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The House in the Lake
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•La casa en el lago.
•Un cuento popular irlandés de Edmund Leamy.

•Hace mucho, mucho tiempo, vivían en una pequeña cabaña, en medio de uno de los lagos interiores de Erin, un viejo pescador y su hijo. •La cabaña se construyó sobre estacas clavadas en el lecho del lago, y estaba tan por encima de las aguas que incluso cuando el viento que bajaba de las montañas las agitaba formando olas no llegaban al umbral de la puerta. •Alrededor, fuera de la cabaña, a nivel del suelo, había una pequeña plataforma de mimbre, y debajo de la plataforma, cerca de los escalones que subían desde el agua, estaba amarrada la barca del pescador, hecha de sauces y cubierta de pieles, y era solo por medio de la barca que él y su hijo, Enda, podían abandonar su morada en el lago.

•Muchas noches de verano Enda se tendía a la larga en la plataforma a mirar la puesta de sol disipándose por las cimas de las montañas, y el crepúsculo deslizándose sobre las aguas del lago, y ocurrió que una vez, cuando estaba tan absorto, oyó un crujido en una mata de juncos que crecía cerca de un lado de la cabaña. •Se volvió hacia el lugar de donde venía el sonido, y qué sería lo que vio sino una nutria nadando hacia él, con una truchita en la boca. •Cuando la nutria pasó por donde Enda estaba acostado, sacó la cabeza y medio cuerpo del agua, y lanzó la trucha a la plataforma, casi a los pies de Enda, y luego desapareció.

•Enda cogió la truchita jadeante en su mano; pero al hacerlo oyó, muy próximo a él, en el lago, un sonido como el del agua salpicando sobre agua, y vio los círculos crecientes causados por una trucha que acababa de surgir volando; y le dijo a la truchita que sujetaba en la mano: "No quiero quedarme contigo, ¡pobrecita! •Tal vey era esa una pequeña compañera que vino a buscarte, así que te devolveré con ella". Y, diciendo esto, dejó caer la truchita en el lago.

•Bueno, cuando vino la noche siguiente, Enda estaba de nuevo acostado fuera de la cabaña, y otra vez escuchó el crujido en la juncia, y una vez más la nutria salió y lanzó la pequeña trucha casi en sus manos.

•Enda, más sorprendido que nunca, no sabía que hacer. •Vio que era la misma pequeña trucha que la nutria había traído anoche, y dijo:'' Bueno, te dí una oportunidad anoche. •Voy a darte otra, sólo para ver lo que saldrá de esto.'' Y dejó caer la trucha en el lago; pero tan pronto como hubo tocado el agua se transformó en un hermoso cisne blanco. •Y Enda casi no podía creer sus ojos, cuando le vió volar cruzando el lago, hasta que se perdió el la juncia creciendo en la orilla.

•Se quedó despierto toda esta noche, pensando en lo que había visto, y apenas la mañana tocaba las colinas, y proyectaba sus ejes de luz de oro a través del lago, Enda se levantó y subió en su barco.

•Remó a lo largo de toda la costa, batiendo los juncos con su remo, en busca del cisne; pero todo en vano; no pudo vislumbrar su blanco plumaje por ninguna parte. •Día tras día remó por el lago en su busca, y todas las tardes se tendía fuera de la cabaña a mirar las aguas. •Por fin, una noche, cuando la luna llena, surgiendo por encima de las montañas, inundó todo el lago de luz, vio al cisne viniendo rápidamente hacia él, brillando más luminoso que los rayos de luna. •El cisne continuó hasta que estuvo casi a una distancia de la longitud de una lancha de la cabaña; y qué oiría Enda más que al cisne hablándole en su propia lengua: "Sube a tu barca, Enda, y sígueme", le dijo y, dicho esto, se dio la vuelta y zarpó.

•Enda saltó dentro de la barca y pronto el agua que goteaba de su remo lanzaba destellos como diamantes a la luz de la luna. •Y remó tras del cisne, que se deslizaba delante de él, hasta que llegó al lugar en que las sombras de las montañas se extendían más profundas en el lago. •Entonces el cisne se paró, y cuando Enda llegó hasta él, le dijo: "Enda, te he traído a donde nadie puede oír lo que te quiero decir. •Yo soy Mave, la hija del rey Erin. •Por las artes mágicas de mi cruel madrastra fui transformada en una trucha, y arrojada a este lago un año y un día antes de la tarde en que me devolviste a las aguas por segunda vez. •Si no lo hubieras hecho la primera noche que la nutria me llevó a ti, me habría transformado en un búho ululante; si no lo hubieras hecho la segunda noche, me habría transformado en cuervo graznador. •Pero, gracias a ti, Enda, soy ahora un cisne blanco como la nieve, y, por una hora, en la primera noche de cada luna llena se me da y me será dada la facultad del habla todo el tiempo en que siga siendo un cisne. •Y he de seguir siendo un cisne, a menos que tú quieras romper el hechizo del encanto que pesa sobre mí; y solo tú puedes romperlo". "Haré todo lo que pueda por ti. •¡Oh princesa!", dijo Enda. •"¿Pero cómo puedo romper el hechizo?" "Puedes hacerlo", dijo el cisne, "solo si derramas sobre mi plumaje el agua perfumada que llena el cuenco dorado que está en la habitación más secreta del palacio de la reina de las hadas, debajo del lago". "¿Y cómo puedo conseguirlo?", dijo Enda.

•"Bueno", dijo el cisne, "tienes que bucear debajo del lago y caminar por su fondo, hasta que llegues a dónde el dragón del lago guarda la entrada de los dominios de la reina de las hadas". "Puedo bucear como un pez", dijo Enda; "¿pero cómo puedo caminar por debajo de las aguas?". "Puedes hacerlo bastante fácilmente", dijo el cisne, "si consigues el vestido de agua de Brian, uno de los tres hijos de Turenn, y su casco de cristal transparente, con la ayuda de los cuales él fue capaz de caminar bajo el verde mar salado". "¿Y dónde los encontraré?". "Están en el palacio de agua de Angus de los Boyne", dijo el cisne; "pero deberías partir de una vez, porque si el hechizo no se rompe antes de que vuelva a haber luna llena, no puede romperse por un año y un día más". "Saldré con el primer rayo de la mañana!, dijo Enda.

•"Que la suerte y la alegría te acompañen", dijo el cisne.

•"Y ahora se me acercan las horas del silencio, y solo tengo tiempo de advertirte de que peligros que no puedes ni imaginanarte te acecharán en tu búsqueda del cuenco dorado". "Estoy deseoso de enfrentar todos los peligros por tu bien, oh princesa", dijo Enda.

•"Bendito seas, Enda", dijo el cisne, y navegó lejos desde la sombra hacia fuera en la luz a través del lago a las lomas de juncos. •Y Enda no la vio más.

•Remó su barca a casa, y se acostó en su cama sin quitarse la ropa. •Y cuando el primer destello débil de la mañana llegaba bajando las montañas, él subió en su barco y remó a través del lago, y tomó el camino hacia el palacio de agua de Angus de Boyne.

•Cuando alcanzó las costas del rio brillante una pequeña mujer, vestida de rojo, estaba de pie allí frente a él.

•"Eres bienvenido, Enda", dijo. •''Y estoy feliz de ver el día que te trae aquí para ayudar a la atractiva Princesa Mave. •Y ahora espera un segundo, y el vestido de agua y el casco de cristal estarán listos para tí.'' Y, dicho esto, la pequeña mujer sacó un puñado de hierbas salvajes y sopló tres veces sobre ellas y las arrojó en el rio, y una docena de ninfas mágicas surgieron a través del agua, llevando el vestido de agua, el casco de cristal y una lanza brillante. •Y los colocaron en la orilla a los pies de Enda, y desaparecieron.

•''Ahora, Enda'', dijo la hada, ''tómalos; puedes caminar debajo del agua con la ayuda del vestido y del casco. •Necesitarás la lanza para permitirte hacer frente a los peligros que tienes por delante. •Pero con esta lanza, sólo con que tengas valor, podrás superarlo todo y a todos los que puedan intentar obstruir tu camino". Dicho esto, se despidió de Enda, y bajando de la orilla, salió flotando por el río tan ligeramente como una hoja de amapola roja. •Y cuando llegó al medio de la corriente desapareció bajo las aguas.

•Enda se llevó el casco, el vestido y la lanza, y no tardó mucho en llegar las orillas cubiertas de junco donde su pequeño bote lo estaba esperando. •Cuando puso un pie en la barca la luna estaba saliendo sobre las montañas. •Remó hasta que llegó a la cabaña, y después de amarrar la barca a la puerta, se puso el vestido de agua y el casco de cristal, y tomando la lanza en la mano, saltó sobre el borde de la embarcación y se hundió más y más hasta que tocó el fondo. •Entonces caminó sin importarle hacia dónde estaba yendo y la única luz que tenía era la centelleante luz de la luna, que descendía tan débilmente a través de las aguas como si pasara a través de cristal esmerilado. •No había ido muy lejos cuando oyó un horrible silbido, y vio delante de él lo que pensó que serían dos carbones llameantes.

