Chapter 4
King Uther, Arthur’s father had a step-sister. Her name was Morgan le Fay. She hated Arthur very much. She wanted to do away with him by hook or by crook. The reason for her ill-will towards Arthur was that she wanted her son Mordred to sit on the throne of Britain. But there was one obstacle between the throne and her son. It was none other than Arthur. Day in, day out, she kept on thinking as how to get rid of Arthur. Morgan le Fay was a great magician. She possessed great magical powers as superb as those of Merlin.
Inwardly, she had strong resentment against Arthur, but outwardly, she loved Arthur very much. She never showed her ill-will towards him. On the other hand, Arthur too never had any doubt as regards her love for him. But Merlin was quite awake to her nature. He always remained on guard. He was Arthur’s shadow. Wherever Arthur visited, Merlin followed him and guided him from time to time. Morgan le Fay pretended to be in the good books of Arthur who loved her like he loved his mother.
One morning, Arthur decided to go hunting. He rode his horse, taking his spear in his hand. Before leaving for the forest he met Morgan le Fay and said to her, “Dear aunt, I am going to the forest to enjoy a pleasure trip. Please take care of this magic sword of mine. Once I get back from the forest, I shall have its from you. Do take care of it. It is quite magical.”
There, in the dense forest, Arthur along with his some men went on and on. After a while he lost his way. All his men got separated from him. Soon the evening approached and it was pitching dark. Now Arthur was all alone. But Arthur was a brave knight. All a sudden, he sighted some light at a distance. He rode towards the light. Reaching near the light he found that it was the light of a ship. The ship was ashore. It had cast anchor there for some days. Arthur wanted to get some information, but there was nobody. As the ship was close to the land, Arthur went inside. He reached the first floor of the ship. There he entered a room. He found a table, which was laden with food and drink. Beside the table there was a bed to sleep on. He said to himself, ‘This is a good place to take some rest. I can eat and drink here. After sleeping here for the night I shall get off in the morning.’ Thinking so Arthur ate to his heart’s content. Thereafter, he drank a lot of wine.
After wining and dining he stretched out on the bed lying there. Early tomorrow morning he got up. He had a sound sleep at night. But to his utter dismay, he found that he was not inside the ship. He was in a little room which had only a little window.
Now, Arthur grew worried. He tried to get out of the room but all her efforts proved an exercise in futility. The room was properly locked from outside. Three knights were there in one corner of the room. They too had been locked up like Arthur.
In fact, Arthur had been imprisoned there. It was no ship. But it was the castle of Sir Damas. One of the knights came up to Arthur and said, “O dear, we all have been locked up here. There is no way out from here. Unless and until we fight for Sir Damas, we can’t get out however hard we may try.”
Just then, some soldiers came up to the cell wherein Arthur and some other knights had been locked up. They unlocked the door of the cell and entered inside. Seeing Arthur and the knights, the soldiers observed thus, “O knights! Our chief Sir Damas has called you all in the hall. Follow us quickly.”
Arthur thought for a while and then uttered, “I am not slave to your Sir Damas. Go and tell him that I am not ready to abide by his order. If he is interested in meeting me, he should come over here in my cell.”
Seeing the impudence of Arthur the soldiers took out their swords and went ahead to attack Arthur. But the other knights who were standing there intervened and stopped the soldiers from punishing Arthur. They said to the soldiers, “You go and tell Sir Damas that we are coming into the hall.”
Hearing the words of the knights the soldier went away. After they had gone away the knights requested Arthur, “Dear, we know you are brave. But the situation demands a little bit submission to Sir Damas. Let us see who Sir Damas is and how courageous he is. Please come along. It will be good for all of us.”
Hearing the words of the knights, Arthur thought for a while. Sensing the gravity of the situation Arthur got ready to meet Sir Damas in the hall. Thus Arthur along with all the knights reached the hall where Sir Damas was sitting on a high throne. Seeing Arthur he asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from? Give me your introduction at once.”
Arthur with both hands folded observed, “O Sir Damas! I am Arthur, the king of Britain. I landed here accidentally as I had lost my way.”
Then Sir Damas asked, “Tell me whether you will fight for me or not. If you say ‘yes’, you will be freed from here. In case your reply is in the negative, you are destined to die here in your cell.”
Arthur thought coolly and then after some time he uttered, “Well, I can fight for you, but I have a condition. I require these three knights during joust. Only then can I fight for you. After I and these three knights have fought for you, we all shall go back to our respective homes.”
