Page:The Sundering Flood - Morris - 1898.djvu/52

 Then the man betook him the bow which he had in his hand and said: Here is one that shall make thee deft; for whoso hath this as a gift from me shall hit what he shooteth at if he use my shafts withal, and here be three which I will give thee; and if thou take heed, thou shalt not find them easy to lose, since ever they shall go home. But if ever thou lose two of them, then take the third and go into some waste place where there is neither meadow nor acre, and turn to the north-east and shoot upwards toward the heavens, and say this rhyme:

A shaft to the north, Come, ye three, come ye forth; A shaft to the east, Come three at the least; A shaft to the sky, Come swift, come anigh! Come one, one and one, And the tale is all done.

And then shalt thou find the arrows lying at thy feet. Now take the bow and arrows, and drive me thy sheep betwixt us to the top of the bent that looks down on Wethermel.

Then Osberne took the bow and shafts, and he all quivering with joy and delight; and then the two of them together went back across the waste with the sheep before them, and as they went side by side the man said many things, and this at last: Now that I know thy name, it is like that thou wouldst know mine and who I am; but my very name I may not tell thee, for thy tongue has no word for it, but now and when we meet again