•A los pocos pasos se encontró a sí mismo frente a frente con el dragón del lago, el guardián del palacio de la reina de las hadas. •Antes de que tuviera tiempo de levantar su lanza, el dragó había enrollado las espirales a su alrededor, y oyó sus terribles dientes crujiendo contra el lado del casco de cristal, y sintió la presión de las espirales alrededor de su lado y el soplo casi quitó su cuerpo; pero el dragón, incapable de perforar el casco, desarrolló sus espirales, y enseguida, las manos de Enda fueron libres, y antes de que el dragón pudiera tratar de tomarlo otra vez, él clavó su lanza a través de uno de sus ojos de fuego y, retorciéndose de dolor, el dragón silbando se cruzó a través de la cueva trás él. •Enda, ganando coraje por la huida del dragón, caminó hasta que llegó a una puerta de latón sin brillo fijada en la piedra. •Trató de empujarla ante él, pero podría tan bien haber intentado apartar las piedras. •Mientras se preguntaba lo que tendría que hacer, escuchó otra vez el feroz silbido del dragón, y vio el rojo fulgor de su ojo de fuego tenuemente en el agua.

•Al levantar su lanza y darse la vuelta rápidamente para encontrarse con el monstruo furioso, Enda accidentalmente tocó la puerta con la punta de la lanza, y la puerta se abrió de golpe. •Enda pasó, y la puerta se cerró tras él con un sonido chirriante, y avanzó a través de un paso rocoso que conducía a una llanura arenosa.

•Mientras salía del paso hacia la llanura, las arenas comenzaron a moverse, como si estuvieran vivas. •En un segundo, un millar de serpientes horribles, casi del color de la arena, se alzaron siseando, y con sus lenguas bífidas formaron un cerco horrible y venenoso frente a él. •Por un segundo se quedó consternado, pero luego, levantando su lanza, se precipitó contra el cerco de serpientes, y ellas, lanzándole veneno, se hundieron bajo la arena. •Pero el veneno no lo dañó, debido a su vestido de agua y su casco de cristal.

•Tras haber pasado toda la llanura de arena, tenía que escalar una escarpada roca puntiaguda. •Cuando llegó a la cima de la roca vio extendido frente a él, un desierto pedregoso sin ningúna mata ni brizna de hierba. •A cierta distancia frente a él notó un gran objeto oscuro, que tomó por una roca, pero al mirarlo más detenidamente vio que era una masa gigante, deforme, hinchada, aparentemente con vida. •Y se estaba haciendo cada vez más y más grande. •Enda quedó fascinado a su vista y, antes de que él supiera dónde estaba, la asquerosa criatura surgió del suelo y saltó sobre él antes de que pudiera usar su lanza y, atrapándolo en su horrible apretón, lo arrojó hacia atrás sobre las rocas a la llanura de arena. •Enda estaba casi aturdido, pero el silbido de las serpientes surgiendo de la arena a su alrededor lo hizo volver en sí y, saltando a sus pies, una vez más las condujo hacia debajo de la superficie.

•Luego se acercó de la roca puntiaguda, en cuya cima vio al inmundo monstruo mirándolo con ojos inyectados. •Enda preparó su lanza y la arrojó hacia su enemigo. •Entró entre los ojos del monstruo, y la sangre fluyó desde la herida como un torrente negro y tiñó el llano, y la carcasa reducida se deslizó por el frente de las rocas y desapareció bajo la arena. •Enda subió una vez más a la roca y sin encontrar ni ver nada, atravesó el desierto pedregoso y, por fin llegó a un bosque frondoso. •No había ido muy lejos en el bosque cuando oyó el sonido de una música de hadas, y caminando llegó a un claro cubierto de musgo y allí encontró a las hadas bailando alrededor de la reina. •Eran tan pequeñas y estaban tan espléndidamente vestidas, que parecían una masa de flores ondulantes; pero cuando lo vieron se desvanecieron como un sueño magnífico y solo la reina de las hadas permaneció ante él. •La reina se sonrojó al encontrarse sola, pero al dar tres patadas en el suelo con su piececito, volvieron deslizándose todas las asustadas hadas.

•"Eres bienvenido, Enda", dijo la reina. •"Mis pequeños súbditos se han alarmado por tu extraño traje y tu casco de cristal. •Te pido que te los quites; no los necesitas aquí". Enda hizo lo que se le pedía, y depositó su traje de agua y su casco en la hierba, y las pequeñas hadas, viéndolo en su propia forma, superaron su temor, y, libes de ataduras por la presencia de la reina, corrieron revolcándose entre ellas para probar y echar una buena mirada al casco de cristal.

•"Sé para que has venido, Enda", dijo la reina. •"El cuenco dorado lo obtendrás mañana; pero esta noche tienes que compartir nuestra fiesta, así que sígueme al palacio". Dicho esto, la reina hizo señas a sus pajes para que vinieran y acompañada por ellos y seguida por Enda, se adentró en el bosque. •Cuando lo habían dejado tras ellos Enda vio, en una verde colina ante él, el palacio blanco como la nieve de la reina de las hadas.

•Mientras la reina se acercaba a la escalera que conducía a la puerta abierta, salió un grupo de pequeñas hadas vestidas de seda color de rosa llevando cestas de flores que lanzaron en los escalones para hacer una fragrante alfombra para ella. •Eran seguidas por un grupo de arpistas vestidos con togas de seda amarilla, que se alinearon a cada lado de los escalones y tocaron una música muy dulce mientras ascendía la reina .

•Cuando la reina entró el palacio, seguida por Enda, pasaron a través de una sala de cristal que conducía a la sala de banquetes. •La sala estaba illuminada por una sola estrella, tan grande como un escudo. •Estaba colgada contra la pared encima de un trono de diamante.

•La reina se sentó en el trono, y los pajes avanzando hacia ella e inclinendose, cuando se acercaban a los escalones le dieron una vara dorada.

•La reina agitó la varita tres veces y una la mesa cargada de todo tipo de delicias apareció sobre el suelo. •Después, le hizo señas a Enda para que se acercara a ella y cuando él se puso a su lado, la mesa no era más alta que su rodilla.

•''Me temo que debo reducirte, Enda'' dijo la reina, ''sino nunca podrías sentarte a mi mesa de hada.'' y dicho esto, ella tocó a Enda con su varita de oro ,y de golpe él se volvió tan pequeño como su paje más grande . •Entonces ella golpeó los escalones de su trono y todos los nobles de su corte, encabezados por sus bardos, tomaron sus lugares en la mesa festiva.

•La fiesta siguió muy alegremente, y cuando los pequeños vasos enjoyados se colocaron sobre la mesa, la reina ordenó tocar a los arpistas.

•Y los pequeños arpistas tocaron los acordes, mientras Enda escuchaba la música, le pareció que lo levantaban lentamente de su asiento, y cuando la música terminó, las hadas desaparecieron, la estrella brillante se apagó y Enda estaba en completa oscuridad.

•El aire soplaba intensamente en su cara, y no sabía donde estaba. •Por fin vio una débil luz gris, y pronto esta luz se hizo más generalizada y más brillante, y cuando las sombras se desvanecían ante él, apenas pudo dar crédito a sus ojos cuando se encontró a sí mismo en su barca en el lago, y la luz de la luna transmitiéndose desde las cimas de las montañas.

•Por un momento pensó que tenía que haber estado soñando; pero allí en la barca delante de él estaban el casco de cristal y el vestido de agua, y la lanza resplandeciente, y el cuenco dorado de agua perfumada que debería eliminar el hechizo del encanto del cisne blanco del lago, y, navegando hacia él desde el islote de juncos, llegó el cisne blanco como la nieve; y cuando tocó el bote, Enda extendió sus manos y lo subió, y entonces vertió el agua perfumada del cuenco dorado sobre su plumaje, y la princesa Mave en toda su belleza de doncella apareció ante él.

•"Toma tu remo, Enda", dijo ella, "y rema hasta el islote al sur". Enda agarró su remo, y su barca corrió a través de las aguas más rápida que una golondrina en su vuelo. •Cuando la barca tocó la costa Enda saltó fuera, y levantó la princesa hasta el islote.

•"Envia tu barco a la deriva, Enda", ella dijo; ' pero primero saca tu lanza brillante; el vestido de agua y el casco de cristal se cuidarán solos". Enda sacó la lanza y empujó el bote desde la orilla. •Se fue velozmente hacia la cabaña del medio del lago; pero antés de llegar a la mitad, seis ninfas surgieron del agua y tomando el casco y el vestido, se hundieron con ellos bajo la marea y el barco continuó hasta que su proa empujó contra las escaleras de la pequeña cabaña, donde se quedó.

•Entonces Enda y la princesa giraron hacia el sur, y no pasó mucho tiempo hasta que llegaron a un bosque profundo, que estaba replegando sus sombras y extendiendo sus claros cubiertos de musgo ante los oblicuos pasos de la mañana. •No habían ido demasiado lejos a través del bosque cuando oyeron el sonido de los sabuesos y los gritos de los cazadores, y vieron un feroz jabalí que se precipitaba contra ellos a través de las ramas bajas. •Enda, empujando suavemente a la princesa detrás de él, niveló su lanza, y cuando el jabalí se acercó a él, se la clavó en la garganta. •La bestia cayó muerta a sus pies, y los perros corriendo comenzaron a despedazarla. •La princesa se desvaneció al verlo, y mientras Enda intentaba que se recuperase, apareció el rey de Erin, seguido por sus cazadores, y cuando el rey vio a la princesa, se sobresaltó al reconocer las facciones de su hija Mave.

•En ese momento, la princesa se recuperó y su padre, levantándola tiernamente en sus brazos, la besó una y otra vez.