Sir Damas was a shrewd knight. He thought for some time and uttered, “Ok, I have no problem. But remember, you and these three knights have to fight for me, come what may.”
Just then, a messenger reached the hall of Sir Damas and addressed Sir Damas, “Sir! Here is the sword Excalibur for Arthur. It has been sent by his aunt Morgan le Fay. It is said that it is a magic sword. Whosoever possess it can never be defeated in the war.”
Hearing the words of the messenger Sir Damas felt very happy. Equally happy was Arthur who received his magic sword with great pride. Now he was on cloud nine as he had got his powerful sword. Thereupon he said to Sir Damas, “Sir! I am ready for the joust.”
Sir Damas painted to his solder and said, “Lead Arthur to the jousting field where he is to fight against another knight.” The soldier accompanied by Arthur reached the field. Arthur saw another knight standing there. But his face except his eyes was completely covered. He was not being recognized. Moreover, there was no mark on his shield showing who he was. Arthur was a bit perplexed. But it was not time for thinking over the issue. Soon there ensued a fight between the two. Arthur firmly believed that he possessed a powerful sword in his hand.
The knight made a massive attack on Arthur. But Arthur nullified the attack by lifting his Excalibur. As Arthur’s Excalibur hit against the knight’s sword, it made no impact. It was unable to bite on the knight’s shield. It was no longer sharp and strong. It had lost its sheen and sharpness. Arthur grew worried. He suspected some foul play. He thought, ‘Maybe my Excalibur has been changed. This new sword has been made to look like it. There is surely something wrong at the bottom. But what can be done now?’ So Arthur kept on fighting without caring for the sword. All of a sudden, Arthur’s sword broke into two.
Seeing his broken sword, Arthur was amazed. He could not believe his eyes. He now was dead sure that his Excalibur had been changed and he was fighting with some other sword. The other knight gave out a loud guffaw. He taunted Arthur saying, “I have been told that you are very powerful. Equally powerful is your sword. But alas! The sword of yours is not so powerful. It has landed you in the jaws of death. I can let you go from here unhurt provided you admit that you have lost the fight and don’t want to fight further. Moreover, you request me to grant you life.”
Hearing the words of the knight Arthur flew into a rage. He shouted at the knight saying, “How dare you say these words to me? Don’t you know who I am? I am Arthur, king of Britain.” Saying these words Arthur with all his might hit the knight on his hand with his broken sword. The impact was so powerful that the knight lost the grip of his sword. The sword lay flat on the ground. Grabbing the opportunity Arthur at once picked up the knight’s sword.
The moment Arthur touched the sword, he knew that it was his real Excalibur. He was now confirmed that some plot had been hatched to kill him. He put the Excalibur on the neck of the knight and threatened him saying, “Speak the truth, O wolf in the sheep’s clothing. How have you got this sword? Reveal your identity or I will kill you there and then.”
The knight was carrying the sheath or scabbard of the sword. Arthur snatched it too from him. Arthur again uttered, “O knight! If you speak the truth, I shall grant you a new lease of life. In case you tell a lie, you are doomed to die this very moment. The decision is yours. Either be my confidante or get ready to be killed.”
The knight after some time observed, “O dear, you know me. I am the knight of the Round Table.”
Hearing the words Arthur stood aghast. He asked the knight to reveal his identity properly. Thereupon the knight removed his mark. Now Arthur could see his face. Thus the knight stated, “I am Sir Accolon. I have been sent by your aunt Morgan le Fay.” Saying these words he elaborated the entire story. “Thus your aunt told me that you had been taken prisoner by Sir Damas in his castle. She ordered me to go and save you, Arthur, at any cost. For this purpose she gave me your sword Excalibur and the scabbard.” Before the knight could say anything further Arthur understood each and everything. He knew that the real culprit was his aunt who had hatched the entire plot to do away with him. He got sad at heart having known so much about his dear aunt. He said to the knight, “I shall teach my aunt a lesson later on. But before that I must take revenge upon Sir Damas.”
Arthur said to Sir Accolon, “Get ready for making on attack on Sir Damas. I won’t spare him for locking me up in his cell.” Along with Sir Accolon and three other knights Arthur led an attack on Sir Damas. A great battle was fought. At last Arthur registered a victory over Sir Damas. All his soldiers were put to death mercilessly. In doing so Arthur got badly wounded. But he had won the battle handsomely. Sir Damas was put behind bars. Arthur went to see him in his cell. He asked Sir Damas, “How do you feel here? Now, you shall remain here throughout your life. Tell me the truth who told you to do so? In case you speak me truth, maybe I can release you. In case you tell a lie, you will face dire consequences. So, be careful before speaking anything.”
