The Age of Fable eBook

Thomas Bulfinch
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,207 pages of information about The Age of Fable.

The Age of Fable eBook

Thomas Bulfinch
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,207 pages of information about The Age of Fable.

“So I journeyed on until I reached the summit of the steep.  And there I found everything as the black man had described it to me.  And I went up to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and by its side the marble slab, and the silver bowl fastened by the chain.  Then I took the bowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the slab, and immediately I heard a mighty peal of thunder, so that heaven and earth seemed to tremble with its fury.  And after the thunder came a, shower; and of a truth I tell thee, Kay, that it was such a shower as neither man nor beast could endure and live.  I turned my horse’s flank toward the shower, and placed the beak of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the upper part of it over my own neck.  And thus I withstood the shower.  And presently the sky became clear, and with that, behold, the birds lighted upon the tree, and sang.  And truly, Kay, I never heard any melody equal to that, either before or since.  And when I was most charmed with listening to the birds, lo! a chiding voice was heard of one approaching me and saying:  ’O knight, what has brought thee hither?  What evil have I done to thee that thou shouldst act towards me and my possessions as thou hast this day?  Dost thou not know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man nor beast alive that was exposed to it?’ And thereupon, behold, a knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a tabard of black linen about him.  And we charged each other, and, as the onset was furious, it was not long before I was overthrown.  Then the knight passed the shaft of his lance through the bridle-rein of my horse, and rode off with the two horses, leaving me where I was.  And he did not even bestow so much notice upon me as to imprison me, nor did he despoil me of my arms.  So I returned along the road by which I had come.  And when I reached the glade where the black man was, I confess to thee, Kay, it is a marvel that I did not melt down into a liquid pool, through the shame that I felt at the black man’s derision.  And that night I came to the same castle where I had spent the night preceding.  And I was more agreeably entertained that night than I had been the night before.  And I conversed freely with the inmates of the castle; and none of them alluded to my expedition to the fountain, neither did I mention it to any.  And I remained there that night.  When I arose on the morrow I found ready saddled a dark bay palfrey, with nostrils as red as scarlet.  And after putting on my armor, and leaving there my blessing, I returned to my own court.  And that horse I still possess, and he is in the stable yonder.  And I declare that I would not part with him for the best palfrey in the island of Britain.

“Now, of a truth, Kay, no man ever before confessed to an adventure so much to his own discredit; and verily it seems strange to me that neither before nor since have I heard of any person who knew of this adventure, and that the subject of it should exist within King Arthur’s dominions without any other person lighting upon it.”

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Project Gutenberg
The Age of Fable from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.