Gods and Fighting Men, Lady I. A Gregory [best e books to read TXT] 📗

Ceiscoran, and his two dogs Bran and Sceolan with him.

 

And the Fianna were shouting through the whole country where they were

hunting, the way the deer were roused in their wild places and the

badgers in their holes, and foxes in their wanderings, and birds on the

wing.

 

And Conaran, son of Imidd, of the Tuatha de Danaan, had the sway in

Ceiscoran at that time, and when he heard the shouting and the cry of

the hounds all around, he bade his three daughters that had a great

share of enchantments, to do vengeance on Finn for his hunting.

 

The three women went then to the opening of a cave that was in the

hills, and there they sat down together, and they put three strong

enchanted hanks of yarn on crooked holly-sticks, and began to reel them

off outside the cave.

 

They were not long there till Finn and Conan came towards them, and saw

the three ugly old hags at their work, their coarse hair tossed, their

eyes red and bleary, their teeth sharp and crooked, their arms very

long, their nails like the tips of cows' horns, and the three spindles

in their hands.

 

Finn and Conan passed through the hanks of yarn to get a better look at

the hags. And no sooner had they done that, than a deadly trembling came

on them and a weakness, and the bold hags took hold of them and put them

in tight bonds.

 

Two other men of the Fianna came up then, and the sons of Menhann along

with them, and they went through the spindles to where Finn and Conan

were, and their strength went from them in the same way, and the hags

tied them fast and carried them into the cave.

 

They were not long there till Caoilte and Lugaidh's Son came to the

place, and along with them the best men of the sons of Baiscne. The sons

of Morna came as well, and no sooner did they see the hanks than their

strength and their bravery went out of them the same as it went from the

others.

 

And in the end the whole number of them, gentle and simple, were put in

bonds by the hags, and brought into the cave. And there began at the

mouth of the cave a great outcry of hounds calling for their masters

that had left them there. And there was lying on the hillside a great

heap of deer, and wild pigs, and hares, and badgers, dead and torn, that

were brought as far as that by the hunters that were tied up now in the

cave.

 

Then the three women came in, having swords in their hands, to the place

where they were lying, to make an end of them. But first they looked out

to see was there ever another man of the Fianna to bring in and to make

an end of with the rest.

 

And they saw coming towards them a very tall man that was Goll, son of

Morna, the Flame of Battle. And when the three hags saw him they went to

meet him, and they fought a hard battle with him. And great anger came

on Goll, and he made great strokes at the witches, and at the last he

raised up his sword, and with one blow he cut the two that were nearest

him through and through.

 

And then the oldest of the three women wound her arms about Goll, and he

beheading the two others, and he turned to face her and they wrestled

together, till at last Goll gave her a great twist and threw her on the

ground. He tied her fast then with the straps of a shield, and took his

sword to make an end of her. But the hag said: "O champion that was

never worsted, strong man that never went back in battle, I put my body

and my life under the protection of your bravery. And it is better for

you," she said, "to get Finn and the Fianna safe and whole than to have

my blood; and I swear by the gods my people swear by," she said, "I will

give them back to you again."

 

With that Goll set her free, and they went together into the hill where

the Fianna were lying. And Goll said: "Loose off the fastenings first

from Fergus of the True Lips and from the other learned men of the

Fianna; and after that from Finn, and Oisin, and the twenty-nine sons of

Morna, and from all the rest."

 

She took off the fastenings then, and the Fianna made no delay, but rose

up and went out and sat down on the side of the hill. And Fergus of the

Sweet Lips looked at Goll, son of Morna, and made great praises of him,

and of all that he had done.

 

CHAPTER III. (DONN SON OF MIDHIR)

One time the Fianna were at their hunting at the island of Toraig to the

north of Ireland, and they roused a fawn that was very wild and

beautiful, and it made for the coast, and Finn and six of his men

followed after it through the whole country, till they came to

Slieve-nam-Ban. And there the fawn put down its head and vanished into

the earth, and none of them knew where was it gone to.

 

A heavy snow began to fall then that bent down the tops of the trees

like a willow-gad, and the courage and the strength went from the Fianna

with the dint of the bad weather, and Finn said to Caoilte: "Is there

any place we can find shelter to-night?" Caoilte made himself supple

then, and went over the elbow of the hill southward.

