The boy stood with downcast eyes and troubled face. "Indeed, I never thought evil," he said. And seized by a sudden impulse he broke his bow across his knee and flung his arrows away.
"What is your name, boy?" asked the knight.
"I am Parsifal," he answered simply.
"Whence come you?"
"I do not know."
"Where go you?"
"I go to become a knight," answered the boy. "I have always wanted to be a knight."
"But do you not know that great things are expected of a knight? They must do other deeds than roaming about shooting harmless swans."
The boy flushed, but looked straight at the stern old man. "I know that a man must be brave and true," he said; "and that he must keep his heart pure. My father, who died long ago, was such a knight, and my mother has always taught me to be like him."
"But you will have many strong trials before you can become a knight. You may have to wander all over the world and endure many hardships."