Chapter 3

'Still he looks so strong, that I will pretend to care for him,' she thought, 'and then perhaps he will try to win the golden circlet for me, and I shall be called the "Queen of Beauty."' For the Lady Ettarde was a cruel and vain lady, and cared more for the golden circlet and to be called the 'Queen of Beauty,' than for the happiness of the young knight Pelleas. And so for many days the Lady Ettarde was kind to Sir Pelleas, and at last she told him that she would love him if he would win the golden circlet for her.

'The lady of my dreams will love me,' the knight murmured. And aloud he said proudly that if there were any strength in his right arm, he would win the prize for the Lady Ettarde.

Then the lords and ladies that were with Ettarde pitied the young knight, for they knew their lady only mocked him.

At last they all reached Carleon, and the next morning the tournament began.

And the Lady Ettarde watched her knight merrily, as each day he overcame and threw from their horses twenty men.

'The circlet will be mine,' she whispered to her lords and ladies. But they looked at her coldly, for they knew how unkindly she would reward Sir Pelleas.

At the end of three days the tournament was over, and King Arthur proclaimed that the young knight Pelleas had won the golden circlet and the sword.

Then in the presence of all the people, Sir Pelleas took the golden circlet and handed it to the Lady Ettarde, saying aloud that she was the fairest lady on the field and the Queen of Beauty.

The Lady Ettarde was so pleased with her prize, that for a day or two she was kind to her knight, but soon she grew tired of him, and wished that she might never see him again.

Still even when she was unkind, Sir Pelleas was happy, for he trusted the beautiful lady, and said to himself, 'She proves me, to see if I really love her.'

But the Lady Ettarde knew she would never love Sir Pelleas, even if he died for her.

Then her ladies were angry, as they saw how she mocked the knight, for they knew that greater and fairer ladies would have loved Sir Pelleas for his strength and great knightliness.

'I will go back to my own country,' said the Lady Ettarde, 'and see my faithful knight no more.'

When Pelleas heard that the Lady Ettarde was going home he was glad. He remembered the happy days he had spent as they rode together through the forest, and he looked forward to other happy days in the open air, when he could again shield the lady from the roughness of the road.

But when the Lady Ettarde saw that Sir Pelleas was following her into her own country, she was angry.

'I will not have the knight near me,' she said proudly to her ladies. 'I will have an older warrior for my love.' And they knew their lady's cruel ways, and in pity kept the knight away.

As they rode along the days seemed long to Pelleas, for he neither saw nor spoke to the Lady Ettarde.

When she got near her own castle, she rode on more swiftly, telling her lords and ladies to follow her closely. The drawbridge was down, and the Lady Ettarde rode across it, and waiting only till her lords and ladies crossed it, ordered the bridge to be drawn up, while Pelleas was still on the other side.

The knight was puzzled. Was this a test of his love too, or did the lady for whom he had won the golden circlet indeed not care for him? But that he would not believe. 'She will grow kinder if I am faithful,' he thought, and he lived in a tent beneath the castle walls for many days.

The Lady Ettarde heard that Pelleas still lingered near the castle, and in her anger she said, 'I will send ten of my lords to fight this knight, and then I shall never see his face again.'

But when Pelleas saw the ten lords coming towards him, he armed himself, and fought so bravely that he overthrew each of them.

But after he had overthrown them, he allowed them to get up and to bind him hand and foot, and carry him into the castle. 'For they will carry me into the presence of the Lady Ettarde,' he thought.

But when she saw Pelleas, the Lady Ettarde mocked him, and told her lords to tie him to the tail of a horse and turn him out of the castle.

'She does it to find out if I love her truly,' thought Sir Pelleas again, as he struggled back to his tent below the castle.

Another ten lords were sent to fight the faithful knight, and again Pelleas overthrew them, and again he let himself be bound and carried before the Lady Ettarde.

But when she spoke to him even more unkindly than before, and mocked at his love for her, Sir Pelleas turned away. 'If she were good as she is beautiful, she could not be so cruel,' he thought sadly.

And he told her that though he would always love her, he would not try to see her any more.

Now one of King Arthur's knights, called Sir Gawaine, had been riding past the castle when the ten lords attacked Sir Pelleas.

