing Ear said, \u201cI hear the hag; she is making\nready to leave her castle in the Eastern World, and giving strict orders\nto guard the two children while she is gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Far Feeler, \u201cnow I feel her going up through her own castle;\nnow I feel her going out through the door on the roof. Her castle has\nno entrance except an opening in the roof, and the walls of it are as\nslippery as glass.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will warn me when she is coming,\u201d said Fin to Hearing Ear.\n\n\u201cOh, I will,\u201d said Hearing Ear; \u201cI will not forget that.\u201d\n\nIn a little while the hag was at the castle, and going around it trying\nto enter. Although the castle was surrounded by sentries, not one of them\nsaw her; for she was invisible, through power of enchantment.\n\n\u201cShe has come,\u201d said Hearing Ear; \u201cshe is walking around the castle. Now\nis the time to watch her well.\u201d\n\nA few moments later, she thrust her arm down the chimney; and no sooner\nwas it down than Lazy Back caught her hand. When she felt her hand\ncaught, she struggled greatly; but Lazy Back kept the hold that he had,\nand nothing could stir him. At last the arm left the shoulder of the\nhag. Lazy Back drew the arm down the chimney. All looked at it with\namazement; and while the nurses were wondering at the arm, and Fin\nmeasuring its length and its thickness, they forgot the child. The hag\nthrust her other arm down then, caught the child, and hurried away home\nwith it. When the nurses saw that the child was gone, they screamed; and\nFin said,\u2014\n\n\u201cIt would be better for us to hurry to our vessel, and leave the country\nbefore the king is up in the morning; he will destroy us all for losing\nhis son.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not do that,\u201d said the little men. \u201cLate as it is, we will\nfollow the hag, and bring back the child.\u201d\n\nThey set out that moment; and since Fin could not keep up with the little\nmen, Lazy Back took him on his shoulder: and, in the twinkle of an eye,\nthey reached the ship, and set sail for the Eastern World.\n\nIndeed, they were not long on the journey; for they were enchanted. When\nthey came to land near the hag\u2019s castle, Fin, Bowman, and two others\nremained on the vessel. Climber, Thief, and the rest went for the child.\n\n\u201cWhere are you, Climber?\u201d asked Thief, when they were at the wall.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said Climber.\n\n\u201cTake me to the top of the castle.\u201d\n\nClimber took Thief on his back, and climbed like a butterfly to the top\nof the building; then Thief crept down into the castle, and returned\nquickly with the youngest of the children.\n\n\u201cTake this one down to our comrades, and hurry back to me.\u201d\n\nClimber went down, and hastened up again. Thief had another of the\nchildren at the top of the castle before him. Climber took that down,\nwith orders from Thief to carry the two children to the vessel. Then he\nreturned a third time, and Thief had the third child.\n\n\u201cTake this one, and come for me,\u201d said Thief.\n\nThe little men at the foot of the castle ran off to the ship with the\nlast child. Nimble as Thief was, he could not have taken the children\nat another time. All the servants were busied with the hag, who was\nsuffering terribly from the loss of her arm. They forgot the children for\na short time.\n\nClimber took Thief to the ground, and they started at full speed toward\nthe ship. When they came, Fin set sail for the kingdom of the Big Men.\n\n\u201cWe shall be pursued right away,\u201d said Knowing Man. \u201cIf the hag comes up\nwith the ship, she will destroy every man of us.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe will not,\u201d said Bowman. \u201cIf I get one glimpse of that hag, I will\nput an end to her life; and do you listen, Hearing Ear, to know is she\ncoming, and tell me when you hear her.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear her now,\u201d said Hearing Ear. \u201cShe is raging, and she is cursing\nthose who were minding the children, and let them be taken. Now she is\nleaving the castle; now she is racing on after us.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell us, Far Feeler, when she is coming near,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cShe is making a terrible uproar,\u201d said Hearing Ear.\n\n\u201cShe is coming toward us. She is very near,\u201d said Far Feeler.\n\nBowman saw her, rested his bow on the shoulder of another, aimed, and\nsent an arrow through the one eye in the middle of the hag\u2019s forehead.\nShe fell flat on the sea, and lay dead there. Fin and his small men moved\nforward swiftly to the castle. They arrived one hour before the end of\nnight, and from that time till daybreak there was joy in the chamber.\nThe small men and the two children of the king were playing together and\nenjoying themselves. Just before day, the king sent a servant to know\nwhat had happened in the chamber where his son was. The man could not\nenter, for they would not let him; but he looked through the keyhole. He\nwent back then, and said to the king,\u2014\n\n\u201cThey seem to be very merry inside; and there are two lads in the room\nbigger than any of the small men.\u201d\n\nThe king knew they would not be merry unless the child was there. What he\ndid was to throw on his mantle, and go himself to see. He knocked at the\ndoor.\n\n\u201cWho is there?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cI,\u2014the king.\u201d\n\nThe door was thrown open, and in walked the king. He saw the child in the\ncradle; but what was his wonder when he saw the other two. Without saying\na word, he seized Fin\u2019s hand and shook it; and then he thanked him.\n\n\u201cThere are your other two children,\u201d said Fin; \u201cand do you know who stole\nthem?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said Fin. \u201cHave you a sister?\u201d\n\n\u201cI had,\u201d answered the king, \u201cbut we became enemies; and I know not where\nshe is at this moment.\u201d\n\nThen Fin told everything that had happened in the night. \u201cAnd now you\nhave your three sons,\u201d said he to the king.\n\nThe king made a feast, which lasted seven days and seven nights. Never\nhad there been such a feast in the kingdom of the Big Men as that; and\nsure why not, for wasn\u2019t it a great thing for the king to have his three\nsons home with him? When the feast was over, the king sent his men to\ncarry all kinds of riches and treasures to Fin\u2019s ship; and for three days\nthey were carrying them. At parting, the king said to Fin, \u201cIf ever you\nneed my assistance, you have only to send for it.\u201d\n\nFin and his men sailed homeward then swiftly; and it was not long till\nthey reached Fintra. The ship was unloaded; and Fin was glad, looking at\nhis treasures, and thinking of his adventures in the land of the Big Men.\n\nSome time after Fin had come from the land of the Big Men, he sent\nwarriors to the chief ports of Erin to guard against enemies. One day his\nface was anxious and gloomy.\n\n\u201cYou seem to be grieving,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cyou would better tell us what\ntrouble is on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cSome trouble is near me,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cBy my hand,\u201d said Oscar, \u201cif you do not tell me your trouble, I will not\neat one morsel to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrouble is near me; but I know not yet what it is.\u201d\n\n\u201cChew your thumb then,\u201d said Oscar.\n\nFin chewed his thumb from the flesh to the bone, from the bone to the\nmarrow, from the marrow to the quick, and found out that there were three\ngiants in the Eastern World who were coming to attack himself and his\nforces, drive them into the sea like sheep, and leave not a man of them\nliving.\n\nFin knew not what to do; and he was in great grief that there should be\nthree men who could invade all Erin, and destroy its defenders.\n\n\u201cChew your thumb a second time,\u201d said Oscar, \u201cto know is there any way to\nconquer them. We have travelled the world, and no people have the upper\nhand of us so far. There must be arms against these three.\u201d\n\nFin chewed his thumb the second time; and the knowledge he got was this,\nthat fire would not burn, water would not drown, swords would not cut\neither of the three giants. There was nothing to kill them but three\nthings which their father had at home in the Eastern World; and if they\nsaw those three things, they would fall dead, and dissolve into three\nheaps of jelly. What the three things were, was not told. \u201cGo now,\u201d said\nFin to Dyeermud, \u201cand find the forces, and I will watch myself for the\nenemy.\u201d\n\nNext morning Fin took his sword under his arm, went to Fintra, and began\nto herd bullocks. He did this for some time, till one day above another\nhe saw three giants coming in toward him, the water not past their hips.\nHe wasn\u2019t long waiting when they came near the cliff where he was; and he\nsaw their hearts, their mouths were stretched open so widely, laughing at\nthe boy herding the cattle.\n\n\u201cWhere is Fin MacCool and his forces?\u201d asked one of the giants.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Fin, \u201cit is not for me to tell you where Fin MacCool is;\nI am only his herder. But is there anything in the world to kill you?\nIt must be there is not, and ye to have the courage to face Fin MacCool\nand his forces; for no people in the world have ever yet beaten them in\nbattle.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have come to Erin,\u201d said the giants, \u201cto find Fin MacCool; and we\nwill drive him and his forces into the sea, like sheep from the side of\na mountain. Fire cannot burn us; swords do not cut us; and water will\nnot drown us. Nothing in the world can cause our death but our own three\ncaps; and where they are, neither you nor Fin will ever know.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow am I to know,\u201d asked the herdsman, \u201cthat fire will not burn you, or\nwater drown you, or swords cut you? Let me give you a blow; and I\u2019ll know\nwill swords cut you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, little man,\u201d said one of the giants, \u201chow could you reach us with a\nsword?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will show you a place,\u201d said Fin, \u201cwhere I may be strong enough to\ngive a blow ye would remember.\u201d\n\nHe led the giants to a narrow place between two cliffs, and stood himself\non the top of one cliff. He gave then a terrible blow of his sword to the\nhead of one giant, but left not a sign of blood on him.\n\n\u201cBy my hand!\u201d said the giant, \u201cif every warrior in Fin MacCool\u2019s forces\nis as good at the sword as you, he need not be in dread of any men but\nus.\u201d\n\nFin gave the second giant a terrible blow, and staggered him.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the giant, \u201cno man ever gave me the like of that.\u201d\n\nHe struck the third giant a blow, and knocked him to his knees; but not a\ndrop of blood came.\n\n\u201cSuch a blow as that,\u201d said the giant, \u201cI never got from any man before.\nNow, how are you to know that water will not drown us?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a place which I will show you,\u201d said Fin. \u201cIf ye sleep in it\nto-night, and rise up in the morning before me, I shall know that water\ndoes not drown you.\u201d\n\nFin showed a place where the water was twenty fathoms deep. The three\nlay down together under the water to stay till next morning. Fin hurried\nhome then, gathered the Fenians together, and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI am in dread that these are the right giants. I knocked one trial out\nof them; swords will not cut them. They are sleeping to-night under\ntwenty fathoms of water; but I am full sure that they will rise from it\nhealthy and sound in the morning. Now, be ready, all of you, to scatter\nand go here and there throughout Erin. To-morrow, I am to try will fire\nburn them; when I know that, I will tell you what to do.\u201d\n\nThe following morning, Fin went to where the giants had spent the night,\nand whistled. The three rose up to him at once, and came to land.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the eldest, as he looked around and saw the cattle, \u201ca bite\nto eat would not harm us.\u201d\n\nWith that he faced one of the bullocks, and caught the beast by one horn.\n\n\u201cLeave him,\u201d said Fin; \u201cyou have no call to that bullock.\u201d\n\nFin caught the bullock by the other horn. The giant pulled, and Fin held\nhis own. One pulled, the other pulled, till between them they split the\nbullock from his muzzle to the tip of his tail, and made two equal parts\nof him.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis a deal for me to have this much itself,\u201d said Fin. \u201cI have saved\nhalf of my master\u2019s property. If ye want food, ye will get it at Fin\u2019s\nhouse. I will show the way; but first let me see will fire burn you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; we will make a great fire, and go into it; we\u2019ll stay in the\nfire till the wood is burned down, and then rise out of it as well as\never.\u201d\n\nThere were many trees in the country at that time. The giants and Fin\nwere not long making a great pile of dry limbs and logs. When the pile\nwas finished, the giants sat on the top of it, and Fin brought fire. The\nflames rose as high as the tree-tops.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis too hot here for me,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cThis is pleasant for us,\u201d said the giants; and they laughed as Fin went\nfrom the heat.\n\nFin could not come within ten perches of the fire. It burned all day, and\nthe blaze of it was seen all the following night. In the afternoon of the\nnext day, the pile had burned down, and the three giants were sitting at\ntheir ease on the hot coals.\n\n\u201cFire does not harm us; you see that,\u201d said the giants.\n\n\u201cI do, indeed,\u201d said Fin; \u201cand now ye may go to Fin\u2019s house for\nrefreshment.\u201d\n\nFin showed them a long road, hurried home himself by a short one, and\ngave command to the Fenians to scatter through Erin, and escape. Then,\nturning to his mother, he said, \u201cMake three cakes for the giants, put\niron griddles in the middle of them, and bake them a little in the ashes.\nYou will give these to the giants to eat. You will say that they are\nsoft, not well baked; that we complain when the bread is not hard. I will\nlie down in the dark corner, in that big box there. Do you bind my head\nand face with a cloth, and say, when the giants are eating, \u2018This poor\nchild is sick; I think his teeth are coming.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe old woman put three cakes in the ashes, and the griddles inside in\nthem. When the giants came, the cakes were ready, and the old woman was\nsitting near the cradle.\n\n\u201cIs this Fin MacCool\u2019s house?\u201d asked the giants.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cAnd is Fin himself in the house?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is not then,\u201d said the old woman; \u201cand it is seldom he is in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you any food to give us?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing but three loaves of bread; ye may have these, and\nwelcome.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive us the bread,\u201d said the giants.\n\nThe old woman put the cakes on the table. One took a bite, another took\na bite, then the third took a bite; and they all looked at one another.\n\n\u201cI know ye think the bread too soft,\u201d said Fin\u2019s mother. \u201cThe Fenians\nalways blame me for making it too soft; and these cakes are not baked\nvery well. They are softer than the usual bread of the Fenians.\u201d\n\nFrom shame, the giants ate the cakes, griddles and all. \u201cWell,\u201d muttered\nthey, \u201cto say that men would eat the like of that bread, and call it too\nsoft! It is no wonder that they walked the world without finding their\nequals.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat exercise do the Fenians have after meals?\u201d asked the giants.\n\n\u201cThere is a stone outside,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cwhich they throw over\nthe house. They throw the stone, run in one door, run out the door\nopposite, and catch the stone before it comes to the earth.\u201d\n\nOne giant caught the stone, but did not throw it. \u201cWhat is that?\u201d said\nthe other, running up and lifting the stone. To show his power, he threw\nit over the house, ran through both doors, and caught it coming down. The\nsame giant threw the stone back again, and left it in its old place. Each\nof the others then did the same as the first. The life came near leaving\nFin when he heard the giants throwing the stone, and racing to catch it.\nHe was in dread they\u2019d make bits of the house, and kill his old mother\nand himself.\n\n\u201cOh, then,\u201d said the giants, when they left the stone, \u201cit is no wonder\nthat other people get no hand of the Fenians.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, old woman,\u201d said the eldest giant, \u201cwhat is that you have there in\nthe dark corner?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy grandson, and it is sick and peevish he is.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose the child is getting his teeth?\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cIndeed, then, I don\u2019t know,\u201d said the old woman; \u201cbut maybe it is the\nteeth that are troubling him.\u201d\n\nWith that the eldest giant walked up to the cradle, and put his finger in\nthe child\u2019s mouth; but if he did, Fin took two joints off his finger with\na bite.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the giant, \u201cif the child grows like that till he is a man, he\nwill be the greatest champion in the world. To say that a child could\ntake the finger off me, and he in the cradle!