Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 27 Mrs. Quan (1)
In the center of one of the great halls of Castel Carleo on the banks of the Usk, on a rush matting covered with flame-coloured silk sat King Arthur, with his hands resting on red satin cushions.With him were his knights, Owen, Kenon, and Kay, and at the other end of the hall, near the window, Queen Gwenavel and her maids of honor were embroidering white robes with strange golden tools.

"I'm tired," said Arthur, "and I want to sleep before dinner. Tell each other stories, and Kay will come into the kitchen and bring you a jug of wine and some meat."

When they had eaten and drank their fill, Kinon, the oldest knight, began to tell a story.

"I am the only child of my parents and I am very loved, but I don't want to stay at home with them for the rest of my life. I think that nothing in the world can trouble me, so no one can leave me behind. I experienced in my hometown After many adventures, I left my parents and went out to see the world. I trekked across the desert and came to a beautiful valley full of trees and a path along a stream. I followed the path All day long, I came to a castle at dusk. In front of the castle stood two young men in yellow clothes, each with an ivory bow in his hand, and arrows made of whalebone and peacock feathers. Around their waists hung A golden dagger with a handle made of whalebone.

"Near the two young men, a richly dressed man turned and walked with me towards the castle, where the inhabitants were all assembled in the hall. From one window I saw twenty-four girls, The least beautiful of them all was fairer than Gwynorville at her fairest. Some helped me lead my horse, some untied my armor and cleaned it, and cleaned my sword and spear till they were like silver Then I washed up and put on the waistcoat and bodice they had brought me. I sat at a silver table with the man who had come in with me, enjoying food I had never eaten before.

"During this period, neither the man nor the girls said a word. It was not until the banquet was half eaten and I was no longer hungry that the man asked me who I was. I gave my name, my father's name, why I came I told him everything. Indeed, I was tired of fighting all over my hometown, and I came out to see if anyone could beat me. Hearing this, the man smiled and replied:
"'I'd show you what you're looking for if I wasn't worried about making you so sad.' His words made me feel sorry for myself and worried. Sensing a change in my expression, he added: 'If you said It's true, I do want to prove your mettle, and I've got a way to prove it to you, instead of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. In the valley, you come to a forest. In the forest there is a fork to the right. Follow the fork until you come to a meadow with a mound in the middle. On the top of the mound is a black man who is bigger than two white men put together. Big, with his eyes in the center of his forehead, and only one foot. He carried an iron rod that two white men could hardly lift. He was the guardian of the forest, surrounded by a thousand beasts of every description. He will tell you where to find your adventures.'

"That's what the man said. I felt the night was long, and it was still dark, and I put on my armor and rode my horse, and I came to the meadow he said. As he said, the black man was on the top of the mound. In fact, in every way, stronger than I thought. Speaking of iron bars, Kay, all four of us fighters feel heavy to lift. What magic the beast possessed by his side.

"'I'll let you see, little one,' he answered. He struck the stallion on the head with an iron rod, causing the stallion to neigh. At the neighing, the animal began to run, There are so many stars in the sky that I can barely stand in the center. There are also snakes and dragons and all kinds of grotesque beasts with horns where I have never seen horns. Negroes just look See, let them feed themselves. They bow before him, as courtiers bow before a prince.

"'Look, little guy, I've answered your questions and shown you my magic,' he said, 'is there anything else you want to know?' Then I asked him for directions, and he got angry , according to my observation, wanted to stop me. But after I told him who I am, he finally calmed down.

"'Take that road,' said he, 'that leads to the end of the meadow, and through the woods you will reach the top. There is a clearing with a tree in the center. A marble slab, and on the marble slab is a silver bowl, and a silver chain is tied to the bowl. Take some spring water from the silver bowl and pour it on the stone slab, and you will hear a thunder that shakes the sky. After the thunder There will be hail, so big and dense that it can almost kill you. Then the sun will come out, but every leaf will fall to the ground. Then a flock of birds will come and perch on the trees. You never heard Sweet songs like they sing. Just when their songs sounded the most beautiful, you will hear a murmur of complaints from the direction of the valley, and there is a black knight on a black horse, holding a black banner spear , beat the horse forward, and fight with you. If you try to escape, he will catch up with you. If you fight, he will knock you off the horse. If you don't want to make trouble in the adventure, you don't take the risk today. '

"So I said good-bye to the Negro, and ran to the end of the forest, and found that it was as he told me. I approached the tree, and under the tree was the spring. I scooped up water in a silver bowl, and poured it on the marble slab. All of a sudden, there was thunder, louder than I expected, and after the thunder, there was hail, bigger than I expected. To tell you the truth, Kay, if those hailstones hit you, they would tear you apart and hurt you deeply. Deep to the bone. I let the side of the horse face the hail, lay on the horse's neck, stretched out the shield, and protected the horse and my own head. After the hail passed, I looked up the tree, the leaves were all fallen, and the sky was blue , the sun was shining brightly, all kinds of birds perched on the trees, singing a very nice song, I have never heard such a nice song before or since.

