ime for many months that
the princess had asked him to do anything for her and he could not do
it. He thought so much about it that he did not notice the direction
his horse was taking, and presently he found himself in the midst of a
dense forest where he had never been before. He rode on and on,
looking for the path, but as the sun began to set he realised that he
was lost. At last, to his delight, he saw a man driving some pigs, and
riding up to him, he said:

'I have lost my way. Can you tell me where I am?'

'You are in the Green Knight's forest,' answered the man, 'and these
are his pigs.'

At that the king's heart grew light. 'Where does the Green Knight
live?' he asked.

'It is a very long way from here,' said the swineherd; 'but I will
show you the path.' So he went a little farther with the king and put
him on the right road, and the king bade him farewell.

Presently he came to a second forest, and there he met another
swineherd driving pigs.

'Whose beasts are those, my man?' he asked.

'They are the Green Knight's,' said the man.

'And where does he live?' inquired the king.

'Oh, not far from here,' was the reply.

Then the king rode on, and about midday he reached a beautiful castle
standing in the midst of the loveliest garden you can possibly
imagine, where fountains played in marble basins, and peacocks walked
on the smooth lawns. On the edge of a marble basin sat a young and
handsome man, who was dressed from head to foot in a suit of green
armour, and was feeding the goldfish which swam in the clear water.

'This must be the Green Knight,' thought the king; and going up to the
young man he said courteously:

'I have come, sir, to give you my daughter's greeting. But I have
wandered far, and lost my way in your forest.'

The knight looked at him for a moment as though puzzled.

'I have never met either you or your daughter,' he said at last; 'but
you are very welcome all the same.' And he waved his hand towards the
castle. However, the king took no notice, and told him that his
daughter had sent a message to the Green Knight, and as he was the
only Green Knight in the kingdom this message must be for him.

'You must pass the night with me here,' said the knight; and as the
sun was already set, the king was thankful to accept the invitation.
They sat down in the castle hall to a magnificent banquet, and
although he had travelled much and visited many monarchs in their
palaces, the k