THE KNIGHT'S STORY
'It must be about eight days ago now,' said the knight, 'since I left
my castle of Ringstetten, and journeyed toward the city which lies
beyond the haunted forest.
'The city was gay with lords and ladies who had come thither for the
tournament which was then being held.
'I at once entered the lists, for my steed was strong and I myself was
eager for the fray. Once, as I rested from the combat, my eyes fell
upon a lady who was wondrous fair. She was looking down from a gallery
upon the tournament.
'Bertalda was the name of the beautiful maiden, and she was the
foster-child of a great duke. I knew that, as I again seized my lance,
the lady's eyes followed me into the lists, and I fought even more
bravely than before.
'In the evening a great festival was held, and here I met Bertalda,
and danced with her; indeed, evening after evening we were together
until the tournament drew to a close.'
As Huldbrand spoke these words he felt a sharp pain in his left hand.
It was hanging by his side, and as he looked down to see what had
caused the pain, he found that Undine had fastened in it her little
pearly teeth.
The knight could see that the maiden's face was no longer smiling. She
looked up at him, and there was sorrow in her large blue eyes as she
whispered, 'Sir Knight, it is your own fault that I hurt you. I would
not have you praise the lady Bertalda.' Then quickly, as though
ashamed of her words, she hid her face in her hands.
As the knight went on with his story, his face was grave.
'It is true,' he said, 'that Bertalda was a lovely maiden, yet as I
knew her better I found her ways were cold and proud. She pleased me
less as the days passed by, though, as she looked upon me with favour,
I begged that as a token of it she would give me a glove.
"You shall have it," answered she, "if you will go alone through the
forest which men say is haunted, and bring me tidings of all that
happens to you."
'I cared little for her glove, but I would not tarry to be asked a
second time to go through the forest, lest the maiden should doubt my
courage.'
'I thought Bertalda had loved you,' cried Undine, 'yet then had she
not driven you from her into the haunted forest.'
The knight smiled at the maiden's words and went on with his tale.
'It was but yesterday morning that I set forth on my adventure. The
sun shone bright, so bright that it was not easy to believe that evil
was lurking in the shadows beneath the rustling leaves. "I shall soon
return," I said to myself, as I plunged into the green shade.
'But amid the maze of trees it was not long ere I lost sight of the
path by which I had entered the wood.
'"It may be that I shall lose myself in this mighty forest," I
thought, "but no other danger threatens me."
'I gazed up toward the sun, which had risen higher now than when first
I entered the wood, and as I gazed I saw a black thing among the
branches of a leafy oak.
'Was it a bear, I wondered, and my hand felt for the sword that hung
by my side.
'But it was no bear, for ere long I heard a voice mocking me with
rough and cruel words. "Aha, Sir Wiseacre," said the voice, "I am
breaking twigs off these tall trees, so that at midnight I may light a
fire in which to roast you." Then, before I could answer, the black
thing grinned at me and rustled the branches, until my steed grew
restless and at length galloped away.'
Undine looked at the knight, her blue eyes sparkling as she cried,
'But indeed the wicked creature did not dare to roast you, Sir
Knight!'
'In its terror,' continued Huldbrand, 'my horse dashed itself against
the trees, reared and again rushed madly forward. Onward we flew,
until at length I saw before me a dark abyss. Yet still I found it
impossible to pull up my frightened steed.
'Then all at once a tall white man stood still directly in front of my
maddened horse, which swerved aside as soon as it saw the tall man,
and in that moment I was once more master of my steed. I saw also that
my deliverer was not a tall white man, as I had imagined, but a brook,
which shone silver in the sunlight.'
'Dear brook, I will be grateful to you for evermore,' cried Undine,
clapping her hands as she spoke, in childish glee. But the fisherman
shook his head and was silent.
'And now,' said the knight, 'I was anxious to hasten as quickly as
possible through the forest, for it seemed to me that not only might I
find it difficult to regain the pathway I had lost, but that strange
beings might again startle both me and my noble steed.
'I turned my horse away from the dark chasm which lay before us, but
even as I did so I found at my side a strange little man. He was
uglier than any one I had ever seen. His nose was wellnigh as large as
all the rest of his body, and his mouth was so big that it stretched
from one ear to the other.
'This ugly creature, as soon as he saw that I had noticed him, grinned
at me, until his mouth looked even larger than before. He scraped his
feet along the ground and bowed mockingly to me a thousand times.
'My horse was trembling at the sight of the strange figure, so I
resolved to ride on in search of further adventure, or if I found
none, to ride back to the city which I had left in the morning.
'But the ugly little man did not mean to let me escape. Quick as
lightning he sprang round and stood again in front of my horse.
'"Get out of the way," I now cried in anger, "lest my steed tramples
you under its feet."
'This did not seem to frighten the strange creature. He laughed in my
face, and then said in a gruff voice, "You must give me gold, for it
was I who turned your horse aside from yonder dark abyss."
'"Nay, what you say is not true," I answered him, "for it was the
silver brook that saved me and my horse from being dashed to pieces.
Nevertheless, take thy gold and begone."
'As I spoke I flung a coin into the strange-shaped cap which he was
holding before me, then putting spurs to my horse I rode quickly
forward.
'I heard the ugly little man give a loud scream, then to my surprise
there he was, running by my side, grinning and making horrible
grimaces.
'My horse was galloping, and I thought I would soon get away from the
little man. But it seemed impossible to go faster than he, for he took
a spring, a jump, and there he was still by my side. He held up the
piece of gold I had thrown to him, and in a hollow voice he cried, "It
is a false coin, a false coin!"
'At length I could bear his horrible shrieks no longer. I pulled up my
steed, and holding out two coins I called to him, "Take the gold, but
follow me no farther!"
'Then the little ugly man began to scrape his feet and bow his head,
but it was plain that he was not yet satisfied.
'"I do not wish your gold," he grumbled. "I have gold enough and to
spare, as you shall soon see."
'As he spoke a strange thing happened. The beautiful green ground
seemed to change into clear green glass. I looked through the glass
and saw in a great cavern a group of little goblins.
'They were playing at ball, these little goblins, and I noticed that
all their toys were made of silver or gold. Merry little creatures
they were, running swiftly hither and thither after the ball, nor was
it easy to see whether they were standing on their heads or on their
heels, or whether they were running on their hands or on their feet.
No sooner was their game ended than they pelted each other with their
playthings, then in a mad frolic lifted handfuls of gold dust and
flung it each in the other's eyes.
'All this time the ugly little man was standing half on the ground and
half within the great cavern where the tiny goblins played their
games. Now I heard him call to the mischievous imps to give him
handfuls of gold.
[Illustration: 'I saw in a great cavern a group of little goblins']
'This they did, and then he, laughing in my face, showed the gold to
me ere he flung it back again into the cavern.
'Then the ugly little man called to the tiny goblins to stop their
pranks and look at the coins I had given to him. When they caught
sight of them they held their little sides, shaking with laughter;
then all at once they turned and hissed at me.
'In spite of myself terror crept over me. Again I plunged my spurs
into my horse's sides, and it dashed madly off into the midst of the
forest.
'When at length the flight ended, the evening lay cool and quiet
around me. A white footpath seemed to point out the way which led back
to the city. But each time I tried to approach it a face peered at me
from between the trees. I turned to escape from this new phantom, but
in vain, for whichever way I turned there was the face still staring
at me.
'I grew angry and urged my horse in the direction of the shadowy face,
only however to find myself drenched by a stream of white foam.
'Thus I was driven away from the white footpath, and only one way,
rough and tangled, was left open to me. As soon as I began to follow
it, the face, though it kept close behind, did me no further harm.
'Yet again and again I turned, hoping to find that the face had
disappeared. Instead I found it closer than before, and now I could
see that it belonged to a tall white man. It was true that at times
the long white figure seemed to be but a wandering stream, but of this
I was never sure.
I was weary now and my horse was exhausted. It seemed useless to try
any longer to force my way past the white face, so I went on riding
quietly along the one path left open to me. The head of the tall man
then began to nod, as though to say that at length I was doing as he
wished.
'By this path I reached the end of the wood, and as the meadows and
the lake came into sight the white man vanished, and I found myself
standing near to your little cottage.'
As the knight had now finished the story of his adventure, the
fisherman began to talk to his guest of how he might return in safety
to the city and to the followers who there awaited him.
Huldbrand, listening to the old man, yet caught the soft ripple of
Undine's laughter.
'Why do you laugh, Undine?' asked the knight. 'Are you so pleased to
hear your foster-father talk of my return to the city?'
'I laugh for joy that you cannot leave us,' said the maiden. 'You have
but to look to see that you must stay.'
Huldbrand and the fisherman rose and saw that what the maiden had said
was indeed true. It would not be possible for the knight to leave the
little island until the stream had once more returned to its usual
course.
As they entered the cottage, Huldbrand whispered to the maiden,
'Undine, tell me that you are glad that I cannot yet return to the
crowded city.'
But the maiden's face was no longer glad, nor would she answer the
knight's question. She had remembered Bertalda.
When the stream had grown quiet the knight would go back to the lady
for whose sake he had undergone such strange perils. And of that time
the wilful maiden did not wish to think.