The Knight and the Lion

"Yvain Rides On"

So Yvain set off once more, guiding his horse along narrow stony tracks, down steep slopes and through thick bushes. Suddenly he saw a straight path ahead of him, dark and tangled with thorns. Then he was glad, for he felt sure now that he could not get lost again and that he would soon see the pine shadowing the magic spring, the rock and the terrible storm.

That night he slept at the castle of the kindly lord and his daughter, just as Calogrenant had done, and the next day he found the wild bulls and their herdsman, who showed him the way.

It was not long before Yvain saw what he wanted to see. Without wasting a moment he tipped a full basin of water from the spring onto the rock. The wind blew and the rain poured down just as he had been told.

When God brought back the fine weather once more, Yvain saw the birds fly and settle on the pine tree, smothering every branch and twig, and heard them sing their joyous song above the perilous spring.

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