h him
in the middle of the river and followed him up the other bank, and held
him against a tree. "I will give you the craft that will make you
the greatest of Kings, because you have mastered me." "Not craft, but
knowledge of where the Sword of Light is, I want from you," said the
King's Son. "Only one of the People of Light can tell you that," said
the Fua. It became a small, empty sort of creature and lay on the ground
like a shadow.

The Gobaun Saor came back to his forge and his anvil. "You have guarded
my anvil for me," he said, "and I will tell you where to go for the
Sword of Light. It is in the Palace of the Ancient Ones under the Lake.
You have an enchanted steed that can go to that Lake. I shall turn his
head, and he shall go straight to it. When you come to the edge of the
Lake pull the branches of the Fountain Tree and give the Slight Red
Steed the leaves to eat. Mount now and go."

The King of Ireland's Son mounted the Slight Red Steed and went
traveling again.

II

From all its branches, high and low, water was falling in little
streams. This was the Fountain Tree indeed. He did not dismount, the
King of Ireland's Son, but pulled the branches and he gave them to the
Slight Red Steed to eat.

He ate no more than three mouthfuls. Then he stamped on the ground with
his hooves, lifted his head high and neighed three times. With that he
plunged into the water of the Lake and swam and swam as if he had the
strength of a dragon. He swam while there was light on the water and he
swam while there was night on the water, and when the sun of the next
day was a hand's breadth above the lake he came to the Black Island.

All on that Island was black and burnt, and there were black ashes up to
the horse's knees. And no sooner had the Slight Red Steed put his hooves
on the Island than he galloped straight to the middle of it. He
galloped through an opening in the black rock and went through a hundred
passages, each going lower than the other, and at last he came into the
wide space of a hall.

The hall was lighted. When the King's Son looked to see where the light
came from he saw a sword hanging from the roof. And the brightness of
the Sword was such that the hall was well lighted. The King of Ireland's
Son galloped the Slight Red Steed forward and made it rear up. His hand
grasped the hilt of the Sword. As he pulled it down the Sword screeched
in his hand.

He flashed it about and saw what other things we