V. The Return of King Manus’s Horses

Again Manus, King of the Western Island, sat in his supper hall. The torches were in their sconces, the candles were lighted on the table,[Pg 163] the hearth¹ fire was blazing on the hearth, and his lords once again sat to the right and the left of him. But this time they sat without laughter and without high words.

The harper and the story-teller were at the table too, but they neither made music nor told stories. They had tried, both, that evening, but no one had listened to them. Outside, the iron door of the stable gaped³ wide, and the grooms⁴ and horse boys and watchers stood idly around or went quarreling amongst themselves. It was very difficult, as you may imagine, for the harper to play upon his harp² when he would hear the King say into his wine cup, “O, Raven⁵, my black horse, where art thou now?” And it was equally difficult for the story-teller to get on with his tale when he would see the King looking at him with unseeing eyes and hear him say, “O, my white and my red horses, what would I not give if I saw you back in my courtyard again?”

So you can imagine the silence that was upon the supper board that was wont⁶ to resound⁷ with conversation and story-telling, with music and[Pg 164] pledges of the wine cup. “O, Raven, my black horse, where art thou now?” said the King once again; and then, “What would I not give to have my white and my red horse in the courtyard again?” And these were all the words that King Manus could be got to say.

And then, suddenly, a loud neigh was heard outside. Straightway King Manus ran out of the supper hall. The lords, the minstrel, and the story-teller, the stewards⁸, servers, and attendants, ran with him. And when they came as far as the wide door of the castle they ran into the grooms and the horse boys who were running from the stable. All ran together. And there, in the middle of the courtyard, without a rider upon his back, was Raven, the King’s black horse.

They brought him into his stall in the stable, and they combed him and they groomed⁹ him; they gave him the red wheat and the white barley¹⁰ to eat and the clear spring water to drink. King Manus could hardly be prevailed upon to leave Raven’s stall and come back into the supper hall. But at length they got him back into his[Pg 165] seat, and then the supper board resounded¹¹ with pledges of the wine cup as the King and his lords drank to each other merrily.

Again there was neighing in the courtyard, this time a double neighing. Straightway the King ran out and all who were near ran with him. They ran into the grooms and the horse boys who were running from the stable. There in the courtyard were the white horse and the red horse. They were not unmounted, however, for Eean and Bird-of-Gold were upon them.

This time King Manus grew into such glee that he swore by the open hand of his father that he would make a duke of every lord who was with him that night. There were great rejoicings. Some tossed their torches so high that they frightened the owls¹² out of the cornices on the castle. The grooms brought the white horse and the red horse into their stalls in the stable, and they fed them with red wheat and white barley, and gave them the clear spring water to drink.

Then they went to carry Eean and Bird-of-Gold into the supper hall. They were not to be[Pg 166] found for a while, for Anluan, Eean’s father, had led them away. He was seen to weep over Eean, and to take the hands of Bird-of-Gold and kiss her while he called her daughter. And to Anluan King Manus gave the privilege of bringing them to the supper board.

The King put Eean into the story-teller’s seat, but he had Bird-of-Gold sit beside him on his left hand. The feast began all over again, and went on from egg to apple. And when wine had been drunk King Manus called upon Eean to tell the story of his journey to Merlin’s Island and the full tale of how he had defeated Zabulun the Enchanter.

When all was told the King gave presents to Eean and Bird-of-Gold and he swore that for a year and a day he would have them live with him in his castle. “And,” said he, “this girl, Bird-of-Gold, has been very loving and faithful to you as you have been to her, and for a further benefit to you I shall have the old blind sage¹³ come down from his attic¹⁴ in the castle and marry you here and now.” Eean and Bird-of-Gold took each[Pg 167] other’s hands as he said this, and the old blind sage was brought down from his attic chamber¹⁵, and he married Bird-of-Gold and Eean by the rays of the rising sun.

For a year and a day they lived in King Manus’s royal castle. Now Eean had learnt so much of the arts and crafts and mysteries that belong to an Enchanter that he was able to do great works for the King. Castles he built that gave security, and bridges that brought people together, and mills that ground for the people abundance of corn. He had become so strong and so sure of himself since his encounter with Zabulun that all he set out to perform he did well. And his wife, Bird-of-Gold, loved him so much that her thought never went back to the country she had come from. Always, they say, she kept a flock of white ducks; perhaps they reminded her of the thousand ducks that was the fortune she brought into Babylon.

But the story-teller must not forget to tell you about the question that Eean asked Merlin the Enchanter on King Manus’s behalf. It was about[Pg 168] a game of chess that King Manus had been playing with his brother-in-law, King Connal, for half their lifetimes without either having victory in sight. Moreover, they had inherited the game from their fathers, and it was now being played for fifty years. Merlin told Eean what the moves should be, and the day after he came to the castle, Eean took the chess board and showed them to the King. With that instruction he played. The game of chess was finished three days afterwards, and great fame and honor came to King Manus.

The End

1 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

3 gaped   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• A huge chasm gaped before them. 他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front door was missing. A hole gaped in the roof. 前门不翼而飞，屋顶豁开了一个洞。 来自辞典例句

4 grooms   

n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• Plender end Wilcox became joint grooms of the chambers. 普伦德和威尔科克斯成为共同的贴身侍从。 来自辞典例句
• Egypt: Families, rather than grooms, propose to the bride. 埃及：在埃及，由新郎的家人，而不是新郎本人，向新娘求婚。 来自互联网

5 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

6 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

7 resound   

v.回响

参考例句：

• A roar of approval resounded through the Ukrainian parliament.一片赞成声在乌克兰议会中回响。
• The soldiers' boots resounded in the street.士兵的军靴踏在地面上的声音在大街上回响。

8 stewards   

（轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家

参考例句：

• The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
• The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。

9 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

11 resounded   

v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音

参考例句：

• Laughter resounded through the house. 笑声在屋里回荡。
• The echo resounded back to us. 回声传回到我们的耳中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

13 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

14 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

15 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。