ad. Immediately thereupon, with the pain of his
many wounds and the weakness of his famine, Sir Bors fainted, and lay
upon the frozen snow as one dead. For long he stayed thus ere he
revived, and then he rose and dragged himself into the stall where lay
his horse, half dead with hunger, before an empty manger.

All that night Sir Bors lay in a sad pass, for he thought that now he
would never see dawn again in life. He prayed and commended his soul to
God, and confessed his sins and prepared himself for death as behoved a
good knight; and thereafter he slept sweetly.

At the dawn he awoke, exceeding hungry, and looking forth into the
court he had it in his mind to carve meat from the dead boar. But he
was astounded beyond measure to find that it was not there. In its
place was a great trencher of steaming hot collops of meat, and toasted
bread, with hot milk in great plenty.

Sir Bors ran towards the food, and so ravenous was his hunger that he
would have devoured it instantly. But he bethought him before he had
placed any of it to his lips, and dropping it he crossed himself and
ran back into the stall and tried not to look forth. He knew that the
food was placed there by some fell fiend or demon to tempt him, and if
he ate of that unholy food, his soul would be for ever lost.

Anon sweet voices sounded in the courtyard as if to attract him forth,
and the smell of the hot food was wafted strongly into the stable. The
fiends themselves could not enter, for there was a horse-shoe hung in
the proper way upon the lintel of the door, and, moreover, Sir Bors had
stuck his sword-point in the ground, and the holy sign of the cross
prevented the evil things from crossing the threshold.

All that day did Sir Bors lie half dying, while the fiends tempted him,
but the knight was too strong and manful of soul to yield, and would
liefer die than become the slave of the powers of the Netherworld.

Then in the twilight he commended his soul to God, for he felt near to
death. When he had finished his prayer, he heard great and horrible
cries in the court as of rage and disappointment. Then came an old man
at the door of the stable, white of hair and very reverend; and he came
and put his hand upon Sir Bors' head and spoke mildly and said:

'Good and faithful knight, sorely tried have ye been, and now you shall
have no more adventures here. Full worshipfully have ye done and better
shall ye do hereafter. And now your wounds shall b