The gnomes were clearly impressed by Beta’s words and manners, and they began to discuss something among themselves animatedly. Then, the kind little people fell silent once again and one of the gnomes with a very long beard slowly and solemnly went up to Beta. It appeared that he was the oldest and wisest gnome present at the festival. He first briefly introduced himself: his name was Beglakh. Then he asked Beta and the seven Tuata who they were and why they had come to the gnomes’ underground caves. When the fairy and the Tuata had given him a detailed account of the purpose of their journey and how they had found themselves in the land of Uim, the kind gnome began to smile, stroked his beard and invited the friends to sit down at a table. At the same time he gave a sign to the rest of the gnomes, and after a minute or two plates and cups filled with every kind of food and drink appeared on the table in front of Beta and the seven Tuata.

While the friends were eating and resting the gnomes began to discuss something amongst themselves again. Then several of them ran off somewhere and soon returned carrying three packages. Beglakh explained to Beta and the Tuata that in the first package was food for them all for the journey, while in the second were precious emeralds especially for the fairy. The gnomes had taken a particular liking to her.

“She is as wise and kind as we are! And so wondrously beautiful too!” said one of them with delight.

And in the third package lay a single sweet wrapped in paper. The Tuata were surprised that a sweet could help them on their journey, as it would be very difficult to divide it into eight parts, but the wise gnome advised them not to jump to conclusions.

“When you leave our mountainous land of Uim, you will reach the bank of the fiery river Tan. This river does not look very wide, deep or fast-moving at first glance, and some think that it is even safe to wade across it, but they are mistaken. The quiet river Tan is a dangerous river. As soon as something or someone enters it, its water turns into flame. And that is why we are giving you this sweet. When you approach the bank of the fiery river, you should immediately throw the sweet into it and you will see what happens next”, Beglakh said to them and smiled again.

Of course, the seven Tuata really wanted to know what would happen to the fiery river when they threw the sweet into it, but they did not question Beglakh any more about this, as they did not want to tire the wise gnome with their excessive curiosity. He had told them that the sweet would help them, and so that is what would happen.

When Beta and the Tuata had rested well and even slept for a while, the gnomes led them through the labyrinth of underground passages. They knew all the underground routes and paths very well, so it was not long before they had led the travellers all the way back up to the surface. The high snowy mountains were behind them. The friends were now standing on top of a green hill, at the foot of which flowed a placid river that glittered in the sunlight. At this point, Beta and the Tuata thanked the kind gnomes for their gifts and hospitality, said goodbye to them and continued on their way, and the gnomes went back into their underground caves.

The Tuata and Beta moved slowly down the side of the hill. Around them they could smell flowers and grasses, birds were singing and the Sun warmed them gently, and the seven Tuata found it hard to believe that the beautiful little river at the bottom of the hill held so many dangers. The friends were already beginning to doubt whether this could be the river that the wise gnome had told them about, but to be on the safe side, when they reached the warm sandy bank of the quiet and peaceful-looking river, Anun threw a little stone into the water. As soon as the stone hit the water, flames leapt up in the air before disappearing again, and this convinced the Tuata that the kind, wise gnome had been right about the dangers of the river. Nevertheless, they still had doubts about the magic power of the sweet, but the fairy advised the friends that there was no time to lose and that they should test it as soon as possible.

“Whatever you may think, it is better to do as Beglakh told us rather than stand around wasting time on the river bank”, said Beta, and with these words she threw the chocolate sweet far out into the river. To the surprise of the seven Tuata, this time the river did not burst into flames. It actually began to grow even calmer and more placid than before, except for one large wave that suddenly crashed loudly against the bank. And at the same time, as if from nowhere, a man in reddish-gold clothes suddenly appeared next to Beta. With a smile of delight on his face he than ran up to the fairy, took her hand and began to thank her whole-heartedly for her kindness and generosity.

The Tuata, who were standing nearby, looked at the strange red man and Beta but had no idea what was happening. It was only after the friends had listened attentively to what the stranger was saying to Beta that they guessed that they were dealing with the Master of the River Tan himself. It seemed that he was very fond of sweets, but no-one, besides the gnomes, ever treated him to any.

“And because you were generous with the sweet and decided to share it with me, I promise that I will help you to cross the fiery river”, said the Master of the River to Beta and her friends and clapped his hands loudly.

