That was the morning he found Merlin. The knight recognized the magician at once. He was sitting under a tree, clothed in a long white robe. Animals of the forest were gathered around him, and birds were perched on his shoulders and arms.
....The knight shook his head glumly from side to side, his armor squeaking as he did. How could all these animals find Merlin so easily when it was so hard for me?
....Wearily, the knight climbed down from his horse. "I've been looking for you," he said to the magician. "I've been lost for months."
...."All your life," corrected Merlin, biting off a piece of carrot and sharing it with the nearest rabbit.
....The knight stiffened. "I didn't come all this way to be insulted."
...."Perhaps you have always taken the truth to be an insult," said Merlin, sharing the carrot with some of the other animals.
....The knight didn't much like this remark either, but he was too weak from hunger and thirst to climb back on his horse and ride away. Instead, he dropped his metal-encased body onto the grass. Merlin looked at him compassionately. "You are most fortunate," he commented. "You are too weak to run."
...."What does that mean?" snapped the knight.
....Merlin smiled in reply. "A person cannot run and also learn. He must stay in one place for a while."
...."I'm going to stay only long enough to learn how to get out of this armor," said the knight.
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