Free Sword of the Silver Knight by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

beautiful,” Violet whispered.
    Princess Annabel placed her hand upon her father’s outstretched arm. She gazed slowly about the arena, a proud smile on her face. Then she and her father sat down side by side upon their thrones.
    “Today the knights of the kingdom will compete for Princess Annabel’s hand in marriage,” the master of ceremonies continued. “Let the games begin!”
    “Doesn’t she get to choose who she wants to marry?” asked Jessie.
    “I guess not,” said Henry.
    “I’m glad that’s not how women find husbands now!” Jessie exclaimed.
    Once again there was the sound of trumpets. The knights rode back into the ring. They competed in several different contests including throwing a pointed javelin at a target and using their long wooden lances to pierce metal rings or hit targets. The knights rode quickly and confidently, and the Aldens were amazed at their skill.
    “This is really exciting,” Jessie whispered.
    During the javelin throw, the Green Knight missed the target completely. “I’m sorry, but we must remove the Green Knight from our competition,” the master of ceremonies announced. The Green Knight bowed to the king and princess, who nodded their heads at him. Then he rode around the ring waving. The Aldens cheered as he went by.
    The contests continued, and one by one the knights were removed—the Purple Knight, the Red Knight, and finally, the Yellow Knight.
    In the end, only the Blue Knight and the Silver Knight were left. As the music grew quiet, the two knights retreated on horseback to opposite ends of the ring.
    “Now we begin our final and most dangerous competition,” the master of ceremonies announced. “It is now time for the joust.”
    The two knights on horseback turned to face each other. Each held his lance outstretched in front of him as the two raced straight toward each other.
    The Aldens held their breath as the knights came closer and closer.
    When they met in the center of the ring, there was a loud crash as the Silver Knight’s pole hit the Blue Knight’s shield. The Blue Knight lost his balance and fell to the ground.
    “The Silver Knight won!” Benny cried excitedly.
    But the contest was not over. As his own horse ran off, the Blue Knight reached up and pulled the Silver Knight from his horse. The two knights both grabbed for their swords and began to duel.
    “Oh, my goodness!” cried Violet. “I’m afraid someone will get hurt.”
    “Don’t worry,” Hannah whispered. “The fights aren’t real. The swords aren’t sharp. The knights figured out all the moves in advance—like a dance. They know exactly what they’re doing so no one will get hurt.”
    But the duel looked so real the children couldn’t help gasping or cheering at every move the knights made.
    The Blue Knight was a fierce fighter, but the Silver Knight managed to avoid his blade again and again. At last the Blue Knight pushed the Silver Knight down to the ground and stood over him. Now it looked as if the Blue Knight had won.
    But suddenly the Silver Knight rolled to the side and jumped to his feet.
    The two men began fighting again, when suddenly the Silver Knight’s sword snapped. The two knights stood stunned, looking at the broken piece of sword lying in the dirt beside them. They seemed unsure what to do next.
    The Aldens looked at one another, wondering what was going on. Until now, everything in the show had run so smoothly.
    “Oh, no,” Hannah said in alarm. “That wasn’t supposed to happen!”

CHAPTER 2
The Winner
    For a moment the two knights stood there uncertainly. But the pause did not last long. The Blue Knight dropped his sword, as if by accident. The Silver Knight dashed over to pick it up. He held the sword out boldly in front of him. The Blue Knight removed his helmet and knelt down, defeated. Then he walked out of the ring.
    “We have a winner,” announced the master of ceremonies. “It is the Silver Knight!”
    “Hooray!” cried the Aldens.
    The