"Sir," said she, "ye must make good cheer, and if ye be such a knight as it is said ye be. I shall tell you more tomorn by prime of the day."
"Gramercy, fair damsel," said Sir Launcelot, "of your good will I requite you."
And so she departed. And there he lay all that night without comfort of anybody.
And on the morn early came these four queens, passingly well beseen, all they bidding him good morn, and he them again.
"Sir knight," the four queens said, "thou must understand thou art here our prisoner; and we here know thee well, that thou art Sir Launcelot du Lake, King Ban's son. And truly we understand your worthiness that thou art the noblest knight living; and therefore thee behoveth now to choose one of us four. I am the queen Morgan le Fay, queen of the land of Gore, and here is the queen of Northgalis, and the queen of Eastland, and the queen of the Out Isles; now choose ye one of us which thou wilt have to thy love, for thou mayst not but choose or else in this prison to die."
"This is an hard case," said Sir Launcelot, "that
either I must die or else choose one of you, yet had I liever to die in this prison with worship, than to have one of you to my love maugre my head. And therefore ye be answered, for I will have none of you, for ye be false enchantresses."
"Well," said the queens, "is this your answer, that you will refuse us?"
"Yea, upon my life," said Sir Launcelot, "refused ye be of me."
So they departed and left him there alone that made great sorrow!