“ That your life we may sadden;
Here's two humps for Jack Madden!"
And twenty of the strongest fairies brought Lusmore's hump and put it down upon poor Jack's back, over his own, where it became fixed as firmly as if it was nailed on with twelve-penny nails, by the best carpenter that ever drove one. Out of their castle they then kicked him; and, in the morning, when Jack Madden's mother and her gossip came to look after their little man, they found him half dead, lying at the foot of the moat, with the other hump upon his back. Well to be sure, how they did look at each other! ”

“ And again she spoke: "Assign an end for the ruin and woe which thou hast brought upon us."
Oifa laughed and said: "Never shall ye be free until the woman from the south be united to the man from the north, until Lairgnen of Connaught wed Deoch of Munster; nor shall any have power to bring you out of these forms. Nine hundred years shall you wander over the lakes and streams of Erin. This only I will grant unto you: that you retain your own speech, and there shall be no music in the world equal to yours, the plaintive music you shall sing." ”

“ Not a sign of it.
"Oh!" cried she, "that villain of a Smallhead has robbed me. She has stolen my book, made a man of the pig, and taken him away with her."
What could she do but tell her whole story to the sister. "Go you," said she, "and follow them. You have more enchantment than Smallhead has."
"How am I to know them?" asked the sister.
"Bring the first two strange things that you find; they will turn themselves into something wonderful." ”

“ The fairies within Knockgrafton, for the song was a fairy melody, when they heard this addition to the tune, were so much delighted that, with instant resolve, it was determined [159] to bring the mortal among them, whose musical skill so far exceeded theirs, and little Lusmore was conveyed into their company with the eddying speed of a whirlwind.
Glorious to behold was the sight that burst upon him as he came down through the moat, twirling round and round, with the lightness of a straw, to the sweetest music that kept time to his motion. ”

“ There existed an Irish folk-tale of a king with two wives, one a water or sea fairy, whose children derive from her the capacity of shape-shifting dependent upon certain talismans; jealousy impels the human wife to tamper with these talismans, and the children are condemned to remain in their animal form. This folk-tale was, probably at some time in the 14th or 15th century, arbitrarily fitted into the cadre of the Tuatha de Danann cycle, and entirely re-fashioned in a spirit of pious edification by a man who was in his way a great and admirable artist. ”

“ The Connacht host cried out: "We are all ready, and we have no doubt but we'll beat them."
"Out with ye all," cried the high king; "the men of the hill of Nephin will be on the ground before us."
They all went out, and little Donal and twelve pipers more before them, playing melodious music. When they came to Moytura, the fairy host of Munster and the fairy men of the hill of Nephin were there before them.
Now it is necessary for the fairy host to have two live men beside them when they are fighting or at a hurling match, and that was the reason that little Donal took Paddy O'Kelly with him. ”

“ My two sisters are here in the King's castle. Who knows, we may have great fortune yet."
She dressed neatly and was cheerful. Every one liked her, liked her better than her sisters, though they were beautiful. The King had two sons, one at home and the other abroad. Smallhead thought to herself one day: "It is time for the son who is here in the castle to marry. I will speak to him the first time I can." One day she saw him alone in the garden, went up to him, and said:
"Why are you not getting married, it is high time for you?" ”

“ The cock struck the hen, and she said, "You would not do that to me the day I made two heather brooms out of you and myself." She threw a fourth grain. The cock pecked the hen a fourth time. "You would not do that the day you promised not to let any living thing kiss you or kiss any one yourself but me—you let the hound kiss you and you forgot me."
The King's son made one bound forward, embraced and kissed Smallhead, and told the King his whole story from beginning to end.
"This is my wife," said he; "I'll marry no other woman."
"Whose wife will my daughter be?" asked the King of Connacht. ”

