“Easily done:  Fer caille with his pig and his wife Cichuil.  They (the wife and the pig) are his proper instruments on the night that ye destroy Conaire King of Erin.  Alas for the guest who will run between them!  Fer caille with his pig is one of Conaire’s tabus.”

“Woe to him who shall wreak the Destruction!” says Lomna.

“Ye cannot,” quoth Ingcel.  “And after that, whom sawest thou there?”

THE ROOM OF THE THREE SONS OF BAITHIS OF BRITAIN

“There I beheld a room with three enneads in it.  Fair yellow manes upon them, and they are equally beautiful.  Each of them wore a black cape, and there was a white hood on each mantle, a red tuft on each hood, and an iron brooch at the opening of every mantle, and under each man’s cloak a huge black sword, and the swords would split a hair on water.  They bore shields with scalloped edges.  Liken thou them, O Fer rogain!”

“Easily done.  That is the robber-band of the three sons of Baithis of Britain.  Three enneads will fall by them in their first conflict, and among them they will share a man’s triumph.  And after that whom sawest thou?”

THE ROOM OF THE MIMES

“There I beheld a trio of jesters hard by the fire.  Three dun mantles they wore.  If the men of Erin were in one place, even though the corpse of his mother or his father were in front of each, not one could refrain from laughing at them.  Wheresoever the king of a cantred is in the house, not one of them attains his seat on his bed because of that trio of jesters.  Whenever the king’s eye visits them it smiles at every glance.  Liken thou that, O Fer rogain!”

“Easily done.  Mael and Mlithe and Admlithe—­those are the king of Erin’s three jesters.  By each of them a man will perish, and among them they will share a man’s triumph.”

“Woe to him that will wreak the Destruction!” says Lomna, etc.  “And after that whom sawest thou there?”

THE ROOM OF THE CUPBEARERS

“There I beheld a room with a trio in it.  Three grey-floating mantles they wore.  There was a cup of water in front of each man, and on each cup a bunch of watercress.  Liken thou that, O Fer rogain!”

“Easily done.  Black and Dun and Dark:  they are the King of Tara’s three cupbearers, to wit, the sons of Day and Night.  And after that, whom sawest thou there?”

THE ROOM OF NAR THE SQUINTER-WITH-THE-LEFT-EYE

“There I beheld a one-eyed man asquint with a ruinous eye.  A swine’s head he had on the fire, continually squealing.  Liken thou that, O Fer rogain!”

“Easy for me to name the like.  He is Nar the Squinter with the left eye, the swineherd of Bodb of the Elfmound on Femen, ’tis he that is over the cooking.  Blood hath been spilt at every feast at which he has ever been present.”