BALOR OF THE EVIL EYE AND LUI LAVADA HIS GRANDSON.
Long ago there were people in Erin called Firbolgs; and they lived undisturbed many years, till a king called Balor Beiman came from Lochlin with great forces, made war on the Firbolgs, killed their king, and drove themselves out of Erin.
The Firbolgs went to Spain; and there they were looking for means of support, but could find none, unless what they got for work in carrying mortar.
They carried mortar, and lived that way till at long last the Spaniards said, “These people are too many in number; let us drive them out of the country.” So the Spaniards drove out the Firbolgs, and they came back to Erin. In Erin they attacked Balor and his Lochlin men, but were defeated with loss a second time. When they left Erin again, the Firbolgs went to the lands of Gallowna, and there they lived undisturbed and unharmed.
When the Firbolgs were driven out of Erin the second time, Balor Beiman summoned his chief men, and said to them, “I will go back to Lochlin now and live there in quiet. I am too old to fight with new enemies. I will leave my sons here with you to rule in place of myself; and do ye obey them, and be as brave under them as ye were under me.”
With that Balor left Erin, sailed away, and never stopped till he reached home in Lochlin.
At that time there was a smith in Erin named Gaivnin Gow, and he had a cow called Glas Gownach. The smith had a magic halter with which he used to tie the cow every night.
Glas Gownach travelled three provinces of Erin every day, and came home in the evening; the halter had power over her, and she went always to the halter in the evening if left to herself.
The cow gave milk to every one on her journey each day,—no matter how large the vessels were that people brought, or how many, she filled them; there was no lack of milk in Erin while that cow was in it. She was sent to give food and comfort to all, and she gave it, but especially to poor people.