as like red marble. And the sword that had
been thrust into the stone was strong and fair. The handle of it was
studded with precious stones, and among the stones there were letters
of gold.

The King stepped forward, and bending over the sword read these
words: "No one shall take me away save him to whom I belong. I will
hang only by the side of the best knight in the world."

The King turned to Sir Lancelot. "The sword is yours, for surely there
lives no truer knight."

But Sir Lancelot answered gravely, "The sword is not mine. It will
never hang by my side, for I dare not try to take it."

The King was sorry that his great knight's courage failed, but he
turned to Sir Gawaine and asked him to try to take the sword.

And at first Sir Gawaine hesitated. But when he looked again at the
precious stones that sparkled on the handle, he hesitated no longer.
But he no sooner touched the sword than it wounded him, so that he
could not use his arm for many days.

Then the King turned to Sir Percivale. And because Arthur wished it,
Sir Percivale tried to take the sword; but he could not move it. And
after that no other knight dared to touch the fair sword; so they
turned and went back to the palace.

In the dining-hall the King and his knights sat down once more at the
Round Table, and each knight knew his own chair. And all the seats
were filled except the chair opposite the writing in gold.

It had been a day full of surprise, but now the most wonderful thing
of all happened. For as they sat down, suddenly all the doors of the
palace shut with a loud noise, but no one had touched the doors. And
all the windows were softly closed, but no one saw the hands that
closed them.

Then one of the doors opened, and there came in a very old man dressed
all in white, and no one knew whence he came.

By his side was a young man in red armor. He had neither sword nor
shield, but hanging by his side was an empty sheath.

There was a great silence in the hall as the old man said, slowly and
solemnly, "I bring you the young knight Sir Galahad, who is descended
from a king. He shall do many great deeds, and he shall see the Holy
Grail."

"He shall see the Holy Grail," the knights repeated, with awe on their
faces.

For far back, in the days of their boyhood, they had heard the story
of the Holy Grail. It was the Sacred Cup out of which their Lord had
drunk before He died.

And they had been told how sometimes it was seen ca