Ossian Collection > Waifs and strays of Celtic tradition > Volume 4

194 ^'^^' Fians.
father and grandfather, and there never was a night in
which I could remember worse than to-night" ("67/rt
robh mi riamh oidliclie bu viJiios a cluiimJincachadh na
'nocJid ").
They said, there never was a night in which he could
remember better. Then the Gniagach (Chief) went out,
and, on returning, said there was a wild boar out {tore
nii/i/ie), and told them to let one of the Feinne take it
in for food. Conan went out, and GoU with him, to
bring it in, though seven times its weight of earth (a
sJieachd nrrad fJiein do thalantJi) stuck to it. They
brought it in, and Conan was sent to measure it against
the mane {an agJiaidJi a rannadli). When the meat
was ready, the daughter of the King and Conan were
nibbling the head of the boar {criouia ceann an tuirc).
She then said, " Finn MacCumal, a turn at wrestling I
would like to have from you" {''Fhinn 'ic OnnJiail, car
glcac a f dill Icain naif). Fionn answered, "Will you not
take the one that is standing?" {" Nach gabJi tJiu fear
tJia na sheasaink?") Conan tried, but was thrown. He
was useless until he got over the first disgrace. At this
time Dermid released him. [While the Feinne were
eating the boar, it was said that a bird could not take
in its bill the bone they had {naeh <r/' tJioireadJi Ian 'na
gJiob enaimh bJiiodh aea). This, probabl}^, was in allusion
to its size, and the bareness with which they ate the
flesh off it] The men of the King of Tara were getting
nothing, and one of them said :
" Fians, it is long since I heard how nasty your eating
a boar's flesh was, but I never saw it till to-night."
{"Gu dearbh, nihuinntir na Fiinne, 's fJiad o na ehuala mi,
gur mosaeh dli itheas sibJi tore ' s eJia-n fJiaea mi gus a
noehd e".)
Conan threw a bone at him, saying: "If you had
asked it sooner, you would have got it rougher" ("Na'n