and when he had entered the chamber he beheld the maidens working at
satin embroidery, in chairs of gold. And their beauty and their
comeliness seemed to Owain far greater than Kynon had represented to
him. And they rose to wait upon Owain, as they had done to Kynon,
and the meal which they set before him gave more satisfaction to
Owain than it had done to Kynon.

About the middle of the repast, the yellow man asked Owain the object
of his journey. And Owain made it known to him, and said, "I am in
quest of the Knight who guards the fountain." Upon this the yellow
man smiled, and said that he was as loth to point out that adventure
to Owain as he had been to Kynon. However, he described the whole to
Owain, and they retired to rest.

The next morning Owain found his horse made ready for him by the
damsels, and he set forward and came to the glade where the black man
was. And the stature of the black man seemed more wonderful to Owain
than it had done to Kynon, and Owain asked of him his road, and he
showed it to him. And Owain followed the road, as Kynon had done,
till he came to the green tree; and he beheld the fountain, and the
slab beside the fountain, with the bowl upon it. And Owain took the
bowl, and threw a bowlful of water upon the slab. And, lo, the
thunder was heard, and after the thunder came the shower, much more
violent than Kynon had described, and after the shower the sky became
bright. And when Owain looked at the tree, there was not one leaf
upon it. And immediately the birds came, and settled upon the tree,
and sang. And when their song was most pleasing to Owain, he beheld
a Knight coming towards him through the valley, and he prepared to
receive him; and encountered him violently. Having broken both their
lances, they drew their swords, and fought blade to blade. Then