Sir Damas thought in his heart of hearts, ‘It is the best opportunity to save my life, otherwise the wrath of Arthur will put me to death.’
Thinking thus he stated, “Your aunt Morgan le Fay told me to do so. She wants to usurp the throne. She wants her son to sit on the throne of Britain. That is why she hatched all the plot.”
Hearing the words Arthur’s eyes welled up. He loved her aunt so much. It is said that everything is fair in love and war. Arthur’s aunt was no exception. Under the pretext of a close relative Queen Morgan Le Fay tried to put an end to Arthur. But mysterious are the ways of God. He had something else in store for Arthur. Now Arthur said to Sir Damas, “You are no knight, O Sir Damas. There is no need for you to have your sword and shield.”
Thereupon Arthur shattered Sir Damas sword and shield. He also impounded all his movable and immovable property and handed it over to his younger brother.
After handing over the property of Sir Damas to his younger brother, Arthur headed for Camelot. There at Camelot a spy presented himself before Morgan le Fay. After paying his obeisance to the Queen the spy said, “O dear Queen! Here is bad news for you. Arthur is still alive. He has overcome all obstacles. Moreover, he has handed over all the property of Sir Damas to his younger brother. He is on his way back to Camelot. Sir Damas has revealed everything to him. Arthur is in sultry mood. None can stop his anger from venting out.”
Hearing the words of the spy the Queen trembled with fear. She knew Arthur would not spare her life. She let the spy go. After the spy had gone away, Morgan le Fay thought, ‘I had better go back to my kingdom as quickly as possibly. Before Arthur reaches here, I shall be away to my kingdom. This is the only way whereby I can save my life.’
The Queen went over to Queen Guinevere, with whom she was residing, and stated, “O dear friend! I think it is time for me to return to my kingdom. I have been here for many days. My subjects are missing me very much. I must go back to my country.”
Hearing the words of Morgan le Fay Queen Guinevere observed, “O dear, you need not worry about your subjects. Everything is OK there. King Arthur is on his way back to Camelot. He will be extremely happy to see you here.”
But Morgan le Fay was very much terrified in her heart of hearts. On the other hand, Queen Guinevere did not know at all what Morgan le Fay had done. So, she kept on insisting on her stay there in Camelot. But Morgan le Fay had something else in her mind.
After a while she said to Queen Guinevere, “O dear, I can’t stay any longer. I have to go back to any country. My countrymen are beckoning me. They are in great distress.” Saying these words she mounted on her black horse and rode off hurriedly. After Morgan le Fay had left, Queen Guinevere said to herself, ‘I doubt the Queen’s words. There must be something wrong at the bottom. The time will tell what the matter is?’
After riding on horseback for a while Morgan le Fay said to herself, ‘Arthur is still alive. It is really bad news. This thorn must be done away with as quickly as possible. I won’t spare his life this time. I must desire some tactics so that I may put an end to him. In fact, the Queen wanted to bring more harm to Arthur. Her evil mind was not ready to admit that Arthur was still alive. With the intention of bringing more harm to Arthur he contacted many different persons and asked each of them about Arthur. Whenever she spoke, she asked the same questions, ‘Where is King Arthur? Where can I find King Arthur? Can you tell me the way where King Arthur has been putting up?’ At last, she met an old man and asked him, “Can you tell me the way where King Arthur has been putting up?”
Hearing the words of Morgan le Fay the old man replied, “O dear lady, for your kind information King Arthur has been out of sorts for many days. During his bitter fight with Sir Damas he had been badly wounded. He had a terrible fight at the castle of Sir Damas. Now he is recuperating at the House of the Good Women.”
Good Women was an institution which worked for the poor, the downtrodden, the ailing and the unfortunate. Actually, it worked in the name of God. Its motto was—‘service to mankind is service to God.’ Many unfortunate people sought refuge in Good Women. It received aids from other countries as well. After gathering information from the old man about king Arthur Morgan le Fay rode on in the direction of Good Women. After a journey of a few hours she reached the house. She tethered her horse to a tree at some distance from the house. Before going inside she changed her clothes and pretended herself to be a hungry lady. She went inside. She came across a fat woman. She said to her, “I am a poor lady. Would you provide me with something to eat? I have not eaten anything for days together. I have heard that yours is a noble institution which works for God and serves the poor. Be kind enough to give me some food.”
