arly he mounted and
rode away

His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the green ground under him,

and he rode on until he came to the turn in the road. Sure enough the
old gray fellow was there. "So you've come to me again, King's Son,"
said he. "I have," said the King of Ireland's Son, "and I'll play a last
game with you on the same understanding as before." He tied his horse to
the branch and sat down on the heap of stones. They played. The King of
Ireland's Son lost the game. Immediately the gray old fellow threw
the cards down on the stones and a wind came up and carried them away.
Standing up he was terribly tall.

"King's Son," said he, "I am your father's enemy and I have done him an
injury. And to the Queen who is your father's wife I have done an injury
too. You have lost the game and now you must take the penalty I put upon
you. You must find out my dwelling-place and take three hairs out of my
beard within a year and a day, or else lose your head."

With that he took the King of Ireland's Son by the shoulders and lifted
him on his horse, turning the horse in the direction of the King's
Castle. The King's Son rode on

His hound at his heel,
His hawk on his wrist;
A brave steed to carry him whither he list,
And the blue sky over him.

That evening the King noticed that his son was greatly troubled. And
when he lay down to sleep everyone in the Castle heard his groans and
his moans. The next day he told his father the story from beginning to
end. The King sent for Maravaun his Councillor and asked him if he knew
who the Enchanter was and where his son would be likely to find him.

"From what he said," said Maravaun, "we may guess who he is. He is the
Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands and his dwelling-place is hard to
find. Nevertheless your son must seek for him and take the three hairs
out of his beard or else lose his head. For if the heir to your kingdom
does not honorably pay his forfeit, the ground of Ireland won't give
crops and the cattle won't give milk." "And," said the Councillor, "as a
year is little for his search, he should start off at once, although I'm
bound to say, that I don't know what direction he should go in."

The next day the King's Son said good-by to his father and his
foster-brothers and started off on his journey. His step-mother would
not give him her blessing on account of his having brought in the b