•"He llevado luto porque pensaba que estabas muerta, querida'' dijo él, y ahora vuelves a mí más preciosa que nunca. •Habría dejado mi trono con gusto por esto. •¿Pero dime quién es el campeón que te ha traído hasta aquí y que ha matado al jabalí que hemos perseguido por años en vano?'' La princesa se sonrojó como una rosa y dijo: ''Su nombre es Enda, padre; es él quien me ha traído de vuelta hasta ti.'' Entonces, el rey abrazó a Enda y dijo: '' Perdóname, Enda, por hacerte preguntas antes de que hayas compartido la hospitalidad de mi corte. •Mi palacio está detrás del bosque y pronto llegaremos a él". Entonces el rey ordenó a sus cazadores tocar la corneta, y todos sus nobles galoparon hacia ellos en respuesta, y cuando vieron a la princesa Mave se quedaron tan deslumbrados por su belleza que apenas dedicaron un pensamiento a la muerte del jabalí.

•"Es mi hija, Mave, de vuelta conmigo", dijo el rey.

•Y todos los nobles bajaron sus lanzas y se inclinaron en homenaje a la dama.
•"Y aquí está el campeón que la trajo a casa", dijo el rey, señalando a Enda.

•Los nobles miraron a Enda, y se inclinaron cortésmente, pero en sus corazones estaban celosos del campeón, porque vieron que era ya el favorito del rey.

•Entonces vinieron los pajes, llevando corceles blancos como la leche con bridas doradas, y el rey, ordenando a Enda montar uno de ellos, subió a Mave en el suyo, y se montó detrás de ella. •Los pajes, llevando la cabeza del jabalí en un escudo hueco, precedidos por los cazadores tocando sus cuernos, partieron hacia el palacio, y la partida real los siguió.

•Cuando la procesión se aproximó al palacio las multitudes vinieron volando para ver los trofeos de caza, y a través de la puerta blanca como la nieve apareció la reina, la cruel madrastra de Mave, atendida por sus damas de honor y los bardos reales, para saludar al rey. •Pero cuando vio sentada ante él a la princesa Mave, que ella pensaba que estaba en el fondo del lago bajo el hechizo del encantamiento, profirió un fuerte grito y cayó al suelo sin sentido.

•EL rey saltó de su caballo, y corriendo hacia la reina, la levantó y la llevó en sus brazos a sus aposentos, porque no sospechaba de la crueldad de que ella era culpable.

•Y se reunieron las sanguijuelas de la corte para asistirla, pero murió esa misma noche, y la princesa Mave no contó a su padre la crueldad de su madrastra hasta que un montículo verde, digno de una reina de Erin, se había elevado sobre la tumba. •Y cuando ella le contó la historia completa de cómo Enda había roto el hechizo de encantamiento, y de los peligros a los que se había enfrentado por ella, el rey reunió una asamblea de todos sus nobles y, sentado en su trono, llevando su yelmo dorado, con los bardos a su mano derecha y los druidas a su izquierda, y los nobles en fila delante de él con yelmos resplandecientes y refulgentes lanzas, les contó la historia de la princesa y del servicio que le había prestado Enda.

•"Y ahora", dijo el rey, "si la princesa está deseosa de tomar por esposo a su libertador, yo estoy deseoso de que ella sea su esposa; y si vosotros, mis súbditos, bardos y druidas y nobles y jefes de Erin, tenéis algo que decir en contra de esta unión, hablad". •Pero primero, Mave", dijo el rey, atrayendo a la ruborizada princesa hacia él, "habla, querida, como corresponde a la hija de un rey, habla en la presencia de los nobles de Erin y di si es tu deseo ser la futura esposa de Enda". La princesa rodeó con sus blancos brazos el cuello de su padre, mientras murmuraba: "Padre, fue Enda quien me trajo de vuelta a ti, y antes que todos los príncipes y nobles de Erin quiero ser su esposa". Y puso su cabeza en el pecho del rey y, mientras él acariciaba sus cabellos de seda que le llegaban a los pies, los bardos tocaron sus arpas doradas, pero el sonido de la alegre música apenas podía ahogar los murmullos de los celosos nobles.

•Cuando cesó la música el rey hizo señas a Enda para que se acercara, y justo iba a colocar su mano en la de Mave cuando un druida, cuya barba blanca casi tocaba el suelo y que había sido un favorito de la madrastra muerta y por ella odiaba a Mave, dio unos pasos hacia delante y dijo: "Oh rey de Erin, nunca hasta ahora fue dada la hija de un rey libremente como esposa a nadie que no fuera un campeón en las batallas; y este muchacho nunca ha golpeado con su lanza un escudo de un guerrero". Un murmullo de aprobación subió de las filas y dijo: "¡El druida dice la verdad, oh rey! •Este muchacho no se ha enfrentado a un campeón de batalla todavía y, hablando por todos los nobles de tu país, le reto a luchar con uno de nosotros; y puesto que es joven y no habituado a las armas, deseamos que el más joven e inexperto entre nosotros sea puesto contra él". Cuando Congal hubo hablado, los nobles, en aprobación a sus palabras, golpearon sus escudos con sus espadas y el ruido desvergonzado ascendió a los cielos.
•La cara de la princesa, sonrojada un momento antes como una rosa, se puso tan blanca como un lirio; pero el color volvió a sus mejillas cuando oyó la voz de Enda sonando fuerte y clara.

•"Es cierto, ¡oh rey!", dijo, "que nunca he usado mi lanza en batalla todavía. •El príncipe Congal me ha retado a encontrar al más joven y menos experimentado de los jefes de Erin. •Ya he arriesgado mi vida por tu hija. •Yo enfrentaría mil veces la muerte por la oportunidad de ganarla por esposa; pero menospreciaría la petición de su mano si no me atreviera a encontrarme con el más valiente campeón de batalla de los nobles de Erin, y aquí ante vosotros, oh rey y bardos, druidas y nobles y jefes de Erin, y aquí, en presencia de Lady Mave, yo reto al más valiente de todos ellos". Los ojos del rey se iluminaron de alegría cuando escuchó las valientes palabras de Enda.

•"Está bien", dijo el rey; "el torneo tendrá lugar mañana en el césped afuera de las puertas de nuestro palacio; pero antes que se disuelva nuestra asamblea os apelo, nobles y jefes de Erin, a nombrar al más valiente campeón". Fuertes gritos de "¡Congal! •¡Congal!" respondieron al discurso del rey.

•"¿Estás dispuesto, Congal?", preguntó el rey.

•"¡Dispuesto, oh rey!, respondió Congal.

•"Está bien", dijo el rey. •"Nos encontraremos todos de nuevo esta noche en nuestra sala de banquetes". Y el rey, con la princesa Mave del brazo, atendido por sus bardos y druidas, entró en el palacio y los jefes y nobles siguieron cada uno su camino.

•En el festín esa noche la princesa se sentó al lado del rey y Enda al lado de la princesa y los bardos y druidas, nobles y jefes, ocuparon sus lugares en el orden debido. •Y los bardos cantaron canciones de amor y batalla, y nunca transcurrieron horas más felices que las pasadas esa noche en la sala de banquetes del rey de Erin.

•Cuando hubo acabado el festín Enda se retiró a su aposento a pasar la noche soñando con la princesa Mave, y Congal fue a su alojamiento; pero no a dormir ni a soñar, porque el druida que había incitado al combate vino a él trayendo su vara mágica dorada, y el druida pasó la noche lanzando hechizos para encantar el escudo y la lanza y el yelmo de Congal, para hacerle invulnerable en la batalla del día siguiente.

•Pero mientras Enda yacía soñando con la princesa Mave, la pequeña hada que le dio el vestido de agua, el casco de cristal, y la lanza brillante en las orillas del Boyne, se deslizó en su habitación, y colocó al lado de su cama un casco plateado y un escudo de plata. •Y frotó el casco, el escudo, la hoja azul y el mango de su lanza con el jugo de las bayas rojas de serbal, y dejó caer una gota sobre su rostro y sus manos, y luego salió tan silenciosamente como llegó.

•Cuando rompió la mañana, Enda saltó de su cama, y apenas podía dar credito a sus ojos cuando vio el escudo plateado y el casco. •Al verlos, anheló la hora de la batalla, y observó con mirada ansiosa el sol que subía al cielo; y, después de horas de incertidumbre, oyó el sonido de la trompeta y el estruendo metálico de los escudos huecos, golpeados por las lanzas de punta dura.

•Poniéndose el casco y atando el escudo a su brazo izquierdo y cogiendo la lanza con su mano derecha avanzó valientemente hacia la lucha. •El borde del césped ante las puertas del palacio estaba rodeado por los príncipes, nobles y jefes de Erin. •Y los muros del palacio estaban atestados de todas las bellezas de la corte y todas las nobles damas del país. •Y en su trono, rodeado por sus druidas, sus brehones y sus bardos, estaba el rey de Erin y a sus pies se sentaba la encantadora Lady Mave.

•Cuando Enda salió al césped, vio a Congal avanzando de las filas de los nobles y los dos campeones se aproximaron hasta que se encontraron justo en frente del trono.

•Entonces los dos se volvieron hacia el trono, y se inclinaron ante el rey y la princesa Mave; y entonces de nuevo uno frente al otro, dejaron un espacio por medio, y cuando sus lanzas estuvieron preparadas, listas para la batalla, el rey dio la señal, que fue respondida por el sonido metálico de escudos golpeados, y Congal y Enda lanzaron sus relucientes lanzas. •Destellaron como rayos en el aire iluminado por el sol, y en un segundo la lanza de Congal se había roto contra el escudo de Enda; pero la de Enda, perforando el casco de Congal, lo lanzó sin sentido a la llanura.

