CHAPTER I
THE RED-CROSS KNIGHT
Once upon a time there might have been seen a gentle Knight, riding across the plain. He was clad in armour of proof, and on his arm he carried a silver shield. A shield it was that brave men had carried before him, for there were great dints upon it, which were as a witness of great fights that had been fought. Now the Knight himself had never yet been in battle; but he seemed as one who could bear himself bravely, so well did he sit upon his horse, and so stout of limb he was. On his breast he wore a cross, red as blood, in token that he was vowed to serve the Lord Christ, who had died for him; and on his shield was yet another cross, to be as it were a sign that this service should be a defence to him in all dangers. Somewhat sad of look he was, not as though he had fear in his heart, but rather as one upon whom had been laid the burden of a great task. And such, in truth, there was, for Queen Gloriana had sent him upon a great enterprise, and all his heart was full of the thought of how he should best accomplish it. And the task was this—to slay the Great Dragon.
Beside the Knight a lady was riding on an ass as white as snow. Very fair she was; but she hid her fairness under a veil, which was brought low over her face. She was clad also in a garment of black; and she, too, was somewhat sad of look, nor, indeed, without cause. She came of a royal stock, being descended from ancient kings and queens, who had held wide sway in their land until this same Dragon had driven out their ancient house and had cruelly wasted all their realm. The third of this company was a Dwarf, who lagged behind, wearied, it may be, with the weight of the bag in which he bore this fair lady’s gear.
While the three, to wit the Knight, and the Lady, and the Dwarf, passed on, the sky was suddenly covered with clouds, and there began to fall a great storm of rain, so that they were fain to seek some shelter. Gladly, then, did they espy a wood hard by that promised, so thickly grown it was, a shelter from the rain. Tall were the trees and spreading wide with shady branches, so that neither sun by day nor star by night could pierce through. And all about were paths and ways, worn as by the treading of many feet, which seemed to lead to the abodes of men—a fairer place of shelter, as it seemed, there scarce could be. So they passed along, the birds singing sweetly the while; overhead were trees of many kinds, trees of the forest and of the orchard, the cedar and the oak, and the elm with the vine clinging to its stem, the yew for bows, and the birch for arrows, and the fruitful olive. So fair was the place, and so full of delights, that the travellers took no heed of the way by which they went. So it came to pass that they strayed from the path by which they first entered the wood, nor could they win to it again when once they had left it, so many were the ways and so like the one to the other. After a time, when they had taken counsel together, it seemed best to choose the way which seemed most trodden by the feet of travellers, as being the likeliest to lead to a certain end. When they had followed this awhile, they came to a great cave, deep in the very thicket of the wood. Here the Knight sprang from his horse, and gave to the Dwarf his spear, thinking that he should not need it. But his sword he kept.
Then said the Lady Una, for that was her name: “Be not overbold, Sir Knight; there may be mischief here of which you know nothing, peril which gives no sign of itself, even as a fire which burns without smoke; hold back, I pray you, till you have made some trial of the place.”
The Knight made reply: “Fair lady, it were a shame to fall back for fear of a shadow. The cave, doubtless, is dark, but where there is courage there is not wanting a light for the feet.”
Then said the Lady again: “Nay, nay, Sir Knight; I know this place by repute, though I thought not of it before. This wood in which we are lost is the Wood of Wandering; this cave which you see before you is the Den of Error, a monster, hateful both to God and man. Beware, therefore, beware!” And the Dwarf cried out aloud in his fear: “Fly, Sir Knight, fly, this is no place for mortal man.”
But the Knight would not be persuaded. He stepped into the cave, and the light of day, shining from without on his armour, showed him dimly the monster that was within. Hideous it was to behold, half a serpent and half a woman, and all as foul as ever creature was, upon the earth or under it. All the length of the cave she lay, her tail wound in many coils; and in every coil there was a deadly sting. And all round her was a brood of young ones. Many different shapes they had, but hideous all. And as soon as the light from the Knight’s armour glimmered through the darkness, they fled for shelter to the mouth of their dam.
The monster, wakened from her sleep, curled her tail about her head, and rushed to the cavern’s mouth, but, seeing one armed from top to toe in shining mail, would have turned again. But the Knight leaped at her, fierce as a lion leaps upon his prey, and barred her backward way with his sword. First she darted at him her great tail, and threatened him with the deadly sting that lay in it; but he, not one whit dismayed, aimed at her head a mighty blow. Her head it wounded not, but glanced on to the neck with force so great that for a while the great beast was stunned. Then, coming to herself, she raised her body high from the ground, and leaped upon the Knight’s shield, and wrapped his body round with huge folds.
Then Una, seeing in how sore plight he was, cried out: “Now show, Sir Knight, what you are. Put out all your force, and, above all things, back your force with faith, and be not faint. Strangle this monster, or surely she will strangle you!”