The Once and Future King

King Pellinore, now in the company of Morgause, is lovesick for the daughter of the king of Flanders, whom he meets while pursuing the Questing Beast. He, Grummore, and Palomides board a magic barge that bears Pellinore far from his love. Morgause tries to distract Pellinore from his loss by engaging him in a quest for a unicorn. Meanwhile, Morgause’s boys visit St. Toirdealbhach, who has become their mentor and teacher. He tells them a story of a young girl whose mother is a witch. She learns magic, but her father, despairing of having a “piseog” (evil spirit) in the house, leaves them. The boys then decide to capture a unicorn to win their mother’s favor. St. Toirdealbhach tells them they need a virgin as bait, so Gawaine fetches Meg, one of their kitchen maids, and forces her to accompany them to the forest. They tie her to a tree and wait for the unicorn, determined to capture it alive. It comes and lays its head in Meg’s lap, but Agravaine kills it instead. Meg flees, and the boys decide to butcher the beast. They make a mess of the process, and in their guilt and shame, they cut the head off.