et out again
for Ireland, and the ship went rushing back to the place where he made
it. And when he came there, he gave a touch of his hand to the ship, and
there was nothing left of it but the two sticks he made it from, and
they lying on the strand before him, and the cauldron of plenty with
them. And he took up the cauldron on his back, and brought it to Finn,
son of Cumhal, at Almhuin. And Finn gave him his thanks for the work he
had done.

One day, now, Finn was washing himself at the well, and a voice spoke
out of the water, and it said: "You must give back the cauldron, Finn,
to the King of the Floods, or you must give him battle in place of it."

Finn told that to the Lad of the Skins, but the answer he got from him
was that his time was up, and that he could not serve on time that was
past. "But if you want me to go with you," he said, "let you watch my
wife, that is Manannan's daughter, through the night; and in the middle
of the night, when she will be combing her hair, any request you make of
her, she cannot refuse it. And the request you will make is that she
will let me go with you to the King of the Floods, to bring the cauldron
to his house and to bring it back again."

So Finn watched Manannan's daughter through the night, and when he saw
her combing her hair, he made his request of her. "I have no power to
refuse you," she said; "but you must promise me one thing, to bring my
husband back to me, alive or dead. And if he is alive," she said, "put
up a grey-green flag on the ship coming back; but if he is dead, put up
a red flag."

So Finn promised to do that, and he himself and the Lad of the Skins set
out together for the dun of the King of the Floods, bringing the
cauldron with them.

No sooner did the king see them than he gave word to all his armies to
make ready. But the Lad of the Skins made for them and overthrew them,
and he went into the king's dun, and Finn with him, and they overcame
him and brought away again the cauldron that was never empty.

But as they were going back to Ireland, they saw a great ship coming
towards them. And when the Lad of the Skins looked at the ship, he said:
"I think it is an old enemy of my own is in that ship, that is trying to
bring me to my death, because of my wife that refused him her love." And
when the ship came alongside, the man that was in it called out: "I know
you well, and it is not by your dress I know you, son of the King of the
Hills." And wi