Page:Beside the Fire - Douglas Hyde.djvu/206

144 the lightning and thunder ceased, a door opened, and there came out a great man. The friars noticed that he had only one eye, and that it was in his forehead.

"In the name of God, who are you?" said a man of the friars.

"I am Crinnawn, son of Belore, of the Evil Eye. Let there be no fear on ye, I shall do ye no damage, for ye are courageous, good men. The people who were here are gone to eternal rest, body and soul. I know that ye are poor, and that there are plenty of poor people round about ye. Here are two purses for ye, one of them for yourselves, and the other one to divide upon the poor; and when all that will be spent, do ye come again. Not of this world am I, but I shall do no damage to anyone unless he does it to me first, and do ye keep from me."

Then he gave them two purses, and said: "Go now on your good work." The friars went home; they gathered the poor people and they divided the money on them. The people questioned them as to what it was they saw in the court. "It is a secret each thing we saw in the court, and it is our advice to ye not to go near the court, and no harm will come upon ye."

The priests were covetous when they heard that the friars got plenty of money in the court, and the three of them went there with the hope that they would get some as the friars got it.

When they went in they began crying aloud: "Is there any person here? is there any person here?" Crinnawn came out of a chamber and asked: "What are ye looking for?" "We came to make friendship with you," said the priests. "I thought that priests were not given to telling lies," said Crinnawn; "ye came with a hope that ye would get money as the poor friars got. Ye