They let the boy lie this way until midnight, when it would be dark
enough for Grim to drown Havelok in the sea. Leve was just bringing
Grim some clothes that he might put on to go out and drown the King's
son, when they saw a light shining about the child.
"What is this light?" cried Dame Leve. "Rise up, Grim."
In haste the fisherman rose and they went over to the child, about
whose head shone a clear light, from whose mouth came rays of light
like sunbeams. It was as if many candles were burning in that tiny
fisherman's hut. They unbound the boy and they found on his right
shoulder a king's mark, bright and fair like the lights.
They were overcome by what Godard had done and had almost led them to
do. They fell upon their knees before the little boy and promised to
feed and clothe him. And so they did, and they were very good to him
and kept him from all harm. But Grim and his wife became frightened,
for fear that Godard would discover that they had not drowned the
child and would hang them. Thereupon Grim sold all that he had, sheep,
cow, horse, pigs, goat, geese, hens--everything, in short, that was
his. Taking his money, he put his wife, his three little sons, and two
pretty little girls and Havelok into his fishing-boat and they set sail
for England.
[Illustration: HENRY III. SAILING HOME FROM GASCONY,
1243 Drawn by Matthew Paris _MS. Roy. 14 C. vii_]
The north wind blew and drove them down upon the coast of England near
the river Humber, and there Grim landed, and the place is called
Grimsby to this day. Then Grim set himself to his old occupation of
fishing, and he caught sturgeon, whale, turbot, salmon, seal, porpoise,
mackerel, flounder, plaice, and thornback. And he and his sons carried
the fish about in baskets and sold them.
Yet while Grim fed his family well, Havelok lay at home and did naught.
And when Havelok stopped to think about that, he was ashamed, for he
was a fine, strong boy.
"Work is no shame," said the King's son to himself.
And the next day he carried to market as much fish as four men could.
And every bit of fish did he sell and brought back the money, keeping
not a farthing for himself. Alas! there came a famine about this time,
and Grim had great fear on Havelok's account lest the boy starve.
"Havelok," said Grim, "our meat is long since gone. For myself it does
not matter, but I fear for thee. Thou knowest how to get to Lincoln,
and there they will give thee a chance to earn thy food. Since thou art
naked, I will make thee a coat from my sail."
This he did, and with the coat on and barefoot the King's son found his
way to Lincoln. For two days the lad had no food. On the third day he
heard some one crying, "Bearing-men, bearing-men, come here!" Havelok
leaped forward to the Earl's cook and bore the food to the castle.
Another time he lifted a whole cart-load of fish and bore it to the
castle.
The cook looked him over and said: "Wilt thou work for me? I will feed
thee gladly."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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