imself and his three fosterbrothers. Then his fosterers went to him
that he might repair to the bull-feast. The bull-feaster, then in his
sleep, at the end of the night beheld a man stark-naked, passing along
the road of Tara, with a stone in his sling.

"I will go in the morning after you," quoth he.

He left his fosterbrothers at their game, and turned his chariot and his
charioteer until he was in Dublin. There he saw great, white-speckled
birds, of unusual size and colour and beauty. He pursues then until his
horses were tired. The birds would go a spearcast before him, and would
not go any further. He alighted, and takes his sling for them out of the
chariot. He goes after them until he was at the sea. The birds betake
themselves to the wave. He went to them and overcame them. The birds
quit their birdskins, and turn upon him with spears and swords. One of
them protects him, and addressed him, saying: "I am Nemglan, king of thy
father's birds; and thou hast been forbidden to cast at birds, for here
there is no one that should not be dear to thee because of his father
or mother."

"Till to-day," says Conaire, "I knew not this."

"Go to Tara tonight," says Nemglan; "'tis fittest for thee. A bull-feast
is there, and through it thou shalt be king. A man stark-naked, who
shall go at the end of the night along one of the roads of Tara, having
a stone and a sling--'tis he that shall be king."

So in this wise Conaire fared forth; and on each of the four roads
whereby men go to Tara there were three kings awaiting him, and they had
raiment for him, since it had been foretold that he would come
stark-naked. Then he was seen from the road on which his fosterers were,
and they put royal raiment about him, and placed him in a chariot, and
he bound his pledges.

The folk of Tara said to him: "It seems to us that our bull-feast and
our spell of truth are a failure, if it be only a young, beardless lad
that we have visioned therein."

"That is of no moment," quoth he. "For a young, generous king like me to
be in the kingship is no disgrace, since the binding of Tara's pledges
is mine by right of father and grandsire."

"Excellent! excellent!" says the host. They set the kingship of Erin
upon him. And he said: "I will enquire of wise men that I myself may
be wise."

Then he uttered all this as he had been taught by the man at the wave,
who said this to him: "Thy reign will be subject to a restriction, but
the bird-reign