Then he on
the other side cries out: "Knight, I am guarding the ford, and
forbid you to cross." He neither gives him heed, nor hears his
words, being still deep in thought. In the meantime, his horse
advanced rapidly toward the water. The knight calls out to him
that he will do wisely to keep at a distance from the ford, for
there is no passage that way; and he swears by the heart within
his breast that he will smite him if he enters the water. But
his threats are not heard, and he calls out to him a third time:
"Knight, do not enter the ford against my will and prohibition;
for, by my head, I shall strike you as soon as I see you in the
ford." But he is so deep in thought that he does not hear him.
And the horse, quickly leaving the bank, leaps into the ford and
greedily begins to drink. And the knight says he shall pay for
this, that his shield and the hauberk he wears upon his back
shall afford him no protection. First, he puts his horse at a
gallop, and from a gallop he urges him to a run, and he strikes
the knight so hard that he knocks him down flat in the ford which
he had forbidden him to cross. His lance flew from his hand and
the shield from his neck. When he feels the water, he shivers,
and though stunned, he jumps to his feet, like one aroused from
sleep, listening and looking about him with astonishment, to see
who it can be who has struck him.
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