of Fraser and Gordon, a storm of foam blew Beyond 



like snow against the towers and steeples of ^ e Blue 



Aberdeen. At least all this might well have tr jo ns 



been, if in those old ancient days there had been 



any Aberdeen or Inverness to see it, or if there 



were cobles and nets then, as, for all you or I or 



the wind know, there may have been. Well, 



the Bear swam away due north, and Finn after 



it and his great hounds Luath and Dorch. It 



took them a month to come up with it, and 



then it was among mountains of solid ice with 



the sea between hard as granite. Then it 



came to the place where there's an everlasting 



Rainbow. The Bear climbed this, to jump to 



the other side of the Pole, but Luath ran up 



one side and Dorch the other and Finn hurled 



his great shining spears, one after the other: 



so that down the bear came with a rush, and 



so great was the noise and stramash that the 



icebergs melted, and out flew thousands of 



solanders and grey swans and scarts and God 



knows what all, every kind of bird that is with 



a web to its foot. The hounds fell into the 



water, and the Bear lay on a floe like a 



wounded seal, but Finn never moved an inch 



but put spear after spear into the Bear. "Well, 



you're dead now," he said ; " and if you're not, 



you ought to be," he added, seeing that the 



Bear was up again and ready to be off. 



325 



