But they were not yet out of danger. A hundred of Forgall’s men chased them on horseback and gradually caught up with them. Cuchulainn suddenly wheeled the chariot around and drove through his pursuers. They were mown down by the razor-sharp knives fixed to the wheels of the chariot.
Then Cuchulainn turned the chariot around again and drove to Eman Macha. Conor and his nobles gave them a great welcome when they arrived at the palace.
‘This is my future wife,’ Cuchulainn said, presenting Emer to the king.
‘You have made an excellent choice!’ the king smiled. Soon afterwards they were married and there was feasting and music and dancing until dawn in the huge hall of the palace.
Cuchulainn and Emer went to live in his house at Dun Dealgan. They were very happy there and their love for each other grew stronger with every year that passed. Then one day something very strange happened.
Cuchulainn had gone hunting deer with two companions. They came upon a stag in a wood. It was a magnificent-looking animal with wide towering antlers branching from its head. Cuchulainn’s eyes gleamed when he saw it. ‘This will make a fine prize,’ he whispered to his companions.
The animal bounded away and they immediately gave chase. Although Cuchulainn could outrun most animals the stag was swifter than him. They chased it all day but could not get close to it. Then the stag led them into a narrow valley in the mountains and stopped. Cuchulainn ran up and raised his spear. The stag suddenly vanished right in front of his eyes. He stared around in astonishment. His companions joined him, panting for breath after the long chase.
‘Where is the stag?’ one of them asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Cuchulainn replied in a puzzled voice. ‘It just disappeared into thin air.’
The sun descended behind the mountains and it grew dark. Stars began to shimmer in the inky sky. One of his companions shivered and said, ‘I don’t like this place. Let’s go home.’
Cuchulainn shook his head. ‘It is too late for that,’ he said. ‘We’ll rest here for the night.’
So they settled down to sleep. But during the night Cuchulainn had a strange dream. Two banshees came to him, one dressed in a cloak of green, the other in a cloak of red. They beat him with rods and then disappeared. When Cuchulainn woke up in the morning he felt very sick and weak. He tried to rise but fell down like a helpless baby. His companions were alarmed when they saw the state he was in.
‘We had better take you home to Emer,’ one said. The other nodded his head in agreement.
‘No, I don’t want to worry her,’ Cuchulainn whispered. ‘Bring me to Eman Macha. The druids there will cure me of this strange illness.’
So they carried him to the palace at Eman Macha. The druids tried all their remedies and spells but none of them cured Cuchulainn. He lay there for weeks hardly able to move. Then one day a stranger in a green cloak came to see him.
‘Return to the place where you had the dream,’ he told Cuchulainn, ‘and you will regain your strength.’ As the stranger turned to leave Cuchulainn saw that he had a picture of a stag’s head embroidered on the back of his cloak.
Cuchulainn sent for Laeg his charioteer and ordered him to take him to the place of the dream. Then he told Laeg to put him sitting on the ground and to leave him there alone. The charioteer had just driven out of sight when the banshee in the red cloak appeared at Cuchulainn’s side.
‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘I have been sent here by Fann, Queen of the Land of the Shee,’ she replied. ‘Three evil kings are attacking her country. She needs your help.’
‘Can her husband, the great Mananaan Mac Lir, not help her?’ Cuchulainn asked.
‘They have quarrelled and he has left her,’ the banshee explained. ‘You must come to her aid.’
‘I am in no fit state to do battle with anyone,’ Cuchulainn declared.
‘You will soon be better and as strong as ever,’ the banshee said, ‘if you promise to come and help Fann.’
Cuchulainn hesitated. He wanted to remain in Ireland with Emer. But he also wanted to regain his strength.
‘Well?’ the banshee demanded. ‘Have you made up your mind?’
‘Yes,’ Cuchulainn answered. ‘I promise I will come to the Land of the Shee. Provided I am first allowed to send my charioteer there to see what it is like.’
‘Very well,’ the banshee agreed. She then spread her cloak between them and disappeared. Soon afterwards Cuchulainn felt his strength surging back into his body.
