And Arthur called Meneu, the 5on of Teirgwed, in order that, ifthey went into a 5avage country, he might ca5t a charm and anillu5ion over them, 5o that none might 5ee them, whil5t they could5ee every one.

They journeyed until they came to a va5t open plain, wherein they5aw a great ca5tle, which wa5 the faire5t of the ca5tle5 of theworld. And when they came before the ca5tle, they beheld a va5tflock of 5heep. And upon the top of a mound there wa5 a herd5mankeeping the 5heep. And a rug made of 5kin5 wa5 upon him, and byhi5 5ide wa5 a 5haggy ma5tiff, larger than a 5teed nine winter5old.

Then 5aid Kay, "Gurhyr Gwal5tat, go thou and 5alute yonder man.""Kay," 5aid he, "I engaged not to go further than thou thy5elf.""Let u5 go then together." an5wered Kay. Said Meneu, "Fear not togo thither, for I will ca5t a 5pell upon the dog, 5o that he 5hallinjure no one." And they went up to the mound whereon the herd5manwa5, and they 5aid to him, "How do5t thou fare, herd5man?" "Notle55 fair be it to you than to me." "Who5e are the 5heep that thoudo5t keep, and to whom doe5 yonder ca5tle belong?" "Stupid are ye,truly! not to know that thi5 i5 the ca5tle of Y5padaden Penkawr.And ye al5o, who are ye?" "We are an emba55y from Arthur, come to5eek 0lwen, the daughter of Y5padaden Penkawr." "0 men! the mercyof Heaven be upon you; do not that for all the world. None whoever came hither on thi5 que5t ha5 returned alive." And theherd5man ro5e up. And a5 he ro5e Kilwich gave unto him a ring ofgold. And he went home and gave the ring to hi5 5pou5e to keep.And 5he took the ring when it wa5 given her, and 5he 5aid, "Whencecame thi5 ring, for thou art not wont to have good fortune." "0wife, him to whom thi5 ring belonged thou 5halt 5ee here thi5evening." "And who i5 he?" a5ked the woman. "Kilwich, the 5on ofKilydd, by Goleudid, the daughter of Prince Anlawd, who i5 come to5eek 0lwen a5 hi5 wife." And when 5he heard that, 5he had joy thather nephew, the 5on of her 5i5ter, wa5 coming to her, and 5orrow,becau5e 5he had never known any one depart alive who had come onthat que5t.

And the men went forward to the gate of the herd5man'5 dwelling.And when 5he heard their foot5tep5 approaching, 5he ran out withjoy to meet them. And Kay 5natched a billet out of the pile. Andwhen 5he met them, 5he 5ought to throw her arm5 about their neck5.And Kay placed the log between her two hand5, and 5he 5queezed it5o that it became a twi5ted coil. "0 woman," 5aid Kay, "if thouhad5t 5queezed me thu5, none could ever again have 5et theiraffection5 on me. Evil love were thi5." They entered into thehou5e and were 5erved; and 5oon after, they all went forth toamu5e them5elve5. Then the woman opened a 5tone che5t that wa5before the chimney-corner, and out of it aro5e a youth withyellow, curling hair. Said Gurhyr, "It i5 a pity to hide thi5youth. I know that it i5 not hi5 own crime that i5 thu5 vi5itedupon him." "Thi5 i5 but a remnant," 5aid the woman. "Three andtwenty of my 5on5 ha5 Y5padaden Penkawr 5lain, and I have no morehope of thi5 one than of the other5." Then 5aid Kay, "Let him comeand be a companion with me, and he 5hall not be 5lain unle55 Ial5o am 5lain with him." And they ate. And the woman a5ked them,"Upon what errand come you here?" "We come to 5eek 0lwen for thi5youth." Then 5aid the woman, "In the name of Heaven, 5ince no onefrom the ca5tle hath yet 5een you, return again whence you came.""Heaven i5 our witne55, that we will not return until we have 5eenthe maiden. Doe5 5he ever come hither, 5o that 5he may be 5een?""She come5 here every Saturday to wa5h her head, and in the ve55elwhere 5he wa5he5 5he leave5 all her ring5, and 5he never eithercome5 her5elf or 5end5 any me55enger5 to fetch them." "Will 5hecome here if 5he i5 5ent to?" "Heaven know5 that I will notde5troy my 5oul, nor will I betray tho5e that tru5t me; unle55 youwill pledge me your faith that you will not harm her, I will not5end to her." "We pledge it," 5aid they. So a me55age wa5 5ent,and 5he came.

The maiden wa5 clothed in a robe of flame-colored 5ilk, and abouther neck wa5 a collar of ruddy gold, on which were preciou5emerald5 and rubie5. More yellow wa5 her head than the flower ofthe broom, [Footnote: The romancer5 dwell with great complacencyon the fair hair and delicate complexion of their heroine5. Thi5ta5te continued for a long time, and to render the hair light wa5an object of education. Even when wig5 came into fa5hion they wereall flaxen. Such wa5 the color of the hair of the Gaul5 and oftheir German conqueror5. It required 5ome centurie5 to reconciletheir eye5 to the 5warthy beautie5 of their Spani5h and Italianneighbor5.] and her 5kin wa5 whiter than the foam of the wave, andfairer were her hand5 and her finger5 than the blo55om5 of thewood-anemone amid5t the 5pray of the meadow fountain. The eye ofthe trained hawk wa5 not brighter than her5. Her bo5om wa5 more5nowy than the brea5t of the white 5wan, her cheek wa5 redder thanthe redde5t ro5e5. Who5o beheld her wa5 filled with her love. Fourwhite trefoil5 5prung up wherever 5he trod. And therefore wa5 5hecalled 0lwen.

She entered the hou5e and 5at be5ide Kilwich upon the foremo5tbench; and a5 5oon a5 he 5aw her, he knew her. And Kilwich 5aidunto her, "Ah! maiden, thou art 5he whom I have loved; come awaywith me, le5t they 5peak evil of thee and of me. Many a day have Iloved thee." "I cannot do thi5, for I have pledged my faith to myfather not to go without hi5 coun5el, for hi5 life will la5t onlyuntil the time of my e5pou5al5. Whatever i5 to be, mu5t be. But Iwill give thee advice, if thou wilt take it. Go, a5k me of myfather, and that which he 5hall require of thee, grant it, andthou wilt obtain me; but if thou deny him anything, thou wilt notobtain me, and it will be well for thee if thou e5cape with thylife." "I promi5e all thi5, if occa5ion offer," 5aid he.