"Thou man which shall enter into this ship, beware thou be in steadfast belief, for I am faith, and therefore beware how thou enterest, for and thou fail I shall not help thee." Then said the gentlewoman, "Percival, wot ye what I am?" "Certainly," said he, "not to my witting." "Wit ye well," said she, "I am thy sister, that am daughter of King Pellinore, and therefore wit ye well that ye are the man in the world that I most love; and if ye be not in perfect belief, enter not in no manner of wise, for then should ye perish in the ship, for it is so perfect it will suffer no sin in it." And when Sir Percival knew that she was his sister, he was inwardly glad, and said, "Fair sister, I shall enter therein, for if I be a miss-creature or an untrue knight, there shall I perish." In the meanwhile Sir Galahad blessed him, and entered therein, and then next the gentlewoman, and then Sir Bors and Sir Percival. And when they were therein, they found it so marvellous fair and rich, that they had great marvel thereof. And in the midst of the ship was a fair bed, and Sir Galahad went thereto, and found there a crown of silk, and at the feet was a sword rich and fair, and it was drawn out of the sheath half a foot and more, and the sword was of divers fashions, and the pommel was of stone, and there was in him all manner of colors that any man might find, and every each of the colors had divers virtues, and the scales of the haft were of two ribs of divers beasts. The one beast was a serpent, which was conversant in Calidone, and is called the serpent of the fiend. And the bone of him is of such a virtue, that there is no hand that handleth him shall never be weary nor hurt. And the other beast is a fish which is not right great, and haunteth the flood of Eufrates; and that fish is called Ertanax, and his bones be of such a manner of kind, that who that handleth them shall have so much will that he shall never be weary, and he shall not think on joy nor sorrow that he hath had, but only that thing that he beholdeth before him. And as for this sword there shall never man begripe it at the handle but one, but he shall pass all other. "In the name of God," said Sir Percival, "I shall essay to handle it." So he set his hand to the sword, but he might not begripe it. "By my faith," said he, "now have I failed." Sir Bors set his hand thereto and failed. Then Sir Galahad beheld the sword, and saw the letters like blood, that said, "Let see who shall assay to draw me out of my sheath, but if he be more hardier than other, and who that draweth me, wit ye well that he shall never fail of shame of his body, or to be wounded to the death." "By my faith," said Galahad, "I would draw this sword out of the sheath, but the offending is so great that I shall not set my hand thereto."