The young knight and the sword

Once upon a time, in a very far kingdom beyond the snowy mountains, there was a King and his court. In this court lived a young and honest and brave Knight.

The King had a daughter, a very pretty young lady.

This knight was secretly in love with the Princess, and so was she with the Knight, but none of them knew from each other´s feelings.

In the court also lived a Councelor of the King, a very powerful man. He was ambitious and wanted to marry the Princess to access to the throne.

One day the Knight fought in a tournament and she asked permission to the Princess to fight in her name. She gave him her foulard to wear in his helmet.

The powerful Councelor noticed that.

He decided in secret to get rid of his young rival.

Once the Knight was sleeping in his room in the castle, the Councelor sent a servant to take away his knife. With the same knife the Councelor killed the servant, leaving the weapon beside the body.

The honest Knight was inmediately accussed and judged. He was sent away for 20 years.

He was deeply sad but had no choice. He wander through the kingdom to the boundaries, where he had to hide his identity, for there were many smuglers, robbers and criminals.

He wore poor and dirty clothes and lived as a tramp during a whole year.

One day he was travelling and stopped in a town, he heard people in the market say that up in the mountain there was a magical sword in a rock.

He suddenly became interested and asked to this group of people what was so special about this sword.

They told him that it had belonged to an ancient King a thousand of years ago. When he died the sword flew to its place in the rock and nobody could take it out.

There were many legends about it. One of them was

that only a knight with a pure heart unjustly judged could take it out and possess it. The legend also told that he became the next king.

The Knight decided to climb the mountain and try himself. It took him three days and nights to get there. It rained, it snowed, it was so windy and cold that he more than once was about to go back.

But he resisted and reached the rock.

There was the sword. It was big and refulgent, with a handle full of precious stones.

He took it out effortless, him the most ashtonished. Then he came to the idea that he should go back to the court and recover his honor.

There was a tournament at the castle. He disguised as a enigmatic knight coming from a distant and foreign reign. He wore a black armor and he did not take his helmet off.

He asked the Princess to fight for her and she said yes. The Councelor, that was present, shiver from jelous.

He, all of a sudden, wanted to fight against the unknown knight.

He accepted. The young Knight overcame and when his rival was on the ground he menaced him with the sword on the throat.

The Councelor confessed his felony and was condemned to the dungeons.

The Knight´s honor was recovered and he declared his love to the Princess.

They married some weeks afterwards in big fests which lasted three days.

THE END