The Lady of the Fountain . In the centre of the great hall in the castle of Caerleon upon Usk , king Arthur sat on a seat of green rushes , over which was thrown a covering of flame-coloured silk , and a cushion of red satin lay under his elbow . With him were his knights Owen and Kynon and Kai , while at the far end , close to the window , were Guenevere the queen and her maidens embroidering white garments with strange devices of gold . ' I am weary , ' said Arthur , ` and till my food is prepared I would fain sleep . You yourselves can tell each other tales , and Kai will fetch you from the kitchen a flagon of mean and some meat . ' And when they had eaten and drunk , Kynon , the oldest among them , began his story . ' I was the only son of my father and mother , and much store they set by me , but I was not content to stay with them at home , for I thought no deed in all the world was too mighty for me . None could hold me back , and after I had won many adventures in my own land , I bade farewell to my parents and set out to see the world . Over mountains , through deserts , across rivers I went , till I reached a fair valley full of trees , with a path running by the side of a stream . I walked along that path all the day , and in the evening I came to a castle in front of which stood two youths clothed in yellow , each grasping an ivory bow , with arrows made of the bones of the whale , and winged with peacock 's feathers . By their sides hung golden daggers with hilts of the bones of the whale . ` Near these young men was a man richly dressed , who turned and went with me towards the castle , where all the dwellers were gathered in the hall . In one window I beheld four and twenty damsels , and the least fair of them was fairer than Guenevere at her fairest . Some took my horse , and others unbuckled my armour , and washed it , with my sword and spear , till it all shone like silver . Then I washed myself and put on a vest and doublet which they brought me , and I and the man that entered with me sat down before a table of silver , and a goodlier feast I never had . ` All this time neither the man nor the damsels had spoken one word , but when our dinner was half over , and my hunger was stilled , the man began to ask who I was . Then I told him my name and my father 's name , and why I came there , for indeed I had grown weary of gaining the mastery over all men at home , and sought if perchance there was one who could gain the mastery over me . And at this the man smiled and answered : ' `` If I did not fear to distress thee too much , I would show thee what thou seekest . '' His words made me sorrowful and fearful of myself , which the man perceived , and added , `` If thou meanest truly what thou sayest , and desirest earnestly to prove thy valour , and not to boast vainly that none can overcome thee , I have somewhat to show thee . But to-night thou must sleep in the this castle , and in the morning see that thou rise early and follow the road upwards through the valley , until thou reachest a wood .
XXXXX the wood is a path branching to the right ; go along this path until thou comest to a space of grass with a mound in the middle of it .
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