He jumped to his feet, ran swiftly after Laeg, and caught up with the charioteer before he had time to arrive at Eman Macha. He told Laeg to go at once to the Land of the Shee to see what it was like.
Cuchulainn then hurried home to Emer and explained what had happened to him.
‘Do not visit the land of Fann,’ she pleaded. ‘I am afraid some evil will befall you there.’
‘But I have given my solemn promise.’
‘Even so. Stay here with me.’
‘I will decide what to do when I hear what Laeg has to say,’ Cuchulainn said.
When Laeg returned from the Land of the Shee he was full of its praises. ‘Nowhere else have I seen such a beautiful place,’ he declared. ‘I would gladly go back and stay there for the rest of my life.’
‘And this woman, Fann?’ Cuchulainn enquired. ‘What is she like?’
‘She is tall and fair and very lovely. In fact she is the loveliest woman I have ever seen,’ Laeg replied. ‘Except for Emer,’ he added.
‘Did she give you any message for me?’
Laeg nodded. ‘She told me to remind you of your promise and that you must go to her soon.’
Cuchulainn sent the charioteer home and sat down to think about what he would do. He was reluctant to leave Emer but he was afraid of losing his strength again if he failed to keep his promise. Finally he made up his mind. He strode into the orchard where Emer was resting in the shade of a tree.
‘I have decided to go to the Land of the Shee,’ he announced.
‘I am sad that you are leaving me,’ Emer said softly.
Cuchulainn smiled at her reassuringly. ‘Do not worry,’ he said. ‘I shall not be long away.’
Emer reached out and took his hand. ‘I’ll make certain of that,’ she said solemnly. ‘I now put a geas on you - you must promise to return to me within a month.’
‘There is no need to put such a spell on me!’ he laughed. ‘I will come back long before then.’
So Cuchulainn went away to the Land of the Shee. It was every bit as wonderful as Laeg had described. And Fann was as beautiful as he had said. Cuchulainn was enchanted by the tall graceful queen and immediately fell in love with her.
‘I am very glad you have come,’ Fann said, her deep green eyes returning his love. ‘And now that you are strong again you must help me defeat my enemies.’
Then Cuchulainn went out to do battle with the three evil kings. Although they were full of cunning and treachery he defeated them and cut off their heads. He hurried back to Fann and announced that her enemies were dead.
‘You have done well,’ she smiled. ‘Now I will show you my gratitude. You will stay here with me and forget all about the land you came from.’
So Cuchulainn stayed with Fann. Weeks went by and he forgot about Emer. But just before the month was up the geas took effect and he remembered her again. He explained to Fann that he had to return home because of the geas. But he promised to meet her again in Ireland on the Strand of the Yew Tree near his home.
Emer’s face lit up with joy when Cuchulainn returned. But after a while she sensed that something was wrong.
‘You have changed,’ she complained. ‘You do not love me any more.’
‘That is not true!’ Cuchulainn protested.
Emer shook her head doubtfully and went out to sit under her favourite tree. She sat there wondering about the change that had come over Cuchulainn. The tree suddenly whispered to her that Cuchulainn was in love with Fann and had
promised to meet her again.
So when Cuchulainn set out for the Strand of the Yew Tree Emer followed him with seven of her servants. On her instructions they carried long sharp knives. Emer was determined to deal with her rival … even if it meant having to kill her!
She watched jealously as Cuchulainn took Fann into his chariot and embraced her. ‘Slay that woman!’ she ordered. The servants advanced on the chariot, brandishing their knives. Fann glanced over Cuchulainn’s shoulder and saw them. She began to tremble with fear.
‘What is troubling you?’ he asked.
‘Look! Those women are coming to kill me!’
Cuchulainn turned and leaped out of the chariot. Then, standing in front of Emer and her servants he demanded, ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Because she wants to take you from me,’ Emer replied, here eyes flashing with hate as she pointed at Fann.
‘I love her …’ Cuchulainn began to say but Emer cut him short.
‘You loved me too. Once we lived in honour together and you looked on me with favour.’
