1. Look, see a world
that holds more wonders than anyCopy !req
2. since the Earth was born.Copy !req
3. And of all who reigned o'er,
none had renownCopy !req
4. like the boy
who pulled sword from stone.Copy !req
5. But this is not that king...Copy !req
6. nor is this his song.Copy !req
7. Let me tell you instead
a new tale.Copy !req
8. I'll lay it down
as I've heard it told.Copy !req
9. Its letters set,
its history pressed,Copy !req
10. of an adventure brave and bold.Copy !req
11. Forever set, in heart, in stone,Copy !req
12. like all great myths of old.Copy !req
13. Christ is born.Copy !req
14. Christ is born indeed.Copy !req
15. - Where are you going?
- To church!Copy !req
16. Why?Copy !req
17. My boots. Hello, Agnes.Copy !req
18. Where are my boots?Copy !req
19. - You a knight yet?
- What?Copy !req
20. You a knight yet?Copy !req
21. - Not yet.
- Better hurry up.Copy !req
22. I've got time.Copy !req
23. I've got lots of time.Copy !req
24. Hey! Essel.Copy !req
25. - Hey, slow down.
- Hurry up!Copy !req
26. Essel.Copy !req
27. Essel.Copy !req
28. Let's just stay here.
Come on. Let's just stay here.Copy !req
29. - Get up.
- No.Copy !req
30. I'm not ready yet.Copy !req
31. I'm not ready.Copy !req
32. Merry Christmas, Gryngelot.Copy !req
33. - Where have you been?
- At Mass.Copy !req
34. - You? At Mass?
- Yeah.Copy !req
35. All night?Copy !req
36. Yes.Copy !req
37. - Well, where are your boots?
- What?Copy !req
38. Where are...Copy !req
39. You do smell like you've been at Mass.Copy !req
40. What, have you been drinking
the sacrament all night?Copy !req
41. I love you, Mother.Copy !req
42. You are not dressed.Copy !req
43. I've got no guts for merriment this year.Copy !req
44. But it's Christmas.Copy !req
45. There'll be more Christmases,Copy !req
46. more feasts, more glad tidings.Copy !req
47. You go, make merry.Copy !req
48. And tell me what you see.Copy !req
49. Bring young Gawain here.Copy !req
50. The King would speak with you.Copy !req
51. Where is thy mother?Copy !req
52. She was not feeling herself, my lord.Copy !req
53. Then come. Sit here, besides us.Copy !req
54. Besides me and my queen.Copy !req
55. That is not my place.Copy !req
56. No. Let it be, today.Copy !req
57. Its owner is away.Copy !req
58. Who knows when he will return?Copy !req
59. Please.Copy !req
60. Good to see you, Gawain.Copy !req
61. Good to have one's family by one's side.Copy !req
62. One's blood.Copy !req
63. Surely your knights have spilled
enough blood in your nameCopy !req
64. to bind them closer to you than I.Copy !req
65. True.Copy !req
66. But you are my sister's boy...Copy !req
67. queefed from her womb.Copy !req
68. They are not.Copy !req
69. I look out upon my friends here
today and I see...Copy !req
70. songs...Copy !req
71. no muse could ever sing or dream of.Copy !req
72. But I turn to thee and I see what?Copy !req
73. I recognize but I do not know thee.Copy !req
74. I say this not in reproach,Copy !req
75. but regret that I have never asked you
to sit at my side before this day...Copy !req
76. or upon my knee when thy was newborn.Copy !req
77. But now it is Christmas,Copy !req
78. and I wish to build bridges.Copy !req
79. So before we make merry...Copy !req
80. you make for me a gift.Copy !req
81. You tell me a tale of yourself,Copy !req
82. so that I might know thee.Copy !req
83. I have none to tell, King.Copy !req
84. Yet.Copy !req
85. You have none to tell yet.Copy !req
86. Yet.Copy !req
87. Look around you, young Gawain.Copy !req
88. What do you see?Copy !req
89. I see legends.Copy !req
90. Do not take your place amongst them idly.Copy !req
91. Hmm.Copy !req
92. So who else then...Copy !req
93. Hmm?Copy !req
94. Friends...Copy !req
95. Brothers...Copy !req
96. Brothers...Copy !req
97. Brothers and...Copy !req
98. - sisters all.