\u201d\n\nAway went the giants; and when they were gone, Fin called his eight\nsmall men, and hurried to the ship. They hoisted sails, and went. They\nraised gravel from the bottom of the sea, and put the foam of the waves\nin the place of the gravel; and with every bound the ship made, she went\nforward ten leagues. Never before did a ship cross the water so swiftly;\nand Fin never stopped till he anchored in the Eastern World. He put the\nfastenings of a day and a year on the ship, though he might not be absent\none hour, and went away with his men. They were going on and travelling,\nand where did they come at last but to the castle of the old King of the\nEastern World, the father of the three giants. The old king laughed when\nhe saw Fin and the eight small men with him.\n\n\u201cIn what part of the world do such people live, and where are you going?\u201d\nasked the king. \u201cYou would better stay with me till my three sons come\nhome.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere are your sons?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cThey are in Erin. They went to that country to bring me the head of Fin\nMacCool, and to drown all his forces in the deep ocean.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey must be great men,\u201d said Fin, \u201cto go against Fin MacCool, and to\nthink of drowning his forces, and bringing Fin\u2019s head to you. Do you know\nthat no man ever got the better of Fin, or made any hand of the Fenians\nof Erin?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy sons are not like others,\u201d said the king; \u201cbut will you stay with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Fin, \u201cand why not?\u201d\n\nThe old king was very fond of amusement; and after a while Fin told what\na wonderful archer one of his little boys was. The king appointed a day\nfor a trial of skill in archery. All the greatest marksmen in the Eastern\nWorld were invited.\n\n\u201cWhere does the king keep his sons\u2019 three caps?\u201d asked Fin of Knowing Man.\n\n\u201cThere is a secret chamber in the castle; no one here but the king knows\nwhere it is. In that chamber are the caps. The king always keeps the key\nof that chamber in his pocket.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must show the chamber to Thief, to-morrow,\u201d said Fin.\n\nNext day, while the king was looking at the archery, and wondering at the\nskill of Bowman, who sent an arrow through the two eyes of a bird on the\nwing, Thief stole the key, and Knowing Man showed the secret chamber.\n\nThief stole the three caps, and gave them to Fin. Lazy Back ran for\nBowman; and all were soon on the ship sailing for Erin as swiftly as they\nhad come.\n\nWhen the ship was near land in Erin, what should Fin see but all the\nFenians coming down from the hilltops, and the three giants behind,\ndriving them toward the water? He went to the top of the mast then, and\nraised the three caps on three sticks.\n\nThe giants looked at the vessel sailing in, and saw their own caps. That\nmoment there was neither strength nor life left in them. They fell to the\nground, and turned into three heaps of jelly. Fin had come just in season\nto rescue his forces; in another half hour, he would not have found a man\nof the Fenians alive in Erin.\n\n\u201cOh, but you are here in time!\u201d said Oscar.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Fin; \u201cand it is well for you that I was able to come.\u201d\n\nFin and the Fenians had a great feast in Rahin, and a joyful night of it;\nand no wonder, for life is sweet.\n\nNext day the time of the small men was out; and Fin went to the strand\nwith them.\n\n\u201cI will pay you your wages to-day,\u201d said Fin. \u201cTo each man five\ngold-pieces. I am willing and glad to give more; for ye were the good\nservants to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe want nothing but our wages,\u201d said the small men.\n\nFin paid each five gold-pieces. He wanted the ship in which he had sailed\nto the Eastern World, and kept his eye on it.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Three Sticks, \u201cdon\u2019t mind that ship; look at the one beyond.\u201d\n\nFin turned in the other direction, and saw nothing but water.\n\n\u201cThere is no ship there,\u201d said he, turning to Three Sticks.\n\nBut Three Sticks and all his comrades were gone. Fin looked out on the\nwater; the ship was gone too. He was sorry for the ship, and sorry for\nthe small men; he would rather have them than all the Fenians of Erin.\n\n\n\n\nFIN MACCOOL, CEADACH OG, AND THE FISH-HAG.\n\n\nOn a time Fin MacCool and the Fenians were living at Rahonain, a mile\ndistant from Fintra. While Fin and his men were near Fintra, a champion\ncalled Ceadach Og, son of the King of Sorach, came to them to learn\nfeats of skill. They received Ceadach with gladness; and after a time he\nlearned all their feats, and departed. Fin and the Fenians were pleased\nwith his company; and Ceadach was grateful to Fin and the Fenians.\n\nAt some distance from Fintra, there lived at that time a famed champion,\nwho taught feats of valor and arms, and was surnamed the Knight of\nInstruction. With this man Ceadach engaged to gain still more knowledge.\n\nThe Knight of Instruction had a daughter; and there was with him a second\nman learning, whose nickname was Red Face.\n\nWhen the champions had learned all the feats from the knight, the two\nwere in love with his daughter. Not wishing that one of his pupils\nshould envy the other, the knight could not settle which man to choose.\nHe called then his druid, and laid the whole question before him.\n\n\u201cMy advice,\u201d said the druid, \u201cis this: Open two opposite doors in your\ncastle; place your daughter half-way between them; and let the two\nchampions pass out, one through one door, and one through the other.\nWhomever your daughter will follow, let her be the wife of that man.\u201d\n\nThe champions had their own compact, that the man whom the young woman\nwould follow should let the other have three casts of a spear at him, and\nhe without right of defence; but if another would defend, he might let\nhim.\n\nThe knight brought his daughter to the middle of the chamber, and opened\nthe doors. The young woman went out after Ceadach.\n\nCeadach and his wife went their way then together; and he feared to stop\nat any place till he came to a great lonesome forest. He went to the\nmiddle of the forest, built a house there, and lived with his wife for a\nseason.\n\nOne day as Fin was walking near the water at Fintra, he met a strange\ncreature,\u2014a woman to the waist, from the waist a fish. The human half was\nlike an old hag. When Fin stopped before her, he greeted the hag. She\nreturned the greeting, and asked him to play chess for a sentence.\n\n\u201cI would,\u201d answered Fin, \u201cif I had my own board and chessmen.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a good board,\u201d said the fish-hag.\n\n\u201cIf you have,\u201d said Fin, \u201cwe will play; but if you win the first game, I\nmust go for my own board, and you will play the second on that.\u201d\n\nThe hag consented. They played on her chessboard, and the hag won that\ngame.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Fin, \u201cI must go for my own board, and do you wait till I\nbring it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the fish-hag.\n\nFin brought his own board; and they played, and he won.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Fin, \u201cpass your sentence on me, since you won the first game.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the hag; \u201cand I place you under sentence of weighty\ndruidic spells not to eat two meals off the one table, nor to sleep two\nnights in the one bed, nor to pass out by the door through which you came\nin, till you bring me the head of the Red Ox, and an account of what took\nthe eye from the Doleful Knight of the Island, and how he lost speech and\nlaughter. Now pass sentence on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will think it too soon when you hear it,\u201d said Fin, \u201cbut here it is\nfor you. I place you under bonds of weighty druidic spells to stand on\nthe top of that gable above there, to have a sheaf of oats fixed on the\ngable beyond you, and to have no earthly food while I\u2019m gone, except what\nthe wind will blow through the eye of a needle fixed in front of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHard is your sentence, O Fin,\u201d said the fish-hag. \u201cForgive me, and I\u2019ll\ntake from your head my sentence.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever,\u201d said Fin. \u201cGo to your place without waiting.\u201d\n\nBefore Fin departed, the fish hag had mounted the gable.\n\nThe fame of the Red Ox had spread through all lands in the world, and\nno man could go near him without losing life. The Fenians were greatly\nunwilling to face the Red Ox, and thought that no man could match him,\nunless, perhaps, Ceadach.\n\nThough they knew not where Ceadach was living, nor where they were likely\nto find him, they started in search of that champion. They played with a\nball, as they travelled, driving it forward before them, knowing that if\nCeadach saw the ball he would give it a blow.\n\nWhile passing the forest where Ceadach and his wife, the knight\u2019s\ndaughter, were hiding, one of the Fenians gave the ball a great blow;\nbut as he aimed badly, the ball flew to one side, went far away, and fell\ninto the forest.\n\nCeadach was walking away from his house when the ball fell, and he saw\nit. He pulled down a tree-branch, and, giving a strong, direct blow,\ndrove the ball high in the air, and out of the forest.\n\n\u201cNo one struck that blow,\u201d said the Fenians, \u201cbut Ceadach, and he is here\nsurely.\u201d They went then toward the point from which they had seen the\nball coming, and there they found Ceadach.\n\n\u201cA thousand welcomes, Fin MacCool,\u201d said Ceadach. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am under sentence to bring the head of the Red Ox; and \u2019tis for it\nthat I am going: but I never can bring it unless you assist me. Without\nyou, I cannot lift from my head the sentence that is on it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it lay with me, I would go with you gladly; but I know that my wife\nwill not let me leave her. But do as I tell you now. When you come to\nus to eat dinner, taste nothing, and when my wife asks you to eat, say\nthat you will not eat till she grants a request: if she will not grant\nit, leave the house, and let all the Fenians follow; if she grants you a\nrequest, you are to ask that I go with you. I know that she will grant\nyou any request, except to take me in your company; for she is in dread\nthat I may meet Red Face.\u201d\n\nThey went to the house; the wife welcomed Fin with the others, and\nprepared dinner. When meat was placed before Fin, he would not taste it.\n\n\u201cWhy not eat, O King of the Fenians?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a request to make. If you grant it, I will eat; if not, neither I\nnor my men will taste food.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny request in my power, I will grant,\u201d said she, \u201cexcept one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d inquired Fin.\n\n\u201cIf you want Ceadach to go with you, I\u2019ll not grant that.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis he that I want,\u201d answered Fin.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll not get him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you may keep him,\u201d said Fin, rising from the table; and all the\nmen followed. Conan Maol, who was with them, thought it hard to leave the\ndinner untasted, so he took a joint of meat with him.\n\nWhen Fin and the Fenians had gone, Ceadach said to his wife, \u201cIt is a\ngreat shame to us that Fin and the Fenians have left our house without\ntasting food, and this their first visit. Never can I face a man of the\nFenians after what has happened this day.\u201d And he talked till the wife\nconsented to let him go with them.\n\nCeadach then whistled after Fin, who came back with his men; and they\nraised three shouts of joy when they heard that Ceadach would go with\nthem. They entered the house then; all sat down to dinner, and they\nneeded it badly.\n\nAfter dinner, all set out together, and went to Ceadach\u2019s father, the\nKing of Sorach, who was very powerful, and had many ships (Fin and the\nFenians had no ships at that time). Ceadach\u2019s father had received no\naccount of his son from the time that he left him at first, and was\nrejoiced at his coming.\n\nSaid Fin to the King of Sorach, \u201cI need a ship to bear me to the land\nwhere the Red Ox is kept.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may take the best ship I have,\u201d said the king.\n\nFin chose the best ship, and was going on board with his men when\nCeadach\u2019s wife said to him, \u201cWhen coming back, you are to raise black\nsails if Ceadach is killed, but white sails if he is living.\u201d\n\nFin commanded, and the men turned the prow to the sea, and the\nstern to land; they raised the great sweeping sails, and took their\nsmoothly-polished ship past harbors with gently-sloping shores, and there\nthe ship left behind it pale-green wavelets. Then a mighty wind swept\nthrough great flashing waves with such force that not a nail in the ship\nwas left unheated, nor the finger of a man inactive; and the ship raised\nwith its sailing a proud, haughty ridge in the sea. When the wind failed,\nthey sat down with their oars of fragrant beech or white ash, and with\nevery stroke they sent the ship forward three leagues through the water,\nwhere fishes, seals, and monsters rose around them, making music and\nsport, and giving courage to the men; and they never stopped nor cooled\ntill they entered the chief port of the land where the Red Ox was kept.\n\nWhen all had landed; Ceadach said, \u201cI need the fleetest man of the\nFenians to help me against the Red Ox; and now tell me what each of you\ncan do, and how fast he can run.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet out,\u201d said one man, \u201ctwelve hares in a field with twelve gaps in it,\nand I will not let a hare out through any gap of the twelve.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake a sieve full of chaff,\u201d said a second man, \u201cto the top of a\nmountain; let the chaff go out with the wind; and I will gather all in\nagain before as much as one bit of it comes to the ground.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I run at full speed,\u201d said a third man, \u201cmy tread is so light that\nthe dry, withered grass is not crushed underneath me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Dyeermud,\u201d said Ceadach, \u201cI think that you were the swiftest of all\nwhen I was the guest of Fin MacCool and the Fenians of Erin; tell me, how\nswift are you now?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am swifter,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cthan the thought of a woman when she is\nthinking of two men.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you will do,\u201d said Ceadach; \u201cyou are the fleetest of the Fenians;\ncome with me.\u201d\n\nFin and the Fenians remained near the ship, while Ceadach and Dyeermud\nwent off to face the Red Ox.\n\nThe Red Ox\u2019s resting-place was enclosed by a wall and a hedge; outside\nwas a lofty stone pillar; on this pillar the Red Ox used to rub his two\nsides. The Ox had but one horn, and that in the middle of his forehead.\nWith that horn, which was four feet in length, he let neither fly, wasp,\ngnat, nor biting insect come near, and whatever creature came toward him,\nhe sniffed from a distance.\n\nWhen he sniffed the two champions, he rushed at them. Ceadach bounded\ntoward the pillar.\n\nDyeermud took shelter at the hedge, and waited to see what would happen.\n\nCeadach ran round the pillar, and the Red Ox ran after him. Three days\nand three nights did they run; such was the speed of the two that\nDyeermud never caught sight of them during that time, nor did they have\nsight of each other: the Red Ox followed by scent. Near the close of the\nthird day, when both were growing tired, the Ox, seeing Ceadach, stopped\nfor an instant to run across and pierce him with his horn. Dyeermud got a\nglimpse of the Ox, then rose in the air like a bird, split the forehead\nof the Ox with one blow, and stretched him.\n\n\u201cMy love on your blow,\u201d said Ceadach; \u201cand it was time for you to give\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cPurblindness and blindness to me,\u201d replied Dyeermud, \u201cif I saw the Ox\ntill that instant.\u201d\n\nBoth were now joyful; for they had the head to take with them.\n\n\u201cIf Fin and his men had this carcass,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cit would give them\nbeef for many a day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Dyeermud,\u201d asked Ceadach, \u201chow much of the Ox can you carry?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think I can take one quarter, with the head.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you can do that,\u201d said Ceadach, \u201cI\u2019ll take the rest of the carcass\nmyself.\u201d\n\nCutting off one quarter, he thrust through it the point of the horn, put\nthe horn on Dyeermud\u2019s shoulder, with the head and quarter before and\nbehind him. Ceadach took the other three quarters himself. Before they\nhad gone half the way to the vessel, Dyeermud was tired, and Ceadach had\nto take that quarter as well as his own three; the head was as much as\nDyeermud could carry.\n\nWhen the two men appeared at the ship, all rejoiced greatly, and welcomed\nthem. Fin took the borabu then, and sounded it from joy; this sound\ncould be heard through the world. As the report had gone to all regions\nthat Fin was under sentence to kill the Red Ox, when Red Face heard the\nborabu, he said to himself, \u201cThat is Fin; the Red Ox is killed; no one\ncould kill him but Ceadach, and Ceadach is where the borabu is.\u201d Red Face\nhad the power of druidic spells; so he rose in the air, and soon dropped\ndown near the Fenians, and was unseen till he stood there before them.