IRISH FAIRY TALES

[Illustration: IRISHFAIRY TALES

BYEDMUND. LEAMY. 

Pictured by. S. W. Fazáin. 

M. A. GILL & SON. LTDPUBLISHERSDUBLIN. 1906]

M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd. , Dublin. 

CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE, vii NOTE, xi Princess Finola and the Dwarf, 1 The House in the Lake, 19 The Little White Cat, 41 The Golden Spears, 63 The Fairy Tree of Dooros, 82 The Enchanted Cave, 101 The Huntsman's Son, 124 Notes, 145

PREFACE. 

The author of the tales contained in this volume was one of thebrightest and most poetic spirits who have appeared in Ireland in thelast half century. It is needless to say that he was also one of themost patriotic Irishmen of his generation--patriotic in the highestand widest sense of that term, loving with an ardent love his country, its people, its historic traditions, its hills and plains, its lakesand streams, its raths and mounds. Like all men of his type, he livedlargely in the past, and his fancy revelled much in fairy scenes ofchildhood and youth. 

The distractions of political life, into which he entered withcharacteristic enthusiasm, prevented Edmund Leamy from cultivating hisfavourite field of literature with that assiduity and sustainedapplication necessary for the purpose of bringing out the reallygreat intellectual powers with which he was endowed; otherwise, hewould certainly have left to Ireland a large body of literature whichwould have been the delight of old and young. But in this volume hehas given at least an indication of what he was capable of doingtowards that end. No one can read these pages without feeling thecharm of a fine and delicate fancy, a rare power of poetic expression, and a genuinely Irish instinct; without feeling also an intense regretthat the mind and heart from which they proceeded were stilled indeath long before the powers of his genius could have been exhausted. 

To myself, as one of the most intimate friends of Edmund Leamy, it isa melancholy pleasure to have the privilege of writing these few wordsof introduction to a volume which, for the purpose of preserving hismemory amongst his countrymen, needs no introduction at all. Theclaims of a long friendship, the knowledge of as stainless a life ashas ever been lived, and admiration for moral and intellectualendowments of the rarest character, render it easy to praise. But I donot think that I indulge in undue expectation in predicting that thenew audience to which this volume will come will rise from its perusalwith something of the feelings of love, admiration, and regret whichthose who knew Edmund Leamy personally will ever cherish in theirhearts. 

 J. E. REDMOND. 

 DUBLIN, _June 2nd, 1906_. 

NOTE. 

When the friends of the late Edmund Leamy were considering ways ofhonouring his memory they agreed that one way should be to republishthis little book of Irish fairy tales. They knew that nothing wouldhave been more grateful to himself, and that, in a manner, it would bean act of justice to his remarkable gifts. It would introduce acharacteristic specimen of Leamy's work to a race of readers who haveappeared since it was written and who ought to be in a mood moreappreciative of such literature than the mood which prevailed in thatday. For the book has long been out of print. These "Irish FairyTales" were written, and printed on Irish paper, and published throughan Irish publisher--Leamy would not bring out a book in any otherway--before the Celtic renaissance had arrived. This is one of thefacts which make them interesting. Perhaps, as some would tell us, seventeen years ago was a benighted time; at any rate we must admit itwas rather dark from an Irish literary, or even "Irish Ireland, "point of view. It was before the Gaelic movement, and before we hadsuch things as "intellectuals" and the "economic man, " or even theIrish Literary Theatre. Leamy's gentle and loyal soul could have takenno influence from the asperity of some of the intervening ferment, "Parliamentarian" though he was. Had the impulse to write this volumecome to him in this later period he would only have drawn from thetime the nourishment which the atmosphere of sympathy always brings tothe artist. But the impulse came to him before this period, in anatmosphere which held little that could nourish the sentiment soabundant among us to-day. O'Curry's and Dr. Joyce's books were almostthe only sources of Gaelic inspiration open to a writer who was not aprofessed student. Douglas Hyde, though always at work, had not yetbrought the fruits of his researches to light; Miss Eleanor Hull hadnot collected into a handy volume the materials of "The CuchullinSaga"; Kuno Meyer we did not know; Standish O'Grady, though he hadpublished his "Heroic Period, " had not yet begun popularising thebardic tales in such volumes as "Finn and his Companions. " No one wasreading anything about Ireland but political matter. I think one mayfairly claim some respect from this later day for a writer whoseventeen years ago, of his own motion, with scarce a word ofencouragement save from his wife and a friend or two--perhaps only onefriend--turned to our Gaelic past and strove to give to Irish childrensomething which would implant in them a love for the beauty anddignity of their country's traditions. 

The modest author would never have claimed for these little tales theinterest which I think they deserve. He wrote them for children, forhe loved children, and one can detect the presence of the childlistener at nearly every line. He was not thinking of a literaryaudience; the child at his knee was enough. This is why we hear(occasionally) a certain _naïve_ accent which will not, perhaps, please the contemporary critic; but (as there are many who again findpleasure in early Victorian furniture) it may please others; I confessit pleases me. And the absence of literary self-consciousness isitself pleasant; indeed, much of the charm of these stories is thecharm of their unpremeditated art. But, though he did not write forthe critics, Leamy was in spite of himself a man of letters. He was sogenuinely an artist that he could not do the thing ill. Any one ofthese stories will prove his capacity: the first, for instance, aboutthat princess on the "bare, brown, lonely moor" who was "as sweet andas fresh as an opening rosebud, and her voice was as musical as thewhisper of a stream in the woods in the hot days of summer. " There isnot a flaw in it. It is so filled with simple beauty and tenderness, and there is so much of the genuine word-magic in its language, thatone is carried away as by the spell of natural oratory. It has, too, that intimate sympathy with nature which is another racial note inthese stories. The enchanted moor, with its silence, where no sound isheard--the wind which shouted beyond the mountains, "when it spedacross the moor it lost its voice, and passed as silently as thedead"--is affected by the fortune of the tale equally with its humanand its elfin personages. When the knight arrives at last, "whereverhis horse's hoofs struck the ground, grass and flowers sprang up, andgreat trees with leafy branches rose on every side. .. . As they rode onbeneath the leafy trees from every tree the birds sang out, for thespell of silence over the lonely moor was broken for ever. " Thisunpretentious story, a child's story, is as engaging as a gem. And so, I think, are most of the others. One more example to illustrate thequality of Leamy's style--say, the description of the contest of thebards before the High King at the Feis of Tara in the story called"The Huntsman's Son. " The King gives the signal, the chief bard ofErin ascends the mound in front of the royal enclosure, and is greetedwith a roar of cheers; but at the first note of his harp there issilence like that of night. 

 "As he moved his fingers softly over the strings every heart was hushed, filled with a sense of balmy rest. The lark, soaring and singing above his head, paused mute and motionless in the still air, and no sound was heard over the spacious plain save the dreamy music. Then the bard struck another key, and a gentle sorrow possessed the hearts of his hearers, and unbidden tears gathered to their eyes. Then, with bolder hand, he swept his fingers across his lyre, and all hearts were moved to joy and pleasant laughter, and eyes that had been dimmed by tears sparkled as brightly as running waters dancing in the sun. When the last notes had died away a cheer arose, loud as the voice of the storm in the glen when the live thunder is revelling on the mountain tops. "

As soon as the bard descends the mound the Skald from the northernlands takes his place, amid shouts of welcome. 

 "He touched his harp, and in the perfect silence was heard the strains of the mermaid's song, and through it the pleasant ripple of summer waters on the pebbly beach. Then the theme was changed, and on the air was borne the measured sweep of countless oars and the swish of waters around the prows of contending galleys, and the breezy voices of the sailors and the sea-bird's cry. Then his theme was changed to the mirth and laughter of the banquet hall, the clang of meeting drinking-horns and songs of battle. When the last strain ended, from the mighty host a great shout went up loud as the roar of winter billows breaking in the hollows of the shore. "

Then comes the hero of the tale, Fergus, the huntsman's son. 

 "He touched his harp with gentle fingers, and a sound, low and soft as a faint summer breeze passing through forest trees, stole out, and then was heard the rustle of birds through the branches, and the dreamy murmur of waters lost in deepest woods, and all the fairy echoes whispering when the leaves are motionless in the noonday heat; then followed notes, cool and soft as the drip of summer showers on the parched grass, and then the song of the blackbird sounding as clearly as it sounds in long silent spaces of the evening, and then in one sweet jocund burst the multitudinous voices that hail the breaking of the morn. And the lark, singing and soaring above the minstrel, sank mute and motionless upon his shoulder, and from all the leafy woods the birds came thronging out and formed a fluttering canopy above his head. 

 "When the bard ceased playing no shout arose from the mighty multitude, for the strains of his harp, long after its chords were stilled, held their hearts spell-bound. "

This passage reveals the poetry of the author's style, and it showshow charged it is with qualities that are peculiar to the Celtictemperament: a style in which expressions like "the song of theblackbird sounding as clearly as it sounds in long silent spaces ofthe evening, " or "she answered his salute by a wave of her littlehand, that was as white as a wild rose in the hedges in June, " springup naturally, like daisies in the grass, at every turn. I have saidenough, too, to indicate the type of Celtic temperament to whichLeamy's belonged. His habitual mood was the exquisitely sensitive, thetender, playful, reverent mood. He was, in this, the antithesis of the"cloudy and lightning" Standish O'Grady, whose temperament, equallyGaelic, is that of the fighting bard, delighting in battle, fierce, fuliginous, aristocratic, pagan, with the roll of Homeric hexametersin his martial style. If O'Grady recalls the Oisin who contended withPatrick and longed to be slaying with the Fianna, even though theywere in hell, Leamy, _anima naturaliter Christiana_, reminds onerather of the Irish monk in a distant land moved to write lyrics inhis missal by the song of the bird that makes him think of Erin, orMarban, the hermit, rejoicing to his brother, the king, in his"sheiling in the wood, " his

 "Tree of apples like a hostel vast, . .. The music of the bright red-breasted men, . .. Swarms of bees and chafers, the little musicians of the world, A gentle chorus. "

It may not be amiss, in concluding this note, to add a word aboutthe author other than as he appears in this book. These storiesexhibit only one aspect of his gifts. They happen to be one of thethings he wrote down. Most of the coinage of his mind, and I thinkthe best of it, came forth in a form which does not permit of itsbeing recalled, the form of the spoken and unrecorded word. He was bynature an improvisor. In the inclusive sense of the term, the sensewhich includes poetry, story-telling, description as well as pleadingand exhortation, he was a born orator; and he was at his best whenin the glow of pure improvisation. It thus happened that it wasoften a group of friends around a fireside, or a casual audience, whowere the witnesses of the most brilliant play of his genius. He hada most observant and seeing eye. A walk in the street was fraughtwith surprise, and he would come back delighted with his adventures. Every little common incident--three little boys with their backsto a wall looking up at a church tower: he would catch snatches oftheir talk, speculations about deep things and strange; he wouldnote that an old Irish apple-woman in a grimy English town left herbasket, with all her stock-in-trade, outside in the street whileshe went into a church to commune with her heavenly friends; theconversation between a sapient publican, a friendly constable anda group of dubious _bona fide_ travellers--such things were materialsfor his insight or his fancy or his delightful humour. Often when hereturned in the evening full of his day's observations one wishedthere had been a shorthand-writer present to take down what fellfrom his lips. And just as it fell it would have been literature. Hewas urged to write these things. But Leamy had not readily the willor the power to compel his spirit when the favoured moment hadpassed. He was mostly passive, like an Ĉolian harp, under thevisitation. Ill-health, too, extreme and distressing, burdenedhim. He bore his trials cheerfully, and strove manfully to write, especially in his later days when the power and the will seemed tocome to him just as illness tightened its hold. But he was sustainedby the most precious of blessings--a wife with a brave and brightsoul, who appreciated him, and had a heart as romantic as his own. Their love, indeed, was an idyll, untouched by a shadow, throughillness and pain and hardship, to the hour of his death. 

One ventures to wish that this little book may make his kindly Irishspirit friends among a wider circle, and especially amongst thechildren. 

 T. P. G. 

FAIRY TALES. 

PRINCESS FINOLA AND THE DWARF. 

A long, long time ago there lived in a little hut in the midst of abare, brown, lonely moor an old woman and a young girl. The old womanwas withered, sour-tempered, and dumb. The young girl was as sweet andas fresh as an opening rosebud, and her voice was as musical as thewhisper of a stream in the woods in the hot days of summer. The littlehut, made of branches woven closely together, was shaped like abeehive. In the centre of the hut a fire burned night and day fromyear's end to year's end, though it was never touched or tended byhuman hand. In the cold days and nights of winter it gave out lightand heat that made the hut cosy and warm, but in the summer nights anddays it gave out light only. With their heads to the wall of the hutand their feet towards the fire were two sleeping-couches--one ofplain woodwork, in which slept the old woman; the other was Finola's. It was of bog-oak, polished as a looking-glass, and on it were carvedflowers and birds of all kinds, that gleamed and shone in the lightof the fire. This couch was fit for a princess, and a princess Finolawas, though she did not know it herself. 

Outside the hut the bare, brown, lonely moor stretched for miles onevery side, but towards the east it was bounded by a range ofmountains that looked to Finola blue in the daytime, but which put ona hundred changing colours as the sun went down. Nowhere was a houseto be seen, nor a tree, nor a flower, nor sign of any living thing. From morning till night, nor hum of bee, nor song of bird, nor voiceof man, nor any sound fell on Finola's ear. When the storm was in theair the great waves thundered on the shore beyond the mountains, andthe wind shouted in the glens; but when it sped across the moor itlost its voice, and passed as silently as the dead. At first thesilence frightened Finola, but she got used to it after a time, andoften broke it by talking to herself and singing. 

The only other person beside the old woman Finola ever saw was a dumbdwarf who, mounted on a broken-down horse, came once a month to thehut, bringing with him a sack of corn for the old woman and Finola. Although he couldn't speak to her, Finola was always glad to see thedwarf and his old horse, and she used to give them cake made withher own white hands. As for the dwarf he would have died for thelittle princess, he was so much in love with her, and often and oftenhis heart was heavy and sad as he thought of her pining away in thelonely moor. 

It chanced that he came one day, and she did not, as usual, come outto greet him. He made signs to the old woman, but she took up a stickand struck him, and beat his horse and drove him away; but as he wasleaving he caught a glimpse of Finola at the door of the hut, and sawthat she was crying. This sight made him so very miserable that hecould think of nothing else but her sad face that he had always seenso bright, and he allowed the old horse to go on without minding wherehe was going. Suddenly he heard a voice saying: "It is time for you tocome. "

The dwarf looked, and right before him, at the foot of a green hill, was a little man not half as big as himself, dressed in a green jacketwith brass buttons, and a red cap and tassel. 

"It is time for you to come, " he said the second time; "but you arewelcome, anyhow. Get off your horse and come in with me, that I maytouch your lips with the wand of speech, that we may have a talktogether. "

The dwarf got off his horse and followed the little man through a holein the side of a green hill. The hole was so small that he had to goon his hands and knees to pass through it, and when he was able tostand he was only the same height as the little fairyman. Afterwalking three or four steps they were in a splendid room, as bright asday. Diamonds sparkled in the roof as stars sparkle in the sky whenthe night is without a cloud. The roof rested on golden pillars, andbetween the pillars were silver lamps, but their light was dimmed bythat of the diamonds. In the middle of the room was a table, on whichwere two golden plates and two silver knives and forks, and a brassbell as big as a hazelnut, and beside the table were two little chairscovered with blue silk and satin. 

[Illustration: "The dwarf followed the little man through a hole in theside of a green hill"--p. 3. ]

"Take a chair, " said the fairy, "and I will ring for the wand ofspeech. "

The dwarf sat down, and the fairyman rang the little brass bell, andin came a little weeny dwarf no bigger than your hand. 

"Bring me the wand of speech, " said the fairy, and the weeny dwarfbowed three times and walked out backwards, and in a minute hereturned, carrying a little black wand with a red berry at the top ofit, and, giving it to the fairy, he bowed three times and walked outbackwards as he had done before. 

The little man waved the rod three times over the dwarf, and struckhim once on the right shoulder and once on the left shoulder, andthen touched his lips with the red berry, and said: "Speak!"

The dwarf spoke, and he was so rejoiced at hearing the sound of hisown voice that he danced about the room. 

"Who are you at all, at all?" said he to the fairy. 

"Who is yourself?" said the fairy. "But come, before we have any talklet us have something to eat, for I am sure you are hungry. "

Then they sat down to table, and the fairy rang the little brass belltwice, and the weeny dwarf brought in two boiled snails in theirshells, and when they had eaten the snails he brought in a dormouse, and when they had eaten the dormouse he brought in two wrens, and whenthey had eaten the wrens he brought in two nuts full of wine, and theybecame very merry, and the fairyman sang "Cooleen dhas, " and the dwarfsang "The little blackbird of the glen. "

"Did you ever hear the 'Foggy Dew?'" said the fairy. 

"No, " said the dwarf. 

"Well, then, I'll give it to you; but we must have some more wine. "

And the wine was brought, and he sang the "Foggy Dew, " and the dwarfsaid it was the sweetest song he had ever heard, and that thefairyman's voice would coax the birds off the bushes. 

"You asked me who I am?" said the fairy. 

"I did, " said the dwarf. 

"And I asked you who is yourself?"

"You did, " said the dwarf. 

"And who are you, then?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I don't know, " said the dwarf, and heblushed like a rose. 

"Well, tell me what you know about yourself. "

"I remember nothing at all, " said the dwarf, "before the day I foundmyself going along with a crowd of all sorts of people to the greatfair of the Liffey. We had to pass by the king's palace on our way, and as we were passing the king sent for a band of jugglers to comeand show their tricks before him. I followed the jugglers to look on, and when the play was over the king called me to him, and asked me whoI was and where I came from. I was dumb then, and couldn't answer; buteven if I could speak I could not tell him what he wanted to know, forI remember nothing of myself before that day. Then the king asked thejugglers, but they knew nothing about me, and no one knew anything, and then the king said he would take me into his service; and the onlywork I have to do is to go once a month with a bag of corn to the hutin the lonely moor. "

"And there you fell in love with the little princess, " said the fairy, winking at the dwarf. 

The poor dwarf blushed twice as much as he had done before. 

"You need not blush, " said the fairy; "it is a good man's case. Andnow tell me, truly, do you love the princess, and what would you giveto free her from the spell of enchantment that is over her?"

"I would give my life, " said the dwarf. 

"Well, then, listen to me, " said the fairy. "The Princess Finola wasbanished to the lonely moor by the king, your master. He killed herfather, who was the rightful king, and would have killed Finola, onlyhe was told by an old sorceress that if he killed her he would diehimself on the same day, and she advised him to banish her to thelonely moor, and she said she would fling a spell of enchantment overit, and that until the spell was broken Finola could not leave themoor. And the sorceress also promised that she would send an old womanto watch over the princess by night and by day, so that no harm shouldcome to her; but she told the king that he himself should select amessenger to take food to the hut, and that he should look out forsome one who had never seen or heard of the princess, and whom hecould trust never to tell anyone anything about her; and that is thereason he selected you. "

"Since you know so much, " said the dwarf, "can you tell me who I am, and where I came from?"

"You will know that time enough, " said the fairy. "I have given youback your speech. It will depend solely on yourself whether you willget back your memory of who and what you were before the day youentered the king's service. But are you really willing to try andbreak the spell of enchantment and free the princess?"

"I am, " said the dwarf. 

"Whatever it will cost you?"

"Yes, if it cost me my life, " said the dwarf; "but tell me, how canthe spell be broken?"

"Oh, it is easy enough to break the spell if you have the weapons, "said the fairy. 

"And what are they, and where are they?" said the dwarf. 

"The spear of the shining haft and the dark blue blade and the silvershield, " said the fairy. "They are on the farther bank of the MysticLake in the Island of the Western Seas. They are there for the man whois bold enough to seek them. If you are the man who will bring themback to the lonely moor you will only have to strike the shield threetimes with the haft, and three times with the blade of the spear, andthe silence of the moor will be broken for ever, the spell ofenchantment will be removed, and the princess will be free. "

"I will set out at once, " said the dwarf, jumping from his chair. 

"And whatever it cost you, " said the fairy, "will you pay the price?"

"I will, " said the dwarf. 

"Well, then, mount your horse, give him his head, and he will take youto the shore opposite the Island of the Mystic Lake. You must cross tothe island on his back, and make your way through the water-steedsthat swim around the island night and day to guard it; but woe betideyou if you attempt to cross without paying the price, for if you dothe angry water-steeds will rend you and your horse to pieces. Andwhen you come to the Mystic Lake you must wait until the waters are asred as wine, and then swim your horse across it, and on the fartherside you will find the spear and shield; but woe betide you if youattempt to cross the lake before you pay the price, for if you do, theblack Cormorants of the Western Seas will pick the flesh from yourbones. "

"What is the price?" said the dwarf. 

"You will know that time enough, " said the fairy; "but now go, andgood luck go with you. "

The dwarf thanked the fairy, and said good-bye! He then threw thereins on his horse's neck, and started up the hill, that seemed togrow bigger and bigger as he ascended, and the dwarf soon found thatwhat he took for a hill was a great mountain. After travelling all theday, toiling up by steep crags and heathery passes, he reached the topas the sun was setting in the ocean, and he saw far below him out inthe waters the island of the Mystic Lake. 

