show him whether he liked fighting or no.
But as it was a woman, he shut his lips and set his teeth hard together,
and as the servant came just then with the food he had sent for, he gave
it to the old woman quickly and shut the gate that she might not talk to
him any more.

It was not very long before he heard some one calling outside. Sir
Roland opened the gate and saw standing at the other end of the
drawbridge a little old man in a long black cloak. "Why are you knocking
here?" he said. "The castle is closed to-day."

"Are you Sir Roland?" said the little old man.

"Yes," said Sir Roland.

"Then you ought not to be staying here when your commander and his
knights are having so hard a struggle with the giants, and when you have
the chance to make of yourself the greatest knight in this kingdom.
Listen to me! I have brought you a magic sword."

As he said this, the old man drew from under his coat a wonderful sword
that flashed in the sunlight as if it were covered with diamonds. "This
is the sword of all swords," he said, "and it is for you, if you will
leave your idling here by the castle gate and carry it to the battle.
Nothing can stand before it. When you lift it the giants will fall back,
your master will be saved, and you will be crowned the victorious
knight--the one who will soon take his commander's place as lord of the
castle."

Now Sir Roland believed that it was a magician who was speaking to him,
for it certainly appeared to be a magic sword. It seemed so wonderful
that the sword should be brought to him, that he reached out his hand as
though he would take it, and the little old man came forward, as though
he would cross the drawbridge into the castle. But as he did so, it came
to Sir Roland's mind again that that bridge and the gateway had been
intrusted to him, and he called out "No!" to the old man, so that he
stopped where he was standing. But he waved the shining sword in the air
again, and said: "It is for you! Take it, and win the victory!"

Sir Roland was really afraid that if he looked any longer at the sword
or listened to any more words of the old man, he would not be able to
hold himself within the castle. For this reason he struck the great bell
at the gateway, which was the signal for the servants inside to pull in
the chains of the drawbridge, and instantly they began to pull, and the
drawbridge came up, so that the old man could not cross it to enter the
castle, nor Sir Roland t