* * * * * *
“Sir Galahad was not the only knight who found the Holy Grail,” added the Story Lady after a pause.
“But I thought from the story,” said Mary Frances, “that Sir Galahad and his two comrades were the only ones who were permitted to find it.”
“No, there were others,” said the Story Lady. “Your own American poet, James Russell Lowell, tells of another, Sir Launfal, who found the Grail in a place he had never thought to look.”
The Story People listened eagerly, for they liked the tale of Sir Galahad so much that they were ready for more; so the Story Lady told the tale of a fourth knight who succeeded.
XXVI
HOW SIR LAUNFAL ACHIEVED THE HOLY GRAIL
ONCE upon a time there was a young knight, Sir Launfal, who had read of the success of Sir Galahad, and of the failure of many of the knights of the Round Table. This made him very eager to try his fortune; so he vowed that some day he too would set out in quest of the Holy Grail.
Now, Sir Launfal lived in a cold gray castle in the North Country, whose gates were never opened save to knights or ladies of high degree, who were as proud and haughty as himself.