The axe will belong to whoever accepts this deal. King Arthur is prepared to accept the challenge when it appears no other knight will dare, but Sir Gawain, youngest of Arthur's knights and his nephew, asks for the honour instead. The giant bends and bares his neck before him and Gawain neatly beheads him in one stroke. However, the Green Knight neither falls nor falters, but instead reaches out, picks up his severed head, and mounts his horse. The Green Knight shows his bleeding head to Queen Guinevere, while it reminds Gawain that the two must meet again at the Green Chapel in a year and a day, before the knight rides away. Gawain and Arthur admire the axe, hang it up as a trophy, and encourage Guinevere to treat the whole matter lightly. As the date approaches, Sir Gawain leaves to find the Green Chapel and keep his part of the bargain. Many adventures and battles are alluded to but not described, until Gawain comes across a splendid castle, where he meets the lord of the castle and his beautiful wife, who are pleased to have such a renowned guest. Also present is an old and ugly lady, unnamed but treated with great honour by all. Gawain tells them of his New Year's appointment at the Green Chapel, and that he has only a few days remaining. The lord laughs, explaining that there is a path that will take him to the chapel less than two miles away, and proposes that Gawain rest at the castle until then. Relieved and grateful, Gawain agrees. The lord proposes a bargain to Gawain: he goes hunting every day, and he will give Gawain whatever he catches, on the condition that Gawain give him whatever he may gain during the day; Gawain accepts. After he leaves, his wife visits Gawain's bedroom and behaves seductively, but despite her best efforts he allows her nothing but a single kiss. When the lord returns and gives Gawain the deer he has killed, Gawain gives a kiss to him without divulging its source. The next day the lady returns to Gawain, who again courteously foils her advances, and later that day there is a similar exchange of a hunted boar for two kisses. She comes once more on the third morning, but once her advances are denied, she offers Gawain a gold ring as a keepsake. He