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 Oracle Certification Prep

Study Guide for

1Z0-071: Oracle Database 12c SQL
Study Guide for Oracle Database 12c SQL (Exam 1Z0-071) Rev 0.9

Copyright @ 2016 by Matthew Morris. All rights reserved. Except as

permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a
database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the
Author.

www.odbpress.com

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.

Information has been obtained by the Author from sources believed to be reliable.
However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by the sources, Author,
or others, Author does not guarantee to the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any
information included in this work and is not responsible for any error or omissions or the
results obtained from the use of such information.

Oracle Corporation does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy,
adequacy, or completeness of any information included in this work and is not responsible
for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.
 Contents
Contents
What to expect from the test
What to Expect from this Study Guide
Additional Study Resources
Practice Questions
Oracle and Structured Query Language (SQL)
Identify the connection between an ERD and a Relational Database
Explain the relationship between a database and SQL
Describe the purpose of DDL
Describe the purpose of DML
Build a SELECT statement to retrieve data from an Oracle Database table
Restricting and Sorting Data
Use the ORDER BY clause to sort SQL query results
Limit the rows that are retrieved by a query
Use ampersand substitution to restrict and sort output at runtime
Use SQL row limiting clause
Using Single-Row Functions to Customize Output
Use various types of functions available in SQL
Use character, number, date and analytical functions in SELECT statements
Using Conversion Functions and Conditional Expressions
Describe various types of conversion functions that are available in SQL
Use the TO_CHAR, TO_NUMBER, and TO_DATE conversion functions
Apply general functions and conditional expressions in a SELECT
statement
Reporting Aggregated Data Using the Group Functions
Describe the use of group functions
Group data by using the GROUP BY clause
Include or exclude grouped rows by using the HAVING clause
Displaying Data from Multiple Tables
Describe the different types of joins and their features
Use SELECT statements to access data from more than one table using
equijoins and nonequijoins
Join a table to itself by using a self-join
View data that generally does not meet a join condition by using outer joins
Using Subqueries to Solve Queries
Define subqueries
Describe the types of problems subqueries can solve
Describe the types of subqueries
Query data using correlated subqueries
Update and delete rows using correlated subqueries
Use the EXISTS and NOT EXISTS operators
Use the WITH clause
Use single-row and multiple-row subqueries
Using the Set Operators
Describe set operators
Use a set operator to combine multiple queries into a single query
Control the order of rows returned
Manipulating Data
Truncate data
Insert rows into a table
Update rows in a table
Delete rows from a table
Control transactions
Using DDL Statements to Create and Manage Tables
Describe data types that are available for columns
Create a simple table
Create constraints for tables
Drop columns and set column UNUSED
 Create and use external tables
Managing Objects with Data Dictionary Views
Query various data dictionary views
Controlling User Access
Differentiate system privileges from object privileges
Grant privileges on tables and on a user
Distinguish between privileges and roles
Managing Schema Objects
Describe how schema objects work
Create simple and complex views with visible/invisible columns
Create, maintain and use sequences
Create and maintain indexes including invisible indexes and multiple
indexes on the same columns
Perform flashback operations
Manipulating Large Data Sets
Describe the features of multitable INSERTs
Merge rows in a table
What to expect from the test
The test consists of 73 multiple choice or multiple answer questions and a
duration of 100 minutes. The passing score listed on Oracle Education at this
time is 63%, but as with all Oracle certification tests, they note it is subject to
change. With only 82 seconds per question (as opposed to 96 seconds per
question on both 1Z0-047 and 1Z0-061), you will need to be very careful of
your time when taking this exam.
A significant percentage of the questions will involve recognizing whether or
not a given SQL statement will execute without error. You’ll be asked to
identify the SQL statement or statements that perform a given task. Generally
some of the alternatives contain errors, and you’ll need to be able to
recognize this.
To do well on the test you have to have a good grasp of SQL syntax rules.
You’ll also need to be able to utilize some common SQL functions, recognize
the result of basic DDL operations, and know some of the facts regarding
how SQL statements and functions are executed. Not all of the exhibits in the
test are really crucial to answering the question being asked. You should read
the question being asked before viewing the exhibit. If nothing else, reading
the question first will provide you with information on what to look for in the
exhibit, and it may allow you to skip viewing it entirely, giving you more
time for other questions. Be sure to look at all of the answers before selecting
what you think is the correct one. In some cases, more than one answer could
be considered ‘correct’, but one of the two is a better answer. Also, it’s
valuable to look through the questions that contain SQL statements to find
those with errors. Once you have eliminated those with obvious errors, you
can concentrate on the remaining options to find the best solution.
Database administrators and developers tend to use SQL on a daily basis. If
you do not currently know SQL well, this is not an area to skimp on. An
Oracle professional with poor SQL skills will have serious and continuing
problems fulfilling the job requirements of a DBA or developer. While you
are preparing for this exam, take the time to really read up on the subject and
practice writing SQL. This is knowledge that you will use. It is worth
spending the time to learn as much as possible.
What to Expect from this Study Guide
This document is built around the subject matter topics that Oracle Education
has indicated will be tested. This book contains material from several Oracle
documentation sources along with results from numerous SQL queries
similar to what you’ll see on the test. The guide covers a significant
percentage of the information and operations that you must be familiar with
in order to pass the exam.
What this guide is intended to do is to present the information that will be
covered on the exam at the level it will likely be asked. The guide assumes
that you have at least a rudimentary knowledge of SQL. While the guide
works from basic principles of SQL, no book in and of itself is a substitute
for hands-on experience. You need to have spent time writing queries,
running them, and seeing the results before scheduling this exam. Since
Oracle has made the Oracle XE version of its database free to download and
use, there is no reason why anyone who wants to learn to use Oracle cannot
get hands-on experience. XE will run under either Windows or Linux and
most PCs and laptops built in the past several years will have ample resources
to support an XE database instance. Note that there is not currently a 12c
version of XE, so you will not be able to practice features added in 12c such
as the row limiting clause.
If much of the information presented in this guide is completely new to you --
then you need to supplement it with other sources of study materials to build
a firm foundation of Oracle SQL knowledge. If you have a reasonable
grounding in the basic concepts and are comfortable writing SQL statements
of moderate complexity, then this book will supply you with the facts you
need to pass the exam and improve your skills as a SQL developer. If you
don’t have any experience with SQL at all, the compressed format of this
guide is not likely to be the best method for learning. It may provide you with
the information you need to pass the test, but you’re likely to have
deficiencies as a SQL Developer. In that case, I would highly recommend
using the materials at the companion website of this series that is discussed in
the next section. They can help to improve your basic SQL skills to the point
where this guide will be effective in honing the specific aspect you must be
most familiar with in order to pass the exam.
Additional Study Resources

The companion website to this series is www.oraclecertificationprep.com.

