hen was Arthur aware of a little skiff, half hidden among the
bulrushes that fringed the lake; and leaping into the boat, without
aid of oar, he was wafted out into the middle of the lake, to the
place where, out of the water, rose the arm and sword. And leaning
from the skiff, he took the sword from the hand, which forthwith
vanished, and immediately thereafter the skiff bore him back to
land.

Arthur drew from its scabbard the mighty sword, wondering the while
at the marvel of its workmanship, for the hilt shone with the light
of many twinkling gems--diamond and topaz and emerald, and many
another whose names none know. And as he looked on the blade,
Arthur was aware of mystic writings on the one side and the other,
and calling to Merlin, he bade him interpret them. "Sir," said
Merlin, "on the one side is written 'Keep me,' and on the other
'Throw me away.'" "Then," said the King, "which does it behove me
to do?" "Keep it," answered Merlin; "the time to cast it away is
not yet come. This is the good brand Excalibur, or Cut Steel, and
well shall it serve you. But what think ye of the scabbard?" "A
fair cover for so good a sword," answered Arthur. "Nay, it is more
than that," said Merlin, "for, so long as ye keep it, though ye be
wounded never so sore, yet ye shall not bleed to death." And when
he heard that, the King marvelled the more.

Then they journeyed back to Caerleon, where the knights made great
joy of the return of their lord. And presently, thither came Sir
Pellinore, craving pardon of the King, who made but jest of his own
misadventure. And afterwards Sir Pellinore became of the Table
Round, a knight vowed, not only to deeds of hardihood, but also to
gentleness and courtesy; and faithfully he served the King,
fighting ever to maintain justice and put down wrong, and to defend
the weak from the oppressor.

CHAPTER IV

OF THE TREACHERY OF QUEEN MORGAN LE FAY

There was a certain Queen whose name was Morgan le Fay, and she was
a powerful sorceress. Little do men know of her save that, in her
youth, she was eager for knowledge and, having learnt all human
lore, turned her to magic, becoming so skilled therein that she was
feared of all. There was a time when great was her enmity towards
King Arthur, so that she plotted his ruin not once only nor twice;
and that is a strange thing, for it is said that she herself was
the kinswoman of the King. And truly, in the end, she repented her
of her malice,