as back in my father's Castle." In an instant she was back
there. Now all her maids were around her and all of them were crying
"Where have you been, King's daughter, where have you been?" And
Bright Brow told them that the King of the Fairy Riders had taken her
away to show her all the great heroes of the world so that when the
time came for her to choose a husband she could make her choice of the
best amongst them.

As for Mell, the Hen-wife's son: when he wakened up and found that
Bright Brow had gone and that the jewel was gone there was no one in
the world more sad and lonely than he was. He thought that she might
come back to him, but the moon came and the sun came and Bright Brow
came not. He longed to be a bird that he might fly after her to her
father's Castle.

He stayed on the Island of the Shadow of the Stars for a long time
for, now that the jewel was gone from him, there was no way of getting
from the Island. Then a King who had built a high tower went to the
top of it one day and saw the Island of the Shadow of the Stars. He
sent out his long ships and his leathern-jerkined men to it. They
found Mell and they brought him to the King. Then Mell became one of
the King's men and he went into battle and he learnt the use of all
arms.

III

The Hen-wife's son went through the Eastern and the Western Worlds and
he came back to where his mother's hut was. He rode round the walls of
the King's Castle. Everything that he thought was magnificent before
seemed small to him now. The trees that grew within the walls seemed
not much bigger than the bushes the old women put clothes to dry on.

Sitting on his black horse he looked across the wall that he once
thought was so high and he saw the Hen-wife's hut. His mother came out
to feed the hens and to count them and to gather up the eggs and put
them in a basket. "She's alive and I'll see her again," said Mell. He
rode round the wall to the King's Garden to try to get sight of the
Princess Bright Brow. He saw no sight of her. He rode on and he came
to the gate at the other side and he saw outside the Cook-house the
horse-boys and dog-boys and grooms that he used to know.

He saw them and he knew them, but they did not know him. He was
surprised to see that they had not learnt to straighten up their
shoulders nor to walk as if there was a fine thought in their heads.
They were all around the Cook-house, and a great noise of rattling was
coming from within it.