They ceased, and they threw away their weapons into their charioteers’ hands; and each of them at the end of that fight sought the other, and each threw his arms about the other’s neck, and gave him three kisses.  Their horses were in the same paddock that night, the men who had driven their chariots sat by the same fire, moreover the charioteers of both those warriors spread couches of fresh rushes for the two, and supplied them with such pillows as are needed by wounded men.  And such folk as can heal and cure came to heal and to cure them, and they applied soothing and salving herbs and plants to their bruises, and their cuts, and their gashes, and to all their many wounds.  And of every soothing and salving herb and plant that was brought for the bruises, the cuts, and the gashes, and all the wounds of Cuchulain, he used to send an equal portion westward across the ford to Ferdia, so that in case Ferdia fell at his hand the men of Ireland should not be able to say that it was owing to superiority in leech-craft that he had done it.  And of each kind of food, and of pleasant, palatable, intoxicating drink that the men of Ireland brought to Ferdia, he would send a fair half northward across the ford to Cuchulain; for the men who provided food for Ferdia were more in number than they who provided food for Cuchulain.  All the army of the men of Ireland helped to provide Ferdia with food, because he was their champion to defend them against Cuchulain; yet to Cuchulain also food was brought by the people who dwell in the Breg.  And it was the custom with these that they came to converse with him at the dusk of each night.

Thus they remained that night, but early in the morning they arose, and repaired to the Ford of Combat.  “What weapons shall we turn to to-day, O Ferdia?” said Cuchulain.  “Thou hast the choice of weapons until the night,” answered Ferdia, “because it is I who had my choice of them in the day that is past.”  “Let us then,” said Cuchulain, “resort to our great, broad-bladed, heavy spears this day, for nearer shall we be to our battle by the thrusting of our spears this day than we were by the throwing weapons of yesterday:  let our horses be harnessed for us, and our chariots yoked, that upon this day from our chariots and our horses we may fight.”  “Let us turn to these indeed,” said Ferdia.  They then took to them two exceedingly stout, broad shields, and they resorted to their great, broad-bladed, heavy spears that day.  And each of them continued to thrust at, and to pierce through, and to redden, and to tear the body of the other from the dawn of the morning until the ninth hour of the evening; and if it were the custom for birds in their flight to pass through the bodies of men, they could have passed through the bodies of those warriors that day, carrying with them pieces of their flesh from their wounds into the clouds and to the sky around them.  So when the ninth hour of the evening was come, the horses were weary, and the charioteers were weak; and they themselves, champions and heroes of valour as they were, had themselves become weary; and “Let us cease now from this, O Ferdia!” said Cuchulain, “for our horses are weary, and our charioteers are weak; and now that these are weary, why should not we be weary too?” and then it was that he sang this stave: