rleon upon Usk, king
Arthur sat on a seat of green rushes, over which was thrown a covering
of flame-coloured silk, and a cushion of red satin lay under his elbow.
With him were his knights Owen and Kynon and Kai, while at the far
end, close to the window, were Guenevere the queen and her maidens
embroidering white garments with strange devices of gold.

'I am weary,' said Arthur, 'and till my food is prepared I would fain
sleep. You yourselves can tell each other tales, and Kai will fetch you
from the kitchen a flagon of mean and some meat.'

And when they had eaten and drunk, Kynon, the oldest among them, began
his story.

'I was the only son of my father and mother, and much store they set by
me, but I was not content to stay with them at home, for I thought no
deed in all the world was too mighty for me. None could hold me back,
and after I had won many adventures in my own land, I bade farewell
to my parents and set out to see the world. Over mountains, through
deserts, across rivers I went, till I reached a fair valley full of
trees, with a path running by the side of a stream. I walked along that
path all the day, and in the evening I came to a castle in front of
which stood two youths clothed in yellow, each grasping an ivory bow,
with arrows made of the bones of the whale, and winged with peacock's
feathers. By their sides hung golden daggers with hilts of the bones of
the whale.

'Near these young men was a man richly dressed, who turned and went with
me towards the castle, where all the dwellers were gathered in the hall.
In one window I beheld four and twenty damsels, and the least fair of
them was fairer than Guenevere at her fairest. Some took my horse, and
others unbuckled my armour, and washed it, with my sword and spear, till
it all shone like silver. Then I washed myself and put on a vest and
doublet which they brought me, and I and the man that entered with me
sat down before a table of silver, and a goodlier feast I never had.

'All this time neither the man nor the damsels had spoken one word, but
when our dinner was half over, and my hunger was stilled, the man began
to ask who I was. Then I told him my name and my father's name, and why
I came there, for indeed I had grown weary of gaining the mastery over
all men at home, and sought if perchance there was one who could gain
the mastery over me. And at this the man smiled and answered:

'"If I did not fear to distress thee too much, I would