داستان شوالیه

Chapter two

The Knight’s Tale

“My story is about two brothers,” said the Knight. “Their names were Palamon and Arcite, and they were knights. The brothers were from a city called Thebes. They did everything together. They weren’t only brothers, they were also friends. But they were very sad.”

“They were sad because they didn’t live in Thebes any more. They lived in Athens. And they didn’t live in a house; they lived in a prison. They couldn’t leave the prison and they couldn’t speak to anybody. Every morning, they looked out of the prison window. From their window, they could see a beautiful garden.”

One morning, Palamon woke up and then he looked out of the window. But something was different. There was a woman in the garden. Her name was Emily. She was the daughter of the King of Athens.

‘Look’ said Palamon. ‘That woman is beautiful. Oh! I’m in love! Arcite! Come here! Look!’

Arcite went to the window and he saw the woman. ‘Yes, you’re right, She is beautiful,’ he said. ‘One day, I’ll marry her.’

‘I saw her first’ said Palamon. ‘You can’t love her. You must help me!’

‘No’ said Arcite. ‘My love is perfect. You must help me!’

Arcite and Palamon both loved Emily. And they had the same conversation every day. ‘I love her!’ No! You can’t love her!’ was all you could hear; from the small room, their prison.

And then, one day, a friend of Arcite’s visited the King of Athens. He wanted to speak to the king about Arcite. ‘Can he go home’ asked Arcite’s friend. ‘He’s a good man. And I want to see him again.’

‘I’ll do what you ask,’ said the king. ‘Arcite can go home. But he must never come to Athens again. And Palamon must stay in prison.’

Arcite went back to Thebes. But he wasn’t happy. ‘I’m going home,’ thought Arcite. ‘But, I can’t see Emily. Palamon can see her in the garden. It’s better in prison.’

But Palamon was sad as well. ‘Arcite, you can come back to Athens,’ he thought. ‘You can fight the King of Athens, and you can marry Emily. I have to stay in this prison.’

In Thebes, Arcite was very sad; he didn’t sleep, or eat very much. ‘I’ll wait for two years,’ thought Arcite. And then I’ll go to Athens again. Nobody will know me then. I’ll wear different clothes. I’ll change my name. And I’ll find a job. I’ll be a servant in the king’s house. And then I’ll see Emily.’

And that’s why, after two years, Arcite went back to Athens. And soon he was the king’s servant. The king liked Arcite because he was good at his job. One day, Arcite went to the forest near Athens. And he sat near a tree. ‘What can I do’ said Arcite. ‘I’m the king’s servant. I’m near Emily. But she doesn’t know who I am. I want to die!’

Then a man spoke to Arcite. It was Palamon! ‘Hello brother, It’s me’ said Palamon. ‘Stop thinking about Emily! Only I can love her.’

‘Palamon, it’s you’ said Arcite. ‘Why aren’t you in prison?’

‘The king sent me home yesterday. But I’m not going home. I want to find Emily.’

‘Well, I’ll fight you for Emily,’ said Arcite. ‘But not today. We’re knights remember? We must do things in the right way. Tonight, I’ll bring some food. And then tomorrow we’ll fight.’

‘Alright,’ said Palamon. And so the brothers said goodbye. On the next day, they met in the forest. And then they started fighting.

On the same day, the king was also in the forest. He was with Emily. And he saw Palamon and Arcite. ‘Stop’ said the king. ‘What are you doing? Stop now!’

‘Kill us’ said Arcite. ‘Now, I’m your servant. But before that I was in your prison. My name is Arcite. And this is my brother Palamon. We’re fighting because we both love Emily.’

‘Then, you must die’ said the king.

But Emily stopped the king. ‘Please don’t kill them’ she said. ‘They’re fighting for love.’

‘Well,’ said the king. ‘You’re right Emily. But only one of them can marry you. Palamon, Arcite, come back to the forest next summer. Bring a hundred knights. And then you’ll fight for Emily. Now, go!’

Soon it was summer. Palamon and Arcite came back to Athens. They both had a hundred knights. And they were ready to fight the next day.

That night, Palamon had a dream. In his dream a woman said, ‘I can see you. You are marrying Emily.’ On the same night, Arcite also had a dream. In his dream a man said, ‘I can hear you. You are saying, Hooray! Emily will be my wife.’

Which dream was right? Well, now I’ll tell you. In the morning, everybody came to the forest. The knights were ready and they began to fight!

After three hours, Emily was worried. ‘They’re fighting for me! Who’s going to be my husband? When will they stop?’

And then, after many hours, they did stop. Palamon was very tired. ‘Stop’ he said. ‘I can’t fight any more!’

‘Stop fighting’ said the king. ‘Arcite will be Emily’s husband.’

‘Hooray’ said Arcite. ‘I’m very happy. Emily will be my wife. I must go to her and. but then, Arcite stopped speaking. He didn’t feel well.

People came to help Arcite. ‘I’m not well,’ said Arcite. ‘I can’t. I can’t feel anything. I’m dying. This is the end. Goodbye Emily, my love. Goodbye Palamon, my brother.’

And then, Arcite died.

Soon, it was winter. And the king called for Palamon and Emily.

As you know, Arcite died last summer, and it was very sad,’ said the king. ‘Emily, I want you to be happy. Palamon, you must marry Emily. It’s the right thing to do.’

‘Thank you’ said Palamon. Arcite was a good knight. He was my dear brother. But, we had to fight for love. Emily, I know we’ll be happy together. But we’ll never forget my brother. He died for love.’