He began his descent to the shore, but long before he reached it thesun had set, and darkness, unpierced by a single star, dropped uponthe sea. The old horse, worn out by his long and painful journey, sankbeneath him, and the dwarf was so tired that he rolled off his backand fell asleep by his side. 

He awoke at the breaking of the morning, and saw that he was almost atthe water's edge. He looked out to sea, and saw the island, butnowhere could he see the water-steeds, and he began to fear he musthave taken a wrong course in the night, and that the island before himwas not the one he was in search of. But even while he was so thinkinghe heard fierce and angry snortings, and, coming swiftly from theisland to the shore, he saw the swimming and prancing steeds. Sometimes their heads and manes only were visible, and sometimes, rearing, they rose half out of the water, and, striking it with theirhoofs, churned it into foam, and tossed the white spray to the skies. As they approached nearer and nearer their snortings became moreterrible, and their nostrils shot forth clouds of vapour. The dwarftrembled at the sight and sound, and his old horse, quivering in everylimb, moaned piteously, as if in pain. On came the steeds, until theyalmost touched the shore, then rearing, they seemed about to spring onto it. The frightened dwarf turned his head to fly, and as he did sohe heard the twang of a golden harp, and right before him who shouldhe see but the little man of the hills, holding a harp in one hand andstriking the strings with the other. 

"Are you ready to pay the price?" said he, nodding gaily to thedwarf. 

As he asked the question, the listening water-steeds snorted morefuriously than ever. 

"Are you ready to pay the price?" said the little man a second time. 

A shower of spray, tossed on shore by the angry steeds, drenched thedwarf to the skin, and sent a cold shiver to his bones, and he was soterrified that he could not answer. 

"For the third and last time, are you ready to pay the price?" askedthe fairy, as he flung the harp behind him and turned to depart. 

When the dwarf saw him going he thought of the little princess in thelonely moor, and his courage came back, and he answered bravely:

"Yes, I am ready. "

The water-steeds, hearing his answer, and snorting with rage, struckthe shore with their pounding hoofs. 

"Back to your waves!" cried the little harper; and as he ran hisfingers across his lyre, the frightened steeds drew back into thewaters. 

"What is the price?" asked the dwarf. 

"Your right eye, " said the fairy; and before the dwarf could say aword, the fairy scooped out the eye with his finger, and put it intohis pocket. 

The dwarf suffered most terrible agony; but he resolved to bear it forthe sake of the little princess. Then the fairy sat down on a rock atthe edge of the sea, and, after striking a few notes, he began to playthe "Strains of Slumber. "

The sound crept along the waters, and the steeds, so ferocious amoment before, became perfectly still. They had no longer any motionof their own, and they floated on the top of the tide like foam beforea breeze. 

"Now, " said the fairy, as he led the dwarf's horse to the edge of thetide. 

The dwarf urged the horse into the water, and once out of his depth, the old horse struck out boldly for the island. The sleepingwater-steeds drifted helplessly against him, and in a short time hereached the island safely, and he neighed joyously as his hoofstouched solid ground. 

The dwarf rode on and on, until he came to a bridle-path, andfollowing this, it led him up through winding lanes, bordered withgolden furze that filled the air with fragrance, and brought him tothe summit of the green hills that girdled and looked down on theMystic Lake. Here the horse stopped of his own accord, and the dwarf'sheart beat quickly as his eye rested on the lake, that, clipped roundby the ring of hills, seemed in the breezeless and sunlit air--

 "As still as death, And as bright as life can be. "

After gazing at it for a long time, he dismounted, and lay at his easein the pleasant grass. Hour after hour passed, but no change came overthe face of the waters, and when the night fell sleep closed theeyelids of the dwarf. 

The song of the lark awoke him in the early morning, and, starting up, he looked at the lake, but its waters were as bright as they had beenthe day before. 

Towards midday he beheld what he thought was a black cloud sailingacross the sky from east to west. It seemed to grow larger as it camenearer and nearer, and when it was high above the lake he saw it was ahuge bird, the shadow of whose outstretched wings darkened the watersof the lake; and the dwarf knew it was one of the Cormorants of theWestern Seas. As it descended slowly, he saw that it held in one ofits claws a branch of a tree larger than a full-grown oak, and ladenwith clusters of ripe red berries. It alighted at some distance fromthe dwarf, and, after resting for a time, it began to eat the berriesand to throw the stones into the lake, and wherever a stone fell abright red stain appeared in the water. As he looked more closely atthe bird the dwarf saw that it had all the signs of old age, and hecould not help wondering how it was able to carry such a heavy tree. 

Later in the day, two other birds, as large as the first, but younger, came up from the west and settled down beside him. They also ate theberries, and throwing the stones into the lake it was soon as red aswine. 

When they had eaten all the berries, the young birds began to pick thedecayed feathers off the old bird and to smooth his plumage. As soonas they had completed their task, he rose slowly from the hill andsailed out over the lake, and dropping down on the waters, divedbeneath them. In a moment he came to the surface, and shot up into theair with a joyous cry, and flew off to the west in all the vigour ofrenewed youth, followed by the other birds. 

When they had gone so far that they were like specks in the sky, thedwarf mounted his horse and descended towards the lake. 

He was almost at the margin, and in another minute would have plungedin, when he heard a fierce screaming in the air, and before he hadtime to look up, the three birds were hovering over the lake. 

The dwarf drew back frightened. 

The birds wheeled over his head, and then, swooping down, they flewclose to the water, covering it with their wings, and uttering harshcries. 

Then, rising to a great height, they folded their wings and droppedheadlong, like three rocks, on the lake, crashing its surface, andscattering a wine-red shower upon the hills. [1]

Then the dwarf remembered what the fairy told him, that if heattempted to swim the lake, without paying the price, the threeCormorants of the Western Seas would pick the flesh off his bones. Heknew not what to do, and was about to turn away, when he heard oncemore the twang of the golden harp, and the little fairy of the hillsstood before him. 

"Faint heart never won fair lady, " said the little harper. "Are youready to pay the price? The spear and shield are on the oppositebank, and the Princess Finola is crying this moment in the lonelymoor. "

At the mention of Finola's name the dwarf's heart grew strong. 

"Yes, " he said; "I am ready--win or die. What is the price?"

"Your left eye, " said the fairy. And as soon as said he scooped outthe eye, and put it in his pocket. 

The poor blind dwarf almost fainted with pain. 

"It's your last trial, " said the fairy, "and now do what I tell you. Twist your horse's mane round your right hand, and I will lead him tothe water. Plunge in, and fear not. I gave you back your speech. Whenyou reach the opposite bank you will get back your memory, and youwill know who and what you are. "

Then the fairy led the horse to the margin of the lake. 

"In with you now, and good luck go with you, " said the fairy. 

The dwarf urged the horse. He plunged into the lake, and went down anddown until his feet struck the bottom. Then he began to ascend, and ashe came near the surface of the water the dwarf thought he saw aglimmering light, and when he rose above the water he saw the brightsun shining and the green hills before him, and he shouted with joyat finding his sight restored. 

But he saw more. Instead of the old horse he had ridden into the lakehe was bestride a noble steed, and as the steed swam to the bank thedwarf felt a change coming over himself, and an unknown vigour in hislimbs. 

When the steed touched the shore he galloped up the hillside, and onthe top of the hill was a silver shield, bright as the sun, restingagainst a spear standing upright in the ground. 

The dwarf jumped off, and, running towards the shield, he saw himselfas in a looking-glass. 

He was no longer a dwarf, but a gallant knight. At that moment hismemory came back to him, and he knew he was Conal, one of the Knightsof the Red Branch, and he remembered now that the spell of dumbnessand deformity had been cast upon him by the Witch of the Palace of theQuicken Trees. 

Slinging his shield upon his left arm, he plucked the spear from theground and leaped on to his horse. With a light heart he swam backover the lake, and nowhere could he see the black Cormorants of theWestern Seas, but three white swans floating abreast followed him tothe bank. When he reached the bank he galloped down to the sea, andcrossed to the shore. 

Then he flung the reins upon his horse's neck, and swifter than thewind the gallant horse swept on and on, and it was not long until hewas bounding over the enchanted moor. Wherever his hoofs struck theground, grass and flowers sprang up, and great trees with leafybranches rose on every side. 

At last the knight reached the little hut. Three times he struck theshield with the haft and three times with the blade of his spear. Atthe last blow the hut disappeared, and standing before him was thelittle princess. 

The knight took her in his arms and kissed her; then he lifted her onto the horse, and, leaping up before her, he turned towards the north, to the palace of the Red Branch Knights, and as they rode on beneaththe leafy trees from every tree the birds sang out, for the spell ofsilence over the lonely moor was broken for ever. 

THE HOUSE IN THE LAKE. [2]

A long, long time ago there lived in a little hut, in the midst of oneof the inland lakes of Erin, an old fisherman and his son. The hut wasbuilt on stakes driven into the bed of the lake, and was so high abovethe waters that even when they were stirred into waves by the windcoming down from the mountains they did not reach the threshold of thedoor. Around, outside the hut, on a level with the floor, was a littlewicker-work platform, and under the platform, close to the stepsleading up to it from the water, the fisherman's curragh, made ofwillows, covered with skins, was moored, and it was only by means ofthe curragh that he and his son, Enda, could leave their lakedwelling. 

On many a summer evening Enda lay stretched on the platform, watchingthe sunset fading from the mountain-tops, and the twilight creepingover the waters of the lake, and it chanced that once when he was soengaged he heard a rustle in a clump of sedge that grew close to oneside of the hut. He turned to where the sound came from, and whatshould he see but an otter swimming towards him, with a little troutin his mouth. When the otter came up to where Enda was lying, helifted his head and half his body from the water, and flung the trouton the platform, almost at Enda's feet, and then disappeared. 

Enda took the little panting trout in his hand; but as he did so heheard, quite close to him, in the lake, a sound like that of waterplashing upon water, and he saw the widening circles caused by a troutwhich had just risen to a fly; and he said to the little trout he heldin his hand:

"I won't keep you, poor thing! Perhaps that was a little comrade cometo look for you, and so I'll send you back to him. "

And saying this, he dropped the little trout into the lake. 

Well, when the next evening came, again Enda was lying stretchedoutside the hut, and once more he heard the rustle in the sedge, andonce more the otter came and flung the little trout almost into hishands. 

Enda, more surprised than ever, did not know what to do. He saw thatit was the same little trout the otter had brought him the nightbefore, and he said:

"Well, I gave you a chance last night. I'll give you another, if onlyto see what will come of it. "

And he dropped the trout into the lake; but no sooner had it touchedthe waters than it was changed into a beautiful, milk-white swan. AndEnda could hardly believe his eyes, as he saw it sailing across thelake, until it was lost in the sedges growing by the shore. 

All that night he lay awake, thinking of what he had seen, and as soonas the morning stood on the hill-tops, and cast its shafts of goldenlight across the lake, Enda rose and got into his curragh. 

He rowed all round the shores, beating the sedges with his oar, inpursuit of the swan; but all in vain; he could not catch a glimpse ofher white plumage anywhere. Day after day he rowed about the lake insearch of her, and every evening he lay outside the hut watching thewaters. At long last, one night, when the full moon, rising above themountains, flooded the whole lake with light, he saw the swan comingswiftly towards him, shining brighter than the moonbeams. The swancame on until it was almost within a boat's length of the hut; andwhat should Enda hear but the swan speaking to him in his ownlanguage:

"Get into your curragh, Enda, and follow me, " said she, and, sayingthis, she turned round and sailed away. 

Enda jumped into the curragh, and soon the water, dripping from hisoar, was flashing like diamonds in the moonlight. And he rowed afterthe swan, who glided on before him, until she came to where theshadows of the mountains lay deepest on the lake. Then the swanrested, and when Enda came up to her:

"Enda, " said she, "I have brought you where none may hear what I wishto say to you. I am Mave, the daughter of the king of Erin. By themagic arts of my cruel stepmother I was changed into a trout, and castinto this lake a year and a day before the evening when you restoredme to the waters the second time. If you had not done so the firstnight the otter brought me to you I should have been changed into ahooting owl; if you had not done so the second night, I should havebeen changed into a croaking raven. But, thanks to you, Enda, I am nowa snow-white swan, and for one hour on the first night of every fullmoon the power of speech is and will be given to me as long as Iremain a swan. And a swan I must always remain, unless you are willingto break the spell of enchantment that is over me; and you alone canbreak it. "

"I'll do anything I can for you. O princess!" said Enda. "But how canI break the spell?"

"You can do so, " said the swan, "only by pouring upon my plumage theperfumed water that fills the golden bowl that is in the inmost roomof the palace of the fairy queen, beneath the lake. "

"And how can I get that?" said Enda. 

"Well, " said the swan, "you must dive beneath the lake, and walk alongits bed, until you come to where the lake dragon guards the entranceof the fairy queen's dominions. "

"I can dive like a fish, " said Enda; "but how can I walk beneath thewaters?"

"You can do it easily enough, " said the swan, "if you get thewater-dress of Brian, one of the three sons of Turenn, and his helmetof transparent crystal, by the aid of which he was able to walk underthe green salt sea. "[3]

"And where shall I find them?"

"They are in the water-palace of Angus of the Boyne, " said the swan;"but you should set out at once, for if the spell be not broken beforethe moon is full again, it cannot be broken for a year and a day. "

"I'll set out in the first ray of the morning, " said Enda. 

"May luck and joy go with you, " said the swan. "And now the hours ofsilence are coming upon me, and I have only time to warn you thatdangers you little dream of will lie before you in your quest for thegolden cup. "

"I am willing to face all dangers for your sake, O princess, " saidEnda. 

"Blessings be upon you, Enda, " said the swan, and she sailed away fromthe shadow out into the light across the lake to the sedgy banks. AndEnda saw her no more. 

He rowed his curragh home, and he lay on his bed without taking offhis clothes. And as the first faint glimmer of the morning cameslanting down the mountains, he stepped into his curragh and pulledacross the lake, and took the road towards the water-palace of Angusof the Boyne. 

When he reached the banks of the glancing river a little woman, dressed in red, was standing there before him. 

"You are welcome, Enda, " said she. "And glad am I to see the day thatbrings you here to help the winsome Princess Mave. And now wait asecond, and the water-dress and crystal helmet will be ready foryou. "

And, having said this, the little woman plucked a handful of wildgrasses, and she breathed upon them three times and then flung them onthe river, and a dozen fairy nymphs came springing up through thewater, bearing the water-dress and crystal helmet and a shining spear. And they laid them down upon the bank at Enda's feet, and thendisappeared. 

"Now, Enda, " said the fairy woman, "take these; by the aid of thedress and the helmet you can walk beneath the waters. You will needthe spear to enable you to meet the dangers that lie before you. Butwith that spear, if you only have courage, you can overcome everythingand everyone that may attempt to bar your way. "

Having said this, she bid good-bye to Enda, and stepping off the bank, she floated out upon the river as lightly as a red poppy leaf. Andwhen she came to the middle of the stream she disappeared beneath thewaters. 

Enda took the helmet, dress, and spear, and it was not long until hecame to the sedgy banks where his little boat was waiting for him. Ashe stepped into the curragh the moon was rising above the mountains. He rowed on until he came to the hut, and having moored the boat tothe door, he put on the water-dress and the crystal helmet, and takingthe spear in his hand, he leaped over the side of the curragh, andsank down and down until he touched the bottom. Then he walked alongwithout minding where he was going, and the only light he had was theshimmering moonlight, which descended as faintly through the waters asif it came through muffled glass. He had not gone very far when heheard a horrible hissing, and straight before him he saw what hethought were two flaming coals. After a few more steps he foundhimself face to face with the dragon of the lake, the guardian of thepalace of the fairy queen. Before he had time to raise his spear, thedragon had wound its coils around him, and he heard its horribleteeth crunching against the side of his crystal helmet, and he feltthe pressure of its coils around his side, and the breath almost lefthis body; but the dragon, unable to pierce the helmet, unwound hiscoils, and soon Enda's hands were free, and before the dragon couldattempt to seize him again, he drove his spear through one of itsfiery eyes, and, writhing with pain, the hissing dragon darted througha cave behind him. Enda, gaining courage from the dragon's flight, marched on until he came to a door of dull brass set in the rocks. Hetried to push it in before him, but he might as well have tried topush away the rocks. While he was wondering what he should do, heheard again the fierce hissing of the dragon, and saw the red glare ofhis fiery eye dimly in the water. 

Lifting his spear and hastily turning round to meet the furiousmonster, Enda accidently touched the door with the point of the spear, and the door flew open. Enda passed through, and the door closedbehind him with a grating sound, and he marched along through a rockypass which led to a sandy plain. 

As he stepped from the pass into the plain the sands began to move, asif they were alive. In a second a thousand hideous serpents, almostthe colour of the sand, rose hissing up, and with their forkedtongues made a horrible, poisonous hedge in front of him. For a secondhe stood dismayed, but then, levelling his spear, he rushed againstthe hedge of serpents, and they, shooting poison at him, sank beneaththe sand. But the poison did not harm him, because of his water-dressand crystal helmet. 

When he had passed over the sandy plain, he had to climb a greatsteep, jagged rock. When he got to the top of the rock he saw spreadout before him a stony waste without a tuft or blade of grass. At somedistance in front of him he noticed a large dark object, which he tookto be a rock, but on looking at it more closely he saw that it was ahuge, misshapen, swollen mass, apparently alive. And it was growingbigger and bigger every moment. Enda stood amazed at the sight, andbefore he knew where he was the loathsome creature rose from theground, and sprang upon him before he could use his spear, and, catching him in its horrid grasp, flung him back over the rocks on tothe sandy plain. Enda was almost stunned, but the hissing of theserpents rising from the sand around him brought him to himself, and, jumping to his feet, once more he drove them down beneath the surface. He then approached the jagged rock, on the top of which he saw thefilthy monster glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. Enda poised hisspear and hurled it against his enemy. It entered between themonster's eyes, and from the wound the blood flowed down like a blacktorrent and dyed the plain, and the shrunken carcase slipped down thefront of the rocks and disappeared beneath the sand. Enda once moreascended the rock, and without meeting or seeing anything he passedover the stony waste, and at last he came to a leafy wood. He had notgone far in the wood until he heard the sound of fairy music, andwalking on he came upon a mossy glade, and there he found the fairiesdancing around their queen. They were so small, and were all sobrightly dressed, that they looked like a mass of waving flowers; butwhen he was seen by them they vanished like a glorious dream, and noone remained before him but the fairy queen. The queen blushed atfinding herself alone, but on stamping her little foot three timesupon the ground, the frightened fairies all crept back again. 

"You are welcome, Enda, " said the queen. "My little subjects have beenalarmed by your strange dress and crystal helmet. I pray you take themoff; you do not need them here. "

Enda did as he was bidden, and he laid down his water-dress and helmeton the grass, and the little fairies, seeing him in his proper shape, got over their fright, and, unrestrained by the presence of thequeen, they ran tumbling over one another to try and get a good lookat the crystal helmet. 

"I know what you have come for, Enda, " said the queen. "The golden cupyou shall have to-morrow; but to-night you must share our feast, sofollow me to the palace. "

Having said this, the queen beckoned her pages to her, and, attendedby them and followed by Enda, she went on through the wood. When theyhad left it behind them Enda saw on a green hill before him thesnow-white palace of the fairy queen. 

As the queen approached the steps that led up to the open door, a bandof tiny fairies, dressed in rose-coloured silk, came out, carryingbaskets of flowers, which they flung down on the steps to make afragrant carpet for her. They were followed by a band of harpersdressed in yellow silken robes, who ranged themselves on each side ofthe steps and played their sweetest music as the queen ascended. 

When the queen, followed by Enda, entered the palace, they passedthrough a crystal hall that led to a banquet-room. The room waslighted by a single star, large as a battle-shield. It was fixedagainst the wall above a diamond throne. 

The queen seated herself upon the throne, and the pages, advancingtowards her, and bending low, as they approached the steps, handedher a golden wand. 

The queen waved the wand three times, and a table laden with all kindsof delicacies appeared upon the floor. Then she beckoned Enda to her, and when he stood beside her the fairy table was no higher than hisknee. 

"I am afraid I must make you smaller, Enda, " said the queen, "or youwill never be able to seat yourself at my fairy table. "

And having said this, she touched Enda with the golden wand, and atonce he became as small as her tallest page. Then she struck the stepsof her throne, and all the nobles of her court, headed by her bards, took their places at the festive board. 

The feast went on right merrily, and when the tiny jewelleddrinking-cups were placed upon the table, the queen ordered theharpers to play. 

And the little harpers struck the chords, and as Enda listened to themusic it seemed to him as if he was being slowly lifted from his seat, and when the music ended the fairies vanished, the shining star wentout, and Enda was in perfect darkness. 

The air blew keenly in his face, and he knew not where he was. At lasthe saw a faint grey light, and soon this light grew broader andbrighter, and as the shadows fled before it, he could hardly believehis eyes when he found himself in his curragh on the lake, and themoonlight streaming down from the mountain-tops. 

For a moment he thought he must have been dreaming; but there in theboat before him were the crystal helmet, and the water-dress, and thegleaming spear, and the golden bowl of perfumed water that was toremove the spell of enchantment from the white swan of the lake, andsailing towards him from the sedgy bank came the snow-white swan; andwhen she touched the boat, Enda put out his hands and lifted her in, and then over her plumage he poured the perfumed water from the goldenbowl, and the Princess Mave in all her maiden beauty stood beforehim. 

"Take your oar, Enda, " she said, "and row to the southern bank. "

Enda seized his oar, and the curragh sped across the waters swifterthan a swallow in its flight. When the boat touched the shore Endajumped out, and lifted the princess on to the bank. 

"Send your boat adrift, Enda, " she said; "but first take out yourshining spear; the water-dress and the crystal helmet will take careof themselves. "

Enda took out the spear, and then pushed the boat from the bank. Itsped on towards the hut in the middle of the lake; but before it hadreached halfway six nymphs sprang up from the water and seizing thehelmet and dress, sank with them beneath the tide, and the boat wenton until it pushed its prow against the steps of the little hut, whereit remained. 

Then Enda and the princess turned towards the south, and it was notlong until they came to a deep forest, that was folding up its shadowsand spreading out its mossy glades before the glancing footsteps ofthe morning. They had not gone far through the forest when they heardthe music of hounds and the cries of huntsmen, and crashing towardsthem through the low branches they saw a fierce wild boar. Enda, gently pushing the princess behind him, levelled his spear, and whenthe boar came close to him he drove it into his throat. The brute felldead at his feet, and the dogs rushing up began to tear it to pieces. The princess fainted at the sight, and while Enda was endeavouring torestore her, the king of Erin, followed by his huntsmen, appeared, andwhen the king saw the princess he started in amazement, as herecognised the features of his daughter Mave. 

At that moment the princess came to herself, and her father, liftingher tenderly in his arms, kissed her again and again. 

"I have mourned you as dead, my darling, " said he, "and now you arerestored to me more lovely than ever. I would gladly have given up mythrone for this. But say who is the champion who has brought youhither, and who has slain the wild boar we have hunted so many yearsin vain?"

The princess blushed like a rose as she said:

"His name is Enda, father; it is he has brought me back to you. "

Then the king embraced Enda and said:

"Forgive me, Enda, for asking any questions about you before you haveshared the hospitality of my court. My palace lies beyond the forest, and we shall reach it soon. "

Then the king ordered his huntsman to sound the bugle-horn, and allhis nobles galloped up in answer to it, and when they saw the PrincessMave they were so dazzled by her beauty that they scarcely gave athought to the death of the wild boar. 

"It is my daughter, Mave, come back to me, " said the king. 

And all the nobles lowered their lances, and bowed in homage to thelady. 

"And there stands the champion who has brought her home, " said theking, pointing to Enda. 

The nobles looked at Enda, and bowed courteously, but in their heartsthey were jealous of the champion, for they saw he was already afavourite of the king's. 

Then the pages came up, leading milk-white steeds with golden bridles, and the king, ordering Enda to mount one of them, lifted Mave on tohis own, and mounted behind her. The pages, carrying the boar's headon a hollow shield, preceded by the huntsmen sounding their horns, setout towards the palace, and the royal party followed them. 

As the procession approached the palace crowds came rushing out to seethe trophies of the chase, and through the snow-white door the queen, Mave's cruel stepmother, attended by her maids-of-honour and the royalbards, came forth to greet the king. But when she saw seated beforehim the Princess Mave, who she thought was at the bottom of the lakeunder a spell of enchantment, she uttered a loud cry, and fellsenseless to the ground. 

The king jumped from his horse, and rushing to the queen, lifted herup and carried her in his arms to her apartments, for he had nosuspicion of the wickedness of which she had been guilty. 

And the court leeches were summoned to attend her, but she died thatvery night, and it was not until a green mound, worthy of a queen ofErin, had been raised over her grave that the Princess Mave told herfather of the wickedness of her stepmother. And when she told him thewhole story of how Enda had broken the spell of enchantment, and ofthe dangers which he had faced for her sake, the king summoned anassembly of all his nobles, and seated on his throne, wearing hisgolden helmet, the bards upon his right hand and the Druids upon hisleft, and the nobles in ranks before him with gleaming helmets andflashing spears, he told them the story of the princess, and of theservice which Enda had rendered to her. 

"And now, " said the king, "if the princess is willing to take herdeliverer for her husband, I am willing that she shall be his bride;and if you, my subjects, Bards and Druids and Nobles and Chiefs ofErin, have anything to say against this union, speak. But first, Mave, " said the king, as he drew the blushing princess to him, "speak, darling, as becomes the daughter of a king--speak in the presence ofthe nobles of Erin, and say if it is your wish to become Enda'sbride. "

The princess flung her white arms around her father's neck, as shemurmured:

"Father, it was Enda brought me back to you, and before all theprinces and nobles of Erin I am willing to be his bride. "

And she buried her head upon the king's breast, and as he stroked hersilken hair falling to her feet, the bards struck their golden harps, but the sound of the joyous music could hardly drown the murmurs ofthe jealous nobles. 

When the music ceased the king beckoned Enda to him, and was about toplace his hand in Mave's when a Druid, whose white beard almosttouched the ground, and who had been a favourite of the deadstepmother, and hated Mave for her sake, stepped forward and said:

"O King of Erin, never yet has the daughter of a king been freelygiven in marriage to any save a battle champion; and that striplingthere has never struck his spear against a warrior's shield. "

A murmur of approbation rose from the jealous princes, and Congal, thebravest of them all, stepped out from the ranks, and said:

"The Druid speaks the truth, O king! That stripling has never faced abattle champion yet, and, speaking for all the nobles of your land, Ichallenge him to fight any one of us; and as he is young and unused toarms, we are willing that the youngest and least experienced amongstus should be set against him. "

When Congal had spoken, the nobles, in approval of his words, strucktheir shields with their swords, and the brazen sound ascended to theskies. 

The face of the princess, blushing a moment before like a rose, becameas white as a lily; but the colour returned to her cheeks when sheheard Enda's voice ringing loud and clear. 

"It is true, O king!" said he, "that I have never used my spear inbattle yet. The Prince Congal has challenged me to meet the youngestand least experienced of the chiefs of Erin. I have risked my lifealready for your daughter's sake. I would face death a thousand timesfor the chance of winning her for my bride; but I would scorn to claimher hand if I dared not meet the boldest battle champion of the noblesof Erin, and here before you, O king, and bards, Druids, and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, and here, in the presence of the Lady Mave, Ichallenge the boldest of them all. "

The king's eyes flashed with joy as he listened to the brave words ofEnda. 

"It is well, " said the king; "the contest shall take place to-morrowon the lawn outside our palace gates; but before our assemblydissolves I call on you, nobles and chiefs of Erin, to name yourboldest champion. "

Loud cries of "Congal! Congal!" answered the king's speech. 

"Are you willing, Congal?" asked the king. 

"Willing, O king!" answered Congal. 

"It is well, " said the king. "We shall all meet again to-night in ourbanquet-hall. "

And the king, with the Princess Mave on his arm, attended by his bardsand Druids, entered the palace, and the chiefs and nobles went theirseveral ways. 

At the feast that night the princess sat beside the king, and Endabeside the princess, and the bards and Druids, nobles and chiefs, tooktheir places in due order. And the bards sang songs of love andbattle, and never merrier hours were spent than those which passedaway that night in the banquet-hall of Erin's king. 

When the feast was over Enda retired to his apartment to spend thenight dreaming of the Princess Mave, and Congal went to his quarters;but not to sleep or dream, for the Druid who had provoked the contestcame to him bringing his golden wand, and all night long the Druid wasweaving spells to charm the shield and spear and helmet of Congal, tomake them invulnerable in the battle of the morrow. 

But while Enda lay dreaming of the Princess Mave, the little fairywoman who gave him the water-dress, and crystal helmet, and shiningspear on the banks of the Boyne, slid into his room, and she placedbeside his couch a silver helmet and a silver shield. And she rubbedthe helmet, and the shield, and the blue blade and haft of his spearwith the juice of the red rowan berries, and she let a drop fall uponhis face and hands, and then she slid out as silently as she came. 

When the morning broke, Enda sprang from his couch, and he couldhardly believe his eyes when he saw the silver shield and helmet. Atthe sight of them he longed for the hour of battle, and he watchedwith eager gaze the sun climbing the sky; and, after hours ofsuspense, he heard the trumpet's sound and the clangour of the hollowshields, struck by the hard-pointed spears. 

Putting on the helmet, and fastening the shield upon his left arm, andtaking the spear in his right hand, he stepped out bravely to thefight. The edge of the lawn before the palace gates was ringed by theprinces, nobles, and chiefs of Erin. And the palace walls werethronged by all the beauties of the Court and all the noble ladies ofthe land. And on his throne, surrounded by his Druids, his brehons, and his bards, was the king of Erin, and at his feet sat the lovelyLady Mave. 

As Enda stepped out upon the lawn, he saw Congal advancing from theranks of the nobles, and the two champions approached each other untilthey met right in front of the throne. 

Then both turned towards the throne, and bowed to the king and thePrincess Mave; and then facing each other again, they retired a space, and when their spears were poised, ready for battle, the king gave thesignal, which was answered by the clang of stricken shields, andCongal and Enda launched their gleaming spears. They flashed likelightning in the sunlit air, and in a second Congal's had brokenagainst Enda's shield; but Enda's, piercing Congal's helmet, hurledhim senseless on the plain. 

The nobles and chiefs could hardly realize that in that single secondtheir boldest champion was overthrown; but when they saw him stretchedmotionless on the grassy sward, from out their ranks six warriorsadvanced to where the chieftain lay, and sadly they bore him away upontheir battle-shields, and Enda remained victor upon the field. 

And then the king's voice rang out clear as the sound of a trumpet inthe still morning:

"Bards and brehons, princes and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, Enda hasproved himself a battle champion, and who amongst you now will daregainsay his right to claim my daughter for his bride?"

And no answer came. 

But when he summoned Enda to his throne, and placed the lady's hand inhis, a cheer arose from the great assembly, that proved that jealousywas extinguished in all hearts, and that all believed that Enda wasworthy of the winsome bride; and never since that day, although athousand years have passed, was there in all the world a brighter andgayer wedding than the wedding of Enda and the Princess Mave. 

THE LITTLE WHITE CAT

A long, long time ago, in a valley far away, the giant Trencoss livedin a great castle, surrounded by trees that were always green. Thecastle had a hundred doors, and every door was guarded by a huge, shaggy hound, with tongue of fire and claws of iron, who tore topieces anyone who went to the castle without the giant's leave. Trencoss had made war on the King of the Torrents, and, having killedthe king, and slain his people, and burned his palace, he carried offhis only daughter, the Princess Eileen, to the castle in the valley. Here he provided her with beautiful rooms, and appointed a hundreddwarfs, dressed in blue and yellow satin, to wait upon her, andharpers to play sweet music for her, and he gave her diamonds withoutnumber, brighter than the sun; but he would not allow her to gooutside the castle, and told her if she went one step beyond itsdoors, the hounds, with tongues of fire and claws of iron, would tearher to pieces. A week after her arrival, war broke out between thegiant and the king of the islands, and before he set out for battle, the giant sent for the princess, and informed her that on his returnhe would make her his wife. When the princess heard this she began tocry, for she would rather die than marry the giant who had slain herfather. 

"Crying will only spoil your bright eyes, my little princess, " saidTrencoss, "and you will have to marry me whether you like it or no. "

He then bade her go back to her room, and he ordered the dwarfs togive her everything she asked for while he was away, and the harpersto play the sweetest music for her. When the princess gained her roomshe cried as if her heart would break. The long day passed slowly, andthe night came, but brought no sleep to Eileen, and in the grey lightof the morning she rose and opened the window, and looked about inevery direction to see if there were any chance of escape. But thewindow was ever so high above the ground, and below were the hungryand ever watchful hounds. With a heavy heart she was about to closethe window when she thought she saw the branches of the tree that wasnearest to it moving. She looked again, and she saw a little white catcreeping along one of the branches. 

"Mew!" cried the cat. 

"Poor little pussy, " said the princess. "Come to me, pussy. "

"Stand back from the window, " said the cat, "and I will. "

[Illustration: "'Poor little pussy, ' said the Princess"--p. 42. ]

The princess stepped back, and the little white cat jumped into theroom. The princess took the little cat on her lap and stroked him withher hand, and the cat raised up its back and began to purr. 

"Where do you come from, and what is your name?" asked the princess. 

"No matter where I come from or what's my name, " said the cat, "I am afriend of yours, and I come to help you?"

"I never wanted help worse, " said the princess. 

"I know that, " said the cat; "and now listen to me. When the giantcomes back from battle and asks you to marry him, say to him you willmarry him. "

"But I will never marry him, " said the princess. 

"Do what I tell you, " said the cat. "When he asks you to marry him, say to him you will if his dwarfs will wind for you three balls fromthe fairy dew that lies on the bushes on a misty morning as big asthese, " said the cat, putting his right forefoot into his ear andtaking out three balls--one yellow, one red, and one blue. 

"They are very small, " said the princess. "They are not much biggerthan peas, and the dwarfs will not be long at their work. "

"Won't they, " said the cat. "It will take them a month and a day tomake one, so that it will take three months and three days before theballs are wound; but the giant, like you, will think they can be madein a few days, and so he will readily promise to do what you ask. Hewill soon find out his mistake, but he will keep his word, and willnot press you to marry him until the balls are wound. "

"When will the giant come back?" asked Eileen. 

"He will return to-morrow afternoon, " said the cat. 

"Will you stay with me until then?" said the princess. "I am verylonely. "

"I cannot stay, " said the cat. "I have to go away to my palace on theisland on which no man ever placed his foot, and where no man but oneshall ever come. "

"And where is that island?" asked the princess, "and who is the man?"

"The island is in the far-off seas where vessel never sailed; the manyou will see before many days are over; and if all goes well, he willone day slay the giant Trencoss, and free you from his power. "

"Ah!" sighed the princess, "that can never be, for no weapon can woundthe hundred hounds that guard the castle, and no sword can kill thegiant Trencoss. "

"There is a sword that will kill him, " said the cat; "but I must gonow. Remember what you are to say to the giant when he comes home, and every morning watch the tree on which you saw me, and if you seein the branches anyone you like better than yourself, " said the cat, winking at the princess, "throw him these three balls and leave therest to me; but take care not to speak a single word to him, for ifyou do all will be lost. "

"Shall I ever see you again?" asked the princess. 

"Time will tell, " answered the cat, and, without saying so much asgood-bye, he jumped through the window on to the tree, and in a secondwas out of sight. 

The morrow afternoon came, and the giant Trencoss returned frombattle. Eileen knew of his coming by the furious barking of thehounds, and her heart sank, for she knew that in a few moments shewould be summoned to his presence. Indeed, he had hardly entered thecastle when he sent for her, and told her to get ready for thewedding. The princess tried to look cheerful, as she answered:

"I will be ready as soon as you wish; but you must first promise mesomething. "

"Ask anything you like, little princess, " said Trencoss. 

"Well, then, " said Eileen, "before I marry you, you must make yourdwarfs wind three balls as big as these from the fairy dew that lieson the bushes on a misty morning in summer. "

"Is that all?" said Trencoss, laughing. "I shall give the dwarfsorders at once, and by this time to-morrow the balls will be wound, and our wedding can take place in the evening. "

"And will you leave me to myself until then?"

"I will, " said Trencoss. 

"On your honour as a giant?" said Eileen. 

"On my honour as a giant, " replied Trencoss. 

The princess returned to her rooms, and the giant summoned all hisdwarfs, and he ordered them to go forth in the dawning of the morn andto gather all the fairy dew lying on the bushes, and to wind threeballs--one yellow, one red, and one blue. The next morning, and thenext, and the next, the dwarfs went out into the fields and searchedall the hedgerows, but they could gather only as much fairy dew aswould make a thread as long as a wee girl's eyelash; and so they hadto go out morning after morning, and the giant fumed and threatened, but all to no purpose. He was very angry with the princess, and he wasvexed with himself that she was so much cleverer than he was, and, moreover, he saw now that the wedding could not take place as soon ashe expected. 

When the little white cat went away from the castle he ran as fast ashe could up hill and down dale, and never stopped until he came to thePrince of the Silver River. The prince was alone, and very sad andsorrowful he was, for he was thinking of the Princess Eileen, andwondering where she could be. 

"Mew, " said the cat, as he sprang softly into the room; but the princedid not heed him. "Mew, " again said the cat; but again the prince didnot heed him. "Mew, " said the cat the third time, and he jumped up onthe prince's knee. 

"Where do you come from, and what do you want?" asked the prince. 

"I come from where you would like to be, " said the cat. 

"And where is that?" said the prince. 

"Oh, where is that, indeed! as if I didn't know what you are thinkingof, and of whom you are thinking, " said the cat; "and it would be farbetter for you to try and save her. "

"I would give my life a thousand times over for her, " said theprince. 

"For whom?" said the cat, with a wink. "I named no name, yourhighness, " said he. 

"You know very well who she is, " said the prince, "if you knew what Iwas thinking of; but do you know where she is?"

"She is in danger, " said the cat. "She is in the castle of the giantTrencoss, in the valley beyond the mountains. "

"I will set out there at once, " said the prince "and I will challengethe giant to battle, and will slay him. "

"Easier said than done, " said the cat. "There is no sword made by thehands of man can kill him, and even if you could kill him, his hundredhounds, with tongues of fire and claws of iron, would tear you topieces. "

"Then, what am I to do?" asked the prince. 

"Be said by me, " said the cat. "Go to the wood that surrounds thegiant's castle, and climb the high tree that's nearest to the windowthat looks towards the sunset, and shake the branches, and you willsee what you will see. Then hold out your hat with the silver plumes, and three balls--one yellow, one red, and one blue--will be throwninto it. And then come back here as fast as you can; but speak noword, for if you utter a single word the hounds will hear you, and youshall be torn to pieces. "

Well, the prince set off at once, and after two days' journey he cameto the wood around the castle, and he climbed the tree that wasnearest to the window that looked towards the sunset, and he shook thebranches. As soon as he did so, the window opened and he saw thePrincess Eileen, looking lovelier than ever. He was going to call outher name, but she placed her fingers on her lips, and he rememberedwhat the cat had told him, that he was to speak no word. In silence heheld out the hat with the silver plumes, and the princess threw intoit the three balls, one after another, and, blowing him a kiss, sheshut the window. And well it was she did so, for at that very momentshe heard the voice of the giant, who was coming back from hunting. 

The prince waited until the giant had entered the castle before hedescended the tree. He set off as fast as he could. He went up hilland down dale, and never stopped until he arrived at his own palace, and there waiting for him was the little white cat. 

"Have you brought the three balls?" said he. 

"I have, " said the prince. 

"Then follow me, " said the cat. 

On they went until they left the palace far behind and came to theedge of the sea. 

"Now, " said the cat, "unravel a thread of the red ball, hold thethread in your right hand, drop the ball into the water, and you shallsee what you shall see. "

The prince did as he was told, and the ball floated out to sea, unravelling as it went, and it went on until it was out of sight. 

"Pull now, " said the cat. 

The prince pulled, and, as he did, he saw far away something on thesea shining like silver. It came nearer and nearer, and he saw it wasa little silver boat. At last it touched the strand. 

"Now, " said the cat, "step into this boat and it will bear you to thepalace on the island on which no man has ever placed his foot--theisland in the unknown seas that were never sailed by vessels made ofhuman hands. In that palace there is a sword with a diamond hilt, andby that sword alone the giant Trencoss can be killed. There also are ahundred cakes, and it is only on eating these the hundred hounds candie. But mind what I say to you: if you eat or drink until you reachthe palace of the little cat in the island in the unknown seas, youwill forget the Princess Eileen. "

"I will forget myself first, " said the prince, as he stepped into thesilver boat, which floated away so quickly that it was soon out ofsight of land. 

The day passed and the night fell, and the stars shone down upon thewaters, but the boat never stopped. On she went for two whole days andnights, and on the third morning the prince saw an island in thedistance, and very glad he was; for he thought it was his journey'send, and he was almost fainting with thirst and hunger. But the daypassed and the island was still before him. 

