When the time came to
try it, he said, he would tell what it was, but it would be of no more
use than the rest that they had done. Naggeneen laughed at all the
others when they came home baffled and out of sorts. "You'll never do
the things that men do," he said, "any more than they'll ever do the
things that you do. And their wonders are more and better than yours."
After a time they ceased to try to learn any more. They began to live
much as they had lived in Ireland. They had found a green place where
they could dance, near the palace, but it was winter now, and the snow
was over everything much of the time. They went to the O'Briens every
day for the food that was left outside the window for them, and, for
the most part, they spent the rest of the time in the palace. Often
Naggeneen played the fiddle or the pipes for them. Then they forgot
that it was his fault that they had ever come here, but when he
stopped playing they remembered it and hated him again. And Naggeneen
laughed at them. He had a strange laugh, without a bit of merriment or
good-humor in it.
Pages:
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146