st as he was the day before.' 'Dear!
dear!' said the Princess, 'I am sorry for him. Was the sleep he had
last night not enough for him? Tell him that he will never see me here
again; and here is a sword that you will give him in my name, and my
blessing along with it.'

With this she went off, and as soon as she had gone the lad took the
pin out of his master's coat. He awoke instantly, and the first word
he said was, 'Have you seen her?' The lad said that he had, and there
was the sword she had left for him. The Irishman was ready to kill the
lad out of sheer vexation, but when he gave a glance over his shoulder
not a trace of the fair-haired lad was left.

Being thus left all alone, he thought of going into the room where all
the men were lying asleep, and there among the rest he found his two
comrades who had deserted along with him. Then he remembered what the
Princess had told him--that he had only to touch them with the rod she
had given him and they would all awake; and the first he touched were
his own comrades. They started to their feet at once, and he gave them
as much silver and gold as they could carry when they went away. There
was plenty to do before he got all the others wakened, for the two
doors of the castle were crowded with them all the day long.

The loss of the Princess, however, kept rankling in his mind day and
night, till finally he thought he would go about the world to see if
he could find anyone to give him news of her. So he took the best
horse in the stable and set out. Three years he spent travelling
through forests and wildernesses, but could find no one able to tell
him anything of the Princess. At last he fell into so great despair
that he thought he would put an end to his own life, and for this
purpose laid hold of the sword that she had given him by the hands of
the fair-haired lad; but on drawing it from its sheath he noticed that
there was some writing on one side of the blade. He looked at this,
and read there, 'You will find me in the Blue Mountains.' This made
him take heart again, and he gave up the idea of killing himself,
thinking that he would go on in hope of meeting some one who could
tell him where the Blue Mountains were. After he had gone a long way
without thinking where he was going, he saw at last a light far away,
and made straight for it. On reaching it he found it came from a
little house, and as soon as the man inside heard the noise of the
horse's feet he ca