- ... sisters all.Copy !req
99. I thank theeCopy !req
100. for breaking bread with me
this blessed day.Copy !req
101. And it is blessed...Copy !req
102. for out my windowCopy !req
103. this morn I looked,Copy !req
104. and I saw a landCopy !req
105. shaped...Copy !req
106. by your hands.Copy !req
107. You have lain those same hands
upon our Saxon brethren,Copy !req
108. who now in your shadow bow
their headsCopy !req
109. like babes.Copy !req
110. Peace, peace you have brought
to your kingdom,Copy !req
111. so it is in peace that I...Copy !req
112. I now say to you...Copy !req
113. that I...Copy !req
114. I am the luckiest here today...Copy !req
115. because I am amongst thee.Copy !req
116. I am amongst thee.Copy !req
117. So before we celebrateCopy !req
118. the birth of our Christ,Copy !req
119. let us honor one of our ownCopy !req
120. who has done great things in His name.Copy !req
121. So a tale, or...Copy !req
122. Or a show, perhaps.Copy !req
123. What have thee?Copy !req
124. Who can regale me and my queenCopy !req
125. with some mythCopy !req
126. or canto...Copy !req
127. of thine own purport?Copy !req
128. Hold.Copy !req
129. Oh, Greatest Of Kings,Copy !req
130. indulge me in this friendly
Christmas game.Copy !req
131. Let whichever of your knightsCopy !req
132. is boldest of blood
and wildest of heartCopy !req
133. step forth, take up arms,Copy !req
134. and try with honor
to land a blow against me.Copy !req
135. Whomsoever nicks meCopy !req
136. shall lay claim to this,
my arm.Copy !req
137. Its glory and
riches shall be thine.Copy !req
138. But...Copy !req
139. thy champ must bind himself to this:Copy !req
140. Should he land a blow,Copy !req
141. then one year and Yuletide hence,Copy !req
142. he must seek me out yonder,Copy !req
143. to the Green Chapel
six nights to the North.Copy !req
144. He shall find me there and bend the knee
and let me strike him in return.Copy !req
145. Be it a scratch on the cheek
or a cut on the throat,Copy !req
146. I will return what was given to me,Copy !req
147. and then in trust
and friendship we shall part.Copy !req
148. Who, then, who is willing
to engage with me?Copy !req
149. Help the Queen.Copy !req
150. This challenge is thine own?Copy !req
151. Though my will longsCopy !req
152. to leap across this table
and meet thee,Copy !req
153. my body will not follow.Copy !req
154. Surely there is one amongst us here...Copy !req
155. who will meet this knight on his terms.Copy !req
156. I will do it.Copy !req
157. I will meet him.Copy !req
158. I will meet thee.Copy !req
159. - You understand this challenge?
- I do.Copy !req
160. I think I do.Copy !req
161. Remember, it is only a game.Copy !req
162. I need a sword.Copy !req
163. I need... I need a sword.Copy !req
164. Gawain.Copy !req
165. Have at me, Green Knight.Copy !req
166. Make a move or I shall make mine.Copy !req
167. What is this?Copy !req
168. A trick?Copy !req
169. Stand up and face me!Copy !req
170. What do you expect me to do?Copy !req
171. Have courage.Copy !req
172. Very well.Copy !req
173. Very well.Copy !req
174. You laid down your challenge.Copy !req
175. I accepted it and I accept it still.Copy !req
176. Never forget what happened hereCopy !req
177. upon this Christmas Day!Copy !req
178. One year hence...Copy !req
179. What did it feel like?Copy !req
180. What did it feel like when you...Copy !req
181. Like cutting a melon in two.Copy !req
182. And what does that feel like?Copy !req
183. Like nothing.Copy !req
184. Were you afraid?Copy !req
185. No.Copy !req
186. Are you just saying that?Copy !req
187. I am here, and he is not.Copy !req
188. The King lent me his sword,
did you know that?Copy !req
189. - You held it?
