J. F. Campbell Collection > Fireside stories of Ireland

58 THE FIRESIDE STORIES OF IRELAND.
roll a golden apple in at one door, and out at another."
Away he went, and to work fell the prince ; but for every
sprow^-full he threw out, two came in, and when the prin-
cess brought him his dinner, there he was standing outside
the door, and the stable as full of litter and dung as it could
hold.
A smile came on her face as she saw his sorrowful looks,
but she spoke cheerfully. " Come, prince, take the dinner
I have cooked for you, and if you don't object I'll join you:
we are equal in birth and we are equal in misfortune." He
had little appetite, but he was glad of anything that brought
himself and the beautiful princess together. So while they
were eating, she told him that she was secured in the same
manner as himself ; that he was the second, and that in
some years he'd have scores of servants, all sons and daugh-
ters of kings, but that whoever could perform three tasks
he'd get would have a chance of escape. " I had a god-
mother," said she, " who was an enchantress, and I have
power that the giant knows nothing about. Look here,"
She took the sprong, flung out three fulls of it, and all
that was in the stable followed it into the great lough at
the bottom of the bawn.
Glad enough was the prince, and if he did'nt thank the
princess, and make all the lo^dng speeches in the world to
her, it's no matter. They didn't feel the time passing till
the giant came home, and very bitter he looked when he
found the stable cleared. He said not a w^rd all the time
they were waiting on him at supper, but when they were
ready for bed, he told the prince he had another small job
for him in the morning.
Sure enough, the task he put on him the second day was
to catch a filly in the paddock. " There is a golden bridle
for you," said he, " and if you succeed, that bridle is your
own." Away went the giant to look after his flocks and
herds, and a sore forenoon the poor prince had, chasing the
filly round the paddock, and striving to tempt her with
a hooravm of oats. But dinner-time came, and there was
his dear princess coming over the stile with his dinner.
She knew he'd have no appetite in the state he was in,
and so the first thing she done after laying down the cloth