l." Thereupon
Lugaid goes and repeats this to Cuchulain. "O master Lugaid," quoth
Cuchulain, "it is a snare!" "It is the word of a king; he hath said it,"
Lugaid answered; "there can be no snare in it." "So be it," said Cuchulain.
Forthwith Lugaid leaves him and takes that answer to Ailill and Medb. "Let
the fool go forth in my form," said Ailill, "and the king's crown on his
head, and let him stand some way off from Cuchulain lest he know him; and
let the girl go with him and let the fool promise her to him, and let them
depart quickly in this wise. And methinks ye will play a trick on him thus,
so that he will not stop you any further till he comes with the Ulstermen
to the battle."

Then the fool goes to him and the girl along with him, and from afar he
addresses Cuchulain. The Hound comes to meet him. It happened he knew by
the man's speech that he was a fool. A slingstone that was in his hand he
threw at him so that it entered his head and bore out his brains. He comes
up to the maiden, cuts off her two tresses and thrusts a stone through her
cloak and her tunic, and plants a standing-stone through the middle of the
fool. Their two pillar-stones are there, even the pillar-stone of Finnabair
and the pillar-stone of the fool.

Cuchulain left them in this plight. A party was sent out from Ailill and
Medb to search for their people, for it was long they thought they were
gone, when they saw them in this wise. This thing was noised abroad by all
the host in the camp. Thereafter there was no truce for them with
Cuchulain.[2]

[2-2] LU. 1380-1414.

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[Page 141]

XIId

[1]HERE THE COMBAT OF MUNREMAR AND CUROI[1]

[2]While the hosts were there in the evening they perceived that one stone
fell on them coming from the east and another from the west to meet it. The
stones met one another in the air and kept falling between Fergus' camp,
the camp of Ailill and the camp of Nera. This sport and play continued from
that hour till the same hour on the next day, and the hosts spent the time
sitting down, with their shields over their heads to protect them from the
blocks of stones, till the plain was full of the boulders, whence cometh
Mag Clochair ('the Stony Plain'). Now it happened it was Curoi macDare did
this. He had come to bring help to his people and had taken his stand in
Cotal to fight against Munremar son of Gerrcend.[a] The latter had come
from Emain Macha to