In the wood he felt hungry , for he had walked far , and he sat down to eat . Suddenly a voice behind him cried : ' A bit for me ! a bit for me ! ' And looking round he beheld the black raven of the wilderness . ` Yes , you shall have a bit , ' said Covan the Brown-haired ; and breaking off a piece he stretched it upwards to the raven , who ate it greedily . Then Covan arose and went forward , till he saw the light from the cottage streaming before him , and glad was he , for night was at hand . ` Maybe I shall find some work there , ' he thought , ` and at least I shall gain money to help me in my search ; for who knows how far my sister and my brothers may have wandered ? ' The door stood open and he entered , and the old man gave him welcome , and the golden-haired maiden likewise . As happened before , he was offered by the old man to herd his cows ; and , as she had done to his brothers , the maiden counselled him to leave such work alone . But , instead of answering rudely , like both Ardan and Ruais , he thanked her , with courtesy , though he had no mind to heed her ; and he listened to the warnings and words of his new master . Next day he set forth at dawn with the dun cows in front of him , and followed patiently wherever they might lead him . On the way he saw the gold cock and silver hen , which ran even closer to him than they had done to his brothers . Sorely tempted , he longed to give them chase ; but , remembering in time that he had been bidden to look neither to the right nor to the left , with a mighty effort he turned his eyes away . Then the gold and silver staffs seemed to spring from the earth before him , but this time also he overcame ; and though the fruit from the magic tree almost touched his mouth , he brushed it aside and went steadily on . That day the cows wandered father than ever they had done before , and never stopped till they had reached a moor where the heather was burning . The fire was fierce , but the cows took no heed , and walked steadily through it , Covan the Brown-haired following them . Next they plunged into a foaming river , and Covan plunged in after them , though the water came high above his waist . On the other side of the river lay a wide plain , and here the cows lay down , while Covan looked about him . Near him was a house built of yellow stone , and from it came sweet songs , and Covan listened , and his heart grew light within him . While he was thus waiting there ran up to him a youth , scarcely able to speak so swiftly had he sped ; and he cried aloud : ` Hasten , hasten , Covan the Brown-haired , for your cows are in the corn , and you must drive them out ! '
` Nay , ' said Covan smiling , ` it had been easier XXXXX you to have driven them out than to come here to tell me . '
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