I. KING ARTHUR DEVELOPS A PROBLEM

Hark and listen to the life of a rich lord
Who, while he lived, was like no one else
In bedroom or in court.
In the time of Arthur this adventure was,
And he himself, the courteous and royal king.
Of all knighthood he bore away the honor,
Wherever he went.
In his country there was nothing but chivalry:
He loved all brave knights;
Cowards were always disgraced.

Now, if you will listen a bit to my talking,
I shall tell you of Arthur the king
And what once befell him
As he was hunting in Inglewood
With all his bold knights.

Listen to my tale:
The king stood at his deer blind,
Ready with his bow to slay a wild deer,
And his knights sat there beside him.
As the king waited, he became aware
Of a great and beautiful hart standing.
When the men saw the king,
They waited as still as they could.
Then the hart darted off
Into a fern thicket

"Hold still, everyone,
And I will go myself,
Stalking as best I can,"
The king said, taking bow in hand.
Like a good hunter he stooped
Low to stalk the deer.

When he got close,
The hart jumped into a briar patch.
But the king crept closer and closer,
And so it went, until the king had gone,
I would swear, half a mile.
No man went with him.

At last, Arthur let fly an arrow
And hit the hart squarely,
Such was the grace God had sent him.
Down the deer tumbled, wounded,
And fell into a large fern thicket.
The king followed quickly
And savagely killed the deer
As it chewed the grass.

While the king was alone with the deer
Suddenly there came to him a quaint fellow
Armed well and sure--
A knight strong and mighty.
He said these grim words to the king:

"Well met, King Arthur!
You have done me wrong many a year,
And woefully I shall repay you now.
Indeed, you have wrongfully given
My lands to Sir Gawain.
What say you, king, alone as you are?"

"Sir knight, what is your honored name?" said Arthur.

"Sir king," he answered, "Gromer Somer Joure,
I tell you now the truth."

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