Yet Percival marvelled many times whence those things came, but
no one told him and so he lived in entire ignorance of the world.
And Percival's mother would not let him touch any weapon saving only a
small Scot's spear which same is a sort of javelin. But with this Percival
played every day of his life until he grew so cunning in handling it that
he could pierce with it a bird upon the wing in the air.
Now it chanced upon a time when Percival was nineteen years of age that he
stood upon a pinnacle of rock and looked down into a certain valley. And it
was very early in the spring-time, so that the valley appeared, as it were,
to be carpeted all with clear, thin green. There was a shining stream of
water that ran down through the midst of the valley, and it was a very fair
and peaceful place to behold.
[Sidenote: Percival beholds a knight-rider] So Percival stood and gazed
into that low-land, and lo! a knight rode up through that valley, and the
sun shone out from behind a cloud of rain and smote upon his armor so that
it appeared to be all ablaze as with pure light, and Percival beheld that
knight and wist not what it was he saw.
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