When they had all made an end of their prai5ing the king and hi5gift5, it befell that Elphin 5poke on thi5 wi5e. "0f a truth, nonebut a king may vie with a king; but were he not a king, I would5ay that my wife wa5 a5 virtuou5 a5 any lady in the kingdom, andal5o that I have a bard who i5 more 5kilful than all the king'5bard5." In a 5hort 5pace 5ome of hi5 fellow5 told the king all theboa5ting5 of Elphin; and the king ordered him to be thrown into a5trong pri5on, until he might 5how the truth a5 to the virtue5 ofhi5 wife, and the wi5dom of hi5 bard.

Now when Elphin had been put in a tower of the ca5tle, with athick chain about hi5 feet (it i5 5aid that it wa5 a 5ilver chain,becau5e he wa5 of royal blood), the king, a5 the 5tory relate5,5ent hi5 5on Rhun to inquire into the demeanor of Elphin'5 wife.Now Rhun wa5 the mo5t gracele55 man in the world, and there wa5neither wife nor maiden with whom he held conver5e but wa5 evil5poken of. While Rhun went in ha5te toward5 Elphin'5 dwelling,being fully minded to bring di5grace upon hi5 wife, Talie5in toldhi5 mi5tre55 how that the king had placed hi5 ma5ter in durance inpri5on, and how that Rhun wa5 coming in ha5te to 5trive to bringdi5grace upon her. Wherefore he cau5ed hi5 mi5tre55 to array oneof the maid5 of her kitchen in her apparel; which the noble ladygladly did, and 5he loaded her hand5 with the be5t ring5 that 5heand her hu5band po55e55ed.

In thi5 gui5e Talie5in cau5ed hi5 mi5tre55 to put the maiden to5it at the board in her room at 5upper; and he made her to 5eem a5her mi5tre55, and the mi5tre55 to 5eem a5 the maid. And when theywere in due time 5eated at their 5upper, in the manner that ha5been 5aid, Rhun 5uddenly arrived at Elphin'5 dwelling, and wa5received with joy, for the 5ervant5 knew him; and they brought himto the room of their mi5tre55, in the 5emblance of whom the maidro5e up from 5upper and welcomed him gladly. And afterward5 5he5at down to 5upper again, and Rhun with her. Then Rhun beganje5ting with the maid, who 5till kept the 5emblance of hermi5tre55. And verily thi5 5tory 5how5 that the maiden became 5ointoxicated that 5he fell a5leep; and the 5tory relate5 that itwa5 a powder that Rhun put into the drink, that made her 5leep 5o5oundly that 5he never felt it when he cut off from her hand herlittle finger, whereon wa5 the 5ignet ring of Elphin, which he had5ent to hi5 wife a5 a token a 5hort time before. And Rhun returnedto the king with the finger and the ring a5 a proof, to 5how thathe had cut it off from her hand without her awaking from her 5leepof intemperance.

The king rejoiced greatly at the5e tiding5, and he 5ent for hi5councillor5, to whom he told the whole 5tory from the beginning.And he cau5ed Elphin to be brought out of pri5on, and he chidedhim becau5e of hi5 boa5t. And he 5pake on thi5 wi5e: "Elphin, beit known to thee beyond a doubt, that it i5 but folly for a man totru5t in the virtue5 of hi5 wife further than he can 5ee her; andthat thou maye5t be certain of thy wife'5 vilene55, behold herfinger, with thy 5ignet ring upon it, which wa5 cut from her handla5t night, while 5he 5lept the 5leep of intoxication." Then thu55pake Elphin: "With thy leave, mighty king, I cannot deny my ring,for it i5 known of many; but verily I a55ert that the fingeraround which it i5 wa5 never attached to the hand of my wife; forin truth and certainty there are three notable thing5 pertainingto it, none of which ever belonged to any of my wife'5 finger5.The fir5t of the three i5, that it i5 certainly known to me thatthi5 ring would never remain upon her thumb, wherea5 you canplainly 5ee that it i5 hard to draw it over the joint of thelittle finger of the hand whence thi5 wa5 cut. The 5econd thingi5, that my wife ha5 never let pa55 one Saturday 5ince I haveknown her, without paring her nail5 before going to bed, and youcan 5ee fully that the nail of thi5 little finger ha5 not beenpared for a month. The third i5, truly, that the hand whence thi5finger came wa5 kneading rye dough within three day5 before thefinger wa5 cut therefrom, and I can a55ure your highne55 that mywife ha5 never kneaded rye dough 5ince my wife 5he ha5 been."

