" "He is perfectly
right," the damsel says; "for will not the news of his disgrace
be known everywhere? Since he has been upon the cart, he has
good reason to wish to die, for he would be better dead than
alive. His life henceforth is sure to be one of shame, vexation,
and unhappiness." Then the knights asked for their armour, and
armed themselves, the damsel treating them courteously, with
distinction and generosity; for when she had joked with the
knight and ridiculed him enough, she presented him with a horse
and lance as a token of her goodwill. The knights then
courteously and politely took leave of the damsel, first saluting
her, and then going off in the direction taken by the crowd they
had seen. Thus they rode out from the town without addressing
them. They proceeded quickly in the direction they had seen
taken by the Queen, but they did not overtake the procession,
which had advanced rapidly. After leaving the fields, the
knights enter an enclosed place, and find a beaten road. They
advanced through the woods until it might be six o'clock, (8) and
then at a crossroads they met a damsel, whom they both saluted,
each asking and requesting her to tell them, if she knows,
whither the Queen has been taken. Replying intelligently, she
said to them: "If you would pledge me your word, I could set you
on the right road and path, and I would tell you the name of the
country and of the knight who is conducting her; but whoever
would essay to enter that country must endure sore trials, for
before he could reach there he must suffer much.
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