At long last, on the following day, he saw by the first light of themorning that he was quite close to it, and that trees laden withfruit of every kind were bending down over the water. The boat sailedround and round the island, going closer and closer every round, until, at last, the drooping branches almost touched it. The sight ofthe fruit within his reach made the prince hungrier and thirstier thanhe was before, and forgetting his promise to the little cat--not toeat anything until he entered the palace in the unknown seas--hecaught one of the branches, and, in a moment, was in the tree eatingthe delicious fruit. While he was doing so the boat floated out to seaand soon was lost to sight; but the prince, having eaten, forgot allabout it, and, worse still, forgot all about the princess in thegiant's castle. When he had eaten enough he descended the tree, and, turning his back on the sea, set out straight before him. He had notgone far when he heard the sound of music, and soon after he saw anumber of maidens playing on silver harps coming towards him. Whenthey saw him they ceased playing, and cried out:

"Welcome! welcome! Prince of the Silver River, welcome to the islandof fruits and flowers. Our king and queen saw you coming over the sea, and they sent us to bring you to the palace. "

The prince went with them, and at the palace gates the king and queenand their daughter Kathleen received him, and gave him welcome. Hehardly saw the king and queen, for his eyes were fixed on the princessKathleen, who looked more beautiful than a flower. He thought he hadnever seen anyone so lovely, for, of course, he had forgotten allabout poor Eileen pining away in her castle prison in the lonelyvalley. When the king and queen had given welcome to the prince agreat feast was spread, and all the lords and ladies of the court satdown to it, and the prince sat between the queen and the princessKathleen, and long before the feast was finished he was over head andears in love with her. When the feast was ended the queen ordered theballroom to be made ready, and when night fell the dancing began, andwas kept up until the morning star, and the prince danced all nightwith the princess, falling deeper and deeper in love with her everyminute. Between dancing by night and feasting by day weeks went by. All the time poor Eileen in the giant's castle was counting the hours, and all this time the dwarfs were winding the balls, and a ball and ahalf were already wound. At last the prince asked the king and queenfor their daughter in marriage, and they were delighted to be able tosay yes, and the day was fixed for the wedding. But on the eveningbefore the day on which it was to take place the prince was in hisroom, getting ready for a dance, when he felt something rubbingagainst his leg, and, looking down, who should he see but the littlewhite cat. At the sight of him the prince remembered everything, andsad and sorry he was when he thought of Eileen watching and waitingand counting the days until he returned to save her. But he was veryfond of the princess Kathleen, and so he did not know what to do. 

"You can't do anything to-night, " said the cat, for he knew what theprince was thinking of, "but when morning comes go down to the sea, and look not to the right or the left, and let no living thing touchyou, for if you do you shall never leave the island. Drop the secondball into the water, as you did the first, and when the boat comesstep in at once. Then you may look behind you, and you shall see whatyou shall see, and you'll know which you love best, the PrincessEileen or the Princess Kathleen, and you can either go or stay. "

The prince didn't sleep a wink that night, and at the first glimpse ofthe morning he stole from the palace. When he reached the sea he threwout the ball, and when it had floated out of sight, he saw the littleboat sparkling on the horizon like a newly-risen star. The prince hadscarcely passed through the palace doors when he was missed, and theking and queen and the princess, and all the lords and ladies of thecourt, went in search of him, taking the quickest way to the sea. While the maidens with the silver harps played sweetest music, theprincess, whose voice was sweeter than any music, called on the princeby his name, and so moved his heart that he was about to look behind, when he remembered how the cat had told him he should not do so untilhe was in the boat. Just as it touched the shore the princess put outher hand and almost caught the prince's arm, but he stepped into theboat in time to save himself, and it sped away like a receding wave. Aloud scream caused the prince to look round suddenly, and when he didhe saw no sign of king or queen, or princess, or lords or ladies, butonly big green serpents, with red eyes and tongues, that hissed outfire and poison as they writhed in a hundred horrible coils. 

The prince, having escaped from the enchanted island, sailed away forthree days and three nights, and every night he hoped the comingmorning would show him the island he was in search of. He was faintwith hunger and beginning to despair, when on the fourth morning hesaw in the distance an island that, in the first rays of the sun, gleamed like fire. On coming closer to it he saw that it was clad withtrees, so covered with bright red berries that hardly a leaf was to beseen. Soon the boat was almost within a stone's cast of the island, and it began to sail round and round until it was well under thebending branches. The scent of the berries was so sweet that itsharpened the prince's hunger, and he longed to pluck them; but, remembering what had happened to him on the enchanted island, he wasafraid to touch them. But the boat kept on sailing round and round, and at last a great wind rose from the sea and shook the branches, andthe bright, sweet berries fell into the boat until it was filled withthem, and they fell upon the prince's hands, and he took up some tolook at them, and as he looked the desire to eat them grew stronger, and he said to himself it would be no harm to taste one; but when hetasted it the flavour was so delicious he swallowed it, and, ofcourse, at once he forgot all about Eileen, and the boat drifted awayfrom him and left him standing in the water. 

He climbed on to the island, and having eaten enough of the berries, he set out to see what might be before him, and it was not long untilhe heard a great noise, and a huge iron ball knocked down one of thetrees in front of him, and before he knew where he was a hundredgiants came running after it. When they saw the prince they turnedtowards him, and one of them caught him up in his hand and held him upthat all might see him. The prince was nearly squeezed to death, andseeing this the giant put him on the ground again. 

"Who are you, my little man?" asked the giant. 

"I am a prince, " replied the prince. 

"Oh, you are a prince, are you?" said the giant. "And what are yougood for?" said he. 

The prince did not know, for nobody had asked him that questionbefore. 

"I know what he's good for, " said an old giantess, with one eye in herforehead and one in her chin. "I know what he's good for. He's good toeat. "

When the giants heard this they laughed so loud that the prince wasfrightened almost to death. 

"Why, " said one, "he wouldn't make a mouthful. "

"Oh, leave him to me, " said the giantess, "and I'll fatten him up; andwhen he is cooked and dressed he will be a nice dainty dish for theking. "

The giants, on this, gave the prince into the hands of the oldgiantess. She took him home with her to the kitchen, and fed him onsugar and spice and all things nice, so that he should be a sweetmorsel for the king of the giants when he returned to the island. Thepoor prince would not eat anything at first, but the giantess held himover the fire until his feet were scorched, and then he said tohimself it was better to eat than to be burnt alive. 

Well, day after day passed, and the prince grew sadder and sadder, thinking that he would soon be cooked and dressed for the king; butsad as the prince was, he was not half as sad as the Princess Eileenin the giant's castle, watching and waiting for the prince to returnand save her. 

And the dwarfs had wound two balls, and were winding a third. 

At last the prince heard from the old giantess that the king of thegiants was to return on the following day, and she said to him:

"As this is the last night you have to live, tell me if you wish foranything, for if you do your wish will be granted. "

"I don't wish for anything, " said the prince, whose heart was deadwithin him. 

"Well, I'll come back again, " said the giantess, and she went away. 

The prince sat down in a corner, thinking and thinking, until he heardclose to his ear a sound like "purr, purr!" He looked around, andthere before him was the little white cat. 

"I ought not to come to you, " said the cat; "but, indeed, it is notfor your sake I come. I come for the sake of the Princess Eileen. Ofcourse, you forgot all about her, and, of course, she is alwaysthinking of you. It's always the way--

 "Favoured lovers may forget, Slighted lovers never yet. "

The prince blushed with shame when he heard the name of theprincess. 

"'Tis you that ought to blush, " said the cat; "but listen to me now, and remember, if you don't obey my directions this time you'll neversee me again, and you'll never set your eyes on the Princess Eileen. When the old giantess comes back tell her you wish, when the morningcomes, to go down to the sea to look at it for the last time. When youreach the sea you will know what to do. But I must go now, as I hearthe giantess coming. " And the cat jumped out of the window anddisappeared. 

"Well, " said the giantess, when she came in, "is there anything youwish?"

"Is it true I must die to-morrow?" asked the prince. 

"It is. "

"Then, " said he, "I should like to go down to the sea to look at itfor the last time. "

"You may do that, " said the giantess, "if you get up early. "

"I'll be up with the lark in the light of the morning, " said theprince. 

"Very well, " said the giantess, and, saying "good night, " she wentaway. 

The prince thought the night would never pass, but at last it fadedaway before the grey light of the dawn, and he sped down to the sea. He threw out the third ball, and before long he saw the little boatcoming towards him swifter than the wind. He threw himself into it themoment it touched the shore. Swifter than the wind it bore him out tosea, and before he had time to look behind him the island of thegiantess was like a faint red speck in the distance. The day passedand the night fell, and the stars looked down, and the boat sailed on, and just as the sun rose above the sea it pushed its silver prow onthe golden strand of an island greener than the leaves in summer. Theprince jumped out, and went on and on until he entered a pleasantvalley, at the head of which he saw a palace white as snow. 

As he approached the central door it opened for him. On entering thehall he passed into several rooms without meeting with anyone; but, when he reached the principal apartment, he found himself in acircular room, in which were a thousand pillars, and every pillar wasof marble, and on every pillar save one, which stood in the centre ofthe room, was a little white cat with black eyes. Ranged round thewall, from one door-jamb to the other, were three rows of preciousjewels. The first was a row of brooches of gold and silver, with theirpins fixed in the wall and their heads outwards; the second a row oftorques of gold and silver; and the third a row of great swords, withhilts of gold and silver. And on many tables was food of all kinds, and drinking horns filled with foaming ale. [4]

While the prince was looking about him the cats kept on jumping frompillar to pillar; but seeing that none of them jumped on to the pillarin the centre of the room, he began to wonder why this was so, when, all of a sudden, and before he could guess how it came about, thereright before him on the centre pillar was the little white cat. 

"Don't you know me?" said he. 

"I do, " said the prince. 

"Ah, but you don't know who I am. This is the palace of the LittleWhite Cat, and I am the King of the Cats. But you must be hungry, andthe feast is spread. "

Well, when the feast was ended, the king of the cats called for thesword that would kill the giant Trencoss, and the hundred cakes forthe hundred watch-dogs. 

The cats brought the sword and the cakes and laid them before theking. 

"Now, " said the king, "take these; you have no time to lose. To-morrowthe dwarfs will wind the last ball, and to-morrow the giant will claimthe princess for his bride. So you should go at once; but before yougo take this from me to your little girl. "

And the king gave him a brooch lovelier than any on the palacewalls. 

The king and the prince, followed by the cats, went down to thestrand, and when the prince stepped into the boat all the cats "mewed"three times for good luck, and the prince waved his hat three times, and the little boat sped over the waters all through the night asbrightly and as swiftly as a shooting star. In the first flush of themorning it touched the strand. The prince jumped out and went on andon, up hill and down dale, until he came to the giant's castle. Whenthe hounds saw him they barked furiously, and bounded towards him totear him to pieces. The prince flung the cakes to them, and as eachhound swallowed his cake he fell dead. The prince then struck hisshield three times with the sword which he had brought from the palaceof the little white cat. 

When the giant heard the sound he cried out: "Who comes to challengeme on my wedding-day?"

The dwarfs went out to see, and, returning, told him it was a princewho challenged him to battle. 

The giant, foaming with rage, seized his heaviest iron club, andrushed out to the fight. The fight lasted the whole day, and when thesun went down the giant said:

"We have had enough of fighting for the day. We can begin at sunriseto-morrow. "

"Not so, " said the prince. "Now or never; win or die. "

"Then take this, " cried the giant, as he aimed a blow with all hisforce at the prince's head; but the prince, darting forward like aflash of lightning, drove his sword into the giant's heart, and, witha groan, he fell over the bodies of the poisoned hounds. 

When the dwarfs saw the giant dead they began to cry and tear theirhair. But the prince told them they had nothing to fear, and he badethem go and tell the princess Eileen he wished to speak with her. Butthe princess had watched the battle from her window, and when she sawthe giant fall she rushed out to greet the prince, and that very nighthe and she and all the dwarfs and harpers set out for the Palace ofthe Silver River, which they reached the next morning, and from thatday to this there never has been a gayer wedding than the wedding ofthe Prince of the Silver River and the Princess Eileen; and though shehad diamonds and pearls to spare, the only jewel she wore on herwedding-day was the brooch which the prince had brought her from thePalace of the Little White Cat in the far-off seas. 

THE GOLDEN SPEARS. 

Once upon a time there lived in a little house under a hill a littleold woman and her two children, whose names were Connla and Nora. Right in front of the door of the little house lay a pleasant meadow, and beyond the meadow rose up to the skies a mountain whose top wassharp-pointed like a spear. For more than half-way up it was clad withheather, and when the heather was in bloom it looked like a purplerobe falling from the shoulders of the mountain down to its feet. Above the heather it was bare and grey, but when the sun was sinkingin the sea, its last rays rested on the bare mountain top and made itgleam like a spear of gold, and so the children always called it the"Golden Spear. "

In summer days they gambolled in the meadow, plucking the sweet wildgrasses--and often and often they clambered up the mountain side, kneedeep in the heather, searching for frechans and wild honey, andsometimes they found a bird's nest--but they only peeped into it, theynever touched the eggs or allowed their breath to fall upon them, fornext to their little mother they loved the mountain, and next to themountain they loved the wild birds who made the spring and summerweather musical with their songs. 

Sometimes the soft white mist would steal through the glen, andcreeping up the mountain would cover it with a veil so dense that thechildren could not see it, and then they would say to each other: "Ourmountain is gone away from us. " But when the mist would lift and floatoff into the skies, the children would clap their hands, and say: "Oh, there's our mountain back again. "

In the long nights of winter they babbled of the spring and summertimeto come, when the birds would once more sing for them, and never a daypassed that they didn't fling crumbs outside their door, and on theborders of the wood that stretched away towards the glen. 

When the spring days came they awoke with the first light of themorning, and they knew the very minute when the lark would begin tosing, and when the thrush and the blackbird would pour out theirliquid notes, and when the robin would make the soft, green, tenderleaves tremulous at his song. 

It chanced one day that when they were resting in the noontide heat, under the perfumed shade of a hawthorn in bloom, they saw on the edgeof the meadow, spread out before them, a speckled thrush cowering inthe grass. 

"Oh, Connla! Connla! Look at the thrush--and, look, look up in thesky, there is a hawk!" cried Nora. 

Connla looked up, and he saw the hawk with quivering wings, and heknew that in a second it would pounce down on the frightened thrush. He jumped to his feet, fixed a stone in his sling, and before thewhirr of the stone shooting through the air was silent, the strickenhawk tumbled headlong in the grass. 

The thrush, shaking its wings, rose joyously in the air, and perchingupon an elm-tree in sight of the children, he sang a song so sweetthat they left the hawthorn shade and walked along together until theystood under the branches of the elm; and they listened and listened tothe thrush's song, and at last Nora said:

"Oh, Connla! did you ever hear a song so sweet as this?"

"No, " said Connla, "and I do believe sweeter music was never heardbefore. "

"Ah, " said the thrush, "that's because you never heard the nine littlepipers playing. And now, Connla and Nora, you saved my life to-day. "

"It was Nora saved it, " said Connla, "for she pointed you out to me, and also pointed out the hawk which was about to pounce on you. "

"It was Connla saved you, " said Nora, "for he slew the hawk with hissling. "

"I owe my life to both of you, " said the thrush. "You like my song, and you say you have never heard anything so sweet; but wait till youhear the nine little pipers playing. "

"And when shall we hear them?" said the children. 

"Well, " said the thrush, "sit outside your door to-morrow evening, andwait and watch until the shadows have crept up the heather, and then, when the mountain top is gleaming like a golden spear, look at theline where the shadow on the heather meets the sunshine, and you shallsee what you shall see. "

And having said this, the thrush sang another song sweeter than thefirst, and then saying "good-bye, " he flew away into the woods. 

The children went home, and all night long they were dreaming of thethrush and the nine little pipers; and when the birds sang in themorning, they got up and went out into the meadow to watch themountain. 

The sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and no shadows lay on themountain, and all day long they watched and waited, and at last, whenthe birds were singing their farewell song to the evening star, thechildren saw the shadows marching from the glen, trooping up themountain side and dimming the purple of the heather. 

And when the mountain top gleamed like a golden spear, they fixedtheir eyes on the line between the shadow and the sunshine. 

"Now, " said Connla, "the time has come. "

"Oh, look! look!" said Nora, and as she spoke, just above the line ofshadow a door opened out, and through its portals came a little piperdressed in green and gold. He stepped down, followed by another andanother, until they were nine in all, and then the door slung backagain. Down through the heather marched the pipers in single file, andall the time they played a music so sweet that the birds, who had goneto sleep in their nests, came out upon the branches to listen to themand then they crossed the meadow, and they went on and on until theydisappeared in the leafy woods. 

While they were passing the children were spell-bound, and couldn'tspeak, but when the music had died away in the woods, they said:

"The thrush is right, that is the sweetest music that was ever heardin all the world. "

And when the children went to bed that night the fairy music came tothem in their dreams. But when the morning broke, and they looked outupon their mountain and could see no trace of the door above theheather, they asked each other whether they had really seen the littlepipers, or only dreamt of them. 

That day they went out into the woods, and they sat beside a streamthat pattered along beneath the trees, and through the leaves tossingin the breeze the sun flashed down upon the streamlet, and shadow andsunshine danced upon it. As the children watched the water sparklingwhere the sunlight fell, Nora said:

"Oh, Connla, did you ever see anything so bright and clear andglancing as that?"

"No, " said Connla, "I never did. "

"That's because you never saw the crystal hall of the fairy of themountains, " said a voice above the heads of the children. 

And when they looked up, who should they see perched on a branch butthe thrush. 

"And where is the crystal hall of the fairy?" said Connla. 

"Oh, it is where it always was, and where it always will be, " said thethrush. "And you can see it if you like. "

"We would like to see it, " said the children. 

"Well, then, " said the thrush, "if you would, all you have to do is tofollow the nine little pipers when they come down through the heather, and cross the meadow to-morrow evening. "

And the thrush having said this, flew away. 

Connla and Nora went home, and that night they fell asleep talking ofthe thrush and the fairy and the crystal hall. 

All the next day they counted the minutes, until they saw the shadowsthronging from the glen and scaling the mountain side. And, at last, they saw the door springing open, and the nine little pipers marchingdown. 

They waited until the pipers had crossed the meadow and were about toenter the wood. And then they followed them, the pipers marching onbefore them and playing all the time. It was not long until they hadpassed through the wood, and then, what should the children see risingup before them but another mountain, smaller than their own, but, liketheir own, clad more than half-way up with purple heather, and whosetop was bare and sharp-pointed, and gleaming like a golden spear. 

Up through the heather climbed the pipers, up through the heather thechildren clambered after them, and the moment the pipers passed theheather a door opened and they marched in, the children following, andthe door closed behind them. 

Connla and Nora were so dazzled by the light that hit their eyes, whenthey had crossed the threshold, that they had to shade them withtheir hands; but, after a moment or two, they became able to bear thesplendour, and when they looked around they saw that they were in anoble hall, whose crystal roof was supported by two rows of crystalpillars rising from a crystal floor; and the walls were of crystal, and along the walls were crystal couches, with coverings and cushionsof sapphire silk with silver tassels. 

Over the crystal floor the little pipers marched; over the crystalfloor the children followed, and when a door at the end of the hallwas opened to let the pipers pass, a crowd of colours came rushing in, and floor, and ceiling, and stately pillars, and glancing couches, andshining walls, were stained with a thousand dazzling hues. 

Out through the door the pipers marched; out through the door thechildren followed, and when they crossed the threshold they weretreading on clouds of amber, of purple, and of gold. 

"Oh, Connla, " said Nora, "we have walked into the sunset!"

And around and about them everywhere were soft, fleecy clouds, andover their heads was the glowing sky, and the stars were shiningthrough it, as a lady's eyes shine through a veil of gossamer. And thesky and stars seemed so near that Connla thought he could almost touchthem with his hand. 

When they had gone some distance, the pipers disappeared, and whenConnla and Nora came up to the spot where they had seen the last ofthem, they found themselves at the head of a ladder, all the steps ofwhich were formed of purple and amber clouds that descended to whatappeared to be a vast and shining plain, streaked with purple andgold. In the spaces between the streaks of gold and purple they sawsoft, milk-white stars. And the children thought that the great plain, so far below them, also belonged to cloudland. 

They could not see the little pipers, but up the steps was borne bythe cool, sweet air the fairy music; and lured on by it step by stepthey travelled down the fleecy stairway. When they were little morethan half way down there came mingled with the music a sound almost assweet--the sound of waters toying in the still air with pebbles on ashelving beach, and with the sound came the odorous brine of theocean. And then the children knew that what they thought was a plainin the realms of cloudland was the sleeping sea unstirred by wind ortide, dreaming of the purple clouds and stars of the sunset sky aboveit. 

When Connla and Nora reached the strand they saw the nine littlepipers marching out towards the sea, and they wondered where they weregoing to. And they could hardly believe their eyes when they saw themstepping out upon the level ocean as if they were walking upon theland; and away the nine little pipers marched, treading the goldenline cast upon the waters by the setting sun. And as the music becamefainter and fainter as the pipers passed into the glowing distance, the children began to wonder what was to become of themselves. Just atthat very moment they saw coming towards them from the sinking sun alittle white horse, with flowing mane and tail and golden hoofs. Onthe horse's back was a little man dressed in shining green silk. Whenthe horse galloped on to the strand the little man doffed his hat, andsaid to the children:

"Would you like to follow the nine little pipers?" The children said, "yes. "

"Well, then, " said the little man, "come up here behind me; you, Nora, first, and Connla after. "

Connla helped up Nora, and then climbed on to the little steedhimself; and as soon as they were properly seated the little man said"swish, " and away went the steed, galloping over the sea withoutwetting hair or hoof. But fast as he galloped the nine little piperswere always ahead of him, although they seemed to be going only at awalking pace. When at last he came up rather close to the hindmost ofthem the nine little pipers disappeared, but the children heard themusic playing beneath the waters. The white steed pulled up suddenly, and wouldn't move a step further. 

