" cried the people in amazement, "it is not possible! A
whole company of us dare not attack him, and yet we account
ourselves brave men."

"That may well be," replied Arthur, "and yet with my good sword
and scabbard, I have no fear."

Then the men said:

"If you will go, my lord, yonder is the great mountain where the
giant lives. At the top, two huge fires burn continually in front
of a cave, and in that cave are greater treasures than you can
dream of. They are all yours if you will but slay this monster."

Arthur replied nothing to them, but called Sir Kay and Sir
Bedivere, and rode with them to the foot of the mountain. From
that point he ascended alone. When he was nearly to the top he
came upon a woman, clad all in black, who sat weeping by the side
of a newly-made grave.

"Good woman, why do you weep?" asked Arthur.

"Hush, hush!" she cried, "or the giant will hear you and come and
kill you. He can hear me, but the sound of weeping delights him,
and therefore I need not restrain my grief."

"Why do you grieve?" the king asked.

"Alas! Because my good mistress, the duchess of Brittany, is
dead. The giant has killed her."

At that Arthur gripped tightly the handle of his sword and said:

"I will kill this wretch before I am an hour older."

"Ah, my lord," said the woman, "the greatest kings in the country
are afraid of him. He has a coat embroidered with the beards of
fifteen of them. He demanded these beards as a sign that they
acknowledged him as lord."

"There is at least one king who does not acknowledge him as
lord," shouted Arthur, as he strode hastily forward.

When he reached the top he saw the giant asleep in front of the
two great fires before the cave. He was taller than the tallest
pine that ever grew. His arms were as big as the trunk of an oak
tree. His mouth was as large as a cave, and from it and his
nostrils came forth fire and flame like that from the mountain of
Vesuvius. Although his huge eyes were closed, flashes of
lightning seemed to shoot from beneath the lids. At his side was
an iron club as large as a steeple. About him stood trembling old
women fanning him as he slept.

King Arthur approached the monster, and said to him:

"Wretch, awake and fight, for your hour has come."

The giant, starting up, looked down scornfully upon the king and,
laughing, threw his great club at Arthur. But the king leapt
aside and the club fell harmlessly on the ground, making a hollow
wh