by me," said the old man sorrowfully, "and Fionn must be your name."
Henceforth Deimne was mostly called Fionn, and sometimes the "Golden Salmon of Knowledge," because the story says that from the time he touched the salmon he had knowledge of both the past and the future. When he wished to divine any special thing he would place his thumb in his mouth, and nothing was hidden from him.
The foregoing is a legend which is told in many old books of how Fionn gained his wisdom. You will remember that I have already told you a little about Fintann, the ancient Tuatha de Danann god, who was called the "Salmon of Knowledge," and who is said to have appeared in the guise of a salmon age after age. This legend seems to be the record of his last visible appearance on earth; afterwards he clothed himself with the Faed Fia—the Veil of Invisibility—and retired to the Land of the Ever-Living Ones.
When Fionn had finished his education by perfecting his knowledge on the banks of the
