The Knight In Rusty Armor

The Knight in Rusty Armor
Chapter 1 The Knight's Dilemma
...Once a long time ago, in a land far away, there lived a knight who thought of
himself as good, kind, and loving. He did all the things that good, kind and loving
knights do. He fought foes who were bad, mean and hateful. He slew dragons and
rescued fair damsels in distress. When the knight business was slow, he had the
annoyinghabit of rescuing damsels even if they did not want to be rescued, so,
although many ladies were grateful to him, just as many were furious with him. This
he accepted philosophically. After all, one can't please everybody.
....This knight was famous for his armor. It reflected such bright rays of light that
villagers would swear they had seen the sun rise in the north or set in the eastwhen
the knight rode off to battle. And he rode off to battle frequently. At the mere
mention of a crusade, the knight would eagerly don his shining armor, mount his
horse, and ride off in any direction. So eager was he, in fact, that sometimes he
would ride off in several directions at once, which was no easy feat.
....For years this knight strove to be the number one knight in all thekingdom. There
was always another battle to be won, dragon to be slain, or damsel to be rescued.
....The knight had a faithful and somewhat tolerant wife, Juliet, who wrote beautiful
poetry, said clever things, and had a penchant for wine. He also had a young,
golden-haired son, Christopher, who he hoped would grow up to be a courageous
knight.
....Juliet and Christopher saw little ofthe knight, because when not fighting battles,
slaying dragons, and rescuing damsels, he was occupied with trying on his armor
and admiring its brilliance. As time went on, the knight became so enamored of his
armor that he began wearing it to dinner and often to bed. After a time, he didn't
bother to take it off at all. Gradually his family forgot how he looked without it.....Occasionally, Christopher would ask his mother what his father looked like.
When this happened, Juliet would lead the boy to the fireplace and point above it to
a portait of the knight. "There's your father," she would sigh.
....One afternoon, while contemplating the portait, Christopher said to his mother, "I
wish I could see Father in person."
...."You can't have everything!" snapped Juliet. Shewas growing impatient with
having only a painting to remind her of her husband's face, and she was tired from
having her sleep distrubed by the clanking of armor.
...When he was at home and not completely preoccupied with his armor, the knight
usually delivered monologues on his exploits. Juliet and Christopher were seldom
able to get a word in edgewise. When they did, the knight shutit out either by
closing his visor or by abruptly going to sleep.
....One day, Juliet confronted her husband. "I think you love your armor more than
you love me."
...."That's not true," answered the knight. "Didn't I love you enough to rescue you
from that dragon and set you up in this classy castle with wall-to-wall stones?"
...."What you loved," said Juliet, peering through his visorso that she could see his
eyes, "was the idea of rescuing me. You didn't really love me then, and you don't
really love me now."
...."I do love you," insisted the knight, hugging her clumsily in his cold, stiff armor
and nearly breaking her ribs.
...."Then take off that armor so that I can see who you really are!" she demanded.
...."I can't take it off. I have to be ready to mount myhorse and ride off in any
direction," explained the knight. ...."If you don't take off that armor, I'm taking Christopher, getting on my horse, and
riding out of your life."
....Well, this was a real blow to the knight. He didn't want Juliet to leave. He loved
his wife and his son and his classy castle, but he also loved his armor because it
showed everyone who he was - a good, kind,...