Queen Maeve

White Bull.jpg Queen Maeve lived in Connaught with her husband, Ailill. They were very rich. One night, Ailill said that he had a great white bull. Maeve did not have a great white bull, and she was jealous.

The Brown Bull

She found out that there was a brown bull in Cooley which was bigger than the white bull. She wanted the brown bull.

The Boast

Maeve asked for a loan of the bull. This was agreed. One of her men said that she would have taken the bull away. Mac Rath owned the bull, and he was angry. He said that Maeve could not have the bull. Maeve was very angry. Maeve said that she would come to Ulster with her army and take the bull.

The Raid

Maeve and her army set out for Ulster. Cúchulainn was the only one of the Ulster soldiers who was not sick. He fought Maeve’s soldiers one by one and killed them all.

Ferdia

Ferdia was Maeve’s best fighter. He was also Cúchulainn’s best friend. Maeve told Ferdia that he was afraid of Cúchulainn. At last, Ferdia agreed to fight. He fought with Cúchulainn for four days.

Ferdia Dies

On the fourth day, Ferdia put his sword into Cúchulainn’s body. Cúchulainn was wounded. He got his magic spear and put it into Ferdia’s heart. Ferdia died. Cúchulainn was very upset.

End of Battle

The Ulster soldiers got better from their sickness. They beat Maeve and her army. Maeve never got the brown bull.

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