And if thou abidest were thou art , he will unhorse thee . And if thou dost not find trouble in that adventure , thou needest not to seek it during the rest of thy life . '' ` So I bade the black man farewell , and took my way to the top of the wood , and there I found everything just as I had been told . I went up to the tree beneath which stood the fountain , and filling the silver bowl with water , emptied it on the marble slab . Thereupon the thunder came , louder by far than I had expected to hear it , and after the thunder came the shower , but heavier by far than I had expected to feel it , for , of a truth I tell thee , Kai , not one of those hailstones would be stopped by skin or by flesh till it had reached the bone . I turned my horse 's flank towards the shower , and , bending over his neck , held my shield so that it might cover his head and my own . When the hail had passed , I looked on the tree and not a single leaf was left on it , and the sky was blue and the sun shining , while on the branches were perched birds of very kind , who sang a song sweeter than any that has come to my ears , either before or since . ` Thus , Kai , I stood listening to the birds , when lo , a murmuring voice approached me , saying : ' `` O knight , what has brought thee hither ? What evil have I done to thee , that thou shouldest do so much to me , for in all my lands neither man nor beast that met that shower has escaped alive . '' Then from the valley appeared the knight on the black horse , grasping the lance with the black pennon . Straightway we charged each other , and though I fought my best , he soon overcame me , and I was thrown to the ground , while the knight seized the bridle of my horse , and rode away with it , leaving me where I was , without even despoiling me of my armour . ` Sadly did I go down the hill again , and when I reached the glade where the black man was , I confess to thee , Kai , it was a marvel that I did not melt into a liquid pool , so great was my shame . That night I slept at the castle where I had been before , and I was bathed and feasted , and none asked me how I had fared . The next morning when I arose I found a bay horse saddled for me , and , girdling on my armour , I returned to my own court . The horse is still in the stable , and I would not part with it for any in Britain . ` But of a truth , Kai , no man ever confessed an adventure so much to his own dishonour , and strange indeed it seems that none other man have I ever met that knew of the black man , and the knight and the shower . ' ` Would it not be well , ' said Owen , ` to go and discover the place ? ' ` By the hand of my friend , ' answered Kai , ` often dost thou utter that with thy tongue which thou wouldest not make good with thy deeds . ' ` In truth , ' said Guenevere the queen , who had listened to the tale , ` thou wert better hanged , Kai , than use such speech towards a man like Owen . ' ' I meant nothing , lady , ' replied Kai ; ` thy praise of Owen is not greater than mine . '
And as he spoke Arthur awoke , and asked XXXXX he had not slept for a little .
So at if into over than that to while without