On they drove, the boys laughing merrily, heedless alike of the black
shadow resting on their step-mother's brow, and of the pale, trembling
lips of their sister. As they reached a gloomy pass, Eva whispered to her
attendants, 'Kill, I pray you, these children of Lir, for their father
careth not for me, because of his great love for them. Kill them, and
great wealth shall be yours.'
But the attendants answered in horror, 'We will not kill them. Fearful, O
Eva, were the deed, and great is the evil that will befall thee, for
having it in thine heart to do this thing.'
Then Eva, filled with rage, drew forth her sword to slay them with her own
hand, but too weak for the monstrous deed, she sank back in the chariot.
Onward they drove, out of the gloomy pass into the bright sunlight of the
white road. Daisies with wide-open eyes looked up into the blue sky
overhead. Golden glistened the buttercups among the shamrock. From the
ditches peeped forget-me-not. Honeysuckle scented the hedgerows. Around,
above, and afar, carolled the linnet, the lark, and the thrush. All was
colour and sunshine, scent and song, as the children of Lir drove onward
to their doom.
Not until they reached a still lake were the horses unyoked for rest.
There Eva bade the children undress and go bathe in the waters. And when
the children of Lir reached the water's edge, Eva was there behind them,
holding in her hand a fairy wand.
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