The site contains many additional resources that can be used to study for this
exam (and others). From the entry page of the website, click on the ‘Exams’
button, and then select the link for this test. The Exam Details page contains
links to the following information sources:
Applicable Oracle documentation.
Third-party books relevant to the exam.
White papers and articles on Oracle Learning Library on topics covered
in the exam.
Articles on the Web that may be useful for the exam.

The website will never link to unauthorized content such as brain dumps or
illegal content such as copyrighted material made available without the
consent of the author. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the content links.
While I have located the data and scanned it to ensure that it is relevant to the
given exam, I did not write it and have not proofread it from a technical
standpoint. The material on the Oracle Learning Library is almost certain to
be completely accurate and most of the other links come from highly popular
Oracle support websites and are created by experienced Oracle professionals.
I recommend that you use more than one source of study materials whenever
you are preparing for a certification. Reading information presented from
multiple different viewpoints can help to give you a more complete picture of
any given topic. The links on the website can help you to do this. Fully
understanding the information covered in this certification is not just valuable
so that getting a passing score is more likely – it will also help you in your
career. I guarantee that in the long run, any knowledge you gain while
studying for this certification will provide more benefit to you than any piece
of paper or line on your resume.
Practice Questions
The guides in the Oracle Certification Prep series do not contain example
questions. The format that they are designed around is not really compatible.
The concise format used for the study guides means that adding a reasonable
number of questions would nearly double the size of the guides themselves.
However, because practice questions have been a common request from
readers of my books, I have created a series of practice tests for the exams.
The practice tests are available from the companion website listed in the
previous section of this guide. They are not free, but the price is a fraction of
that charged by other vendors for Oracle certification practice tests.
Unlike much of the material advertised online, these tests are not brain
dumps. All of the tests are original content that I developed. Using these
exams will not endanger your certification status with the Oracle certification
program. I submit each test to the certification team after I finish developing
it so that they can verify that they do not contain illicit material. These tests
serve as an inexpensive means for any certification candidate that wants to
determine how successful their preparation has been before scheduling the
real exam.
As a purchaser of this study guide, you can use the following promotional
code to get $2.00 off the purchase price of the practice exam for 1Z0-071:
071_CNSEWC
The tests are available at the following URL:
http://oraclecertificationprep.com/apex/f?p=OCPSG:Practice_Tests
Oracle and Structured Query Language (SQL)
Identify the connection between an ERD and a
Relational Database
An entity is a grouping of things (or a class of things) with rules or data in
common. Among other possibilities, an entity might be used to represent a
group of people, objects, activities, or concepts. In order to have relevance to
a database, the entity must have some significance to an organization and
there must be a requirement to store data about it. When implementing a
database -- an entity corresponds to a table.
For Imaginary Airlines (a fictitious organization used for many examples in
this guide), airports are an important element to their business. An entity that
stores data about airports is therefore something that would need to be
included in a database application for the organization. In the conceptual
model, an entity is shown as simply a rectangle with the name of the entity
either inside or sometimes just above the rectangle.

Database developers should recognize that while an entity corresponds to a

table, it is not the exact same thing. An entity is an object in the real world
with an independent existence. Examples of potential entities include:
An object with physical existence (such as an airport or an aircraft).
An object with conceptual existence (such as a flight or a ticket
reservation).

Entities are the primary component of Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs).

ERDs are used as a design aid when developing relational database
applications. Below is a conceptual model ERD that contains two entities.
Conceptual models are intended to show a very high-level overview of the
various entities that must be contained in the database being designed and a
basic idea of the relationships between entities. It does not provide specific
details of the data that will be stored.

By the same token, the relationship shown between the entities has no details.
In the diagram, the connecting line indicates that a relationship exists
between the AIRPORT and AIRCRAFT FLEET entities, but not what the
relationship is based on. If the diagram were displaying tables rather than
entities, each of the tables would need to show all of the columns they
contain as well as indicating which columns were acting as primary and
foreign keys.
Because entities generally represent objects, their names are usually nouns.
By convention, in an ERD, entity names are singular (AIRPORT rather than
AIRPORTS) and they will be displayed in all capital letters (AIRPORT
rather than Airport).

Attributes
An attribute is a piece of information that describes an entity in some fashion.
They can quantify, qualify, classify, or specify the entity they belong to. In
the same way that entities correspond to tables without being tables,
attributes correspond to columns without actually being columns. In the
conceptual diagram from the previous section, neither of the entities had
attributes listed. In the Chen conceptual model ER, attributes are shown
broken out from their entity as with the below diagram:
Regardless of how they are displayed in an entity relationship diagram,
attributes do not provide any details about how data will be stored. Attributes
will never be associated with specific data types or sizes. Attributes will be
mapped to columns when the design moves to the physical model. At this
point, a column must detail the type of data to be stored, the amount of space
to be allocated for it, and the name that will be recorded for it in the database.
For example, the ‘Name’ attribute in a conceptual model ERD might be a
column called ACT_NAME in a physical model ERD, with a VARCHAR2
data type that is limited to 20 bytes. A physical model of the AIRCRAFT
TYPE entity might look like the following image:

The conceptual data model is used to help visualize the data that needs to be
stored in a database and which entities are related. The physical data model
documents how the data will actually be stored in the database. A physical
database model will contain the table structures, including the column names,
data types, and constraints. It will also include any primary keys, foreign
keys, and display the relationships between each of the tables. It is possible
for the physical data model to have differences from the logical data model
depending on the database. While some (probably most) of the required data
normalization takes place during the logical design process, it is possible that
additional normalization requirements will be found during the physical
design process. The diagram below shows three tables from the Imaginary
Airlines schema in a logical model ERD.

