is requests.
And seeing he has no name I will give him one, and it shall be
Beaumains, or Fair-hands, and he shall sit in the kitchen and eat
broth, and at the end of a year he shall be as fat as any pig that
feeds on acorns.' So the young man was left in charge of Sir Kay, that
scorned and mocked him.
Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawaine were wroth when they heard what Sir Kay
said, and bade him leave off his mocking, for they believed the youth
would turn out to be a man of great deeds; but Sir Kay paid no heed to
them, and took him down to the great hall, and set him among the boys
and lads, where he ate sadly. After he had finished eating both Sir
Lancelot and Sir Gawaine bade him come to their room, and would have
had him eat and drink there, but he refused, saying he was bound to
obey Sir Kay, into whose charge the King had given him. So he was put
into the kitchen by Sir Kay, and slept nightly with the kitchen boys.
This he bore for a whole year, and was always mild and gentle, and
gave hard words to no one. Only, whenever the Knights played at
tourney he would steal out and watch them. And Sir Lancelot gave him
gold to spend, and clothes to wear, and so did Gawaine. Also, if there
were any games held whereat he might be, none could throw a bar nor
cast a stone as far as he by two good yards.
Thus the year passed by till the feast of Whitsuntide came again, and
this time the king held it at Carlion. But King Arthur would eat no
meat at Whitsuntide till some adventures were told him, and glad was
he when a squire came and said to him, 'Sir you may go to your food,
for here is a damsel with some strange tales.' At this the damsel was
led into the hall, and bowed low before the King, and begged he would
give her help. 'For whom?' asked the King, 'and what is the
adventure?' 'Sir,' answered she, 'my sister is a noble lady of great
fame, who is besieged by a tyrant, and may not get out of her castle.
And it is because your Knights are said to be the noblest in all the
world that I came to you for aid.' 'What is your sister's name, and
where does she dwell? And who is the man that besieges her, and where
does he come from?' 'Sir King,' answered she, 'as for my sister's
name, I cannot tell it you now, but she is a lady of great beauty and
goodness, and of many lands. As for the tyrant who besieges her, he is
called the Red Knight of the Red Lawns.' 'I know nothing of him,' said
the King. 'But I know him,' cried Sir Gawaine,
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