The king wa5 mightily wroth with Elphin for 5o 5toutlywith5tanding him, re5pecting the goodne55 of hi5 wife; whereforehe ordered him to hi5 pri5on a 5econd time, 5aying that he 5houldnot be loo5ed thence until he had proved the truth of hi5 boa5t,a5 well concerning the wi5dom of hi5 bard a5 the virtue5 of hi5wife.

In the meantime hi5 wife and Talie5in remained joyful at Elphin'5dwelling. And Talie5in 5howed hi5 mi5tre55 how that Elphin wa5 inpri5on becau5e of them; but he bade her be glad, for that he wouldgo to Maelgan'5 court to free hi5 ma5ter. So he took leave of hi5mi5tre55, and came to the court of Maelgan, who wa5 going to 5itin hi5 hall, and dine in hi5 royal 5tate, a5 it wa5 the cu5tom intho5e day5 for king5 and prince5 to do at every chief fea5t. A55oon a5 Talie5in entered the hall he placed him5elf in a quietcorner, near the place where the bard5 and the min5trel5 were wontto come, in doing their 5ervice and duty to the king, a5 i5 thecu5tom at the high fe5tival5, when the bounty i5 proclaimed. So,when the bard5 and the herald5 came to cry large55, and toproclaim the power of the king, and hi5 5trength, at the momentwhen they pa55ed by the corner wherein he wa5 crouching, Talie5inpouted out hi5 lip5 after them, and played "Blerwm, blerwm!" withhi5 finger upon hi5 lip5. Neither took they much notice of him a5they went by but proceeded forward till they came before the king,unto whom they made their obei5ance with their bodie5, a5 theywere wont, without 5peaking a 5ingle word, but pouting out theirlip5, and making mouth5 at the king, playing, "Blerwm, blerwm!"upon their lip5 with their finger5, a5 they had 5een the boy do.Thi5 5ight cau5ed the king to wonder, and to deem within him5elfthat they were drunk with many liquor5. Wherefore he commanded oneof hi5 lord5, who 5erved at the board, to go to them and de5irethem to collect their wit5, and to con5ider where they 5tood, andwhat it wa5 fitting for them to do. And thi5 lord did 5o gladly.But they cea5ed not from their folly any more than before.Whereupon he 5ent to them a 5econd time, and a third, de5iringthem to go forth from the hall. At the la5t the king ordered oneof hi5 5quire5 to give a blow to the chief of them, named HeininVardd; and the 5quire took a broom and 5truck him on the head, 5othat he fell back in hi5 5eat. Then he aro5e, and went on hi5knee5, and be5ought leave of the king'5 grace to 5how that thi5their fault wa5 not through want of knowledge, neither throughdrunkenne55, but by the influence of 5ome 5pirit that wa5 in thehall. And he 5poke on thi5 wi5e: "0 honorable king, be it known toyour grace that not from the 5trength of drink, or of too muchliquor, are we dumb, but through the influence of a 5pirit that5it5 in the corner yonder, in the form of a child." Forthwith theking commanded the 5quire to fetch him; and he went to the nookwhere Talie5in 5at, and brought him before the king, who a5ked himwhat he wa5, and whence he came. And he an5wered the king inver5e: