They followed it on always; and about
midnight they were pressing on it, and it began to scatter blood after
it, and it was not long till Finn and his men were red from head to
foot. But that did not hinder them, and they followed him on till they
saw him going in at the foot of Cnoc-na-righ at the breaking of day.
When they came to the foot of the hill the Red Woman was standing there
before them. "You did not take the beast," she said. "We did not take
it, but we know where it is," said Finn.
She took a Druid rod then, and she struck a blow on the side of the
hill, and on the moment a great door opened, and they heard sweet music
coming from within. "Come in now," said the Red Woman, "till you see the
wonderful beast." "Our clothing is not clean," said Finn, "and we would
not like to go in among a company the way we are," he said.
She put a horn to her mouth and blew it, and on the moment there came
ten young men to her. "Bring water for washing," she said, "and four
times twenty suits of clothes, and a beautiful suit and a crown of
shining stones for Finn, son of Cumhal." The young men went away then,
and they came back at the end of a minute with water and with clothing.
When the Fianna were washed and dressed, the Red Woman brought them into
a great hall, where there was the brightness of the sun and of the moon
on every side. From that she brought them into another great room; and
although Finn and his men had seen many grand things up to that time,
they had never seen any sight so grand as what they saw in this place.
Pages:
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364