•Los nobles y los jefes apenas podían comprender que en ese único segundo su campeón más audaz hubiera sido derrocado; pero cuando lo vieron tendido inmóvil en el césped, avanzaron de sus filas seis guerreros hacia donde yacía el jefe, y tristemente se lo llevaron sobre sus escudos de batalla y Edna permaneció victorioso en el campo.

•Y entonces se oyó la voz del rey clara como el sonido de una trompeta en la quietud de la mañana: "Bardos y brehones, príncipes y nobles y jefes de Erin, Enda se ha mostrado como un campeón de batalla y ¿quién entre vosotros negará ahora su derecho a pretender a mi hija por esposa?" Y no llegó ninguna respuesta.

•Pero cuando convocó a Enda a su trono, y puso la mano de la dama en la suya, una ovación surgió de la gran asamblea, que probaba que los celos se habían extinguido en los corazones y que todos creían que Enda era merecedor de la encantadora esposa; y nunca desde ese día, a pesar de que han transcurrido mil años, hubo en el mundo entero una boda más radiante y dichosa que la boda de Enda y la princesa Mave.
unit 1
The House in the Lake.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 2
An Irish folktale by Edmund Leamy.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 3
A long, long time ago, there lived in a little hut, in the midst of one of the inland lakes of Erin, an old fisherman and his son.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 4
The hut was built on stakes driven into the bed of the lake, and was so high above the waters that even when they were stirred into waves by the wind coming down from the mountains they did not reach the threshold of the door.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 5
Around, outside the hut, on a level with the floor, was a little wicker-work platform, and under the platform, close to the steps leading up to it from the water, the fisherman’s curragh, made of willows, covered with skins, was moored, and it was only by means of the curragh that he and his son, Enda, could leave their lake dwelling.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 6
On many a summer evening Enda lay stretched on the platform, watching the sunset fading from the mountain-tops, and the twilight creeping over the waters of the lake, and it chanced that once when he was so engaged he heard a rustle in a clump of sedge that grew close to one side of the hut.
3 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 7
He turned to where the sound came from, and what should he see but an otter swimming towards him, with a little trout in his mouth.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 8
When the otter came up to where Enda was lying, he lifted his head and half his body from the water, and flung the trout on the platform, almost at Enda’s feet, and then disappeared.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 9
Enda took the little panting trout in his hand; but as he did so he heard, quite close to him, in the lake, a sound like that of water plashing upon water, and he saw the widening circles caused by a trout which had just risen to a fly; and he said to the little trout he held in his hand: “I won’t keep you, poor thing!
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 10
Perhaps that was a little comrade come to look for you, and so I’ll send you back to him.” And saying this, he dropped the little trout into the lake.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 11
Well, when the next evening came, again Enda was lying stretched outside the hut, and once more he heard the rustle in the sedge, and once more the otter came and flung the little trout almost into his hands.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 12
Enda, more surprised than ever, did not know what to do.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 13
He saw that it was the same little trout the otter had brought him the night before, and he said: “Well, I gave you a chance last night.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 14
I’ll give you another, if only to see what will come of it.” And he dropped the trout into the lake; but no sooner had it touched the waters than it was changed into a beautiful, milk-white swan.
4 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 15
And Enda could hardly believe his eyes, as he saw it sailing across the lake, until it was lost in the sedges growing by the shore.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 16
All that night he lay awake, thinking of what he had seen, and as soon as the morning stood on the hill-tops, and cast its shafts of golden light across the lake, Enda rose and got into his curragh.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 17
He rowed all round the shores, beating the sedges with his oar, in pursuit of the swan; but all in vain; he could not catch a glimpse of her white plumage anywhere.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 18
Day after day he rowed about the lake in search of her, and every evening he lay outside the hut watching the waters.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 19
At long last, one night, when the full moon, rising above the mountains, flooded the whole lake with light, he saw the swan coming swiftly towards him, shining brighter than the moonbeams.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 20
The swan came on until it was almost within a boat’s length of the hut; and what should Enda hear but the swan speaking to him in his own language: “Get into your curragh, Enda, and follow me,” said she, and, saying this, she turned round and sailed away.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 21
Enda jumped into the curragh, and soon the water, dripping from his oar, was flashing like diamonds in the moonlight.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 22
And he rowed after the swan, who glided on before him, until she came to where the shadows of the mountains lay deepest on the lake.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 23
Then the swan rested, and when Enda came up to her: “Enda,” said she, “I have brought you where none may hear what I wish to say to you.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 24
I am Mave, the daughter of the king of Erin.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 25
By the magic arts of my cruel stepmother I was changed into a trout, and cast into this lake a year and a day before the evening when you restored me to the waters the second time.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 26
If you had not done so the first night the otter brought me to you I should have been changed into a hooting owl; if you had not done so the second night, I should have been changed into a croaking raven.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 27
But, thanks to you, Enda, I am now a snow-white swan, and for one hour on the first night of every full moon the power of speech is and will be given to me as long as I remain a swan.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 28
And a swan I must always remain, unless you are willing to break the spell of enchantment that is over me; and you alone can break it.” “I’ll do anything I can for you.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 29
O princess!” said Enda.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 30
“But how can I break the spell?” “You can do so,” said the swan, “only by pouring upon my plumage the perfumed water that fills the golden bowl that is in the inmost room of the palace of the fairy queen, beneath the lake.” “And how can I get that?” said Enda.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 31
“Well,” said the swan, “you must dive beneath the lake, and walk along its bed, until you come to where the lake dragon guards the entrance of the fairy queen’s dominions.” “I can dive like a fish,” said Enda; “but how can I walk beneath the waters?” “You can do it easily enough,” said the swan, “if you get the water-dress of Brian, one of the three sons of Turenn, and his helmet of transparent crystal, by the aid of which he was able to walk under the green salt sea.” “And where shall I find them?” “They are in the water-palace of Angus of the Boyne,” said the swan; “but you should set out at once, for if the spell be not broken before the moon is full again, it cannot be broken for a year and a day.” “I’ll set out in the first ray of the morning,” said Enda.
2 Translations, 5 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 32
“May luck and joy go with you,” said the swan.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 33
“And now the hours of silence are coming upon me, and I have only time to warn you that dangers you little dream of will lie before you in your quest for the golden cup.” “I am willing to face all dangers for your sake, O princess,” said Enda.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 34
“Blessings be upon you, Enda,” said the swan, and she sailed away from the shadow out into the light across the lake to the sedgy banks.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 35
And Enda saw her no more.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 36
He rowed his curragh home, and he lay on his bed without taking off his clothes.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 37
And as the first faint glimmer of the morning came slanting down the mountains, he stepped into his curragh and pulled across the lake, and took the road towards the water-palace of Angus of the Boyne.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 38
When he reached the banks of the glancing river a little woman, dressed in red, was standing there before him.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 39
“You are welcome, Enda,” said she.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 40
“And glad am I to see the day that brings you here to help the winsome Princess Mave.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 41
And now wait a second, and the water-dress and crystal helmet will be ready for you.” And, having said this, the little woman plucked a handful of wild grasses, and she breathed upon them three times and then flung them on the river, and a dozen fairy nymphs came springing up through the water, bearing the water-dress and crystal helmet and a shining spear.
3 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 42
And they laid them down upon the bank at Enda’s feet, and then disappeared.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 43
“Now, Enda,” said the fairy woman, “take these; by the aid of the dress and the helmet you can walk beneath the waters.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 44
You will need the spear to enable you to meet the dangers that lie before you.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 45
But with that spear, if you only have courage, you can overcome everything and everyone that may attempt to bar your way.” Having said this, she bid good-bye to Enda, and stepping off the bank, she floated out upon the river as lightly as a red poppy leaf.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 46
And when she came to the middle of the stream she disappeared beneath the waters.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 47
Enda took the helmet, dress, and spear, and it was not long until he came to the sedgy banks where his little boat was waiting for him.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 48
As he stepped into the curragh the moon was rising above the mountains.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 49
He rowed on until he came to the hut, and having moored the boat to the door, he put on the water-dress and the crystal helmet, and taking the spear in his hand, he leaped over the side of the curragh, and sank down and down until he touched the bottom.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 50
Then he walked along without minding where he was going, and the only light he had was the shimmering moonlight, which descended as faintly through the waters as if it came through muffled glass.
1 Translations, 5 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 51
He had not gone very far when he heard a horrible hissing, and straight before him he saw what he thought were two flaming coals.
1 Translations, 5 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 52
After a few more steps he found himself face to face with the dragon of the lake, the guardian of the palace of the fairy queen.
2 Translations, 5 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 53
Before he had time to raise his spear, the dragon had wound its coils around him, and he heard its horrible teeth crunching against the side of his crystal helmet, and he felt the pressure of its coils around his side, and the breath almost left his body; but the dragon, unable to pierce the helmet, unwound his coils, and soon Enda’s hands were free, and before the dragon could attempt to seize him again, he drove his spear through one of its fiery eyes, and, writhing with pain, the hissing dragon darted through a cave behind him.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 54
Enda, gaining courage from the dragon’s flight, marched on until he came to a door of dull brass set in the rocks.
3 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 55
He tried to push it in before him, but he might as well have tried to push away the rocks.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 56
While he was wondering what he should do, he heard again the fierce hissing of the dragon, and saw the red glare of his fiery eye dimly in the water.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 57
Lifting his spear and hastily turning round to meet the furious monster, Enda accidently touched the door with the point of the spear, and the door flew open.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 58
Enda passed through, and the door closed behind him with a grating sound, and he marched along through a rocky pass which led to a sandy plain.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 59
As he stepped from the pass into the plain the sands began to move, as if they were alive.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 60
In a second, a thousand hideous serpents, almost the colour of the sand, rose hissing up, and with their forked tongues made a horrible, poisonous hedge in front of him.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 61
For a second he stood dismayed, but then, levelling his spear, he rushed against the hedge of serpents, and they, shooting poison at him, sank beneath the sand.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 62
But the poison did not harm him, because of his water-dress and crystal helmet.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 63
When he had passed over the sandy plain, he had to climb a great steep, jagged rock.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 64
When he got to the top of the rock he saw spread out before him a stony waste without a tuft or blade of grass.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 65
At some distance in front of him he noticed a large dark object, which he took to be a rock, but on looking at it more closely he saw that it was a huge, misshapen, swollen mass, apparently alive.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 66
And it was growing bigger and bigger every moment.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 67
Enda stood amazed at the sight, and before he knew where he was the loathsome creature rose from the ground, and sprang upon him before he could use his spear, and, catching him in its horrid grasp, flung him back over the rocks on to the sandy plain.
2 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 68
Enda was almost stunned, but the hissing of the serpents rising from the sand around him brought him to himself, and, jumping to his feet, once more he drove them down beneath the surface.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 69
He then approached the jagged rock, on the top of which he saw the filthy monster glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 70
Enda poised his spear and hurled it against his enemy.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 71
It entered between the monster’s eyes, and from the wound the blood flowed down like a black torrent and dyed the plain, and the shrunken carcase slipped down the front of the rocks and disappeared beneath the sand.
1 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 72
Enda once more ascended the rock, and without meeting or seeing anything he passed over the stony waste, and at last he came to a leafy wood.
3 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 73
He had not gone far in the wood until he heard the sound of fairy music, and walking on he came upon a mossy glade, and there he found the fairies dancing around their queen.
3 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 74
They were so small, and were all so brightly dressed, that they looked like a mass of waving flowers; but when he was seen by them they vanished like a glorious dream, and no one remained before him but the fairy queen.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 75
The queen blushed at finding herself alone, but on stamping her little foot three times upon the ground, the frightened fairies all crept back again.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 76
“You are welcome, Enda,” said the queen.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 77
“My little subjects have been alarmed by your strange dress and crystal helmet.
1 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 78
I pray you take them off; you do not need them here.” Enda did as he was bidden, and he laid down his water-dress and helmet on the grass, and the little fairies, seeing him in his proper shape, got over their fright, and, unrestrained by the presence of the queen, they ran tumbling over one another to try and get a good look at the crystal helmet.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 79
“I know what you have come for, Enda,” said the queen.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 80
“The golden cup you shall have to-morrow; but to-night you must share our feast, so follow me to the palace.” Having said this, the queen beckoned her pages to her, and, attended by them and followed by Enda, she went on through the wood.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 81
When they had left it behind them Enda saw on a green hill before him the snow-white palace of the fairy queen.
2 Translations, 4 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 82
As the queen approached the steps that led up to the open door, a band of tiny fairies, dressed in rose-coloured silk, came out, carrying baskets of flowers, which they flung down on the steps to make a fragrant carpet for her.