- Well, I did more than hold it.Copy !req
190. Behold, Brave Sir Gawain,Copy !req
191. chopper of heads...Copy !req
192. severer of melons, who cannot...Copy !req
193. get it up.Copy !req
194. You're Gawain, aren't you?Copy !req
195. Nah, you must be mistaken.Copy !req
196. No, no, you're him.Copy !req
197. You're always here. Always about.Copy !req
198. Scarcely leave upright most nights.Copy !req
199. But not on Christmas.Copy !req
200. Have you heard?Copy !req
201. This boy slew the Green Knight.Copy !req
202. With his own axe,
he lopped off the giant's head,Copy !req
203. and now he drinks with us!Copy !req
204. But his mother's a witch.Copy !req
205. Rise.Copy !req
206. Rise.Copy !req
207. Sit.Copy !req
208. I've been waiting for you.Copy !req
209. Did you not hear me calling?Copy !req
210. My tooth hurts.Copy !req
211. Another year nearly gone already.Copy !req
212. Have you thought what you will do
when Christmas comes?Copy !req
213. Was it not just a game?Copy !req
214. Perhaps.Copy !req
215. But it is not complete.Copy !req
216. You truly believe
he's sitting in a chapel,Copy !req
217. counting the hours,Copy !req
218. whiling away the year
waiting for me to come?Copy !req
219. Well, I do not know.Copy !req
220. You will tell me.Copy !req
221. You must seek him out.Copy !req
222. And if death awaits me?Copy !req
223. Oh, I do not know of any manCopy !req
224. who has not marched up to greet death
before his time.Copy !req
225. Why are you holding me to this light?Copy !req
226. Is it wrong to want greatness for you?Copy !req
227. I fear I am not meant for greatness.Copy !req
228. Mm.Copy !req
229. You have mud on your face.Copy !req
230. May the Blessed VirginCopy !req
231. keep your five fingers strong,Copy !req
232. your five senses sharp.Copy !req
233. May her five joys inspire you.Copy !req
234. The five wounds of her son
give you fervor.Copy !req
235. And the five virtues
of a knight light your way.Copy !req
236. Keep thy covenant, young Gawain.Copy !req
237. And if God smiles on thee,Copy !req
238. then hurry thee back.Copy !req
239. Thy seat besides us waits.Copy !req
240. Are you really going to go?Copy !req
241. Should I?Copy !req
242. I like your head better where it is.Copy !req
243. I gave my word.
I made a covenant.Copy !req
244. This is how silly men perish.Copy !req
245. Or how brave men become great.Copy !req
246. Why greatness?Copy !req
247. Why is goodness not enough?Copy !req
248. Take this now.Copy !req
249. Wear it about your waist as you go.Copy !req
250. And if you wear it still
when you return...Copy !req
251. Will I return?Copy !req
252. When you return,Copy !req
253. you will come with your head held high.Copy !req
254. I promise, you will not come to harm.Copy !req
255. And, boy...Copy !req
256. My boy...Copy !req
257. do not waste this.Copy !req
258. Gawain! Gawain!Copy !req
259. I've got a sword!Copy !req
260. Gawain! Great tide.Copy !req
261. Good luck!Copy !req
262. Good luck, Gawain!Copy !req
263. Do you still fancy me?Copy !req
264. Do I make you happy?Copy !req
265. Yes.Copy !req
266. Even though I'm here
and you're there?Copy !req
267. Yes.Copy !req
268. What will you say
if I asked you to make me your lady?Copy !req
269. - A lady?
