THE OTHER KNIGHT.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18500, 22 February 1930, Page 12 (Supplement)

THE OTHER KNIGHT.

This is not a story of Sir Lancelot or Sir Percival. Nor is it of Sir Galahad, who was the best knight and much talked-of. It is a tale of the Other Knight, brave and honourable and devoted to his queen, a slayer of dragons and a prince among men. He was as valiant a warrior as ever served a king, this Other Knight, the knight of whom you have never heard, There he sat in a great chair before the fire, looking for all the world like a small boy who has been working arithmetic. You and I are the holders of the secret. We know it is the Other Knight, resting after a hard day of battle.

“Well?” said the King from his place across the table, “Well, Sir Other Knight, what dragons have you slain to-day?” There are those who may tell you that this is the little boy’s father. You know it is the King as well as I do. We are not deceived by appearances. “What dragons have you slain?” He repeated his question. And his voice echoed throughout the great chamber like the voices of many giants speaking in unison.

“I slew one dragon, only one, good King. She was hard to conquer.” “Hard for you!” roared the King. You could tell that he was surprised. “Then she must have been a bad one! Her name, Sir Other Knight? And in

what country was she found?” The Other Knight rose and took a step toward the fire. “She was the Dragon of Fractions, good King,” he replied. “The Dragon of Fractions? The Dragon of Fractions!” “In the Kingdom of Numbers she dwelt, good King, and kept many knights from passing through the land.” “Let’s have the story of the battle,” said the King. “A tale of valiance is always a good thing to sleep on.” So the Other Knight strode to the centre of the room, the better to illustrate his actions. He placed his feet far apart and raised his sword above his head. “First,” he exclaimed, “I cut her in halves (so!), but that did not kill her. Each half proved as much alive as a whole and gave me great trouble. “Then I cut each half into halves again (so! and so!), but each fourth was alive and came at me more furiously than before. “With four more cuts from my valiant sword” (and the Other Knight made great slashes around the room) “I sliced each fourth of that furious dragon into two eighths, which I thought would certainly make them helpless.” “And you were victorious?” urged the King, who had risen from his place by the fire in order to view the battle more closely. “Good King, it seemed as if my troubles had just begun, for each eigth came at me as furiously as if it had been a whole dragon. “ I backed against the castle wall, for it looked as if the eight of them were planning to surround me. “I swung my sword high above my head and brought it down with such force that, with rapid cuts to the right and to the left (here the King had to dodge to keep the sword from hitting his head) I was able to divide each eighth into two helpless sixteenths before it could get within a yard of my body. “And the last eighth to attack*me was the head of the old dragon herself. She came at me with a mighty roar. I put all my strength into the blow that I gave her, and two sixteenths lay trembling before me. “But I was not satisfied. With two more mighty blows I transformed them Into four thirty-seconds. It was then that the life of the dragon went out forever.”

“A hard-fought battle,” said the King, “and I am proud of you!” “You must be weary, dear knight,” said a sweet woman’s voice in the doorway. Is this the little boy’s mother who has come to tell him that it is time to go to bed? You and I know that it is the gracious and beautiful Queen. Her smile is as kind as a mother’s, to be sure, and her voice is as sweet as a song that is sung at bedtime.

The Other Knight dropped to his knees before his queen. He kissed her hand, and she placed it upon his head, saying gently, “Rise, Sir Knight, I am proud to be served by one as brave as you.”

“But, come! The evening is far spent. Give me your heavy armour. There—go to bed, now, and close your eyes until dawn. Tomorrow will bring new struggles and adventures. Even the bravest knight must have his rest.”

So saying, she made sign for the Other Knight to depart. Then she turned to- the King, and her smile was as bright as a thousand sunbeams. “You have a brave knight,” said she. “Pray what is his name?” And the King replied, “That is the Other Knight. He as proved himself to be as brave as the rest.”