3 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 83
They were followed by a band of harpers dressed in yellow silken robes, who ranged themselves on each side of the steps and played their sweetest music as the queen ascended.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 84
When the queen, followed by Enda, entered the palace, they passed through a crystal hall that led to a banquet-room.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 85
The room was lighted by a single star, large as a battle-shield.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 86
It was fixed against the wall above a diamond throne.
1 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 87
The queen seated herself upon the throne, and the pages, advancing towards her, and bending low, as they approached the steps, handed her a golden wand.
3 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 88
The queen waved the wand three times, and a table laden with all kinds of delicacies appeared upon the floor.
2 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 89
Then she beckoned Enda to her, and when he stood beside her the fairy table was no higher than his knee.
3 Translations, 1 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 90
“I am afraid I must make you smaller, Enda,” said the queen, “or you will never be able to seat yourself at my fairy table.” And having said this, she touched Enda with the golden wand, and at once he became as small as her tallest page.
3 Translations, 2 Upvotes, Last Activity 7 years, 5 months ago
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unit 91
Then she struck the steps of her throne, and all the nobles of her court, headed by her bards, took their places at the festive board.
1 Translations, 3 Upvotes, Last Activity 6 years, 3 months ago
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unit 92
The feast went on right merrily, and when the tiny jewelled drinking-cups were placed upon the table, the queen ordered the harpers to play.
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unit 93
And the little harpers struck the chords, and as Enda listened to the music it seemed to him as if he was being slowly lifted from his seat, and when the music ended the fairies vanished, the shining star went out, and Enda was in perfect darkness.
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unit 94
The air blew keenly in his face, and he knew not where he was.
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unit 95
At last he saw a faint grey light, and soon this light grew broader and brighter, and as the shadows fled before it, he could hardly believe his eyes when he found himself in his curragh on the lake, and the moonlight streaming down from the mountain-tops.
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unit 96
For a moment he thought he must have been dreaming; but there in the boat before him were the crystal helmet, and the water-dress, and the gleaming spear, and the golden bowl of perfumed water that was to remove the spell of enchantment from the white swan of the lake, and sailing towards him from the sedgy bank came the snow-white swan; and when she touched the boat, Enda put out his hands and lifted her in, and then over her plumage he poured the perfumed water from the golden bowl, and the Princess Mave in all her maiden beauty stood before him.
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unit 97
“Take your oar, Enda,” she said, “and row to the southern bank.” Enda seized his oar, and the curragh sped across the waters swifter than a swallow in its flight.
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unit 98
When the boat touched the shore Enda jumped out, and lifted the princess on to the bank.
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unit 99
“Send your boat adrift, Enda,” she said; “but first take out your shining spear; the water-dress and the crystal helmet will take care of themselves.” Enda took out the spear, and then pushed the boat from the bank.
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unit 100
It sped on towards the hut in the middle of the lake; but before it had reached halfway six nymphs sprang up from the water and seizing the helmet and dress, sank with them beneath the tide, and the boat went on until it pushed its prow against the steps of the little hut, where it remained.
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unit 101
Then Enda and the princess turned towards the south, and it was not long until they came to a deep forest, that was folding up its shadows and spreading out its mossy glades before the glancing footsteps of the morning.
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unit 102
They had not gone far through the forest when they heard the music of hounds and the cries of huntsmen, and crashing towards them through the low branches they saw a fierce wild boar.
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unit 103
Enda, gently pushing the princess behind him, levelled his spear, and when the boar came close to him he drove it into his throat.
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unit 104
The brute fell dead at his feet, and the dogs rushing up began to tear it to pieces.
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unit 105
The princess fainted at the sight, and while Enda was endeavouring to restore her, the king of Erin, followed by his huntsmen, appeared, and when the king saw the princess he started in amazement, as he recognised the features of his daughter Mave.
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unit 106
At that moment the princess came to herself, and her father, lifting her tenderly in his arms, kissed her again and again.
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unit 107
“I have mourned you as dead, my darling,” said he, “and now you are restored to me more lovely than ever.
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unit 108
I would gladly have given up my throne for this.
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unit 109
But say who is the champion who has brought you hither, and who has slain the wild boar we have hunted so many years in vain?” The princess blushed like a rose as she said: “His name is Enda, father; it is he has brought me back to you.” Then the king embraced Enda and said: “Forgive me, Enda, for asking any questions about you before you have shared the hospitality of my court.
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unit 110
My palace lies beyond the forest, and we shall reach it soon.” Then the king ordered his huntsman to sound the bugle-horn, and all his nobles galloped up in answer to it, and when they saw the Princess Mave they were so dazzled by her beauty that they scarcely gave a thought to the death of the wild boar.
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unit 111
“It is my daughter, Mave, come back to me,” said the king.
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unit 112
And all the nobles lowered their lances, and bowed in homage to the lady.
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unit 113
“And there stands the champion who has brought her home,” said the king, pointing to Enda.
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unit 114
The nobles looked at Enda, and bowed courteously, but in their hearts they were jealous of the champion, for they saw he was already a favourite of the king’s.
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unit 115
Then the pages came up, leading milk-white steeds with golden bridles, and the king, ordering Enda to mount one of them, lifted Mave on to his own, and mounted behind her.
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unit 116
The pages, carrying the boar’s head on a hollow shield, preceded by the huntsmen sounding their horns, set out towards the palace, and the royal party followed them.
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unit 117
As the procession approached the palace crowds came rushing out to see the trophies of the chase, and through the snow-white door the queen, Mave’s cruel stepmother, attended by her maids-of-honour and the royal bards, came forth to greet the king.
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unit 118
But when she saw seated before him the Princess Mave, who she thought was at the bottom of the lake under a spell of enchantment, she uttered a loud cry, and fell senseless to the ground.
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unit 119
The king jumped from his horse, and rushing to the queen, lifted her up and carried her in his arms to her apartments, for he had no suspicion of the wickedness of which she had been guilty.
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unit 120
And the court leeches were summoned to attend her, but she died that very night, and it was not until a green mound, worthy of a queen of Erin, had been raised over her grave that the Princess Mave told her father of the wickedness of her stepmother.
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unit 121
And when she told him the whole story of how Enda had broken the spell of enchantment, and of the dangers which he had faced for her sake, the king summoned an assembly of all his nobles, and seated on his throne, wearing his golden helmet, the bards upon his right hand and the Druids upon his left, and the nobles in ranks before him with gleaming helmets and flashing spears, he told them the story of the princess, and of the service which Enda had rendered to her.
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unit 122
“And now,” said the king, “if the princess is willing to take her deliverer for her husband, I am willing that she shall be his bride; and if you, my subjects, Bards and Druids and Nobles and Chiefs of Erin, have anything to say against this union, speak.
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unit 123
But first, Mave,” said the king, as he drew the blushing princess to him, “speak, darling, as becomes the daughter of a king––speak in the presence of the nobles of Erin, and say if it is your wish to become Enda’s bride.” The princess flung her white arms around her father’s neck, as she murmured: “Father, it was Enda brought me back to you, and before all the princes and nobles of Erin I am willing to be his bride.” And she buried her head upon the king’s breast, and as he stroked her silken hair falling to her feet, the bards struck their golden harps, but the sound of the joyous music could hardly drown the murmurs of the jealous nobles.
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unit 124
When the music ceased the king beckoned Enda to him, and was about to place his hand in Mave’s when a Druid, whose white beard almost touched the ground, and who had been a favourite of the dead stepmother, and hated Mave for her sake, stepped forward and said: “O King of Erin, never yet has the daughter of a king been freely given in marriage to any save a battle champion; and that stripling there has never struck his spear against a warrior’s shield.” A murmur of approbation rose from the jealous princes, and Congal, the bravest of them all, stepped out from the ranks, and said: “The Druid speaks the truth, O king!
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unit 125
That stripling has never faced a battle champion yet, and, speaking for all the nobles of your land, I challenge him to fight any one of us; and as he is young and unused to arms, we are willing that the youngest and least experienced amongst us should be set against him.” When Congal had spoken, the nobles, in approval of his words, struck their shields with their swords, and the brazen sound ascended to the skies.
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unit 126
The face of the princess, blushing a moment before like a rose, became as white as a lily; but the colour returned to her cheeks when she heard Enda’s voice ringing loud and clear.
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unit 127
“It is true, O king!” said he, “that I have never used my spear in battle yet.
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unit 128
The Prince Congal has challenged me to meet the youngest and least experienced of the chiefs of Erin.
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unit 129
I have risked my life already for your daughter’s sake.
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unit 130
I would face death a thousand times for the chance of winning her for my bride; but I would scorn to claim her hand if I dared not meet the boldest battle champion of the nobles of Erin, and here before you, O king, and bards, Druids, and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, and here, in the presence of the Lady Mave, I challenge the boldest of them all.” The king’s eyes flashed with joy as he listened to the brave words of Enda.
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unit 131
“It is well,” said the king; “the contest shall take place to-morrow on the lawn outside our palace gates; but before our assembly dissolves I call on you, nobles and chiefs of Erin, to name your boldest champion.” Loud cries of “Congal!
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unit 132
Congal!” answered the king’s speech.
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unit 133
“Are you willing, Congal?” asked the king.
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unit 134
“Willing, O king!” answered Congal.
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unit 135
“It is well,” said the king.
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unit 136
“We shall all meet again to-night in our banquet-hall.” And the king, with the Princess Mave on his arm, attended by his bards and Druids, entered the palace, and the chiefs and nobles went their several ways.
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unit 137
At the feast that night the princess sat beside the king, and Enda beside the princess, and the bards and Druids, nobles and chiefs, took their places in due order.
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unit 138
And the bards sang songs of love and battle, and never merrier hours were spent than those which passed away that night in the banquet-hall of Erin’s king.
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unit 139
When the feast was over Enda retired to his apartment to spend the night dreaming of the Princess Mave, and Congal went to his quarters; but not to sleep or dream, for the Druid who had provoked the contest came to him bringing his golden wand, and all night long the Druid was weaving spells to charm the shield and spear and helmet of Congal, to make them invulnerable in the battle of the morrow.
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unit 140
But while Enda lay dreaming of the Princess Mave, the little fairy woman who gave him the water-dress, and crystal helmet, and shining spear on the banks of the Boyne, slid into his room, and she placed beside his couch a silver helmet and a silver shield.
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unit 141
And she rubbed the helmet, and the shield, and the blue blade and haft of his spear with the juice of the red rowan berries, and she let a drop fall upon his face and hands, and then she slid out as silently as she came.
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unit 142
When the morning broke, Enda sprang from his couch, and he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the silver shield and helmet.
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unit 143
At the sight of them he longed for the hour of battle, and he watched with eager gaze the sun climbing the sky; and, after hours of suspense, he heard the trumpet’s sound and the clangour of the hollow shields, struck by the hard-pointed spears.
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unit 144
Putting on the helmet, and fastening the shield upon his left arm, and taking the spear in his right hand, he stepped out bravely to the fight.
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unit 145
The edge of the lawn before the palace gates was ringed by the princes, nobles, and chiefs of Erin.
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unit 146
And the palace walls were thronged by all the beauties of the Court and all the noble ladies of the land.
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unit 147
And on his throne, surrounded by his Druids, his brehons, and his bards, was the king of Erin, and at his feet sat the lovely Lady Mave.
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unit 148
As Enda stepped out upon the lawn, he saw Congal advancing from the ranks of the nobles, and the two champions approached each other until they met right in front of the throne.
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unit 149
Then both turned towards the throne, and bowed to the king and the Princess Mave; and then facing each other again, they retired a space, and when their spears were poised, ready for battle, the king gave the signal, which was answered by the clang of stricken shields, and Congal and Enda launched their gleaming spears.
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unit 150
They flashed like lightning in the sunlit air, and in a second Congal’s had broken against Enda’s shield; but Enda’s, piercing Congal’s helmet, hurled him senseless on the plain.
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unit 151
The nobles and chiefs could hardly realize that in that single second their boldest champion was overthrown; but when they saw him stretched motionless on the grassy sward, from out their ranks six warriors advanced to where the chieftain lay, and sadly they bore him away upon their battle-shields, and Enda remained victor upon the field.
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unit 152
And then the king’s voice rang out clear as the sound of a trumpet in the still morning: “Bards and brehons, princes and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, Enda has proved himself a battle champion, and who amongst you now will dare gainsay his right to claim my daughter for his bride?” And no answer came.
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unit 153
But when he summoned Enda to his throne, and placed the lady’s hand in his, a cheer arose from the great assembly, that proved that jealousy was extinguished in all hearts, and that all believed that Enda was worthy of the winsome bride; and never since that day, although a thousand years have passed, was there in all the world a brighter and joyous wedding than the wedding of Enda and the Princess Mave.
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The House in the Lake.
An Irish folktale by Edmund Leamy.