- Your lady.Copy !req
270. I could give you more gold
than any lady has.Copy !req
271. I already have your gold.Copy !req
272. What if I wanted
to sit by your side and...Copy !req
273. take your hand and...Copy !req
274. have your ear?Copy !req
275. What will you say to that?Copy !req
276. "Why, yes, Essel.Copy !req
277. I'd like that very much.Copy !req
278. You may have my ear
and my hand and heart.Copy !req
279. And I will be king and you, my queen.Copy !req
280. You'll be my lady...Copy !req
281. and I'll be your man."Copy !req
282. Who are you?Copy !req
283. Just a traveler, friend.Copy !req
284. You look like a knight.Copy !req
285. Just passing through.Copy !req
286. Ah. I take it you'll want some
of the shares, so, huh?Copy !req
287. Of what?Copy !req
288. All of this!Copy !req
289. Why weren't they buried?Copy !req
290. All dead. All dead.Copy !req
291. No one to bury 'em.Copy !req
292. Though, you know, nature will do its
trick.Copy !req
293. She'll suck 'em in and tuck 'em tight.Copy !req
294. Eh, in saying that,Copy !req
295. I do have two brothers out here somewhere.Copy !req
296. And they marched off.
They never came home.Copy !req
297. You know, if it weren't for my ma,
I would've been here.Copy !req
298. I would've been here!
I would've been here too!Copy !req
299. They all came here!Copy !req
300. Though I'd have lasted longer.Copy !req
301. The King, they say...Copy !req
302. They say the King,Copy !req
303. he killed 960 all on his lonesome.Copy !req
304. - Nine hundred, eh?
- Uh-huh.Copy !req
305. Now, if it was me,Copy !req
306. I'da stayed upright long enough
to take my shot.Copy !req
307. That's a nice axe you got.
You do some fighting with that axe?Copy !req
308. - Here and there.
- Here?Copy !req
309. Only there.Copy !req
310. - Here, I'm just passing through.
- To where?Copy !req
311. - I go North.
- North, oh!Copy !req
312. North is a direction, all right.
Just North?Copy !req
313. To the Green Chapel.Copy !req
314. Oh!Copy !req
315. Do you know of it?Copy !req
316. The Green Chapel, eh?Copy !req
317. There's a stream yonder.Copy !req
318. It runs Northlike.Copy !req
319. I mean, if I've... If I've got my bearing.
Yeah, yeah, it runs Northlike.Copy !req
320. But if you follow
that for a day and a half,Copy !req
321. you'll come to a chapel.Copy !req
322. At least I think it's a chapel.Copy !req
323. It's, uh... It's, uh, yeah, it's...Copy !req
324. It's not green on the whole,Copy !req
325. but I mean, it's definitely greenish,Copy !req
326. with the moss and the, uh...
the rot and ruins,Copy !req
327. but perhaps it's what you seek.Copy !req
328. The stream is yonder?Copy !req
329. Mmm-hmm.Copy !req
330. It's this way.
Past the field, where the forest meets.Copy !req
331. I will seek it out. My thanks to you.Copy !req
332. "My thanks to you."Copy !req
333. Come on.Copy !req
334. Are my directions
not worth anything to you?Copy !req
335. My thanks.Copy !req
336. I said, are my directions
not worth anything to you?Copy !req
337. I mean, a knight like you could spare
a wretch like meCopy !req
338. just a small, small act of kindness.Copy !req
339. Here. A kindness.Copy !req
340. Oh!Copy !req
341. Wait.Copy !req
342. Northlike. See?Copy !req
343. Thank you.Copy !req
344. - Remember the stream.
- I will.Copy !req
345. 'Cause it gets tricky.Copy !req
346. Here you go, boy. That's a good boy.Copy !req
347. Good boy.Copy !req
348. Come on. Let's go.Copy !req
349. Hello, there.Copy !req
350. Hello.Copy !req
351. Now, now.Copy !req
352. - Please.
- Yeah, please?Copy !req
353. - Please. Please. Please!
- Please!Copy !req
354. - Please.
- Please!Copy !req
355. Please! Please!
Please! Please!Copy !req
356. Please.Copy !req
357. Oh.Copy !req
358. Oh.Copy !req
359. 'Tweren't enough.
Just 'tweren't enough.Copy !req
360. Hey, hey, hey!
Where you off to, huh?Copy !req
361. Where you off to?
A knightly quest?Copy !req
362. I'm not a knight.Copy !req
363. But you said you were.Copy !req
364. I never said that. You said that.
I never said I was a knight.Copy !req
365. - But are you?
- No! No, I'm not.Copy !req
366. - Oh.
- Hmm.Copy !req
367. - Well, you look like one.
- Aye.Copy !req
368. Smells like a knight.Copy !req
369. - Oh...
- Please...Copy !req
370. Yeah.Copy !req
371. Oh. Oh!Copy !req
372. Ah.Copy !req
373. Whoa!Copy !req
374. Whoo!Copy !req
375. Yeah!Copy !req
376. Just tell me, then.
Is there really a chapel?Copy !req
377. You're in it.Copy !req
378. - Whoa!