A logical model ERD is converted to a physical mode ERD using the

following basic steps:
1. Convert entities into tables.
2. Convert relationships into foreign keys.
3. Convert attributes into columns.
4. Modify the physical data model based on physical constraints /
requirements.

Shown below is a physical model diagram that contains the three tables from
the Imaginary Airlines database that correspond to the three entities in the
previous diagram. In contrast to the logical model, the columns displayed in
the diagram list the data types and sizes. The column names also match what
is actually stored in the database (i.e. ‘ACT_BODY_STYLE’) rather than a
human-friendly name (i.e. ‘Body Style’). The physical model also includes
the primary and foreign key columns. Unlike the conceptual or logical
models, the physical model is database-specific. Not all relational databases
use the same data types, for example.
If two entities in an ERD have a relationship (for example entity A and entity
B) there will always be an expectation of how many instances in A relate to
how many instances in B. There are only three possibilities:
One-to-one -- A single instance in A will never relate to more than a
single instance in B.
One-to-many -- A single instance in A can relate to one or more
instances in B.
Many-to-many -- Multiple instances in A can relate to multiple
instances in B.

On an ER diagram, there are actually four different notations to represent the

above three possibilities because the one-to-many is broken out by direction:
1:1 -- one-to-one
1:N -- one-to-many
M:1 -- many-to-one
M:N -- many-to-many

There are a number of different ERD notation styles that provide ways of
indicating in the relationships the exact cardinality and ordinality that exists
between two entities. Some of the possible options include the following:
First, Second, and Third Normal Forms
The term 'normalization' was first used with databases by E.F. Codd, the
creator of the relational model. It refers to the process of organizing the
logical structure of a database in order to facilitate both ad-hoc queries and
data updates. The most common term you will encounter as a database
developer when dealing with normalization is ‘Third Normal Form’,
sometimes abbreviated as 3NF. A table is in third normal form when it meets
all of the following three rules:
First rule of normalization -- A table shall contain no repeating
groups.
Second rule of normalization -- If a table has a compound primary
key, and one or more fields in a table depend on only part of the
primary key for that table, move them to a separate table along with
that part of the key.
Third rule of normalization -- If one or more fields in a table do not
depend at all on the primary key for that table (or any part of it), move
them to a separate table along with copies of the fields on which they
do depend.

Determinants and dependencies

To be able to normalize entities, it is necessary to understand determinants
and dependants. A determinant is any attribute (simple or composite) on
which some other attribute is fully functionally dependent. The terms
determinant and dependent can be described as follows:
The expression A → B means 'if I know the value of A, then I can
obtain the value of B.'
 In the expression A → B, A is the determinant and B is the dependent
attribute.
The value A determines the value of B.
The value B depends on the value of A.

When more than one attribute acts as the determinant for an entity, it is
possible for the dependent attributes to be fully or partially dependent. Given
an entity for four attributes, A, B, C and D, where AB → CD:
Fully Functional Dependency -- The entity has a fully functional
dependency if both A & B are required in order to know the values of
both C & D. That is to say, AB → CD, and A does not→ CD and B
does not→ CD.
Partially Functional Dependency -- The entity has a partially
functional dependency if both A & B are not required in order to know
the values of both C & D. That is to say, AB → CD, and any of the
following are also true: A → C or A → D or B → C or B → D.
Explain the relationship between a database and SQL
Structured Query Language, almost always referred to as SQL (pronounced
either see-kwell or as separate letters: ess-kyu-ell), is a programming
language that was designed for managing items held in databases. SQL was
originally based upon relational algebra and tuple relational calculus. Despite
not adhering entirely to the relational model as originally defined by E.F.
Codd, SQL has become the most widely used database language in existence.
Although there are dialects of SQL for different database vendors, it is
nevertheless the closest thing to a standard query language that currently
exists. In 1986, ANSI approved a rudimentary version of SQL as the official
standard. However, most vendors have included many extensions to the
ANSI standard in their products. Many vendors support mostly ANSI-
compliant SQL, but few (if any) are 100% compliant.
The SQL language is used by many databases to access and store data. It
allows users to not only query and modify data, but also to communicate with
the DBMS to add new tables or other database objects, control numerous
database settings, and perform maintenance operations. While many GUIs
exist that allow users to interact graphically with relational database -- at their
base the interfaces are using SQL to power this interaction.
The SQL language is split into four broad categories:
Data Definition Language (DDL) -- DDL statements define,
structurally change, and drop schema objects in the database.
Data Control Language (DCL) – DCL statements are used to control
access to data stored in a database.
Data Manipulation Language (DML) -- DML statements query or
manipulate data in existing schema objects. DML statements do not
change the structure of the database, the only query or change the
contents of the database.
Transaction Control -- Transaction control statements manage the
changes made by DML statements and group DML statements into
transactions.
SQL is the standard language used to work with relational databases and it is
almost impossible to deal with one to any degree without requiring a
reasonable level of familiarity with the language. SQL is used by database
administrators, developers, architects, data analysts, business intelligence
specialists, and more. If you do not currently know much about the language
but plan to work with databases, you should make learning it a high priority.
There are a number of terms and concepts that may appear throughout the
next several chapters:
Alias – Aliases are used to provide an alternate (usually shorter or more
readable) name for an item in the select list or for a table reference.
Aliases improve readability of the statement and are required for
certain operations.
Keyword – Keywords are defined individual elements of a SQL
statement (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, etc.)
Clause – A clause is a subset of a SQL statement that is tied to a
keyword. For example, “SELECT first_name, last_name” is a SELECT
clause.
Expression – An expression is an element in a select list that is not a
column. It may or may not contain a column. For example, given the
clause “SELECT last_name, first_name, first_name || ‘ ‘ || last_name”,
two elements in the clause (first_name and last_name) are columns, and
(first_name || ‘ ‘ || last_name) is an expression.
Statement – A statement is a combination of two or more clauses that
form a complete SQL operation. At the bare minimum a SQL statement
must include a SELECT clause and a FROM clause.
Text Literals -- Used to specify values whenever 'string' appears in the
syntax of expressions, conditions, SQL functions, and SQL statements.
Text literals are always surrounded by single quotation marks.
Describe the purpose of DDL
One of the most critical aspects of a relational database is its data dictionary.
The data dictionary is a read-only set of tables that contain metadata about
the database. A data dictionary contains all of the information about the
database structure including:
The definitions of every schema object in the database
The amount of space allocated for and currently used by the schema
objects
The names of database users
Privileges and roles granted to database users
Auditing information

