'Sorra care, I care,' says the dhraggin; 'for you're as good as ready money in my pocket this minit, for I'll lie undher this three,' says he, 'and sooner or later you must fall to my share'; and sure enough he sot down, and began to pick his teeth with his tail, afther the heavy brekquest he made that mornin' (for he ate a whole village, let alone the horse), and he got dhrowsy at last, and fell asleep; but before he wint to sleep, he wound himself all round about the three, all as one as a lady windin' ribbon round her finger, so that the waiver could not escape. Well, as soon as the waiver knew he was dead asleep, by the snorin' of him--and every snore he let out of him was like a clap o' thunder--that minit the waiver began to creep down the three, as cautious as a fox; and he was very nigh hand the bottom, when, bad cess to it, a thievin' branch he was dipindin' an bruk, and down he fell right a-top o' the dhraggin; but if he did, good luck was an his side, for where should he fall but with his two legs right acrass the dhraggin's neck, and, my jew'l, he laid howlt o' the baste's ears, and there he kept his grip, for the dhraggin wakened and endayvoured for to bite him; but, you see, by rayson the waiver was behind his ears, he could not come at him, and, with that, he endayvoured for to shake him off; but the divil a stir could he stir the waiver; and though he shuk all the scales an his body, he could not turn the scale agin the waiver. 'By the hokey, this is too bad intirely,' says the dhraggin; 'but if you won't let go,' says he, 'by the powers o' wildfire, I'll give you a ride that 'ill astonish your siven small sinses, my boy'; and, with that, away he flew like mad; and where do you think he did fly?--bedad, he flew sthraight for Dublin, divil a less. But the waiver bein' an his neck was a great disthress to him, and he would rather have had him an _inside passenger_; but, anyway, he flew and he flew till he kem _slap_ up agin the palace o' the king; for, bein' blind with the rage, he never seen it, and he knocked his brains out--that is, the small thrifle he had--and down he fell spacheless. An' you see, good luck would have it, that the King o' Dublin was lookin' out iv' his dhrawin'-room windy, for divarshin, that day also, and whin he seen the waiver ridin' an the fiery dhraggin (for he was blazin' like a tar-barrel), he called out to his coortyers to come and see the show. 'By the powdhers o' war, here comes the knight arriant,' says the king, 'ridin' the dhraggin that's all afire, and if he gets _into the palace_, yiz must be ready wid the _fire ingines_,' says he, 'for to _put him out_.' But when they seen the dhraggin fall outside, they all run downstairs and scampered into the palace-yard for to circumspect the _curosity_; and by the time they got down, the waiver had got off o' the dhraggin's neck, and runnin' up to the king, says he, 'Plaze your holiness,' says he, 'I did not think myself worthy of