‘I still do,’ Cuchulainn said.
When Fann heard this she started weeping bitterly. Her husband Mananaan heard her as she wept. He came to her, covered in his magic cloak which made him invisible to all but Fann.
‘Will you come with me or stay with Cuchulainn?’ he asked her.
‘I will go with you’, Fann replied sadly, ‘for Cuchulainn already has a woman who is worthy of him.’ And so she went away with Mananaan.
But Cuchulainn was still enchanted by Fann and when he saw her leaving him he ran into the mountains and wandered there for days touching neither food nor drink.
Emer went to Eman Macha and told King Conor what had happened. He immediately sent his druids out to find Cuchulainn and cure him. After much searching they found him and gave him a magic potion which made him forget Fann completely. They then gave the same drink to Emer so that she also forgot her.
Then Cuchulainn and Emer returned to their home in Dun Dealgan and lived there happily together. And nothing came between them and their love for each other ever again.
‘And that is the story of Cuchulainn,’ Fergus said to Maeve. The queen gave a disdainful laugh. ‘This hero it seems is human after all,’ she declared. ‘We will sweep him out of our way!’
But that was not to prove as easy as she thought.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DEATH OF MAEVE’S SON
HIDDEN ON A NEARBY HILL, Cuchulainn watched with a smile on his lips as four of Maeve’s strongest warriors tried to remove the tree fork from the middle of the ford. They heaved and pulled but failed to budge it one inch.
‘Leave it!’ the queen ordered with an impatient gesture. ‘We will try and drive our chariots around it.’
But no chariot succeeded in passing the tree fork and thirty of them were smashed in the attempt. Maeve seethed with anger as she surveyed the damage.
‘Repair those chariots,’ she commanded. ‘We’ll make camp here in the meantime and find another way across the river tomorrow.’
Cuchulainn lay down to rest. He knew his best plan was to keep delaying Maeve’s army until Conor and his men woke up from their enchanted sleep in Eman Macha.
Suddenly he heard the sound of a tree being cut down in a wood at the foot of the hill. He hurried into the wood and discovered a young charioteer wielding an axe. The charioteer whirled in alarm as a twig cracked under Cuchulainn’s foot. A look of relief came over his face when he saw that the intruder was a small man not much older than himself.
‘Help me cut these wood shafts,’ he said to Cuchulainn. ‘We smashed most of our chariots because of that wild fox Cuchulainn.’
‘Shall I gather the shafts or trim them?’ Cuchulainn asked.
‘I’ll do the gathering since that’s the easiest part of it,’ the charioteer grinned. He watched as Cuchulainn picked up some tree shafts. ‘You’ll need a knife to trim them,’ he said.
Cuchulainn shook his head and quickly pulled the shafts through his hands and feet leaving them clean and polished. The charioteer stared at him in astonishment.
‘Who are you?’ he asked in a puzzled voice.
‘I’m that Cuchulainn you were talking about.’
The charioteer’s eyes glinted with sudden fear. ‘Th… this is the end of me!’ he stammered.
‘Who are you?’ Cuchulainn enquired.
‘I’m the charioteer of Orlam, Maeve’s son.’ The man began to tremble.
‘Don’t be afraid,’ Cuchulainn said. ‘I never kill drivers or messengers.’ He paused and then asked, ‘Where is your master?’’
‘He’s waiting for me at the edge of the wood,’ the charioteer replied.
‘Stay here,’ Cuchulainn ordered, and he raced off to where Orlam was waiting. Orlam drew his sword when he saw Cuchulainn coming but Cuchulainn knocked it from his hand and cut off his head. Then he returned to the charioteer and placed the head on his back.
‘Take this to Maeve exactly as it is,’ he commanded. ‘Tell her there is worse to come if she doesn’t turn back.’
The charioteer went straight to Maeve and delivered the message. For a moment she was speechless with fury. Then at the top of her voice she screeched, ‘I shall have revenge on this pup for the death of my son!’
Cuchulainn heard her back on the hill and, taking careful aim with his sling-shot, fired a stone at her head. The stone killed the pet bird perched on her shoulder. Her bodyguards rushed over and put a covering of shields above her head.