A long, long time ago, there lived in a little hut, in the midst of one of the inland lakes of Erin, an old fisherman and his son. The hut was built on stakes driven into the bed of the lake, and was so high above the waters that even when they were stirred into waves by the wind coming down from the mountains they did not reach the threshold of the door. Around, outside the hut, on a level with the floor, was a little wicker-work platform, and under the platform, close to the steps leading up to it from the water, the fisherman’s curragh, made of willows, covered with skins, was moored, and it was only by means of the curragh that he and his son, Enda, could leave their lake dwelling.

On many a summer evening Enda lay stretched on the platform, watching the sunset fading from the mountain-tops, and the twilight creeping over the waters of the lake, and it chanced that once when he was so engaged he heard a rustle in a clump of sedge that grew close to one side of the hut. He turned to where the sound came from, and what should he see but an otter swimming towards him, with a little trout in his mouth. When the otter came up to where Enda was lying, he lifted his head and half his body from the water, and flung the trout on the platform, almost at Enda’s feet, and then disappeared.

Enda took the little panting trout in his hand; but as he did so he heard, quite close to him, in the lake, a sound like that of water plashing upon water, and he saw the widening circles caused by a trout which had just risen to a fly; and he said to the little trout he held in his hand:

“I won’t keep you, poor thing! Perhaps that was a little comrade come to look for you, and so I’ll send you back to him.”

And saying this, he dropped the little trout into the lake.

Well, when the next evening came, again Enda was lying stretched outside the hut, and once more he heard the rustle in the sedge, and once more the otter came and flung the little trout almost into his hands.

Enda, more surprised than ever, did not know what to do. He saw that it was the same little trout the otter had brought him the night before, and he said:

“Well, I gave you a chance last night. I’ll give you another, if only to see what will come of it.”

And he dropped the trout into the lake; but no sooner had it touched the waters than it was changed into a beautiful, milk-white swan. And Enda could hardly believe his eyes, as he saw it sailing across the lake, until it was lost in the sedges growing by the shore.

All that night he lay awake, thinking of what he had seen, and as soon as the morning stood on the hill-tops, and cast its shafts of golden light across the lake, Enda rose and got into his curragh.

He rowed all round the shores, beating the sedges with his oar, in pursuit of the swan; but all in vain; he could not catch a glimpse of her white plumage anywhere. Day after day he rowed about the lake in search of her, and every evening he lay outside the hut watching the waters. At long last, one night, when the full moon, rising above the mountains, flooded the whole lake with light, he saw the swan coming swiftly towards him, shining brighter than the moonbeams. The swan came on until it was almost within a boat’s length of the hut; and what should Enda hear but the swan speaking to him in his own language:

“Get into your curragh, Enda, and follow me,” said she, and, saying this, she turned round and sailed away.

