of an hundred stags." "O Chieftain," he replied, "if I have done ill
I will redeem thy friendship." "How wilt thou redeem it?"
"According as thy dignity may be, but I know not who thou art?" "A
crowned king am I in the land whence I come." "Lord," said he, "may
the day prosper with thee, and from what land comest thou?" "From
Annwvyn," {2} answered he; "Arawn, a King of Annwvyn, am I." "Lord,"
said he, "how may I gain thy friendship?" "After this manner mayest
thou," he said. "There is a man whose dominions are opposite to
mine, who is ever warring against me, and he is Havgan, a King of
Annwvyn, and by ridding me of this oppression, which thou canst
easily do, shalt thou gain my friendship." "Gladly will I do this,"
said he. "Show me how I may." "I will show thee. Behold thus it is
thou mayest. I will make firm friendship with thee; and this will I
do. I will send thee to Annwvyn in my stead, and I will give thee
the fairest lady thou didst ever behold to be thy companion, and I
will put my form and semblance upon thee, so that not a page of the
chamber, nor an officer, nor any other man that has always followed
me shall know that it is not I. And this shall be for the space of a
year from to-morrow, and then we will meet in this place." "Yes,"
said he; "but when I shall have been there for the space of a year,
by what means shall I discover him of whom thou speakest?" "One year
from this night," he answered, "is the time fixed between him and me
that we should meet at the Ford; be thou there in my likeness, and
with one stroke that thou givest him, he shall no longer live. And
if he ask thee to give him another, give it not, how much soever he
may entreat thee, for when I did so, he fought with me next day as
well as ever before." "Verily," said Pwyll, "what shall I do
concerning my kingdom?" Said Arawn, "I will cause that no one in all
thy dominions, neither man nor woman, shall know that I am not thou,
and I will go there in thy stead." "Gladly then," said Pwyll, "will