emy dead behind
him. He, however, had not lost very many men.

At daybreak Arthur and his followers saw that the lay of the land
could be used to their advantage. Between them and the enemy was
a narrow road, bounded on one side by a lake, and on the other
side by a dense wood. One part of this wood, however, was thin
enough to allow men to hide in it.

"Now," said Merlin, "let King Bors and King Ban take their
soldiers and hide in the wood for a long time. Then, my lord
Arthur, stand up before the enemy with your men."

"Why shall we do this?" asked Arthur.

"Because," said the wise old man, "when the eleven kings see how
few in number your troops are, they will let you proceed down the
passage. They will think that if you march close to them they can
overcome you. But you can fill up this narrow road with more and
more men from the wood. Then the enemy cannot surround you."

"That seems very good," said Arthur.

"And at last," continued Merlin, "when the eleven kings are
weary, let King Bors and King Ban come forth. Then surely the
courage of our enemies will fail."

The plan was carried out. Arthur's men marched down the passage.
The green wood was on one side, and on the other was the lake,
the water of which was so clear that it reflected the bodies of
the soldiers with their shields and helmets. The sun shone on
their armor. The little birds in the woods sang as they passed.
But the men were thinking of nothing but the expected battle.

When they had come close to the enemy, they saw the eleven kings
all in a row, mounted on big handsome horses. Their fifty
thousand men were behind them. Suddenly these rode forward and
the battle began.

It was a fierce fight. In a very short time the field was covered
with overthrown men and horses. Broken shields and helmets lay on
the ground, and many of the knights who had been fighting on
horseback were unhorsed, and were fighting on foot. Arthur
galloped here and there among his enemies, conquering with his
trusty sword all with whom he fought. The woods and the water
rang with his sword strokes. The noise drowned the sweet songs of
the birds, but still they sang, and flew about gaily, all unaware
of the grim death-struggle going on beneath them.

Finally the time arrived for bringing forward King Bors and his
men. The great dark king went thundering down upon his enemies.
When the King of Orkney saw him coming, he cried:

"Oh, we are in great danger! I see K