s Cock made himself very annoying to the King of the Cats. He used
to strut up and down saying to himself over and over again, "I'm
Cock-o'-the-Walk, I'm Cock-o'-the-Walk." Sometimes he would come into
the Forge and say it to the horses. The King of the Cats wondered how
the human beings could put up with a creature who was so stupid and so
vain. He had a red comb that fell over one eye. He had purple feathers
on his tail. He had great spurs on his heels. He used to put his head on
one side and yawn when the King of the Cats appeared.

Cock-o'-the-Walk used to come into the Forge at night and sleep on the
bellows. And when the King of the Cats came back from the feasts he
used to waken up and say to himself, "I'm Cock-o'-the-Walk, I'm
Cock-o'-the-Walk. The Cats are not a respectable people."

One noonday there were men in the Forge. They were talking to the Smith.
Said one, "Could you tell us, Smith, where iron came from?" The King of
the Cats knew but he said nothing. Cock-o'-the-Walk came to the door and
held his head as if he were listening.

"I can't tell where iron came from," said the Smith, "but if that Cock
could talk he could tell you. The world knows that the Cock is the
wisest and the most ancient of creatures."

"I'm Cock-o'-the-Walk," said the Cock to a rusty ass's shoe.

"Yes, the Cock is a wonderful creature," said the man who had asked the
question.

"Not wonderful at all," said the King of the Cats, "and if you had asked
me I could have told you where iron came from."

"And where did iron come from?" said the Smith.

"From the Mountains of the Moon," said the King of the Cats.

The men in the Forge put their hands on their knees and looked down at
him. Mahon the hound came into the Forge with other hounds at his tail,
and seeing the men looking at the King of the Cats, Mahon put his nose
to him. Cock-o'-the-Walk flapped his wings insolently. The King of the
Cats struck at the red hanging comb with his paw. The Cock flew up in
the air. The King of the Cats sprang out of the window, and as he did,
Mahon and the other hounds sprang after him--

IV

The King of Ireland's Son rode towards the East the next day, and in the
first hour's journey he saw the blue falcon sailing above. He followed
where it went and the falcon never lifted nor stooped, but sailed
steadily on, only now and again beating the air with its wings. Over
benns and through glens and across moors the blue falcon flew and the