And he came to it like a ghost, and fell down on his knees toward it;
And the Tree asked him why he came like a ghost, and what he wanted:—
‘I have told you that some day you would be the enemy to my people and to the earth.’
There the Tree pulled off its bark and stuck it in his head, like split owl feathers;
And it was its middle branch which it cut down in fine shape for a club and slipped under his belt;
And it was a nut-gall from its limbs which it made into a canteen for him.
And these two together it slipped under his belt.
And it was the branch toward the ocean which it broke into four pieces, equally, and handed to him.
And from thence he travelled on, on the Middle Road, and where there were beautiful fringes he examined them as he went along.
And from the Middle Road he could see the road on either side, the Road of the Enemy.