When the serpent heard this, she was glad and thankful to Arthur. When he had two wedges in the tree, and it partly cut, he said, “If yourself would only come over now, and put your tail in the cut and help me, we could throw down this tree.”
She went to him then, and put her tail in the cut. Arthur knocked out the wedges, and left her tail in the tree. She begged and cried, screaming, “The tree is killing me; the tree is killing me! Let me free! Let me out of this!”
“It wasn’t to let you out that I put you in,” replied Arthur.
What he did then was to jump behind her, and vex her until he got her in the way that, out of rage and great strength, she tore up the tree with its roots, and seven acres and seven ridges of land with it. Arthur was vexing the serpent until she rushed into the dry part of the forest, and was fastened among the trees; then he cut down dry trees, and piled them on the serpent and on the green tree till they were the size of a hill. In the evening he drove her to the castle before him, with all the hill of dry wood on her. When a maid was going from the castle for water, and saw this, she ran in with the story that Arthur was coming home with the serpent, and all the dry wood of the forest above on her back.
When the people inside heard this, they were in dread that she’d kill them all, and they rushed out to run away. There was one girl in the castle who heard the tidings too late, or was slow in preparing, for when she was ready, the serpent was at the door.
“Where are the people of the castle?” asked Arthur.
“All made away, and took their lives with them,” said she.
“Run now and call them back,” said Arthur.