At this Iubdan was much dismayed, and he betook himself to Bebo his wife and told her how he was laid under bonds of chivalry by Eisirt to go to the land of the giants; and he bade her prepare to accompany him.  “I will go,” said she, “but you did an ill deed when you condemned Eisirt to prison.”

So they mounted, both of them, on the fairy steed, and in no long time they reached Emania, and it was now past midnight.  And they were greatly afraid, and said Bebo, “Let us search for that porridge and taste it, as we were bound, and make off again ere the folk awake.”

They made their way into the palace of Fergus, and soon they found a great porridge pot, but the rim was too high to be reached from the ground.  “Get thee up upon thy horse,” said Bebo, “and from thence to the rim of this cauldron.”  And thus he did, but having gained the rim of the pot his arm was too short to reach the silver ladle that was in it.  In straining downward to do so, however, he slipped and in he fell, and up to his middle in the thick porridge he stuck fast.  And when Bebo heard what a plight he was in, she wept, and said, “Rash and hasty wert thou, Iubdan, to have got into this evil case, but surely there is no man under the sun that can make thee hear reason.”  And he said, “Rash indeed it was, but thou canst not help me, Bebo, now, and it is but folly to stay; take the horse and flee away ere the day break.”  “Say not so,” replied Bebo, “for surely I will not go till I see how things fall out with thee.”

At last the folk in the palace began to be stirring, and ere long they found Iubdan in the porridge pot.

So they picked him out with great laughter bore him off to Fergus.

“By my conscience,” said Fergus, “but this is not the little fellow that was here before, for he had yellow hair, but this one hath a shock of the blackest; who art thou at all, wee man?”

“I am of the Wee Folk,” said Iubdan, “and am indeed king over them, and this woman is my wife and queen, Bebo.”

“Take him away,” then said Fergus to his varlets, “and guard him well”; for he misdoubted some mischief of Faery was on foot.

“Nay, nay,” cried Iubdan, “but let me not be with these coarse fellows.  I pledge thee my word that I will not quit this place till thou and Ulster give me leave.”

“Could I believe that,” said Fergus, “I would not put thee in bonds.”

“I have never broken my word,” said Iubdan, “and I never will.”

Then Fergus set him free and allotted him a fair chamber for himself, and a trusty servingman to wait upon him.  Soon there came in a gillie whose business it was to see to the fires, and he kindled the fire for Iubdan, throwing on it a woodbine together with divers other sorts of timber.  Then Iubdan said, “Man of smoke, burn not the king of the trees, for it is not meet to burn him.  Wouldst thou but take counsel from me thou mightest go safely by sea or land.”  Iubdan then chanted to him the following recital of the duties of his office:—­