And
Finn gave him the bag, and told him his whole story.
And then he said farewell to Crimall, and went on to learn poetry from
Finegas, a poet that was living at the Boinn, for the poets thought it
was always on the brink of water poetry was revealed to them. And he did
not give him his own name, but he took the name of Deimne. Seven years,
now, Finegas had stopped at the Boinn, watching the salmon, for it was
in the prophecy that he would eat the salmon of knowledge that would
come there, and that he would have all knowledge after. And when at the
last the salmon of knowledge came, he brought it to where Finn was, and
bade him to roast it, but he bade him not to eat any of it. And when
Finn brought him the salmon after a while he said: "Did you eat any of
it at all, boy?" "I did not," said Finn; "but I burned my thumb putting
down a blister that rose on the skin, and after doing that, I put my
thumb in my mouth." "What is your name, boy?" said Finegas. "Deimne,"
said he. "It is not, but it is Finn your name is, and it is to you and
not to myself the salmon was given in the prophecy." With that he gave
Finn the whole of the salmon, and from that time Finn had the knowledge
that came from the nuts of the nine hazels of wisdom that grow beside
the well that is below the sea.
And besides the wisdom he got then, there was a second wisdom came to
him another time, and this is the way it happened. There was a well of
the moon belonging to Beag, son of Buan, of the Tuatha de Danaan, and
whoever would drink out of it would get wisdom, and after a second drink
he would get the gift of foretelling.
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