\n\nSaid Red Face to Ceadach, \u201c\u2019Tis many a day that I am following you; you\nmust stand your ground now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat you ask is but fair,\u201d answered Ceadach.\n\nRed Face went to the distance of a spear\u2019s cast, and hurled his spear at\nCeadach; but Dyeermud sprang up and caught it on his heel. Red Face made\na second cast. Goll MacMorna raised his hand to stop the spear; but it\nwent through his hand, and, going farther, pierced Ceadach, and killed\nhim.\n\nRed Face then vanished; and no man knew when he vanished, or to what\nplace he went.\n\nWhen Ceadach fell, the Fenians raised seven loud cries of grief that\ndrove the badgers from the glens in which they were sleeping.\n\nSaid Dyeermud to Fin, \u201cChew your thumb to know how we can bring Ceadach\nto life.\u201d\n\nFin chewed his thumb from the skin to the flesh, from the flesh to the\nbone, from the bone to the marrow, from the marrow to the juice, and then\nhe knew that there was a sow with three pigs in the Eastern World, and if\nblood from one of these pigs were put on Ceadach\u2019s wound, he would rise\nup well and healthy.\n\nFin took some men, and, leaving others to watch over Ceadach, set sail\nfor the Eastern World, and never stopped till he anchored in a port near\nthe place where the sow and her pigs were.\n\nFin knew all paths to the lair of the sow; and they went to it\nstraightway. When they came, she was away hunting food; so they took the\nthree pigs, hurried back to the vessel, set sail in all haste, and were\nsoon out at sea. When the sow came back to her lair, it was empty. Then\nshe found the scent of the men, followed it to the sea, and swam after\nthe ship.\n\nWhen the ship had made one-third of the voyage, the sow came in sight,\nand was soon near the stern. Fin ordered his men to throw out one pig\nof the three. The sow took the pig in her mouth, turned back, swam home,\nand left it in her lair. She turned a second time, followed the ship,\nand such was her speed and her venom, that little more than one-half of\nthe voyage was over when the sow was in sight again. When near the ship,\nthey threw her the second pig. The mother went back to her lair with the\nsecond pig, left it with the first, and rushed after the ship a third\ntime. Land was in sight when they saw the sow raging on after them.\n\n\u201cOh, we are lost!\u201d cried the Fenians.\n\nDyeermud then took a bow with an arrow, and, resting the bow on another\nman\u2019s shoulder, aimed so truly at the widely-opened mouth of the sow,\nthat the arrow, going in through her mouth, pierced her blood veins, and\nin no long time she turned her back downward and died.\n\nThey landed in safety, bled the pig; and when they let some of the blood\ninto Ceadach\u2019s spear-wound, he sprang up alive.\n\nWhen Ceadach was restored, Fin blew the borabu, and the Fenians raised\nseven shouts of joy that were heard throughout the whole kingdom. Then\nthey set sail for Sorach.\n\nCeadach\u2019s wife thought her husband long in coming, and was watching and\nwaiting every day for him. At last she saw the ship with white sails,\nand was glad.\n\nFin and his men landed, but left Ceadach on board.\n\n\u201cWhere is Ceadach?\u201d asked the wife, running out to meet Fin.\n\n\u201cHe is dead on the vessel,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not raise black sails as you promised?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe were so troubled that we forgot it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was well for you to forget; for if you had raised black sails, I\nshould have drowned every man of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cCeadach is living and well; have no fear,\u201d said Fin, and he sounded the\nborabu.\n\nCeadach landed. His father and wife were so glad to see him that they\nfeasted Fin and the Fenians for seven days and seven nights.\n\nFin told Ceadach\u2019s wife of all their adventures, and what struggles they\nhad in bringing her husband to life. She was glad; for the trouble with\nRed Face was ended.\n\nCeadach went now with Fin to visit the Doleful Knight of the Island; and\nthey never halted nor stopped till they came to his castle.\n\nFin found the knight sitting at a great heavy table, his head on his\nhand, his elbow on the table, into which it had worn a deep hole; a\nstream of tears was flowing from his eye to the table, and from the table\nto the floor.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you, Fin MacCool,\u201d said the knight; and\nhe began to weep more than ever. \u201cI was once in prosperity, and at that\ntime this was a pleasant place for a good man to visit; but now it is\ndifferent. I have food in plenty, but no one to cook it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that\u2019s all your trouble,\u201d said Fin, \u201cwe can cure it.\u201d\n\nFin\u2019s men were not slow in preparing a dinner. When the dinner was eaten,\nthe knight turned to Fin and inquired, \u201cWhy have you come to my castle,\nChief of the Fenians of Erin?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said Fin. Then he related his story, and all his\nadventures with Ceadach.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the knight, \u201cit will shorten my life by seven years to give\nthe tale of my sufferings; for they will be as fresh to me now, as when\nfirst I went through them. But as you are under bonds to know them, I\nwill tell you.\n\n\u201cI was here in wealth and prosperity, myself and my three sons. We used\nto hunt beasts and birds with our dogs when it pleased us. On a May\nmorning a hare came, and frisked before my hall-door. Myself and my three\nsons then followed her with dogs, and followed all day till the height of\nthe evening. Then we saw the hare enter an old fairy fort. The opening\nwas wide; we were able to follow. In we rushed, all of us, and the next\nthing we saw was a fine roomy building. We went in, looked around for the\nhare, but saw not a sight of her. There was no one within but an old man\nand woman. We were not long inside till three gruagachs came, each with a\nwild boar on his shoulders. They threw the wild boars on the floor, and\ntold me to clean them, and cook them for dinner. One of my sons fell to\ncleaning a boar; but for every hair that he took from him, ten new ones\ncame out, so the sooner he stopped work the better.\n\n\u201cThen one of the old gruagach\u2019s sons placed the boars in a row, the head\nof the one near the tail of the other, and, taking a reed, blew once,\nthe hair was gone from all three; twice, the three boars were dressed; a\nthird time, all were swept into one caldron.\n\n\u201cWhen the meal was cooked and ready, a gruagach brought two spits to me,\none of dull wood, the other formed of sharp iron. The old man asked,\n\u2018Which will you choose?\u2019\n\n\u201cI chose the sharp iron spit, went to the caldron, and thrust in the\nspit; but if I did, I raised only a poor, small bit of meat, mostly bone.\nThat was what I and my three sons had for dinner.\n\n\u201cAfter dinner, the old man said, \u2018Your sons may perform now a feat for\namusement.\u2019\n\n\u201cIn three rooms were three cross-beams, as high from the floor as a man\u2019s\nthroat. In the middle of each beam was a hole. Through this hole passed\na chain, with a loop at each end of it. In front of the hole on each\nside of the beam was a knife, broad and sharp. One loop of each chain\nwas put on the neck of a son of mine, and one on the neck of a gruagach.\nThen each of the six was striving to save his own throat, and to cut off\nthe head of the other man; but the gruagachs pulled my three sons to the\ncross-beams, and took the three heads off them.\n\n\u201cThen they dressed them, and boiled them for supper. When that supper was\nready, they struggled to force me to eat some, but could not. Next they\nthrew me across the broad table, plucked out one eye from my head, thrust\na light in the socket, and made me lie there, and serve as a candlestick.\nIn the morning, I was flung out through the door, while the gruagach\ncried after me, \u2018You\u2019ll not come to this castle a second time!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you seen that hare since?\u201d inquired Ceadach.\n\n\u201cI have, for she comes each May morning, and that renews and gives\nstrength to my sorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo-morrow will be May day; come with me, and we\u2019ll hunt her,\u201d said\nCeadach.\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said the Knight of the Island.\n\nThe hare came after breakfast next morning, and halted in front of the\ncastle. The knight was unwilling to hunt, but still yielded to Ceadach,\nand followed with the others.\n\nTime after time, they came close to the hare, but never could catch her.\nAt last, in the height of the evening, when nearing the same fairy fort,\nthe hound Bran snapped at the haunch of the hare, and took a full bite\nfrom her. All passed through the entrance, found the house, and no person\ninside but an old man and woman. The old woman was lying in bed, and she\ngroaning.\n\n\u201cHave you seen a hare in this house?\u201d inquired Ceadach.\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said the old man.\n\nCeadach saw traces of blood on the bed, and went toward the old woman,\nwho was covered up closely; raising the clothes, he said, \u201cMaybe \u2019tis\nhere that the hare is.\u201d\n\nThe old woman was covered with blood, and wounded in the very same way as\nthe hare. They knew then who was the cause of misfortune to the Knight of\nthe Island, and who made the visits each year on May morning.\n\nThey were not long in the house when the gruagachs, the sons of the old\nman, came in, each with a wild boar on his shoulders. Seeing the Knight\nof the Island, they laughed, and said, \u201cWe thought you had enough of this\nplace the first time that you came here.\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw more than I wished to see,\u201d said the Knight of the Island; \u201cbut I\nhad to come this time.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you any man to cook dinner for us?\u201d asked the old gruagach of Fin.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll do that myself,\u201d put in Ceadach, who turned to one of the brothers,\nand asked, \u201cWhere is your reed; I must use it.\u201d\n\nThe reed was brought. Ceadach blew once, the boars were clean; twice,\nthey were dressed, and ready; thrice, they were in the caldron.\n\nWhen the spits were brought, Ceadach took the dull wooden spit, thrust it\ninto the pot, and took up all that was in there.\n\nFin, Ceadach, and the knight ate to their own satisfaction; then they\ninvited the old gruagach and his three sons to dinner.\n\n\u201cWhat amusement have you in this place?\u201d asked Fin, later in the evening.\n\n\u201cWe have nothing,\u201d said the old gruagach and his sons.\n\n\u201cWhere are your chains?\u201d asked Ceadach.\n\n\u201cWe make no use of them now,\u201d said the young gruagachs.\n\n\u201cYou must bring them,\u201d said Ceadach.\n\nThe chains were brought, drawn through the cross-beams, and three loops\nof them put on the necks of the gruagachs. No matter what strength was in\nthe three brothers, nor how they struggled, Ceadach brought their throats\nto the knives, and took the three heads off them. Next they were boiled\nin the caldron, as the knight\u2019s three sons had been boiled the first\ntime. Then Ceadach seized the old gruagach, flung him across the broad\ntable, plucked out one eye from his head, and fixed a light in the empty\nsocket.\n\nAt sight of what the gruagachs passed through, the Doleful Knight of the\nIsland let one roaring laugh out of him, his first laugh in seven years.\n\nNext morning Ceadach, pointing to the Knight of the Island, said to the\nold gruagach, \u201cUnless you bring this man\u2019s three sons to life, I will\ntake your own head from you.\u201d\n\nThe bones of the three sons were in three heaps of dust outside the door.\nThe gruagach took a rod of enchantment, and struck the bones. The three\nsons of the knight rose up as well and strong as ever, and went home. The\nKnight of the Island gave a feast to Fin and Ceadach. After that Fin,\nwith his men and Ceadach, sailed back to the King of Sorach. Ceadach\nremained with his wife and father. Fin went to the harbor of Fintra,\ntaking with him the head of the Red Ox, and the story of the Doleful\nKnight, to the fish-hag.\n\n\u201cHave you the head of the Red Ox?\u201d asked the hag.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d answered Fin.\n\n\u201cYou will give it to me,\u201d said the hag.\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d answered Fin. \u201cIf I was bound to bring it, I was not bound\nto give it.\u201d\n\nWhen she heard that, the hag dropped to the earth, and became a few\nbones.\n\n\n\n\nFIN MACCOOL, FAOLAN, AND THE MOUNTAIN OF HAPPINESS.\n\n\nWhen Fin MacCool and the Fenians of Erin were at Fintra, they went\nhunting one day; and the man who killed the first deer was Dyeermud.\nWhen the hunt was over, they returned to the place where the first deer\nwas started, and began, as was usual, to prepare the day\u2019s feast. While\npreparing the feast, they saw a ship sailing into the harbor, with only\none woman on board. The Fenians were greatly surprised at the speed of\nthe vessel; and Dyeermud said to Fin, \u201cI will go and see who is the woman\ncoming in that vessel.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou killed the first deer,\u201d replied Fin, \u201cand the honors of the feast on\nthis day are yours. I myself will go down and see who the woman is.\u201d\n\nThe woman cast anchor, sprang ashore, and saluted Fin, when he came to\nthe strand. Fin returned the salute, and, after a while, she asked, \u201cWill\nyou play a game of chess for a sentence?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d answered Fin.\n\nThey played, and she won.\n\n\u201cWhat is your sentence on me?\u201d inquired Fin.\n\n\u201cI sentence you, under bonds of heavy enchantment,\u201d said she, \u201cto take me\nfor your wife.\u201d\n\nFin had to marry the woman. After a time, she said, \u201cI must leave you now\nfor a season.\u201d\n\nFin drove his sword then, with one mighty blow, into a tree-stump, and\nsaid, \u201cCall your son Faolan [little wolf], and never send him to me until\nhe is able to draw the sword from this stump.\u201d\n\nShe took the stump with her, and sailed away homeward. She nursed her son\nfor only three days, and preserved the rest of the milk for a different\nuse. The boy was called Faolan, was trained well in the use of all arms,\nand when ten years of age, he was skilled beyond any master. One day\nthere was a game of hurley, and Faolan played alone, against twenty one\nothers. The rule of that game was that whoever won was to get three blows\nof his club on each one who played against him. Faolan gave three blows\nto each of the twenty-one men; among them was one who was very much hurt\nby the blows, and he began to say harsh words to Faolan, and added, \u201cYou\ndon\u2019t know your own father.\u201d\n\nFaolan was greatly offended at this. He went home to his mother, in\ntears, and asked, \u201cWho is my father? I will never stop nor stay till I\nfind him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat caused your vexation?\u201d asked the mother. \u201cWhy do you ask such a\nquestion at this time?\u201d\n\nFaolan told her the words of the player. At last she said, \u201cYour father\nis Fin MacCool, Chief of the Fenians of Erin; but you are not to be sent\nto him till you can draw his sword from the tree-stump into which he\ndrove it with one blow.\u201d\n\n\u201cShow me the sword and the tree-stump,\u201d said Faolan.\n\nShe took him then to the stump. With one pull, he drew out the sword.\n\n\u201cPrepare me food for the road,\u201d said Faolan. \u201cI will go to my father.\u201d\n\nThe mother made ready three loaves of bread, kneaded them with the milk\nwhich she had saved, and baked them.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said she, \u201cdo not refuse bread on the journey to any one whom\nyou meet; give it from these loaves, even should you meet your worst\nenemy.\u201d\n\nShe took down a sword then, gave it to him, and said, \u201cThis was your\ngrandfather\u2019s sword; keep it, and use it till a better one comes to you.\u201d\n\nFaolan took a blessing of his mother, set out on his journey, and was\nwalking always, till he came to a harbor where he found a ship bound for\nErin. He went on board, and was not sailing long, when a venomous hound\nrose up in the sea, and cast such high waves at the vessel as to throw it\nback a long distance.\n\nRemembering his mother\u2019s advice about sharing the bread, Faolan threw one\nloaf to the hound. This seemed to appease him. He had not sailed much\nfurther, when the hound rose again. Faolan threw out the second loaf; and\nthe beast disappeared for a while, but rose the third time, and drove\nback the vessel. Faolan threw the third loaf; and, after disappearing\nthe third time, the hound rose the fourth time. Having nothing to give,\nFaolan seized a brazen ball which his mother had given him, and, hurling\nit at the hound with good aim, killed him on the spot. As soon as the\nhound fell, there rose up a splendid youth, who came on board, and,\nshaking Faolan\u2019s hand, said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI thank you; you delivered me from enchantment. I am your mother\u2019s\nbrother; and there was nothing to free me till I ate three loaves kneaded\nwith your mother\u2019s milk, and was then killed by you with that brazen\nball. You are near Ventry Strand now; among the first men you meet will\nbe your own father. You will know him by his dress; and when you meet\nhim, kneel down and ask for his blessing. As I have nothing else to give,\nhere is a ring to wear on your finger, and whenever you look at it you\nwill feel neither cold, thirst, nor hunger.\u201d\n\nWhen they landed, the uncle went his own way and vanished. Faolan saw\nchampions playing on the strand, throwing a great weighty sledge.\n\nKnowing Fin from his mother\u2019s description, he knelt down at his feet, and\nasked for his blessing.\n\n\u201cIf you are a son of mine,\u201d said Fin, \u201cyou are able to hurl this sledge.