Through a narrow
entrance the people entered--King Evrain and all the rest.
Erec went riding, lance in rest, into the middle of the garden,
greatly delighting in the song of the birds which were singing
there; they put him in mind of his Joy the thing he most was
longing for. But he saw a wondrous thing, which might arouse
fear in the bravest warrior of all whom we know, be it Thiebaut
the Esclavon, (39) or Ospinel, or Fernagu. For before them, on
sharpened stakes, there stood bright and shining helmets, and
each one had beneath the rim a man's head. But at the end there
stood a stake where as yet there was nothing but a horn. (40) He
knows not what this signifies, yet draws not back a step for
that; rather does he ask the King, who was beside him at the
right, what this can be. The King speaks and explains to him:
"Friend," he says, "do you know the meaning of this thing that
you see here? You must be in great terror of it, if you care at
all for your own body; for this single stake which stands apart,
where you see this horn hung up, has been waiting a very long
time, but we know not for whom, whether for you or someone else.
Take care lest thy head be set up there; for such is the purpose
of the stake. I had warned you well of that before you came
here.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190