The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter

tle of the King. There he was thrown down beside the trestles of the great table, and the hot wax from the candles that lighte

ot be finished for him, however, because the one who had been telling it was now outside, guarding the iron door of the stable with a sword in his

g

story of The Boy Apprenticed

o tell you about King Ma

t he had a stable that was more strongly built than any other King's stable. It had double walls of stone; it had oak beams; it

him. But King Manus was hard to come to by those with requests. For before the chamber where he sat or slept there sto

he plunging wave[Pg 13] of the sea, the red horse was as swift as fire in the heather, and the speed of the black horse was su

double thick, with the door of iron with four locks to it, kept robbers outside. Besides there were the two soldiers with drawn swords in their hands to prevent

y. The trampling of a horse was heard. Straight out King Manus ran, and his harper and his story-teller and his lords ran with him. When they came to the stable the

o had the rein was a strange youth dressed in a foreign dress. The youth was about to spring on the hors

watchers who had been before the stable door could not be wakened, so those who were with the King carried them to another place, and left two others, the harper and the story-teller, to keep

g

d, not able to take rest nor refreshment on account of his not having heard the story to its end. And it was then that one of the lords said to the King, "Let

he entered into such danger to steal one of my horses. And more than that. I declare that if he shows us that he was ever in greater danger than he is in this

and the cords that bound him were loosened. He was put in the[Pg 16] st

e ever in such danger before. Begin your story. And if it is not a story of a narrow and a

cup that was handed him, and he drank a draught of the wine, and

whatever was given me of my saving my life. I will tell the story, and y

l the white horse that King Manus owned, began the story which is s