the golden bird led the way and ever Sir Gawaine followed,
until, at last, the bird brought Sir Gawaine out of the forest and to a
strange place which he had never beheld before. For beyond the edge of
the woodland he beheld a dreary valley, naked and bare, and covered all
over with a great multitude of stones and rocks. And in that valley
could be seen no sign of vegetation or of herbage of any sort, but only
those naked and desolate rocks and stones all shining bright in the heat
of the sun as though they were ribs of stones shining in a furnace of
fire.

[Sidenote: _Sir Gawaine beholdeth the cloudy mist._]

And Sir Gawaine beheld that in the centre of the valley there was a
cloud of thick mist in the shape of a solid pillar of smoke. And he
beheld that that cloud of mist moved not in any way but remained fixed
in its place as it were a pillar of stone.

Then Sir Gawaine looked for that golden bird and he beheld it perched
upon the high branches of a tree near by. And he saw that the bird had
folded its wings as though to rest, wherefore he knew that there must
be somewhat at this place for him to undertake, and that the bird must
have conducted him to this place for that purpose.

So Sir Gawaine, in that enchanted appearance of a dwarf, went down into
the valley and drew near to that pillar of mist. And he came close to
the cloud and he stood and looked upon it. Then as he so stood, a voice
issued of a sudden out of the midst of the cloud saying, "Gawaine!
Gawaine! is it thou who art there?" And Sir Gawaine was astonished
beyond all measure that a voice should thus address him from out of the
midst of the pillar of cloud, for he had long since ceased to think that
any creature, mortal or otherwise, would know him in the guise into
which the Lady Vivien had bewitched him.

But though he was so astonished, yet he answered in the voice of the
dwarf, saying, "Who art thou who callest upon the name of Gawaine, the
son of Lot of Orkney?"

[Sidenote: _Sir Gawaine heareth the voice of Merlin._]

Then the voice replied: "I who speak to thee am Merlin. Here for twelve
years have I been lying asleep, enclosed in a coffer of stone, yet once
in every six years I awake for one hour of life and at the end of that
hour I relapse into sleep again. This is my time for waking, and so hast
thou been brought hither that thou mightest hear that prophecy that I
have to utter.

"And this is my prophecy:

[Sidenote: _Of the prophe