"Mighty is thy fame, O King,
Towering like a giant oak;
For my song I ask no thing
Save a pigskin for a cloak.
"When a neighbour with his friend
Quarrels, they are ear to ear;
Who on us their store shall spend
Shall be richer than they were.
"Armies of the storming wind—
Raging seas, the sword's fell stroke—
Thou hast nothing to my mind
Save thy pigskin for a cloak."
"That is a very good poem," said the King, "but one word of its meaning I do not understand."
"I will interpret it for you," said Brian:—
"Mighty is thy fame, O King,
Towering like a giant oak."
"That is to say, as the oak surpasses all the other trees of the forest, so do you surpass all the kings of the world in goodness, in nobleness, and in liberality.
"A pigskin for a cloak."
"That is the skin of the pig of Tuish which I would fain receive as the reward for my lay."
"When a neighbour with his friend
Quarrels, they are ear to ear."