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is too young,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cto throw such a weight; and it is a\nshame for you to ask him to throw it.\u201d\n\nThe youth then, growing angry, caught the sledge, and hurled it seven\npaces beyond the best man of the Fenians.\n\nFin shook hands with the youth; and his heart grew big at having such a\nson. Dyeermud shook his hand also, and swore that as long as he lived he\nwould be to him a true comrade.\n\nWhen dinner-time came, Fin bade Faolan sit down at his right hand, where\nConan Maol, son of Morna, sat usually. Fin gave this place to Conan\nto keep him in humor. Conan grew enraged now, and said, \u201cIt is great\nimpudence for a stripling to sit in my place.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not who you are,\u201d said Faolan, \u201cbut from what I hear you must be\nConan Maol, who has never a good word for any man; and I would break your\nhead on the wall, but I don\u2019t wish to annoy people present.\u201d\n\nIt was a custom of the Fenians in eating to set aside every bone that\nhad marrow for Oscar, and as Faolan had a thick marrow-bone in his hand,\nhe began to pick out the marrow, and eat it. This enraged Oscar, and he\nsaid, \u201cYou must put that bone aside as the others put their bones; that\nis my due, and I will have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs the meat is mine,\u201d said Faolan, \u201cso is the marrow.\u201d\n\nOscar snatched at the youth, and caught the bone by one end. Faolan\nheld the other end. Both pulled till they broke the bone, then, seizing\neach other, they went outside for a struggle. As the two were so nearly\nrelated, the other men stopped them. Fin took Oscar aside then, and\nasked, \u201cHow long could you live if we let the youth keep his grip on you?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he kept his grip with the same strength, I could not live five\nminutes longer.\u201d\n\nFin took Faolan aside then, and asked the same question.\n\n\u201cI could live for twelve months, if he squeezed me no tighter.\u201d\n\nThe two then kept peace with each other. All were very fond of Faolan,\nespecially Dyeermud, who was a good, loyal comrade; and he warned Faolan\nto distrust and avoid Grainne, Fin\u2019s wife, as much as he could. The youth\nwas learning, meanwhile, to practise feats of activity and bravery. At\nthe end of twelve months, the Fenians were setting out on a distant hunt,\nfor which they had long been preparing. On the eve of the hunt, Grainne\ndropped on her knees before Fin, and begged him to leave Faolan with\nher for company, until he and the rest would return. Fin consented, and\nFaolan stayed with Grainne.\n\nWhen all the others had gone to the great hunt, Faolan and Grainne went\nalso to hunt in the neighborhood. They did not go far, and returned.\nAfter dinner, Grainne asked Faolan would he play a game of chess for a\nsmall sentence. He said that he would. They played, and he won.\n\n\u201cWhat is your sentence on me?\u201d asked Grainne.\n\n\u201cI have no sentence at this time,\u201d replied Faolan.\n\nThey played again, and she won.\n\n\u201cNow put your sentence on me,\u201d said the youth.\n\n\u201cYou will think it soon enough when you hear it. You are not to eat two\nmeals off the same table, nor sleep two nights on the same bed, till\nyou bring me the tallow of the three oxen on Sliav Sein [Mountain of\nHappiness].\u201d\n\nWhen he heard this sentence, he went off, threw himself face downward on\nhis bed, and remained there without eating or drinking till the Fenians\ncame back from the hunt. Fin and Dyeermud, not seeing Faolan when they\ncame, went in search of him.\n\n\u201cHave you found Faolan?\u201d asked Dyeermud of Fin, when he met him soon\nafter.\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d answered Fin.\n\nDyeermud then went to see if he could find Faolan in bed. As the door of\nhis chamber was fastened, and no one gave answer, Dyeermud forced it, and\nfound Faolan on his face in the bed. After they had greeted each other,\nFaolan told of the trouble that was on him.\n\n\u201cI gave you warning against Grainne,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cbut did you win any\ngame of her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did; but have put no sentence on her yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am glad,\u201d answered Dyeermud; \u201cand let me frame the sentence. I swear\nby my sword to be loyal to you; and where you fall, I will fall also.\nBut be cheerful, and come to the feast.\u201d\n\nThey went together, and Fin, seeing them, was glad. He knew, however,\nthat something had happened to Faolan. Dyeermud went to Fin, and told him\nof the mishap to the youth. Fin was troubled at what had come on his son.\n\n\u201cI have sworn,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cto follow Faolan wherever he may be.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will send with him,\u201d said Fin, \u201cthe best man of the Fenians.\u201d\n\nDyeermud, Oscar, and Goll, son of Morna, were summoned.\n\n\u201cWhat is your greatest feat?\u201d inquired Fin of Goll.\n\n\u201cIf I were to stand in the middle of a field with my sword in my hand on\nthe rainiest day that ever rose, I could keep my head dry with my sword,\nnot for that day alone, but for a day and a year,\u201d answered Goll.\n\n\u201cThat is a good feat,\u201d said Fin. \u201cWhat is your greatest feat, Oscar?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I open a bag filled with feathers on a mountain-top of a stormy day,\nand let the feathers fly with the wind, the last feather will barely be\nout of the bag, when I will have every feather of them back into the bag\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a very good feat,\u201d answered Fin, \u201cbut it is not enough yet.\nNow, Dyeermud, what is your feat of swiftness?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I were put on a space of seven hundred acres, and each acre with a\nhedge around it, and there were seven hundred gaps in the hedge of each\nacre, and seven hundred hares were put on each acre of the seven hundred,\nI would not let one hare out of the seven hundred acres for a day and a\nyear.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is a great feat,\u201d remarked Fin; \u201cthat will do.\u201d\n\n\u201cChew your thumb, O Fin,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cand tell me if it is fated to\nus to come back from the journey?\u201d\n\nFin chewed his thumb. \u201cYou will come back; but the journey will be a hard\nand a long one: you will be ankle deep in your own blood.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went to Faolan, and told him what sentence to put upon Grainne.\n\nOn the following day, Fin led Grainne forth for her sentence; and Faolan\nsaid, \u201cYou are to stand on the top of Sliav Iolar [Mount Eagle], till I\ncome back to Fintra; you are to hold in your hand a fine needle; you are\nto have no drink saving what rain you can suck through the eye of that\nneedle, no food except what oats will be blown through the eye of that\nvery needle from a sheaf on Sliav Varhin; and Dyeermud will give three\nblows of a flail to the sheaf to loosen the grain.\u201d\n\nFaolan and Dyeermud set out on their journey. They travelled three days,\nand saw no house in which they could rest for the night.\n\n\u201cWhen we find a house,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cwe will have from the people a\nlodging, either with their good will, or in spite of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will help you in that,\u201d said Faolan.\n\nOn the evening of the fourth day, a large white-fronted castle appeared\nin the distance. They went toward it, and knocked at the door. A fine\nyoung woman welcomed them kindly, and kissed Faolan. \u201cYou and I,\u201d said\nshe, \u201cwere born at the same hour, and betrothed at our birth. Your mother\nmarried Fin to rescue her brothers, your uncles, from the bonds of\nenchantment.\u201d\n\nThey sat down to eat and drink, the young woman, Dyeermud, and Faolan;\nthey were not long eating when in came four champions, all torn, cut, and\nbleeding. When Dyeermud saw these, he started up, and seized his sword.\n\n\u201cHave no fear,\u201d said the young woman to Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWe are returning from battle with a wild hag in the neighborhood,\u201d said\nthe four champions. \u201cShe is trying to take our land from us; and this is\nthe seventh year that we are battling with the hag. All of her warriors\nthat we kill in the daytime, she raises at night; and we have to fight\nthem again the next day.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo man killed by my sword revives; and these will not, if I kill them,\u201d\nsaid Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cThey would revive after your sword,\u201d said the four champions.\n\n\u201cDo you stay at home to-morrow,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cFaolan and I will give\nbattle to the hag and her forces; no one whom we slay will trouble you\nhereafter.\u201d\n\nThe four champions agreed, and gave every direction how to find the wild\nhag and her army. Faolan and Dyeermud went to the field; one began at\none end, and one at the other, and fought till they met in the middle at\nsunset, and slew all the hag\u2019s warriors.\n\n\u201cGo back to the castle,\u201d said Faolan to Dyeermud; \u201cI will rest here\nto-night, and see what gives life to the corpses.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will stay,\u201d replied Dyeermud, \u201cand you may return.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I will stay here,\u201d said Faolan; \u201cif I want help, I will run to the\ncastle.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went back to the castle. About midnight, Faolan heard the voice\nof a man in the air just above him. \u201cIs there any one living?\u201d asked the\nvoice. Faolan, with a bound, grasped the man, and, drawing him down with\none hand, pierced him through with a sword in his other hand. The man\nfell dead; and then, instead of the old man that he seemed at first, he\nrose up a fresh young man of twenty two years. The young man embraced and\nthanked Faolan. \u201cI am your uncle,\u201d said he, \u201cbrother of the poisonous\nhound that you freed from enchantment at sea. I was fourteen years in\nthe power of the wild hag, and could not be freed till my father\u2019s sword\npierced me. Give me that sword which belonged to my father. It was to\ndeliver me that your mother gave you that blade. I will give you a better\none still, since you are a greater champion than I. I will give you my\ngrandfather\u2019s sword; here it is. When the wild hag grows uneasy at my\ndelay, she herself will hasten hither. She knew that you were to come and\nrelease me, and she is preparing this long time to meet you. For seven\nyears, she has been making steel nails to tear you to pieces; and she has\nsweet music which she will play when she sees you: that music makes every\nman sleep when he hears it. When you feel the sleep coming, stab your leg\nwith your sword; that will keep you awake. She will then give you battle;\nand if you chance to cut off her head, let not the head come to the body:\nfor if it comes on the body, all the world could not take it away. When\nyou cut off her head, grasp it in one hand, and hold it till all the\nblood flows out; make two halves of the head, holding it in your hand\nall the while; and I will remove the stone cover from a very deep well\nhere at hand; and do you throw the split head into that well, and put the\ncover on again.\u201d\n\nThe uncle went aside then; and soon the hag came through the air. Seeing\nFaolan, she began to play strains of beautiful music, which were putting\nhim to sleep; but he thrust his new sword in the calf of his leg, and\nkept away sleep. The wild hag, outwitted, attacked the youth fiercely,\nand he went at her in earnest. Every time that she caught him with her\nnails, she scraped skin and flesh from his head to his heels; and then,\nremembering his mother, and being aroused by his uncle, he collected his\nstrength, and with one blow cut the head off the hag; but he was so spent\nfrom the struggle that it took him some time to seize the head, and so\nweak was he that he could not raise his hand to split it.\n\n\u201cLay your sword on the head; the blade alone will split it!\u201d cried the\nuncle.\n\nFaolan did this. The sword cut the head; and then Faolan threw the head\ninto the well. Just as he was going to cover the well, the head spoke,\nand said, \u201cI put you under bonds of heavy enchantment not to eat two\nmeals off the same table, nor sleep two nights on the same bed, till\nyou tell the Cat of Gray Fort that you destroyed the wild hag out of her\nkingdom.\u201d\n\nThe uncle embraced Faolan then, and said, \u201cNow I will go to my sister,\nyour mother; but first I will guide you to this hag\u2019s enchanted well: if\nyou bathe in its water, you will be as sound and well as ever.\u201d\n\nFaolan went, bathed in the well, and, when fully recovered, returned\nto the castle. Thinking Gray Fort must be near by, he did not rouse\nDyeermud, but went alone in search of the cat. He travelled all day, and\nat last saw a great fort with the tail of a cat sticking out of it. \u201cThis\nmay be the cat,\u201d thought he, and he went around the whole fort to find\nthe head. He found it thrust out just beyond the tail.\n\n\u201cAre you the Cat of Gray Fort?\u201d inquired Faolan.\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said the cat.\n\n\u201cIf you are,\u201d said Faolan, \u201cI destroyed the wild hag out of her kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you did,\u201d said the cat, \u201cyou will kill no one else; for the hag was\nmy sister.\u201d\n\nThe cat rushed at Faolan then; and, bad as the hag had been, the cat\nwas far worse. The two fought that night furiously, till the following\nmorning, when Faolan cut the cat in two halves across the middle. The\nhalf that the head was on ran around trying to meet the other half; but\nbefore it could do so, Faolan cut the head off the front half. Then the\nhead spoke, and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds of enchantment not to eat two meals off the one\ntable, nor sleep two nights on the one bed, till you tell the Kitten of\nCul MacKip that you killed the Cat of Gray Fort and destroyed the wild\nhag out of her kingdom.\u201d\n\nFaolan then hurried forward to find the kitten. Thinking that her place\nwas near, he did not go back to the castle for Dyeermud, but held on the\nwhole day, walking always. Toward evening, he saw a castle, went toward\nit, and entered it. When inside he saw half a loaf of barley-bread and a\nquart of ale placed on the window. \u201cWhoever owns these, I will use them,\u201d\nsaid the youth.\n\nWhen he had eaten and drunk, he put down a fire for the night, and saw\na kitten lying near the ashes. \u201cThis may be the Kitten of Cul MacKip,\u201d\nthought he; and, shaking it, he asked, \u201cAre you the Kitten of Cul MacKip?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said the kitten.\n\n\u201cIf you are,\u201d said Faolan, \u201cthen I tell you that I killed the Cat of Gray\nFort and destroyed the wild hag out of her kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you did,\u201d said the kitten, \u201cyou will never kill any one else,\u201d and,\nstarting up, the kitten stretched, and was as big as a horse in a moment.\nShe sprang at Faolan, and he at her. They fought fiercely that night, and\nthe following day, but Faolan, toward evening, swept the head off the\nkitten; but as he did, the head spoke, and said, \u201cI put you under bonds\nof heavy enchantment not to eat two meals off the same table, nor sleep\ntwo nights on the same bed, till you tell the Dun Ox that you slew the\nKitten of Cul MacKip, killed the Cat of Gray Fort, and destroyed the wild\nhag out of her kingdom.\u201d\n\nBefore setting out, Faolan saw a brass ball on the window, and, taking\nit, said to himself, \u201cI may kill some game with this on the road.\u201d\n\nAway he went then, and walked on till he came to where the road lay\nthrough a wood; near the road was a forester\u2019s cabin. Out came the\nforester with a hundred thousand welcomes.\n\n\u201cGlad am I to see you; gladder still would I be if your comrade,\nDyeermud, were with you,\u201d said the forester.\n\n\u201cCan you tell me where the Dun Ox is?\u201d asked Faolan.\n\n\u201cIn this wood,\u201d said the forester; \u201cbut do you bring your comrade to help\nyou against the Dun Ox; by no chance can you slay him alone. The Dun Ox\nhas only one eye, and that in the middle of his forehead; over that eye\nis a shield of white metal; from that shield two bars of iron run back\nto the tail of the ox. Behind him, two champions are on guard always;\nand when any one nears him, the ox sniffs the stranger, and roars; the\nchampions lean on the bars then, and raise up the shield. When the one\neye of the ox sees the person approaching, that moment the person falls\ndead. What are your chances of slaying that ox? Go back for your comrade.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said Faolan; \u201cthe ox will fall by me, or I by the ox.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is you that will fall,\u201d said the forester.\n\nFaolan entered the cabin, where the forester treated him well. Next\nmorning the forester showed the path that lay toward the place where the\nox was. Faolan had not gone far when the ox roared, and, looking in the\ndirection of the roar, he saw the two champions just seizing the bars\nto raise up the shield, so, failing other means, he sent the ball, with\na well-aimed cast, and crushed in the forehead of the ox through the\nshield. The ox fell dead, but, before falling, his eye turned on Faolan,\nwho dropped dead also.\n\nDyeermud slept a hero\u2019s sleep of seven days and seven nights. When he\nwoke, and found no tidings of Faolan, he was furious; but the four\nchampions calmed him; and the young woman said, \u201cThe wild hag may have\nkilled him; but if as much as one bone of his body can be found, I will\nbring him to life again.\u201d\n\nDyeermud, Faolan\u2019s betrothed, and her four brothers set out, and, coming\nto the battle-field, found the army of the wild hag slain, but no trace\nof Faolan. They went to the well then, and saw the split head there.