- Watch it.Copy !req
379. Let me hold that.Copy !req
380. It suits me.Copy !req
381. This suits me, huh?Copy !req
382. You rest your bones,
my brave little knight.Copy !req
383. I'll finish your quest for you.Copy !req
384. I'll finish it good.Copy !req
385. Hey! Where are you going?Copy !req
386. - Hey!
- Hyah!Copy !req
387. Gryngelot!Copy !req
388. Hello.Copy !req
389. What are you doing in my bed?Copy !req
390. What are you doing in my bed?Copy !req
391. I'm very sorry. I... I did not see you.Copy !req
392. I thought there was no one about.Copy !req
393. - I did not mean to offend thee.
- Wait.Copy !req
394. Did my father send for you?Copy !req
395. No. He did not.Copy !req
396. I do not know your father.Copy !req
397. I am just a lost traveler,
seeking rest for the night,Copy !req
398. - but I will leave forthwith.
- Where are you going?Copy !req
399. Home.Copy !req
400. I'm headed home.Copy !req
401. And you've lost your way?Copy !req
402. Yes.Copy !req
403. I've lost something as well.Copy !req
404. Will you help me find it?Copy !req
405. What are you doing?Copy !req
406. - I was just...
- Do not touch me.Copy !req
407. A knight should know better.Copy !req
408. What is your name, my lady?Copy !req
409. I'm called Winifred.Copy !req
410. - You heard of me?
- No.Copy !req
411. There.Copy !req
412. - What is it I'm looking for?
- My head.Copy !req
413. Your head is on your neck, my lady.Copy !req
414. No. It is not.Copy !req
415. It might look like it is, but it is not.Copy !req
416. It is in the spring.Copy !req
417. Well, how did it happen to get there?Copy !req
418. A lord came seeking shelter, like thee.Copy !req
419. Perhaps he was thee.Copy !req
420. - Was he?
- No.Copy !req
421. - You certain?
- Yes.Copy !req
422. This lord sought to lay with me.Copy !req
423. I fought him off,
but he returned in the night...Copy !req
424. and broke down my door.Copy !req
425. I tried to flee, but he cut off my head.Copy !req
426. He threw it in the spring, and now,
try as I might, I cannot get at it.Copy !req
427. My lady...Copy !req
428. My lady.Copy !req
429. Are you real, or are you a spirit?Copy !req
430. What is the difference?Copy !req
431. I just need my head.Copy !req
432. As will I before the year is out.Copy !req
433. If I go in there and find it...Copy !req
434. what would you offer me in exchange?Copy !req
435. Why would you ask me that?Copy !req
436. Why would you ever ask me that?Copy !req
437. Gawain...Copy !req
438. My lady.Copy !req
439. Now I can see thee.Copy !req
440. And I will strike thee down
with every care I have for thee.Copy !req
441. The Green Knight is someone you know.Copy !req
442. Well, come on in if you want.Copy !req
443. Hey! Hey!Copy !req
444. Which direction are you headed?Copy !req
445. Might a weary traverse
the valley on your shoulder?Copy !req
446. Friend!Copy !req
447. Welcome!Copy !req
448. Easy now, easy.Copy !req
449. - Who are you?
- Have no fear.Copy !req
450. - You're among friends.
