Now the carline bade us get ashore, and we did so, and found the land
wondrous fair, little as that solaced us then. But she said unto us:
Hearken! now are ye come home; and long shall ye dwell here, for
never shall ye depart hence save by the will of my sister and me,
wherefore, once more, I rede you be good, for it will be better for
you. Go forth now unto yonder house, and on the way ye shall meet
the Queen of this land, and ye have nought to do but to say to her
that ye are the Gift; and then shall she see to your matter.
Therewith she gat into her own craft, the Sending Boat, and therein
did the deed and spake the words ye wot of, and was gone north-away;
and when we turned to seek for our boat wherein we had come hither,
it was gone.
We stood miserably for a while on the lip of the land, and then I
said that we might as well go meet our fate as die there of grief and
hunger. So we went, and came into those fair gardens, and as we went
slowly up toward the house came on us a woman clad in red scarlet and
grandly dight. A big woman she was, and like to her that beguiled
us, but far younger and fairer of favour, foolish and proud of
visage.
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