 

And when he looked around him he saw a house full of light, with cups

and horns and bowls of different sorts in it. He stood a good while

before the door of the house, that he knew to be a house of the Sidhe,

thinking would it be best go in and get news of it, or to go back to

Finn and the few men that were with him. And he made up his mind to go

into the house, and there he sat down on a shining chair in the middle

of the floor; and he looked around him, and he saw, on the one side,

eight-and-twenty armed men, each of them having a well-shaped woman

beside him. And on the other side he saw six nice young girls,

yellow-haired, having shaggy gowns from their shoulders. And in the

middle there was another young girl sitting in a chair, and a harp in

her hand, and she playing on it and singing. And every time she stopped,

a man of them would give her a horn to drink from, and she would give it

back to him again, and they were all making mirth around her.

 

She spoke to Caoilte then. "Caoilte, my life," she said, "give us leave

to attend on you now." "Do not," said Caoilte, "for there is a better

man than myself outside, Finn, son of Cumhal, and he has a mind to eat

in this house to-night." "Rise up, Caoilte, and go for Finn," said a man

of the house then; "for he never refused any man in his own house, and

he will get no refusal from us."

 

Caoilte went back then to Finn, and when Finn saw him he said: "It is

long you are away from us, Caoilte, for from the time I took arms in my

hands I never had a night that put so much hardship on me as this one."

 

The six of them went then into the lighted house and their shields and

their arms with them. And they sat down on the edge of a seat, and a

girl having yellow hair came and brought them to a shining seat in the

middle of the house, and the newest of every food, and the oldest of

every drink was put before them. And when the sharpness of their hunger

and their thirst was lessened, Finn said: "Which of you can I question?"

"Question whoever you have a mind to," said the tallest of the men that

was near him. "Who are you yourself then?" said Finn, "for I did not

think there were so many champions in Ireland, and I not knowing them."

 

"Those eight-and-twenty armed men you see beyond," said the tall man,

"had the one father and mother with myself; and we are the sons of

Midhir of the Yellow Hair, and our mother is Fionnchaem, the fair,

beautiful daughter of the King of the Sidhe of Monaid in the east. And

at one time the Tuatha de Danaan had a gathering, and gave the kingship

to Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda, at his bright hospitable place, and he

began to ask hostages of myself and of my brothers; but we said that

till all the rest of the Men of Dea had given them, we would not give

them. Bodb Dearg said then to our father: 'Unless you will put away your

sons, we will wall up your dwelling-place on you.' So the

eight-and-twenty brothers of us came out to look for a place for

ourselves; and we searched all Ireland till we found this secret hidden

place, and we are here ever since. And my own name," he said, "is Donn,

son of Midhir. And we had every one of us ten hundred armed men

belonging to himself, but they are all worn away now, and only the

eight-and-twenty of us left." "What is it is wearing you away?" said

Finn. "The Men of Dea," said Donn, "that come three times in every year

to give battle to us on the green outside." "What is the long new grave

we saw on the green outside?" said Finn. "It is the grave of Diangalach,

a man of enchantments of the Men of Dea; and that is the greatest loss

came on them yet," said Donn; "and it was I myself killed him," he

said. "What loss came next to that?" said Finn. "All the Tuatha de

Danaan had of jewels and riches and treasures, horns and vessels and

cups of pale gold, we took from them at the one time." "What was the

third greatest loss they had?" said Finn. "It was Fethnaid, daughter of

Feclach, the woman-harper of the Tuatha de Danaan, their music and the

delight of their minds," said Donn.

 

"And to-morrow," he said, "they will be coming to make an attack on us,

and there is no one but myself and my brothers left; and we knew we

would be in danger, and that we could make no stand against them. And we

sent that bare-headed girl beyond to Toraig in the North in the shape of

a foolish fawn, and you followed her here. It is that girl washing

herself, and having a green cloak about her, went looking for you.

 

"And the empty side of the house," he said, "belonged to our people that

the Men of Dea have killed."

 

They spent that night in drinking and in pleasure. And when they rose up

in the morning of the morrow, Donn, son of Midhir, said to Finn, "Come

out with me now on the lawn till you see the place where we fight the

battles every year." They went out then and they looked at the graves

and the flag-stones, and Donn said: "It is as far as this the Men of Dea

come to meet us." "Which of them come here?" said Finn.

 

"Bodb Dearg with his seven sons," said Donn; "and Angus Og, son of the

Dagda, with his seven sons; and Finnbharr of Cnoc Medha with his

seventeen sons; Lir of Sidhe Fionnachaidh with his twenty-seven sons and

their sons; Tadg, son of Nuada, out of the beautiful hill of Almhuin;

Donn of the Island and Donn of the Vat; the two called Glas from the

district of Osraige; Dobhran Dubthaire from the hill of