Arthur Befriends Sir Pellinore

Chapter 3

Now Arthur had become the new king of Britain. Every other day, he would travel all over the country in order to know more about his people. He would land a helping hand to the needy, the unfortunate, the downtrodden and the helpless. Everybody in his kingdom was happy and satisfied. On one such travel, he lost his way and reached a dense forest. Evening was approaching. He thought, ‘What should I do now? It is stark dark. It is quite impossible to trace the path that leads to my palace.’ Lost in such thoughts, he happened to see a castle which was at a stone’s throw from him. The castle was quite big and beautiful. King Arthur had never seen such a huge castle before in his life. He was very much surprised to see the castle there in the dense forest.
King Arthur could not help going near to the castle. No sooner did he reach the gate of the castle than the great door opened. He stood there motionless. Queen Annoure who was a magician appeared there and welcomed the King saying, “Hello dear, how do you do? Why don’t you stay in my castle tonight? Evening has approached and the path is beset with wild beasts. Moreover, you must be very hungry. You need to have some food and a bed to sleep on. What do you say?”
The King was taken in by the oily tongue of Queen Annoure who had plotted an evil game against the King. Holding the hand of the Queen the king walked into the castle with great élan. After he had taken his diner the Queen called out to her personal maid and said, “Take the King to his plush bedroom. An attendant will attend to him throughout the night.”
The maid took the king to his bedroom and went away. Seeing the room the king was amazed at its beauty. He had never such kind of architecture inside the room. He slept on a mattress which as soft as velvet. Soon he fell fast asleep. Next morning the Queen came over to him and said, “Hello dear! How was the night? Did you feel any problem? Did you spend the night peacefully?”
Hearing the words of the Queen the King observed, “Yes dear lady. It is all because of you. I slept soundly all through the night. The attendant attended on me nicely. It is really kind of you to have received your guest with such warmth.”
After serving breakfast to the King Queen Annoure said to him, “Dear, let me show you my castle. I think it is the biggest and most beautiful castle in the entire kingdom. Apart from this, I possess a large quantity of gold and jewels in my trunk. I think it is much more than anybody has.” Hearing the words of the Queen King Arthur was much impressed. He admired the beauty of the castle and of the Queen as well. Thereafter, The Queen took him from one room to another. Each room was more beautiful and richer than the previous one. The king felt amazed at seeing such wealth.
After showing all the rooms to the king the Queen led him to the top of the castle from there one could see a glimpse of the entire kingdom. Reaching there the Queen said to the King, “Look dear, over there are beautiful gardens, lawns and nurseries. There are green fields and orchards where the trees are laden with delicious, juicy fruits. As far as your eyes can reach, all these territories are mine. I have amassed huge wealth over the years.”
“All these gardens, green fields sprawling over a large tract of land, orchards and what not belong to me. I kindly request you to stay here with me and be the king of them all. All will respect and obey you. None will go against your wish. You will be the supreme ruler of all the region here.”
But King Arthur was not at all interested in staying there. He most humbly said to the Queen, “O fair lady! I respect your good wish and sincerity. But it is next to impossible for me to stay here. Who will care for my subjects over there in Britain? No, I can’t part from my citizens who are like children to me.”
Hearing the words of the king the Queen flew in rage. She was red with anger. She at once went mad like a stray bull. She yelled at the king and observed, “No, never. You can’t get away from here. How dare you refuse my command? I see how you escape from here. For your kind information, the door of the castle has been shut. There are huge walls all around the castle. However hard you may try, you can’t get away from here. If you happen to get away from here somehow, you will get killed by my faithful soldiers. So, you had better see eye to eye with me and stay here with me for good. Only then can I spare your life.”
But King Arthur was not a man to be feared by such words. He thought for a while and stated, “Who is going to stop me from going away. You don’t know who I am. I am not scared of either you or your magic or your so-called soldiers. I see who stops my way. He who loves his life should not come in front of my way.”