And Sir Gawaine had looked on in dismay. He had seen the knight overthrow the ten lords, and stand there quietly while the conquered men got to their feet. He had seen them bind him hand and foot, and carry him into the castle.

'To-morrow I will look for him, and offer him my help,' thought Sir Gawaine, for he was sorry for the brave young knight.

The next morning he found Sir Pelleas in his tent, looking very sad. And when Sir Gawaine asked the knight why he was so sad, Sir Pelleas told him of his love for the Lady Ettarde and of her unkindness. 'I would rather die a hundred times than be bound by her lords,' he said, 'if it were not that they take me into her presence.'

Then Sir Gawaine cheered Sir Pelleas and offered to help him, for he too was one of Arthur's knights.

And Sir Pelleas trusted him, for had not all King Arthur's knights taken the vows of brotherhood and truth?

'Give me your horse and armour,' said Sir Gawaine. 'I will go to the castle with them, and tell the Lady Ettarde that I have slain you. Then she will ask me to come in, and I will talk of your great love and strength, till she learns to love you.'

And Sir Gawaine rode away, wearing the armour and helmet of Sir Pelleas, and promising to come back in three days.

The Lady Ettarde was walking up and down outside the castle, when she saw the knight approaching. 'Sir Pelleas again,' she thought angrily, and turned to go into the castle.

But Sir Gawaine called to her to stay. 'I am not Sir Pelleas, but a knight who has slain him.'

'Take off your helmet that I may see your face,' said the Lady Ettarde, as she turned to look at him.

When she saw that it was really a strange knight, she took him into her castle. 'Because you have slain Sir Pelleas, whom I hated, I will love you,' said the cruel Lady Ettarde.

Sir Gawaine saw how beautiful the lady was, and he forgot her unkindness to Sir Pelleas, and he loved her. And because he was not a true knight, Sir Gawaine did not think of Pelleas, who waited so anxiously for his return.

Three days passed, but he did not go back, and in the castle all was joy and merriment.

Six days passed, and still Sir Gawaine stayed with the beautiful Lady Ettarde.

At last Sir Pelleas could bear his loneliness no longer. That night he went up to the castle, and swam across the river. When he reached the front of the castle, he saw a great many tents. And all the lords and ladies were asleep in their tents, and Sir Gawaine was there too.

'He has forgotten me, and will stay here always with the Lady Ettarde,' muttered Sir Pelleas in scorn, and he drew the sword he had won at the tournament, to slay the false knight Sir Gawaine.

Then, all at once, he remembered the vows he had taken, when the great King had knighted him, and slowly he sheathed his sword, and went gloomily down to the river.

But Sir Pelleas could not make up his mind to go away, and again he turned and went back to the tent, where Sir Gawaine lay, still asleep.

Once more Sir Pelleas drew his sword, and laid it across the false knight's bare neck.

When Sir Gawaine woke in the morning, he felt the cold steel, and putting up his hand, he found the sword that Sir Pelleas had left.

Sir Gawaine did not know how the sword had come there, but when he told the Lady Ettarde what had happened, and showed her the sword, she knew it was the one that Sir Pelleas had won at the tournament, when he had given her the golden circlet.

'You have not slain the knight who loved me,' cried the Lady Ettarde, 'for he has been here, and left his sword across your throat.' And then she hated Gawaine because he had told her a lie, and she drove him from her castle.

And the Lady Ettarde thought of her true knight Sir Pelleas, and at last she loved him with all her heart.

But when he had left his sword across Sir Gawaine's throat, Pelleas had gone sadly back to his tent, and taking off his armour, had lain down to die.

Then the knight's servant was in great distress, because his master would neither eat nor sleep, but lay in his tent getting more pale and more thin day by day. And the servant was wandering sadly along the bank of the river, wondering how he could help his master, when he met a beautiful maiden called the 'Lady of the Lake.'

The maiden asked why he looked so sad, and, won by her gentleness, he told her how his master had been hated by the Lady Ettarde, and betrayed by the false knight Sir Gawaine.

'Bring me to your master,' said the Lady of the Lake.