\n\nThe six went to Gray Fort, and found the cat dead, the hind-part in one\nplace, the fore-part in a second, and the head in a third.\n\n\u201cThe head must have sent him to the Kitten of Cul MacKip,\u201d said the young\nwoman; \u201cthat kitten has twice as much witch power as the cat and the old\nhag; all three are sisters.\u201d\n\nThey went farther, and, finding the kitten dead, went to find the Dun\nOx; \u201cfor Faolan must be dead near him,\u201d said the young woman. When they\ncame to his cabin, the forester greeted them, and gave a hundred thousand\nwelcomes to Dyeermud, who was surprised, and inquired, \u201cHow do you know\nme? I have never been in this country before.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know you well; for I saw you two years ago in combat with the Champion\nof the Eastern World on Ventry Strand. Many persons were looking at that\ncombat, but you did not see them. I was there with the others.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you seen a young champion pass this way?\u201d asked Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cI have,\u201d said the forester; \u201cbut he must have perished by the Dun Ox,\nfor I have not heard the ox bellow this long time.\u201d\n\nThe six spent that night at the forester\u2019s cabin; and, setting out next\nmorning early, they soon found Faolan. The young woman bathed him with\nsome fluid from a vial, and, opening his mouth, poured the rest down\nhis throat. He rose up at once, as sound and healthy as ever. All went\nto the ox, which they found lying dead, and the two champions also;\nand, searching about, they found the brazen ball sunk in the earth\nsome distance away. Faolan took it up carefully. They went back to the\nforester\u2019s cabin, and enjoyed themselves well.\n\n\u201cDo you know where the Mountain of Happiness is?\u201d inquired Dyeermud of\nthe forester, during the night.\n\n\u201cI do not,\u201d said the forester; \u201cbut I know where the Black-Blue Giant\nlives, and he knows every place in the world. That giant has never given\na meal or a night\u2019s lodging to any man. He has an only daughter, who is\nin love with you, since she saw you two years ago in combat with the\nChampion of the Eastern World on Ventry Strand, although you did not see\nher. This daughter is closely confined by the giant, fearing she may\nescape to you; and if you succeed in reaching her, she is likely to know,\nif her father knows, where the Mountain of Happiness is.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get tidings of the giant\u2019s daughter?\u201d asked Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cI will not tell you now,\u201d said the forester, \u201cbut I will go with you to\nguide you to the giant, and I may give you assistance. Here are three\nkeys,\u2014the keys of the castles of the Dun Ox, of the Kitten of Cul MacKip,\nand of the Cat of Gray Fort; they are yours now.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose keys are not mine,\u201d said Dyeermud; \u201cthey belong to Faolan, who\nslew the three owners.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf Faolan slew them,\u201d said the forester, \u201che had assistance, which\ncaused you to come to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep the keys till we come back,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nThe seven travelled on then, and were going ten days when they saw the\ngiant\u2019s castle. Now this castle stood on one leg, and whirled around\nalways.\n\n\u201cI will use my strength on that castle, to know can I stop it,\u201d said\nDyeermud.\n\n\u201cYou cannot stop it,\u201d said the forester. \u201cI will stop it myself. Do you\nwatch the door of the castle, which is on the top of the roof, and, when\nthe castle stops, spring in through the door, and seize the giant, if he\nis inside, and compel him to give a night\u2019s lodging.\u201d\n\nThe forester then made for the castle, and, placing his shoulder against\none of the corners, kept it standing still; and Dyeermud, leaping in\nby the roof, came down before the giant, who had started up, knowing\nsomething was wrong when the castle stood still.\n\nDyeermud and the giant grappled each other so fiercely, and fought with\nsuch fury, that the castle was shivering. The giant\u2019s wife begged them to\ngo out of the castle, and fight on the open, and not frighten the life\nout of herself and the child in her arms.\n\nOut went the Black-Blue Giant and Dyeermud, and fought until Dyeermud\nbrought down the giant and sprained his back. The giant let a roar out of\nhim, and begged there for quarter.\n\n\u201cYour head is mine,\u201d answered Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the giant; \u201cbut spare me, and I will give you whatever you\nask for.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want lodging for myself and my company.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will get that,\u201d said the giant.\n\nAll then went into the giant\u2019s castle; and when they were sitting at\ndinner, Dyeermud ate nothing.\n\n\u201cWhy is this?\u201d asked the giant.\n\n\u201cIt is the custom of the Fenians of Erin,\u201d said he, \u201cnot to eat at a\ntable where all the members of the house are not present.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll my people are here,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cThey are not,\u201d answered Dyeermud; \u201cyou have one daughter not present.\u201d\n\nThe giant had to bring the daughter. They ate then. The forester talked\nafter dinner with Dyeermud, and said, \u201cThe giant\u2019s daughter has a maid;\nyou must bribe her to give you the key of her mistress\u2019s chamber; and\nif you come by the young woman\u2019s secrets, she may tell you where the\nMountain of Happiness is, if she knows.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went to the maid. \u201cYou will not be here always,\u201d said he;\n\u201cyour mistress will marry me, and leave this castle; then you\u2019ll have\nno business here. I will take you with us if you give me the key of the\nchamber.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe giant himself keeps that key under his pillow at night; he sleeps\nonly one nap, like a bird, but sleeps heavily that time. If you promise\nto take me with my mistress, I\u2019ll strive to bring the key hither.\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nThe maid brought the key, and gave it on condition that she was to have\nit again within an hour. Dyeermud went then to the giant\u2019s daughter, and\nwhen her first wonder was over, he asked, \u201cDo you know where the Mountain\nof Happiness is?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not. My father knows well, but for some reason he has never told\nme, so he must have fared very badly there; but if you lay his head on a\nblock, and threaten to cut it off with your sword, he will tell you, if\nyou ask him; but otherwise he will not tell.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do that; and I will take you to Erin when I go,\u201d answered\nDyeermud.\n\n\u201cWhere is the Mountain of Happiness?\u201d asked Dyeermud of the giant, next\nmorning.\n\nHe would not tell. Dyeermud caught the giant, who could not resist him\non account of his sprained back; he drew him out, placed his head on a\nblock, and said, \u201cI will cut the head off you now, unless you tell me\nwhat you know of the Mountain of Happiness. The Fenians of Erin have but\nthe one word, and it is useless for you to resist me; you must go with\nus, and show us the way to the mountain.\u201d\n\nThe giant, finding no escape possible, promised to go. They set out soon,\ntaking all the arms needed. As the mountain was not far distant, they\nreached the place without great delay. The giant showed them the lair of\nthe oxen, but after a promise that he should be free to escape should\ndanger threaten.\n\n\u201cI know all the rest now,\u201d said the forester. \u201cDo you,\u201d said he to\nDyeermud, \u201cstand straight in front of the lair, and I, with Faolan, will\nstand with drawn swords, one on each side of the entrance; and do you,\u201d\nsaid he to the four brothers, \u201cknock down the entrance, and open the\nplace for the oxen to rush out. If the head of each ox is not cut off\nwhen he stands in the entrance, the world would not kill him from that\nout.\u201d\n\nAll was done at the forester\u2019s word. The entrance was not long open, when\nout rushed an ox; but his head was knocked off by the forester. Faolan\nslew the second ox; but the third ox followed the second so quickly that\nhe broke away, took Dyeermud on his horns, and went like a flash to the\ntop of the Mountain of Happiness. This mountain stood straight in front\nof the lair, but was far away. On the mountain, the ox attacked Dyeermud;\nand they fought for seven days and nights in a savage encounter. At the\nend of seven days, Dyeermud remembered that there was no help for him\nthere, that he was far from his mother and sister, who were all he had\nliving, and that if he himself did not slay the fierce ox, he would never\nsee home again; so, with one final effort, he drove his sword through\nthe heart of the ox. He himself was so spent from the struggle and\nblood-loss that he fainted, and would have died on the mountain, but for\nhis companions, who came now. They were seven days on the road over which\nthe ox passed in a very few minutes.\n\nThe forester rubbed Dyeermud with ointment, and all his strength came to\nhim. They opened the ox, took out all the tallow, and, going back to the\nother two oxen, did in like manner, saving the tallow of each of them\nseparately. They went next to the castle of the Black-Blue Giant.\n\n\u201cWill you set out for home to-morrow?\u201d asked the forester, turning to\nDyeermud.\n\n\u201cWe will,\u201d answered Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cOh, foolish people!\u201d said the forester. \u201cThose three oxen were brothers\nof Grainne, and were living in enchantment; should she get the tallow of\neach ox by itself and entire, she would bring back the three brothers to\nlife, and they would destroy all the Fenians of Erin. We will hang up\nthe tallow in the smoke of the Black-Blue Giant\u2019s chimney; it will lose\nsome of itself there. When she gets it, it will not have full weight. We\nwill change your beds and your tables while you are waiting, so as to\nobserve the injunction. You must do this; for if you do not make an end\nof Grainne, Grainne will make an end of you.\u201d\n\nAll was done as the forester said. At the end of a week, when Faolan and\nhis friend were setting out for Erin, the giant and his wife fell to\nweeping and wailing after their daughter, who was going with Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWe will come back again soon,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cand then will have a\ngreat feast for this marriage.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is here that I will have my marriage feast, too,\u201d said Faolan.\n\nThe forester, who was an old man, said perhaps he might have a marriage\nfeast at that time as well as the others. At this they all laughed.\n\nThe giant and his wife were then satisfied; and the company set out for\nthe forester\u2019s cabin. When they reached the cabin, the forester said to\nDyeermud, \u201cAs I served you, I hope that you will do me a good turn.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do you a good turn,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cif I lose my life in doing\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cCut off my head,\u201d said the forester.\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d replied Dyeermud.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old man, \u201cif you do not, you will leave me in great\ndistress; for I, too, am under enchantment, and there is no power to save\nme unless you, Dyeermud, cut off my head with the sword that killed the\noldest of the oxen.\u201d\n\nWhen Dyeermud saw how he could serve the forester, he cut off his head\nwith one blow, and there rose up before him a young man of twenty-one\nyears.\n\n\u201cMy name is Arthur, son of Deara,\u201d said the young man to Dyeermud; \u201cI was\nenchanted by my stepmother, and I am in love with your sister since I\nsaw her two years ago on Ventry Strand, when you were in combat with the\nChampion of the Eastern World. Will you let your sister marry me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d replied Dyeermud; \u201cand she will not marry any man but the one\nthat I will choose for her.\u201d\n\n\u201cI helped Faolan,\u201d said Arthur, \u201cin all his struggles, except that\nagainst the Dun Ox.\u201d\n\nNext day all went to the castle of the four champions and their sister,\nand, leaving the women in that place, they set out for Erin.\n\nWhen the Fenians of Erin saw them sailing in toward Ventry Strand, they\nraised three shouts of joyous welcome. Whoever was glad, or was not\nglad, Grainne was glad, because there was an end, as she thought, to\nher suffering. Indeed, she would not have lived at all had she kept the\ninjunctions, but she did not; she received meat and eggs on Sliav Iolar\nfrom all the women who took pity on her and went to visit her. So when\nshe got the tallow, she weighed it, and finding it some ounces short,\ngave out three piercing wails of distress, and when Dyeermud, who was of\nfiery temper, saw that Faolan was not willing to punish the woman, he\nraised his own sword, and swept the head off her.\n\nFin embraced Faolan and welcomed him. Dyeermud went to his mother and\nsister.\n\n\u201cWill you marry a young champion whom I have brought with me?\u201d asked he\nof the sister.\n\n\u201cI will marry no one,\u201d said she, \u201cbut the man you will choose for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cthere is such a man outside.\u201d He led her\nout, and she and Arthur were well pleased with each other.\n\nDyeermud, with his sister and Arthur and Faolan, set out on the following\nday, and never stopped nor stayed till they reached the castle of the\nfour champions and their sister; and, taking Faolan\u2019s betrothed and\nDyeermud along with them, they travelled on till they stopped at the\ncastle of the Black-Blue Giant. Faolan\u2019s mother was there before him; and\nglad was she, and rejoiced, to see her own son.\n\nThere were three weddings in one at the castle of the giant: Arthur and\nDyeermud\u2019s sister; Faolan and the sister of the four champions; Dyeermud\nand the daughter of the Black-Blue Giant.\n\nWhen the feasting was over, Faolan\u2019s mother called him, and asked, \u201cWill\nyou go to my kingdom, which is yours by inheritance, the country of the\nDark Men, and rule there?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Faolan, \u201con condition that I am to be sent for if ever the\nFenians should need my assistance.\u201d He then gave his share in the land of\nthe wild hag, and his claim to the castles of the Cat of Gray Fort, the\nKitten of Cul MacKip, and the Dun Ox, to Arthur and Dyeermud, and these\ntwo shared those places between them. They attended Faolan and his wife\nto the country of the Dark Men, and then returned. Faolan\u2019s mother went\nto Fintra, and lived with Fin MacCool.\n\n\n\n\nFIN MACCOOL, THE HARD GILLA, AND THE HIGH KING.\n\n\nOn a day when the Fenians were living at Fintra, Fin MacCool called them\ntogether, held a council, complained of remissness, and warned the men to\nbe cautious, to keep a better watch on the harbors, and to take good care\nof their arms. They promised to do better in future, and asked Fin to\nforgive them for that time. Fin forgave them, and sent men to keep watch\non Cruach Varhin.\n\nWhen on the mountain awhile, the chief sentry saw, in the distance, a man\nleading a horse toward Fintra. He thought to run down with word to Fin,\nbut did not; he waited to see what kind of person was coming. The man\nleading the horse was far from being tidy: his shoes were untied, and the\nstrings hanging down; on his shoulders was a mantle, flapping around in\nthe wind. The horse had a broad, surly face; his neck was thick at the\nthroat, and thin toward the body: the beast was scrawny, long-legged,\nlean, thin-maned, and ugly to look at. The only bridle on the horse was\na long, heavy chain; the whip in the hand of the man was a strong iron\nstaff. Each blow that the man gave his steed was heard through the glens\nand the mountains, and knocked echoes out of every cliff in that region.\nEach pull that the man gave the bridle was that strong, that you would\nthink he\u2019d tear the head off the ugly beast\u2019s body. Every clump of earth\nthat the horse rooted up with his feet, in striving to hold back, was\nthree times the size of a sod of turf ready for burning.\n\n\u201cIt is time for me now,\u201d said the watchman, at last, \u201cto hurry from this,\nand tell Fin,\u201d and with that he rushed down from Cruach Varhin.\n\nFin saw him coming, and was ready for his story; and not too soon was it\ntold; for just then the horseman came up to the King of the Fenians at\nFintra.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d inquired Fin.\n\n\u201cI do not know who my father was,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cI am of one place\nas well as another. Men call me the Hard Gilla; and it is a good name:\nfor no matter how well people treat me I forget all they do. I have\nheard, though, that you give most wages, and best treatment of any man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you good wages,\u201d said Fin, \u201cand fair treatment; but how much\ndo you want of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want whatever I ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you that and more, if I promise,\u201d said Fin.\n\n\u201cI am your man,\u201d said the Gilla. \u201cNow that we have agreed, I may let my\nhorse out to graze, I suppose?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may,\u201d answered Fin.\n\nThe Gilla untied the chain bridle from his horse, and struck him with\nthe chain. The beast went to the other horses; but if he did, he fell to\neating the mane, legs, ears, and tail of each one of them, and ate all\ntill he came to a steed grazing apart, and this steed belonged to Conan\nMaol. Conan ran, caught the ugly old horse by the skull, and pulled him\nup to his owner.