next day the King's Son put a bridle on the Slight Red Steed and
rode towards the East again. He saw the blue falcon and he followed
where it flew. Over benns, and through glens and across mountains and
moors the blue falcon went and the Slight Red Steed neither swerved nor
stumbled but went as the bird flew. The falcon lighted on a pine tree
that grew alone. The King's Son rode up and put his hands to the tree
to climb and put his head against it, and as he did he heard speech from
the tree. "The stroke of the Sword of Light will slay the King of the
Land of Mist and the stroke of the Sword of Light that will cut a tress
of her hair will awaken Fedelma." There was no more speech from the tree
and the falcon rose from its branches and flew high up in the air. Then
the King of Ireland's Son rode back towards his father's Castle.

He went to the meadow and stood with Art and listened to what Art had to
tell him. And as before the King's Steward began--

"To your father's Son in all truth be it told"--

Quick-to-Grab had said to the King of the Cats, "If ever you need the
counsel of a human being, go to no one else but the Hag of the Ashes who
was once called the Hag of the Wood. In the very centre of the wood four
ash trees are drawn together at the tops, wattles are woven round these
ash trees, and in the little house made in this way the Hag of the Ashes
lives, with no one near her since her nine daughters went away, but her
goat that's her only friend." The King of the Cats was now in the centre
of the wood. He saw four ash trees drawn together at the tops and he
jumped to them.

Now the Hag of the Ashes had a bad neighbor. This was a crane that had
built her nest across the roof of the little house. The nest prevented
the smoke from coming out at the top and the house below was filled
with it. The Hag could hardly keep alive on account of the smoke and she
could neither take away the nest nor banish the bird.

The crane was there when the King of the Cats sprang on the roof. She
was sitting with her two legs stretched out, and when the King of the
Cats came down beside her she slipped away and sailed over the trees.
"Time for me to be going," said the crane. And from that day to this she
never came back to the house of the Hag of the Ashes.

"Oh, thanks to you, good creature," said the Hag of the Ashes, coming
out of the house. "Tear down her nest now and let the smoke rise up
through the roof."

The King of