And when she had come to the tent and saw Sir Pelleas, she loved him.

'I will send him to sleep,' she murmured, 'and when he wakes he will be well.' And she threw an enchantment over him, and he slept.

When Sir Pelleas awoke, he felt strong once more, and at last he knew that the cruel Lady Ettarde had never been the lady of his dreams, and he loved her no longer.

But when the Lady Ettarde knew that Sir Pelleas loved her no more, she wept sorrowfully, and died of her grief.

Then the gentle Lady of the Lake asked Pelleas to come with her to her own beautiful Lake-land. And as they rode together, her simple kindness made the knight happy again, and he learned to love the Lady of the Lake, and they lived together and loved each other all their lives long.

GARETH AND LYNETTE

Gareth was a little prince. His home was an old grey castle, and there were great mountains all round the castle. Gareth loved these mountains and his beautiful home at the foot of them. He had lived there all his life.

Gareth had no little boys or girls to play with, for there were no houses near his mountain home.

But Gareth was happy all day long. Sometimes in the bright summer mornings the streams would call to him. Then he would follow them up the mountains, till he found the place where the streams ended in tiny silver threads.

Sometimes the birds and beasts, his woodland friends, would call to him, and then Gareth would wander about in the forest with them till evening came. Then he would tell his mother the wonderful things he had seen, and the wonderful things he had heard in the forests and on the mountain-sides.

Gareth's mother, the Queen of Orkney, loved the little prince so much that she was never dull. She had no one to talk to except her little son, for her husband was old, so old that he could not talk to his Queen. And if she talked to him, he was almost too deaf to hear what she said.

But though the Queen was never dull, she was sometimes unhappy. She was afraid that some day, when Gareth was older, he would want to leave her to go into the world, perhaps to go to the great King Arthur's court, as his three brothers had done.

Now Gareth had already heard stories about the brave deeds of King Arthur's knights. He knew that they were strong men, and that they fought for the weak people, and that they often had great adventures, when they were sent to punish the King's enemies. And Gareth longed to be a man, for 'when I am a man, I will be one of Arthur's knights, too,' he thought.

At last, one day, his mother knew that what she had been afraid of had come to pass. She knew that Gareth would not be content to stay among the mountains much longer. But when he threw his arms round her, and coaxed her to let him go, she thought, 'Surely I can keep him a little longer.' And she said, 'Your father is old, and your brothers have left me, you will not leave me alone, Gareth. You will stay and be a great huntsman and follow the deer.' But all the time her heart whispered, 'He will not stay.'

And Gareth said, 'Let me go, sweet mother. Now I am a man, I must do a man's work. "Follow the deer!" No; now I must follow the King.'

But still his mother would not let him go. 'The next time he asks me, I will try another way,' she thought. And when Gareth came again and pleaded to be allowed to go to the court, she said, 'Yes, you may go, if for one whole year you will tell no one your name, or that you are a prince, and if for that whole year you will go into the King's kitchen and work there.' 'These things will be too difficult for my princely boy,' she thought.

But Gareth wanted to go so much, that he promised not to tell any one his name, nor that he was a prince. 'And I will go to the court, only to work in the King's kitchen for a year,' promised Gareth proudly. And then his mother knew that her plan had failed, and she wept.

But Gareth was glad. He got up early one morning, and without saying good-bye to his mother, for he could not bear to see her sad face again, he left his mountain home, and went out into the wide world.

When three men, dressed like ploughmen, left the castle, no one would have known that one of them was a prince. For Gareth had left all his beautiful clothes behind him, and was dressed just like the two servants he took with him. But still he was glad, for though he remembered he was going to work in a kitchen, he thought a year would soon pass, and then, perhaps, King Arthur would make him one of his knights.

On a certain day, every year, there was a great feast at Arthur's court. Now the King would not sit down to the feast till he had heard if any of his people were in trouble, and if they wished one of his knights to go to help them. And on this day too, people could come into the King's presence to ask for any boon or good thing they wished. Gareth reached the court, with his two servants, on one of these feast-days.

'The King will listen to my wish to-day. I will go to him at once,' thought Gareth. And leaning on the shoulders of his servants, so as to look less princely, he came into the large dining-hall.

