th that he made a leap on to the ship, and the two fought
a great battle together, and they took every shape; they began young
like two little boys, and fought till they were two old men; they fought
from being two young pups until they were two old dogs; from being two
young horses till they were two old horses. And then they began to fight
in the shape of birds, and it is in that shape they killed one another
at the last. And Finn threw the one bird into the water, but the other,
that was the Lad of the Skins, he brought with him in the ship. And when
he came in sight of Ireland, he raised a red flag as he had promised the
woman.

And when he came to the strand, she was there before him, and when she
saw Finn, she said: "It is dead you have brought him back to me." And
Finn gave her the bird, and she asked was that what she was to get in
the place of her husband. And she was crying over the bird, and she
brought it into a little boat with her, and she bade Finn to push out
the boat to sea.

And he pushed it out, and it was driven by wind and waves till at last
she saw two birds flying, having a dead one between them. And the two
living birds let down the dead one on an island; and it was not long
till it rose up living, and the three went away together.

And when Manannan's daughter saw that, she said: "There might be some
cure for my man on the island, the way there was for that dead bird."

And the sea brought the boat to the island, and she went searching
around, but all she could find was a tree having green leaves. "It might
be in these leaves the cure is," she said; and she took some of the
leaves and brought them to where the Lad of the Skins was, and put them
about him. And on that moment he stood up as well and as sound as ever
he was.

They went back then to Ireland, and they came to Almhuin at midnight,
and the Lad of the Skins knocked at the door, and he said: "Put me out
my wages." "There is no man, living or dead, has wages on me but the Lad
of the Skins," said Finn; "and I would sooner see him here to-night," he
said, "than the wages of three men." "If that is so, rise up and you
will see him," said he.

So Finn rose up and saw him, and gave him a great welcome, and paid him
his wages.

And after that he went away and his wife with him to wherever his own
country was; but there were some said he was gone to the country of his
wife's father, Manannan, Son of the Sea.

CHAPTER II. BLACK, B