Stories of King Arthur's Knights Told to the Children by Mary MacGregor , livre ebook

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40 pages

English

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pubOne.info present you this wonderfully illustrated edition. More than four hundred years ago there lived a diligent man called Sir Thomas Malory, who wrote in English words many of the beautiful Welsh tales about King Arthur's Knights, that the people of Wales loved so well.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	06 novembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819939337
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0050€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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ABOUT THIS BOOK
More than four hundred years ago there lived adiligent man called Sir Thomas Malory, who wrote in English wordsmany of the beautiful Welsh tales about King Arthur’s Knights, thatthe people of Wales loved so well.
All the stories in this little book were found inMalory’s big book, except ‘Geraint and Enid. ’ But it, too, is oneof the old Welsh tales that tell of the brave knights and fairladies of King Arthur’s court.
Many times, since Sir Thomas Malory wrote his book,have these stories been told again to old and young, but perhapsnever before have they been told to the children so simply as inthis little book.
MARY MACGREGOR.
GERAINT AND ENID
Queen Guinevere lay idly in bed dreaming beautifuldreams. The sunny morning hours were slipping away, but she was sohappy in dreamland, that she did not remember that her little maidhad called her long ago.
But the Queen’s dreams came to an end at last, andall at once she remembered that this was the morning she hadpromised to go to the hunt with King Arthur.
Even in the hunting-field, the King was not quitehappy if his beautiful Queen Guinevere were not there. This morninghe had waited for her in vain, for in dreamland the Queen hadforgotten all about the hunt.
‘If I dress quickly, I shall not be very late, ’thought the Queen, as she heard the far-off sound of thehunting-horn. And she was so quick that in a very short time sheand her little waiting-maid were out, and riding up to a grassyknoll. But the huntsmen were already far away. ‘We will wait hereto see them ride homewards, ’ said the Queen, and they drew uptheir horses to watch and listen.
They had not waited long, when they heard the soundof horse’s hoofs, and turning round, the Queen saw Prince Geraint,one of Arthur’s knights. He was unarmed, except that his sword hungat his side. He wore a suit of silk, with a purple sash round hiswaist, and at each end of the sash was a golden apple, whichsparkled in the sunlight.
‘You are late for the hunt, Prince Geraint, ’ saidthe Queen.
‘Like you, I have come, not to join the hunt, but tosee it pass, ’ said the Prince, bowing low to the beautiful Queen.And he asked to be allowed to wait with her and the littlemaid.
As they waited, three people, a lady, a knight and adwarf, came out of the forest, and rode slowly past. The knight hadhis helmet off, and the Queen saw that he looked young andbold.
‘I cannot remember if he is one of Arthur’s knights.I must know his name, ’ she said. And she sent her little maid tofind out who the strange knight was.
But when the little maid asked the dwarf hismaster’s name, the dwarf answered rudely that he would not tellher.
‘Then I will ask your master himself, ’ said themaid. But as she stepped towards the knight, the dwarf struck herwith his whip, and the little maid, half-angry and half-frightened,hurried back to the Queen, and told her how the dwarf had treatedher.
Prince Geraint was angry when he heard how rude thedwarf had been to the Queen’s little messenger, and said that hewould go and find out the knight’s name.
But the dwarf, by his master’s orders, treated thePrince as rudely as he had treated the little maid. When Geraintfelt the dwarf’s whip strike his cheek, and saw the blood droppingon to his purple sash, he felt for the sword at his side. Then heremembered that while he was tall and strong, the dwarf was smalland weak, and he scorned to touch him.
Going back to the Queen, Geraint told her that hehad not been able to find out the knight’s name either, ‘but withyour leave, I will follow him to his home, and compel him to askyour pardon, ’ said the Prince. And the Queen allowed him to followthe knight.
‘When you come back, you will perhaps bring a bridewith you, ’ said the Queen. ‘If she be a great lady, or if she beonly a beggar-maid, I will dress her in beautiful robes, and sheshall stand among the fairest ladies of my court. ’
‘In three days I shall come back, if I am not slainin battle with the knight, ’ said Geraint. And he rode away, alittle sorry not to hear the merry sound of the hunter’s horn, anda little vexed that he had undertaken this strange adventure.
Through valleys and over hills Geraint followed thelady, the knight and the dwarf, till at last, in the evening, hesaw them go through the narrow streets of a little town, and reacha white fortress. Into this fortress the lady, the knight and thedwarf disappeared.
‘I shall find the knight there to-morrow, ’ thoughtGeraint ‘Now I must go to an inn for food and a bed, ’ for he washungry and tired after his long ride.