The data dictionary is a central part of how the Database Management

System (DBMS) maintains and controls the system. The DBMS uses the data
dictionary to perform many actions such as locating information about users,
schema objects, and storage structures. ​Because the data dictionary data is
itself stored in tables, database users can query the data using SQL. Data
Definition Language (DDL) statements are used to make changes to the data
dictionary. They are utilized to perform the following tasks (among others):
Create, alter, and drop schema objects
Analyze information on a table, index, or cluster
Grant and revoke privileges and roles

Sometimes you will see the SQL statements that grant and revoke privileges
and roles broken out of DDL into a separate category called Data Control
Language (DCL). Oracle lists them under DDL, but not all vendors may do
so.
Some examples of the types of objects that are acted on by DDL commands
include:
TABLE -- The basic structure to hold user data.
INDEX -- A schema object that contains an entry for each value that
appears in one or more columns of a table and provides direct, fast
access to rows.
 VIEW -- A logical table based on one or more tables or views,
although it contains no data itself.
CONSTRAINT -- A rule that restricts the values in a database column.
USER -- An account through which database users can log in to the
database and which provides the basis for creating schema objects.

Taking users as an example database object class, there are three basic DDL
commands that will operate on it:
CREATE USER – Creates a new user account in the relational
database.
ALTER USER – Makes a change to an existing user account.
DROP USER – Removes an existing user account from the database.

The same three commands (CREATE, ALTER, DROP) exist for most objects
in a database
Describe the purpose of DML
Data Manipulation Language (DML) is the name given to the SQL
statements used to manage data in a relational database. DML statements
include INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE and MERGE. Each of these statements
manipulates data in tables.
The SELECT statement is generally grouped with the other four statements
under the DML class of SQL operations. However, SELECT statements do
not add, alter, or remove rows from database tables – so no manipulation is
involved. However, if the SELECT command is not included with DML,
then it has no place to be. It certainly does not fit in with Data Definition
Language (DDL), Data Control Language (DCL), or Transaction Control
Language (TCL). Just be aware that when reference is made to DML
statements, the context may not include SELECT operations.
Data manipulation language statements are utilized to manage data in existing
schema objects. DML statements do not modify information in the data
dictionary and do not implicitly commit the current transaction. The most
commonly identified DML commands are:
INSERT – Used to populate data in tables. It is possible to insert one
row into one table, one row into multiple tables, multiple rows into one
table, or multiple rows into multiple tables.
UPDATE – Used to alter data that has already been inserted into a
database table. An UPDATE can affect a single row or multiple rows,
and a single column or multiple columns. The WHERE clause will
determine which rows in the table are altered. When executed with no
WHERE clause, it will update all rows in the target table. A single
UPDATE statement can only act on one table.
DELETE – Used to remove previously inserted rows from a table. The
command can remove a single row or multiple rows from a table. When
executed with no WHERE clause, it will remove all rows from the
target table. It is not possible to delete individual columns – the entire
row is deleted or it is not.
MERGE – Used for hybrid DML operations. The MERGE can insert,
update and delete rows in a table all in a single statement. There is no
operation that a MERGE can perform that could not be performed by a
combination of INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE.
Build a SELECT statement to retrieve data from an
Oracle Database table
Essentially all operations that pull data out of a table in an Oracle database
have a SELECT command involved at some level. A top-level SELECT
statement is also referred to as a query. If there is a second SELECT nested
within the first, it is called a subquery.
When a SELECT statement retrieves information from the database, it can
perform the following three types of work:
Selection -- You can filter the SELECT statement to choose only the
rows that you want to be returned. Without filtering, a query would
return every single row in the table.
Projection -- You can choose only the columns that you want to be
returned by your query, or create new information through the use of
expressions.
Joining -- You can use the SQL JOIN operators to link two or more
tables to allow you to return data that is stored in more than one table.

The following diagram illustrates a query performing both selection and

projection:

The syntax of a minimal SELECT statement in Oracle is:

SELECT select_list
FROM table_reference;
The four elements above (SELECT and FROM keywords and the select_list
and table_reference clauses) exist in every SQL query issued to Oracle (or at
least every one that completes without an error). The elements that make up
the select_list might be columns, functions, literals, etc. The table_reference
might be an Oracle table, remote table, external table, view, pipelined
function, etc. Regardless of the specifics, they must be valid references and
be present in the SELECT statement in order for it to execute successfully.
The most basic SELECT statement consists of the SELECT keyword, a list of
one or more columns or expressions (the select_list noted above), the FROM
keyword, and a table or view (the table_reference value shown above). When
executed with only the SELECT and FROM keywords, Oracle will return all
rows that currently exist in the table and the order that the rows will be
returned in is indeterminate (which is to say the order is not only
unpredictable but may change from one execution to the next).
SELECT apt_id, apt_name, apt_abbr
FROM airports;

