There was a king sitting in a golden chair, having clothes of gold and
of green, and his chief people were sitting around him, and his
musicians were playing. And no one could know what colour were the
dresses of the musicians, for every colour of the rainbow was in them.
And there was a great table in the middle of the room, having every sort
of thing on it, one better than another.
The king rose up and gave a welcome to Finn and to his men, and he bade
them to sit down at the table; and they ate and drank their fill, and
that was wanting to them after the hunt they had made. And then the Red
Woman rose up, and she said: "King of the Hill, if it is your will, Finn
and his men have a mind to see the wonderful beast, for they spent a
long time following after it, and that is what brought them here."
The king struck a blow then on his golden chair, and a door opened
behind him, and the beast came through it and stood before the king. And
it stooped down before him, and it said: "I am going on towards my own
country now; and there is not in the world a runner so good as myself,
and the sea is the same to me as the land. And let whoever can come up
with me come now," it said, "for I am going."
With that the beast went out from the hill as quick as a blast of wind,
and all the people that were in it went following after it. It was not
long till Finn and his men were before the rest, in the front of the
hunt, gaining on the beast.
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