“ Then Manannan mac Lir, lord of the fairy Cavalcade, appeared before him in his own true form, and said thus:
"I it was, Cormac, who bore away these three from thee. I it was who gave thee this branch, all that I might bring thee here. Eat now and drink."
"I would do so," said Cormac, "could I learn the meaning of the wonders I saw to-day."
"Thou shalt learn them," said Manannan. "The horsemen thatching the roof with feathers are a likeness of people [208] who go forth into the world to seek riches and fortune; when they return their houses are bare, and so they go on for ever. ”

“ I come to ask her of thee, with the feast and the banquet that are in this place."
And Powel was silent because of the answer which he had given.
"Be silent as long as thou wilt," said Rhiannon. "Never did man make worse use of his wits than thou hast done."
"Lady," said he, "I knew not who he was."
"Behold, this is the man to whom they would have given me against my will," said she. "And he is Gwawl the son of Clud, a man of great power and wealth; and because of the word thou hast spoken, bestow me upon him, lest shame befall thee." ”

“ At nightfall you'll come into a village. One side of the street you'll see a large room lighted up, and filled with young men and women, dancing and drinking. The other side you'll see a house with no light, only from the fire in the front room, and no one near it but a man and his wife, and their child. Take a fool's advice, and get lodging there." With that he curled his tail over his crupper, and trotted off.
The boy found things as the fox said, but begonies he chose the dancing and drinking, and there we'll leave him. ”

“ She climbed to the gable, looked down, and saw the son making a great pot of stirabout for his mother, and she hurrying him. "I am as hungry as a hawk!" cried she.
Whenever the boy looked away, Smallhead dropped salt down, dropped it when he was not looking, dropped it till she had the whole stone of salt in the stirabout. The old hag waited and waited till at last she cried out: "Bring the stirabout. I am starving! Bring the pot. I will eat from the pot. Give the milk here as well." ”

“ I cannot live till morning without eating."
"I am as hungry as yourself," said the boy, "but how can I go to the well without a light? I will not go unless you give me a light."
"If I give you the Sword of Light there is no knowing who may follow you; maybe that devil of a Smallhead is outside."
But sooner than fast till morning the old hag gave the Sword of Light to her son, warning him to take good care of it. He took the Sword of Light and went out. As he saw no one when he came to the well he left the sword on the top of the steps going down to the water, so as to have good light. ”

“ Great is my esteem and respect towards you; you are the best maiden I have ever seen; you will yourself make a dwarf for the King, and your dog (this was Bran) a lapdog. It is long since the King has been in want of a dwarf and a lapdog." He took with him Fin; but another Big Man came, and was going to take Fin from him. The two fought; but when they had torn each other's clothes, they left it to Fin to judge. He chose the first one. He took Fin with him to the palace of the King, whose worthies and high nobles assembled to see the little man. ”

“ You all may think how the poor farmer felt when he could find no one dead or alive going or coming, nor his wether, nor the rope that fastened him. "Oh, misfortunate day!" cried he, "what'll Joan say to me now? My morning gone, and the goat and wether lost! I must sell something to make the price of the shawl. Well, the fat bullock is in the nearest field. She won't see me taking it."
Well, if the robbers were not surprised when Jack came into the bawn with the wether! ”

“ Young Gardener
here was once a king, but I didn't hear what country he was over, and he had one very beautiful daughter. Well, he was getting old and sickly, and the doctors found out that the finest medicine in the world for him was the apples of a tree that grew in the orchard just under his window. So you may be sure he had the tree well minded, and used to get the apples counted from the time they were the size of small marbles. One harvest, just as they were beginning to turn ripe, the king was awakened one night by the flapping of wings outside in the orchard ”

“ The sister then made a hawk of herself and flew away as swiftly as any March wind. [149]
"Look behind," said Smallhead to the King's son some hours later; "see what is coming."
"I see nothing," said he, "but a hawk coming swiftly."
"That is the hag's sister. She has three times more enchantment than the hag herself. But fly down on the ditch and be picking yourself as doves do in rainy weather, and maybe she'll pass without seeing us."
The hawk saw the doves, but thinking them nothing wonderful, flew on till evening, and then went back to her sister. ”

