He came toward a valley, through which ran a river; and the borders of the valley were wooded, and on each side of the river were level meadows. On one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and on the other a flock of black sheep. And whenever one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would cross over and become white; and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross over and become black. And he saw a tall tree by the side of the river, one half of which was in flames from the root to the top, and the other half was green and in full leaf. Nigh thereto he saw a youth sitting upon a mound, and two greyhounds, white-breasted and spotted, in leashes, lying by his side. And certain was he that he had never seen a youth of so royal a bearing as he. In the wood opposite he heard hounds raising a herd of deer.

Peredur saluted the youth, and the youth greeted him in return. There were three roads leading from the mound; two of them were wide roads, and the third was more narrow. Peredur inquired where the three roads went. “One of them goes to my palace,” said the youth, “and one of two things I would counsel thee to do; either to proceed to my palace, which is before thee, and where thou wilt find my wife, or else to remain here to see the hounds chasing the roused deer from the wood to the plain. And thou shalt see the best greyhounds thou didst ever behold, and the boldest in the chase, kill the deer by the water beside us; and when it is time to go to meat, my page will come with my horse to meet me, and thou shalt rest in my palace to-night.” “Heaven reward thee, but I cannot tarry, for onward must I go,” said Peredur. “The other road leads to the town, which is near here, and wherein food and liquor may be bought; and the road which is narrower than the others goes toward the cave of the Addanc.” “With thy permission I will go that way.”

And Peredur went toward the cave. He took the stone in his left hand, and his lance in his right. As he went in he perceived the Addanc, and he pierced him through with his lance, and cut off his head. And as he came from the cave, behold there were three young men at the entrance, and they saluted Peredur, and told him that there was a prediction that he should slay that monster. Peredur gave the head to the young men, and they offered him in marriage whichever of their three sisters he might choose, and half their kingdom with her. “I came not hither to woo,” said Peredur, “but if peradventure I took a wife, I should prefer one of your sisters to all others.”

Then they said to him, “What seekst thou, Chieftain?” “I am seeking tidings of the Castle of Wonders.” “Thy enterprise is greater, Chieftain, than thou wilt wish to pursue, nevertheless, thou shalt have tidings of the castle.” Then they said to him, “Go over yonder mountain, and thou wilt find a lake, and in the middle of the lake there is a castle, and that is the castle that is called the Castle of Wonders, and we know not what wonders are therein, but thus it is called.”

Peredur proceeded toward the castle, and the gate of the castle was open. And when he came to the hall, the door was open, and he entered. And he beheld a chess-board in the hall, and the chess-men were playing against each other, by themselves. The side that Peredur favored lost the game, and thereupon the others set up a shout, as though they had been living men. Peredur was wroth, and took the chess-men in his lap, and cast the chess-board into the lake.

When he had done this, behold the maiden came in, and she said to him, “The welcome of Heaven be not unto thee. Thou hadst rather do evil than good.” “What complaint hast thou against me, maiden?” said Peredur. “That thou hast occasioned unto the Empress the loss of her chessboard, which she would not have lost for all her empire. And the way in which thou mayest recover the chess-board is to repair to the Castle of Ysbidinongyl, where is a man, who lays waste the dominions of the Empress, and if thou canst slay him, thou wilt recover the chess-board. But if thou goest there, thou wilt not return alive.” “Wilt thou direct me thither?” said Peredur. “I will show thee the way,” she replied.

So Peredur went to the castle, and he fought with the man who was there, and he overcame him. The man besought mercy of Peredur. “Mercy will I grant thee,” said he, “on condition that thou cause the chess-board to be restored to the place where it was when I entered the hall.” Then Peredur went back to the Castle of Wonders.

Again the maiden came to him, and said, “The malediction of Heaven attend thee for thy work, since thou hast left that monster alive, who lays waste all the possessions of the Empress.” “I granted him his life,” said Peredur, “that he might cause the chess-board to be restored.” “The chessboard is not in the place where thou didst find it; go back, therefore, and slay him.” So Peredur went back, and he fought with the guardian, and he slew him.

