And then Brian asked his brothers:  “What way have you a mind to get into the garden? for I think,” he said, “the king’s champions and the fighting men of the country are always guarding it, and the king himself is chief over them.”  “What should we do,” said his brothers, “but to make straight at them and attack them, and bring away the apples or fall ourselves, since we cannot escape from these dangers that are before us without meeting our death in some place.”  “It would be better,” said Brian, “the story of our bravery and our craftiness to be told and to live after us, than folly and cowardice to be told of us.  And what is best for us to do now,” he said, “is to go in the shape of swift hawks into the garden, and the watchers have but their light spears to throw at us, and let you take good care to keep out of their reach; and after they have thrown them all, make a quick flight to the apples and let each of you bring away an apple of them in your claws, and I will bring away the third.”

They said that was a good advice, and Brian struck himself and the others with his Druid rod, and changed them into beautiful hawks.  And they flew towards the garden, and the watchers took notice of them and shouted on every side of them, and threw showers of spears and darts, but the hawks kept out of their reach as Brian had bade them, till all the spears were spent, and then they swept down bravely on the apples, and brought them away with them, without so much as a wound.

And the news went through the city and the whole district, and the king had three wise, crafty daughters, and they put themselves into the shape of three ospreys, and they followed the hawks to the sea, and sent flashes of lightning before them and after them, that scorched them greatly.

“It is a pity the way we are now,” said the sons of Tuireann, “for we will be burned through and through with this lightning if we do not get some relief.”  “If I can give you relief I will do it,” said Brian.  With that he struck himself and his brothers with the Druid rod, and they were turned into three swans, and they went down quickly into the sea, and the ospreys went away from them then, and the sons of Tuireann went into their boat.

After that they consulted together, and it is what they agreed, to go to Greece and to bring away the skin of the pig, with or without leave.  So they went forward till they came near to the court of the King of Greece.

“What appearance should we put on us going in here?” said Brian.  “What appearance should we go in with but our own?” said the others.  “That is not what I think best,” said Brian; “but to go in with the appearance of poets from Ireland, the way the high people of Greece will hold us in respect and in honour.”  “It would be hard for us to do that,” they said, “and we without a poem, and it is little we know how to make one.”

However, they put the poet’s tie on their hair, and they knocked at the door of the court, and the door-keeper asked who was in it.  “We are poets of Ireland,” said Brian, “and we are come with a poem to the king.”