'Grant me only this boon,' Gareth entreated the King, 'that I may work in your kitchen and eat and drink there for a year. After that I will fight.'

And King Arthur looked at Gareth, and saw that though he leaned on his servants he was tall and strong, and that though he wore rough clothes, he was as noble-looking as any of his knights.

'You ask but a small boon,' said the King. 'Would you not rather serve me as my knight?'

And Gareth longed to say 'Yes.' But as he could not break the promise he had given to his mother, he said again, that the only boon he asked was to be allowed to work in the King's kitchen.

Then the King sent for Sir Kay, the steward of his kitchen, and told him to make Gareth one of his kitchen-boys. But Sir Kay did not wish this noble-looking lad in his kitchen, and he made fun of him and mocked him, because he would not tell his name, nor where his home was.

But Sir Lancelot, the noblest knight in all the land, was kind to Gareth, and Gareth's brother, Sir Gavaine, who had gone to Arthur's court long ago, was kind to him too. Yet Sir Gavaine did not know that Gareth was his brother, for the little prince he had left at home looked very different to the King's new kitchen-boy.

In the kitchen Gareth soon began to find out what a difficult task he had undertaken, for the sake of one day being a knight. He ate his meals with rough kitchen-boys, and as Gareth's mother had taught her little prince daintily, he did not like their rough ways; and at night he slept in a shed with dirty kitchen-boys.

And because Sir Kay did not like Gareth, he would bustle and hurry him, and make him work harder than any of the other lads, and give him all the roughest work to do. It was Gareth who had to draw the water and cut the wood, while the other servants played.

But when at last his work was done, Gareth would listen gladly as the servants talked of Lancelot and the King. He loved to hear how Lancelot had twice saved the King's life, and how since then there had grown up a great friendship between the King and his brave knight.

And Gareth was glad when he heard that though Lancelot was first in all the tournaments or mock battles, yet on the battle-field his hero King was mightiest of all.

But when the servants' talk was rough and rude, Gareth would not listen, but sang some of his old mountain-songs, carolling like any lark, and the servants stopped their talk to listen.

It seemed a long year to Gareth, the longest year in all his life, but at last it came to an end. A whole year had passed, and another of the King's great feast-days had begun.

Gareth woke up on that morning, thinking, 'Now at last I can be one of King Arthur's knights; now at last I am free.'

In the dining-room he sprang eagerly to the King's side. 'A boon, King Arthur, grant me this boon,' he cried, 'that I serve you no longer as a kitchen-page, but as a knight.'

Arthur loved the noble-looking lad, and was pleased with his eagerness. 'I make you my knight, to win glory and honour for our land,' said the King. But the secret of Gareth's knighthood was to be kept from all but Sir Lancelot, till the new knight, Sir Gareth, had won for himself great fame.

'You shall begin at once,' said the King. And he promised Gareth that he should be the first of all his knights to leave his court that day.

As he spoke, a beautiful lady called Lynette came into the hall, in great haste. 'A knight to rescue my sister, King Arthur,' she cried.

'Who is your sister, and why does she need a knight?' asked the King.

And Lynette told Arthur that her sister was called the Lady Lyonors, and that Lyonors was rich and had many castles of her own, but a cruel knight, called the Red Knight, had shut her up in one of her own castles. The name of the castle in which she was a prisoner was Castle Dangerous. And the Red Knight said he would keep Lady Lyonors there, till he had fought King Arthur's bravest knight. Then he would make Lyonors his wife. 'But,' said Lynette, 'my sister will never be the bride of the Red Knight, for she does not love him.'

Then Arthur, looking round his knights, saw Gareth's eyes growing bright, and heard Gareth's voice ringing out, 'Your promise, King.'

And the King said to Gareth, 'Go and rescue the Lady Lyonors from the Red Knight.'

'A kitchen-page go to rescue the Lady Lyonors!' shouted Sir Kay in scorn.

When Lynette heard that, she was angry, and said, 'I came for Sir Lancelot, the greatest of all your knights, and you give me a kitchen-boy.' In her anger, she walked out of the palace gates, and rode quickly down the streets. She neither looked nor waited to see if Gareth followed.

