him."

"Then we'll be glad of your help, good comrade." The three
youths got out of their beds and they sat with
Feet-in-the-Ashes round the fire and the four spent a third
of the night in pleasant story-telling, and slumber nor
weariness did come near them at all.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck," said the Hen-grouse.

"Say no more," said the Cock-grouse, "for now I'm coming to what's
wonderful in my story--"

The four youths were seated round the fire when a little man
came into the Chamber. He carried a harp in his hands. He
bowed low to each of the four of them. "I am MacDraoi, the
Giant's Harper," he said, "and I have come to play music for
you." "Not one tune do we want to hear from you," said
Feet-in-the-Ashes. "Whether you want it or not, one you will
hear," said the Harper, "and that tune is the Slumber Tune. I
shall play it for you now. And if the whole world was before
me when I play it, and if every one in it had the pains of
deep wounds, the playing on my harp would make each and every
one of them fall into a slumber." "That tune we must not
hear," said the first of the three youths, "for if we fall
into a slumber the Giant will see to it that we shall never
awaken."

MacDraoi, the Giant's Harper put his harp to his chest and he
began to play. Slumber came on the eyelids of the four who
were at the fire. Three sprang up, but one stayed on his
bench dead-sound-fast asleep. One yawned and fell down on the
floor. One of the two that remained went towards the Harper,
but on his way he fell across a bed and he remained on it.
Then, out of the four, only one, Feet-in-the-Ashes, was left
awake.

The Harper played on. Feet-in-the-Ashes put his fingers in
his mouth and commenced to gnaw them. He gnawed the first two
fingers down to their joints. But still his mouth kept open
in a yawn and still the slumber kept heavy on his eyelids. He
gnawed his third and his little finger. Then he put his right
hand in his mouth and he bit at his thumb and he bit so
sharply that his senses nearly all came back to him. With a
kick he knocked the harp out of the Harper's hands. He caught
MacDraoi then and turned him head below heels and left him
hanging by his feet from a beam across the chamber. Then he
went straight through the hall and out of the Castle.

A wet breeze was