d him, and drank his
blood.

Then Billy jumped on the bull's back, and the bull off and away, where you
wouldn't know day from night or night from day, over high hills, low
hills, sheep walks and bullock traces, the Cove o' Cork, and old Tom Fox
with his bugle horn. And when he stopped he told Billy to put his hand in
his left ear and pull out the napkin, because he'd to fight another great
bull of the forest. So Billy pulled out the napkin and spread it, and it
was covered with all kinds of eating and drinking, fit for a king.

And, sure enough, just as Billy finished eating, there was a frightful
roar, and a mighty great bull, greater than the first, rushed out of the
forest. And the two bulls at it and fought. It was a terrible fight! They
knocked the hard ground into soft, the soft into hard, the rocks into
spring wells, and the spring wells into rocks. But in the end, Billy Beg's
bull killed the other bull, and drank his blood.

Then he off and away, with Billy.

But when he came down, he told Billy Beg that he was to fight another
bull, the brother of the other two, and that this time the other bull
would be too much for him, and would kill him and drink his blood.

"When I am dead, Billy, my boy," he said, "put your hand in my left ear
and draw out the napkin, and you'll never want for eating or drinking; and
put your hand in my right ear, and you'll find a stick there, that will
turn into a sword if you wave it three times round your head, and give you
the strength of a thousand men beside your own. Keep that; then cut a
strip of my hide, for a belt, for when you buckle it on, there's nothing
can kill you."

Billy Beg was very sad to hear that his friend must die. And very soon he
heard a more dreadful roar than ever he heard, and a tremendous bull
rushed out of the forest. Then came the worst fight of all. In the end,
the other bull was too much for Billy Beg's bull, and he killed him and
drank his blood.

Billy Beg sat down and cried for three days and three nights. After that
he was hungry; so he put his hand in the bull's left ear, and drew out the
napkin, and ate all kinds of eating and drinking. Then he put his hand in
the right ear and pulled out the stick which was to turn into a sword if
waved round his head three times, and to give him the strength of a
thousand men beside his own. And he cut a strip of the hide for a belt,
and started off on his adventures.

Presently he came to a fine place;