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 there was a house near that could give us ale; but even if there was we are so thirsty tonight that I think no house—except that of a king—could provide sufficient to quench our thirst."

"How many drinking-cups have you, chief?" asked one of the men of Norway.

"Three hundred and twelve altogether," answered Fionn.

"Pass the cups to me and I will see to the filling of them," said the man; "and do you all drink whatever is found in them."

Three times the cups were filled and emptied, and at the end of the third drinking a mist of enchantment covered the minds of the Fians. Each man beheld his comrade as some one most wonderful and noble, and it seemed to each man there that he was following a path which led to strange adventures—perchance to the hidden Land of the Ever-Young, where the apple-blossoms chimed and rang together like delicate silver bells; and where, whatever a man wished, his wish was fulfilled on the instant; or, if he thought of anything beautiful, his thought took form and