Saying these words king Arthur raised his sword high in the air and stamped his feet. Then he hurried out of the castle and out through the front door. All the soldiers of Queen Annoure kept standing there motionless. Not any of them budged an inch from his stand. Seeing all this the Queen got all the more angry and frustrated. Her blood was boiling with rage. She said to herself, ‘I must teach King Arthur a bitter lesson. How dare he go against my will?’
After thinking coolly she hit upon a plan. She called out to one of her soldiers and said, ‘Go at once to the house of Sir Pellinore. Say to him that an evil knight is bent upon looting my wealth. He has been terrorizing our people for a long time.”
The messenger rode off quickly. Queen Annoure wanted to take revenge at any cost. Reaching the house of Sir Pellinore the messenger read out the message to him, “Sir, I am in great distress. An evil knight who lives near by is planning to attack my castle and deprive me of my gold and jewels. Please come to my rescue and do away with this mender.”
Sir Pellinore at once stood up from his seat and said to the messenger, “Go and say to your mistress that she need not feel afraid of this trouble-creator. I shall deal with him with a firm hand. Rest assured, I shall do away with him in no time.”
The messenger rode back to the castle and delivered the message to the Queen. Hearing the words the Queen was beside herself with happiness. She wanted to lower the esteem of King Arthur by hook or by crook. At the head of a large army Sir Pellinore marched towards the knight who was totally unaware of his approaching there.
Seeing the knight in front of him, Sir Pellinore challenged him to fight against him. Sir Pellinore with a spear in his hand ran towards King Arthur. Then, he hit him hard with the spear. King Arthur was thrown off his horse badly. Getting up quickly king Arthur drew out his sword from his sheath and challenged Sir Pellinore. Now, both the warriors began to fight with their swords. A fierce battle ensued between the two. Both were unmatched. Neither of them was able to overpower the other. They fought fiercely all through afternoon. While fighting a sword duel king Arthur’s sword broke into two pieces all of a sudden. Seeing this Sir Pellinore burst out laughing. He yelled at king Arthur and remarked, “O stupid fellow! Even your weapon is not with you. It too is fearing me. Look! How your sword has broken into two pieces! You had better admit your defeat and surrender to me. I promise that I shall spare your life. Act as I tell you, otherwise I shall put you to death.”
Hearing the words of Sir Pellinore King Arthur flew into a rage. He was not a fellow to be intimidated by jacket threats. He roared out loudly and uttered, “Look Sir Pellinore! I am not going to lay down my arms in front of you. You can put me to death if you wish so. But I shall fight it out till my last breath. None can say that I am a coward. It has been rightly said cowards die many a time but the brave die once.” Saying these words King Arthur leapt forward like a tiger and pulled Sir Pellinore down from his horse. Thereafter he jumped onto him and rained one blow after the other. It all took place in the twinkling of an eye.
Sir Pellinore was taken aback. He had never expected such move from king Arthur. Before he could do anything, it was all over. In full fury, King Arthur tied both the hands of Sir Pellinore at the back. Thus he overpowered him completely. Till now Sir Pellinore was thinking that he had been in face to face with a knight. As King Arthur removed his helmet, Sir Pellinore stood there aghast. His lips fumbled for words. He was on the horns of dilemma. Sir Pellinore lay prostrate at the feet of King Arthur and begged his forgiveness. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He said to King Arthur, “O great King! I beg your pardon. Shame on me! As a matter of fact, Queen Annoure had ordered me to do away with an evil knight. I am absolutely guiltless. Please forgive me for this grave sin as I was totally unaware of her motive. I was totally unknown that you were there in the garb of a knight.”
Saying these words Sir Pellinore began to weep bitterly. King Arthur was, in fact, kind at heart. He knew that Sir Pellinore was not guilty. He was a mere puppet in the hands of the Queen. He raised him up and embraced him to his bosom. He said to Sir Pellinore, “Sir! From today onwards we shall be true friends. Now the time has come to tackle with the Queen jointly. Always remember—united we stand, divided we fall.” From that day onwards, both King Arthur and Sir Pellinore became fast friends. Sir Pellinore had promised to help King Arthur in whatever way he would do in future.
After bidding goodbye to Sir Pellinore King Arthur rode back to Camelot. After reaching Camelot, he met Merlin and narrated him the entire incident that took place between him and Sir Pellinore.
After a while, Arthur told Merlin, “Dear, I have broken my sword during my fight against Sir Pellinore. Now I have no sword at all to fight against my enemy. What should I do now? How can I come by a powerful sword?”
After thinking for a few moments Merlin observed, “Fear not, O brave Arthur. You will have a sword which nobody in the entire world has had yet. Follow me without any question.”
Hearing the words of Merlin Arthur felt very pleased. He at once rode his horse and followed Merlin who too was on horseback.
After cutting their way through a dense forest, they reached an open place. There, Arthur could see the sky as there were no trees at all. But there was a lake. Merlin told Arthur, “Dear Son! Go near the lake and look into its water. You will get a magic sword.”

As directed by Merlin Arthur went near the lake and looked into its water. When he saw inside, it amazed him completely. By and by, an arm with a sword in its hand was coming out of the water. Arthur failed to understand it. He was completely at his wits’ end. He could make neither head nor tail of this. He looked at Merlin in bewilderment. Thereupon Merlin explained to him, “Don’t get perplexed, dear son. This sword is meant for you. It is called Excalibur, which means—made of steel. It has been specially made for you by the goddess of this lake. Pray to the goddess and appease her. Then, ask her to give you the sword.”
With both palms joined in utter reverence Arthur prayed to the goddess with single-pointed devotion. He shut his eyes and uttered, “O Sweet Lady of the lake! I am King Arthur. I have no sword at my disposal. Would you be kind enough to give this sword to me?”
Feeling pleased with the prayer of Arthur the goddess of the lake, appeared in front of him and said, “O dear Arthur, I know you are a brave king. Moreover, you are a noble king who looks after his subjects very well. In your eyes nobody is above the law—poor or rich. This sword is meant for the knight who is very sincere and justice-loving. He who makes no distinction on grounds of caste, colour and creed is a true king. Remember, as long as you have this sword, nothing can harm you. But this sword must be employed to establish the reign of equality, not to establish the reign of injustice.”
Saying these words the goddess handed over the sword to Arthur who gladly received it. Thereupon, the goddess disappeared in a trice. After gaining the sword both Arthur and Merlin rowed across to reach the old barge which was at the side of the lake. All of a sudden, the scabbard of the sword let go of the hand of Arthur and slipped away under the water. The scabbard was embedded with jewels, each costlier than the other. Arthur cried in pain, “Oh no! The scabbard has gone under the water. It is very costly.” Saying these words Arthur felt disappointed.
Seeing the miserable condition of Arthur Merlin observed, “Dear Son! Why are you sad and disappointed? The sword which does the work is in your hand. So, why are you fretting so much about the scabbard? Tell me what do you like the most—scabbard or sword?”
Without losing a minute Arthur replied, “Dear, undoubtedly it is sword. Now I possess it. Nobody can harm me in any way as long as I have it.”

Leave a Comment

Shopping Cart
×

Hello!

Click one of our contacts below to chat on WhatsApp

× How can I help you?