_How the great Caane was hid under a tree, and so escaped his
enimies bicause of a byrd._
AND it befell on a day that the Caane rode with a fewe men to see the
lande that he had wonne, and he met with a greate multitude of his
enimies and there he was caste downe of his horse, and his horse
slayne, and when his men saw him at y^e earth[1] they went[2] he had
been deade, and fledde, & the ennimies folowed after, and when he
sawe his ennimies were fer,[3] he hid him in a bushe, for the wod was
thicke there, and when they were come againe from the chace, they went
to seke among the wood if any were hid there, and they founde many,
and as they came to the place where he was, they saw a birde sitte
uppon a tree, the which byrd men call an Oule, and then sayd they,
that there was no man, for the birde sat there, and so went they away,
and thus was the Caane saved from death, & so he went awaye on a night
to his owne men, which were glad of his comming, and from that time
hitherwardes men of that countrey haue that byrde in great reverence,
and for that cause they worship that byrd aboue all other birds of
the worlde. And incontinent he assembled all his men, rode uppon his
enimies and destroyed them, and when he had won all the landes that
were aboute him, he helde them in subjection. And when the Caane had
won all the lordes to mounte Belyan, the white knighte came to him in
a vision againe, and said unto him, Caan the will of God is, that thou
passe the mounte Belyan, and thou shalt win many landes, and for thou
shalt find no passage, go thou to mount Belian that is upon the sea
side and knele ix times thereon against the east in the worship of
God, & he shall shew thee a way how thou shalt passe, and Caan did
so, & anon the sea that touched the hil, withdrew him, & shewed him
a faire way of ix foote brode betwene the hill and the sea, & so he
passed right wel with al his men, & then he wan the land of Cathay
that is the best land and the greatest of all the worlde, and for
those ix knelings and the ix foote of way, Caane and the men of
Tartary have the number of ix in great worship.
[Footnote 1: On the ground.]
[Footnote 2: Weened--supposed, imagined.]
[Footnote 3: Far away.]