wedding guests so efficiently that Herla's own preparations are left untouched. The otherworldly king then reminds Herla of his promise, and departs. A year later, the dwarf king sends for Herla, who summons his companions and selects gifts to take to the dwarf king's wedding. The party enters an opening in a high cliff, passes through darkness, and then enters a realm seemingly lit by lamps. After the wedding ceremony, which lasted for three days in the dwarf king's realm, is over, Herla prepares to depart. The dwarf gives him hunting animals and other gifts; in particular, he presents Herla with a small bloodhound, advising him that no man should dismount his horse before the dog leaps down. After Herla and his band return to the human realm, they encounter an elderly shepherd, whom Herla asks for news of his queen. The old man, astonished, replies, "I can barely understand your speech, for I am a Saxon and you are a Briton." The elderly shepherd described a legend of a very ancient queen of the Britons bearing the name mentioned, the wife of King Herla, who had disappeared with a dwarf king into that very cliff and was never seen again. The shepherd also added that currently the Saxons had been in possession of the kingdom for the last two hundred years, and had driven out the native Britons. Herla, who thought he had been away for just three days, is so amazed he barely could stay in the saddle. Some of his men jump down from their horses, only to crumble quickly into dust. Herla warns his remaining companions not to dismount until the dog alights, but the dog, Map says wryly, has not yet alighted, and Herla and his host have become eternal wanderers. Map notes, however, that some say Herla's band plunged into the River Wye during the first year of the reign of King Henry II (the year 1154), and has never been seen since. Moral and reasoning This folk tale is supposed to illustrate the trickery of the elder races, such as the dwarves. That, for ignorant men, their miniature kingdoms harboured dangers which could bring even a king to his knees. It also is an example of the widespread belief that time in the elfin realms passed more slowly than it did on Earth. The story bears strong resemblances to the Welsh tale of