Then the earl restored to the countess all that he had taken from her; and as a ransom for his life he gave her the half of his own dominions, and much gold and silver. After that Ewaine took his departure; and as he rode through a wood he heard a loud yelling, which was repeated a second and third time. He went to the spot whence the sound proceeded, and came to a huge craggy mound, whereon a black lion and a horrible serpent were fighting. Ewaine drew his sword and smote the serpent in twain. Then he continued on his way; but the lion followed him, and played about him as though it had been a hound. Thus they journeyed on together. When it was time to rest for the night, Ewaine dismounted, turned his horse loose to graze, and kindled a fire; and the lion, having left him, presently returned with a large roebuck, which it threw down before him. Ewaine roasted some of the flesh for himself, and the rest of it he gave to the lion. While he was eating, he heard a deep sigh that seemed to come from within a rock near at hand. He called out to know whether the sigh proceeded from a mortal; and a voice answered that it did. “Who art thou?” asked Ewaine.
“I am,” said the voice, “Luned, the handmaiden to the Countess of the Fountain. I am imprisoned here on account of the knight that came from King Arthur’s court and married the countess. He was the friend I loved most in the world; and after he had departed, two of the knights of the court traduced him. I told them that they two were not a match for him alone. So they have imprisoned me in this stone vault; and I am to be put to death if he come not to deliver me by a certain day, which is no further off than the day after to-morrow. I have no one to seek him for me. His name is Ewaine, the son of King Urience.”
“Art thou certain that if he knew all this the knight would come to rescue thee?” asked Ewaine.
“I am most certain of it,” she answered.
In the morning Ewaine asked the damsel if there were any place near where he could get lodging. She directed him to an earl’s castle near. Thither he went, and the lion with him; and at the castle was he right nobly entertained. But he found the earl and everybody else in the castle exceedingly sorrowful; so he asked the reason.
“I have two sons,” said the earl, “and yesterday they went to the mountains to hunt. Now there is on the mountain a horrible giant that kills men and devours them, and he seized my sons. To-morrow he has fixed an hour to be here; and he threatens that he will then slay my sons before my eyes, unless I will deliver into his hands my only daughter, whom you see here.” The maiden sat beside her father; and she was exceedingly fair, but very sorrowful.
Ewaine said that was very lamentable, and then talked of other matters. The next morning there was a great clamour, which was caused by the coming of the giant with the two youths. Then Ewaine put on his armour, and went forth to attack the giant; and his lion went with him. When the giant saw that Ewaine was armed, he rushed fiercely upon him; and the lion fought against the giant more strongly even than Ewaine did “Truly,” said the giant, “I could deal easily with thee were it not for this lion that is with thee.” Upon that, Ewaine took the lion back to the castle and shut the gate upon him, and then returned to fight the giant as before. The lion roared furiously, and climbed up till he got to the top of the castle, and then sprung down from the wall, and rushed again upon the giant, giving him a stroke with his paw that tore him from the shoulder to the hip, so that he fell down dead. Then Ewaine restored the two youths to their father.
The earl besought Ewaine to remain with him, but he would not, and set forth to the place where Luned was imprisoned in the stone vault. When he came there he found a great fire kindled, and the two knights were leading the maiden to cast her into it. Ewaine asked what charge they had against her; and they told him of the compact that there was between-them. Then, without making himself known, he proffered himself to do battle for her in place of Ewaine; and the knights assented. They attacked Ewaine, and, inasmuch as he had not his usual strength, he was sore beset by them; but his lion fell upon them and put them to the worse. So thus was Luned saved from being burned. And Ewaine returned with her to the dominions of the Countess of the Fountain; and thence he took the countess with him to the court of King Arthur, where they lived afterwards in great happiness and renown.