\n\n\u201cMind your wicked old cripple!\u201d cried Conan, in anger.\n\n\u201cIf any man does not like how my horse feeds, he may herd the good steed\nhimself.\u201d\n\nWhen Conan heard this insolence, he went to the adviser for counsel. The\nadviser told him to go upon the back of the horse, and to ride till he\nbroke him. Conan mounted the horse; but not a stir could he get from the\nstubborn beast.\n\n\u201cHe is used to heavy loads,\u201d said the adviser. \u201cLet others mount with\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe Fenians were mounting the horse till twenty-eight men of them went up\nwith Conan. The twenty-nine began then to wallop the horse, but could\nnot raise a stir out of him. The old horse only cocked one ear. When the\nGilla saw the twenty-nine on his horse, he called out, \u201cIt seems that we\ndo not agree; and the sooner I go from this place the better.\u201d\n\nHe tightened his cloak, flapping loose on his body, tied his shoes, and\nsaid, \u201cIn place of praising, I will dispraise you.\u201d Then he went in\nfront of the horse. The horse raised his tail and his head, and between\nhis tail and his neck he held the men firmly. Some tried to jump off,\nbut were as secure on the horse as his own skin. Conan was the first to\nspeak. When he saw that he could not spring from the horse, he turned to\nFin, and cried out, \u201cI bind you, O Fin, not to eat two meals off the one\ntable, or sleep two nights on the one bed, till you have me freed from\nthis serpent.\u201d\n\nWhen Fin and the Fenians heard this, they looked at one another. The\nadviser spoke then, and said, \u201cThere is no time for delay. We have here a\nman to follow, and he is Leeagawn of L\u00faachar Garv.\u201d\n\nFin called Leeagawn, and he went after the steed quickly, caught him\nat the edge of the strand, and seized him by the tail; but if he did,\nhe grew fast to the tail of the horse, and was pulled forward to the\nstrand. He tried to loose himself from the tail, but no use for him to\ntry. The horse drew him into the water. The sea opened before the strange\nsteed, and closed behind. The Gilla ran in front. Twenty-nine men were on\nthe back of the horse, and one fixed to his tail.\n\nFin and the Fenians were greatly distressed at the sight, but could give\nno assistance. They held council; and the druid said, \u201cThere is an old\nship in Ben Eadan; put that ship in repair, and sail after the steed.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go,\u201d said the Fenians, \u201cfor the ship.\u201d\n\nAs they were making ready to start, two young champions hurried up to\nFin, and saluted him.\n\n\u201cWho are ye?\u201d asked Fin, returning the salute; \u201cand whither are ye going?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are the two sons of a king,\u201d replied they; \u201ceach has a gift, and we\nhave come to you to know which is the better gift to live by. The two\ngifts are two powers left us by our father.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is your power?\u201d asked Fin of the elder brother.\n\n\u201cDo you see this branch?\u201d said he. \u201cIf I strike the water of the harbor\nwith this branch, the harbor will be filled with ships till they are\ncrushing one another. When you choose the one you like, I will make the\nothers disappear as quickly as you can bow your head.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d asked Fin of the younger brother.\n\n\u201cIf a wild duck were to dart forth from her nest, I could keep in sight\nof the bird, and she going straight or crooked, high or low, I could\ncatch her before she could fly back to the nest from which she came.\u201d\n\nWhen they had done speaking, Fin said, \u201cI have never been in more need\nof your help than I am at this moment.\u201d He told them then of the Gilla,\nand of all that had happened. The elder brother struck the harbor with\nhis branch; the harbor was filled with ships in one minute. Fin chose\nthe ship he liked best, and said, \u201cI\u2019ll take that one.\u201d In a twinkle the\nother ships vanished.\n\nWhen the men were all ready to go on the ship, Fin called Oisin, and said\nto him, \u201cI leave the ruling of Erin with you, till I come back to this\nharbor.\u201d He bade farewell then to Oisin and the Fenians. The younger of\nthe two champions stood at the prow, the elder at the stern. The younger\nfollowed the horse in crooked and straight paths through the sea, told\nhis brother how to steer on the voyage. They kept on till, at length, and\nat last, they came to a haven with a steep, rugged shore, and no ship\ncould enter.\n\n\u201cThis is where the steed went in,\u201d said the younger brother.\n\nWhen the Fenians saw the haven, they looked at one another. It was a very\nsteep place; and all said, \u201cWe cannot land here.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere will be an evil report for the Fenians of Erin, or for men trained\nby Fin, if no one can spring to land,\u201d said the druid.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cthere was never a man at Fintra who could make\nsuch a spring, if I cannot make it.\u201d\n\nHe buckled his belt firmly, and went to the stern of the ship to find\nspace for a run; then he rushed to the prow, and rose with one bound to\nthe top of the cliff. When he looked back, and saw his comrades below, he\nwas frightened.\n\nDyeermud left the ship and the Fenians, and walked forward alone. Toward\nevening, he saw a herd of deer; he pursued them, and caught a doe, which\nhe killed; he made a fire, roasted the carcass, ate of it, and drank\npure spring water. He made a hut then of limbs, and slept quietly till\nmorning. After breakfast, a gruagach came the way, and called out to him,\n\u201cIs not Erin wide enough for you to live in, instead of coming hither to\nsteal my herds from me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThough I might have been willing to go when you came,\u201d replied Dyeermud,\n\u201cI will not go now since you speak so unmannerly.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must fight with me then,\u201d said the gruagach.\n\n\u201cI will indeed,\u201d said Dyeermud.\n\nThey took their spears and swords, and fought all that day until evening,\nwhen the gruagach saw that Dyeermud was getting the upper hand. He leaped\ninto the spring from which Dyeermud had drunk the cool water. Dyeermud\nran quickly, and thrust his sword into the water, but no sign of the\ngruagach.\n\n\u201cI will watch for you to-morrow,\u201d said Dyeermud to himself; so he waited\nnear the spring until morning.\n\nThe gruagach stood before him next day more threatening to look at than\never, and said, \u201cIt seems you hadn\u2019t fighting enough from me yesterday.\u201d\n\n\u201cI told you that I would not go,\u201d answered Dyeermud, \u201ctill I had knocked\nsatisfaction out of you for your ugly speech.\u201d\n\nThey went at each other then, and fought fiercely till very near evening.\nDyeermud watched the spring closely, and when the gruagach leaped in, he\nwas with him. In the side of the spring was a passage; the two walked\nthrough that passage, and came out in a kingdom where there was a grand\ncastle, and seven men at each side of the door. When Dyeermud went toward\nthe castle, the fourteen rushed against him. He slew these, and all\nothers who faced him till nightfall. He would not enter the castle, but\nstretched himself on the ground, and fell fast asleep. Soon a champion\ncame, tapped him lightly with a sword, and said, \u201cRise now, and speak to\nme.\u201d\n\nDyeermud sprang up, and grasped his sword.\n\n\u201cI am not an enemy, but a friend,\u201d said the champion. \u201cIt is not proper\nfor you to be sleeping in the midst of your enemies. Come to my castle; I\nwill entertain you, and give you good keeping.\u201d\n\nDyeermud went with the stranger; and they became faithful friends. \u201cThe\nking of this country, which is called Tir Fohin [Land Under the Wave], is\nmy brother,\u201d said the champion. \u201cThe kingdom is rightfully mine, and \u2019tis\nI that should be King of Tir Fohin; but my brother corrupted my warriors\nwith promises, so that all except thirty men of them left me.\u201d\n\nThis champion was called the Knight of Valor. Dyeermud told this knight\nhis whole story,\u2014told of the Hard Gilla, and his long-legged, scrawny,\nthin-maned, ugly old horse.\n\n\u201cI am the man,\u201d said the knight, \u201cthat will find out the Hard Gilla for\nyou. That Gilla is the best swordsman and champion in this land, and the\ngreatest enchanter. Your men, brought away by him, are as safe and as\nsound as when they left Erin. He is a good friend of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Dyeermud, \u201cfor your kindness (you might have killed me when I\nwas asleep), and for your entertainment, I give my word to fight against\nyour brother, and win back your kingdom.\u201d\n\nDyeermud sent a challenge to the King of Tir Fohin. The knight and\nDyeermud, with the knight\u2019s thirty men, fought against the king\u2019s forces,\nfought all that day until evening; then the king withdrew to the castle\nto keep his hold firm on the chief place, but Dyeermud rushed in, brought\nhim out to the green, threw him on the flat of his back, and shouted,\n\u201cAre you not satisfied yet?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am if the men are,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cWill you obey the Knight of Valor?\u201d asked Dyeermud of the men.\n\n\u201cWe will,\u201d answered they.\n\nThe men gave their word to obey with all faithfulness. Dyeermud gave the\nfalse king thirty men then; and the Knight of Valor became king in his\nown land. On the morrow, Dyeermud and the king went with forces to the\nGilla\u2019s castle; and when they entered the gates, the Gilla came out,\nreceived them with welcome and hand-shaking. There was great rejoicing,\nand good cheer at the Gilla\u2019s castle.\n\nWhen Dyeermud did not return to the vessel, Fin and the two young\nchampions thought to find an easier landing in some place; they put their\nship around, and sailed forward, sailed and sailed; and where should\nthey come at last but to the castle of the King of Sor\u00e1ch (Light), who\nreceived them with welcome, and entertained them with the best that he\nhad in his castle.\n\nBut they were hardly seated at table, when the chief messenger of the\nKing of Sor\u00e1ch came hurrying in and said, that there was a fleet sailing\ntoward them, which was as numerous as the sands on the seashore, that it\nwas coming for tribute, which had not been collected for many a year.\n\nThe king had a grieved and sorrowful face. \u201cThat is the High King of the\nWorld coming against me,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cNever fear,\u201d said Fin MacCool. \u201cCheer up, and have courage. I and my men\nwill stand up for you. We will fight to the death to defend you.\u201d\n\nOn the following day, the High King sent forces to land, to attack the\nKing of Sor\u00e1ch in his castle. These forces were under command of Borb\nSinnsior na Gah, son of the High King. The greatest delight of the High\nKing was his daughter, a beautiful maiden called Teasa Taov Geal; and the\nthought came to her that day to see the battle. \u201cI will go,\u201d said she,\n\u201cwith my brother, and see him take the king\u2019s castle.\u201d\n\nOn Fin\u2019s side, the two young champions his guides were eager to be in the\nstruggle; but Fin would not hear of that. \u201cYou must stay with the ship,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand take us to Erin, when the time comes.\u201d\n\nAs soon as Fin saw the attack was led by the son of the High King, he\nsaid, \u201cI will take command in the battle, and lead the men in action\nto-day. We will show the invaders what the Fenians do in battle.\u201d\n\nOscar went with Fin, and so did Goll MacMorna. The battle raged grandly;\nthe men of the High King fell in crowds until evening, what was left of\nthem then went to the ships, and sailed back in haste to their master.\n\nWhen the news reached the High King, he called his druid for advice.\n\n\u201cThis is not the time to make war on the King of Sor\u00e1ch,\u201d said the druid;\n\u201cfor Fin MacCool and his men are living in friendship at his castle; they\nwill help him to the end of this struggle. Go home for the present, and\ncome again when Fin has gone back to Erin.\u201d\n\nThe king was inclined to do this; but his daughter had seen Fin MacCool\nin the battle, and fallen in love with him. She sent him a message,\nsaying, \u201cI will go with you. I will leave my father for your sake. I love\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe answer that Fin sent, was to come to him; he would take her with\ngladness to Erin.\n\nThe king was grieved at the loss of his daughter. \u201cI might go home now,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand come back at another time; but how can I go, and leave my\ndaughter behind me?\u201d\n\nThere was a champion called Lavran MacSuain, who could steal anything\nwhile men were asleep, and make them sleep all the more, but could not do\nharm to them. Lavran volunteered to bring back the daughter.\n\n\u201cIf I find them asleep,\u201d said he, \u201cI will bring her back; if you give me\na reward.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will pay you well,\u201d said the king. \u201cI will not spare rewards on you,\nif you bring me my daughter.\u201d\n\nWhen Lavran came to where Fin was, he found him and the Fenians asleep,\nand put them in a still deeper sleep. He brought Teasa Taov Geal to her\nfather\u2019s ship then. The fleet sailed away in the night; and at daybreak\nthere was not a trace of it.\n\nNext morning when Fin woke, and found that the king\u2019s daughter was gone,\nhe sprang up, and was raging with anger. He sent men to look for the\nfleet; but not a boat nor a ship was in sight.\n\nOscar and Goll, seeing Fin in such passion, said, \u201cWe will go, if a druid\ngoes with us. He will find out the castle by his knowledge; and we will\nbring the woman back, or die while striving to bring her.\u201d\n\nNext morning, Goll and Oscar took a ready ship from the fleet of the King\nof Sor\u00e1ch, set sail, and never stopped till they touched land near the\ncastle of the High King.\n\n\u201cThe best way for us,\u201d said the druid, on landing, \u201cis to say that we are\nbards, till we learn where the strength of the king is.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not do that,\u201d said Oscar. \u201cWe will go straight forward, and\nbring the woman back with the strength of our arms.\u201d\n\nThey went straight from the strand toward the castle. At the wayside was\na rath where the daughter of the king was at that time, and no great\nnumber of men there to guard her. Goll and Oscar attacked the guards, cut\nthem down, and took Taov Geal.\n\n\u201cThe king is coming home from a hunt,\u201d said the druid; \u201cit is better to\nhurry back to our ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will sharpen our weapons,\u201d said Oscar, \u201cand strike the king\u2019s men, if\nthey come toward us; but do you take the woman, and go in all haste to\nthe ship. We will stay behind to protect you.\u201d\n\nThe druid took Taov Geal, who was willing and glad, when she heard who\nhad come for her. They reached the ship safely. Goll and Oscar came\nsoon after, sprang into the ship, set sail, and never stopped till they\nbrought Teasa Taov Geal to Fin at the castle of the King of Sor\u00e1ch.\nThere was a feast then far greater than the one which the High King had\ninterrupted the first day.\n\n\u201cI will take you to Erin,\u201d said Fin to Taov Geal.\n\n\u201cI will go with you,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI know the Hard Gilla well,\u201d said the King of Sor\u00e1ch to Fin MacCool. \u201cI\nwill go with you to him; he is a great champion, and a mighty enchanter.\u201d\n\nThe king and his men, with Fin and the Fenians, went to the lands of the\nGilla; and when he saw them all, he brought them into his castle, and\ntreated them well. Dyeermud and the King of Tir Fohin were there also;\nthey had been enjoying themselves, and feasting with the Gilla, while\nFin and the others were fighting with the High King, and stealing his\ndaughter.\n\nConan and the twenty-nine Fenians were all in good health; and Fin had\nthe daughter of the High King in the castle, intending to take her to\nErin.\n\nSaid Fin to the Gilla one day, \u201cIt was you and Conan who had the first\nquarrel, he and you are the men who began these adventures. I will leave\nhim and you to end the whole story. Conan is not easy to talk with, and\nyou are a hard man to conquer.\u201d\n\nConan was called up.\n\n\u201cWhat have you to say of our host,\u201d inquired Fin; \u201cand what would you do\nfor him?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was treated here as well as you have ever treated me in Fintra, or as\nany man treated me in another place,\u201d said Conan. \u201cMy sentence is this,\nLet him come to Erin with us in our ship, feast with us in Fintra, and\nride home on his own horse.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do that,\u201d said the Gilla.\n\nConan and the Gilla, with all the Fenians, went to the ship. Fin brought\nthe daughter of the High King on board, and all sailed away to Erin.\n\nThe Gilla was entertained to his heart\u2019s content, till one day he said,\n\u201cI must leave you now, and go to my own place.\u201d\n\nConan and a number of Fenians went to the seashore to see him ride away.\n\u201cWhere is your horse?\u201d asked Conan.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said the Gilla.\n\nConan turned to see the ugly long-legged beast, but saw nothing. He\nturned then to look at the Gilla, but saw only mist stretching out toward\nthe water.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BATTLE OF VENTRY.