“ When night comes the bridge is raised, and the monsters sleep. A very high and big wall surrounds the king's palace.'
"Stretch out your leg, Kayn, till I put a salve of herbs and healing to it. Salve and binding herb and the poultice are cooling; the worm is channering. Pressure and haste hard bind me, for I must hear Mass in the great church at Rome, and be in Norway before I sleep." ”

“ Angus (the chief wizard of the Tuatha de Danann) is visited in sleep by a maiden whose beauty throws him into love sickness. The whole of Ireland is scoured to find her; the Dagda is appealed to in vain. At length, Bodb, fairy king of Munster, finds her at Loch bel Dracon (this is not the only trace of the impression which the story of Bel and the Dragon made upon the Irish mind) . She lives there with 150 swans; one year they are in swan shape the next in human shape. They appear as white birds with silvery chains and golden caps around their heads. ”

“ When you'll lift the flag off the pot, you'll see a big black dog coming out; but don't be afraid before him; he is a son of mine. When you get the gold, buy the house in which you saw me at first. You'll get it cheap, for it has the name of there being a ghost in it. My son will be down in the cellar. He'll do you no harm, but he'll be a good friend to you. I shall be dead a month from this day, and when you get me [50] dead, put a coal under this little hut and burn it. Don't tell a living soul anything about me—and the luck will be on you. ”

“ This will set me very well on my feet. After all that I have got there is another thing that I want."
"What is it?" said the king.
"It is the lap-dog that is in and out after the queen that I wish for."
"Ha!" said the king, "it is your mightiness and pride that has caused the loss of your means; but if you become a good man you shall get this along with the rest."
O'Cronicert bade the king good-bye, took the lap-dog, leapt on the back of the old lame white horse, and went off at speed through wood, and over moss and rugged ground. ”

“ And I believe that there is none of this host who will not perceive that the boy is the son of Powel," said Teirnyon.
"There is none," said they all, "who is not certain thereof."
"I declare to Heaven," said Rhiannon, "that if this be true, there is indeed an end to my trouble."
"Lady," said Pendaran Dyfed, "well hast thou named thy son Pryderi (end of trouble) , and well becomes him the name of Pryderi son of Powel chief of Annuvyn."
"Look you," said Rhiannon: "will not his own name become him better?" ”

“ The poor boy was down in the mouth, you may suppose, as he was walking away next morning, and very much ashamed when the fox looked up in his face after coming out of the wood.
"What a thing it is," says he, "not to have a head when a body wants it worst; and here we have a fine long journey before us to the King of Greek's palace. The worse luck now, the same always. Here, get on my tail, and we'll be making the road shorter." ”

“ The farmer was about the spot where he saw the first brogue, when he heard the bleating of a goat off at his right in the wood.
He cocked his ears, and the next thing he heard was the maaing of a sheep.
"Blood alive!" says he, "maybe these are my own that I lost." There was more bleating and more maaing. "There they are as sure as a gun," says he, and he tied his bullock to a sapling that grew in the hedge, and away he went into the wood. ”

“ On a day of days the Knight of Riddles said to his son-in-law, that if the spirit of a man were in him, he would go to kill the giants, as they were always bringing such losses on the country. Well, so it was, he went and he met the giants, and he came home with the three giants' heads, and he threw them at the knight's feet. [214] "Thou art an able lad doubtless, and thy name hereafter is the Hero of the White Shield." ”

“ On the next morning of the next day Paddy went to the hut and he found the hag dead. He put a coal under the hut and burned it. He came home and told the little man that the hag was burnt. The little man gave him a purse and said to him: "This purse will never be empty as long as you are alive. Now, you will never see me more; but have a loving remembrance of the weasel. ”