"
Then she begged a drink from them, and Finn called his gillie,
Saltran, and bade him fetch the full of a certain great goblet with
water from the ford; now this goblet was of wood, and it held as much
as nine of the Fianna could drink. The maiden poured some of the water
into her right hand and drank three sips of it, and scattered the rest
over the Fianna, and she and they burst out laughing. Finn said, "On
thy conscience, girl, what ailed thee not to drink out of the goblet?"
"Never," she replied, "have I drunk out of any vessel but there was a
rim of gold to it, or at least of silver."
And now Keelta looking up perceived a tall youth coming swiftly
towards them, who, when he approached, seemed even bigger than was the
maiden. He wore a rough hairy cape over his shoulder and beneath that
a green cloak fastened by a golden brooch; his tunic was of royal
satin, and he bore a red shield slung over his shoulders, and a spear
with a shaft as thick as a man's leg was in his hand; a gold-hilted
sword hung by his side. And his face, which was smooth-shaven, was
comelier than that of any of the sons of men.
When he came near, seeing among the Fians a stir of alarm at this
apparition, Finn said, "Keep every one of you his place, let neither
warrior nor gillie address him.
Pages:
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202