et there floated a great red plume that could
be seen a long way off by any one in distress. But the most wonderful
thing about the knights' armor was their shields. They were not like
those of other knights, but had been made by a great magician who had
lived in the castle many years before. They were made of silver, and
sometimes shone in the sunlight with dazzling brightness; but at other
times the surface of the shields would be clouded as though by a mist,
and one could not see his face reflected there as he could when they
shone brightly.

Now, when each young knight received his spurs and his armor, a new
shield was also given him from among those that the magician had made;
and when the shield was new its surface was always cloudy and dull. But
as the knight began to do service against the giants, or went on
expeditions to help poor travelers in the forest, his shield grew
brighter and brighter, so that he could see his face clearly reflected
in it. But if he proved to be a lazy or cowardly knight, and let the
giants get the better of him, or did not care what became of the
travelers, then the shield grew more and more cloudy, until the knight
became ashamed to carry it.

But this was not all. When any one of the knights fought a particularly
hard battle, and won the victory, or when he went on some hard errand
for the lord of the castle, and was successful, not only did his silver
shield grow brighter, but when one looked into the center of it he could
see something like a golden star shining in its very heart. This was the
greatest honor that a knight could achieve, and the other knights always
spoke of such a one as having "won his star." It was usually not till he
was pretty old and tried as a soldier that he could win it. At the time
when this story begins, the lord of the castle himself was the only one
of the knights whose shield bore the golden star.

There came a time when the worst of the giants in the forest gathered
themselves together to have a battle against the knights. They made a
camp in a dark hollow not far from the castle, and gathered all their
best warriors together, and all the knights made ready to fight them.
The windows of the castle were closed and barred; the air was full of
the noise of armor being made ready for use; and the knights were so
excited that they could scarcely rest or eat.

Now there was a young knight in the castle, named Sir Roland, who was
among those most eager