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An Irish hero whose mother had died was required
by his mother-in-law to set out on a journey
to an island beneath the sea and to bring back
some golden apples he would find there.
Should he fail to return within a year, he
would lose his right to the throne,
relinquishing it to one of his stepbrothers.
For his journey he was given a miserable shaggy
nag. No sooner had he set out than the nag
said, “Look in my ear. You will
find a metal ball. Throw it on the path
ahead of us and we will follow it wherever it goes.”
Unhesitatingly the prince did this, and
so, proceeding by chance, they
passed through many perilous situations.
Finally, on the point of success, the
horse said to the Prince, “Now take your
sword and slit my throat.” The Prince
hesitated, but only for a moment.
No sooner had he killed the horse than,
lo and behold, it turned into
a prince, who, except for the
acquiescence of the hero, would have
had to remain a miserable shaggy nag.
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