Page:Irish Fairy Tales (Stephens).djvu/394

318 the end of the feasting they went away from Faery and returned to the world of men.

They came to Mongan's palace at Moy Linney, and it was not until they reached the palace that they found they had been away one whole year, for they had thought they were only away one night. They lived then peacefully and lovingly together, and that ends the story, but Brótiarna did not know that Mongan was Fionn.

The abbot leaned forward.

"Was Mongan Fionn?" he asked in a whisper.

"He was," replied Cairidè.

"Indeed, indeed!" said the abbot.

After a while he continued. "There is only one part of your story that I do not like."

"What part is that?" asked Cairidè.

"It is the part where the holy man Tibraidè was ill-treated by that rap—by that—by Mongan."

Cairidè agreed that it was ill done, but to himself he said gleefully that whenever he was asked to tell the story of how he told the story of Mongan he would remember what the abbot said.