rose and ungirded his armor, and laid it aside, piece by
piece, even to the very last piece thereof. Then when he was thus eased
of his armor, he flung himself down in his jerkin and hose upon the
hermit's pallet and therewith in a moment had fallen into a slumber so
deep that it was like the sleep of death. And as he slept thus the
hermit sat beside the pallet whereon Sir Launcelot lay. And he gazed
very steadfastly upon Sir Launcelot, and was greatly grieved to see him
in that condition.

Now it happened that about the middle of the night the hermit fell
asleep where he sat and shortly after that Sir Launcelot awoke and was
aware how the old man slept. And Sir Launcelot took of a sudden a great
fear of the hermit he wist not wherefore, so that the only thought in
his mind was to escape from the hermit. Wherefore he arose and went very
softly and in his bare feet out from that place, doing this so silently
that he did not awaken the hermit from his sleep.

[Sidenote: _Sir Launcelot escapeth from the hermitage._]

Thus Sir Launcelot came outside the hermit's hut, and after he had thus
escaped therefrom, he took of a sudden great fear lest the hermit should
awake and pursue him for to bring him back to the hut again. So
straightway he turned him and sped away into the forest with great
speed, like as though he were a wild animal pursued by the hunter. And
he fled away for all the rest of that night. And when the dawn had come
he ceased to fly and he crouched down and hid himself in the thickets of
the forest. For in his madness he was ever pursued by the fear that the
hermit would follow him and that he was even then hunting for him for to
bring him back to the hut again.

Thus it was that Sir Launcelot escaped from the hut of the hermit, and
after that he abided in the forest for a long while. What time he
gathered the wild fruit of the forest for his food. And he drank of the
forest fountains and that was all the food and drink that he had. And
after a while the clothes of Sir Launcelot were all torn into shreds by
the thorns and briars, and his hair grew down into his eyes and his
beard grew down upon his breast so that he became in all appearance a
wild man of the forest, all naked, and shaggy, and gaunt like to a
hungry wolf.

[Sidenote: _Sir Launcelot becometh the forest madman._]

And now and again it chanced that some one who travelled in the forest
would see him as he ran through the thickets of the woodla