"What noise is that in the Cook-house?" Mell asked a groom.

"The Cook's son is going out to fight," said the groom, "and he is
striking the pot-lids with the ladles to let everyone in the
Cook-house know how fierce he is."

"And who is the Cook's son going to fight?" asked Mell the Hen-wife's
son.

"He is going to fight a great Champion that has come up from the sea
in a boat that moves itself. This Champion demands that the King pay
tribute to him. And the King has offered his daughter and half his
kingdom to the youth who will go down to the sea-shore and defeat this
Champion. And to-day the Cook's son is going out to make trial."

And while the groom was saying all this the Cook's son came out of the
Cook-house. His big face was all gray. His knees were knocking each
other. The breastplate of iron he had on was slipping to one side and
the big sword he had put in his belt was trailing on the ground.

"I would like to see what sort of a fight this Champion will make,"
said Mell, the Hen-wife's son. He followed the Cook's son to the
sea-shore. But the Cook's son, when he had come to the shore, looked
round and found a little cave in the face of the rock and climbed into
it.

Then a boat that moved of itself came in from the sea, and a Champion
all in red sprang out of it. And when he had touched the shingles he
struck his sword on his shield and he shouted "If the King of this
Land has a Champion equal to the fray let him forth against me. And
if the King of the Land has no such Champion, let him pay me tribute
from his Kingdom."

Mell looked to the cave where the Cook's son had hidden himself and
all he saw there was a bush being pulled towards the opening to hide
it.

Then Mell the Hen-wife's son drew his sword and went down the beach
towards the Red Champion. They fought for half the day. At the end of
that time the Red Champion said "Good is the champion that the King of
this Land has sent against me. I did not know he had such a good
champion."

They fought all over the strand making the places that were stony,
wet, and the places that were wet, stony, and then, when the sun was
going down, the Red Champion was not able to do anything more than
guard himself from the strokes of Mell's sword while he drew towards
his boat.

"You will have the honors of the fight to-day," said he to Mell.

[Illustration: The Red Champion said, "Good is the Champion that the
King of this Land has sent against me."]