Next day the three brothers set out for the castle of King Conal. They travelled one day after another, stopping one night in one place and the next in another, and they were that way walking till one evening, when whom should they meet but a limping man in a black cap. The man saluted them, and they returned the salute.
“What brought you this road, and where are you going?” asked the stranger.
“We are going to the castle of King Conal to know can we bring his three horses home with us.”
“Well,” said the man, “my house is nearby, and the dark night is coming; stay with me till morning, and perhaps I can help you.”
The young men went with the stranger, and soon came to his house. After supper the man said, “It is the most difficult feat in the world to steal King Conal’s three horses. Many a good man went for them, and never came back. Why do you go for those horses?”
“Our father is a king in Erin, and he married a second time. Our stepmother bound us to bring the three horses, so she may ride three times around our father’s kingdom.”
“I will go with you,” said the man. “Without me, you would lose your lives; together, we may bring the horses.”
Next morning the four set out, and went their way, walking one day after another, till at long last they reached the castle of King Conal at nightfall.
On that night, whatever the reason was, the guards fell asleep at the stables. The stranger and the three young men made their way to the horses; but if they did, the moment they touched them the horses let three screeches out of them that shook the whole castle and woke every man in the country around it.
The guards seized the young men with the stranger, and took the four to King Conal.