- Where are my clothes?Copy !req
451. Shh. Easy.Copy !req
452. Wha... What day is it?Copy !req
453. It is December the 21st.Copy !req
454. Oh, fear not, Sir Gawain.Copy !req
455. You've only slept through the night.Copy !req
456. How do you know my name?Copy !req
457. I know more than just your name.Copy !req
458. You must eat.Copy !req
459. See, upon the new year,
I travel to the West.Copy !req
460. Came you one week hence
and an empty home greet you.Copy !req
461. Till then, though, I will hunt.Copy !req
462. I will hunt, you shall restCopy !req
463. and we shall both be
all the better for it.Copy !req
464. Ah.Copy !req
465. And here is our friend, my lady,Copy !req
466. fresh from his slumbers.Copy !req
467. And here, friend,Copy !req
468. is your breakfastCopy !req
469. to replenish your strength.Copy !req
470. Surely, you will need it.Copy !req
471. Why is that?Copy !req
472. Because you are brave Sir Gawain,Copy !req
473. come to face the Green Knight.Copy !req
474. I daresay every table in this landCopy !req
475. has heard of you and sung your song.Copy !req
476. Sir Gawain, the finest
and most virtuous knight,Copy !req
477. seeking his destiny across these lands.Copy !req
478. Perhaps you think that I am
something I'm not.Copy !req
479. Such as what?Copy !req
480. How long will you stay with us?Copy !req
481. I must make my appointment by Christmas.Copy !req
482. I will eat and give thanks
and then take my leave.Copy !req
483. Nonsense. Don't you know?Copy !req
484. The Green Chapel is not far.Copy !req
485. - Do you know of it?
- You are very nearly there.Copy !req
486. It's down the river,
not one day's journey.Copy !req
487. Are you certain it is that close?Copy !req
488. You are at the end of your quest, Gawain.Copy !req
489. A little sooner than you expected,
perhaps.Copy !req
490. But such is the case for us all.Copy !req
491. Here is what will happen.Copy !req
492. On Christmas morn,
we will send you on your way.Copy !req
493. And by nightfall, you will be
at the doorway of your destiny.Copy !req
494. So stay a while. Rest.Copy !req
495. And make yourself content.Copy !req
496. What did you find?Copy !req
497. I never knew so many books even existed.Copy !req
498. Have you... Have you read them all?Copy !req
499. Yes.Copy !req
500. All of them I've read.Copy !req
501. Some I've written, some I've copied.Copy !req
502. They're tales I've heard,Copy !req
503. songs that have been sung to me.Copy !req
504. I write them down and sometimes...Copy !req
505. Don't tell anyone this.Copy !req
506. Sometimes, when I see room
for improvements...Copy !req
507. I make them.Copy !req
508. - Do you like books?
- Yes.Copy !req
509. Well...Copy !req
510. Why don't you take one with you?Copy !req
511. - I couldn't.
- Oh, but it is nearly Christmas.Copy !req
512. Here.Copy !req
513. This one's for you.Copy !req
514. I thank you.Copy !req
515. Should not a knight offer a lady
a kiss in thanks?Copy !req
516. Will you sit for me?Copy !req
517. Sit for you?Copy !req
518. For a portrait.Copy !req
519. Ah. I've had my portrait made already.Copy !req
520. Not by me.Copy !req
521. "Ant love is to myn herte gonCopy !req
522. With one spere so kene..."Copy !req
523. Hold very still.Copy !req
524. "Nyht ant day my blod hit drynkesCopy !req
525. Myn herte deth me tene."Copy !req
526. That's a very queer painting.Copy !req
527. What's that?Copy !req
528. What?Copy !req
529. This.Copy !req
530. It's a token.Copy !req
531. For what? For good luck?Copy !req
532. For love?Copy !req
533. No.Copy !req
534. Surely a knight knows something of love.Copy !req
535. I don't.Copy !req
536. Truly?Copy !req
537. Gawain!Copy !req
538. Look what I have brought you!Copy !req
539. When I disposed of him,
I thought what a gift!Copy !req
540. What a gift for my new friend.Copy !req
541. What shall I do with it?Copy !req
542. Well, take it with you for your journey.Copy !req
543. I thought you said it was not far.Copy !req
544. I mean your journey home, after.Copy !req
545. Let us make a promise to each other.Copy !req
546. I hunt tomorrow and the day after.Copy !req
547. Whatever the forest offers me,Copy !req
548. I will bring you home the best.Copy !req
549. And you give me, in turn,Copy !req
550. whatever you might receive here.Copy !req
551. What might I receive here
that is not already yours?Copy !req
552. Who knows?Copy !req
553. This house is full of strange things.Copy !req
554. But then again,Copy !req
555. I see things everywhere
that bear no logic.Copy !req
556. Have you ever seen a hawk kill a horse?Copy !req
557. Just swoop down and...Copy !req
558. Phew. It's terrible.Copy !req
559. Every man should see it at least once.Copy !req
560. But that is the world.Copy !req
561. And the world is fit
for all manner of mysteries.Copy !req
562. A man's home, though,
should be safe from all that.Copy !req
563. One wall joined with another,Copy !req
564. line and plumb.Copy !req
565. Good, strong walls,Copy !req
566. and a fire within.Copy !req
567. Why is he green, do you think?Copy !req
568. The knight?Copy !req
569. Yes.Copy !req
570. Was he born that way?Copy !req
571. Perhaps it is the color of his blood
when he blushes.Copy !req
572. But why green?Copy !req
573. Why not blueCopy !req
574. or red?Copy !req
575. Because he is not of this earth.Copy !req
576. But green is the color of earth,Copy !req
577. of living things, of life.Copy !req
578. - And of rot.
