Fianna of Ireland unless you will find some way to rid yourself
of him." "I never had a good man with me yet, Conan," said Finn, "but
you wanted me to put him away; and how could I put away a man like
that?" he said. "The way to put him away," said Conan, "is to send him
to the King of the Floods to take from him the great cauldron that is
never without meat, but that has always enough in it to feed the whole
world. And let him bring that cauldron back here with him to Almhuin,"
he said.

So Finn called to the Lad of the Skins, and he said: "Go from me now to
the King of the Floods and get the great cauldron that is never empty
from him, and bring it here to me." "So long as I am in your service I
must do your work," said the Lad of the Skins. With that he set out,
leaping over the hills and valleys till he came to the shore of the sea.
And then he took up two sticks and put one of them across the other, and
a great ship rose out of the two sticks. The Lad of the Skins went into
the ship then, and put up the sails and set out over the sea, and he
heard nothing but the whistling of eels in the sea and the calling of
gulls in the air till he came to the house of the King of the Floods.
And at that time there were hundreds of ships waiting near the shore;
and he left his ship outside them all, and then he stepped from ship to
ship till he stood on land.

There was a great feast going on at that time in the king's house, and
the Lad of the Skins went up to the door, but he could get no farther
because of the crowd. So he stood outside the door for a while, and no
one looked at him, and he called out at last: "This is a hospitable
house indeed, and these are mannerly ways, not to ask a stranger if
there is hunger on him or thirst." "That is true," said the king; "and
give the cauldron of plenty now to this stranger," he said, "till he
eats his fill."

So his people did that, and no sooner did the Lad of the Skins get a
hold of the cauldron than he made away to the ship and put it safe into
it. But when he had done that he said: "There is no use in taking the
pot by my swiftness, if I do not take it by my strength." And with that
he turned and went to land again. And the whole of the men of the army
of the King of the Floods were ready to fight; but if they were, so was
the Lad of the Skins, and he went through them and over them all till
the whole place was quiet.

He went back to his ship then and raised the sails and s