him her hand, and he kneeled, and took her jewelled fingers in his and set
her hand to his lips. "Welcome, Sir Launcelot!" quoth she; "welcome to this
place! For it is indeed a great honor to have here so noble and famous a
knight as you!"

"Ha, Lady," said Sir Launcelot, "you are gracious to me beyond measure! But
I pray you tell me how I came to this place and by what means? For when I
fell asleep yesterday at noon I lay beneath an apple-tree upon a hillside;
and when I awoke--lo! I found myself in this fair chamber."

[Sidenote: Queen Morgana seeks to beguile Sir Launcelot] To this Queen
Morgana le Fay made smiling reply as follows: "Sir, I am Queen Morgana le
Fay, of whom you may have heard tell, for I am the sister of King Arthur,
whose particular knight you are. Yesterday, at noon, riding with certain
other queens and a small court of knights, esquires, and demoiselles, we
went by where you lay sleeping. Finding you lying so, alone and without any
companion, I was able, by certain arts which I possess, to lay a gentle
enchantment upon you so that the sleep wherein you lay should remain
unbroken for three or four hours. So we brought you to this place in hopes
that you would stay with us for two or three days or more, and give us the
pleasure of your company. For your fame, which is very great, hath reached
even as far as this place, wherefore we have made a gentle prisoner of you
for this time being."

"Lady," said Sir Launcelot, "such constraint as that would be very pleasing
to me at another time. But when I fell asleep I was with my cousin, Sir
Lionel, and I know not what hath become of him, and haply he will not know
what hath become of me should he seek me. Now I pray you let me go forth
and find my cousin, and when I have done so I will return to you again at
this place with an easy spirit."

"Well, Messire," said Queen Morgana, "it shall be as you desire, only I
require of you some pledge of your return." (Herewith she drew from her
finger a golden ring set very richly with several jewels.) "Now take this
ring," she said, "and give me that ring which I see upon your finger, and
when you shall return hither each shall have his ring again from the
other."

"Lady," said Sir Launcelot, "that may not be. For this ring was placed upon
my finger with such a pledge that it may never leave where it is whilst my
soul abideth in my body. Ask of me any other pledge and you shall have it;
but I cannot give this ring