After hard and weary fights. 
                Into many lands, so strange,
                Side by side we sallied forth,
                And we ranged the woodlands through,
                When with Scathach we learned arms!”

       Ferdiad:  “O Cuchulain, rich in feats,
                Hard the trade we both have learned;
                Treason hath o’ercome our love;
                Thy first wounding hath been bought;
                Think not of our friendship more,
                Cua, it avails thee not!”

    [1-1] Stowe, and, similarly, Eg. 106 and Eg. 209.

    [2-2] Stowe, and, similarly, Eg. 106 and Eg. 209.

“Too long are we now in this way,” quoth Ferdiad; “and what arms shall we resort to to-day, O Cuchulain?” “With thee is thy choice of weapons this day till night time,” answered Cuchulain, “for thou art he that first didst reach the ford.”  “Rememberest thou at all,” asked Ferdiad, “the choice deeds of arms we were wont to practise with Scathach and with Uathach and with Aife?” “Indeed, and I do remember,” answered Cuchulain.  “If thou rememberest, let us begin [3]with them."[3]

    [3-3] Stowe.

[W.3555.] They betook them to their choicest deeds of arms.  They took upon them two equally-matched shields for feats, and their eight-edged targes for feats, and their eight small darts, and their eight straightswords with ornaments of walrus-tooth and their eight lesser, ivoried spears which flew from them and to them like bees [LL.fo.84b.] on a day of fine weather.

They cast no weapon that struck not.  Each of them was busy casting at the other with those missiles from morning’s early twilight till noon at mid-day, the while they overcame their various feats with the bosses and hollows of their feat-shields.  However great the excellence of the throwing on either side, equally great was the excellence of the defence, so that during all that time neither of them bled or reddened the other.  “Let us cease now from this bout of arms, O Cuchulain,” said Ferdiad; “for it is not by such our decision will come.”  “Yea, surely, let us cease, if the time hath come,” answered Cuchulain. [1]Then[1] they ceased.  They threw their feat-tackle from them into the hands of their charioteers.

“To what weapons shall we resort next, O Cuchulain?” asked Ferdiad.  “Thine is the choice of weapons till nightfall,” replied Cuchulain; “for thou art he that didst first reach the ford.”  “Let us begin, then,” said Ferdiad, “with our straight-cut, smooth-hardened throwing-spears, with cords of full-hard flax on them.”  “Aye, let us begin then,” assented Cuchulain.  Then they took on them two hard shields, equally strong.  They fell to their straight-cut, smooth-hardened spears with cords of full-hard flax on them.  Each of them was engaged in casting at the other with the spears from the middle of noon [2]till yellowness came over