And the three daughters of Beag,
son of Buan, had charge of the well, and they would not part with a
vessel of it for anything less than red gold. And one day Finn chanced
to be hunting in the rushes near the well, and the three women ran out
to hinder him from coming to it, and one of them that had a vessel of
the water in her hand, threw it at him to stop him, and a share of the
water went into his mouth. And from that out he had all the knowledge
that the water of that well could give.
And he learned the three ways of poetry; and this is the poem he made to
show he had got his learning well:--
"It is the month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful; the
blackbird sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the
cuckoos are singing and ever singing; there is a welcome before the
brightness of the summer.
"Summer is lessening the rivers, the swift horses are looking for the
pool; the heath spreads out its long hair, the weak white bog-down
grows. A wildness comes on the heart of the deer; the sad restless sea
is asleep.
"Bees with their little strength carry a load reaped from the flowers;
the cattle go up muddy to the mountains; the ant has a good full feast.
"The harp of the woods is playing music; there is colour on the hills,
and a haze on the full lakes, and entire peace upon every sail.
"The corncrake is speaking, a loud-voiced poet; the high lonely
waterfall is singing a welcome to the warm pool, the talking of the
rushes has begun.
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