The Mabinogion Vol. 1 | Page 3

table. {19a} And I sat next to him,
and below me sat all the maidens, except those who waited on us. And
the table was of silver; and the cloths upon the table were of linen. And
no vessel was served upon the table that was not either of gold, or of
silver, or of buffalo horn. And our meat was brought to us. And verily,
Kai, I saw there every sort of meat, and every sort of liquor, that I ever
saw elsewhere; but the meat and the liquors were better served there,
than I ever saw them in any other place.
"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of the
damsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived that it
would be more agreeable to me to converse than to eat any more, he
began to enquire of me who I was. I said I was glad to find that there
was some one who would discourse with me, and that it was not
considered so great a crime at that Court, for people to hold converse
together. 'Chieftain,' said the man, 'we would have talked to thee sooner,
but we feared to disturb thee during thy repast. Now, however, we will
discourse.' Then I told the man who I was, and what was the cause of
my journey. And said that I was seeking whether any one was superior
to me, or whether I could gain the mastery over all. The man looked
upon me, and he smiled, and said, 'If I did not fear to distress thee too
much, {19b} I would shew thee that which thou seekest.' Upon this I
became anxious and sorrowful; and when the man perceived it, he said,
'If thou wouldst rather that I should shew thee thy disadvantage, than
thine advantage, I will do so. Sleep here to-night, and in the morning,
arise early, and take the road upwards through the valley, until thou
reachest the wood, through which thou camest hither. A little way
within the wood, thou wilt meet with a road, branching off to the right;
by which thou must proceed, until thou comest to a large sheltered
glade, with a mound in the centre. And thou wilt see a black man of
great stature, on the top of the mound; he is not smaller in size than two
of the men of this world. He has but one foot, and one eye, in the
middle of his forehead. And he has a club of iron, and it is certain that

there are no two men in the world, who would not find their burden in
that club. And he is not a comely man, but on the contrary he is
exceedingly ill favoured; and he is the woodward of that wood. And
thou wilt see a thousand wild animals, grazing around him. Enquire of
him the way out of the glade, and he will reply to thee briefly, {20} and
will point out the road, by which thou shalt find that which thou art in
quest of.'
"And long seemed the night to me. And the next morning I arose, and
equipped myself, and mounted my horse, and proceeded straight
through the valley, to the wood, and I followed the crossroad which the
man had pointed out to me, till at length I arrived at the glade. And
there was I three times more astonished at the number of wild animals
that I beheld, than the man had said I should be. And the black man
was there, sitting upon the top of the mound. Huge of stature as the
man had told me that he was, I found him to exceed by far the
description he had given me of him. As for the iron club, which the
man had told me was a burden for two men, I am certain, Kai, that it
would be a heavy weight for four warriors to lift. And this was in the
black man's hand. And he only spoke to me in answer to my questions.
{21a} Then I asked him what power he held over those animals. 'I will
shew thee, little man,' said he. And he took his club in his hand, and
with it he struck a stag a great blow, so that he brayed vehemently, and
at his braying, the animals came together, as numerous as the stars in
the sky, so that it was difficult for me to find room in the glade, to stand
among them. There were serpents, and dragons, and divers sorts of
animals. And he looked at them, and bade them go and feed. And they
bowed their heads, and did him homage, as vassals to their lord.
"Then the black