Chapter 22

CHAPTER XXII.
THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN, CONTINUED. GAWAIN'S ADVENTURE. IT befell that, as Gawain went forth one day with King Arthur, he
perceived him to be very sad and sorrowful. And Gawain was much
grieved to see Arthur in this state, and he questioned him, saying, "O
my lord, what has befallen thee?" "In sooth, Gawain," said Arthur,
"I am grieved concerning Owain, whom I have lost these three years;
and I shall certainly die if the fourth year pass without my seeing
him. Now I am sure that it is through the tale which Kynon, the son of
Clydno, related, that I have lost Owain." "There is no need for thee,"
said Gawain, "to summon to arms thy whole dominions on this account,
for thou thyself, and the men of thy household, will be able to avenge
Owain if he be slain, or to set him free if he be in prison; and, if
alive, to bring him back with thee." And it was settled according to
what Gawain had said.
Then Arthur and the men of his household prepared to go and seek
Owain. And Kynon, the son of Clydno, acted as their guide. And
Arthur came to the castle where Kynon had been before. And when he
came there, the youths were shooting in the same place, and the yellow
man was standing hard by. When the yellow man saw Arthur, he greeted
him, and invited him to the castle. And Arthur accepted his
invitation, and they entered the castle together. And great as was the
number of his retinue, their presence was scarcely observed in the
castle, so vast was its extent. And the maidens rose up to wait on
them. And the service of the maidens appeared to them all to excel any
attendance they had ever met with; and even the pages, who had
charge of the horses, were no worse served that night than Arthur
himself would have been in his own palace.
The next morning Arthur set out thence, with Kynon for his guide,
and came to the place where the black man was. And the stature of
the black man was more surprising to Arthur than it had been
represented to him. And they came to the top of the wooded steep,
and traversed the valley, till they reached the green tree, where they
saw the fountain and the bowl and the slab. And upon that Kay came
to Arthur, and spoke to him. "My lord," said he, "I know the meaning
of all this, and my request is that thou wilt permit me to throw the
water on the slab, and to receive the first adventure that may
befall." And Arthur gave him leave.
Then Kay threw a bowlful of water upon the slab, and immediately
there came the thunder, and after the thunder the shower. And such a
thunder-storm they had never known before. After the shower had
ceased, the sky became clear, and on looking at the tree, they
beheld it completely leafless. Then the birds descended upon the tree.
And the song of the