cane in the air. âIâve got âdragon,â I tell you!ââ
âPooh, Roger,â said Sir Poodleduff. âYou cheated!â
âI never cheat!â cried Sir Roger. âExcept in emergencies.â
âPor favor!â said Donn. âPlease! No fighting!â
Sir Roger read back the letters and numbers on his card.
âBueno!â cried Donn when he finished. âYou win, Sir Roger!â
âAll right!â said Sir Roger. âWhatâs the prize?â
âAn autographed drawing of Sir Lancelot!â said Donn, handing it to him.
âZounds!â cried Erica. âI wish I had won that!â
But Sir Roger rolled his eyes as he took it. âSome prize,â he muttered. âA picture of a has-been.â
Erica gasped. âSir Lancelot? A has-been?â She turned to Wiglaf. âWhat can he mean?â
Wiglaf only shrugged.
âAnd look!â cried Sir Roger. âItâs not a real autograph. Even I can see that! Lancelotâs name has been rubber-stamped on the drawing. Fie!â He thrust it at Sir Poodleduff. âHere, you take it.â
âI donât want it!â cried Sir Poodleduff.
âPor favor!â cried Donn. âStop fighting!â
âYes, stop!â cried Erica. She stepped forward. âSir Lancelot is a perfect knight. He is my hero.â
âHe was a hero once,â said Sir Roger.
âBut not anymore,â said Sir Poodleduff.
âOf course he is!â cried Erica. âGet your ear horns ready, aged knights. You shall hear the poem I have written about Sir Lancelot.â Her words rang out:
âMany knights are good knights,
Though some few knights are not,
But one knight shines above the rest,
Neâer will he be forgot.â
As Erica recited, Wiglaf noticed the plump knightâs cheeks growing red.
âFor this knight is the bravest knight
In all of Camelot,
The one, the only perfect knight,
The good Sir Lancelot.â
âPooh!â called Sir Poodleduff.
âHear this poem,â called Sir Roger.
âHe eats a lot, Sir Lancelot!
And then he splits his pants a lot!â
All the aged knights roared with laughter.
Wiglaf saw that the plump knight was slouching way down in his chair. He looked as if he were trying to hide. Now Wiglaf was sure he had seen this knight before.
âFine!â Erica shouted over the jeering. Her face was red. She looked angry. âI shall stop. But âtis true. Sir Lancelot is a perfect knight.â
A smile crept onto the dark-haired knightâs face.
Wiglaf gave a sudden gasp. He grabbed Ericaâs arm.
âThat chubby knight,â he whispered. âHe looks like Sir Lancelot!â
Chapter 2
Erica stared at the chubby knight.
âYouâre right, Wiggie,â she said at last. âYet Sir Lancelot never wrote a word in his autobiography, A Knight Like I, about any overweight relative.â
Donn tooted on a silver whistle. âBueno, señores!â he called. âSnack time!â
Angus perked up. âThink we get a snack, too?â
Waiters began bringing in silver bowls of salted nuts and goblets of juice.
The chubby knight waved the waiters over. âBowl of nutsâright here!â
While the snack was being served, Erica rushed over to the chubby knight. Wiglaf and the others were right behind her.
âSir!â Erica said. âI have had the honor of meeting Sir Lancelot in person. And, except for an extra fifty pounds, you look very like him. Are you perhaps his cousin?â
âNay,â said the knight, his chubby cheeks reddening. âI am Lancelot.â
Ericaâs mouth dropped open. âYOU are my hero, Sir Lancelot of the Lake?â
The knight raised his silver juice goblet and gazed at his reflection. âYes, I am Lancelot,â he said. âBut my hero days are over.â
âOh, sir! What happened? Tell us, please.â
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes