No More Learning

King Arthur had come to the old city of Caerleon on the River Usk to
hold his court, and was sitting high in his royal hall when a woodman,
all bedraggled with the mists of the forests came tripping up in haste
before his throne.

"O noble King," he cried, "today I saw a wonderful deer, a hart all
milky white running through among the trees, and, nothing like it has
ever been seen here before. "

The king, who loved the chase, was very pleased and immediately gave
orders that the royal horns should be blown for all the court to go a
hunting after the beautiful white deer the following morning. Queen
Guinevere wished to go with them to watch the hounds and huntsmen and
dancing horses in the chase. She slept late, however, the next day with
her pleasant dreams, and Arthur with his Knights of the Round Table had
sped gloriously away on their snorting chargers when she arose, called
one of her maids to come with her, mounted her palfrey and forded the
River Usk to pass over by the forest.

[Illustration: A WOODMAN ALL BEDRAGGLED CAME IN HASTE BEFORE HIS
THRONE. ]

There they climbed up on a little knoll and stood listening for the
hounds, but instead of the barking of the king's dogs they heard the
sound of a horse's hoofs trampling behind them. It was Prince Geraint's
charger as he flashed over the shallow ford of the river, then galloped
up the banks of the knoll to her side. He carried not a single weapon
except his golden-hilted sword and wore, not his hunting-dress, but gay
holiday silks with a purple scarf about him swinging an apple of gold at
either end and glancing like a dragon-fly. He bowed low to the sweet,
stately queen.

"You're late, very late, Sir Prince," said she, "later even than we. "

"Yes, noble queen," replied Geraint, "I'm so late that I'm not going to
the hunt; I've come like you just to watch it. "

"Then stay with me," the queen said, "for here on this little knoll, if
anywhere, you will have a good chance to see the hounds, often they dash
by at its very feet. "

So Geraint stood by the queen, thinking he would catch particularly the
baying of Cavall, Arthur's loudest dog, which would tell him that the
hunters were coming. As they waited however, along the base of the
knoll, came a knight, a lady and a dwarf riding slowly by on their
horses.
The knight wore his visor up showing his imperious and very
haughty young face. The dwarf lagged behind.

"That knight doesn't belong to the Round Table, does he? " asked the
queen. "I don't know him. "

"No, nor I," replied Geraint.

So the queen sent her maid over to the dwarf to find out the name of his
master. But the dwarf was old and crotchety and would not tell her.

"Then I'll ask your master himself," cried the maid.

"No, indeed, you shall not! " cried the dwarf, "you are not fit even to
speak of him," and as the girl turned her horse to approach the proud
young knight, the misshapen little dwarf of a servant struck at her with
his whip, and she came scampering back indignantly to the queen.

[Illustration: HE STRUCK OUT HIS WHIP AND CUT THE PRINCE'S CHEEK. ]

"I'll learn his name for you," Geraint exclaimed, and he rode off
sharply.

But the impudent dwarf answered just as before and when Prince Geraint
moved on toward his master he struck out his whip and cut the prince's
cheek so that the blood streamed upon the purple scarf dyeing it red.
Instantly Geraint reached for the hilt of his sword to strike down the
vicious little midget but then remembering that he was a prince and
disdaining to fight with a dwarf, he did not even say a word, but
cantered back to Queen Guinevere's side.

"Noble Queen," he cried fiercely.