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Kirsten went to the post office at lunch today before meeting me in the park, so I read some more of The Once and Future King as I ate. When she arrived I was still absorbed and read something aloud to her:

"Oh, Merlyn," exclaimed the Wart without answering, "please give me something to do, because I feel so miserable. Nobody wants me for anything today, and I just don't know how to be sensible. It rains so."

"You should learn to knit."

To which she evidently replied,

“I think a King ought learn how to knit. Although I imagine it might irk his barons, lords, knights as well as his rivals to know that a Great King excels at something strictly confined to women. There isn’t much room for intriguing ambiguity when you’re battling Saxons and trying to unite a country. Sure, a worldly King should be knowledgeable in all things in order to become truly great but one’s image is a thing to be wary of when you’ve got the possibility of a coup. All over knitting! Really, were people in the Middle Ages so incredibly picky?”

(I didn't hear this at all, as I was still reading as she was talking. She kindly emailed me a transcript of her speech, reproduced above.)

I said, "SHHHHH!" (K: Tavie hasn’t been listening to me at all.) “Something wonderful just happened!”

Kirsten: "What?"

And I read aloud,

"...I wanted to mention that you have been knitting your beard into the night-cap for three rows now."

"Well, I'll be..."

"I should think the best thing would be to cut off the end of your beard. Shall I fetch some scissors?"

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wanted to see what would happen."

"You run a grave risk, my boy," said the magician, "of being turned into a piece of bread, and toasted."

Why are you in Tavie's head? 2:28 PM | shower me with attention