\n\n\nIt was predicted seven years before the battle of Ventry, that Daire\nDonn, High King of the Great World, would invade Erin to conquer it. Fin\nMacCool, for this reason, placed sentries at the chief ports of Erin. At\nVentry, Conn Crithir was stationed on the top of Cruach Varhin to give\nwarning; but he overslept when the fleet came: and the first news he had\nof its coming was from the cries of people attacked by the invaders. Conn\nCrithir sprang up, and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cGreat is the misery that has come by my sleep; but Fin and the Fenians\nwill not see me alive after this. I will rush into the midst of the\nforeigners; and they will fall by me, till I fall by them.\u201d\n\nSo he ran down toward the strand. On the way, he saw three strange women\nrunning before him. He increased his speed; but, unable to overtake them,\nhe caught his spear to hurl it at the one nearest him.\n\nThe women stopped that moment, and cried, \u201cStay your hand, and do not\nkill innocent women who have come not to harm but to help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are ye?\u201d asked Conn Crithir.\n\n\u201cWe are three sisters who have come from Tirnanog. We are all three in\nlove with you; but no one of us is jealous of the other. We will hide\nyou with an enchanted cloud, so that you can attack the foreign forces\nunseen. We have a well of healing at the foot of Sliav Iolar; and its\nwaters will cure every wound made in battle. After bathing in it, you\nwill be as sound as the day you were born.\u201d\n\nConn Crithir was grateful, and hurried to the strand, where he slew four\nhundred men of the enemy on the first day. He was covered with wounds\nhimself; but the three sisters took him to the well. He bathed in it, and\nwas as sound as on the day he was born.\n\nConn Crithir was this way in struggle and combat, till Teastalach\nTreunmhar, the chief courier of Fin MacCool, came to Ventry.\n\n\u201cHave you tidings of Fin and the Fenians?\u201d asked Conn.\n\n\u201cI have. They are at the River Lee,\u201d said Teastalach.\n\n\u201cGo to them quickly,\u201d said Conn, \u201cand tell how we are here. Let them\ncome hither to save us.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would ill become me to go till I had moistened my sword in the blood\nof the enemy,\u201d said Teastalach; and he sent a challenge for single combat\nto the High King.\n\n\u201cI am the man to meet that warrior,\u201d said Colahan MacDochar, the king\u2019s\nchampion; and he went on shore without waiting.\n\nColahan was thirty feet in height, and fifteen around the waist. When he\nlanded, he went at Teastalach. They fought one hour, and fought with such\nfury, the two of them, that their swords and spears went to pieces. The\nsword of Colahan was broken at the hilt; but of Teastalach\u2019s blade there\nremained a piece as long as the breadth of a man\u2019s palm.\n\nColahan, who was enraged that any champion could stand against him for\nthe space of even one hour, seized Teastalach in his arms, to carry him\nliving to the ship of the High King, twist off his head there, and raise\nit on a stake before the forces of the world. When he came to deep water,\nhe raised Teastalach on his shoulder; but Teastalach, the swift courier\nof Fin MacCool, turned quickly, cut the head off his enemy, brought that\nhead to the strand, and made boast of his deed.\n\nNow Teastalach went to where Fin and his forces were, and told him of all\nthat happened. Fin marched straightway, and never stopped nor rested till\nhe came to Maminch, within twenty miles of Ventry. Fin rested there for\nthe night; but Oscar, son of Oisin, with Conn Ceadach and one other, went\nforward. Before going, Oscar turned to Fin, and said, \u201cChew your thumb,\nand tell us what will be the end of our struggle.\u201d\n\nFin chewed his thumb from the skin to the flesh, from the flesh to the\nbone, from the bone to the marrow, from the marrow to the juice, and\nsaid, \u201cThe victory will be on our side, but little else will be with us.\nThe battle will last for a day and a year, and every day will be a day of\nfierce struggle. No man of the foreigners will escape; and on our side\nfew will be left living, and none without wounds.\u201d\n\nOscar went his way then till he reached Ventry. Fin came on the second\nday, and stopped with all his forces at Rahon\u00e1in. Next morning, he asked,\n\u201cWho will command the battle to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will go with two hundred,\u201d said Oisin and Oscar.\n\nThey went toward the harbor; and a great troop landed to meet them. The\ntwo parties faced each other then, and fought till near evening; when\nall were killed on the side of the foreigners except three smiths, and of\nFin\u2019s men there remained only Oisin, Oscar, and Goll, son of Morna.\n\nOn the following morning, Oisin and Oscar went with two hundred more,\nbut without Goll. The foreign troop came in numbers as before: and at\nmidday there was no man left living of Fin\u2019s men but Oisin and Oscar; on\nthe foreign side all had fallen except the three smiths, who were mighty\nchampions. Oscar and Oisin faced the smiths. Oscar had two men against\nhim; and Oisin\u2019s enemy was forcing him backward toward the water. Fin,\nseeing this, feared for his son, and sent a poet to praise and encourage\nhim.\n\n\u201cNow is the time to prove your valor and greatness, Oisin\u201d, said the\npoet. \u201cYou never went to any place but a king\u2019s daughter, or a high\nbeauty, fell in love with you. Many are looking this day at you; and now\nis your time to show bravery.\u201d\n\nOisin was greatly encouraged; so he grew in fury and increased on his\nblows, till at last he swept the head off his enemy. About the same time,\nOscar killed the two other smiths; but, being faint from open wounds and\nblood-loss, he fell senseless on the strand. Oisin, his father, rushed\nto him, and held him till aid came. They carried him to Rahon\u00e1in, where,\nafter a long time, he revived.\n\nThe smiths had one brother in the fleet of the High King, and his name\nwas Dealv Dura. This man, who was the first champion in the armies of the\nHigh King, fell into great grief, and swore to have vengeance for his\nbrothers. He went to the High King, and said, \u201cI will go alone to the\nstrand, and will slay two hundred men every day till I have slain all the\nforces of Erin; and if any man of your troops interfere, I will kill him.\u201d\n\nNext morning, Fin asked who would conduct the battle on that day.\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said Duvan, son of Donn, \u201cwith two hundred men.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo not,\u201d said Fin. \u201cLet another go.\u201d\n\nBut Duvan went to the strand with two hundred; and there was no one\nbefore him but Dealv Dura, who demanded two hundred men in combat. A\nshout of derision went up from Duvan\u2019s men; but Dealv rushed at them,\nand he slew the two hundred without a man of them being able to put a\nsword-cut on him. Then, taking a hurley and ball, Dealv Dura threw up\nthe ball, and kept it in the air with the hurley from the western to the\neastern end of the strand, without letting it touch the ground even one\ntime. Then, he put the ball on his right foot, and kicked it high in the\nair; when it was near the earth, he sent it up with the left foot, and\nkept the ball in the air with his two feet, and never let it touch the\nearth once, while he was rushing from one end of the strand to the other.\nNext, he put the ball on his right knee, sent it up with that, caught it\non the left knee, and kept the ball in the air with his two knees while\nhe was running from one end of the strand to the other. Last, he put the\nball on one shoulder, threw it up with that shoulder, caught it on the\nother, and kept the ball in the air with his two shoulders while he was\nrushing like a blast of March wind from one end of the strand to the\nother.\n\nWhen he had finished, he walked back and forth on the strand vauntingly,\nand challenged the men of Erin to do the like of those feats.\n\nNext day, Fin sent out two hundred men. Dealv Dura was down on the strand\nbefore them, and not a man of the two hundred returned.\n\nDay after day, two hundred went out, and all fell before Dealv Dura. A\nreport ran now through all Erin that Fin\u2019s troops were perishing daily\nfrom one man; and this report reached at last the castle of the King\nof Ulster. The king had one son, and he only thirteen years of age.\nThis son, who was the fairest and shapeliest youth in Erin, said to his\nfather, \u201cLet me go to help Fin MacCool and his men.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are not old enough, nor strong enough, my son; your bones are too\nsoft.\u201d\n\nWhen the youth insisted, his father confined him, and set twelve youths,\nhis own foster-brothers, to guard him, lest he might escape to Ventry\nStrand.\n\nThe king\u2019s son was enraged at being confined, and said to his\nfoster-brothers, \u201cIt is through valor and daring that my father gained\nglory in his young years; and why should I not win a name as well as he?\nHelp me, and I will be a friend to you forever.\u201d\n\nHe talked and persuaded, till they agreed to go with him to Fin MacCool.\nThey took arms then, hurried across Erin, and, when they came to Ventry,\nDealv Dura was on the strand reviling the Fenians.\n\n\u201cO Fenians of Erin,\u201d said Oisin, \u201cmany have fallen by Dealv Dura; and I\nwould rather die in combat against him, than see the ruin he brings every\nday!\u201d\n\nA great cry was raised by all at these words.\n\nNow the son of the King of Ulster stood before Fin, and saluted him.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d asked Fin.\n\n\u201cI am Goll, son of the King of Ulster, and these twelve are my\nfoster-brothers. We have come to give you what assistance we can.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy welcome to you,\u201d said Fin.\n\nThe reviling of Dealv Dura was heard now again.\n\n\u201cWho is that?\u201d asked the king\u2019s son from Ulster.\n\n\u201cAn enemy asking for two hundred warriors of mine to meet him,\u201d said Fin.\n\nHere the twelve foster-brothers went to the strand, unknown to the king\u2019s\nson.\n\n\u201cYou are not a man,\u201d said Conan Maol, \u201cand none of these twelve could\nface any warrior.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never seen the Fenians till this day,\u201d said the king\u2019s son,\n\u201cstill I know that you are Conan Maol, who never speaks well of any man;\nbut you will see that I am not in dread of Dealv Dura, or any champion on\nearth. I will go down now, and meet the warrior single-handed.\u201d\n\nFin and the Fenians stopped the young hero, and detained him, and talked\nto him. Then, Conan began again, and said, \u201cIn six days that champion has\nslain twelve hundred men; and there was not a man of the twelve hundred\nwho could not have killed twelve hundred like you every day.\u201d\n\nThese words enraged the king\u2019s son. He sprang up, and then heard the\nshouting of Dealv Dura on the strand. \u201cWhat does he want now?\u201d asked the\nking\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cMore men for combat,\u201d said Conan. \u201cHe has just slain your twelve\nbody-guards.\u201d\n\nWith that the king\u2019s son seized his weapons, and no man could stop or\ndelay him. He rushed to the strand, and went toward Dealv Dura. When the\nchampion saw the youth coming, he sneered, and the hosts of the High King\nsent up a roar of laughter; for they thought Fin\u2019s men were all killed,\nsince he had sent a stripling to meet Dealv Dura. The courage of the boy\nwas all the greater from the derision; and he rushed on Dealv Dura, who\ngot many wounds from the youth before he knew it.\n\nThey fought a sharp, bloody combat; and no matter how the champion, Dealv\nDura, used his strength, swiftness, and skill, he was met by the king\u2019s\nson: and if the world could be searched, from its eastern edge to its\nwestern border, no braver battle would be found than was that one.\n\nThe two fought through the day, the hosts of the Great World and the\nFenians cheering and urging them on. Toward evening their shields were\nhacked to pieces, and their weapons all shivered, but they did not stop\nthe battle; they grappled and caught each other, and fought so that the\nsand on the beach was boiling like water beneath them. They wrestled that\nway, seeing nothing in the world but each other, till the tide of the sea\nwent over them, and drowned the two there before the eyes of the Fenians\nand the hosts of the High King.\n\nA great cry of wailing and sorrow was raised on both sides, when the\nwater closed over the champions. Next morning, after the tide-ebb, the\ntwo bodies were found stiff and cold, each one in the grasp of the other;\nbut Dealv Dura was under the king\u2019s son, so it was known that the youth\nwas a better man than the other.\n\nThe king\u2019s son was buried with great honor by the Fenians; and never\nbefore did they mourn for a hero as on that day.\n\n\u201cWho will command the battle this time?\u201d asked Fin, on the following\nmorning.\n\n\u201cI and my son Oscar,\u201d said Oisin.\n\nThey went to the strand with two hundred men; and against them came the\nKing of France with his forces. The two sides fought with such venom that\nat midday there was no one alive on either side but Oscar, Oisin, and\nthe King of France. The king and Oisin were fighting at the eastern end\nof Ventry; and the king gave such a blow that he knocked a groan from\nOisin. Oscar, who was at the western end of the strand then,\u2014Oscar, of\nnoble deeds, the man with a heart that never knew fear, and a foot that\nnever stepped back before many or few,\u2014rushed to see who had injured his\nfather; and the noise that he made was like the noise of fifty horses\nwhile racing.\n\nThe king looked toward the point where the thundering sound was, and saw\nOscar coming. He knew then that unless he escaped he had not long to\nlive; his beauty and bravery left him, and his terror was like that of\na hundred horses at the sound of a thunderbolt. Lightness of mind and\nbody came on him; he stretched himself, sprang up, flew through the air,\nand never stopped till he came down in Glean nan Allt,\u2014a place to which,\nsince that time, insane persons go, and every madman in Erin would go\nthere in twenty four hours, if people would let him.\n\nIn the battle of the next day, the King of Norway was chief; and there\nwas never such destruction of men in Erin before as on that day. This\nking had a venomous shield with red flames, and if it were put under the\nsea not one of its flames would stop blazing, and the king himself was\nnot hotter from any of them. When he had the shield on his arm no man\ncould come near him; and he went against the Fenians with only a sword.\nNot to use weapon had he come, but to let the poison of his shield fly\namong them. The balls of fire that he sent from the shield went through\nthe bodies of men, so that each blazed up like a splinter of oak which\nhad hung a whole year in the smoke of a chimney, and whoever touched the\nburning man, blazed up as well as he; and small was every evil that came\ninto Erin before, when compared with that evil.\n\n\u201cLift up your hands,\u201d said Fin, \u201cand give three shouts of blessing to the\nman who will put some delay on that foreigner.\u201d\n\nA smile came on the king\u2019s face when he heard the shouts that Fin\u2019s men\nwere giving. It was then that the Chief of the Fenians of Ulster came\nnear; and he had a venomous spear, the Crodearg. He looked at the King of\nNorway, and saw nothing of him without armor, save his mouth, and that\nopen wide in laughter at the Fenians. He made a cast of his venomous\nspear, which entered the king\u2019s mouth, and went out through his neck. The\nshield fell, and its blazing was quenched with the life of its master.\nThe chief cut the head off the king, and made boast of the deed; and his\nhelp was the best that the Fenians received from any man of their own\nmen. Many were the deeds of that day; and but few of the forces of the\nHigh King went back to their ships in the evening.\n\nOn the following day, the foreigners came in thousands; for the High King\nhad resolved to put an end to the struggle. Conan Maol, who never spoke\nwell of any man, had a power which he knew not himself, and which no one\nin Erin knew except Fin. When Conan looked through his fingers at any\nman, that man fell dead the next instant.\n\nFin never told Conan of this, and never told any one; for he knew that\nConan would kill all the Fenians when he got vexed if he knew his own\npower. When the foreigners landed, Fin sent a party of men with Conan\nto a suitable place, so that when the enemy were attacking, these men\nwould look with Conan through their fingers at the enemy, and pray for\nassistance against them.\n\nWhen Conan and his men looked through their fingers, the enemy fell dead\nin great numbers, and no one knew that it was Conan\u2019s look alone, without\nprayers or assistance from others, that slew them.\n\nConan and his company stood there all day, looking through their fingers\nand praying, whenever a new face made its way from the harbor.\n\nThe struggle lasted day after day, till his men spoke to the High King\nand said to him, \u201cWe can never conquer unless you meet Fin in single\ncombat.\u201d\n\nThe king challenged Fin to meet him on the third day. Fin accepted,\nthough he was greatly in dread; for he knew that the trunk of the High\nKing\u2019s body was formed of one bone, and that no sword in the world could\ncut it but the king\u2019s own sword, which was kept in the Eastern World by\nhis grandsire, the King of the Land of the White Men. That old king had\nseven chambers in a part of his castle, one inside the other. On the\ndoor of the outer chamber was one lock, on the second two, and so on to\nthe door of the seventh and innermost chamber, which had seven locks,\nand in that chamber the sword and shield of the High King were kept. In\nthe service of Daire Donn was a champion, a great wizard, who wished ill\nto the High King. This man went to Fin, and said, \u201cI will bring you the\nsword and shield from the Eastern World.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood will be my reward to you,\u201d said Fin, \u201cif you bring them in time.\u201d\n\nAway went the man in a cloud of enchantment, and soon stood before the\nold king. \u201cYour grandson,\u201d said he, \u201cis to fight with Fin MacCool, and\nhas sent me for his weapons.