Page:West Irish folk-tales and romances - William Larminie.djvu/154

 122 till he was all but lost. When he got to the other side of the river, “I was all but lost,” said he.

“Well, if you had your own bridge with you, you would not be lost.”

They went on another while. The champion said he was hungry. Kayleh said, “If you had your mother with you from home, you would not be hungry.”

Kayleh had a loaf with him. He drew it out and took his dinner. They went on then till they came to Dublin. Kayleh stopped at the end of the town. The young champion went to the king's house. He was all but famished. He went into the parlour then. They took their dinner. They were passing fun. The young woman was with them.

“Well,” said the young champion, “there was a fine man with me to-day, he had the silliest talk ever I heard. When I met him, I asked him how far he was going. He said he did not well know; that he made a herring-net; the first night he put it out into the sea he never had a sight of it since; that he was walking by the foot of the sea, to look if he would fall in with it in a creek, or rolled on a rock. We went on another while. A day of rain came. We were wet greatly. I called out that I was wet.

“‘Well,’ said the man, ‘if you had your house with you, you would not be wet.’