In a moment you are across the bridge and galloping over the countryside, feeling a good deal smarter than the King and his knights. When you pass some shepherds and wave, they wave back.

You stop to rest at the cottage of a friendly goatherd, who feeds you a good dinner. “Do not fear the King,” he says. “He is a fool who sits and drinks grog all day. His only concern is deciding who to put in the tower. His own knights laugh at him, and he is more likely to fall from his throne than you from your horse. Be off now and on to Merrie England, for great things await you there. God speed and good fortune!”

Your energies are renewed by good food and drink, and your horse too is ready to ride. You thank your host warmly and ride off to new adventures and a new life-almost a thousand years before you are born.