re in the Cave. He saw
one woman, and two women and three women. He came to them and he saw
they were sleeping. And as he flashed the Sword about he saw other women
sleeping too. There were twelve women in the Cave where the Sword of
Light had been hanging and the women were sleeping.

And in the hands of each of the sleeping women was a great gemmed cup.
The spirit of the King's Son had grown haughty since he felt the Sword
in his hands. "You have the sword, why should you not have the cup?"
something within him said. He took a cup from the hands of one of the
sleeping women and drank the bubbling water that it held. His spirit
grew more haughty with that draught. From the hands of each of the
twelve sleeping women he took the cup and he drank the draught of
bubbling water that it held. And when he had drunk the twelve draughts
of bubbling water he felt that with the Sword of Light in his hands he
could cut his way through the earth.

He mounted the Slight Red Steed and rode it through the Cave and swam
it across the Lake with No Name. He held the Sword of Light across his
saddle. The Steed went as the current drew him, for it was long since he
had eaten the leaves of the Fountain Tree, and the spirit that had made
him vigorous coming was feeble now. The current brought them to the
shore below where the Fountain Tree grew.

And there on the shore he saw a bunch of little men, little women and
littler children, all with smoke-colored skins, all with but one eye in
their heads, all crying and screaming at each other like sea-birds, and
all sitting round a fire of dried water weeds, cooking and eating eels
and crab-apples.

The King of Ireland's Son put his hands on the bridle-rein and drew the
Slight Red Steed out of the water. The women with one right eye and
the men with one left eye, and the children in their bare smoky skins
screamed at him, "What do you want, what do you want, man with the
horse?"

"Feed and water my steed for me," said the King of Ireland's Son.

"We are the Swallow People, and no one commands us to do things," said
an old fellow with a beard like knots of ropes.

"Feed my steed with red wheat and water it with pure spring water," said
the King's Son fiercely. "I am the King of Ireland's Son and the Sword
of Light is in my hands, and what I command must be done."

"We are the Swallow People and we are accounted a harmless people," said
the old fellow.

"Why are ye harmless?" said the K