Story

The Knight in Rusty Armor
....This is a lighthearted tale of a desperate knight in search of his true self. His journey reflects our own - filled with hope and despair, belief and disillusionment, laughter and tears. ....Anyone who has ever struggled with the meaning of life and love will discover profound wisdom and truth as this delightful fantasy unfolds. ....The Knight is an experience thatwill expand your mind, touch your heart, and nourish your soul. ....The first chapter sets up the story, and from there, it's hard to stop reading this short story.

Contents

Chapters

Page

1 The Knight’s Dilemma 2 In Merlin’s Woods 3 The Path of Truth 4 The Castle of Silence 5 The Castle of Knowledge 6 The Castle of Will and Daring 7 The Summit of Truth

5 10 16 21 27 35 37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 annoying habit of rescuing damsels even ifthey 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 east when the knight rode off to battle. And herode 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 the kingdom. 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 of the 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 thishappened, 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. She was growing impatient with having only a painting to remind her of her husband'sface, 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 shut it out either by closing his visor or by abruptly going to sleep. ....One day, Juliet confrontedher 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 visor so that she could see his eyes, "was the idea of rescuing me. You didn't really love me then, and you...