Enda jumped into the curragh, and soon the water, dripping from his oar, was flashing like diamonds in the moonlight. And he rowed after the swan, who glided on before him, until she came to where the shadows of the mountains lay deepest on the lake. Then the swan rested, and when Enda came up to her:

“Enda,” said she, “I have brought you where none may hear what I wish to say to you. I am Mave, the daughter of the king of Erin. By the magic arts of my cruel stepmother I was changed into a trout, and cast into this lake a year and a day before the evening when you restored me to the waters the second time. If you had not done so the first night the otter brought me to you I should have been changed into a hooting owl; if you had not done so the second night, I should have been changed into a croaking raven. But, thanks to you, Enda, I am now a snow-white swan, and for one hour on the first night of every full moon the power of speech is and will be given to me as long as I remain a swan. And a swan I must always remain, unless you are willing to break the spell of enchantment that is over me; and you alone can break it.”

“I’ll do anything I can for you. O princess!” said Enda. “But how can I break the spell?”

“You can do so,” said the swan, “only by pouring upon my plumage the perfumed water that fills the golden bowl that is in the inmost room of the palace of the fairy queen, beneath the lake.”

“And how can I get that?” said Enda.

“Well,” said the swan, “you must dive beneath the lake, and walk along its bed, until you come to where the lake dragon guards the entrance of the fairy queen’s dominions.”

“I can dive like a fish,” said Enda; “but how can I walk beneath the waters?”

“You can do it easily enough,” said the swan, “if you get the water-dress of Brian, one of the three sons of Turenn, and his helmet of transparent crystal, by the aid of which he was able to walk under the green salt sea.”

“And where shall I find them?”

“They are in the water-palace of Angus of the Boyne,” said the swan; “but you should set out at once, for if the spell be not broken before the moon is full again, it cannot be broken for a year and a day.”

“I’ll set out in the first ray of the morning,” said Enda.

“May luck and joy go with you,” said the swan.

“And now the hours of silence are coming upon me, and I have only time to warn you that dangers you little dream of will lie before you in your quest for the golden cup.”

“I am willing to face all dangers for your sake, O princess,” said Enda.

“Blessings be upon you, Enda,” said the swan, and she sailed away from the shadow out into the light across the lake to the sedgy banks. And Enda saw her no more.

He rowed his curragh home, and he lay on his bed without taking off his clothes. And as the first faint glimmer of the morning came slanting down the mountains, he stepped into his curragh and pulled across the lake, and took the road towards the water-palace of Angus of the Boyne.

When he reached the banks of the glancing river a little woman, dressed in red, was standing there before him.

“You are welcome, Enda,” said she. “And glad am I to see the day that brings you here to help the winsome Princess Mave. And now wait a second, and the water-dress and crystal helmet will be ready for you.”

And, having said this, the little woman plucked a handful of wild grasses, and she breathed upon them three times and then flung them on the river, and a dozen fairy nymphs came springing up through the water, bearing the water-dress and crystal helmet and a shining spear. And they laid them down upon the bank at Enda’s feet, and then disappeared.

“Now, Enda,” said the fairy woman, “take these; by the aid of the dress and the helmet you can walk beneath the waters. You will need the spear to enable you to meet the dangers that lie before you. But with that spear, if you only have courage, you can overcome everything and everyone that may attempt to bar your way.”

Having said this, she bid good-bye to Enda, and stepping off the bank, she floated out upon the river as lightly as a red poppy leaf. And when she came to the middle of the stream she disappeared beneath the waters.

Enda took the helmet, dress, and spear, and it was not long until he came to the sedgy banks where his little boat was waiting for him. As he stepped into the curragh the moon was rising above the mountains. He rowed on until he came to the hut, and having moored the boat to the door, he put on the water-dress and the crystal helmet, and taking the spear in his hand, he leaped over the side of the curragh, and sank down and down until he touched the bottom. Then he walked along without minding where he was going, and the only light he had was the shimmering moonlight, which descended as faintly through the waters as if it came through muffled glass. He had not gone very far when he heard a horrible hissing, and straight before him he saw what he thought were two flaming coals.

After a few more steps he found himself face to face with the dragon of the lake, the guardian of the palace of the fairy queen. Before he had time to raise his spear, the dragon had wound its coils around him, and he heard its horrible teeth crunching against the side of his crystal helmet, and he felt the pressure of its coils around his side, and the breath almost left his body; but the dragon, unable to pierce the helmet, unwound his coils, and soon Enda’s hands were free, and before the dragon could attempt to seize him again, he drove his spear through one of its fiery eyes, and, writhing with pain, the hissing dragon darted through a cave behind him. Enda, gaining courage from the dragon’s flight, marched on until he came to a door of dull brass set in the rocks. He tried to push it in before him, but he might as well have tried to push away the rocks. While he was wondering what he should do, he heard again the fierce hissing of the dragon, and saw the red glare of his fiery eye dimly in the water.

Lifting his spear and hastily turning round to meet the furious monster, Enda accidently touched the door with the point of the spear, and the door flew open. Enda passed through, and the door closed behind him with a grating sound, and he marched along through a rocky pass which led to a sandy plain.

As he stepped from the pass into the plain the sands began to move, as if they were alive. In a second, a thousand hideous serpents, almost the colour of the sand, rose hissing up, and with their forked tongues made a horrible, poisonous hedge in front of him. For a second he stood dismayed, but then, levelling his spear, he rushed against the hedge of serpents, and they, shooting poison at him, sank beneath the sand. But the poison did not harm him, because of his water-dress and crystal helmet.

When he had passed over the sandy plain, he had to climb a great steep, jagged rock. When he got to the top of the rock he saw spread out before him a stony waste without a tuft or blade of grass. At some distance in front of him he noticed a large dark object, which he took to be a rock, but on looking at it more closely he saw that it was a huge, misshapen, swollen mass, apparently alive. And it was growing bigger and bigger every moment. Enda stood amazed at the sight, and before he knew where he was the loathsome creature rose from the ground, and sprang upon him before he could use his spear, and, catching him in its horrid grasp, flung him back over the rocks on to the sandy plain. Enda was almost stunned, but the hissing of the serpents rising from the sand around him brought him to himself, and, jumping to his feet, once more he drove them down beneath the surface.

He then approached the jagged rock, on the top of which he saw the filthy monster glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. Enda poised his spear and hurled it against his enemy. It entered between the monster’s eyes, and from the wound the blood flowed down like a black torrent and dyed the plain, and the shrunken carcase slipped down the front of the rocks and disappeared beneath the sand. Enda once more ascended the rock, and without meeting or seeing anything he passed over the stony waste, and at last he came to a leafy wood. He had not gone far in the wood until he heard the sound of fairy music, and walking on he came upon a mossy glade, and there he found the fairies dancing around their queen. They were so small, and were all so brightly dressed, that they looked like a mass of waving flowers; but when he was seen by them they vanished like a glorious dream, and no one remained before him but the fairy queen. The queen blushed at finding herself alone, but on stamping her little foot three times upon the ground, the frightened fairies all crept back again.

“You are welcome, Enda,” said the queen. “My little subjects have been alarmed by your strange dress and crystal helmet. I pray you take them off; you do not need them here.”

Enda did as he was bidden, and he laid down his water-dress and helmet on the grass, and the little fairies, seeing him in his proper shape, got over their fright, and, unrestrained by the presence of the queen, they ran tumbling over one another to try and get a good look at the crystal helmet.

“I know what you have come for, Enda,” said the queen. “The golden cup you shall have to-morrow; but to-night you must share our feast, so follow me to the palace.”

Having said this, the queen beckoned her pages to her, and, attended by them and followed by Enda, she went on through the wood. When they had left it behind them Enda saw on a green hill before him the snow-white palace of the fairy queen.

As the queen approached the steps that led up to the open door, a band of tiny fairies, dressed in rose-coloured silk, came out, carrying baskets of flowers, which they flung down on the steps to make a fragrant carpet for her. They were followed by a band of harpers dressed in yellow silken robes, who ranged themselves on each side of the steps and played their sweetest music as the queen ascended.

When the queen, followed by Enda, entered the palace, they passed through a crystal hall that led to a banquet-room. The room was lighted by a single star, large as a battle-shield. It was fixed against the wall above a diamond throne.

The queen seated herself upon the throne, and the pages, advancing towards her, and bending low, as they approached the steps, handed her a golden wand.

The queen waved the wand three times, and a table laden with all kinds of delicacies appeared upon the floor. Then she beckoned Enda to her, and when he stood beside her the fairy table was no higher than his knee.

“I am afraid I must make you smaller, Enda,” said the queen, “or you will never be able to seat yourself at my fairy table.”

And having said this, she touched Enda with the golden wand, and at once he became as small as her tallest page. Then she struck the steps of her throne, and all the nobles of her court, headed by her bards, took their places at the festive board.

The feast went on right merrily, and when the tiny jewelled drinking-cups were placed upon the table, the queen ordered the harpers to play.

And the little harpers struck the chords, and as Enda listened to the music it seemed to him as if he was being slowly lifted from his seat, and when the music ended the fairies vanished, the shining star went out, and Enda was in perfect darkness.

The air blew keenly in his face, and he knew not where he was. At last he saw a faint grey light, and soon this light grew broader and brighter, and as the shadows fled before it, he could hardly believe his eyes when he found himself in his curragh on the lake, and the moonlight streaming down from the mountain-tops.

For a moment he thought he must have been dreaming; but there in the boat before him were the crystal helmet, and the water-dress, and the gleaming spear, and the golden bowl of perfumed water that was to remove the spell of enchantment from the white swan of the lake, and sailing towards him from the sedgy bank came the snow-white swan; and when she touched the boat, Enda put out his hands and lifted her in, and then over her plumage he poured the perfumed water from the golden bowl, and the Princess Mave in all her maiden beauty stood before him.

“Take your oar, Enda,” she said, “and row to the southern bank.”