- Yes.Copy !req
579. Yes.Copy !req
580. We deck our halls with it
and dye our linens.Copy !req
581. But should it come creeping up
the cobbles,Copy !req
582. we scrub it out, fast as we can.Copy !req
583. When it blooms beneath our skin,
we bleed it out.Copy !req
584. And when we, together all,Copy !req
585. find that our reach has exceeded
our grasp,Copy !req
586. we cut it down,Copy !req
587. we stamp it out, we spread
ourselves atop itCopy !req
588. and smother it beneath our bellies,Copy !req
589. but it comes back.Copy !req
590. It does not dally,Copy !req
591. nor does it wait to plot or conspire.Copy !req
592. Pull it out by the roots one day
and then next, there it is,Copy !req
593. creeping in around the edges.Copy !req
594. Whilst we're off looking for red,
in comes green.Copy !req
595. Red is the color of lust,Copy !req
596. but green is what lust leaves behind,Copy !req
597. in heart,Copy !req
598. in womb.Copy !req
599. Green is what is left when ardor fades,Copy !req
600. when passion dies, when we die, too.Copy !req
601. When you go, your footprints
will fill with grass.Copy !req
602. Moss shall cover your tombstone,Copy !req
603. and as the sun rises,Copy !req
604. green shall spread over all,Copy !req
605. in all its shades and hues.Copy !req
606. This verdigris will overtake your swordsCopy !req
607. and your coins and your battlementsCopy !req
608. and, try as you might,Copy !req
609. all you hold dear will succumb to it.Copy !req
610. Your skin, your bones.Copy !req
611. Your virtue.Copy !req
612. And what do you hope to gainCopy !req
613. from facing all of this...Copy !req
614. this hue?Copy !req
615. Honor?Copy !req
616. Are you asking me?Copy !req
617. - No.
- Hmm.Copy !req
618. Honor.Copy !req
619. That is why a knight does what he does.Copy !req
620. And this is what you want most in life?Copy !req
621. - To be a knight.
- No, honor.Copy !req
622. You are not
very good with questions.Copy !req
623. It is part of the life I want.Copy !req
624. And this is all it takes
for that part to be had?Copy !req
625. You'll do this one thing,Copy !req
626. you return home a changed man,Copy !req
627. an honorable man? Just like that?Copy !req
628. Yes.Copy !req
629. Hmm.Copy !req
630. Oh, I wish
I could see the new you.Copy !req
631. But perhaps we will miss our old friendCopy !req
632. and our fun and our games.Copy !req
633. - My lady...
- Shh.Copy !req
634. Why did you not come
to my chambers yesterday?Copy !req
635. I couldn't.Copy !req
636. You couldn't?Copy !req
637. No, but...Copy !req
638. But you wanted to.Copy !req
639. Yes.Copy !req
640. And now?Copy !req
641. I would that I could, but...Copy !req
642. - But...
