"We'll not give you our White Sword of Light, unless you give us in return the Yellow Filly of the King of Erin."
Iain went to the shore of the ocean, where Gillie Martin met him.
"You're down in the mouth, Iain," said the Pox, "because you'll not do as I tell you. This is another bad night like the last. All I've got to eat is a sheep's leg and cheek. We'll have to do with that."
They lit a fire, cooked the mutton and satisfied their hunger.
"I'll shape shift myself and become a barque," said Gillie Martin the Fox. "Go aboard and I'll take you to Erin. When we reach Erin, go to the house of the King and ask service as a stable lad. When he asks what you can do, tell him you can groom and feed horses, polish the silverwork and the steel work on their harness. Be willing to do everything necessary and keep the horses and their harness in good order, till the King trusts you with the Yellow Filly. This will give you a chance to run away with her. But take care when you're leading her out that no bit of her, except her shoes, touches anything within the stable gate, or there'll be trouble."
Everything happened as the Fox said, till they reached the King's house.
"Where are you going?" asked the gate keeper.
"To see if the King has need of a stable lad," said Iain.
So he was taken to the King, who said: "What are you looking for here?" |