Enda seized his oar, and the curragh sped across the waters swifter than a swallow in its flight. When the boat touched the shore Enda jumped out, and lifted the princess on to the bank.

“Send your boat adrift, Enda,” she said; “but first take out your shining spear; the water-dress and the crystal helmet will take care of themselves.”

Enda took out the spear, and then pushed the boat from the bank. It sped on towards the hut in the middle of the lake; but before it had reached halfway six nymphs sprang up from the water and seizing the helmet and dress, sank with them beneath the tide, and the boat went on until it pushed its prow against the steps of the little hut, where it remained.

Then Enda and the princess turned towards the south, and it was not long until they came to a deep forest, that was folding up its shadows and spreading out its mossy glades before the glancing footsteps of the morning. They had not gone far through the forest when they heard the music of hounds and the cries of huntsmen, and crashing towards them through the low branches they saw a fierce wild boar. Enda, gently pushing the princess behind him, levelled his spear, and when the boar came close to him he drove it into his throat. The brute fell dead at his feet, and the dogs rushing up began to tear it to pieces. The princess fainted at the sight, and while Enda was endeavouring to restore her, the king of Erin, followed by his huntsmen, appeared, and when the king saw the princess he started in amazement, as he recognised the features of his daughter Mave.

At that moment the princess came to herself, and her father, lifting her tenderly in his arms, kissed her again and again.

“I have mourned you as dead, my darling,” said he, “and now you are restored to me more lovely than ever. I would gladly have given up my throne for this. But say who is the champion who has brought you hither, and who has slain the wild boar we have hunted so many years in vain?”

The princess blushed like a rose as she said:
“His name is Enda, father; it is he has brought me back to you.”

Then the king embraced Enda and said:
“Forgive me, Enda, for asking any questions about you before you have shared the hospitality of my court. My palace lies beyond the forest, and we shall reach it soon.”

Then the king ordered his huntsman to sound the bugle-horn, and all his nobles galloped up in answer to it, and when they saw the Princess Mave they were so dazzled by her beauty that they scarcely gave a thought to the death of the wild boar.

“It is my daughter, Mave, come back to me,” said the king.

And all the nobles lowered their lances, and bowed in homage to the lady.
“And there stands the champion who has brought her home,” said the king, pointing to Enda.

The nobles looked at Enda, and bowed courteously, but in their hearts they were jealous of the champion, for they saw he was already a favourite of the king’s.

Then the pages came up, leading milk-white steeds with golden bridles, and the king, ordering Enda to mount one of them, lifted Mave on to his own, and mounted behind her. The pages, carrying the boar’s head on a hollow shield, preceded by the huntsmen sounding their horns, set out towards the palace, and the royal party followed them.

As the procession approached the palace crowds came rushing out to see the trophies of the chase, and through the snow-white door the queen, Mave’s cruel stepmother, attended by her maids-of-honour and the royal bards, came forth to greet the king. But when she saw seated before him the Princess Mave, who she thought was at the bottom of the lake under a spell of enchantment, she uttered a loud cry, and fell senseless to the ground.

The king jumped from his horse, and rushing to the queen, lifted her up and carried her in his arms to her apartments, for he had no suspicion of the wickedness of which she had been guilty.

And the court leeches were summoned to attend her, but she died that very night, and it was not until a green mound, worthy of a queen of Erin, had been raised over her grave that the Princess Mave told her father of the wickedness of her stepmother. And when she told him the whole story of how Enda had broken the spell of enchantment, and of the dangers which he had faced for her sake, the king summoned an assembly of all his nobles, and seated on his throne, wearing his golden helmet, the bards upon his right hand and the Druids upon his left, and the nobles in ranks before him with gleaming helmets and flashing spears, he told them the story of the princess, and of the service which Enda had rendered to her.

“And now,” said the king, “if the princess is willing to take her deliverer for her husband, I am willing that she shall be his bride; and if you, my subjects, Bards and Druids and Nobles and Chiefs of Erin, have anything to say against this union, speak. But first, Mave,” said the king, as he drew the blushing princess to him, “speak, darling, as becomes the daughter of a king––speak in the presence of the nobles of Erin, and say if it is your wish to become Enda’s bride.”

The princess flung her white arms around her father’s neck, as she murmured:
“Father, it was Enda brought me back to you, and before all the princes and nobles of Erin I am willing to be his bride.”

And she buried her head upon the king’s breast, and as he stroked her silken hair falling to her feet, the bards struck their golden harps, but the sound of the joyous music could hardly drown the murmurs of the jealous nobles.

When the music ceased the king beckoned Enda to him, and was about to place his hand in Mave’s when a Druid, whose white beard almost touched the ground, and who had been a favourite of the dead stepmother, and hated Mave for her sake, stepped forward and said:

“O King of Erin, never yet has the daughter of a king been freely given in marriage to any save a battle champion; and that stripling there has never struck his spear against a warrior’s shield.”

A murmur of approbation rose from the jealous princes, and Congal, the bravest of them all, stepped out from the ranks, and said:

“The Druid speaks the truth, O king! That stripling has never faced a battle champion yet, and, speaking for all the nobles of your land, I challenge him to fight any one of us; and as he is young and unused to arms, we are willing that the youngest and least experienced amongst us should be set against him.”

When Congal had spoken, the nobles, in approval of his words, struck their shields with their swords, and the brazen sound ascended to the skies.
The face of the princess, blushing a moment before like a rose, became as white as a lily; but the colour returned to her cheeks when she heard Enda’s voice ringing loud and clear.

“It is true, O king!” said he, “that I have never used my spear in battle yet. The Prince Congal has challenged me to meet the youngest and least experienced of the chiefs of Erin. I have risked my life already for your daughter’s sake. I would face death a thousand times for the chance of winning her for my bride; but I would scorn to claim her hand if I dared not meet the boldest battle champion of the nobles of Erin, and here before you, O king, and bards, Druids, and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, and here, in the presence of the Lady Mave, I challenge the boldest of them all.”

The king’s eyes flashed with joy as he listened to the brave words of Enda.

“It is well,” said the king; “the contest shall take place to-morrow on the lawn outside our palace gates; but before our assembly dissolves I call on you, nobles and chiefs of Erin, to name your boldest champion.”

Loud cries of “Congal! Congal!” answered the king’s speech.

“Are you willing, Congal?” asked the king.

“Willing, O king!” answered Congal.

“It is well,” said the king. “We shall all meet again to-night in our banquet-hall.”

And the king, with the Princess Mave on his arm, attended by his bards and Druids, entered the palace, and the chiefs and nobles went their several ways.

At the feast that night the princess sat beside the king, and Enda beside the princess, and the bards and Druids, nobles and chiefs, took their places in due order. And the bards sang songs of love and battle, and never merrier hours were spent than those which passed away that night in the banquet-hall of Erin’s king.

When the feast was over Enda retired to his apartment to spend the night dreaming of the Princess Mave, and Congal went to his quarters; but not to sleep or dream, for the Druid who had provoked the contest came to him bringing his golden wand, and all night long the Druid was weaving spells to charm the shield and spear and helmet of Congal, to make them invulnerable in the battle of the morrow.

But while Enda lay dreaming of the Princess Mave, the little fairy woman who gave him the water-dress, and crystal helmet, and shining spear on the banks of the Boyne, slid into his room, and she placed beside his couch a silver helmet and a silver shield. And she rubbed the helmet, and the shield, and the blue blade and haft of his spear with the juice of the red rowan berries, and she let a drop fall upon his face and hands, and then she slid out as silently as she came.

When the morning broke, Enda sprang from his couch, and he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the silver shield and helmet. At the sight of them he longed for the hour of battle, and he watched with eager gaze the sun climbing the sky; and, after hours of suspense, he heard the trumpet’s sound and the clangour of the hollow shields, struck by the hard-pointed spears.

Putting on the helmet, and fastening the shield upon his left arm, and taking the spear in his right hand, he stepped out bravely to the fight. The edge of the lawn before the palace gates was ringed by the princes, nobles, and chiefs of Erin. And the palace walls were thronged by all the beauties of the Court and all the noble ladies of the land. And on his throne, surrounded by his Druids, his brehons, and his bards, was the king of Erin, and at his feet sat the lovely Lady Mave.

As Enda stepped out upon the lawn, he saw Congal advancing from the ranks of the nobles, and the two champions approached each other until they met right in front of the throne.

Then both turned towards the throne, and bowed to the king and the Princess Mave; and then facing each other again, they retired a space, and when their spears were poised, ready for battle, the king gave the signal, which was answered by the clang of stricken shields, and Congal and Enda launched their gleaming spears. They flashed like lightning in the sunlit air, and in a second Congal’s had broken against Enda’s shield; but Enda’s, piercing Congal’s helmet, hurled him senseless on the plain.

The nobles and chiefs could hardly realize that in that single second their boldest champion was overthrown; but when they saw him stretched motionless on the grassy sward, from out their ranks six warriors advanced to where the chieftain lay, and sadly they bore him away upon their battle-shields, and Enda remained victor upon the field.

And then the king’s voice rang out clear as the sound of a trumpet in the still morning:

“Bards and brehons, princes and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, Enda has proved himself a battle champion, and who amongst you now will dare gainsay his right to claim my daughter for his bride?”

And no answer came.

But when he summoned Enda to his throne, and placed the lady’s hand in his, a cheer arose from the great assembly, that proved that jealousy was extinguished in all hearts, and that all believed that Enda was worthy of the winsome bride; and never since that day, although a thousand years have passed, was there in all the world a brighter and joyous wedding than the wedding of Enda and the Princess Mave.