The wounded knight, who was carrying a shattered shield, protested, "My lord, for God's sake, have mercy on yourself! The panther will be here soon. According to my reckoning, it cannot be more than a league and a half away. That swift and powerful beast will arrive here very soon, since it is hunting for some animal to eat. And you must believe me that, if it sees us, it will treat us the same way it treats any other animal! You must realize that only their fear of the panther has made these animals, who could have already killed you, ignore us. In fact, none of us would have escaped being eaten by them! We should really give thanks and pray to our gracious Lord now! So let us get out of the panther's way and go hide somewhere where it cannot see us!"

As he finished speaking, the lions passed close by, and Lancelot yelled at them. But not even one of them turned to look at him. They were so terrified by the panther that they had no interest in defending their honor. Indeed, it seems that their fear of the beast was greater than any they might have felt had they been challenged by a thousand iron-clad knights.

Marvels of Rigomer