"Now, " said the little man to the children, "clasp me tight, Nora, anddo you, Connla, cling on to Nora, and both of you shut your eyes. "

The children did as they were bidden, and the little man cried:

"Swish! swash!"

And the steed went down and down until at last his feet struck thebottom. 

"Now open your eyes, " said the little man. 

And when the children did so they saw beneath the horse's feet agolden strand, and above their heads the sea like a transparent cloudbetween them and the sky. And once more they heard the fairy music, and marching on the strand before them were the nine little pipers. 

"You must get off now, " said the little man, "I can go no farther withyou. "

The children scrambled down, and the little man cried "swish, " andhimself and the steed shot up through the sea, and they saw him nomore. Then they set out after the nine little pipers, and it wasn'tlong until they saw rising up from the golden strand and pushing theirheads up into the sea above, a mass of dark grey rocks. And as theywere gazing at them they saw the rocks opening, and the nine littlepipers disappearing through them. 

The children hurried on, and when they came up close to the rocks theysaw sitting on a flat and polished stone a mermaid combing her goldenhair, and singing a strange sweet song that brought the tears to theireyes, and by the mermaid's side was a little sleek brown otter. 

When the mermaid saw them she flung her golden tresses back over hersnow-white shoulders, and she beckoned the children to her. Her largeeyes were full of sadness; but there was a look so tender upon herface that the children moved towards her without any fear. 

"Come to me, little one, " she said to Nora, "come and kiss me, " and ina second her arms were around the child. The mermaid kissed her againand again, as the tears rushed to her eyes, she said:

"Oh, Nora, avourneen, your breath is as sweet as the wild rose thatblooms in the green fields of Erin, and happy are you, my children, who have come so lately from the pleasant land. Oh, Connla! Connla! Iget the scent of the dew of the Irish grasses and of the purpleheather from your feet. And you both can soon return to Erin of theStreams, but I shall not see it till three hundred years have passedaway, for I am Liban the Mermaid, daughter of a line of kings. But Imay not keep you here. The Fairy Queen is waiting for you in hersnow-white palace and her fragrant bowers. And now kiss me once more, Nora, and kiss me, Connla. May luck and joy go with you, and allgentleness be upon you both. "[5]

Then the children said good-bye to the mermaid, and the rocks openedfor them and they passed through, and soon they found themselves in ameadow starred with flowers, and through the meadow sped a sunlitstream. They followed the stream until it led them into a garden ofroses, and beyond the garden, standing on a gentle hill, was a palacewhite as snow. Before the palace was a crowd of fairy maidens peltingeach other with rose-leaves. But when they saw the children they gaveover their play, and came trooping towards them. 

"Our queen is waiting for you, " they said; and then they led thechildren to the palace door. The children entered, and after passingthrough a long corridor they found themselves in a crystal hall solike the one they had seen in the mountain of the golden spear thatthey thought it was the same. But on all the crystal couches fairies, dressed in silken robes of many colours, were sitting, and at the endof the hall, on a crystal throne, was seated the fairy queen, lookinglovelier than the evening star. The queen descended from her throne tomeet the children, and taking them by the hands, she led them up theshining steps. Then, sitting down, she made them sit beside her, Connla on her right hand and Nora on her left. 

Then she ordered the nine little pipers to come before her, and shesaid to them:

"So far you have done your duty faithfully, and now play one moresweet air and your task is done. "

And the little pipers played, and from the couches at the first soundof the music all the fairies rose, and forming partners, they dancedover the crystal floor as lightly as the young leaves dancing in thewind. 

Listening to the fairy music, and watching the wavy motion of thedancing fairies, the children fell asleep. When they awoke nextmorning and rose from their silken beds they were no longer children. Nora was a graceful and stately maiden, and Connla a handsome andgallant youth. They looked at each other for a moment in surprise, andthen Connla said:

"Oh, Nora, how tall and beautiful you are!"

"Oh, not so tall and handsome as you are, Connla, " said Nora, as sheflung her white arms round his neck and kissed her brother's lips. 

Then they drew back to get a better look of each other, and who shouldstep between them but the fairy queen. 

"Oh, Nora, Nora, " said she, "I am not as high as your knee, and as foryou, Connla, you look as straight and as tall as one of the roundtowers of Erin. "

"And how did we grow so tall in one night?" said Connla. 

"In one night!" said the fairy queen. "One night, indeed! Why, youhave been fast asleep, the two of you, for the last seven years!"

"And where was the little mother all that time?" said Connla and Noratogether. 

"Oh, the little mother was all right. She knew where you were; but sheis expecting you to-day, and so you must go off to see her, although Iwould like to keep you--if I had my way--all to myself here in thefairyland under the sea. And you will see her to-day; but before yougo here is a necklace for you, Nora; it is formed out of the drops ofthe ocean spray, sparkling in the sunshine. They were caught by myfairy nymph, for you, as they skimmed the sunlit billows under theshape of sea-birds, and no queen or princess in the world can matchtheir lustre with the diamonds won with toil from the caves of earth. As for you, Connla, see here's a helmet of shining gold fit for a kingof Erin--and a king of Erin you will be yet; and here's a spear thatwill pierce any shield, and here's a shield that no spear can pierceand no sword can cleave as long as you fasten your warrior cloak withthis brooch of gold. "

And as she spoke she flung round Connla's shoulders a flowing mantleof yellow silk, and pinned it at his neck with a red gold brooch. 

"And now, my children, you must go away from me. You, Nora, will be awarrior's bride in Erin of the Streams. And you, Connla, will be kingyet over the loveliest province in all the land of Erin; but you willhave to fight for your crown, and days of battle are before you. Theywill not come for a long time after you have left the fairyland underthe sea, and until they come lay aside your helmet, shield, and spear, and warrior's cloak and golden brooch. But when the time comes whenyou will be called to battle, enter not upon it without the goldenbrooch I give you fastened in your cloak, for if you do harm will cometo you. Now, kiss me, children; your little mother is waiting for youat the foot of the golden spear, but do not forget to say good-bye toLiban the Mermaid, exiled from the land she loves, and pining insadness beneath the sea. "

Connla and Nora kissed the fairy queen, and Connla, wearing his goldenhelmet and silken cloak, and carrying his shield and spear, led Norawith him. They passed from the palace through the garden of roses, through the flowery meadow, through the dark grey rocks, until theyreached the golden strand; and there, sitting and singing the strange, sweet song, was Liban the Mermaid. 

"And so you are going up to Erin, " she said, "up through the coveringwaters. Kiss me, children, once again; and when you are in Erin of theStreams, sometimes think of the exile from Erin beneath the sea. "

And the children kissed the mermaid, and with sad hearts, bidding hergood-bye, they walked along the golden strand. When they had gone whatseemed to them a long way, they began to feel weary; and just thenthey saw coming towards them a little man in a red jacket leading acoal-black steed. 

When they met the little man, he said: "Connla, put Nora up on thissteed; then jump up before her. "

Connla did as he was told, and when both of them were mounted--

"Now, Connla, " said the little man, "catch the bridle in your hands, and you, Nora, clasp Connla round the waist, and close your eyes. "

They did as they were bidden, and then the little man said, "Swash, swish!" and the steed shot up from the strand like a lark from thegrass, and pierced the covering sea, and went bounding on over thelevel waters; and when his hoofs struck the hard ground, Connla andNora opened their eyes, and they saw that they were galloping towardsa shady wood. 

On went the steed, and soon he was galloping beneath the branches thatalmost touched Connla's head. And on they went until they had passedthrough the wood, and then they saw rising up before them the "GoldenSpear. "

"Oh, Connla, " said Nora, "we are at home at last. "

"Yes, " said Connla, "but where is the little house under the hill?"

And no little house was there; but in its stead was standing alime-white mansion. 

"What can this mean?" said Nora. 

But before Connla could reply, the steed had galloped up to the doorof the mansion, and, in the twinkling of an eye, Connla and Nora werestanding on the ground outside the door, and the steed had vanished. 

Before they could recover from their surprise the little mother camerushing out to them, and flung her arms around their necks, and kissedthem both again and again. 

"Oh, children! children! You are welcome home to me; for though I knewit was all for the best, my heart was lonely without you. "

And Connla and Nora caught up the little mother in their arms, andthey carried her into the hall and set her down on the floor. 

"Oh, Nora!" said the little mother, "you are a head over me; and asfor you, Connla, you look almost as tall as one of the round towers ofErin. "

"That's what the fairy queen said, mother, " said Nora. 

"Blessings on the fairy queen, " said the little mother. "Turn round, Connla, till I look at you. "

Connla turned round, and the little mother said:

"Oh, Connla, with your golden helmet and your spear, and your glancingshield, and your silken cloak, you look like a king. But take themoff, my boy, beautiful as they are. Your little mother would like tosee you, her own brave boy, without any fairy finery. "

And Connla laid aside his spear and shield, and took off his goldenhelmet and his silken cloak. Then he caught the little mother andkissed her, and lifted her up until she was as high as his head. Andsaid he:

"Don't you know, little mother, I'd rather have you than all theworld. "

And that night, when they were sitting down by the fire together, youmay be sure that in the whole world no people were half as happy asNora, Connla, and the little mother. 

THE FAIRY TREE OF DOOROS. [6]

Once upon a time the fairies of the west, going home from ahurling-match with the fairies of the lakes, rested in Dooros Wood forthree days and three nights. They spent the days feasting and thenights dancing in the light of the moon, and they danced so hard thatthey wore the shoes off their feet, and for a whole week after theleprechauns, the fairies' shoemakers, were working night and daymaking new ones, and the rip, rap, tap, tap of their little hammerswere heard in all the hedgerows. 

The food on which the fairies feasted were little red berries, andwere so like those that grow on the rowan tree that if you only lookedat them you might mistake one for the other; but the fairy berriesgrow only in fairyland, and are sweeter than any fruit that grows herein this world, and if an old man, bent and grey, ate one of them, hebecame young and active and strong again; and if an old woman, withered and wrinkled, ate one of them, she became young and brightand fair; and if a little maiden who was not handsome ate of them, shebecame lovelier than the flower of beauty. 

The fairies guarded the berries as carefully as a miser guards hisgold, and whenever they were about to leave fairyland they had topromise in the presence of the king and queen that they would not givea single berry to mortal man, nor allow one to fall upon the earth;for if a single berry fell upon the earth a slender tree of manybranches, bearing clusters of berries, would at once spring up, andmortal men might eat of them. 

But it chanced that this time they were in Dooros Wood they kept upthe feasting and dancing so long, and were so full of joy because oftheir victory over the lake fairies, that one little, weeny fairy, notmuch bigger than my finger, lost his head, and dropped a berry in thewood. 

When the feast was ended the fairies went back to fairyland, and wereat home for more than a week before they knew of the little fellow'sfault, and this is how they came to know of it. 

A great wedding was about to come off, and the queen of the fairiessent six of her pages to Dooros Wood to catch fifty butterflies withgolden spots on their purple wings, and fifty white without speck orspot, and fifty golden, yellow as the cowslip, to make a dress forherself, and a hundred white, without speck or spot, to make dressesfor the bride and bridesmaids. 

When the pages came near the wood they heard the most wonderful music, and the sky above them became quite dark, as if a cloud had shut outthe sun. They looked up, and saw that the cloud was formed of bees, who in a great swarm were flying towards the wood and humming as theyflew. Seeing this they were sore afraid until they saw the beessettling on a single tree, and on looking closely at the tree they sawit was covered with fairy berries. 

The bees took no notice of the fairies, and so they were no longerafraid, and they hunted the butterflies until they had captured thefull number of various colours. Then they returned to fairyland, andthey told the queen about the bees and the berries, and the queen toldthe king. 

The king was very angry, and he sent his heralds to the four cornersof fairyland to summon all his subjects to his presence that he mightfind out without delay who was the culprit. 

They all came except the little weeny fellow who dropped the berry, and of course every one said that it was fear that kept him away, andthat he must be guilty. 

The heralds were at once sent in search of him, and after a while theyfound him hiding in a cluster of ferns, and brought him before theking. 

The poor little fellow was so frightened that at first he couldscarcely speak a word, but after a time he told how he never missedthe berry until he had returned to fairyland, and that he was afraidto say anything to anyone about it. 

The king, who would hear of no excuse, sentenced the little culprit tobe banished into the land of giants beyond the mountains, to staythere for ever and a day unless he could find a giant willing to go toDooros Wood and guard the fairy tree. When the king had pronouncedsentence everyone was very sorry, because the little fellow was afavourite with them all. No fairy harper upon his harp, or piper uponhis pipe, or fiddler upon his fiddle, could play half so sweetly as hecould play upon an ivy leaf; and when they remembered all the pleasantmoonlit nights on which they had danced to his music, and thought thatthey should never hear or dance to it any more, their little heartswere filled with sorrow. The queen was as sad as any of her subjects, but the king's word should be obeyed. 

When the time came for the little fellow to set out into exile thequeen sent her head page to him with a handful of berries. These thequeen said he was to offer to the giants, and say at the same timethat the giant who was willing to guard the tree could feast onberries just as sweet from morn till night. 

As the little fellow went on his way nearly all the fairies followedhim to the borders of the land, and when they saw him go up themountain towards the land of the giants, they all took off theirlittle red caps and waved them until he was out of sight. 

On he went walking all day and night, and when the sun rose on themorrow he was on the top of the mountain, and he could see the land ofthe giants in the valley stretched far below him. Before beginning hisdescent he turned round for a last glimpse of fairyland; but he couldsee nothing, for a thick, dark cloud shut it out from view. He wasvery sad, and tired, and footsore, and as he struggled down the roughmountain side, he could not help thinking of the soft, green woods andmossy pathways of the pleasant land he had left behind him. 

When he awoke the ground was trembling, and a noise that sounded likethunder fell on his ears. He looked up and saw coming towards him aterrible giant, with one eye that burned like a live coal in themiddle of his forehead, his mouth stretched from ear to ear, his teethwere long and crooked, the skin of his face was as black as night, andhis arms and chest were all covered with black, shaggy hair; round hisbody was an iron band, and hanging from this by a chain was a greatclub with iron spikes. With one blow of this club he could break arock into splinters, and fire could not burn him, and water could notdrown him, and weapons could not wound him, and there was no way tokill him but by giving him three blows of his own club. And he was sobad-tempered that the other giants called him Sharvan the Surly. Whenthe giant spied the red cap of the little fairy he gave the shout thatsounded like thunder. The poor fairy was shaking from head to foot. 

"What brought you here?" said the giant. 

"Please, Mr. Giant, " said the fairy, "the king of the fairies banishedme here, and here I must stay for ever and a day, unless you come andguard the fairy tree in Dooros Wood. "

"Unless what?" roared the giant, and he gave the fairy a touch of hisfoot that sent the little fellow rolling down head over heels. 

The poor fairy lay as if he were dead, and then the giant, feelingsorry for what he had done, took him up gently between his finger andthumb. 

[Illustration: "Sharvan took him up gently between his finger andthumb"--p. 87. ]

"Don't be frightened, little man, " said he, "and now, tell me allabout the tree. "

"It is the tree of the fairy berry that grows in the Wood of Dooros, "said the fairy, "and I have some of the berries with me. "

"Oh, you have, have you?" said the giant. "Let me see them. "

The fairy took three berries from the pocket of his little green coat, and gave them to the giant. 

The giant looked at them for a second. He then swallowed the threetogether, and when he had done so, he felt so happy that he began toshout and dance for joy. 

"More, you little thief!" said he. "More, you little----what's yourname?" said the giant. 

"Pinkeen, please, Mr. Giant, " said the fairy, as he gave up all theberries. 

The giant shouted louder than before, and his shouts were heard by allthe other giants, who came running towards him. 

When Sharvan saw them coming, he caught up Pinkeen, and put him in hispocket, that they shouldn't see him. 

"What were you shouting for?" said the giants. 

"Because, " said Sharvan, "that rock there fell down on my big toe. "

"You did not shout like a man that was hurt, " said they. 

"What is it to you what way I shouted?" said he. 

"You might give a civil answer to a civil question, " said they; "butsure you were always Sharvan the Surly;" and they went away. 

When the giants were out of sight, Sharvan took Pinkeen out of hiswallet. 

"Some more berries, you little thief--I mean little Pinkeen, " saidhe. 

"I have not any more, " said Pinkeen; "but if you will guard the treein Dooros Wood you can feast on them from morn till night. "

"I'll guard every tree in the wood, if I may do that, " said thegiant. 

"You'll have to guard only one, " said Pinkeen. 

"How am I to get to it?" said Sharvan. 

"You must first come with me towards fairyland, " said the fairy. 

"Very well, " said Sharvan; "let us go. " And he took up the fairy andput him into his wallet, and before very long they were on the top ofthe mountain. Then the giant looked around towards the giant's land;but a black cloud shut it out from view, while the sun was shining onthe valley that lay before him, and he could see away in the distancethe green woods and shining waters of fairyland. 

It was not long until he reached its borders, but when he tried tocross them his feet stuck to the ground and he could not move a step. Sharvan gave three loud shouts that were heard all over fairyland, andmade the trees in the woods tremble, as if the wind of a storm wassweeping over them. 

"Oh, please, Mr. Giant, let me out, " said Pinkeen. Sharvan took outthe little fellow, who, as soon as he saw he was on the borders offairyland ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and before he hadgone very far he met all the little fairies who, hearing the shoutsof the giant, came trooping out from the ferns to see what was thematter. Pinkeen told them it was the giant who was to guard the tree, shouting because he was stuck fast on the borders, and they need haveno fear of him. The fairies were so delighted to have Pinkeen backagain, that they took him up on their shoulders and carried him to theking's palace, and all the harpers and pipers and fiddlers marchedbefore him playing the most jocund music that was ever heard. The kingand queen were on the lawn in front of the palace when the gayprocession came up and halted before them. The queen's eyes glistenedwith pleasure when she saw the little favourite, and the king was alsoglad at heart, but he looked very grave as he said:

"Why have you returned, sirrah?"

Then Pinkeen told his majesty that he had brought with him a giant whowas willing to guard the fairy tree. 

"And who is he and where is he?" asked the king. 

"The other giants called him Sharvan the Surly, " said Pinkeen, "and heis stuck fast outside the borders of fairyland. "

"It is well, " said the king, "you are pardoned. "

When the fairies heard this they tossed their little red caps in theair, and cheered so loudly that a bee who was clinging to a rose-budfell senseless to the ground. 

Then the king ordered one of his pages to take a handful of berries, and to go to Sharvan and show him the way to Dooros Wood. The page, taking the berries with him, went off to Sharvan, whose roaring nearlyfrightened the poor little fellow to death. But as soon as the gianttasted the berries he got into good humour, and he asked the page ifhe could remove the spell of enchantment from him. 

"I can, " said the page, "and I will if you promise me that you willnot try to cross the borders of fairyland. "

"I promise that, with all my heart, " said the giant. "But hurry on, mylittle man, for there are pins and needles in my legs. "

The page plucked a cowslip, and picking out the five little crimsonspots in the cup of it, he flung one to the north, and one to thesouth, and one to the east, and one to the west, and one up into thesky, and the spell was broken, and the giant's limbs were free. ThenSharvan and the fairy page set off for Dooros Wood, and it was notlong until they came within view of the fairy tree. When Sharvan sawthe berries glistening in the sun, he gave a shout so loud and strongthat the wind of it blew the little fairy back to fairyland. But hehad to return to the wood to tell the giant that he was to stay allday at the foot of the tree ready to do battle with anyone who mightcome to steal the berries, and that during the night he was to sleepamongst the branches. 

"All right, " said the giant, who could scarcely speak, as his mouthwas full of berries. 

Well, the fame of the fairy-tree spread far and wide, and every daysome adventurer came to try if he could carry away some of theberries; but the giant, true to his word, was always on the watch, andnot a single day passed on which he did not fight and slay a daringchampion, and the giant never received a wound, for fire could notburn him, nor water drown him, nor weapon wound him. 

Now, at this time, when Sharvan was keeping watch and ward over thetree, a cruel king was reigning over the lands that looked towards therising sun. He had slain the rightful king by foul means, and hissubjects, loving their murdered sovereign, hated the usurper; but muchas they hated him they feared him more, for he was brave andmasterful, and he was armed with a helmet and shield which no weaponmade by mortal hands could pierce, and he carried always with him twojavelins that never missed their mark, and were so fatal that theywere called "the shafts of death. " The murdered king had twochildren--a boy, whose name was Niall, and a girl, who was calledRosaleen--that is, little Rose; but no rose that ever bloomed was halfas sweet or fresh or fair as she. Cruel as the tyrant king was, he wasafraid of the people to kill the children. He sent the boy adrift onthe sea in an open boat, hoping the waves would swallow it; and he gotan old witch to cast the spell of deformity over Rosaleen, and underthe spell her beauty faded, until at last she became so ugly andwasted that scarcely anyone would speak to her. And, shunned byeveryone, she spent her days in the out-houses with the cattle, andevery night she cried herself to sleep. 

One day, when she was very lonely, a little robin came to pick thecrumbs that had fallen about her feet. He appeared so tame that sheoffered him the bread from her hand, and when he took it she criedwith joy at finding that there was one living thing that did not shunher. After this the robin came every day, and he sang so sweetly forher that she almost forgot her loneliness and misery. But once whilethe robin was with her the tyrant king's daughter, who was verybeautiful, passed with her maids of honour, and, seeing Rosaleen, theprincess said:

"Oh, there is that horrid ugly thing. "

The maids laughed and giggled, and said they had never seen such afright. 

