Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The destruction of Da Derga's Hostel (Author: [unknown])
section 105
Lé fri flaith son of Conaire, whose likeness this is.
There I beheld a red-freckled boy in a purple cloak. He is always awailing in the house. A stead wherein is the king of a cantred58, whom each man takes from bosom to bosom.
‘So he is with a blue silvery chair under his seat in the midst of the house, and he always a-wailing. Truly then, sad are his household listening to him! Three heads of hair on that boy, and these
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are the three: green hair and purple hair and all-golden hair. I know not whether they are many appearances which the hair receives, or whether they are three kinds of hair which are naturally upon him. But I know that evil is the thing he dreads tonight59. I beheld thrice fifty boys on silvern chairs around him, and there were fifteen bulrushes in the hand of that red-freckled boy, with a thorn at the end of each of the rushes. And we were fifteen men, and our fifteen right eyes were blinded by him, and he blinded one of the seven pupils which was in my head,’ saith Ingcél. ‘Hast thou his like, O Fer rogain?’
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