Brenor Saves the Queen

Chapter 8

The subjects were happy with King Arthur and the queen. One morning, King Arthur was sitting in a relaxed mood when one of the messengers appeared in front of him and said, “Your Highness! A man has come to meet you. He is tall and handsome but the coat he is wearing is torn and tattered in many places.”
Hearing the words of the messenger the King stated, “Please bring him in with due respect. Let us see what he wants to say to me.”
Soon the messenger came back with the man to his side. The man bowed low before the King to pay his respects. King Arthur thus asked the man, “O dear! What do you want from me? What brings you here? Say without any hesitation.”
The man with both palms joined in utter reverence said with all humility, “Your Highness! I have heard about the Round Table which is comprised of brave warriors. I too want to be a knight of the Round Table if you permit so.”
The King asked the man what his name was. Thereupon the man replied, “Your Majesty! My name is Breunor le Noire. Please make me a knight of your elite Round Table.”
Hearing the name of the man Sir Kay, one of the knights of the Round Table, burst into a peal of laughter. He taunted at the man saying, “We had better call you by the name—the man with the ill-cut coat. That name goes with your dressing up. Your coat is torn in many places. So, this name fits you best. Your real name is a misnomer.”
King Arthur interfered saying, “Please be quite, Sir Kay. It does not behove you. One should not make fun of others. So, be a good gentleman.”
Turning to the man King Arthur asked him, “Dear! One thing puzzles me very much. Why have you put on a torn coat? What is the reason behind it?”
Thereupon the man related his entire story as follows—
“Long before, my father had gone out for a stroll in a forest. There, as he was dead tired, he fell asleep for an hour. In the meantime, one of his enemies took advantage of this opportunity and attacked my sleeping father. My father while trying to save his life from the enemy got his coat torn in many places. When I came to learn of the attack, I rushed to that place. But it was too late. My father had been killed by the enemy. I had been made an orphan. Since that day onwards, I have been wearing his torn coat which reminds me of his brutal murder. I won’t past with this torn coat unless and until I take revenge upon his murderer.”
Having heard the pathetic tale of the man the King stated, “Rest assured, I shall make you a knight of the Round Table. But I shall do it tomorrow as the queen along with some knights is going into the garden to pluck some flowers. So, you shall be made a knight tomorrow. By the way, why don’t you go along with them? It is a very good garden full of different varieties of flowers. Nature is at its best in the garden. Go and enjoy yourself the scenic beauty of the garden.”
Breunor agreed to what King had told him to do. At the head of a large member of knights the queen proceeded towards the garden. Reaching there the queen started taking a stroll around the garden which had different species of roses, lotuses, marigolds etc. At one corner of the garden there were cages wherein different animals had been kept. These cages had been given as presents to King Arthur by different kings. In one of the cages, there was a lion which was trying hard to break open its rusty old cage. None of the knights paid attention to this fact. They all were in the company of the queen.
All of a sudden, the lion roared out loudly and made a last valiant effort to break open the cage. Lo and behold! The cage was broken open by the mighty lion. In one leap, it bounded out. It made straight for the queen who was busy merrily plucking the flowers. None was aware of the lion’s presence. Reaching near the queen the lion gave out a loud roar. Having heard the violent roar the queen got terrified. Dropping her bouquet of flowers she ran to save her skin. She ran on and on and hid herself behind a tree. But the lion was bent upon attacking her. It bounded after her. Seeing the unfastened lion, all the knights started running hither and thither. None dared to face the onslaught of the lion as they were unarmed. The queen was left at the mercy of the hungry lion. In a trice, all the knights ran away from the garden to inform King Arthur of the arrival of the lion. But Breaunor, though he was unarmed, stood his ground, unafraid. He blocked the path of the lion and warned it, “O wild beast! You can’t harm the queen until and unless you kill me. I won’t allow you to do so.”
The lion roared out loudly and uttered, “Be off my way; O gentleman. Don’t you love your life? Go and enjoy at home. Let me do my work.”
But Breunor was not a sort of man as could be intimidated. He remained there fast to the ground. The lion opened its mouth wide and showed its pointed teeth. Soon, it charged at Breunor. All of a sudden, Breuner sighted a sword which was lying near by. He lifted the sword quickly. In a flash, he struck the lion with it. The lion was badly wounded. But it was not dead. It again charged at Breunor with its all might. Breunor said to himself, ‘It is now or never. It I don’t kill the lion in this move, it will surely kill me. It is said that a wounded lion is more dangerous than an ordinary lion.’

Breunor with all his might managed to pierce the sword through the lion’s chest. The lion writhed about in utter pain and fell down dead. Seeing the lion lying dead on the ground Queen Guinevere came out from her hiding-place. She was very much pleased with the bravery of Breunor. She came near the brave man and patted his back. She told him, “O dear, you displayed great chivalric manner today. Had it not been you, I would have been surely. Killed by this violent wild beast of prey. I owe a debt of gratitude to you.”
After the incident the queen along with Breunor returned to the palace. She told king Arthur, “Dear, this young boy is mightier than all your ‘knights put together.” Saying these words she related the entire incident to the King—How the lion broke open the cage, how all the knights took to their heels having seen the lion and how Breunor risked his life to save hers.
King Arthur felt overjoyed to hear about the bravery of Breunor. Then, he turned to Breunor and uttered, “O brave warrior! I am proud of you. From today onwards you will be known as Sir Breauner. It means you have joined the elite Round Table.”
Hearing the words of the King Breunor thanked the King. His eyes welled up out of happiness. He addressed all the knight thus, “From today onwards I shall not be know as Sir Breunor. Rather, I shall be known as the knight with the ill-cut coat, as Sir Kay suggested it in the beginning. I am grateful to Sir Kay for suggesting me this new unique name.”
Thus the story of Breunor came to an end. Throughout his life he was known as a brave knight who single-handedly killed the lion to save the queen.

Leave a Comment

Shopping Cart
×

Hello!

Click one of our contacts below to chat on WhatsApp

× How can I help you?