return to your castle; never will you see your beloved
Ximena again."

But the Cid was undaunted, and had soon laid his enemy low. Great
praise then was given to the Cid--so great that the knights of Castile
were jealous and plotted to kill him. But the Moorish kings whom he
had captured and released warned him in time to avert the danger.

Then the Cid aided Ferdinand in defeating the hostile Moors in
Estremadura, after a siege of Coimbra lasting seven months. Several
other victories over his country's enemies were added to this, and
then Rodrigo returned to his beloved wife.

But not for long was he permitted to remain in the quiet of home.
Henry III, Emperor of Germany, complained to the Pope that King
Ferdinand had refused to acknowledge his superiority. The Pope sent a
message to Ferdinand, demanding homage and tribute. The demand angered
both Ferdinand and the Cid.

"Never yet have we done homage," cried the Cid, "and shall we now bow
to a stranger?"

A proud refusal was then sent to the Pope, and he, knowing of no
better way to settle the dispute, bade Henry send a champion to meet
Rodrigo. The emperor's champion was, of course, defeated, and all of
Ferdinand's enemies were so awed by the outcome of the fight that none
ever again demanded homage or tribute. Rodrigo was, indeed, a very
useful subject. When Ferdinand died, he was succeeded by his son, Don
Sancho. The latter, planning a visit to Rome, selected the Cid to
accompany him. Arriving, they found that in the preparations that had
been made for their reception a lower seat had been prepared for Don
Sancho than for the King of France. The Cid would not suffer such a
slight, and became so violent that the Pope excommunicated him.
Nevertheless, the seats were made of equal height, and the Cid, who
was a good Catholic, humbled himself before the Pope and was forgiven.

It was an age of great wars, and the Cid aided his king in many a
brave fight. At last, in the siege of Zamora, the king was
treacherously murdered, and, as he had no sons, Don Alfonso, his
brother, succeeded. When he arrived at Zamora the Cid refused to
acknowledge Alfonso until he should swear that he had no part in the
murder. The king, angered by the Cid's attitude, plotted revenge.
Opportunity came during a war with the Moors, and the Cid was banished
upon a slight pretext.

"I obey, O king," replied the Cid, when he heard the decree. "I am
more ready to serve you than you are to re