She spoke to Caoilte then.  “Caoilte, my life,” she said, “give us leave to attend on you now.”  “Do not,” said Caoilte, “for there is a better man than myself outside, Finn, son of Cumhal, and he has a mind to eat in this house to-night.”  “Rise up, Caoilte, and go for Finn,” said a man of the house then; “for he never refused any man in his own house, and he will get no refusal from us.”

Caoilte went back then to Finn, and when Finn saw him he said:  “It is long you are away from us, Caoilte, for from the time I took arms in my hands I never had a night that put so much hardship on me as this one.”

The six of them went then into the lighted house and their shields and their arms with them.  And they sat down on the edge of a seat, and a girl having yellow hair came and brought them to a shining seat in the middle of the house, and the newest of every food, and the oldest of every drink was put before them.  And when the sharpness of their hunger and their thirst was lessened, Finn said:  “Which of you can I question?” “Question whoever you have a mind to,” said the tallest of the men that was near him.  “Who are you yourself then?” said Finn, “for I did not think there were so many champions in Ireland, and I not knowing them.”

“Those eight-and-twenty armed men you see beyond,” said the tall man, “had the one father and mother with myself; and we are the sons of Midhir of the Yellow Hair, and our mother is Fionnchaem, the fair, beautiful daughter of the King of the Sidhe of Monaid in the east.  And at one time the Tuatha de Danaan had a gathering, and gave the kingship to Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda, at his bright hospitable place, and he began to ask hostages of myself and of my brothers; but we said that till all the rest of the Men of Dea had given them, we would not give them.  Bodb Dearg said then to our father:  ’Unless you will put away your sons, we will wall up your dwelling-place on you.’  So the eight-and-twenty brothers of us came out to look for a place for ourselves; and we searched all Ireland till we found this secret hidden place, and we are here ever since.  And my own name,” he said, “is Donn, son of Midhir.  And we had every one of us ten hundred armed men belonging to himself, but they are all worn away now, and only the eight-and-twenty of us left.”  “What is it is wearing you away?” said Finn.  “The Men of Dea,” said Donn, “that come three times in every year to give battle to us on the green outside.”  “What is the long new grave we saw on the green outside?” said Finn.  “It is the grave of Diangalach, a man of enchantments of the Men of Dea; and that is the greatest loss came on them yet,” said Donn; “and it was I myself killed him,” he said.  “What loss came next to that?” said Finn.  “All the Tuatha de Danaan had of jewels and riches and treasures, horns and vessels and cups of pale gold, we took from them at the one time.”  “What was the third greatest loss they had?” said Finn.  “It was Fethnaid, daughter of Feclach, the woman-harper of the Tuatha de Danaan, their music and the delight of their minds,” said Donn.