'll tell you what,' he said, 'if there is such a place on
earth at all, I have a brother who lives nine hundred miles from here,
and he is sure to know where they are, if anyone in this world does.'
The Irishman answered that he could never go these nine hundred miles,
for his horse was giving in already. 'That doesn't matter,' said the old
man; 'I can do better than that. I have only to blow my whistle and you
will be at my brother's house before nightfall.'

So he blew the whistle, and the Irishman did not know where on earth he
was until he found himself at the other old man's door, who also told
him that it was three hundred years since he had seen anyone, and asked
him where he was going.

'I am going to see if I can find anyone that can tell me where the Blue
Mountains are,' he said.

'If you will stay with me to-night,' said the old man, 'I have a book
of the history of the world, and I shall know where they are before
daylight, if there is such a place in it at all.'

He stayed there all night, but there was not a word in the book about
the Blue Mountains. Seeing that he was rather cast down, the old man
told him that he had a brother nine hundred miles away, and that if
information could be got about them from anyone it would be from him;
'and I will enable you,' he said, 'to reach the place where he lives
before night.' So he blew his whistle, and the Irishman landed at the
brother's house before nightfall. When the old man saw him he said he
had not seen a single man for three hundred years, and was very much
surprised to see anyone come to him now.

'Where are you going to?' he said.

'I am going about asking for the Blue Mountains,' said the Irishman.

'The Blue Mountains?' said the old man.

'Yes,' said the Irishman.

'I never heard the name before; but if they do exist I shall find them
out. I am master of all the birds in the world, and have only to blow my
whistle and every one will come to me. I shall then ask each of them to
tell where it came from, and if there is any way of finding out the Blue
Mountains that is it.'

So he blew his whistle, and when he blew it then all the birds of the
world began to gather. The old man questioned each of them as to where
they had come from, but there was not one of them that had come from the
Blue Mountains. After he had run over them all, however, he missed a
big Eagle that was wanting, and wondered that it had not come. Soon
afterwards he saw somethi