Poor Rosaleen felt as if her heart would break, and when the princessand her maids were out of sight she almost cried her eyes out. Whenthe robin saw her crying he perched on her shoulder and rubbed hislittle head against her neck and chirruped softly in her ear, andRosaleen was comforted, for she felt she had at least one friend inthe world, although it was only a little robin. But the robin could domore for her than she could dream of. He heard the remark made by theprincess, and he saw Rosaleen's tears, and he knew now why she wasshunned by everybody, and why she was so unhappy. And that veryevening he flew off to Dooros Wood, and called on a cousin of his andtold him all about Rosaleen. 

"And you want some of the fairy berries, I suppose, " said his cousin, Robin of the Wood. 

"I do, " said Rosaleen's little friend. 

"Ah, " said Robin of the Wood, "times have changed since you were herelast. The tree is guarded now all the day long by a surly giant. Hesleeps in the branches during the night, and he breathes upon them andaround them every morning, and his breath is poison to bird and bee. There is only one chance open, and if you try that it may cost youyour life. "

"Then tell me what it is, for I would give a hundred lives forRosaleen, " said her own little robin. 

"Well, " said Robin of the Wood, "every day a champion comes to battlewith the giant, and the giant, before he begins the fight, puts abranch of berries in the iron belt that's around his waist, so thatwhen he feels tired or thirsty he can refresh himself, and there isjust a bare chance, while he is fighting, of picking one of theberries from the branch; but if his breath fall on you it is certaindeath. "

"I will take the chance, " said Rosaleen's robin. 

"Very well, " said the other. And the two birds flew through the wooduntil they came within sight of the fairy tree. The giant was lyingstretched at the foot of it, eating the berries; but it was not longuntil a warrior came, who challenged him to battle. The giant jumpedup, and plucking a branch from the tree stuck it in his belt, andswinging his iron club above his head strode towards the warrior, andthe fight began. The robin perched on a tree behind the giant, andwatched and waited for his chance; but it was a long time coming, forthe berries were in front of the giant's belt. At last the giant, withone great blow, struck the warrior down, but as he did so he stumbledand fell upon him, and before he had time to recover himself thelittle robin darted towards him like a flash and picked off one of theberries, and then, as fast as wings could carry him, he flew towardshome, and on his way he passed over a troop of warriors on snow-whitesteeds. All the horsemen except one wore silver helmets and shiningmantles of green silk, fastened by brooches of red gold, but thechief, who rode at the head of the troop, wore a golden helmet, andhis mantle was of yellow silk, and he looked by far the noblest ofthem all. When the robin had left the horsemen far behind him he spiedRosaleen sitting outside the palace gates bemoaning her fate. Therobin perched upon her shoulder, and almost before she knew he wasthere he put the berry between her lips, and the taste was sodelicious that Rosaleen ate it at once, and that very moment thewitch's withering spell passed away from her, and she became as lovelyas the flower of beauty. Just then the warriors on the snow-whitesteeds came up, and the chief with the mantle of yellow silk and thegolden helmet leaped from his horse, and bending his knee before her, said:

"Fairest of all fair maidens, you are surely the daughter of the kingof these realms, even though you are without the palace gates, unattended, and wear not royal robes. I am the Prince of the SunnyValleys. "

"Daughter of a king I am, " said Rosaleen, "but not of the king whorules these realms. "

And saying this she fled, leaving the prince wondering who she couldbe. The prince then ordered his trumpeters to give notice of hispresence outside the palace, and in a few moments the king and all hisnobles came out to greet the prince and his warriors, and give themwelcome. That night a great feast was spread in the banquet-hall, andthe Prince of the Sunny Valleys sat by the king, and beside the princesat the king's beautiful daughter, and then in due order sat thenobles of the court and the warriors who had come with the prince, andon the wall behind each noble and warrior his shield and helmet weresuspended, flashing radiance through the room. During the feast theprince spoke most graciously to the lovely lady at his side, but allthe time he was thinking of the unknown beauty he had met outside thepalace gates, and his heart longed for another glimpse of her. Whenthe feast was ended, and the jewelled drinking-cups had gone merrilyaround the table, the bards sang, to the accompaniment of harps, the"Courtship of the Lady Eimer, " and as they pictured her radiant beautyoutshining that of all her maidens, the prince thought that fair asLady Eimer was there was one still fairer. 

When the feast was ended the king asked the prince what brought himinto his realms. 

"I come, " said the prince, "to look for a bride, for it was foretoldto me in my own country that here only I should find the lady who isdestined to share my throne, and fame reported that in your kingdomare to be found the loveliest maidens in all the world, and I can wellbelieve that, " added the prince, "after what I have seen to-day. "

When the king's daughter heard this she hung down her head and blushedlike a rose, for, of course, she thought the prince was alluding onlyto herself, as she did not know that he had seen Rosaleen, and she hadnot heard of the restoration of her beauty. 

Before another word could be spoken a great noise and the clang ofarms were heard outside the palace. The king and his guests startedfrom their seats and drew their swords, and the bards raised the songof battle; but their voices were stilled and their harps silenced whenthey saw at the threshold of the banquet hall a battle champion, inwhose face they recognised the features of their murdered king. 

"'Tis Niall come back to claim his father's throne, " said the chiefbard. "Long live Niall!"

"Long live Niall!" answered all the others. 

The king, white with rage and amazement, turned to the chiefs andnobles of his court, and cried out:

"Is there none loyal enough to drive that intruder from the banquethall?"

But no one stirred, and no answer was given. Then the king rushedforward alone, but before he could reach the spot where Niall wasstanding he was seized by a dozen chiefs and at once disarmed. 

During this scene the king's daughter had fled frightened; butRosaleen, attracted by the noise, and hearing her brother's name andthe cheers which greeted it, had entered the banquet hall unperceivedby anyone. But when her presence was discovered every eye was dazzledwith her beauty. Niall looked at her for a second, wondering if theradiant maiden before him could be the little sister he had beenseparated from for so many years. In another second she was clasped inhis arms. 

Then the feast was spread again, and Niall told the story of hisadventures; and when the Prince of the Sunny Valley asked for the handof Rosaleen, Niall told his lovely sister to speak for herself. Withdowncast eyes and smiling lips she said, "yes, " and that very day wasthe gayest and brightest wedding that ever took place, and Rosaleenbecame the prince's bride. 

In her happiness she did not forget the little robin, who was herfriend in sorrow. She took him home with her to Sunny Valleys, andevery day she fed him with her own hands, and every day he sang forher the sweetest songs that were ever heard in lady's bower. 

THE ENCHANTED CAVE. 

A long, long time ago, Prince Cuglas, [7] master of the hounds to thehigh King of Erin, set out from Tara to the chase. As he was leavingthe palace the light mists were drifting away from the hill-tops, andthe rays of the morning sun were falling aslant on the _grinan_ orsunny bower of the Princess Ailinn. Glancing towards it the princedoffed his plumed and jewelled hunting-cap, and the princess answeredhis salute by a wave of her little hand, that was as white as a wildrose in the hedges in June, and leaning from her bower, she watchedthe huntsman until his tossing plumes were hidden by the green wavingbranches of the woods. 

The Princess Ailinn was over head and ears in love with Cuglas, andCuglas was over head and ears in love with the Princess Ailinn, and hebelieved that never was summer morning half as bright, or as sweet, oras fair as she. The glimpse which he had just caught of her filled hisheart with delight, and almost put all thought of hunting out of hishead, when suddenly the tuneful cries of the hounds, answered by ahundred echoes from the groves, broke upon his ear. 

The dogs had started a dappled deer that bounded away through theforest. The prince, spurring his gallant steed, pushed on in eagerpursuit. 

On through the forest sped the deer, through soft, green, secret waysand flowery dells, then out from the forest, up heathery hills, andover long stretches of moorland, and across brown rushing streams, sometimes in view of the hounds, sometimes lost to sight, but alwaysahead of them. 

All day long the chase continued, and at last, when the sun wassinking, the dogs were close upon the panting deer, and the princebelieved he was about to secure his game, when the deer suddenlydisappeared through the mouth of a cave which opened before him. Thedogs followed at his heels, and the prince endeavoured to rein in hissteed, but the impetuous animal bore him on, and soon was clatteringover the stony floor of the cave in perfect darkness. Cuglas couldhear ahead of him the cries of the hounds growing fainter and fainter, as they increased the distance between them and him. Then the criesceased altogether, and the only sound the prince heard was the noiseof his horse's hoofs sounding in the hollow cave. Once more heendeavoured to check his career, but the reins broke in his hands, andin that instant the prince felt the horse had taken a plunge into agulf, and was sinking down and down, as a stone cast from the summitof a cliff sinks down to the sea. At last the horse struck theground again, and the prince was almost thrown out of his saddle, buthe succeeded in regaining his seat. Then on through the darknessgalloped the steed, and when he came into the light the prince's eyeswere for some time unable to bear it. But when he got used to thebrightness he saw he was galloping over a grassy plain, and in thedistance he perceived the hounds rushing towards a wood faintlyvisible through a luminous summer haze. The prince galloped on, and ashe approached the wood he saw coming towards him a comely champion, wearing a shining brown cloak, fastened by a bright bronze spear-likebrooch, and bearing a white hazel wand in one hand, and a single-edgedsword with a hilt made from the tooth of a sea-horse in the other;[8]and the prince knew by the dress of the champion, and by his wand andsword, that he was a royal herald. As the herald came close to him theprince's steed stopped of his own accord. 

[Illustration: "The Prince endeavoured to rein in his steed, but theimpetuous animal bore him on"--p. 102]

"You are welcome, Cuglas, " said the herald, "and I have been sent bythe Princess Crede to greet you and to lead you to her court, whereyou have been so long expected. "

"I know not how this may be, " said Cuglas. 

"How it has come about I shall tell you as we go along, " said theherald. "The Princess Crede is the Queen of the Floating Island. Andit chanced, once upon a day, when she was visiting her fairy kinsmen, who dwell in one of the pleasant hills that lie near Tara, she saw youwith the high king and princes and nobles of Erin following the chase. And seeing you her heart went out to you, and wishing to bring you toher court, she sent one of her nymphs, in the form of a deer, to lureyou on through the cave, which is the entrance to this land. "

"I am deeply honoured by the preference shown me by the princess, "said Cuglas, "but I may not tarry in her court; for above in Erinthere is the Lady Ailinn, the loveliest of all the ladies who gracethe royal palace, and before the princess and chiefs of Erin she haspromised to be my bride. "

"Of that I know not, " said the herald; "but a true champion, like you, cannot, I know, refuse to come with me to the court of the PrincessCrede. "

As the herald had said these words the prince and he were on the vergeof the wood, and they entered upon a mossy pathway that broadened outas they advanced until it was as wide as one of the great roads ofErin. Before they had gone very far the prince heard the tinkling ofsilver bells in the distance, and almost as soon as he heard them hesaw coming up towards him a troop of warriors on coal black steeds. All the warriors wore helmets of shining silver, and cloaks of bluesilk. And on the horses' breasts were crescents of silver, on whichwere hung tiny silver bells, shaking out music with the motion of thehorses. As the prince approached the champions they lowered theirspears, and dividing in two lines the prince and the herald passedbetween the ranks, and the champions, forming again, followed onbehind the prince. 

At last they passed through the wood, and they found themselves on agreen plain, speckled with flowers, and they had not gone far when theprince saw coming towards him a hundred champions on snow-whitesteeds, and around the breasts of the steeds were crescents of gold, from which were hanging little golden bells. [9] The warriors all woregolden helmets, and the shafts of their shining spears were of gold, and golden sandals on their feet, and yellow silken mantles fell downover their shoulders. And when the prince came near them they loweredtheir lances, and then they turned their horses' heads around andmarched before him. And it was not long until above the pleasantjingle of the bells the prince heard the measured strains of music, and he saw coming towards him a band of harpers, dressed in green andgold, and when the harpers had saluted the prince they marched infront of the cavalcade, playing all the time, and it was not longuntil they came to a stream that ran like a blue riband around thefoot of a green hill, on the top of which was a sparkling palace; thestream was crossed by a golden bridge, so narrow that the horsemen hadto go two-by-two. The herald asked the prince to halt and to allow allthe champions to go before him; and the cavalcade ascended the hill, the sunlight brightly glancing on helmet and on lance, and when itreached the palace the horsemen filed around the walls. 

When at length the prince and herald crossed the bridge and began toclimb the hill, the prince thought he felt the ground moving underthem, and on looking back he could see no sign of the golden bridge, and the blue stream had already become as wide as a great river, andwas becoming wider every second. 

"You are on the floating island now, " said the herald, "and before youis the palace of the Princess Crede. "

At that moment the queen came out through the palace door, and theprince was so dazzled by her beauty, that only for the golden bracelethe wore upon his right arm, under the sleeve of his silken tunic, hemight almost have forgotten the Princess Ailinn. This bracelet wasmade by the dwarfs who dwell in the heart of the ScandinavianMountains, and was sent with other costly presents by the King ofScandinavia to the King of Erin, and he gave it to the princess, andit was the virtue of this bracelet, that whoever was wearing it couldnot forget the person who gave it to him, and it could never beloosened from the arm by any art or magic spell; but if the wearer, even for a single moment, liked anyone better than the person who gaveit to him, that very moment the bracelet fell off from the arm andcould never again be fastened on. And when the princess promised herhand in marriage to the Prince Cuglas, she closed the bracelet on hisarm. 

The fairy queen knew nothing about the bracelet, and she hoped thatbefore the prince was long in the floating island he would forget allabout the princess. 

"You are welcome, Cuglas, " said the queen, as she held out her hand, and Cuglas, having thanked her for her welcome, they entered thepalace together. 

"You must be weary after your long journey, " said the queen. "My pagewill lead you to your apartments, where a bath of the cool blue watersof the lake has been made ready for you, and when you have taken yourbath the pages will lead you to the banquet hall, where the feast isspread. "

At the feast the prince was seated beside the queen, and she talked tohim of all the pleasures that were in store for him in fairyland, where pain, and sickness, and sorrow, and old age, are unknown, andwhere every rosy hour that flies is brighter than the one that hasfled before it. And when the feast was ended the queen opened thedance with the prince, and it was not until the moon was high abovethe floating island that the prince retired to rest. 

He was so tired after his journey and the dancing that he fell into asound sleep. When he awoke the next morning the sun was shiningbrightly, and he heard outside the palace the jingle of bells and themusic of baying hounds, and his heart was stirred by memories of themany pleasant days on which he had led the chase over the plains andthrough the green woods of Tara. 

He looked out through the window, and he saw all the fairy championsmounted on their steeds ready for the chase, and at their head thefairy queen. And at that moment the pages came to say the queen wishedto know if he would join them, and the prince went out and found hissteed ready saddled and bridled, and they spent the day hunting in theforest that stretched away for miles behind the palace, and the nightin feasting and dancing. 

When the prince awoke the following morning he was summoned by thepages to the presence of the queen. The prince found the queen on thelawn outside the palace surrounded by her court. 

"We shall go on the lake to-day, Cuglas, " said the queen, and takinghis arm she led him along the water's edge, all the courtiersfollowing. 

When she was close to the water she waved her wand, and in a second athousand boats, shining like glass, shot up from beneath the lake andset their bows against the bank. The queen and Cuglas stepped intoone, and when they were seated two fairy harpers took their places inthe prow. All the other boats were soon thronged by fairies, and thenthe queen waved her wand again, and an awning of purple silk rose overthe boat, and silken awning of various colours over the others, andthe royal boat moved off from the bank followed by all the rest, andin every boat sat a harper with a golden harp, and when the queenwaved her wand for the third time, the harpers struck the tremblingchords, and to the sound of the delightful music the boats glided overthe sunlit lake. And on they went until they approached the mouth of agentle river sliding down between banks clad with trees. Up the river, close to the bank and under the drooping trees, they sailed, and whenthey came to a bend in the river, from which the lake could be nolonger seen, they pushed their prows in against the bank, and thequeen and Cuglas, and all the party, left the boats and went on underthe trees until they came to a mossy glade. 

Then the queen waved her wand, and silken couches were spread underthe trees, and she and Cuglas sat on one apart from the others, andthe courtiers took their places in proper order. 

And the queen waved her wand again, and wind shook the trees abovethem, and the most luscious fruit that was ever tasted fell down intotheir hands; and when the feast was over there was dancing in theglades to the music of the harps, and when they were tired dancingthey set out for the boats, and the moon was rising above the trees asthey sailed away over the lake, and it was not long until they reachedthe bank below the fairy palace. 

Well, between hunting in the forest, and sailing over the lake, anddancing in the greenwood glade and in the banquet hall, the dayspassed, but all the time the prince was thinking of the PrincessAilinn, and one moonlit night, when he was lying awake on his couchthinking of her, a shadow was suddenly cast on the floor. 

The prince looked towards the window, and what should he see sittingon the sill outside but a little woman tapping the pane with a goldenbodkin. 

The prince jumped from his couch and opened the window, and the littlewoman floated on the moonbeams into the room and sat down on thefloor. 

"You are thinking of the Princess Ailinn, " said the little woman. 

"I never think of anyone else, " said the prince. 

"I know that, " said the little woman, "and it's because of your lovefor each other, and because her mother was a friend to me in thedays gone by, that I have come here to try and help you; but there isnot much time for talking, the night advances. At the bank below aboat awaits you. Step into it and it will lead you to the mainland, and when you reach it you will find before you a path that willtake you to the green fields of Erin and the plains of Tara. I knowyou will have to face danger. I know not what kind of danger; butwhatever it may be do not draw your sword before you tread upon themainland, for if you do you shall never reach it, and the boatwill come back again to the floating island; and now go and may luckgo with you;" and saying this the little woman climbed up themoonbeams and disappeared. 

The prince left the palace and descended to the lake, and there beforehim he saw a glistening boat; he stepped into it, and the boat went onand on beneath the moon, and at last he saw the mainland, and he couldtrace a winding pathway going away from the shore. The sight filledhis heart with joy, but suddenly the milk-white moonshine died away, and looking up to the sky he saw the moon turning fiery red, and thewaters of the lake, shining like silver a moment before, took ablood-red hue, and a wind arose that stirred the waters, and theyleaped up against the little boat, tossing it from side to side. WhileCuglas was wondering at the change, he heard a strange, unearthlynoise ahead of him, and a bristling monster, lifting its claws abovethe water, in a moment was beside the boat and stuck one of his clawsin the left arm of the prince, and pierced the flesh to the bone. Maddened by the pain the prince drew his sword and chopped off themonster's claw. The monster disappeared beneath the lake, and, as itdid so, the colour of the water changed, and the silver moonlightshone down from the sky again, but the boat no longer went on towardsthe mainland, but sped back towards the floating island, while forthfrom the island came a fleet of fairy boats to meet it, led by theshallop of the fairy queen. The queen greeted the prince as if sheknew not of his attempted flight, and to the music of the harps thefleet returned to the palace. 

The next day passed and the night came, and again the prince was lyingon the couch, thinking of the Princess Ailinn, and again he saw theshadow on the floor and heard the tapping against the window. 

And when he opened it the little woman slid into the room. 

"You failed last night, " she said, "but I come to give you anotherchance. To-morrow the queen must set out on a visit to her fairykinsmen, who dwell in the green hill near the plain of Tara; shecannot take you with her, for if your feet once touched the greengrass that grows in the fruitful fields of Erin, she could never bringyou back again. And so, when you find she has left the palace, go atonce into the banquet hall and look behind the throne, and you willsee a small door let down into the ground. Pull this up and descendthe steps which you will see. Where they lead to I cannot tell. Whatdangers may be before you I do not know; but this I know, if youaccept anything, no matter what it is, from anyone you may meet onyour way, you shall not set foot on the soil of Erin. "

And having said this the little woman, rising from the floor, floatedout through the window. 

The prince returned to his couch, and the next morning, as soon as heheard the queen had left the palace, he hastened to the banquet hall. He discovered the door and descended the steps, and he found himselfin a gloomy and lonesome valley. Jagged mountains, black as night, rose on either side, and huge rocks seemed ready to topple down uponhim at every step. Through broken clouds a watery moon shed a faint, fitful light, that came and went as the clouds, driven by a moaningwind, passed over the valley. 

Cuglas, nothing daunted, pushed on boldly until a bank of cloud shutout completely the struggling moon, and closing over the valleycovered it like a pall, leaving him in perfect darkness. At the samemoment the moaning wind died away, and with it died away all sound. The darkness and the death-like silence sent an icy chill to the heartof Cuglas. He held his hand close to his eyes, but he saw it not. Heshouted that he might hear the sound of his own voice, but he heard itnot. He stamped his foot on the rocky ground, but no sound wasreturned to him. He rattled his sword in its brazen scabbard, but itgave no answer back to him. His heart grew colder and colder, whensuddenly the cloud above him was rent in a dozen places, and lightningflashed through the valley, and the thunder rolled over the echoingmountains. In the lurid glare of the lightning Cuglas saw a hundredghostly forms sweeping towards him, uttering as they came nearer andnearer shrieks so terrible that the silence of death could more easilybe borne. Cuglas turned to escape, but they hemmed him round, andpressed their clammy hands upon his face. 