Hearing the pathetic words of Morgan le Fay the fat woman brought food for her. After eating the food Morgan le Fay rested there for a while. Then, she stated, “Is there anybody else putting up in the Good Women? I have heard that King Arthur has been recovering from his wounds here. Am I right in thinking so?”
The fat woman replied, “There is a person putting up here. If I am not mistaken, he is none other than King Arthur, as the people say. But he is resting right now. It is not the right time to disturb him.”
Morgan le Fay thought for a while and hit upon a plan. She observed, “I have nothing to do with King Arthur. I have no spare time. I can’t stay here even for a minute to speak to him. But only once, I want to have a look at his face. He is very noble and benevolent. He takes care of his subjects.” Morgan le Fay went on praising King Arthur in a flattering tone, “He is good at heart. He is ever ready to lend a helping hand to the poor, the downtrodden and the unfortunate. He is very great. None in this entire world can equal him in benevolence. He can’t see anybody in distress. May God grant him all the riches of the world! May God grant him longevity! Let me have a look at his sweet gentle face. I love him from the core of my heart. He is the darling of everybody. He is the apple of everybody’s eyes.”
Morgan le Fay praised King Arthur to the skies to win the confidence of the fat lady. It worked in favour of Morgan le Fay. The fat lady observed, “I allow you to have a look at his face. But remember, don’t wake him up. He is sleeping soundly. I am in charge of the Good Women. It is my duty and responsibility to look after the persons who seek refuge in this institution.”
Morgan le Fay thus promised the fat lady, “I give you word that I won’t disturb his sleep. I shall have a look at his face from some distance. I will not wake him up.”
The fat lady replied, “OK, you may go inside. Please go this way.”
After taking permission of the fat lady Morgan le Fay went inside the room silently. As soon as she entered the room, she found Arthur sleeping in one of the corners of the room. His right hand was badly wounded. It has been bandaged. There were a few scars on his face. Arthur was sleeping soundly. He had his right hand on the Excalibur—his magic sword. The scabbard of the sword was lying at his feet. Morgan le Fay looked around. It was not possible for her to steal Arthur’s sword as he had her right hand on it.
Morgan le Fay tried her level best to take away Arthur’s magic sword but all her efforts proved an exercise in futility. If she had been able to make Arthur part with his sword, it would have been difficult for Arthur to win over his enemies. Morgan le Fay thought hard and hard, but nothing worked in her favour. At last, she thought, ‘I should take away the scabbard of this sword. It is no less than magical. Once it is away, half of the power of Arthur will be gone.’
Thinking so, she moved towards the bed and lay her hand on the scabbard which was lying at the feet of King Arthur. Having got the scabbard in her hand Morgan le Fay felt extremely elated. She was on cloud nine. She was happy in her heart of hearts. She said to herself, ‘Now I see what Arthur does without the scabbard. He will be like a rudderless ship.
Morgan le Fay was wearing a long cloak. She hid the scabbard inside the cloak lest the fat lady should notice it. Without wasting a single moment she came out of the room hurriedly and tried to slip out from there. But the fat lady was all alert and on guard. She asked Morgan le Fay, “Have you seen the face of Arthur? Is he still asleep? I think you didn’t disturb him.”
Morgan le Fay politely replied, “Yes Madam, Arthur is sleeping soundly. I have not disturbed him at all. I have kept my word. I must go now. I am getting late.”
The fat lady stated, “If you so wish, you can stay here for a longer time. You can meet him when he wakes up.”
“No, I must go on,” replied Morgan le Fay.
Taking leave of the fat lady Morgan le Fay hurriedly mounted on her black horse and rode off as quickly as possible. Her horse ran with the speed of the wind.
After Morgan le Fay had departed, Arthur woke up. No sooner did he see the scabbard missing than he was alarmed. He at once got up from his bed, though he was not fully recovered. He cried out in utter pain, “I am ruined. Someone has robbed me of my scabbard.” He came outside and asked the fat lady, “Dear Madam, did anyone come into my room, when I was sleeping? My scabbard is missing. I suspect some foul play. Tell me quickly.”
The fat lady had sort of a forgetful nature. She thought hard and hard. At last, she was able to recollect. She said to Arthur, “Now I can recollect fully. A lady by the name of Morgan le Fay arrived here a short while ago. She seemed to be poor to me. She begged some food as she was utterly hungry. I gave her food to eat. Then, she requested me to have a look at your face. She praised you to the skies. However hard I tried to stop her from seeing your face, I could not dissuade her. At last I permitted her to look at your face from some distance. After she had looked at your face, she hurriedly mounted on her black horse and rode off with the speed of the wind.”