"That's it, Kay, I was standing there listening to the birds sing. Just then, listen, a murmur came over, saying, 'Hey, knight, what are you doing here? What's wrong with me? , let you treat me like this? On my territory, when encountering this hailstorm, no matter people or animals will die.' Then a knight on a black horse appeared in the direction of the valley, holding a black flag spear. We said nothing At work, in spite of all my strength, he soon beat me down, and threw me to the ground, and then took my horse by the bridle, and took my steed, but left me where I was, even Neither do my armor.

"I went down the mountain sadly, and when I came to the black meadow, I confess to you, Kay, I was so ashamed that I almost melted into a puddle of water. I stayed that night in the castle where I lived before, and someone took I went to have a bath and food, but no one asked me how I was doing. When I got up the next morning, I found that the castle had saddled a bay horse for me, so I put on Armor, back to my own court. The horse is still in the stables, and I will not exchange it for any horse from Britain.

"Honestly, Kay, no one has ever confessed such a humiliating adventure to anyone else. It seems strange that no one else I met had heard of the black person, the knight, and the hailstorm."

"How about finding this place?" Owen suggested.

"My friend," Kay replied, "you often talk nice things but don't do them."

"Honestly, Kay," said Queen Gwenaville, after hearing the story, "you should be damned to say such things to a man like Owen."

"Never mind, Queen," Kay replied, "I think Owen as highly as you do." As he spoke, Arthur woke up and asked if he had taken a nap.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Owen replied, "you did fall asleep."

"Is it time for us to eat meat?"

"Here we are, Your Majesty." Owen replied.

Then the horn for washing was sounded, and when it was over the king and his retainers sat down to eat and drink.After eating, Owen left everyone and prepared the horses and weapons.

When the first rays of sunlight appeared, he set off.As Keenon had done before, he walked across deserts, over mountains, and forded rivers until he stood under the bare tree and listened to the birds sing.Then he heard the sound, turned his head, and saw the knight galloping towards him.After a fierce fight, the two of them broke their spears and drew out their swords.Owen's blow tore through the knight's armor and pierced his skull.

The knight, feeling mortally wounded, began to flee, and Owen pursued him, till he came to a mighty castle.The knight rushed across the drawbridge over the ditch and entered the gate of the castle.As soon as he was inside the castle, he pulled up the drawbridge and clamped Owen's steed between them, half inside and half outside.Owen couldn't get off the horse and didn't know what to do.

While he was in this distressed state, a small gate of the castle opened, and he could see a street lined with tall houses.A girl with curly blond hair looked out the door and told Owen to open it.

"I promise!" Owen yelled, "just as you can't let go of me, I can't open the door."

"Well," she said, "if you do what I say, I'll find a way to let you go. Take this ring, put it on, put this stone in your hand, and hold on tight. As long as you Don't let anyone see the stone, the stone will make you invisible. When the men in the castle have a meeting, they will send someone to take you to death. They will be very sad if they can't find you. I will stand there Even though I can't see you, you can see me. Get close to me, put your hands on my shoulders, and follow me."

After speaking, she left Owen.When the men came out of the castle to look for Owen, they couldn't find him, so they were sad and had to go back to the castle.

Then Owen walked up to the girl, put his hands on her shoulders, and she led him into a large and resplendent room.She gave him food and drink, water for washing, and clothes to wear.He lay on the soft bed, covered with a red quilt and fur, and had a sound and sweet sleep.

In the middle of the night, he heard a commotion and woke up.He jumped up from the bed, dressed, and went into the hall, where the girl was standing.

"What's going on?" he asked.She replied that the knight who owned the castle was dead and they were carrying his body to the church.Owen had never seen so many people, and following the dead knight came the fairest woman who ever lived, whose cries were louder than a man's cry or the sound of a horn.Owen watched her and fell in love with her.

"Who is she?" he asked the girl.

"She is the mistress, the Countess of Springs, the wife of the man you killed yesterday."

"Really," Owen said, "she's my favorite woman."

"She will love you too," said the girl.

Then she leaves Owen.A moment later she went into the mistress's room and spoke to her, but the countess said nothing.

"What makes you so miserable, master?" asked the girl.

"Why do you keep away from me when I am sad, Runed?" asked the countess.The girl replied, "Do you have to grieve so much for dead people or lost things?"

"There is no one like him in the world," replied the countess, her cheeks flushed. "I forbid you to say such things."

"Don't be angry, ma'am," said Runeter, "take my advice. You know very well that you cannot keep your lands by yourself. So get someone to help you."

"What shall I do?" asked the countess.

"I will tell you," replied Runeder, "that all will be lost unless you guard the well. Only a knight in King Arthur's court can guard the well. I will set out to find such a knight, and I will return Woe to me if I don't find a knight who can guard that well as his predecessors did."

"Go, then," said the countess, "and prove your promise with facts."

So Runede set off on a white horse, pretending to go to Arthur's court, but actually hiding herself, and reckoning the days would be long enough for her to go back and forth, she came out of her hiding-place to the countess.

"What news do you bring from the court?" asked the hostess, welcoming Runed back warmly.

"The best news," replied the girl, "that I have accomplished the object of my journey. When will I bring the knight who came back with me to meet you?"

"Tomorrow at noon," answered the countess, "I will gather all the townspeople."

At noon the next day Owen put on his chainmail, a handsome cloak over it, and leather boots adorned with gold buckles.He followed Runed into the hostess' room.

(End of this chapter)