'I will wait for nothing,' thought the new knight, and he hurried after Lynette to the palace gates, but there he was stopped.

Gareth's mother had not forgotten that a year had passed since her boy had left her. In her quiet castle she had been busy planning a surprise for her prince.

'Gareth will be a knight to-day,' she thought. 'I will send our dwarf to him with a noble war-horse and armour fit for a knight. Surely he will begin his adventures the more gladly, that I help to send him forth,' she murmured, thinking half-regretfully of the long year she had made him spend in the kitchen.

And Gareth was glad when he saw his mother's gift; and when he had put on the armour, there was no more handsome knight in all King Arthur's court than Sir Gareth. He mounted his horse, and, telling the dwarf to follow, rode quickly after Lynette.

But Gareth had not gone far, when he heard shouts behind him, and, turning, he saw that Sir Kay was riding after him.

'If it is possible, I will bring my kitchen-boy boy back again,' thought Sir Kay, 'for he works well.' 'Have you forgotten that I am your master?' he shouted, as he reached Gareth.

'You are no longer my master,' said Gareth, 'and I know that you are the most unkind of all Arthur's knights.'

Then Sir Kay was so angry that he drew his sword, and Gareth drew his and struck Sir Kay so hard a blow, that he tumbled off his horse, and lay on the ground as if he were dead. Then Gareth took away his old master's sword and shield, and telling the dwarf to take Sir Kay's horse, he once more hurried on to reach Lynette.

Both Lancelot and Lynette had seen Sir Gareth fight with Sir Kay, for the King had asked Sir Lancelot to ride on before Gareth, that he might know if his new knight could use his sword.

When Lancelot had seen Sir Kay fall to the ground, he rode back to the court to tell King Arthur that his knight, Sir Gareth, was strong and true. And he sent men to bring home the wounded Sir Kay.

Now Lynette was more cross than ever because Lancelot had left her, and when Gareth at last rode up to her, she cried rudely, 'You are only a kitchen-knave. Your clothes smell of cooking, and your dress is soiled with grease and tallow. Ride further off from me.'

But what she said was not true, for Gareth had put on the beautiful armour his mother had sent him.

As Lynette mocked, Gareth rode quietly behind. In spite of her unkindness, he was happy. After the long days spent in the hot kitchen, the forest breeze seemed to touch him more gently than in the old days, and the trees seemed to him more beautiful. But though the streams seemed more clear, they still called to him, just as the streams in his own mountains used to do.

But Gareth had not much time to think of the trees and streams, for suddenly he heard the steps of some one hurrying through the forest, crushing the fallen twigs and crisp leaves underfoot in his great haste. Was it an adventure?

'Where are you running to?' said Gareth, as a man came in sight.

'O sir, six thieves have fallen upon my lord, and bound him to a tree, and I am afraid they will kill him.'

'Show me where your lord is,' said Gareth. And they rode together to the place where the knight was tied to a tree.

Then Gareth struck the first robber down with his sword, and killed another, and slew the third as he turned to run away.

'There were six thieves,' thought Gareth; but when he turned to look for the other three, they were nowhere to be seen. They had all run away in great fright.

Then Gareth unbound the knight. And the knight was very grateful, and said, 'Come and stay at my castle to-night, and to-morrow I will reward you.'

'I want no reward,' said Gareth. 'And besides, I must follow this lady.' But when he rode up to Lynette, she said, 'Ride further off, for still you smell of the kitchen.' 'You are no knight, though you killed the robbers.'

Then the knight who had been set free rode up, and asked Lynette to come to his castle, and as it was getting dark in the forest, she was glad to stay with him that night.

At supper-time, the knight put a chair for Gareth beside Lynette.

'Sir Knight, you are wrong to put a kitchen-knave beside me,' said the lady, 'for I am of noble birth.'

'The noble-looking knight a kitchen-knave! What does the lady mean!' But he took Gareth to another table, and sat there himself with him.

The next morning Gareth and Lynette thanked the knight, and rode on, till they came to another great forest, and at the end of the forest they reached a broad river. There was only one place where the river was narrow and could be crossed, and this passage was guarded by two knights.