Turenn hastened back to his sons with a sorrowful heart, and told them that he had failed to get the apples.
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Then Brian said, "Take me with thee to Tara. I will see him, and perchance he may have pity on us, and give us the apples." And it was done so. But when Brian begged for the apples, Luga said--
"I will not give them to thee. If thou shouldst offer me the full of the whole earth of gold, I would not give them to thee. Thou and thy brothers committed a wicked and pitiless deed when you slew my father. For that deed you must suffer, and with nothing short of your death shall I be content."
For the blood that you spilled, For the hero you killed--
The deed is avenged, and your doom is fulfilled!
Brian turned away and went back to his brothers, and, lying down between them, his life departed; and his brothers died at the same moment.
Then their father and their sister stood hand in hand over their bodies, lamenting. And Turenn spoke this lay-- Oh, pulseless is my heart this woful hour,
My strength is gone, my joy for ever fled;
Three noble champions, Erin's pride and power, My three fair youths, my children, cold and dead! [96]
Mild Ur, the fair-haired; Urcar, straight and tall; The kings of Banba[LVI.] worthy both to be; And Brian, bravest, noblest, best of all,
Who conquered many lands beyond the sea: Lo, I am Turenn, your unhappy sire,
Mourning with feeble voice above your grave; No life, no wealth, no honours I desire;
A place beside my sons is all I crave!
After this Turenn and Ethnea fell on the bodies of the three young heroes and died. And they were all buried in one grave.
This is the story of the Fate of the Children of Turenn. [97]
THE OVERFLOWING OF LOUGH NEAGH, AND THE
STORY OF LIBAN THE MERMAID.
In the days of old a good king ruled over Muman,[LVII.] whose name was Marid Mac Carido. He had two sons, Ecca and Rib. Ecca was restless and unruly, and in many ways displeased the king; and he told his brother Rib that he had made up his mind to leave
his home, and win lands for himself in some far off part of the country. Rib tried hard to dissuade him; but though this delayed his departure for a while, he was none the less bent on going.
At last Ecca, being wrought upon by his stepmother Ebliu (from whom Slieve Eblinne[LVIII.] was afterwards named), did a grievous wrong to his father, and fled from Muman with all his people; and his brother Rib and his stepmother Ebliu went with him. Ten hundred men they were in all,[98] besides women and children; and they turned their faces towards the north.
After they had travelled for some time, their druids[3] told them that it was not fated for them to settle in the same place; and accordingly, when they had come to the Pass of the two Pillar Stones, they parted.
Rib and his people turned to the west, and they journeyed till they came to the plain of Arbthenn. And there the water of a fountain
burst forth over the land, and drowned them all; and a great lake was formed, which to this day is called the Lake of Rib.[LIX.] Ecca continued his journey northwards; and he and his people fared slowly on till they came near to Bruga[LX.] of the Boyne, the palace of Mac Indoc, where they were fain to rest. No sooner had they halted, than a tall man came forth from the palace, namely, Angus Mac Indoc of the Bruga, son of the Dagda, and commanded them to leave the place without delay. But they, being spent with the toil of travel, heeded not his words, and, pitching their tents, they rested on the plain before the palace. Whereupon Angus, being wroth that his commands were unheeded, killed all their horses that night.
Next day, he came forth again, and he said to them, "Your horses I slew last night; and now, unless ye depart from this place, I will
slay your people to-night." [99]
And Ecca said to him, "Much evil hast thou done to us already, for thou hast killed all our horses. And now we cannot go, even though we desire it, for without horses we cannot travel."
Then Angus brought to them a very large horse in full harness, and they put all their goods on him. And when they were about to go, he said to them--
"Beware that ye keep this great steed walking continually; not even a moment's rest shall ye give him, otherwise he will certainly be the cause of your death."[14]
After this they set out again, on a Sunday in the mid-month of autumn, and travelled on till they reached the Plain of the Grey
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Copse,[LXI.] where they intended to abide. They gathered then round the great steed to take their luggage off him, and each was busy seeing after his own property, so that they forgot to keep the horse moving. And the moment he stood still, a magic well sprang up beneath his feet.[14]
Now Ecca, when he saw the well spring up, was troubled, remembering Angus's warning. And he caused a house to be built round it, and near it he built his palace, for the better security. And he chose a woman to take care of the well, charging her strictly to keep the door locked, except when the people of the palace came for water.
After that the King of Ulad,[LXII.] that is to say, Muridach,[100] the son of Fiaca Findamnas (who was grandson of Conal Carna
of the Red Branch[15]) came against Ecca to drive him forth from Ulad. But Ecca made a stout fight, so that he won the lordship of
half of Ulad from Muridach. And after that his people settled down on the Plain of the Grey Copse.
Now Ecca had two daughters, Ariu and Liban, of whom Ariu was the wife of Curnan the Simpleton. And Curnan went about among the people, foretelling that a lake would flow over them from the well, and urging them earnestly to make ready their boats. Come forth, come forth, ye valiant men; build boats, and build ye fast!
I see the water surging out, a torrent deep and vast;
I see our chief and all his host o'erwhelmed beneath the wave; And Ariu, too, my best beloved, alas! I cannot save.
But Liban east and west shall swim
Long ages on the ocean's rim, By mystic shores and islets dim, And down in the deep sea cave!
And he ceased not to warn all he met, repeating this verse continually; but the people gave no heed to the words of the Simpleton. Now the woman who had charge of the well, on a certain occasion forgot to close the door, so that the spell was free to work evil. And immediately the water burst forth over the plain, and formed a great lake, namely the Lake of the Copse. And Ecca and all his family and all his folk were drowned, save only his daughter Liban, and Conang, and Curnan the Simpleton. And they buried Ariu, and raised a mound over her, which is called from her Carn-Arenn.
[101]
Of Conang nothing more is told. But as to Curnan, he died of grief after his wife Ariu; and he was buried in a mound, which is called Carn-Curnan to this day in memory of him.
And thus the great Lake of the Copse was formed, which is now called Lough Necca,[LXIII.] in memory of Ecca, the son of Marid.
And it was the overflow of this lake which, more than all other causes, scattered the Ultonians over Erin.
Now as to Liban. She also was swept away like the others; but she was not drowned. She lived for a whole year with her lap-dog, in her chamber beneath the lake, and God protected her from the water. At the end of the year she was weary; and when she saw the speckled salmon swimming and playing all round her, she prayed and said--
"O my Lord, I wish I were a salmon, that I might swim with the others through the clear green sea!"
And at the words she took the shape of a salmon, except her face and breast, which did not change. And her lap-dog was changed to
an otter, and attended her afterwards whithersoever she went, as long as she lived in the sea.
And so she remained swimming about from