The Celtic Riddle

"One, two, three, push!" he said. We both pushed as hard as we could on the stone. It rocked slightly.

"Again!" Rob ordered. We pushed again, then again. The stone started to rock, and finally, with a jerk, moved, then rolled away from the tunnel. Rob pushed me out in front of him, and we were free.

Chapter Eighteen. ON WHOM DO THE STARS SHINE?

SO you want to hear the story of how the Celts came to Ireland, do you? The last great invasion of Ireland. That and the judgment of Amairgen.

Well, the story begins in Spain with a man by the name of Mil. He had a number of descendants as did his brothers. Now one of these boys was called Ith, and one fine day he climbed up on a high tower to see what he could see, contemplating the world about him. And on that clear day in winter, what do you think he saw? Ireland did I hear you say? 'Twas. Ireland for sure. 'Twas just a shadow on the horizon, but he decided to go there. Now some of his relatives were sure he was daft. 'Twas clouds you saw, not land, they told him, and they tried to stop his going. But he went anyway, yes he did. He took some followers and his son Lugaid. And when he got there, he asked the inhabitants-and we know who they were now, Tuatha de, Tuatha de Danaan, Children of the goddess Danu-he asked them, "what do you call this place?" "Inis elga," the people replied."And who's in charge?" Ith asked again. "Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht, and Mac Greine are the kings, " they said.

So Ith and his son went to Ailech and met the three kings, and Ith said many good things about the land, so that he and the kings parted on good terms. But now the story takes a turn for the worse, for some of the Tuatha de worried that Ith and his followers liked their country so much they would take it by force, so they hunted Ith down and killed him. His people took his body back to Spain where his brothers were sorrowful and angry, and vowed revenge.

So they collected their warriors, and all the sons of Mil and their relatives, the poet Amairgen among them, and in sixty-five ships sailed for Ireland. But when they got there, they couldn 't see the island, for the Tuatha de had placed a spell on it, and the Milesians circled the island three times, before finally coming to Slieve Mish. You know Slieve Mish. Then they went on to Eblinne.