y went
against it with Druid spells to attack it. And the Fomor worked against
them with Druid spells of their own; and the sons of Nemed attacked the
tower, and it vanished, and they thought it was destroyed. But a great
wave rose over them then, and all their ships went down and all that
were in them.

And the tower was there as it was before, and Balor living in it. And it
is the reason he was called "of the Evil Eye," there was a power of
death in one of his eyes, so that no person could look at it and live.
It is the way it got that power, he was passing one time by a house
where his father's Druids were making spells of death, and the window
being open he looked in, and the smoke of the poisonous spells was
rising up, and it went into his eye. And from that time he had to keep
it closed unless he wanted to be the death of some enemy, and then the
men that were with him would lift the eyelid with a ring of ivory.

Now a Druid foretold one time that it was by his own grandson he would
get his death. And he had at that time but one child, a daughter whose
name was Ethlinn; and when he heard what the Druid said, he shut her up
in the tower on the island. And he put twelve women with her to take
charge of her and to guard her, and he bade them never to let her see a
man or hear the name of a man.

So Ethlinn was brought up in the tower, and she grew to be very
beautiful; and sometimes she would see men passing in the currachs, and
sometimes she would see a man in her dreams. But when she would speak of
that to the women, they would give her no answer.

So there was no fear on Balor, and he went on with war and robbery as he
was used, seizing every ship that passed by, and sometimes going over to
Ireland to do destruction there.

Now it chanced at that time there were three brothers of the Tuatha de
Danaan living together in a place that was called Druim na Teine, the
Ridge of the Fire, Goibniu and Samthainn and Cian. Cian was a lord of
land, and Goibniu was the smith that had such a great name. Now Cian had
a wonderful cow, the Glas Gaibhnenn, and her milk never failed. And
every one that heard of her coveted her, and many had tried to steal her
away, so that she had to be watched night and day.

And one time Cian was wanting some swords made, and he went to Goibniu's
forge, and he brought the Glas Gaibhnenn with him, holding her by a
halter. When he came to the forge his two brothers were there together,
for Sa