us to take the blackbird."

He told Ardan what to do. He was to take the skin that had been
stripped off a dead horse and he was to nail this skin upon a door in
the yard. Then he was to do a curious thing. He was to take up each
puppy and fling it against the door.

Ardan did all this and Little Fawn stood by and heard the puppies
yowling as they fell on the ground. They scampered away. Then he heard
nothing except Ardan's laugh.

"Why are you laughing, my boy?" said Little Fawn.

"I laugh to see what the last puppy is doing," said Ardan.

"And what is he doing?" said Little Fawn.

"He has not fallen to the ground like the others. He has caught hold
of the horseskin with his teeth and he is holding on to it."

"That puppy will do," said Little Fawn. "He has strength and courage.
Take him and rear him away from the others, and when he comes to his
full strength you and I will take him to hunt the blackbird that is as
big in one quarter as the quarter of mutton Murrish the Cook-woman
gave me for my dinner. We must make our word good this time, good
lad." Ardan took away the puppy (Conbeg they called him) from the
others and reared him up. Little Fawn tested his strength and courage
in many ways. At length he was satisfied. One day he put a leash on
Conbeg and he told the boy to come with him. Little Fawn and Ardan and
Conbeg the young hound went away from the house.

"'Tis the best part of the story," said the Little Slate-colored Hen
that was the Cock's mother.

* * * * *

"It is, it is," said the Feather-legged Hen.

"And how well he tells it, the Top of Wisdom," said the Blue Hen.

"I tell it as my father told me and as his father told him," said the
Cock changing legs. "The first place they went was into the Cave where
the Big Man had lain for a hundred and a hundred years. They found
there the heap of dust that was his two hounds, and they found too the
missile-ball of brass and the trumpet and the great sword. They left
the Cave and they turned south, and they went on and on till they came
to the mountain that is called Slieve-na-Mon. The boy and the man and
the hound rested themselves for a while on the level on the top of the
mountain.

Then Little Fawn told Ardan to take the trumpet and put it to his
mouth. He blew on the trumpet. O louder than ever I crowed was the
noise he made on that trumpet. The trees that were growing on the
mountain top shook at the sound.