Chapter 1: How King Arthur Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot ride to Scotland for adventure. captureth the Stone of Scone and how Sir Gawain tries to eateth it with butter and jam, thereby becoming ill.
Twelvemonth after his marriage to Queen Guenever, King Arthur, sore for adventure, setteth out with his most worthy friend Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain. Spake Arthur, "Let us ride into Scotland. The Picts are there and are always causing trouble. Surely, we will find adventure there." They rode north, until they came to a rushing river, with a narrow bridge guarded by four damosels. "None shall pass," they sang. "We can take them," said Sir Gawain. The damosels were the four most beautiful women in the land, save Queen Guinevere, but Sir Gawain didn't care. He charged them with his spear, and ran one of them through, and pushed another into the river, in which she drowned. The other two turned into dragons and began to spit fire at Gawain, so Gawain turned around and said to King Arthur and Lancelot, "Forget this. Let's go another way." So they rode north into a deep forest.
Soon, the knights grew fatigued, and seeing no lodging nearby, sat down under a large tree and fell asleep. When Lancelot awoke, his arms were covered with a red, splotchy rash, which he began to scratch furiously. Soon after, Gawain and Arthur awoke, also covered in a rash. They all scratched until they bled profusely. Then Arthur, weak from loss of blood, said, "We must find help. Surely, there is a hermit in this wood that can heal us of our affliction." Suddenly, a damosel in a dress of woven leaves appeared to them. She said, "I can take you to the healing you seek." She waved her arm over them and they disappeared.