‘Perhaps it would be best to go back after all,’ Fergus suggested.
‘No!’ Maeve snapped. ‘We will continue on to Cooley. And we’ll kill Cuchulainn the first chance we get!’
CHAPTER EIGHT
CUCHULAINN FIGHTS THE GREAT WARRIOR OF MUNSTER
THOUGH MAEVE’S ARMY SUCCEEDED in crossing the river they did not get very far. Cuchulainn harassed them every day, killing many warriors with his sling-shot. Finally, in desperation, Maeve decided to play a trick on him.
She sent part of her army in one direction, guessing that Cuchulainn would follow them. Then, when the way was clear, she headed straight for Cooley with the rest of the army.
‘Now’, she smiled when they came in sight of Cooley, ‘the Brown Bull will soon be mine.’
Daire Mac Fiachna was sitting down to breakfast when a servant burst into the room. He told Daire that the army of Connacht was approaching. Daire jumped up, his fat jowls quivering with excitement.
‘We must hide the bull on Slieve Cuilinn,’ he said. ‘Get him away as quickly as you can!’
So the Brown Bull was hurried away. Daire followed in his chariot. He had just disappeared out of sight when Maeve’s men arrived at his house. They searched everywhere and then reported to Maeve that the bull was gone.
She ground her teeth in anger and sent for her herdsman.
‘Where do you think the animal is hidden?’ she asked.
‘Most likely on Slieve Cuilinn,’ he answered.
‘Take some men,’ she ordered. ‘Find the bull and bring it here.’
The men went off and came upon the bull hidden in a glen. They drove Daire and his servant away and brought the bull back to Maeve’s camp. But it broke free and ran bellowing through the camp killing fifty of the queen’s warriors. Then it disappeared into the mountains and though they searched far and wide the Connachtmen failed to find it.
Cuchulainn meanwhile had discovered the trick that Maeve had played on him. Furious at the deception, he turned in his tracks and sped after the other part of her army. They were sitting round their fires talking and laughing when Cuchulainn announced his arrival. Stones from his sling-shot whistled through the camp killing a hundred warriors. Men ran here and there in panic.
Maeve decided to change her tactics. She sent a messenger to Cuchulainn offering him a quarter of her wealth if he stopped attacking her.
Cuchulainn immediately refused the offer. ‘Go back and tell your queen that I am
not to be bought,’ he said in a voice full of contempt.
‘Will you come and meet her and Fergus?’ the messenger asked.
Cuchulainn hesitated and then agreed. Though he had no great wish to see the queen he welcomed the chance to meet his foster-father again.
Maeve’s eyes narrowed as she watched him approaching the camp. ‘I’m amazed to see how young and small he is,’ she said to Fergus.
‘Even though he’s so young and small no man can conquer him in single combat,’ Fergus said quietly.
Cuchulainn embraced his foster-father, then turned to Maeve. ‘You wish to talk to me?’ he said coolly.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘I will give you half my wealth if you will give up this foolish fight.’
Cuchulainn shook his head, turned on his heel, and walked away. For the next three days and nights his sling-shot continued to terrify the queen’s camp. Maeve was at her wits’ end.
‘What terms will this man accept from me?’ she asked Fergus.
‘I think the only terms he will agree to is to fight your warriors one by one,’ Fergus replied.
Maeve thought briefly about this. Then she shrugged and said: ‘I prefer to lose one man every day than a hundred every night. Go and tell him what is proposed.’ Fergus got into his chariot. Just then he saw that Maeve’s foster-son, Edarcomal, was preparing to come with him.
‘You had better stay here,’ he said.
‘Why?’ Edarcomal demanded.
‘I’m afraid of you starting a fight with Cuchulainn,’ Fergus said. ‘You’re so proud and overbearing that there’s sure to be trouble between the pair of you.’
‘If that’s what’s worrying you put me under your protection,’ Edarcomal suggested.
‘Very well,’ Fergus agreed. ‘But take care not to force him into a fight.’
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