Now when Queen Morgana le Fay was aware that the knight who was asleep there was Sir Launcelot, it immediately entered her mind for to lay some powerful, malignant enchantment upon him to despite King Arthur.  For she too knew how dear Sir Launcelot was to King Arthur, and so she had a mind to do him mischief for King Arthur’s sake.  So she went softly to where Sir Launcelot lay with intent to work some such spell upon him.  But when she had come to Sir Launcelot she was aware that this purpose of mischief was not possible whilst he wore that ring upon his finger which the Lady of the Lake had given him; wherefore she had to put by her evil design for a while.

[Sidenote:  Queen Morgana le Fay sets a mild enchantment upon Sir Launcelot] But though she was unable to work any malign spell upon him, she was able to cause it by her magic that that sleep in which he lay should remain unbroken for three or four hours.  So she made certain movements of her hands above his face and by that means she wove the threads of his slumber so closely together that he could not break through them to awake.

After she had done this she called to her several of the esquires who were of her party, and these at her command fetched the shield of Sir Launcelot and laid him upon it.  Then they lifted him and bore him away, carrying him in that manner to a certain castle in the forest that was no great distance away.  And the name of that castle was Chateaubras and it was one of Queen Morgana’s castles.

[Sidenote:  Sir Launcelot awakens in a fair chamber] And all that while Sir Launcelot wist nothing, but lay in a profound sleep, so that when he awoke and looked about him he was so greatly astonished that he knew not whether he was in a vision or whether he was awake.  For whilst he had gone asleep beneath that apple-tree, here he now lay in a fair chamber upon a couch spread with a coverlet of flame-colored linen.

Then he perceived that it was a very fair room in which he lay, for it was hung all about with tapestry hangings representing fair ladies at court and knights at battle.  And there were woven carpets upon the floor, and the couch whereon he lay was of carved wood, richly gilt.  There were two windows to that chamber, and when he looked forth he perceived that the chamber where he was was very high from the ground, being built so loftily upon the rugged rocks at its foot that the forest lay far away beneath him like a sea of green.  And he perceived that there was but one door to this chamber and that the door was bound with iron and studded with great bosses of wrought iron, and when he tried that door he found that it was locked.

So Sir Launcelot was aware from these things that he was a prisoner—­though not a prisoner in a hard case—­and he wist not how he had come thither nor what had happened to him.