With a yell of horror he drew his sword and slashed about him, andthat very moment the forms vanished, the thunder ceased, the darkcloud passed, and the sun shone out as bright as on a summer day, andthen Cuglas knew the forms he had seen were those of the wild peopleof the glen. [10]

With renewed courage he pursued his way through the valley, and afterthree or four windings it took him out upon a sandy desert. He had nosooner set foot upon the desert than he heard behind him a crashingsound louder than thunder. He looked around, and he saw that the wallsof mountain through which he had just passed had fallen into thevalley, and filled it up so that he could no longer tell where it hadbeen. 

The sun was beating fiercely on the desert, and the sands were almostas hot as burning cinders; and as Cuglas advanced over them his bodybecame dried up, and his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth, andwhen his thirst was at its height a fountain of sparkling water sprangup in the burning plain a few paces in front of him; but when he cameup quite close to it and stretched out his parched hands to cool themin the limped waters, the fountain vanished as suddenly as itappeared. With great pain, and almost choking with heat and thirst, hestruggled on, and again the fountain sprang up in front of him andmoved before him, almost within his reach. At last he came to the endof the desert, and he saw a green hill up which a pathway climbed; butas he came to the foot of the hill, there, sitting right in his way, was a beautiful fairy holding out towards him a crystal cup, over therim of which flowed water as clear as crystal. Unable to resist thetemptation, the prince seized the cold, bright goblet, and drank thewater. When he did so his thirst vanished, but the fairy, and thegreen hill, and the burning desert disappeared, and he was standing inthe forest behind the palace of the fairy queen. 

That evening the queen returned, and at the feast she talked as gailyto the prince as if she knew not of his attempt to leave the FloatingIsland, and the prince spoke as gaily as he could to her, although inhis heart there was sadness when he remembered that if he had onlydashed away the crystal cup, he would be at that moment in the royalbanquet hall of Tara, sitting beside the Princess Ailinn. 

And he thought the feast would never end; but it was over at last, andthe prince returned to his apartments. And that night, as he lay onhis couch, he kept his eyes fixed upon the window; but hours passed, and there was no sign of anyone. At long last, and when he had givenup all hope of seeing her, he heard a tapping at the window, and hegot up and opened it, and the little woman came in. 

"You failed again to-day, " said she--"failed just at the very momentwhen you were about to step on the green hills of Erin. I can give youonly one chance more. It will be your last. The queen will go huntingin the morning. Join the hunt, and when you are separated from therest of the party in the wood throw your reins upon your horse's neckand he will lead you to the edge of the lake. Then cast this goldenbodkin into the lake in the direction of the mainland, and a goldenbridge will be thrown across, over which you can pass safely to thefields of Erin; but take care and do not draw your sword, for if youdo your steed will bear you back again to the Floating Island, andhere you must remain for ever. " Then handing the bodkin to the prince, and saying good-bye, the little woman disappeared. 

The next morning the queen and the prince and all the court went outto hunt, and a fleet white deer started out before them, and the royalparty pressed after him in pursuit. The prince's steed outstripped theothers, and when he was alone the prince flung the reins upon hishorse's neck, and before long he came to the edge of the lake. 

Then the prince cast the bodkin on to the water, and a golden bridgewas thrown across to the mainland, and the horse galloped on to it, and when the prince was more than half-way he saw riding towards him achampion wearing a silver helmet, and carrying on his left arm asilver shield, and holding in his right hand a gleaming sword. As hecame nearer he struck his shield with his sword and challenged theprince to battle. The prince's sword almost leaped out of its scabbardat the martial sound, and, like a true knight of Tara, he dashedagainst his foe, and swinging his sword above his head, with one blowhe clove the silver helmet, and the strange warrior reeled from hishorse and fell upon the golden bridge. The prince, content with thisachievement, spurred his horse to pass the fallen champion, but thehorse refused to stir, and the bridge broke in two almost at his feet, and the part of it between him and the mainland disappeared beneaththe lake, carrying with it the horse and the body of the champion, andbefore the prince could recover from his surprise, his steed wheeledround and was galloping back, and when he reached the land he rushedthrough the forest, and the prince was not able to pull him up untilhe came to the palace door. 

All that night the prince lay awake on his couch with his eyes fixedupon the window, but no shadow fell upon the floor, and there was notapping at the pane, and with a heavy heart he joined the huntingparty in the morning. And day followed day, and his heart was sadderand sadder, and found no pleasure in the joys and delights offairyland. And when all in the palace were at rest he used to roamthrough the forest, always thinking of the Princess Ailinn, and hopingagainst hope that the little woman would come again to him, but atlast he began to despair of ever seeing her. It chanced one night herambled so far that he found himself on the verge of the lake, at thevery spot from which the golden bridge had been thrown across thewaters, and as he gazed wistfully upon them a boat shot up and cameswiftly to the bank, and who should he see sitting in the stern butthe little woman. 

"Ah, Cuglas, Cuglas, " she said, "I gave you three chances, and youfailed in all of them. "

"I should have borne the pain inflicted by the monster's claw, " saidCuglas. "I should have borne the thirst on the sandy desert, anddashed the crystal cup untasted from the fairy's hand; but I couldnever have faced the nobles and chiefs of Erin if I had refused tomeet the challenge of the battle champion on the golden bridge. "

"And you would have been no true knight of Erin, and you would nothave been worthy of the wee girl who loves you, the bonny PrincessAilinn, if you had refused to meet it, " said the little woman; "butfor all that you can never return to the fair hills of Erin. But cheerup, Cuglas, there are mossy ways and forest paths and nestling bowersin fairyland. Lonely they are, I know, in your eyes now, " said thelittle woman; "but maybe, " she added, with a laugh as musical as theripple on a streamlet when summer is in the air, "maybe you won'talways think them so lonely. "

"You think I'll forget Ailinn for the fairy queen, " said Cuglas, witha sigh. 

"I don't think anything of the kind, " said she. 

"Then what do you mean?" said the prince. 

"Oh, I mean what I mean, " said the little woman. "But I can't stophere all night talking to you: and, indeed, it is in your bed youought to be yourself. So now good night; and I have no more to say, except that perhaps, if you happen to be here this night week at thisvery hour, when the moon will be on the waters, you will see----. Butno matter what you will see, " said she; "I must be off. "

And before the prince could say another word the boat sped away fromthe bank, and he was alone. He went back to the palace, and he fellasleep that night only to dream of the Princess Ailinn. 

As for the princess, she was pining away in the palace of Tara, thecolour had fled from her cheeks, and her eyes, which had been once sobright they would have lighted darkness like a star, lost nearly alltheir lustre, and the king's leeches could do nothing for her, and atlast they gave up all hope, and the king and queen of Erin and theladies of the court watched her couch by night and by day sadlywaiting for her last hour. 

At length one day, when the sun was shining brightly over Tara'splain, and its light, softened by the intervening curtains, wasfalling in the sick chamber, the royal watchers noticed a sweet changecoming over the face of the princess; the bloom of love and youth wereflushing on her cheeks, and from her eyes shone out the old, soft, tender light, and they began to hope she was about to be restored tothem, when suddenly the room was in darkness as if the night had sweptacross the sky, and blotted out the sun. Then they heard the sound offairy music, and over the couch where the princess lay they beheld agleam of golden light, but only for a moment; and again there wasperfect darkness, and the fairy music ceased. Then, as suddenly as itcame the darkness vanished, the softened sunlight once more filled thechamber, and rested upon the couch; but the couch was empty, and theroyal watchers, looking at each other, said in whispers: "The fairieshave carried away the Princess Ailinn to fairyland. "

Well, that very day the prince roamed by himself through the forest, counting the hours until the day would fade in the sky and the mooncome climbing up, and at last, when it was shining full above thewaters, he went down to the verge of the lake, and he looked out overthe gleaming surface watching for the vision promised by the littlewoman. But he could see nothing, and was about to turn away when heheard the faint sound of fairy music. He listened and listened, andthe sound came nearer and clearer, and away in the distance, likedrops of glistening water breaking the level of the lake, he saw afleet of fairy boats, and he thought it was the fairy queen sailing inthe moonlight. And it was the fairy queen, and soon he was able torecognise the royal shallop leading the others, and as it came closeto the bank he saw the little woman sitting in the prow between thelittle harpers, and at the stern was the fairy queen, and by her sidethe lady of his heart, the Princess Ailinn. In a second the boat wasagainst the bank, and the princess in his arms. And he kissed heragain and again. 

"And have you never a kiss for me, " said the little woman, tapping hishand with the little gold bodkin. 

"A kiss and a dozen, " said Cuglas, as he caught the little fairy up inhis arms. 

"Oh, fie, Cuglas, " said the queen. 

"Oh, the princess isn't one bit jealous, " said the little woman. "Areyou, Ailinn?"

"Indeed I am not, " said Ailinn. 

"And you should not be, " said the fairy queen, "for never lady yet hadtruer knight than Cuglas. I loved him, and I love him dearly. I luredhim here hoping that in the delights of fairyland he might forget you. It was all in vain. I know now that there is one thing no fairy powerabove or below the stars, or beneath the waters, can ever subdue, andthat is love. And here together forever shall you and Cuglas dwell, where old age shall never come upon you, and where pain or sorrow orsickness are unknown. "

And Cuglas never returned to the fair hills of Erin, and ages passedaway since the morning he followed the hounds into the fatal cave, buthis story was remembered by the firesides, and sometimes, even yet, the herdboy watching his cattle in the fields hears the tuneful cry ofhounds, and follows it till it leads him to a darksome cave, and asfearfully he listens to the sound becoming fainter and fainter hehears the clatter of hoofs over the stony floor, and to this day thecave bears the name of the prince who entered it never to return. [Footnote: _Uaimh Belaigh Conglais_, the cave of the road ofCuglas--now Baltinglass--in the county Wicklow. ]

THE HUNTSMAN'S SON. 

A long, long time ago there lived in a little hut on the borders of agreat forest a huntsman and his wife and son. From his earliest yearsthe boy, whose name was Fergus, used to hunt with his father in theforest, and he grew up strong and active, sure and swift-footed as adeer, and as free and fearless as the wind. He was tall and handsome;as supple as a mountain ash, his lips were as red as its berries; hiseyes were as blue as the skies in spring; and his hair fell down overhis shoulders like a shower of gold. His heart was as light as abird's, and no bird was fonder of green woods and waving branches. Hehad lived since his birth in the hut in the forest, and had neverwished to leave it, until one winter night a wandering minstrel soughtshelter there, and paid for his night's lodging with songs of love andbattle. Ever since that night Fergus pined for another life. He nolonger found joy in the music of the hounds or in the cries of thehuntsmen in forest glades. He yearned for the chance of battle, andthe clang of shields, and the fierce shouts of fighting warriors, andhe spent all his spare hours practising on the harp and learning theuse of arms, for in those days the bravest warriors were also bards. In this way the spring and summer and autumn passed; and when thewinter came again it chanced that on a stormy night, when thunder wasrattling through the forest, smiting the huge oaks and hurling themcrashing to the earth, Fergus lay awake thinking of his present lot, and wondering what the future might have in store for him. Thelightning was playing around the hut, and every now and then a flashbrightened up the interior. 

After a peal, louder than any which had preceded it, Fergus heardthree loud knocks at the door. He called out to his parents that someone was knocking. 

"If that is so, " said his father, "open at once; this is no night tokeep a poor wanderer outside our door. "

Fergus did as he was bidden, and as he opened the door a flash oflightning showed him, standing at the threshold, a little wizened oldman with a small harp under his arm. 

"Come in, and welcome, " said Fergus, and the little man stepped intothe room. 

"It is a wild night, neighbours, " said he. 

"It is, indeed, a wild night, " said the huntsman and his wife, who hadgot up and dressed themselves; "and sorry we are we have no bettershelter or better fare to offer you, but we give you the best wehave. "

"A king cannot do more than his best, " said the little man. 

The huntsman's wife lit the fire, and soon the pine logs flashed upinto a blaze, and made the hut bright and warm. She then brought fortha peggin of milk and a cake of barley-bread. 

"You must be hungry, sir, " she said. 

"Hungry I am, " said he; "but I wouldn't ask for better fare than thisif I were in the king's palace. "

"Thank you kindly, sir, " said she, "and I hope you will eat enough, and that it will do you good. "

"And while you are eating your supper, " said the huntsman, "I'll makeyou a bed of fresh rushes. "

"Don't put yourself to that trouble, " said the little man. "When Ihave done my supper I'll lie down here by the fire, if it is pleasingto you, and I'll sleep like a top until morning. And now go back toyour beds and leave me to myself, and maybe some time when you won'tbe expecting it I'll do a good turn for your kindness to the poorwayfarer. "

"Oh, it's no kindness at all, " said the huntsman's wife. "It would bea queer thing if an Irish cabin would not give shelter and welcome ina wild night like this. So good night, now, and we hope you willsleep well. "

"Good night, " said the little man, "and may you and yours never supsorrow until your dying day. "

The huntsman and his wife and Fergus then went back to their beds, andthe little man, having finished his supper, curled himself up by thefire, and was soon fast asleep. 

About an hour after a loud clap of thunder awakened Fergus, and beforeit had died away he heard three knocks at the door. He aroused hisparents and told them. 

"Get up at once, " said his mother, "this is no night to keep astranger outside our door. "

Fergus rose and opened the door, and a flash of lightning showed him alittle old woman, with a shuttle in her hand, standing outside. 

"Come in, and welcome, " said he, and the little old woman stepped intothe room. 

"Blessings be on them who give welcome to a wanderer on a wild nightlike this, " said the old woman. 

"And who wouldn't give welcome on a night like this?" said thehuntsman's wife, coming forward with a peggin of milk and a barleycake in her hand, "and sorry we are we have not better fare to offeryou. "

"Enough is as good as a feast, " said the little woman, "and now goback to your beds and leave me to myself. "

"Not till I shake down a bed of rushes for you, " said the huntsman'swife. 

"Don't mind the rushes, " said the little woman; "go back to your beds. I'll sleep here by the fire. "

The huntsman's wife went to bed, and the little old woman, havingeaten her supper, lay down by the fire, and was soon fast asleep. 

About an hour later another clap of thunder startled Fergus. Again heheard three knocks at the door. He roused his parents, but he did notwait for orders from them. He opened the door, and a flash oflightning showed him outside the threshold a low-sized, shaggy, wild-looking horse. And Fergus knew it was the Pooka, the wild horseof the mountains. Bold as Fergus was, his heart beat quickly as he sawfire issuing from the Pooka's nostrils. But, banishing fear, he criedout:

"Come in, and welcome. "

"Welcome you are, " said the huntsman, "and sorry we are that we havenot better shelter or fare to offer you. "

"I couldn't wish a better welcome, " said the Pooka, as he came overnear the fire and sat down on his haunches. 

"Maybe you would like a little bit of this, Master Pooka, " said thehuntsman's wife, as she offered him a barley cake. 

"I never tasted anything sweeter in my life, " said the Pooka, crunching it between his teeth, "and now if you can give me a sup ofmilk, I'll want for nothing. "

The huntsman's wife brought him a peggin of milk. When he had drunkit, "Now, " says the Pooka, "go back to your beds, and I'll curl myselfup by the fire and sleep like a top till morning. "

And soon everybody in the hut was fast asleep. 

When the morning came the storm had gone, and the sun was shiningthrough the windows of the hut. At the song of the lark Fergus got up, and no one in the world was ever more surprised than he when he saw nosign of the little old man, or the little old woman, or the wild horseof the mountains. His parents were also surprised, and they allthought that they must have been dreaming until they saw the emptypeggins around the fire and some pieces of broken bread; and they didnot know what to think of it all. 

From that day forward the desire grew stronger in the heart of Fergusfor a change of life; and one day he told his parents that he wasresolved to seek his fortune. He said he wished to be a soldier, andthat he would set out for the king's palace, and try to join the ranksof the Feni. 

About a week afterwards he took leave of his parents, and havingreceived their blessing he struck out for the road that led to thepalace of the High King of Erin. He arrived there just at the timewhen the great captain of the Fenian host was recruiting hisbattalions, which had been thinned in recent battle. 

The manly figure of Fergus, his gallant bearing, and handsome face, all told in his favour. But before he could be received into theFenian ranks he had to prove that he could play the harp like a bard, that he could contend with staff and shield against nine Fenianwarriors, that he could run with plaited hair through the tangledforest without loosening a single hair, and that in his course hecould jump over trees as high as his head, and stoop under trees aslow as his knee, and that he could run so lightly that the rottentwigs should not break under his feet. Fergus proved equal to all thetests, thanks to the wandering minstrel who taught him the use of theharp, to his own brave heart, and to his forest training. He wasenrolled in the second battalion of the Feni, and before long he wasits bravest and ablest champion. 

At that very time it happened that the niece of the High King of Erinwas staying with the king and queen in their palace at Tara. Theprincess was the loveliest lady in all the land. She was as proud asshe was beautiful. The princes and chieftains of Erin in vain soughther hand in marriage. From Alba and Spain, and the far-off isles ofGreece, kings came to woo her. From the northern lands came vikings instately galleys with brazen prows, whose oarsmen tore the white foamfrom the emerald seas as they swept towards the Irish coasts. But thelady had vowed she would wed with no one except a battle champion whocould excel in music the chief bard of the High King of Erin; whocould outstrip on his steed in the great race of Tara the white steedof the plains; and who could give her as a wedding robe a garment ofall the colours of the rainbow, so finely spun that when folded up itwould fit in the palm of her small white hand. To fulfil these threeconditions was impossible for all her suitors, and it seemed as if theloveliest lady of the land should go unmarried to her grave. 

It chanced that once, on a day when the Fenian battalions were engagedin a hurling-match, Fergus beheld the lady watching the match from hersunny bower. He no sooner saw her than he fell over head and ears inlove with her, and he thought of her by night, and he thought of herby day, and believing that his love was hopeless, he often wished hehad never left his forest-home. 

The great fair of Tara[11] was coming on, and all the Feni were busyfrom morning till night practising feats of arms and games, in orderto take part in the contests to be held during the fair. And Fergus, knowing that the princess would be present, determined to do his bestto win the prizes which were to be contended for before the ladies'eyes. 

The fair began on the 1st of August, but for a whole week before thefive great roads of Erin were thronged with people of all sorts. Princes and warriors on their steeds, battle champions in theirchariots, harpers in hundreds, smiths with gleaming spears and shieldsand harness for battle steeds and chariots; troops of men and boysleading racehorses; jewellers with gold drinking-horns, andbrooches, and pins, and ear-rings, and costly gems of all kinds, andchess-boards of silver and gold, and golden and silver chessmen inbags of woven brass; dyers with their many-coloured fabrics; bandsof jugglers; drovers goading on herds of cattle; shepherds drivingtheir sheep; huntsmen with spoils of the chase; dwellers in the lakesor by the fish-abounding rivers with salmon and speckled trout; andcountless numbers of peasants on horseback and on foot, all wendingtheir way to the great meeting-place by the mound, which a thousandyears before had been raised over the grave of the great queen. Forthere the fair was to be held. 

On the opening day the High King, attended by the four kings of Erin, set out from the palace, and with them went the queen and the ladiesof the court in sparkling chariots. The princess rode in the chariotwith the high queen, under an awning made of the wings of birds, toprotect them from the rays of the sun. Following the queen were thecourt ladies in other chariots, under awnings of purple or of yellowsilk. Then came the brehons, the great judges of the land, and thechief bards of the high court of Tara, and the Druids, crowned withoak leaves, and carrying wands of divination in their hands. 

When the royal party reached the ground it took its place inenclosures right up against the monumental mound. The High King satwith the four kings of Erin, all wearing their golden helmets, forthey wore their diadems in battle only. In an enclosure next theking's sat the queen and the princess and all the ladies of the court. At either side of the royal pavilions were others for the dames andladies and nobles and chiefs of different degrees, forming part of acircle on the plain, and the stands and benches for the people were soarranged as to complete the circle, and in the round green spacewithin it, so that all might hear and see, the contests were to takeplace. 

At a signal from the king, who was greeted with a thunderouscheer, the heralds rode round the circle, and having struck theirsounding shields three times with their swords, they made a solemnproclamation of peace. Then was sung by all the assembled bards, to the accompaniment of their harps, the chant in honour of themighty dead. When this was ended, again the heralds struck theirshields, and the contests began. The first contest was the contestof spear-throwing between the champions of the seven battalions ofthe Feni. When the seven champions took their places in front of theroyal enclosure, everyone, even the proud princess, was struck bythe manly beauty and noble bearing of Fergus. 

The champions poised their spears, and at a stroke from the heraldsupon their shields the seven spears sped flashing through the air. They all struck the ground, shafts up, and it was seen that two werestanding side by side in advance of the rest, one belonged to Fergus, the other to the great chief, Oscar. The contest for the prize thenlay between Oscar and Fergus, and when they stood in front of theking, holding their spears aloft, every heart was throbbing withexcitement. Once more the heralds struck their shields, and, swifterthan the lightning's flash, forth went the spears, and when Fergus'sspear was seen shivering in the ground a full length ahead of thegreat chief Oscar's, the air was shaken by a wild cheer that washeard far beyond the plains of Tara. And as Fergus approached the highking to receive the prize the cheers were renewed. But Fergus thoughtmore of the winsome glance of the princess than he did of the prize orthe sounding cheers. And Princess Maureen was almost sorry for hervow, for her heart was touched by the beauty of the Fenian champion. 

