Meantime, Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon, with their respective attendants, pursued the distressed damsel, riding through thick and thin until they came to cross-roads.  Not knowing which path the fugitive had chosen, our heroes decided to part and ride along separate ways.  Thus, it was Prince Arthur who first caught a glimpse of the fugitive, who still kept glancing backward as if afraid; but, although he spurred on as fast as possible, he was not able to overtake her, and had to pause at nightfall to rest.  On resuming his quest on the morrow, he soon encountered a dwarf, who reported he was the servant of Lady Florimell, who had fled from court five days ago on hearing a rumor that her lover, Marinell, was slain.  The poor damsel, while in quest of her lover, had been seen and pursued by an ill-favored forester, and the dwarf feared some harm might have befallen her.  To comfort this faithful henchman, Prince Arthur promised to go with him and rescue the unhappy damsel.

Meantime, undaunted by darkness, Florimell had ridden on until her weary steed paused before a hut deep in the woods.  There she dismounted and humbly begged the old witch who lived there to give her some food.  Moved by the distress of the stranger, the sorceress bade her dry her garments at her fire, and while the lady was sitting there the witch’s son, a lazy worthless fellow, suddenly entered.  To see Florimell was to love her, so the uncouth rustic immediately began to court her with fruits and flowers which he sought in the forest.  Fearing lest he should molest her finally, Florimell escaped from the hut on her palfrey, which she found in the witch’s stable.

On awakening on the morrow to find their fair visitor gone, the witch and her son were in such despair that they let loose a wild beast, which they owned, bidding him track the missing girl.  Before long, therefore, poor Florimell heard this monster crashing through the forest.  Terrified at the thought of falling into its power, she urged her steed toward the sea-shore, in hopes of finding a boat and getting away.  On reaching the water, she sprang off her steed, and, seeing a little skiff near by, stepped into it and pushed off, without securing the permission of the fisherman, who was sleeping at the bottom of the boat while his nets were drying on the sand.

Barely were they out of reach when the beast rushed down to the shore, pounced upon Florimell’s horse and devoured it.  The monster was still occupied thus when Sir Satyrane came riding along.  He rashly concluded the beast had devoured the rider too, a fear confirmed by the sight of Florimell’s girdle on the sand.  Attacking the monster, Sir Satyrane overcame and bound him fast with the girdle, but he hadn’t gone far, leading this reluctant captive, when he spied a giantess bearing off an armed squire.  In his haste to overtake her and rescue a fellow-man, Sir Satyrane spurred forward so hastily that the girdle slipped off the neck of the beast, which, finding itself free, plunged back into the forest.  To attack the giantess, free her captive, and restore him to his senses proved short work for Sir Satyrane, who learned that the youth he had delivered was known as the Squire of Dames, because he constantly rode through the forest freeing damsels in distress.