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gave her an insulting reply, which made her completely change her tone, and say: 'It will be hard for thee when I shall come against thee engaged in fighting with the men of Erinn: I shall come in the form of an eel beneath thy feet at the ford, so that thou wilt stumble and fall.' 'That strikes me as a more likely form for thee than that of a king's daughter; but I shall,' he added, 'seize thee in my hand, causing thy ribs to break, and thou wilt be subject to that blemish till I pronounce sentence of blessing on thee.' 'I shall,' said she, 'in the form of a grey she-wolf, drive the cattle to the ford against thee.' 'I shall cast a stone,' said he, 'at thee from my sling, and smash one of thy eyes in thy head; and thou wilt be under that blemish till I pronounce sentence of blessing on thee.' 'I shall come,' said she, 'to thee in the form of a hornless red heifer at the head of the herd, so that they will rout thee at the mires, at the fords and at the pools, and thou wilt not perceive me meeting thee.' 'I shall,' said he, 'fling a stone at thee, and break one of thy legs^[1] under thee, and thou wilt be under that blemish till I pronounce sentence of blessing on thee.'^[2] Thereupon she left him for a while; but, according to her threat, she returned one day when he was engaged in single combat with a formidable foe; and, in the form of an eel, she gave three twists round his feet, so that he fell at full length across the ford: presently he got up and seized the eel in his hand, so that her ribs broke within

1. I am not sure whether this be correct: the Irish in the Bk. of the Dun, 74b, is, 'commema do fergara fót;' but when it is described done at 77a, we have 'ger gara' instead of fergara, which is perhaps to be read into fergara. The nom. sing, occurs as fer gaire at 77b.
2. Ibid. 74a, 74b.