At the same moment a brightly-painted wooden boat appeared beside the riverbank. As a precaution the Tuata touched it first with a twig, but the boat did not burst into flame, and so the friends calmly climbed into it and waited patiently for Beta, who was still talking to the Master of the River. The fairy was questioning him in detail about the route ahead, and he told her that it was not far now to the palace of Lugus: they only needed to pass through the forest of Dokart in which the mischievous wood-spirits lived. The Tuata heard him explain to the fairy that these wood-spirits liked to tickle travellers and surprise them by running across their path; they also like to scare them with mournful groaning and sad sighing, to shroud the path in fog, and to make travellers feel sleepy by singing lullabies. The Master of the Fiery River advised Beta and her friends to follow only the sandy path through the forest of Dokart, and not to turn off it or look to either side, to think only about the meeting with Lugus and not to pay any attention to the tricks of the wood-spirits.

“That way, they will soon grow tired of playing pranks on you and will leave you in peace”, said the fiery-red Master of the River Tan, and promised that from this day onward, Beta and her friends could use his river without being troubled by fire. He cheerfully invited the fairy and the seven Tuata to come and visit him in future, to sit in the evening on the riverbank in front of a campfire and talk at leisure about all the things in the world. The Tuata and the fairy gladly accepted his invitation, and then Beta joined her friends in the boat and the Master of the Fiery River carefully pushed the boat away from the bank. It glided smoothly across the river by itself without oars or sails, and Bradag and Ebor only needed to change its course every now and again with the help of long poles.

While the friends were crossing the fiery river, its master stood and watched them from the sandy bank and waved a brightly-burning torch that had appeared in his hand as if from nowhere.

And so Beta and the Tuata overcame another obstacle on the road to the Land of the Sun and its wise master, Lugus. On the opposite bank of the fiery river they found the sandy path without difficulty, followed it past green hills covered in flowers, and finally reached the unusual forest of Dokart where the mischievous wood-spirits lived. The travellers had only taken a few steps into the forest when they felt some kind of strange movement around them. It seemed as though the whole forest had suddenly begun to stir and rustle, and then everything happened just as the Master of the Fiery River had told them it would: they began to catch sight of the wood-spirits, dressed in white, darting here and there across the path and trying to frighten the travellers with their loud moans, sighs, whistles and laughter. Even though the Tuata tried hard to ignore this, every now and again they still glanced to the side, sometimes meeting the glances of the wood-spirits and then finding themselves moving much slower. As a result of this, Anun and Kana fell behind the rest of the Tuata and almost lost their way, and so the wise fairy had to take decisive action. She took the large green emeralds from the package that the kind gnomes had given her and placed it in the palm of her hand so that it was clearly visible to the wood-spirits. As soon as she did this the groans, sighs and laughter in the forest stopped. The wood-spirits of Dokart understood immediately that the fairy could only have obtained such an emerald from the gnomes, and if she and her friends had passed through the underground passages and caves of Uim unharmed, then loud groans, whistles and laughter would certainly not frighten them. And so the wood-spirits fell silent, and instead of trying to hamper the progress of the travellers, they watched the Tuata and Beta from a distance with great curiosity and respect.

Nothing else managed to delay the friends on their journey. They moved quickly and easily along the good sandy path and they soon left the forest of Dokart behind them. The Tuata waved farewell to the mischievous wood-spirits, who they were no longer angry with, and pressed on without slowing their pace or stopping along the way. The Tuata could feel that they were already getting close to the Land of the Sun and they were absolutely right. When the path climbed to the top of a hill, they could see before them a wonderful emerald-green valley surrounded by strangely-shaped mountains and cliffs coloured the same shade of green. At the bottom of the valley they could see a large deep-blue lake with fluffy white clouds reflected in its waters. On a flat area of the lake shore a park of astounding beauty had been laid out. It was filled with all kinds of flowers that were brightly-coloured yet not too overpowering; carved wooden bridges had been built over the cool, clear streams; little summerhouses with red and gold roofs were dotted here and there in the lush meadows; and amongst the blossoming trees and bushes the Tuata could make out a very unusual building. It was made entirely of wood and its columns, roof, windows and doors were decorated with carvings, so that from the top of the hill it seemed to the seven Tuata that the building was made from lace. They guessed immediately that this was the palace of the great Lugus.

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