Other contests followed, and the day passed, and the night fell, andwhile the Fenian warriors were revelling in their camps the heart ofFergus, victor as he was, was sad and low. He escaped from hiscompanions, and stole away to his native forest, for--

 "When the heart is sick and sorest, There is balsam in the forest-- There is balsam in the forest For its pain. "

And as he lay under the spreading branches, watching the starsglancing through the leaves, and listening to the slumb'rous murmur ofthe waters, a strange peace came over him. 

But in the camp which he had left, and in the vast multitude on theplains of Tara, there was stir and revelry, and babbling speculationas to the contest of to-morrow--the contest which was to decidewhether the chief bard of Erin was to hold his own against allcomers, or yield the palm. For rumour said that a great Skald had comefrom the northern lands to compete with the Irish bard. 

At last, over the Fenian camp, and over the great plain and themultitude that thronged it, sleep fell, clothing them with a silenceas deep as that which dwelt in the forest, where, dreaming of theprincess, Fergus lay. He awoke at the first notes of the birds, butthough he felt he ought to go back to his companions and be witness ofthe contest which might determine whether the princess was to beanother's bride, his great love and his utter despair of winning herso oppressed him that he lay as motionless as a broken reed. Hescarcely heard the music of the birds, and paid no heed to the murmurof the brook rushing by his feet. The crackling of branches near himbarely disturbed him, but when a shadow fell across his eyes he lookedup gloomily, and saw, or thought he saw, someone standing before him. He started up, and who should he see but the little wizened old manwho found shelter in his father's hut on the stormy night. 

[Illustration: "He started up, and who should he see but a little wizenedold man"--p. 136. ]

"This is a nice place for a battle champion to be. This is a niceplace for _you_ to be on the day which is to decide who will be thesuccessful suitor of the princess. "

"What is it to me, " said Fergus, "who is to win her since I cannot. "

"I told you, " said the little man, "the night you opened the door forme, that the time might come when I might be able to do a good turnfor you and yours. The time has come. Take this harp, and my luck gowith you, and in the contest of the bards to-day you'll reap thereward of the kindness you did when you opened your door to the poorold wayfarer in the midnight storm. "

The little man handed his harp to Fergus and disappeared as swiftly asthe wind that passes through the leaves. 

Fergus, concealing the harp under his silken cloak, reached the campbefore his comrades had aroused themselves from sleep. 

At length the hour arrived when the great contest was to take place. 

The king gave the signal, and as the chief bard of Erin was seenascending the mound in front of the royal enclosures he was greetedwith a roar of cheers, but at the first note of his harp silence likethat of night fell on the mighty gathering. 

As he moved his fingers softly over the strings every heart washushed, filled with a sense of balmy rest. The lark soaring andsinging above his head paused mute and motionless in the still air, and no sound was heard over the spacious plain save the dreamy music. Then the bard struck another key, and a gentle sorrow possessed thehearts of his hearers, and unbidden tears gathered to their eyes. Then, with bolder hand, he swept his fingers across his lyre, and allhearts were moved to joy and pleasant laughter, and eyes that had beendimmed by tears sparkled as brightly as running waters dancing in thesun. When the last notes had died away a cheer arose, loud as thevoice of the storm in the glen when the live thunder is revelling onthe mountain tops. As soon as the bard had descended the mound theSkald from the northern lands took his place, greeted by cries ofwelcome from a hundred thousand throats. He touched his harp, and inthe perfect silence was heard the strains of the mermaid's song, andthrough it the pleasant ripple of summer waters on the pebbly beach. Then the theme was changed, and on the air was borne the measuredsweep of countless oars and the swish of waters around the prows ofcontending galleys, and the breezy voices of the sailors and thesea-bird's cry. Then his theme was changed to the mirth and laughterof the banquet-hall, the clang of meeting drinking-horns, and songs ofbattle. When the last strain ended, from the mighty host a great shoutwent up, loud as the roar of winter billows breaking in the hollows ofthe shore; and men knew not whom to declare the victor, the chiefbard of Erin or the Skald of the northern lands. 

In the height of the debate the cry arose that another competitor hadascended the mound, and there standing in view of all was Fergus, thehuntsman's son. All eyes were fastened upon him, but no one looked soeagerly as the princess. 

He touched his harp with gentle fingers, and a sound low and soft as afaint summer breeze passing through forest trees stole out, and thenwas heard the rustle of birds through the branches, and the dreamymurmur of waters lost in deepest woods, and all the fairy echoeswhispering when the leaves are motionless in the noonday heat; thenfollowed notes cool and soft as the drip of summer showers on theparched grass, and then the song of the blackbird, sounding as clearlyas it sounds in long silent spaces of the evening, and then in onesweet jocund burst the multitudinous voices that hail the breaking ofthe morn. And the lark, singing and soaring above the minstrel, sankmute and motionless upon his shoulder, and from all the leafy woodsthe birds came thronging out and formed a fluttering canopy above hishead. 

When the bard ceased playing no shout arose from the mighty multitude, for the strains of his harp, long after its chords were stilled, heldtheir hearts spell-bound. 

And when he had passed away from the mound of contest all knew therewas no need to declare the victor. [12] And all were glad the comelyFenian champion had maintained the supremacy of the bards of Erin. Butthere was one heart sad, the heart of the princess; and now she wishedmore than ever that she had never made her hateful vow. 

Other contests went on, but Fergus took no interest in them; and oncemore he stole away to the forest glade. His heart was sorrowful, forhe thought of the great race of the morning, and he knew that he couldnot hope to compete with the rider of the white steed of the plains. And as he lay beneath the spreading branches during the whole nightlong his thoughts were not of the victory he had won, but of theprincess, who was as far away from him as ever. He passed the nightwithout sleep, and when the morning came he rose and walked aimlesslythrough the woods. 

A deer starting from a thicket reminded him of the happy days of hisboyhood, and once more the wish came back to him that he had neverleft his forest home. As his eyes followed the deer wistfully, suddenly he started in amazement. The deer vanished from view, and inhis stead was the wild horse of the mountains. 

"I told you I'd do you a good turn, " said the Pooka, "for thekindness you and yours did me on that wild winter's night. The day ispassing. You have no time to lose. The white steed of the plains iscoming to the starting-post. Jump on my back, and remember, 'Faintheart never won fair lady. '"

In half a second Fergus was bestride the Pooka, whose coat of shaggyhair became at once as glossy as silk, and just at the very momentwhen the king was about to declare there was no steed to compete withthe white steed of the plains, the Pooka with Fergus upon his back, galloped up in front of the royal enclosure. When the people saw thechampion a thunderous shout rose up that startled the birds in theskies, and sent them flying to the groves. 

And in the ladies' enclosure was a rustle of many-coloured scarveswaving in the air. At the striking of the shields the contendingsteeds rushed from the post with the swiftness of a swallow's flight. But before the white steed of the plains had gone half-way round, Fergus and the wild horse of the mountains had passed the winningpost, greeted by such cheers as had never before been heard on theplains of Tara. 

Fergus heard the cheers, but scarcely heeded them, for his heart wentout through his eyes that were fastened on the princess, and a wildhope stirred him that his glance was not ungrateful to the loveliestlady of the land. 

And the princess was sad and sorry for her vow, for she believed thatit was beyond the power of Fergus to bring her a robe of all thecolours of the rainbow, so subtly woven as to fit in the palm of hersoft, white hand. 

That night also Fergus went to the forest, not too sad, because therewas a vague hope in his heart that had never been there before. He laydown under the branches, with his feet towards the rustling waters, and the smiles of the princess gilded his slumbers, as the rays of therising sun gild the glades of the forest; and when the morning came hewas scarcely surprised when before him appeared the little old womanwith the shuttle he had welcomed on the winter's night. 

"You think you have won her already, " said the little woman. "And soyou have, too; her heart is all your own, and I'm half inclined tothink that my trouble will be thrown away, for if you had never awedding robe to give her, she'd rather have you this minute than allthe kings of Erin, or than all the other princes and kings andchieftains in the whole world. But you and your father and mother werekind to me on a wild winter's night, and I'd never see your mother'sson without a wedding robe fit for the greatest princess that everset nations to battle for her beauty. So go and pluck me a handful ofwild forest flowers, and I'll weave out of them a wedding robe withall the colours of the rainbow, and one that will be as sweet and asfragrant as the ripe, red lips of the princess herself. "

Fergus, with joyous heart, culled the flowers, and brought them to thelittle old woman. 

In the twinkling of an eye she wove with her little shuttle a weddingrobe, with all the colours of the rainbow, as light as the fairy dew, as soft as the hand of the princess, as fragrant as her little redmouth, and so small that it would pass through the eye of a needle. 

"Go now, Fergus, " said she, "and may luck go with you; but, in thedays of your greatness and of the glory which will come to you whenyou are wedded to the princess, be as kind, and have as open a heartand as open a door for the poor as you had when you were only a poorhuntsman's son. "

Fergus took the robe and went towards Tara. It was the last day of thefair, and all the contests were over, and the bards were about tochant the farewell strains to the memory of the great queen. Butbefore the chief bard could ascend the mound, Fergus, attended by atroop of Fenian warriors on their steeds, galloped into the enclosure, and rode up in front of the queen's pavilion. Holding up the glancingand many-coloured robe, he said:

"O Queen and King of Erin! I claim the princess for my bride. You, Oking, have decided that I have won the prize in the contest of thebards; that I have won the prize in the race against the white steedof the plains; it is for the princess to say if the robe which I giveher will fit in the hollow of her small white hand. "

"Yes, " said the king. "You are victor in the contests; let theprincess declare if you have fulfilled the last condition. "

The princess took the robe from Fergus, closed her fingers over it, sothat no vestige of it was seen. 

"Yes, O king!" said she, "he has fulfilled the last condition; butbefore ever he had fulfilled a single one of them, my heart went outto the comely champion of the Feni. I was willing then, I am readynow, to become the bride of the huntsman's son. "

NOTES. 

I. 

_The Birds of the Mystic Lake. _

The incident of the birds coming to the mystic lake is taken from "TheVoyage of Maildun, " a translation of which is given in Joyce's OldCeltic Romances. The operations of the birds were witnessed by Maildunand his companions, who, in the course of their wanderings, hadarrived at the Isle of the Mystic Lake. One of Maildun's companions, Diuran, on seeing the wonder, said to the others: "Let us bathe in thelake, and we shall obtain a renewal of our youth like the birds. "

But they said: "Not so, for the bird has left the poison of his oldage and decay in the water. "

_Diuran_, however, plunged in, and swam about for some time; afterwhich he took a little of the water and mixed it in his mouth, and inthe end he swallowed a small quantity. He then came out perfectlysound and whole, and remained so ever after as long as he lived. Butnone of the others ventured in. 

The return of the birds in the character of the cormorants of thewestern seas and guardians of the lake does not occur in the old tale. The oldest copy of the voyage is in the book of "The Dun Cow" (aboutthe year 1100). O'Curry says the voyage was undertaken about the year700. It was made by Maildun in search of pirates who had slain hisfather. The story is full of fancy. 

II. 

_The House in the Lake. _

In the Irish annals lake dwellings, which were formerly common inIreland, are called _crannogs_, from crann, a tree, either because ofthe timber framework of which the island was formed or of the woodenhuts erected thereon. 

Some _crannogs_ appear to have been veritable islands, the only meansof communication with the land being canoes. Remains of these havebeen frequently found near the dwelling, in some instances alongsidethe landing stage, as if sunk at their moorings. 

"Favourite sites for _crannogs_ were marshes, small loughs surroundedby woods and large sheets of water. As providing good fishing groundsthe entrance to or exit of a stream from a lake was eagerlyselected. "--"Lake Dwellings of Ireland, " Col. Wood Martin, M. R. I. A. 

III. 

_Brian's Water-dress. _

Brian, Ur, and Urcar, the three sons of Turenn, were Dedanaan chiefs. They slew Kian, the father of Luga of the Long Arms, who was grandsonof Balor of the Evil Eye. Luga imposed an extraordinary eric fine onthe sons of Turenn, part of which was "the cooking-spit of the womenof Fincara. " For a quarter of a year Brian and his brothers sailedhither and thither over the wide ocean, landing on many shores, seeking tidings of the Island of Fincara. At last they met a very oldman, who told them that the island lay deep down in the waters, havingbeen sunk beneath the waves by a spell in times long past. 

Then Brian put on his water-dress, with his helmet of transparentcrystal on his head, telling his brothers to wait his return. Heleaped over the side of the ship, and sank at once out of sight. Hewalked about for a fortnight down in the green salt sea, seeking forthe Island of Fincara, and at last he found it. 

His brothers waited for him in the same spot the whole time, and whenhe came not they began to fear he would return no more. At last theywere about to leave the place, when they saw the glitter of hiscrystal helmet deep down in the water, and immediately after he cameto the surface with the cooking-spit in his hand. --"Old CelticRomances" (Joyce), p. 87. 

IV. 

_The Palace of the Little Cat. _

The description of the rows of jewels ranged round the wall of thepalace of the Little Cat is taken from "The Voyage of Maildun. "--SeeNote I. 

V. 

_Liban the Mermaid. _

Liban was the daughter of Ecca, son of Mario, King of Munster. Ecca, having conquered the lordship of the half of Ulster, settled down withhis people in the plain of the Grey Copse, which is now covered by thewaters of Lough Necca, now Lough Neagh. A magic well had sprung up inthe plain, and not being properly looked after by the woman in chargeof it, its waters burst forth over the plain, drowning Ecca and nearlyall his family. Liban, although swept away like the others, was notdrowned. She lived for a whole year, with her lap-dog, in a chamberbeneath the lake, and God protected her from the water. At the end ofthat time she was weary, and when she saw the speckled salmon swimmingand playing all round her, she prayed to be changed into a salmon thatshe might swim with the others through the green, salt sea. Her prayerwas granted; she took the shape of a salmon, except her face andbreast, which did not change. And her lap-dog was changed into anotter, and attended her afterwards whithersoever she went as long asshe lived in the sea. 

It is nearly eight hundred years ago since the story was transcribedfrom some old authority into the Book of the Dun Cow, the oldestmanuscript of Gaelic literature we possess. --Joyce's "Old CelticRomances, " p. 97. 

VI. 

_The Fairy Tree of Dooros. _

The forest of Dooros was in the district of Hy Fiera of the Moy (nowthe barony of Tireragh, in Sligo). 

On a certain occasion the Dedanns, returning from a hurling match withthe Feni, passed through the forest, carrying with them for foodduring the journey crimson nuts, and arbutus apples, and scarletquicken-berries, which they had brought from the Land of Promise. Oneof the quicken-berries dropped on the earth, and the Dedanns passed onnot heeding. 

From this berry a great quicken-tree sprang up, which had the virtuesof the quicken-trees that grow in fairyland. Its berries had the tasteof honey, and those who ate of them felt a cheerful glow, as if theyhad drunk of wine or old mead, and if a man were even a hundred yearsold he returned to the age of thirty as soon as he had eaten three ofthem. 

The Dedanns having heard of this tree, and not wishing that anyoneshould eat of the berries but themselves, sent a giant of their ownpeople to guard it, namely, Sharvan the Surly, of Lochlann. --"ThePursuit of Diarmuid and Grania, " "Old Celtic Romances, " p. 313(Joyce). 

VII. 

_Prince Cuglas. _

In the list of the historic tales mentioned in the Book of Leinster, and which is given in O'Curry's appendix to his "Lectures on the MSS. Materials of Ancient Irish History, " "The Cave of the Road of Cuglas"finds place. O'Curry has the following note:--

"Cuglas was the son of Donn Desa, King of Leinster, and master of thehounds to the monarch Conairé Mor. Having one day followed the chasefrom Tara to this road, the chase suddenly disappeared in a cave, intowhich he followed, and was _never seen after_. Hence the cave wascalled _Uaimh Bealach Conglais_, or the cave of the road of Cuglas(now Baltinglass, in the County of Wicklow). It is about this cave, nevertheless, that so many of our pretended Irish antiquarians havewritten so much nonsense in connection with some imaginary paganworship to which they gravely assure the world, on etymologicalauthority, the spot was devoted. The authority for the legend ofCuglas is the _Dinnoean Chus_ on the place _Bealach Conglais_ (Book ofLecain). The full tale has not come down to us. "

VIII. 

_The Herald. _

"Here comes a single champion towards us, O _Cuchulain_, " said _Laegh_(Cuchulain's charioteer). "What sort of a champion is he?" said_Cuchulain_. "A brown-haired, broad faced, beautiful youth; a splendidbrown cloak on him; a bright bronze spear-like brooch fastening hiscloak. A full and well-fitting shirt to his skin. Two firm shoesbetween his two feet and the ground. A hand-staff of white hazel inone hand of his; a single-edged sword with a sea-horse hilt in hisother hand. " "Good, my lad, " said _Cuchulain_; "these are the tokensof a herald. "--Description of the herald _MacRoath_ in the story ofthe Tain bo Chuailgné. --O'Curry's "Manners and Customs of the AncientIrish, " Vol. II. , p. 301. 

IX. 

_Golden Bells. _

In O'Curry's "Lectures on the Manners and Customs of the AncientIrish" are several dazzling descriptions of cavalcades taken from theold tales. Silver and golden bells are frequently mentioned as part ofthe horse furniture. 

X. 

_The Wild People of the Glen. _

"And then he put on his helmet of battle and of combat and offighting, from every recess and from every angle of which issued theshout as it were of an hundred warriors; because it was alike thatwoman of the valley (_de bananaig_), and hobgoblins (_bacanaig_), _andwild people of the glen (geinti glindi)_, and demons of the air(_demna acoir_), shouted in front of it, and in rear of it, and overit, and around it, wherever he went, at the spurting of blood, and ofheroes upon it. "

Description of Cuchulain's helmet in the story of The _Tain boChuailgné_. --"O'Curry's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, "Vol. II. , p. 301. 

XI. 

_The Fair of Tara. _

"The great fairs anciently held in Ireland were not like their modernrepresentatives, mere markets, but were assemblies of the people tocelebrate funeral games, and other religious rites; during pagan timesto hold parliaments, promulgate laws, listen to the recitation oftales and poems, engage in or witness contests in feats of arms, horse-racing, and other popular games. They were analogous in manyways to the Olympian and other celebrated games of ancient Greece. 

"These assemblies were regulated by a strict by-law, a breach of whichwas punishable by death. Women were especially protected, a certainplace being set apart for their exclusive use, as a place was setapart at one side of the lists of mediĉval tournaments for the Queenof Beauty and the other ladies. 

"At the opening of the assembly there was always a solemn proclamationof peace, and the king who held the fair awarded prizes to the mostsuccessful poets, musicians, and professors and masters of everyart. "--See Dr. Sullivan's "Introduction to O'Curry's Lectures. "

XII. 

_The Contest of the Bards. _

"The three musical feats of the _Daghda_, a celebrated Dedanann chiefand Druid, were the _Suantraighe_, which from its deep murmuringcaused sleep. The _Goltraighe_, which from its meltive plaintivenesscaused weeping, and the Goltraighe, which from its merriment causedlaughter. 

"_Bose_, the great Norse harper, could give on his harp theGyarslager, or stroke of the sea gods, which produced mermaids'music. "--O'Curry's Lectures. 

 * * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

 Typographical problems have been changed and are listed below. Author's archaic and variable spelling is preserved. Author's punctuation style is preserved. Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_. 

Transcriber's Changes:

 his own motion, with scarce a word of encouragement[** Was 'encourage ment' over line break]

 myself before that day. Then the king[** Was 'King'] asked

 the door. Around, outside[** Was 'ouside'] the hut, on a level with

 name, " said the cat, [** Changed '. ' to ', '] "I am a friend of yours, Princess Kathleen, and you can either go or stay. "[** Added closing double-quote]

 beneath the waters. [** Changed ', ' to '. '] The white steed pulled up

 "Don't be frightened, little man, " said he, [** Added comma] "and

 darkness. Cuglas[** Was 'Cuglass'] could hear ahead of him the

 "You are welcome, Cuglas[** Was 'Cuglass'], " said the queen, as

 could run so lightly that the rotten twigs[** Was 'twigg'] should

 world, on etymological[** Was 'entymological'] authority, the spot was devoted. 

 the story of the Tain bo Chuailgné[** Was 'Chuaillgné']. --O'Curry's "Manners

 the Ancient Irish" are several dazzling descriptions of cavalcades[** Was 'calvacades']

 of it, and in rear of it, [** Added comma] and over it, and around it, wherever he

 and other popular games. They were analogous[** Was 'analagous'] in many ways

 "These[** Added opening double-quote] assemblies were regulated by a strict by-law, a breach

 "At[** Added opening double-quote] the opening of the assembly there was always a solemn

 "_Bose_[** Added opening double-quote], the great Norse harper, could give on his harp the