Hearing the words of the fat lady, Arthur got alert. He knew very well that it was none other that Morgan le Fay, who had taken away the scabbard. He asked the fat lady where Morgan le Fay had gone. Pointing to the north, she uttered, “Arthur, Morgan le Fay has gone this way. She is on a black horse. She is wearing a long cloak. I hope she has not gone very far off. You can catch up with her.”
Before going after Morgan le Fay Arthur very politely said to the fat lady, “O dear madam, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank you sincerely for having me here in your house. I thank you for looking after me and for taking care of my every need. You have been very good to me all through my stay here. May God grant you longevity! Now I can’t stay here any longer. Morgan le Fay has taken away the scabbard of Excalibur, my magic sword. I have to get it back from her at any cost. I must move on.”
But the fat lady insisted on his staying there for some more time. She said to Arthur, “Dear! Please don’t go away. You are not fully recovered. You wounds have not healed up as yet. Do stay here for a few days. Then, you will be hale and hearty again.”
But Arthur didn’t pay any heed to what the fat lady said. She could not make him stay there. After taking leave of the fat lady Arthur mounted on his swift horse and rode off in the direction of Morgan le Fay. Soon his horse ran with the speed of the wind.
After half an hour Arthur reached the bank of a river. He looked around. He didn’t see anybody whom he could ask Morgan le Fay’s whereabout. All of a sudden, he sighted a man who was bathing in the river water. His cows were grazing in a field near by. When the man came out of the river after taking his bath, Arthur asked him, “O dear, please tell me whether anybody has come this way or not. I am after a woman on a black horse. She has taken away my scabbard by stealth. She is a bad woman. She has brought slur on the name of my dynasty.”
Arthur went on saying, “The woman is mean. She tried to have me killed. I am King Arthur. I look after my subjects very well. Please tell me where that woman has gone.”
The man at once told Arthur, “O dear king! She is a very beautiful lady. She is on a black horse. She has gone across the river just a while before. She was in a tearing hurry. She has something very big in her right hand.”
Arthur felt very happy to know about the whereabouts of Morgan le Fay. He at once spurred on his horse. Soon the horse ran with the speed of the wind. In a trice, Arthur went across the river, and through a dense forest and up a hill. He rode on and on. From the hill he looked down on the plains. There he noticed Morgan le Fay far away. Now, both Morgan le Fay and Arthur exchanged glances with each other. Having seen Arthur coming behind her Morgan le Fay spurred on her horse and rode quickly over a stony path. Then down a hill to a lake, Arthur was hotly chasing Morgan le Fay. He wanted to get back the scabbard at any cost. He rode down the hill and spurred on his horse in the direction of the lake. In the meantime, Morgan le Fay dismounted from his horse. She looked at the water of the lake. It was black due to a curse inflicted upon it. No animal or bird ever drank the water of this lake. Even the birds did not sing in the trees around this lake. All in all, the lake was discarded by everybody. Morgan le Fay said to herself, ‘This is the right place to dump this scabbard. The lake is not visited by anybody, not even by birds and animals. Nobody shall ever come to know about the scabbard.’
Thinking so, Morgan le Fay with all her might flung the scabbard far right in the middle of the lake. The scabbard being heavy sank into the black water of the lake.
Then she cried out in a loud voice, “Hurrah! I have made Arthur part with his scabbard. Now, he shall never have it. I have completed my mission. Now I see how he wins over his enemies. Without the scabbard he will not be able to save himself from his enemies. It is all over for Arthur. He won’t be able to defeat me, however hard he may try.” Saying these words Morgan le Fay departed from there riding on her black horse.
After she had left Arthur came to the same spot. But he found none. There was nobody else as far as his eyes could reach. He was there all alone. There was no Morgan le Fay for whom Arthur had arrived there. There were no traces of her horse’s hooves because it was a stony path. Arthur felt disappointed and dejected. He sat on a stone, unhappy and forlorn.
All of a sudden, an old man came over there. He patted Arthur’s back and said to him, “O dear! Arise and awake. Why are you sitting alone here? Morgan le Fay has gone back to her country. As far as the scabbard is concerned it has been thrown into the black water of this lake. You can never find it. So, go back home and make planning for future.” Saying these words the old man disappeared in a trice.
Arthur felt as if he had seen a dream. But it was reality. He had parted with the scabbard for ever.
