And the old lion went to the cub and found that it was not much hurt, and then it came to Percivale and licked his hand, as a dog would, and tried to thank him for saving the cub. After that it carried the cub away, but in a little while it came back and stayed with Percivale all day, and at night, when Percivale lay down to sleep, the lion watched beside him.
The next morning Percivale saw a ship coming toward the land. It came close to the rock where he was and he could see no one in it but one old man, in the dress of a priest. It had been so long since Percivale had had any friend but the lion that he was glad to see the priest and he told him who he was and how he had come there, and that he did not know how to get away from the place.
"Do not try to find any more adventures now," the priest answered, "but come into this ship and wait in it for the adventures that will come to you."
So Percivale went on board the ship and at once it started out into the sea. He did not see the priest again and he could not tell where he had gone, but he could see the lion still standing on the shore and looking after him, till the ship had gone so far that he could no longer make it out. And Percivale must have slept again in the ship, though he did not know how long. But he awoke and saw a man bending over him, and the man was Bors.
"'It was King Evelake's shield'"
CHAPTER XIV
GALAHAD
When Galahad left Camelot he had no shield. He had carried none in the tournament and he had done better without one than any of the other knights. He still had none when the knights parted. He rode alone for four days without any adventure. It was then that he came to an abbey and went in to spend the night. Another knight of the Round Table had come there before him, and as they sat talking together the monks told them of a shield that they had. It had been in the abbey for many years, they said, and it had been foretold that no one except the best knight of the world should ever carry it without coming to some harm.
"I will take that shield to-morrow morning," said the knight, "and see what comes of it. I do not think myself the best knight of the world, but I do not fear any adventure that may befall me. And you, Sir Galahad—if you will, you may wait here for a little while to know if I come to any harm, and then I am sure that you can bear this shield, if I cannot."