are my mortal enemy, and were I to give her to
you, she ought not to wish it, and were she to grant you her love she
would be a fool and a madwoman."

Right sorrowful is the damsel or this that she heareth her father say.
She would fain that Lancelot and she were in the forest, right in the
depth thereof. But Lancelot had no mind to be as she was thinking.
The lord of the castle made guard the gateway of the castle well, in
such sort that Lancelot might issue therefrom on no side. Afterward he
bade his knights privily that they take heed on their lives that they
be all ready on the morrow and all garnished of their arms, for that it
was his purpose to smite off Lancelot's head and hang it above all the
others.

VI.

The daughter of the lord knew these tidings and was right sorrowful
thereof, for she thinketh never more to have joy at heart and he shall
be slain in such manner. She sendeth him greeting by her own privy
messenger, as she that loveth him better than aught else living in the
world, and so biddeth and prayeth him be garnished of his arms, and
ready to protect his life, for that her father is fain to smite off his
head.

"Sir," saith the messenger, "Your force would avail you nought as
against my lord, for to-morrow there will be a dozen knights all armed
at the issue of the gate whereby you entered to-night, and he saith
that he purposeth to cut off your head there where he cut the heads off
the other knights. Without the gate there will likewise be another
dozen knights all armed. No knight is there in the world so good as
that he might issue forth of this castle through the midst of these
four and twenty knights, but my lady sendeth you word that there is a
cavern under this castle that goeth therefrom underground as far as the
forest, so that a knight may well pass thereby all armed, but there is
therein a lion, the fiercest and most horrible in the world, and two
serpents that are called griffons, that have the face of a man and the
beaks of birds and eyes of an owl and teeth of a dog and ears of an ass
and feet of a lion and tail of a serpent, and they have couched them
therewithin, but never saw no man beasts so fell and felonous.
Wherefore the damsel biddeth you go by that way, by everything that you
have ever loved, and that you fail her not, for she would fain speak
with you at the issue of the cavern in an orchard that is nigh a right
broad river not far from this castle, and will make