But the boy flew south between sea and land , keeping the land always on his left hand , till he saw a beautiful island crowned with flowering trees . There he alighted , and there he found the Three Fairies of the Garden . They were like three very beautiful young women , dressed one in green , one in white , and one in red , and they were dancing and singing round an apple tree with apples of gold , and this was their song : THE SONG OF THE WESTERN FAIRIES Round and round the apples of gold , Round and round dance we ; Thus do we dance from the days of old About the enchanted tree ; Round , and round , and round we go , While the spring is green , or the stream shall flow , Or the wind shall stir the sea ! There is none may taste of the golden fruit Till the golden new time come Many a tree shall spring from shoot , Many a blossom be withered at root , Many a song be dumb ; Broken and still shall be many a lute Or ever the new times come ! Round and round the tree of gold , Round and round dance we , So doth the great world spin from of old , Summer and winter , and fire and cold , Song that is sung , and tale that is told , Even as we dance , that fold and unfold Round the stem of the fairy tree ! These grave dancing fairies were very unlike the Grey Women , and they were glad to see the boy , and treated him kindly . Then they asked him why he had come ; and he told them how he was sent to find the Sword of Sharpness and the Cap of Darkness . And the fairies gave him these , and a wallet , and a shield , and belted the sword , which had a diamond blade , round his waist , and the cap they set on his head , and told him that now even they could not see him though they were fairies . Then he took it off , and they each kissed him and wished him good fortune , and then they began again their eternal dance round the golden tree , for it is their business to guard it till the new times come , or till the world 's ending . So the boy put the cap on his head , and hung the wallet round his waist , and the shining shield on his shoulders , and flew beyond the great river that lies coiled like a serpent round the whole world . And by the banks of that river , there he found the three Terrible Women all asleep beneath a poplar tree , and the dead poplar leaves lay all about them . Their golden wings were folded and their brass claws were crossed , and two of them slept with their hideous heads beneath their wings like birds , and the serpents in their hair writhed out from under the feathers of gold . But the youngest slept between her two sisters , and she lay on her back , with her beautiful sad face turned to the sky ; and though she slept her eyes were wide open . If the boy had seen her he would have been changed into stone by the terror and the pity of it , she was so awful ; but he had thought of a plan for killing her without looking on her face . As soon as he caught sight of the three from far off he took his shining shield from his shoulders , and held it up like a mirror , so that he saw the Dreadful Women reflected in it , and did not see the Terrible Head itself . Then he came nearer and nearer , till he reckoned that he was within a sword 's stroke of the youngest , and he guessed where he should strike a back blow behind him . Then he drew the Sword of Sharpness and struck once , and the Terrible Head was cut from the shoulders of the creature , and the blood leaped out and struck him like a blow . But he thrust the Terrible Head into his wallet , and flew away without looking behind . Then the two Dreadful Sisters who were left wakened , and rose in the air like great birds ; and though they could not see him because of his Cap of Darkness , they flew after him up the wind , following by the scent through the clouds , like hounds hunting in a wood . They came so close that he could hear the clatter of their golden wings , and their shrieks to each other : '' here , here , '' '' no , there ; this way he went , '' as they chased him .
But the Shoes of Swiftness flew too fast for them , and at last their cries and the rattle XXXXX their wings died away as he crossed the great river that runs round the world .
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