And when he returned to the Castle of Wonders, he found the maiden there. “Ah, maiden,” said he, “where is the Empress?” “I declare to Heaven that thou wilt not see her now, unless thou dost slay the monster that is in yonder forest.” “What monster is there?” “It is a stag that is as swift as the swiftest bird; he has one horn on his forehead, as long as the shaft of a spear, and as sharp as whatever is sharpest. He destroys the branches of the best trees in the forest, and he kills every animal that he meets with therein, and those that he doth not slay perish with hunger. And what is worse than that, he comes every night, and drinks up the fish-pond, and leaves the fishes exposed, so that for the most part they die before the water returns again.” “Maiden,” said Peredur, “wilt thou come and show me this animal?” “Not so,” said the maiden, “for he has not permitted any mortal to enter the forest for above a twelvemonth. Behold, here is a little dog belonging to the Empress, which will rouse the stag, and will chase him toward thee.”

Then the little dog went as a guide to Peredur, and roused the stag, and brought him toward the place where Peredur was. The stag attacked Peredur, and he let him pass by him, and as he did so, he smote off his head with his sword. And while he was looking on the head of the stag, he saw a lady on horseback coming toward him. She took the little dog in the lappet of her cape, and the head and the body of the stag lay before her. And around the stag’s neck was a golden collar. “Ha! Chieftain,” said she, “uncourteously hast thou acted in slaying the fairest jewel that was in my dominions.” “I was entreated so to do, and is there any way by which I can obtain thy friendship?” “There is,” she replied. “Go thou forward unto yonder mountain, and there thou wilt find a grove, and in the grove there is a cromlech; do thou there challenge a man three times to fight, and thou shalt have my friendship.”

So Peredur proceeded onward, and came to the side of the grove, and challenged any man to fight. And a man rose from beneath the cromlech, mounted upon a bony horse, and both he and the horse were clad in huge rusty armor. And they fought. As often as Peredur cast the man to the earth, he would jump again into the saddle. And Peredur dismounted, and drew his sword, and thereupon the man disappeared with Peredur’s horse and his own, so that he could not gain sight of him a second time.

Then Peredur went along the mountain, and at the other side of the mountain he beheld a castle in the valley, wherein was a river. He went to the castle, and as he entered it, he saw a hall, and the door of the hall was open, and he went in. He saw a lame, hoary-headed man sitting on one side of the hall. And Peredur beheld his horse, which the man had taken, in the stall. He went and seated himself on one side of the hoary-headed man.

Then, behold, a yellow-haired youth came, and bent upon the knee before Peredur, and besought his friendship. “Lord,” said the youth, “it was I who came in the form of the maiden to Arthur’s Court, and when thou didst throw down the chess-board, and when thou didst slay the guardian of Ysbidinongyl, and when thou didst slay the stag, and when thou didst go to fight the guardian of the cromlech. And I came with the bloody head on the salver, and with the lance that streamed with blood from the point to the hand, all along the shaft; and the head was thy cousin’s, and he was killed by the sorceresses of Gloucester, who also lamed thy uncle, this nobleman. And there is a prediction that thou art to avenge these things.”

As they were being spoken about, the sorceresses came. And Peredur began to fight with them, and one of the sorceresses slew a man before Peredur’s face, and Peredur bade her forbear. And the sorceress slew a man before Peredur’s face a second time, and a second time he forbade her. And the third time the sorceress slew a man before the face of Peredur, and then Peredur drew his sword, and smote the sorceress on the helmet, and all her head-armor was split in two parts. And she set up a cry, and desired the other sorceresses to flee, and told them that this was Peredur, the man who had learnt chivalry with them, and by whom they were destined to be slain. Then Arthur and his household came, and they fell upon the sorceresses, and they slew the sorceresses of Gloucester every one. And thus is it related of Peredur in the Castle of Wonders.