When three long years had gone by, King Arthur began to get very sad
because he heard nothing of his good knight Owain. And when the
others saw his sadness they suggested that he and the men of his
household should go and seek Owain. So they set off; and Kynon was
their guide. They spent the night at the castle of the Man in
Yellow, and he and his twenty-four damsels waited upon them with the
utmost hospitality. In the morning they set off for the wood, and,
passing the black man, they came to the fountain. Then Sir Kai
begged that he might throw the water on the slab and receive the
adventure that first befell. All happened as before, save that
several of the attendants were killed by the hail-storm; and as they
stood listening to the song of the birds, a knight clad in black
satin, riding on a coal-black horse, spurred up to Sir Kai, and in a
few minutes Sir Kai was overthrown.
Then the knight rode off, and the host of Arthur encamped as darkness
drew on.
The next day Sir Kai met the Black Knight again, and this time was
wounded very sorely. Then each of the knights in turn fought, and
all were overthrown save one, and he was called Gwalchmai. The fight
between him and the Black Knight was very fierce, but at length a
heavy blow broke the helmet of Gwalchmai, and showed his face. And,
behold, the Black Knight threw down his sword, and embraced him,
saying: "Little did I know that you were my cousin Gwalchmai." Then
did Gwalchmai know the voice of Owain, and embraced him, and brought
him to Arthur, and everyone was glad to see the long-lost knight
again.
So all the company proceeded to the castle of the Countess of the
Fountain, and there partook of a great banquet, which had been three
years preparing; for Owain had always said that Arthur would come to
seek him. And when all was over Arthur prepared to depart, but first
he sent a message to the Countess, begging her to permit Owain to go
and visit him for the space of three months. So Owain departed,
though much against the will of his Countess; and when he was once
more among his kindred and friends he forgot all about his wife and
the People in Yellow, and stayed away three years instead of three
months. At the end of these three years, as Owain sat one day at
meat in the royal city of Caerleon-on-Usk, there rode through the
doorway of the hall a damsel on a bay horse covered with foam,
wearing a bridle and saddle of gold; and the damsel was clad in a
robe of yellow satin. She came up to Owain, and, taking the ring
from off his hand, "Thus," she said, "shall be treated the deceiver,
the traitor, the faithless and the disgraced."
Then she turned her horse's head, and rode away.
Then was Owain deeply ashamed and sorrowful; and on the next day he
left the Court, and wandered to the distant parts of the country and
to waste places and barren mountains. And he stayed there until his
clothes were worn out and his body wasted away and his hair grown
long. His only companions were the wild beasts with whom he fed, and
they grew to love him as their friend; but after a time he became so
weak that he could no longer abide with them, so he descended from
the mountains into the fairest park in all the world, which was said
to belong to a widowed countess.
One day the Countess and her maidens were walking by a lake that was
in the middle of the park, when they saw in the pathway the prostrate
figure of a man. At first they thought he was dead; but they went
near, and touched him, and found there was life in him, though he was
very much exhausted. So the Countess returned to the castle, and
sent one of her maidens with a flask full of precious balsam to the
sick man, together with a horse and a good suit of clothes, and said:
"Go with these, and place them near the man we saw just now. Anoint
him with the balsam near his heart, and if there is still life in him
he will arise through the strength of the balsam. Then watch what he
will do."
The maiden departed, and forthwith poured the whole of the balsam on
Owain, and left the horse and the garments close by, and hid herself,
and watched what would happen. Presently he began to move his hands,
then his arms, and then all at once he rose up, and was ashamed to
see how ragged and dirty he looked. Then he perceived the horse, and
the garments; so he washed in the lake, and crept to the horse, and
with difficulty clothed himself, and clambered on to the saddle.
Then came the maiden from her hiding-place, and he was rejoiced to
see her, and asked her to whom the park belonged.
"Truly," said she, "a widowed countess owns park and castle, which
are all that are left to her of two noble earldoms left to her by her
late husband. All the rest has been taken from her by a neighbouring
earl because she refused to become his wife."
"That is a pity," said Owain. And the maiden conducted him to the
castle, and brought him to a pleasant room, and left him there. Then
she went to the Countess, and gave her back the flask. "Ha! damsel,"
said her mistress, "where is all the balsam?" "Have I not used it
all?" said she. "O maiden," said the Countess, "thou hast wasted for
me seven-score pounds' worth of ointment on an unknown stranger.
However, now that he is here, wait thou upon him until he is quite
recovered."
So the maiden tended Owain, and gave him meat and drink and medicine
until he was well again. And in three months he was as comely a
knight as ever he had been before. One day he heard a great tumult
in the castle, and asked the maiden the cause thereof. She told him
that the earl whom she had mentioned before had come against the
Countess with a large army to force her to marry him. "Has she a
horse and arms to spare?" asked Owain. "She has the best in the
world," said she.
"Then go and beg the loan of them," said Owain, "that I may go and
have a look at this earl." "I will," said the maiden. So she made
her request to the Countess; but the lady laughed a bitter laugh, and
said: "He may as well have them to-day as my enemy to-morrow; but I
know not what he would do with them."
Then they brought out a beautiful black horse, with a beechen saddle,
and a suit of armour for man and horse; and Owain armed himself, and
rode forth, attended by two pages. When they came in sight of the
enemy they could not see where the army ended, it was so great; but
Owain asked where the earl himself was, and when he was pointed out,
he sent the pages back to the castle, and rode forward till he met
the earl. And Owain was now so strong that he drew the earl
completely out of the saddle, and turned his horse's head towards the
castle, and, although it was no easy task, brought the earl to the
gate. When they had entered, he gave the earl as a gift to the
Countess, and said to her: "Lo, here is a return to you for your
wondrous balsam."
Then the earl restored to the Countess her two earldoms in ransom for
his life, and for his freedom he gave her half his own domains and
all his jewels and gold and silver.
After this Owain departed from the castle, though all honoured him
greatly and begged him to stay with them. But he was still ashamed
and sorrowful at heart, and preferred rather to ride forth into
desert places again.
One day, as he was journeying through a wood, he heard a great
uproar, and, riding forward, found a great craggy mound, on the side
of which was a grey rock. In the rock was a cleft, and in the cleft
a serpent; and near by stood a black lion, and every time the lion
moved to go hence the serpent darted towards him to attack him.
Then Owain unsheathed his sword, and struck the serpent, and cut him
in two, and went on his way. But, strange to say, the lion followed
him, and played about him like a dog. All that day they travelled
together; and at night Owain dismounted, and turned his horse loose
in a woody meadow. And he kindled a fire, the lion bringing him wood
enough to last for three nights. Then the lion disappeared, and
after a while returned bearing a fine, large roebuck, which he laid
before Owain; and when it was skinned and roasted, it made an
excellent supper for them both. As he was eating, he heard a deep
sigh near him, which was repeated three times.
"Who is there?" asked Owain. "A mortal maiden," was the reply. "Who
art thou?" he asked again. And the voice replied: "I am Luned, the
handmaiden of the Countess of the Fountain. In this stone vault am I
imprisoned on account of the knight who came from Arthur's Court and
married my Countess. For a short time only he stayed with her, and
then went away, and has never returned--and he was the friend I loved
most in the world. And one day two of the pages of the Countess's
chamber reviled him, and called him ill names, and I told them that
they two were not a match for him alone. Then they imprisoned me in
this stone cell, and said I should be put to death unless he came
himself to deliver me by a certain day--and that is the day after
to-morrow. But I have no one to send to seek him for me. And his
name is Owain, the son of Urien."
Then Owain said: "Art thou certain that if the knight knew all this,
he would come to your rescue?"
"I am most certain of it," said she.
So Owain bade her hope for the best, and meantime bade her tell him
if there were any place near, where he could get lodging for the
night. She bade him follow the river, so he rode along till he came
to a very fine castle. The Earl who ruled over the place received
him very hospitably, and good fodder was given to his horse. But the
lion went and lay down in the horse's manger, so that none of the men
of the castle dared to approach him. Meantime Owain had been brought
in to supper; and very soon the lion came, and sat between his knees,
and shared his food. Then Owain noticed that everyone in the castle
was very sorrowful. The Earl sat on one side of him, and his fair
young daughter on the other; and he never saw anyone look as sad as
they.
In the middle of supper the Earl began to bid Owain welcome, adding:
"Heaven knows it is not thy coming which makes us sorrowful, but we
have good cause for care."
"How is that?" asked Owain.
"I have two sons," replied the Earl, "who went yesterday to hunt upon
the mountains. But on the mountains lives an evil monster who kills
men and devours them, and he has seized my sons; and to-morrow he
will bring them here, and will devour them before my eyes, unless I
will deliver my sweet daughter into his hands. He has the form of a
man, but the strength of a giant, and no one can do aught against
him."
"Truly this is a hard case," said Owain. "And what wilt thou do?"
"Heaven knows," said the Earl. "But I can never give up my young
daughter to be destroyed by him; yet I cannot bear to lose my two
brave sons."
So no more was said, and Owain stayed there that night.
Next morning a great noise was heard as the giant entered the
courtyard, dragging behind him the two youths by the hair of their
heads. Then Owain put on his armour, and went out to fight the
giant, and the lion followed him. The giant made a great rush upon
the knight; and the lion fought on Owain's side, more fiercely than
his master. At length the giant said: "I could easily settle this
business with you were it not for the animal that is with you." So
Owain shut the lion up inside the castle walls, and went back to
fight the giant as before. But the lion heard that it was going ill
with Owain; and he roared very loud, and climbed up till he reached
the top of the castle, and then sprang down from the walls, and
joined his master. And very soon he gave the giant such a stroke
with his paw that the monster fell down dead.
Then the Earl was full of gratitude, and begged Owain to remain with
him; but he would only stay one more night, and on the morrow set out
for the meadow where Luned was imprisoned in the mound. When he
reached the spot, he found a great fire kindled, and two youths with
curling auburn hair were leading the maiden forth to cast her in the
fire.
[Illustration: "TWO YOUTHS WERE LEADING THE MAIDEN FORTH"]
"Why are you treating her thus?" asked Owain.
They told him of the compact that was between them concerning the
maiden. "Owain has failed her," said they, "therefore she must be
burnt according to our agreement."
"Well," said Owain, "I know him for a good knight, and if he had
known of the maiden's peril he would have come to her rescue; but if
you will accept me in his stead I will do battle for her."
This was agreed; and the fight began. But the two were together
stronger than Owain, and he was hard beset. Then the lion came to
his help, and they two were stronger than the young men. So they
said to him: "Chieftain, we did not agree to fight with thy lion, but
only with thee." Then Owain shut the lion up in the stone vault
where the maiden had been imprisoned, and blocked up the entrance
with stones, and returned to the fight. But he was weak from loss of
blood, and the young men pressed hard upon him; and the lion roared
like thunder when he heard that his master was in trouble, and he
burst through the wall, and rushed upon the young men, and slew them
both.
So Luned was saved, and glad was she when she found it was Owain
indeed who had come to her rescue. Together they sought the
dominions of the Countess of the Fountain; and she and Owain and the
lion and Luned lived all happily together for the rest of their lives.
_From the "Mabinogion."_