lks the Queen can dress her in, will
not make her look more fair than she does in this old gown,' he
murmured to himself.

'Enid,' said the Earl, 'take the stranger's horse to the stable,
and then go to the town and buy food for supper.'

Geraint did not like the beautiful girl to wait on him, and he got
up eagerly to help her.

'We are poor, and have no servants, but we cannot let our guest
wait upon himself,' said the Earl proudly. And Geraint had to sit
down, while Enid took his horse to the stall, and went across the
bridge to the little town to buy meat and cakes for supper.

And as the dining-room was the kitchen too, Geraint could watch
Enid as she cooked the food and set the table.

At first it grieved him that she should work at all, but afterwards
he thought, 'She touches everything with such grace and gentleness,
that the work grows beautiful under her white hands.'

And when supper was ready, Enid stood behind, and waited, and
Geraint almost forgot that he was very hungry, as he took the
dishes from her careful hands.

When supper was over, Geraint turned to the Earl. 'Who is this
Sparrow-hawk of whom all the townspeople chatter? Yet if he should
be the knight of the white fortress, do not tell me his real name.
That I must find out for myself.' And he told the Earl that he was
Prince Geraint, and that he had come to punish the knight, because
he allowed his dwarf to be so rude to the Queen's messengers.

The Earl was glad when he heard his guest's name. 'I have often
told Enid of your noble deeds and wonderful adventures,' he said,
'and when I stopped, she would call to me to go on. She loves to
hear of the noble deeds of Arthur's knights. But now I will tell
you about the Sparrow-hawk. He lives in the white fortress, and he
is my nephew. He is a fierce and cruel man, and when I would not
allow him to marry Enid, he hated me, and made the people believe I
was unkind to him. He said I had stolen his father's money from
him. And the people believed him,' said the Earl, 'and were full of
rage against me. One evening, just before Enid's birthday, three
years ago, they broke into our home, and turned us out, and took
away all our treasures. Then the Sparrow-hawk built himself the
white fortress for safety, but us he keeps in this old half-ruined
castle.'

'Give me arms,' said Geraint, 'and I will fight this knight in
to-morrow's tournament.'

'Arms I can give you,' said the Earl, 'though they are o