\u201d\n\nThe old king had the sword and shield brought quickly, and gave them. The\nman hurried back to Erin, and gave the weapons to Fin on the eve of the\nbattle.\n\nNext morning, the High King came to the strand full of confidence.\nBelieving himself safe, he thought he could kill Fin MacCool easily;\nbut when he stood in front of the chief of the Fenians, and saw his own\nvenomous sword unsheathed in the hand of his enemy, and knew that death\nwas fated him from that blade, his face left him for a moment, and his\nfingers were unsteady.\n\nHe rallied, and thinking to win by surprise, rushed suddenly, fiercely\nand mightily, to combat. One of Fin\u2019s men sprang out, and dealt a great\nblow with a broadaxe; it laid open the helmet, cut some of the hair of\nthe High King, but touched not the skin of his body. The High King with\none blow made two parts of the Fenian, and, rushing at Fin, cut a slice\nfrom his shield, and a strip of flesh from his thigh. Fin gave one blow\nthen in answer, which made two equal parts of the king, so that one eye,\none ear, one arm, and one leg of him dropped on one side, and the other\neye, ear, arm, and leg went to the other side.\n\nNow, the hosts of the High King, and the Fenians of Erin, fought till\nthere was no man standing in the field except one. He raised the body of\nthe High King, and said, \u201cIt was bad for us, O Fenians of Erin, but worse\nfor you; I go home in health, and ye have fallen side by side. I will\ncome again soon, and take all Erin.\u201d\n\n\u201cSad am I,\u201d said Fin, as he lay on the field, \u201cthat I did not find death\nbefore I heard these words from the mouth of a foreigner, and he going\ninto the Great World with tidings. Is there any man alive near me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am,\u201d said Fergus Finbel; \u201cand there is no warrior who is not lying in\nhis blood save the chief man of the High King and your own foster-son,\nCaol.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to seek my foster-son,\u201d said Fin.\n\nFergus went to Caol, and asked him how his health was. \u201cIf my\nbattle-harness were loosened, my body would fall asunder from wounds; but\nmore grieved am I at the escape of the foreigner with tidings than at my\nown woful state. Take me to the sea, Fergus, that I may swim after the\nforeigner; perhaps he will fall by this hand before the life leaves me.\u201d\n\nFergus took him to the sea; and he swam to the ship. The foreigner\nthought him one of his own men, and reached down to raise him to the\nship-board; but Caol grasped the man firmly and drew him to the water.\nBoth sank in the clear, cold sea, and were drowned.\n\nNo man saw the foreigner afterward; but Caol\u2019s body was carried by the\nwaves, borne northward, and past the islands, till it came to land, at\nthe port which is now called Caoil Cuan (Caol\u2019s Harbor).\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] This Winishuyat is represented as no larger than a man\u2019s thumb, and\nconfined under the hair on the top of the head, the hair being tied over\nhim. He is foresight itself. _Winis_ means \u201che sees,\u201d what _huyat_ means\nI have not discovered yet.\n\n[2] _Sprisawn_, in Gaelic _spriosan_, a small twig, and, figuratively, a\npoor little creature, a sorry little fellow.\n\n[3] Pronounced Shawn,\u2014John.\n\n[4] This is the high point, \u201cthe size of a pig\u2019s back,\u201d which the sailor\nsaw from the topmast.\n\n[5] Fin\u2019s wisdom came in each case from chewing his thumb, which he\npressed once on the Salmon of Knowledge. An account of this is given in a\ntale in my \u201cMyths and Folk-Lore of Ireland,\u201d p. 211.\n\n\n\n\nNOTES.\n\n\nThe tales in this volume were told me by the following persons:\u2014\n\nNos. 1, 5, 18, 21. Maurice Lynch, Mount Eagle, West of Dingle, Kerry.\n\nNos. 2, 11, 24. John Malone, Rahonain, West of Dingle.\n\nNos. 3, 15. Shea, Kil Vicadowny, West of Dingle.\n\nNo. 4. Thomas Brady, Teelin, County Donegal.\n\nNo. 6. Maurice Fitzgerald, Emilich Slat, West of Dingle.\n\nNos. 7, 9, 12, 17. John O\u2019Brien, Connemara.\n\nNo. 8. James Byrne, Glen Columkil, County Donegal.\n\nNos. 10, 14. Colman Gorm, Connemara.\n\nNo. 13. Michael Curran, Gortahork, County Donegal.\n\nNo. 16. Michael O\u2019Conor, six miles north of Newcastle West, County\nLimerick.\n\nNos. 19, 20. Michael Sullivan, Dingle.\n\nNo. 22. Dyeermud Duvane, Milltown, County Kerry.\n\nNo. 23. Daniel Sheehy, Dunquin, Kerry, a man over a hundred years old.\n\n\n_Elin Gow, the Swordsmith from Erin, and the Cow Glas Gainach._\n\n_Glas Gainach._ In this name of the celebrated cow _glas_ means gray;\n_gainach_ is a corruption of _gaunach_, written _gamhnach_, which means a\ncow whose calf is a year old, that is, a cow without a calf that year, a\nfarrow cow. _Gamhnach_ is an adjective from _gamhan_, a yearling calf.\n\nIn Donegal, _gavlen_ is used instead of _gaunach_; and the best\nstory-teller informed me that _gavlen_ means a cow that has not had a\ncalf for five years. He gave the terms for cows that have not had calves\nfor one, two, three, four, and five years. These terms I wrote down; but\nunfortunately they are not accessible at present. The first in the series\nis _gaunach_, the last _gavlen_; the intervening ones I cannot recall.\n\n_King Under the Wave_ is a personage met with frequently in Gaelic; his\nname is descriptive enough, and his character more or less clear in other\ntales.\n\n_Cluainte_ is a place in the parish of Bally Ferriter, the westernmost\ndistrict in Ireland. The site of Elin Gow\u2019s house and forge was pointed\nout by the man who told the story, also the stone pillars between which\nthe cow used to stand and scratch her two sides at once when coming home\nfrom pasture in the evening. The pillars are thirteen feet and a half\napart, so that Glas Gainach had a bulky body.\n\nGlas Gainach went away finally through the bay called Ferriter\u2019s Cove.\nIn Gaelic, this bay is Caoil Cuan (Caol\u2019s harbor), so called because the\nbody of Caol, foster-son of Fin MacCool, was washed in there after the\nBattle of Ventry. (See last paragraph of the Battle of Ventry.)\n\n\n_Saudan Og and the Daughter of the King of Spain, &c._\n\n_Saudan Og_ means young Sultan. This is a curious naturalization of\nthe son of the Sultan in Ireland, a very striking example of the\nsubstitution of new heroes in old tales.\n\n_Conal Gulban_ was the great grandfather of Columbkil, founder of Iona\nand apostle of Scotland; hence, he lived a good many years before any\nKing of the Turks could be in any place. In a certain tale of three\nbrothers which I have heard, the narrator made \u201ctwo halves\u201d of Mark\nAntony, the three heroes being Mark, Antony, and Lepidus.\n\n_Laian_, written _Laighean_ in Gaelic, means Leinster; the King of Laian\nis King of Leinster.\n\n\n_The Black Thief._\n\nThere are many variants of this tale, both in the north and south of\nIreland. It seems to have been a great favorite, and is mentioned often,\nthough few know it well.\n\nThere are versions connected with Killarney and the O\u2019Donohue.\n\nThe adventures in the present tale are very striking. It would be\ndifficult indeed to have narrower escapes than those of the Black Thief.\n\nThe racing of the cats through all underground Erin is paralleled in\nIndian tales, especially those of the Modocs, in which immense journeys\nare made underground.\n\n\n_The King\u2019s Son from Erin, the Sprisawn, and the Dark King._\n\n_Lochlinn_ is used to mean Denmark, though there is no connection\nwhatever between the names. Lochlinn is doubtless one of the old names\nin Gaelic tales, and referred to some kind of water region. Instead of\nputting the name \u201cDenmark\u201d in place of the name \u201cLochlinn,\u201d it was\nsaid in this case that Lochlinn was Denmark. Other regions or kingdoms\nin the old tales lost their names: Spain, Sicily, Greece, France were\nput in place of them; we have lost the clew to what they were. Lochlinn\nhas a look that invites investigation. Were all the people of Lochlinn,\ncreatures of the water, turned by Gaelic tale-tellers into Scandinavians?\nVery likely.\n\nIn the stealing of Manus, we have a case similar to that of Tobit in the\nApocrypha.\n\nI know of no parallel to the scene in the three chambers with the chains\nand the cross-beams. It is terribly grim and merciless. There was no\nchance for the weak in those chambers.\n\nThe work of the serpent in drying the lake by lashing it, and sending the\nwater in showers over the country, is equalled in an Indian tale by ducks\nwhich rise from a lake suddenly, and in such incredible numbers that they\ntake all the water away, carry off the lake with them.\n\n\n_Amadan Mor._\n\nThe boyhood of the Amadan Mor has some resemblance to that of the Russian\nhero, Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, who sat so many years in the ashes without power to\nrise.\n\nThe fear of stopping in unknown places finds expression frequently in\nIndian tales, and arises from the fact that the visitor does not know\nwhat spirits inhabit them, and therefore does not know how to avoid\noffending those spirits. Eilin Og seems to have a similar idea in the\ndark glen.\n\n\n_Cud, Cad, and Micad._\n\n_Urhu_ is called _Nurhu_ sometimes, and appears to be the same as the old\nEnglish Norroway, Norway. _Hadone_ is said to be Sicily.\n\n\n_Cahal, Son of King Conor._\n\nIn this tale we have a number of elemental heroes, such as Striker and\nWet Mantle. Against Striker, the great blower, no one can do anything at\nsea. This is the kind of hero who can walk on the water, or at least who\nnever sinks in it much beyond his ankles. This Striker appears in another\nstory as a giant out in the ocean, which he is beating with a club.\n\nIn Wet Mantle, whose virtue is in his cloak, which is rain itself, we\nhave an excellent friend for a rain-maker.\n\n\n_Coldfeet._\n\nThis is a good hero, an excellent herdsman and cattle-thief. What a\nsplendid cowboy he would be in the Indian Territory or Wyoming. He has a\ngood strain of simplicity and heroism in him. The bottle of water that is\nnever drained, is like the basket of trout\u2019s blood (also water) in the\nIndian tale of Walokit and Tumukit.\n\n\n_Lawn Dyarrig, Son of the King of Erin, and the Knight of Terrible\nValley._\n\nThe serpent that sleeps seven years can be matched by monsters in\nAmerican tales. The hearts of these creatures are sliced away by heroes\nwho go down their throats and find other people before them, alive,\nbut unable to escape. Sometimes the monster is killed; sometimes it is\nweakened and rendered comparatively harmless. There was an Indian monster\nof this kind in the Columbia River, near the Dalles, and one in the\nKlamath River, near its mouth.\n\n\n_Balor and Glas Gavlen._\n\nThis was a great tale in the old time; but it is badly broken up now.\nIf we could discover who Balor and his daughter were really, we might,\nperhaps, be able to understand why his grandson was fated to kill him.\nThe theft of Glas Gavlen is the first act in a series which ends with\nthe death of Balor. No doubt the whole story is as natural as that of\nWimaloimis, the grisly-bear cloud-woman (Introduction) who tries to eat\nher own sons, lightning and thunder, and is killed by them afterward.\n\n\n_Art, the King\u2019s Son._\n\nThis is a striking tale, the head following the body of the gruagach\ninto the earth is peculiar. The pursuit of Art by Balor is as vigorous\nas it could be. Shall we say that the blade of the screeching sword is\nlightning, and the screech itself thunder?\n\nIn Balor\u2019s account of how his wife maltreated him, we have the incident\nof the infant saved by the faithful animal. Balor, however, when a wolf,\nsaved himself by prompt action from the fate of Llewelyn\u2019s dog and that\nof the ichneumen in the Sanscrit tale.\n\nThere is no more interesting fact than this in myth tales, that no\nmatter how good the hero, he must have the right weapon. Often there is\nonly one spear or sword, or one kind of spear or sword, in the world with\nwhich a certain deed can be done. The hero must have that weapon or fail.\n\n\n_Shawn Mac Breogan._\n\nIn Gaelic, we meet more frequently the cloak of darkness, a cloak of\neffacement. In this tale we have a cloak or mantle of power, one that\nmakes the wearer the finest person in the world. This is like the mantle\nof the prophet, which, if it falls on a successor to the office, gives\nhim power equal to that of his predecessor. Of a similar character is the\ngarment of the Wet Mantle Hero, in Cahal, son of King Conor, whose power\nis in his mantle, which is rain itself.\n\nIn a certain Indian tale, two skins are described,\u2014one the skin of a\nblack rain cloud, the other the skin of a gray snow cloud; whenever\nrain is wanted, the black skin is shaken out in the air, when snow is\ndesired, the gray one is shaken. This shaking is done by two deities in\nthe sky (stones at present), who thus produce rain and snow _ad libitum_.\nThe mantles of power were skins originally. When people had forgotten\nthe special virtue of the skins, and mantles were of cloth or skin\nindifferently, or later on of cloth exclusively, the virtue connected\nwith mantles by tradition remained to them without reference to material.\n\nIn Hungarian tales the food of the steed, very often a mare, is glowing\ncoals. There are Hungarian tales in which little if any doubt is left\nthat the steed is lightning. It was a steed of this character that\ncarried Cahal, son of King Conor, to Striker\u2019s castle, a place to which\nno ship could go.\n\nThe skin of the white mare is like the skin of Klakherrit or Pitis in the\nIndian tale. When the young woman puts on the skin, she becomes the white\nmare; when she takes it off, she is herself again.\n\n\n_The Cotter\u2019s Son and the Half Slim Champion._\n\nInstead of a king\u2019s son, the more usual substitute for an earlier hero,\nwe have in this tale a cotter\u2019s son. The scene of shaking ashes from\nhis person by a mourner who has sat by the fire for a long time, finds\na parallel in Indian stories. The Gaelic heroes, however, manage to get\nvastly more ashes onto themselves than the Indians. The son of the King\nof Lochlin in this case shakes off seven tons. In one Irish tale that I\nknow, the hero goes out into the field after mourning long at the hearth,\nand shakes from his person an amount of ashes that covers seven acres in\nfront of him, seven acres behind him, seven acres on his right hand, and\nseven acres on his left.\n\nThe old King of Lochlin, who has the same kind of story to tell as Balor,\nis a tremendously stubborn old fellow; there is a savage cruelty in the\ntorture which his son inflicts on him that is without parallel, even\nin myth tales. The old man goes through the roasting with a strength\nwhich no stoic or martyr could equal. When he yields at last, he does so\nserenely, and tells a tale which solves the conundrum completely.\n\n\n_Fin MacCool, the three Giants, and the Small Men._\n\nThe theft of the children of the King of the Big Men has an interesting\nparallel in an Indian tale from California, a part of which is as\nfollows:\u2014\n\n    There was a man named Kuril (which means rib). He didn\u2019t seem\n    to know much; but he could walk right through rocks, in at one\n    side and out at the other. He walked across gullies, through\n    thickets, and over precipices, as easily as on a smooth road.\n    One evening people saw him coming from the west toward the\n    village. When he had come near, the sun went down, and Kuril\n    disappeared right before their eyes. They saw this several\n    times afterwards. He came always just before sunset, never came\n    quite to the village. The children used to play in the evening;\n    and he would stop and look at them, and at sunset he would be\n    gone, turned into something.\n\n    One evening a very poor man saw Kuril pass his thumbnail\n    along the top of his head, and split himself, the left half\n    of him became a woman, and the right half remained a man.\n    That night the new pair appeared to the poor man who had seen\n    the splitting, they said that each of them was to be called\n    Kukupiwit now (crooked breast), and talked with him. After that\n    the poor man had great luck, killed many deer; what he wanted,\n    he had. The male Kukupiwit came home late every evening. His\n    other half watched the village children playing; if one stepped\n    aside, or left the others, she thrust it into a basket, and\n    ran home. People looked for their children, but never found\n    them. She would listen, climb a house where she heard a child\n    cry, and look down the smoke-hole. One evening a little boy\n    was crying; his mother could not stop him. At last she said,\n    \u201cCry away; I\u2019ll go to sleep.\u201d The woman fell asleep; the boy\n    sat crying by the hearth. Soon he saw a piece of roast venison\n    hanging by a string over the fire. He took a piece, ate it,\n    stopped crying, took another; the string was drawn up a little.\n    He reached after it; the string was drawn farther. He reached\n    higher; Kukupiwit the woman caught his hand, pulled him up, put\n    him in her basket, and ran home.\n\n    The mother woke now; the boy was gone. She roused her husband;\n    they looked everywhere, found no trace of their son. Next night\n    all in the village were watching. In one house a baby cried,\n    and soon the men who were there heard creeping on the house.\n    One man took the baby, held it high over the fire, and said,\n    \u201cTake this baby!\u201d Kukupiwit reached down; the man lowered the\n    child a little. She reached farther; that moment five or six\n    men caught her arm, and tried to pull her down; but all who\n    were in the house could not do that. One man chopped her arm\n    right off with a flint knife, and threw it out; she fell to the\n    ground where her arm was, she picked it up, and ran home.\n\n\n_The Hard Gilla._\n\nThis tale has a special interest, in that it gives the cause of the\nBattle of Ventry, described in the next tale. The cause, like that of the\nTrojan war, was a woman. The daughter of the High King of the World goes\nto Fin at first, and is then stolen away by him afterwards.\n\n\nTHE END.","title":"Hero-Tales of Ireland","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":137797}