The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short Read Online Free PDF

he has a hundred soldiers just over that hill, and if I don't leave Erec and go to him before morning, he'll send them to kill Erec! So I decided that since I can't make Erec happy anyway I can at least save his life, so I'm going to leave with horrid Count Oringle, and if I'm very, very lucky, maybe I'll die young."
    Givret considered this. "Let me think a moment ... No, there has to be another way. Tell you what, Enide: you go back to Erec, and I'll go see if the wicked count really has any soldiers over that hill."
    "You think he might have been lying? I didn't think of that!"
    Givret smiled reassuringly. "It's possible. I'll just make sure. The important thing is for you to go back to Erec. Ill see you in the morning."
    "But what will you do?"
    Givret smiled again, with more confidence than he felt. "Trust me. Ill think of something."
    A few minutes later, Givret was on the top of a nearby hill, looking down on a military camp large enough for at least a hundred men. "Bother," he said. "Oringle
wasn't
lying."

Chapter 8
The Battle of the Hundred Knights
    Even in the middle of the night, Count Oringle's camp was busy as the army prepared for battle, so it was easy for Givret to stroll into the camp and take a seat by a fire without being noticed. He still didn't have a plan, but he thought something might come to him.
    After a moment, a soldier sat beside him, and together they watched two other soldiers sharpening their swords. "Silly duffers," the first soldier said, pointing at the sword sharpeners. 'What do they need sharp swords for, if we ain't allowed to kill this Sir Erec?"
    "We're not to kill Sir Erec?" Givret asked, surprised.
    "Hadn't you heard?" the soldier asked. "The count's dreadful afraid of some prophecy or other, so he doesn't kill people anymore, just tosses them into his dungeons. We have to take Sir Erec alive, and since it's a hundred to one, we'll have him locked up before breakfast."
    So Oringle still believed the prophecy Givret had invented! A plan began to form in Givret's mind. "If we live that long," he said mournfully. "If only I'd known it was Sir Erec we were against! I'd never have joined up."
    "Eh?" the soldier asked.
    [[graphic]]
    "Haven't you heard about Sir Erec?" Givret asked.
    "Heard what?"
    Givret shook his head. "Never mind. I'm not supposed to say."
    "Say what?" the soldier demanded.
    Givret allowed the soldier to ask twice more, then leaned close and said, "Well, all right, but you have to promise not to tell a soul, you hear? This is in
strictest
confidence!"
    "On my honor!" promised the soldier.
    Givret lowered his voice."This Sir Erec is no ordinary knight. An enchanter protects him with black magic. No weapon can touch him, and he's got a magic sword that cuts through armor like warm butter. How are we supposed to take a fellow like that alive?"
    The soldier's mouth dropped open. "I don't believe all that," he said at last.
    "Ask anyone," Givret said. "Sir Erec's the one who fought Sir Yoder at that Beautiful Lady contest the count held last year. Maybe you were there?"
    The soldier caught his breath and nodded. "
That
was Sir Erec?" Then his eyes widened. "And there
was
an enchanter there!"
    "Mums the word, though," Givret cautioned. 'We don't want to discourage the others."
    The soldier nodded, but a few moments later he stood up and sauntered away. Soon he was whispering to another soldier. Givret smiled and lay down for a few hours sleep.

    By the time Count Oringle mustered his troops at dawn, his hundred knights had mysteriously become seventy-five. A quarter of his army had slipped off during the night, and from their expressions, the rest were wishing that they had thought of it. The count went into a rage, cursing the departed knights, but there was nothing he could do but tell the others to mount up and follow him. In the hubbub of saddling up and forming lines, five more knights disappeared.
    Givret rode along. He planned to work his way to the back and, once the