"Welcome unto thee, chieftain," said Arthur. "With me thou shalt
remain; and had I known thy valour had been such, thou shouldst not
have left me as thou didst; nevertheless, this was predicted of thee
by the dwarf and the dwarfess, whom Kai ill-treated and whom thou
hast avenged." And hereupon, behold there came the Queen and her
handmaidens, and Peredur saluted them. And they were rejoiced to see
him, and bade him welcome. And Arthur did him great honour and
respect, and they returned towards Caerlleon.

And the first night Peredur came to Caerlleon to Arthur's Court, and
as he walked in the city after his repast, behold, there met him
Angharad Law Eurawc. "By my faith, sister," said Peredur, "thou art
a beauteous and lovely maiden; and, were it pleasing to thee, I could
love thee above all women." "I pledge my faith," said she, "that I
do not love thee, nor will I ever do so." "I also pledge my faith,"
said Peredur, "that I will never speak a word to any Christian again,
until thou come to love me above all men."

The next day Peredur went forth by the high road, along a mountain-
ridge, and he saw a valley of a circular form, the confines of which
were rocky and wooded. And the flat part of the valley was in
meadows, and there were fields betwixt the meadows and the wood. And
in the bosom of the wood he saw large black houses of uncouth
workmanship. And he dismounted, and led his horse towards the wood.
And a little way within the wood he saw a rocky ledge, along which
the road lay. And upon the ledge was a lion bound by a chain, and
sleeping. And beneath the lion he saw a deep pit of immense size,
full of the bones of men and animals. And Peredur drew his sword and
struck the lion, so that he fell into the mouth of the pit and hung
there by the chain; and with a second blow he struck the chain and