But all the inns in the little town were full, andevery one seemed too busy to take any notice of the stranger.
‘Why is there such a bustle in your town thisevening? ’ asked Geraint, first of one person and then of another.But they hurried past him, muttering, ‘The Sparrow-hawk has histournament here to-morrow. ’
‘The Sparrow-hawk! that is a strange name, ’ thoughtGeraint. But he did not know that this was one of the names of theknight he had followed so far.
Soon Geraint reached a smithy, and he looked in, andsaw that the smith was busy sharpening swords and spears. ‘I willgo in and buy arms, ’ thought Geraint.
And because the smith saw that the stranger wasdressed like a Prince, he stopped his work for a moment to speak tohim.
‘Arms? ’ he said, when Geraint told him what hewanted. ‘There are no arms to spare, for the Sparrow-hawk holds histournament here to-morrow. ’
‘The Sparrow-hawk again! ’ thought Geraint. ‘Iwonder who he can be. ’ Then he turned to the smith again and said,‘Though you cannot give me arms, perhaps you can tell me where tofind food and a bed. ’
‘The old Earl Yniol might give you shelter. He livesin that half-ruined castle across the bridge, ’ said the smith. Andhe turned again to his work, muttering, ‘Those who work for theSparrow-hawk have no time to waste in talk. ’
So Geraint rode wearily on across the bridge andreached the castle. The courtyard was quite empty and looked verydreary, for it was all overgrown with weeds and thistles. At thedoor of the half-ruined castle stood the old Earl.
‘It is growing late. Will you not come in and rest,’ said Earl Yniol, ‘although the castle be bare, and the faresimple? ’
And Geraint said he would like to stay there, for hewas so hungry that the plainest food would seem a feast.
As he entered the castle, he heard some one singing.The song was so beautiful, and the voice was so pure and clear,that Geraint thought it was the sweetest song in all the world, andthe old castle seemed less gloomy as he listened.
Then Earl Yniol led Geraint into a long low room,and this room was both dining-room and kitchen.
The Earl’s wife sat there, and she wore a dress thatmust have been very grand once, but now it was old.
Beside her stood her beautiful daughter, and shewore a faded silk gown, but Geraint thought he had never seen sofair a face.
‘This is the maiden who sang the beautiful song, ’he thought. ‘If I can win her for my bride, she shall come backwith me to Queen Guinevere. But the brightest silks the Queen candress her in, will not make her look more fair than she does inthis old gown, ’ he murmured to himself.
‘Enid, ’ said the Earl, ‘take the stranger’s horseto the stable, and then go to the town and buy food for supper.’
Geraint did not like the beautiful girl to wait onhim, and he got up eagerly to help her.
‘We are poor, and have no servants, but we cannotlet our guest wait upon himself, ’ said the Earl proudly. AndGeraint had to sit down, while Enid took his horse to the stall,and went across the bridge to the little town to buy meat and cakesfor supper.
And as the dining-room was the kitchen too, Geraintcould watch Enid as she cooked the food and set the table.
At first it grieved him that she should work at all,but afterwards he thought, ‘She touches everything with such graceand gentleness, that the work grows beautiful under her whitehands. ’
And when supper was ready, Enid stood behind, andwaited, and Geraint almost forgot that he was very hungry, as hetook the dishes from her careful hands.
When supper was over, Geraint turned to the Earl.‘Who is this Sparrow-hawk of whom all the townspeople chatter? Yetif he should be the knight of the white fortress, do not tell mehis real name. That I must find out for myself. ’ And he told theEarl that he was Prince Geraint, and that he had come to punish theknight, because he allowed his dwarf to be so rude to the Queen’smessengers.
The Earl was glad when he heard his guest’s name. ‘Ihave often told Enid of your noble deeds and wonderful adventures,’ he said, ‘and when I stopped, she would call to me to go on. Sheloves to hear of the noble deeds of Arthur’s knights. But now Iwill tell you about the Sparrow-hawk. He lives in the whitefortress, and he is my nephew. He is a fierce and cruel man, andwhen I would not allow him to marry Enid, he hated me, and made thepeople believe I was unkind to him. He said I had stolen hisfather’s money from him. And the people believed him, ’ said theEarl, ‘and were full of rage against me. One evening, just beforeEnid’s birthday, three years ago, they broke into our home, andturned us out, and took away all our treasures. Then theSparrow-hawk built himself the white fortress for safety, but us hekeeps in this old half-ruined castle. ’
‘Give me arms, ’ said Geraint, ‘and I will fightthis knight in to-morrow’s tournament. ’
‘Arms I can give you, ’ said the Earl, ‘though theyare old and rusty; but you cannot fight to-morrow. ’ And the Earltold Geraint that the Sparrow-hawk gave a prize at the tournament.‘But every knight who fights to-morrow must have a lady with him, ’said the Earl, ‘so that if he wins the prize in fair fight from theSparrow-hawk, he may give it to her. But you have no lady to whomyou could give the prize, so you will not be allowed to fight.’
‘Let me fight as your beautiful Enid’s knight, ’sa