- It isn't right.Copy !req
643. Hmm.Copy !req
644. Isn't right.Copy !req
645. No.Copy !req
646. Do you believe in magic?Copy !req
647. What?Copy !req
648. In witchcraft. Do you believe in it?Copy !req
649. Yes. I do.Copy !req
650. It is all around us.Copy !req
651. I have a gift for you.Copy !req
652. Where did you get that?Copy !req
653. I made it.Copy !req
654. There's an enchantment
sewn into its threads.Copy !req
655. Wear it and you will never
be struck down.Copy !req
656. By what?Copy !req
657. By man, or spirit,
or any other implements.Copy !req
658. I promise,Copy !req
659. you will not come to harm...Copy !req
660. as long as it is about your waist.Copy !req
661. Do you mean it?Copy !req
662. Yes.Copy !req
663. You want it? Huh.Copy !req
664. Do you want it?Copy !req
665. Yes.Copy !req
666. Then tell me.Copy !req
667. It's okay, tell me.Copy !req
668. I want it.Copy !req
669. I want it.Copy !req
670. I want it.Copy !req
671. Good.Copy !req
672. Then take it.Copy !req
673. Go on, take it. Take it.Copy !req
674. You are no knight.Copy !req
675. Gawain!Copy !req
676. Where are you going?Copy !req
677. I must make my appointment.Copy !req
678. Oh, on your own, after all?Copy !req
679. What of our game?Copy !req
680. I don't want your games, or your gifts,
or your kindness.Copy !req
681. Are you certain there is nothing
you wish to give me?Copy !req
682. There is something.Copy !req
683. There is something.Copy !req
684. And I think I can take it from you.Copy !req
685. Unhand meCopy !req
686. and let us go our ways.Copy !req
687. Very well.Copy !req
688. Very well.Copy !req
689. Gawain!Copy !req
690. I...Copy !req
691. I caught this poor fellow
in a trap this morning.Copy !req
692. I was going to give him to you,Copy !req
693. but I suppose we should leave
him to nature.Copy !req
694. Farewell, Sir Gawain.Copy !req
695. And happy Christmas!Copy !req
696. If you come back by this way again,
we shall be gone!Copy !req
697. Why do you stop me?Copy !req
698. I cannot tarry.Copy !req
699. Go that way
and your doom is at hand.Copy !req
700. You will find no mercy. No happy end.Copy !req
701. - What witchcraft is this?
- No witchcraft.Copy !req
702. He you seek is as wild as I,Copy !req
703. but knows no measure.Copy !req
704. I know what I face.Copy !req
705. If any man truly knew,Copy !req
706. he would bear his shame
happily and turn away,Copy !req
707. head held high, to end his song
as he saw fit.Copy !req
708. His secret would be safe with me.Copy !req
709. Are you this man?Copy !req
710. No.Copy !req
711. The spell about your waist
says otherwise.Copy !req
712. - This is just a dirty rag.
- Leave it here, then.Copy !req
713. It was a gift.Copy !req
714. No need for gifts
where you are headed.Copy !req
715. Come, come home.Copy !req
716. Come home with me.Copy !req
717. I never asked for your company anyway!Copy !req
718. You came.Copy !req
719. Good sir, is it Christmas?Copy !req
720. Yes.Copy !req
721. Do you recall where you cut me?Copy !req
722. I do.Copy !req
723. And have you come to see
that blow returned?Copy !req
724. I have.Copy !req
725. Then kneel,Copy !req
726. and we shall complete our game.Copy !req
727. Now?Copy !req
728. Aye.Copy !req
729. Now, one strike as good as you gave.Copy !req
730. Sir, you flinch.Copy !req
731. I know.Copy !req
732. I know.Copy !req
733. Did I show signs of fear
when our positions were reversed?Copy !req
734. I'm not so confident as thee.Copy !req
735. You have had a year to find courage.Copy !req
736. One year or a hundred,
it wouldn't make a difference.Copy !req
737. Give me a moment.Copy !req
738. Are you ready?Copy !req
739. Are you ready?Copy !req
740. Yes.Copy !req
741. Then I shall get to hacking.Copy !req
742. Wait! Wait.Copy !req
743. Is this...Copy !req
744. really all there is?Copy !req
745. Is that... Is this...Copy !req
746. What else ought there be?Copy !req
747. No! No. I'm sorry.Copy !req
748. I cannot. I'm sorry.Copy !req
749. Shh.Copy !req
750. Wait.Copy !req
751. Wait.Copy !req
752. There. Now I'm ready.Copy !req
753. I'm ready now.Copy !req
754. Well done,Copy !req
755. my brave knight.Copy !req
756. Now...Copy !req
757. Off with your head.Copy !req