The king, angry at being thus called upon to answer for his conduct to a mere subject, viewed the Cid with great dislike, and only awaited a suitable occasion to take his revenge.  During a war with the Moors he made use of a trifling pretext to banish him, allowing him only nine days to prepare for departure.  The Cid accepted this cruel decree with dignity, hoping that the time would never come when the king would regret his absence, and his country need his right arm.

    “’I obey, O King Alfonso,
      Guilty though in naught I be,
    For it doth behoove a vassal
      To obey his lord’s decree;
    Prompter far am I to serve thee
      Than thou art to guerdon me.

“’I do pray our Holy Lady
Her protection to afford,
That thou never mayst in battle
Need the Cid’s right arm and sword.’”
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart’s tr.).

Amid the weeping people of Burgos, who dared not offer him help and shelter lest they should incur the king’s wrath, lose all their property, and even forfeit their eyesight, the Cid slowly rode away, and camped without the city to make his final arrangements.  Here a devoted follower supplied him with the necessary food, remarking that he cared “not a fig” for Alfonso’s prohibitions, which is probably the first written record of the use of this now popular expression.

[Sidenote:  The Cid in exile.] To obtain the necessary money the Cid pledged two locked coffers full of sand to the Jews.  They, thinking that the boxes contained vast treasures, or relying upon the Cid’s promise to release them for a stipulated sum, advanced him six hundred marks of gold.  The Cid then took leave of his beloved wife Ximena, and of his two infant daughters, whom he intrusted to the care of a worthy ecclesiastic, and, followed by three hundred men, he rode slowly away from his native land, vowing that he would yet return, covered with glory, and bringing great spoil.

“’Comrades, should it please high Heaven
That we see Castile once more,—­
Though we now go forth as outcasts,
Sad, dishonor’d, homeless, poor,—­
We’ll return with glory laden
And the spellings of the Moor.’”
Ancient Spanish Ballads (Lockhart’s tr.).

Such success attended the little band of exiles that within the next three weeks they won two strongholds from the Moors, and much spoil, among which was the sword Colada, which was second only to Tizona.  From the spoil the Cid selected a truly regal present, which he sent to Alfonso, who in return granted a general pardon to the Cid’s followers, and published an edict allowing all who wished to fight against the Moors to join him.  A few more victories and another present so entirely dispelled Alfonso’s displeasure that he restored the Cid to favor, and, moreover, promised that thereafter thirty days should be allowed to every exile to prepare for his departure.

When Alimaymon, King of Toledo, died, leaving Toledo in the hands of his grandson Yahia, who was generally disliked, Alfonso thought the time propitious for carrying out his long-cherished scheme of taking the city.  Thanks to the valor of the Cid and the destruction of all the crops, the siege of the city progressed favorably, and it finally fell into the hands of the Christian king.