ready to face an entire army singlehandedly—

阿爾斯特的英雄庫胡林

all for the sake of a single bull.

站在庫利的淺灘上，

The army in question belonged to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught.

準備好隻身面對整支軍隊——

Enraged at her husband's possession of a white bull of awesome strength,

這全都是為了一隻公牛。

she had set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster

這支軍隊隸屬康諾特省女王梅芙。

at any cost.

她很氣她的丈夫擁有 一隻力量驚人的白色公牛，

Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had chosen this moment

因此出兵要捕捉這隻 傳說中的阿爾斯特褐色公牛，

to force the goddess Macha to race her chariot while pregnant.

且不計代價。

In retaliation, she struck down him and his entire army with stomach cramps

不幸的是，阿爾斯特國王 選擇這個時間點

that eerily resembled childbirth— all except Cú Chulainn.

強迫懷孕的馬夏女神 參加雙輪戰車競賽。

Though he was the best warrior in Ulster,

為了復仇，

Cú Chulainn knew he could not take on Queen Meadhbh's whole army at once.

她用和分娩相似的劇烈腹痛擊倒

He invoked the sacred rite of single combat

他和他的整支軍隊——

in order to fight the intruders one by one.

唯一的例外就是庫胡林。

But as Queen Meadhbh's army approached,

雖然庫胡林是 阿爾斯特最棒的戰士，

one thing worried him more than the grueling ordeal ahead.

他知道他無法立刻對抗 梅芙女王的整支軍隊。

Years before, Cú Chulainn had travelled to Scotland

他要求採用單人對戰的神聖儀式，

to train with the renowned warrior Scáthach.

希望能一次對付一個入侵者。

There, he met a young warrior from Connaught named Ferdiad.

但梅芙女王的軍隊接近時，

They lived and trained side-by-side, and soon became close friends.

有一件事讓他擔心的程度 超越眼前的嚴峻考驗。

When they returned to their respective homes,

數年前，庫胡林 曾經旅行到蘇格蘭，

Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad found themselves on opposite sides of a war.

接受知名的戰士斯卡塔赫的訓練。

Cú Chulainn knew Ferdiad was marching in Meadhbh's army,

他在那裡遇見了費迪亞德， 一位來自康諾特的年輕戰士。

and that if he succeeded in fending off her troops,

他們生活、訓練都在一起，

they would eventually meet.

很快就變成了親密的朋友。

Day after day, Cú Chulainn defended Ulster alone.

當他們各自返家時，

He sent the heads of some of his adversaries back to Meadhbh's camp,

庫胡林和費迪亞德發現 他們在戰爭中處於對立方。

while the rushing waters of the ford carried others away.

庫胡林知道費迪亞德 在梅芙的軍隊中，

At times, he slipped into a trance and slayed hundreds of soldiers in a row.

如果他成功抵禦了她的士兵，

Whenever he saw the queen in the distance, he hurled stones at her—

他們最終就會碰頭。

never quite hitting her,

日復一日，

but once coming close enough to knock a squirrel off her shoulder.

庫胡林獨自守衛著阿爾斯特。

Back at the Connaught camp, Ferdiad was laying low,

他把一些敵人的首級 送回到梅芙的營地，

doing everything he could to avoid the moment

其他的屍體則被 淺灘的急流給沖走。

when he'd have to face his best friend in combat.

有時，他會不小心走火入魔，

But the Queen was impatient to get her hands on the prize bull,

連續斬殺數百名士兵。

and she knew Ferdiad was her best chance to defeat Cú Chulainn.

每當他看到女王在遠方時， 就會朝她猛力投擲石頭——

So she goaded him and questioned his honor

從來沒有擊中她，

until he had no choice but to fight.

但曾經有一次近到 擊下她肩上的松鼠。

The two faced off at the ford, matching each other exactly in strength and skill

在康諾特營地這一頭， 費迪亞德很低調，

no matter what weapons they used.

盡他所能避開必須和最要好的朋友

Then, on the third day of their fight, Ferdiad began to gain the upper hand

面對面對戰的那一刻。

over the exhausted Cu Chulainn.

但女王對於取得她想要的 那隻公牛失去了耐心，

But Cú Chulainn had one last trick up his sleeve:

她知道若要打敗庫胡林， 她手上最好的牌就是費迪亞德。

their teacher had shared a secret with him alone.

所以她去刺激他，質疑他的榮譽，

She told him how to summon the Gáe Bulg,

直到他別無選擇，只能一戰。

a magical spear fashioned from the bones of sea monsters

兩人在淺灘對決， 不論他們使用什麼武器，

that lay at the bottom of the ocean.

在力量和技巧上都不相上下。

Cu Chulainn called the spear, stabbed Ferdiad to death, and collapsed.

接著，在他們對決的第三天，

Meadhbh seized her chance and swooped in with the rest of her army

庫胡林疲憊了， 讓費迪亞德開始佔上風。

to capture the brown bull.

但庫胡林還有一招密技：

At last, the men of Ulster were recovering from their magical illness,

他們的老師曾經單獨 和他分享了一個秘密。

and they surged out in pursuit.

她教他如何召喚蓋伯爾加之矛，

But they were too late: Queen Meadhbh crossed the border unscathed,

那是一支有魔法的長矛， 用海怪的骨頭打造而成，

dragging the brown bull with her.

一直躺在海底。

Once home, Meadhbh demanded another battle,

庫胡林呼喚了那支長矛，

this time between the brown bull and her husband's white bull.

將費迪亞德刺死，

The bulls were well matched, and struggled into the night,

接著他也倒下了。

dragging each other all over Ireland.

梅芙抓到機會， 帶著剩下的軍隊衝進去，

At long last, the brown bull killed the white bull,

去抓那隻褐色公牛。

and Queen Meadhbh was finally satisfied.

終於，阿爾斯特那些被魔法疾病 纏身的人恢復過來了，

But the brown bull's victory meant nothing to him.

他們立刻追出去。

He was tired, injured, and devastated.

但他們慢了一步：

Soon after, he died of a broken heart, leaving behind a land

梅芙女王越過了邊界，毫髮無傷，

that would remain ravaged by Meadhbh's war for years to come.

且拖著褐色公牛一起走。