APT_ID APT_NAME APT_ABBR

------ ------------------------------ --------
1 Orlando, FL MCO
2 Atlanta, GA ATL
3 Miami, FL MIA
4 Jacksonville, FL JAX
5 Dallas/Fort Worth DFW

If you wish to display all columns from a table, rather than entering each
column into the SELECT clause, you can use the asterisk wildcard. The
asterisk will return the complete set of columns from the table (or tables)
listed in the FROM clause. If a query contains multiple tables, you can prefix
the asterisk with a table name or table alias to return all columns from just
one of the tables in the query.
When the asterisk is used in a SELECT, the columns to be returned by the
SELECT operation are pulled directly from the data dictionary table that is
used to store column information for user tables. The columns in the
SELECT list will appear in the order that they are stored in that table and
cannot be altered. The column headings returned by the operation will be the
upper-case column names as stored in the data dictionary. There is no way to
use the asterisk *and* supply column aliases or change the column order.
SELECT *
FROM airports;

APT_ID APT_NAME APT_ABBR

------ ------------------------------ --------
1 Orlando, FL MCO
2 Atlanta, GA ATL
3 Miami, FL MIA
4 Jacksonville, FL JAX
5 Dallas/Fort Worth DFW

In the below example, the query contains two tables joined together. The
asterisk used in the SELECT list returns all columns from both tables. Both
tables contain a column called APT_ID (which is how the two are joined) and
so that column is returned once for each table.
SELECT *
FROM airports apt
INNER JOIN aircraft_fleet afl
ON apt.apt_id = afl.apt_id;

APT_ID APT_NAME APT_ABBR AFL_ID ACT_ID APT_ID

------ ---------------------- -------- ------ ------ ------
1 Orlando, FL MCO 1 2 1
1 Orlando, FL MCO 2 2 1
2 Atlanta, GA ATL 3 3 2
2 Atlanta, GA ATL 4 4 2
3 Miami, FL MIA 5 1 3
3 Miami, FL MIA 6 1 3
5 Dallas/Fort Worth DFW 7 1 5
5 Dallas/Fort Worth DFW 8 2 5

When the asterisk is prefixed with the AIRPORTS table alias, only the
columns from that table are returned:
SELECT apt.*
FROM airports apt
INNER JOIN aircraft_fleet afl
ON apt.apt_id = afl.apt_id;

APT_ID APT_NAME APT_ABBR

------ ---------------------- --------
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
By what means he had contrived such a disguise, and whence he
had obtained it we were unable to learn. In some places it was
mightily close to the skin; in others it was burst open; and further he
had sought out similar attire for the Count of Nullepart and myself.
Perhaps it were well to state that on my own part I had no intention
to submit to this unseemliness, because I could only regard the
whole matter as a distemper of the brain. Yet when, to my great
surprise, I saw the worshipful Count of Nullepart tricked out in this
vulgar garb, with his handsome face and shapely limbs emerging out
of the rude clothes of a clown, I was obliged to yield my dignity,
since, whatever the whimsicality of my companions, my youth
rendered me no more than a cadet in the service I had embraced. All
the same, nothing could have exceeded the disgust with which I
doffed my fine clothes from Paris, which were so admirably proper to
the figure of a gentleman, and exchanged them for the coarsest and
most ill-fitting suit in which it has ever been my lot to invest my
person.
I was equally reluctant to part with Babieca, my honest horse. I
mentioned to my friends the distress such an act would cause me,
whereon it appeared that Sir Richard Pendragon shared these
feelings in the matter of his singular beast Melanto, and the Count of
Nullepart partook of them also in respect of his palfrey that was
called Monsieur. Therefore by the address of these two strange
persons, who certainly in this particular did not appear to be so
whimsical as they were in others, the keeper of the venta was
persuaded to hold them in his stable against the time when we
should send for them again.
Doubtless it were well to state that the landlord of the venta was
hardly a free agent in regard to the horses. Sir Richard Pendragon
threatened him with such atrocious penalties if the three animals
were to go amiss within the next six months, even as to a single nail
of their shoes or a minor hair of their tails, that the cheeks of the poor
man were blanched with terror.
It was not until we had become privy to further whims of the
Englishman’s brain that we got upon our road. For early in the
morning as we were about to go forth, a cart used for the
conveyance of water was seen to be standing at the inn door. Skins
hung from its sides, and it was drawn by four sturdy mules. No water
was contained in the cart, but in lieu of it were three long poles such
as are affected upon a journey by the country people. Sir Richard
gave one of these staves to each of us, took one himself, and
starting the mules upon their road, led them out of the town in the
direction of Toledo.
To all my inquiries as to what possible use there could be for an
empty water-cart and four sturdy mules I received the most
unsatisfactory answers. The Count of Nullepart still professed
himself as wholly in the hands of his commander. And he assured
me solemnly that his experience of Sir Richard Pendragon had
taught him that whatever were the actions of that singular man they
were the fruits of a rare intelligence and were greatly to be admired
by those who had reverence for the things of the mind.
As you will conceive, good reader, to this flattery Sir Richard
Pendragon—trudging through the dust and the mire with his long
pole in true peasant fashion, and wearing a great slouch hat and
brass rings in his ears, so that he looked more than ever like a
robber, and continually exhorting his four mules with barbarous oaths
—gave an assent that was most ready and gracious. He took
occasion to pay the Count of Nullepart a compliment of his own upon
the power of his philosophy and his old-fashioned respect for high
intelligence, “the which he was sore to observe in these days did not
always obtain with springald youth.” And the courteous gravity with
which this English barbarian assured the Count of Nullepart that he
loved him for his liberal opinions made me furious.
For could anything have been more unseemly than that we three
persons of birth and high breeding—in such a description Sir Richard
Pendragon is included by courtesy—should be pursuing the
highways of Spain in the company of a water-cart drawn by four
mules and wearing the rudest attire to be seen out of Galicia. Yet, as
we moved through the unfrequented country places at the rate of
one league an hour, there were some advantages at least to be
taken from this fashion of progress. We needed not to keep a watch
for robbers, since they were not likely to trouble three peasants who
themselves had the appearance of bandits. Neither had we need to
fear falling in with the army of Castile, because none could have
discerned that three prominent servants of the King’s enemy were
hidden in such wretched guise. Again, neither was there to be
suspected in the homely and rustical figure of a water-carrier the
accomplished robber of churches.
Although such immunity seemed a high price to pay, for its penalties
still remained many and grievous, it presently began to appear that
some kind of a design was lurking in it. For in the course of a week’s
painful journeying, and as we moved slowly from place to place, I
seemed to discern that our leader was not so much unhinged as I
had feared.
Howbeit, to all my searching after that which lay in his mind, he
would only answer me with a droll mockery which he seemed greatly
to relish. Still, ever to allow a due to the devil, as we came nearer to
Toledo he showed no lack of that soldierly vigilance that always
distinguished him when he took the road. He was very precise and
yet very cunning as to the inquiries he made in regard to the
disposition of the forces of Castile.
We proceeded very warily as we approached the scene of King
John’s campaign; and thereby contrived to glean some information
of what was toward. All who have seen the famous castle of
Montesina will not need to be told that it is perhaps in the most
invincible situation of any fortress in Spain, for it stands upon a high
and impregnable rock. Although it was well known to the Countess
Sylvia’s ruthless foe that at this time she had no more than three
hundred men-at-arms with which to defend it, and that the duke, her
father, was afflicted with years, he yet deemed it wiser to gain his will
by what in the language of war is called a siege, rather than to win
the fortress by open assault at the point of the sword. The Castilian
was a crafty prince and a covetous.
It was no small satisfaction to Sir Richard Pendragon to learn that
King John, instead of enforcing the garrison, was content to invest
the castle of Montesina; and in order to starve it into surrender had
sat down before its walls. Yet it is no more than just to the King to
mention that before taking this course he had already made one
assault upon the rock, and had been repulsed with the loss of an
hundred men.
This we learned as one night we unharnessed our mules at a
posada, less than a day’s journey from Toledo. Scarce had Sir
Richard Pendragon received this information than he beat his stave
on the water-cart and vowed that high heaven was smiling upon our
enterprise. Indeed he declared that the victory was already in our
hands. It was vain for me to seek an interpretation of this dark
saying; yet by now I was determined to accept all that was urged by
this formidable character, whom I had come to regard either as one
of the wildest hare-brains of the age or one of its foremost
intelligences.
 CHAPTER XXX
OF OUR ADVENTURES AMONG THE CASTILIAN
HOST

I have deemed it proper in the narration of that which follows to show

my own feelings precisely as they afflicted me at the time, and not as
they came to be modified by the strange things that happened. In the
end it was given to me to learn that Sir Richard Pendragon, so far
from being a hare-brain, was a very deep and masterful schemer.
But in so far as his designs passed beyond my comprehension at the
period of which I now treat, I have deemed it right not to anticipate
that final tribute which it will be necessary to pay to his character in
the appointed time and season.
On setting out that morning from the posada, at Sir Richard’s behest
we filled the cart and the skins with water and turned the heads of
our mules in the direction of the King of Castile’s army. I yielded to
these dispositions because, having come so far and having already
obeyed in many things, I felt there was no other course to be taken;
yet it was rather with the sense of being in a dream that I awaited the
manifestation of this new extravagance. What fantasy was this that
possessed our comrade? What new disorder of the mind had come
upon him?
As towards evening we entered the lines of the Castilian army it ran
in my heart to revile the Count of Nullepart bitterly. It had come upon
me that he had permitted the Englishman to betray our embassy. For
trusting Sir Richard Pendragon so little it seemed to me that here
was his clear design. Yet a moment’s reflection showed that if the
Englishman was come to betray a mission that had failed so
lamentably it would profit him not at all. He must certainly lose his
life; and further, the means he had taken to accomplish his act of
treachery would hardly have been accompanied by this degree of
masquerade.
When I heard the challenge, “Who goes there?” from the King’s
soldiers I felt a sudden chill upon my heart. Yet it was no more than a
passing cowardice, the fruit of circumstances so gravely remarkable,
for our leader was prompt to show himself as true to his trust and
also as infinitely cunning.
“A friend,” he answered with boldness and promptitude. He spoke in
a rustical Spanish of the northern provinces; and then in the same
dialect, in which his foreign brogue was most skilfully dissembled, he
said that he had come to bring water to the army of the most
gracious and sovereign prince.
“Well then, my lord and knight, you are a thousand times welcome,”
said the sentinel in those terms of high courtesy in which we
Spaniards, even in the humbler walks of life, excel the people of all
other nations.
It was then that I understood that our leader had judged sagaciously,
and that he had laid his plot very deep. In the guise of water-sellers
we could count on a welcome from an army in the field which had
suffered the travail of a long day.
Sir Richard Pendragon gave the sentinel a drink of water out of a
pannikin which was carried upon the back of the cart, and then after
further civilities upon both sides and a few questions from our
cunning leader upon the disposal of the King’s host, we moved off
into the darkness.
We made several leagues into the midst of the royal army, sustaining
every challenge of the sentinels in a like manner. And finally when
fatigue overcame us at last, we shared the hospitality of a number of
soldiers who sat round a camp-fire, who in exchange for our sweet
and cool water gave us of their fare.
From these we learned much. We were informed that the surrender
of the Castle of Montesina was expected to be an affair of three
weeks. It was victualled for that period; and King John in his
tenderness for his troops would not venture another assault upon the
steep face of the rock. They confessed that a former attack had been
met with a resolution they had not anticipated; and according to
rumour, the boldness of the defenders had been inspired by a young
female who was addicted to the practice of witchcraft.
However, to judge by their words, these soldiers were disposed to
view the campaign with levity. They vowed it was a holiday task, and
had the King’s assurance of it. They could only marvel that one so
aged and defenceless as the Duke of Montesina should have had
the presumption to resist them. And having no enemy to fear beyond
the feeble creature immured upon a high rock behind stone walls,
they now permitted themselves to dispense with much of that military
precaution that warfare renders necessary.
It was in a measure due to this laxity that Sir Richard Pendragon was
able to pursue his wonderful stratagem. This was so audacious that
even now when I recall it, after the lapse of years, it seems to be the
substance of a romantic tale. Certes it was born of a wild brain; yet,
upon my life, it was prosecuted with such a sober courage and
foresight, every detail was wrought with a skill so nice, every hap
was safeguarded with a judgment so ripe and a wit so supple, that
this mad plot has seemed almost to inhabit itself in the chaste light of
reason.
A little after daybreak we three peasants with our water-cart left
these friendly quarters; and at least one of us was unable to foresee
the amazing things that were to befall ere he would again stretch his
limbs in repose. Throughout the day we moved freely within the lines
of the Castilian host, mixing with the soldiers upon familiar terms,
offering them water in exchange for the nimble cuarto, and bantering
them with rude jokes.
Then, as the sky grew dark again, we found ourselves within sight of
the pavilion that had been set up for the use of the King’s majesty. It
was a handsome and imposing tent, formed of a striped cloth of blue
and red, interwoven with the arms of Castile and flying its three lions.
An enclosure was formed around it with cords stretched upon poles;
and before the entrance were three sentinels with drawn swords.
For some time we stood observing the royal arrangements. A throng
of captains and courtiers was continually passing in and out of the
King’s tent. Then we drew off with our water-cart into a thicket that
was near, fed the honest mules, and proceeded to eat some cheese
made out of goats’ milk with which we had provided ourselves.
About an hour after sundown the moon rose; and this was a
circumstance that gave satisfaction to our leader.
“John Castilian,” said he, “there is an old score that is due to thee by
the hand of English Dickon that will not go much longer unrequited.”
Saying this the English giant produced a stout piece of cord from the
recesses of his jerkin, to which he added a short piece of iron, a
cloth, and a huge bag woven of hemp, which had been tied to the tail
of the water-cart. And swearing an oath in round London English, he
waved these articles in the face of the good lady the moon.
It was near to midnight when we led the water-cart out of the thicket.
We drove it to within a quarter of a league of that narrow path that
winds sheerly upwards to the heights of Montesina, and thereby to
the base of the walls of the duke’s castle. Hitching the mules to a
tree in a retired spot, we retraced our steps cautiously by the light of
the moon, until the outlines of the royal pavilion again took shape
before us.
Not a sound disturbed the stillness of the night, for the King of
Castile was no reveller. Doubtless his Majesty was already abed and
lapped in slumber. At the door of his tent we were able to discern the
drawn swords of the sentinels glancing to the moonlight as they
mounted guard.
As we emerged from the shelter of the trees into the open meadow
in which the pavilion was set, Sir Richard Pendragon, having taken
the precaution to tie the bag round his middle, got down upon all
fours and began to crawl like a great serpent through the grass
towards the royal dwelling. And as the Count of Nullepart
immediately got himself down upon his hands and knees also, and
began to crawl after our leader, in order not to be out of the hunt, in
whatever our quarry might consist, I was fain in these particulars to
imitate their example.
Without causing a twig to break, we crept upon our hands and knees
to the rear of the royal tent. And so artfully did we make our way that
none perceived us when at last we came into its shadow, and
actually lay with our shoulders against its canvas walls. And the
three sentinels stood all unsuspecting in the moonlight, not fifty
paces from us, yet hidden by the body of the pavilion.
Hardly had we come to lie thus than the Englishman drew his dagger
and began to cut a large hole in the tent. And no sooner had I
observed this to be his occupation than a kind of wonderment
overcame me, for at last I had come to discern the depth, the daring,
and the subtlety of his invention.
 CHAPTER XXXI
OF AN ASTOUNDING EPISODE

Scarcely had Sir Richard Pendragon made a hole that was large
enough to accommodate his great bulk when we heard the footsteps
of the sentinel coming round to see that all was well. In a gentle
voice, so that he might not wake the King, we heard him singing of
his love, who, it seemed, was a flower of Andalucia. Yet just as he
came up to us, with his sword gleaming in the moonlight, he tripped
over Sir Richard Pendragon’s outstretched leg and measured his
length upon the earth. Before he could utter a cry, Sir Richard
Pendragon had buried a knife in his heart.
“The dead don’t speak,” he whispered in a soft voice. He wiped the
stains from his dagger upon the gaberdine of the man he had slain
and replaced it in his jerkin.
In the next moment he had disappeared. In the fashion of a hugeous
reptile he had crawled through the hole he had made into the interior
of the King’s pavilion. In the weary time of suspense that followed
upon his absence the Count of Nullepart and myself lay in the grass
listening to the beating of our hearts, and occasionally exchanging a
whisper to assure each other that we did not dream.
Beside us lay the dead soldier. At any instant his comrades were
likely to be here to seek him. Had they come, I fear there would have
been only one course open to us; although I think that both the
Count of Nullepart and myself, being peacefully given, breathed a
prayer that we should be spared the occasion to enter upon it.
It seemed an age, yet it could have been little more than five
minutes, ere this suspense was terminated; and then, without a
sound or a struggle from within the tent, a huge sack filled with a
heavy substance was pushed through the hole.
The sight of the sack gave me a thrill I cannot describe. Something
cold and sharp ran in my veins, and I nearly cried out. The next thing
of which I was aware was the smiling and sinister countenance of
the Englishman as he crept through the hole. Considering his bulk it
was surprising that he could squeeze so noiselessly through such a
little space. And in the same moment we heard a second sentinel
coming round the pavilion.
I could hardly tell what happened, it was all so quick and so horrible.
In a dull bewilderment I watched Sir Richard Pendragon creep
through the hole, and then as the oncoming sentinel caught a view of
the sack and the corpse of his fallen comrade he uttered a cry. But in
so doing he spoke for the last time. With incredible swiftness and
dexterity the unlucky wretch was slain.
“Now there is that third poor soul,” said the Englishman in a hushed
voice. “Do you abide here, good friends, for honest Dickon, while
that good mother’s son relieves the poor soldier of his necessity.”
Taking the dagger in his teeth, he began to crawl on his belly round
the corner of the pavilion. While he was gone upon this errand,
which, however ruthless in its character, was yet highly politic in its
intention, both the Count of Nullepart and myself derived satisfaction
from some tokens of animation which proceeded from the interior of
the bag.
“Mon Dieu!” said the Count of Nullepart, laughing softly, “is it not
well, my dear, that you and I are spared that abominable crime of
regicide, which all the best authors are agreed doth stink so
particularly in the nostrils of Heaven?”
“It is very well, most virtuous Count of Nullepart,” said I, fetching a
deep sigh of relief. Yet it was not given to me, reader, to embellish
this solemn occasion with any great depth of philosophy. Pearls of
wisdom have to be delved for in the inner nature; and at this
moment, notwithstanding that it was great with destiny, there was not
time to seek them, for hardly had I spoken ere Sir Richard
Pendragon, standing upon his two legs and strutting like a turkey,
and bearing his dagger in his right hand, came round the corner of
the pavilion of the great Castilian prince.
In his good pleasure he waved the weapon above his head and
smiled down upon the Count of Nullepart and myself in a manner of
the gravest amiability.
“Stand you now upon your ten toes, my dear and good brothers,”
said he. “Go ye not upon your bellies no more. Prithee walk no more
like the crawling serpent, which is the symbol of deceit and devious
courses. My dear and good brothers, I would have you proceed upon
your flat feet under our chaste lady the moon. For that third poor soul
is delivered of his need. ’A sweated as ’a felt the stroke, but by his
eyes I could read that his passing was worthy.”
Without more ado our formidable and ruthless captain laid his
dagger into his jerkin and hoisted the huge sack upon his mighty
shoulders. With incredibly swift strides, considering the burden that
he bore, he was soon in the shelter of the thicket. The Count of
Nullepart and I followed breathlessly, in a kind of amaze, and in a
very little while we had come to the mules, which were tethered a
short way off the winding track to Montesina.
It was discomposing to the sensibilities of men of birth such as the
Count of Nullepart and myself that the bag and its contents were
flung into the empty water-cart with somewhat more of violence than
the circumstances called for. But I cannot believe that at this moment
it was within our province to protest. Indeed, so far was the Count of
Nullepart—who in some respects was apt to baffle me as completely
as did Sir Richard Pendragon—from recording his displeasure that at
first he was unable to proceed on his journey in the wake of the
water-cart owing to the contortions of mirth into which he was
thrown.
“Get up, little Neddies,” said the English giant, giving the mules a
lusty smack with the palm of his hand that started them at a jolt and
a rattle along the road. Then, as he ran beside them, he rested one
hand upon the bag and addressed its occupant in a humble voice.
“I trust your gracious Majesty rides pleasantly and in comfort,” he
said.
Now that we had this strange burden in our hands there was no
immediate need for secrecy. We made good progress with the water-
cart. That clumsy vehicle grunted and jolted along the deep-rutted
track under the light of the moon; and Sir Richard Pendragon,
running beside it cheerfully, in high good spirits, whistled lusty ditties
and sang ribald peasant songs in indifferent Castilian. When we
passed a sentinel or a camp-fire we exchanged friendly greetings,
and asked the hour of the night. Once or twice, it is true, we had to
submit to curses for disturbing the repose of some weary trooper. To
these we returned an appropriate pleasantry.
The moon was still our friend by the time we came near to the mighty
rock upon which was set the proud castle of Montesina. Here it was
that our leader deemed other courses to be necessary. We were still
within the lines of the King of Castile, for they extended to the base
of the rock; also the lower portion of the steep winding track that led
to the castle was in possession of his troops.
Now, one of our leader’s wisdom did not need to be told that a water-
cart would not be allowed to proceed to a garrison that was being
starved into surrender. Therefore, as soon as the frowning face of
the rock began to loom in our path, a new and very grave problem
was presented to his strategy. Yet it appeared that even of this
matter he had already had the wit to take cognisance.
Half a league before we reached the entrance to the narrow winding
road leading directly to the gates of the castle, upon which we must
have been challenged, Sir Richard Pendragon turned the heads of
the mules towards the meadows. Although these were invested by
the King’s soldiers, they appeared to be held very carelessly.
At the foot of the rocks was a wide and deep stream. When we had
come to its margin Sir Richard unharnessed the four mules and
turned them loose. They strayed away in all directions. He then
removed the bag from the water-cart, and with our aid proceeded to
destroy that clumsy and primitive vehicle. It was easy enough to lift
the body from the wheels and break it in pieces. These were cast
fragment by fragment into the stream, so that very soon the whole
contrivance was completely vanished from the ken of man.
We bore the bag and its strange burden along the banks of the
stream, until we were come presently to a goodly thicket of alder
trees which grew at the water’s edge. Taking care that we were not
observed, we carried our burden into this concealment; and then the
redoubtable Englishman, leaving us in this security to mount guard
over our treasure, and bidding us not to show our faces in the open
against his return, took his way towards the castle. It was his hope
that, under Providence, he might find his way into it by the further
exercise of those ingenious arts in which none excelled him.
 CHAPTER XXXII
OF THE UNHAPPY SITUATION OF A GREAT
PRINCE

The Count of Nullepart and myself, left thus in our hiding-place and
in the charge of some highly valuable booty, were fain to hope very
devoutly that our enemies might not come upon us during the
absence of our leader.
When we fell to examine the bag, it was some satisfaction to our
humane feelings to observe that three holes had been cut in the top
of it to provide for the entrance of air. Even in a small matter it
seemed that Sir Richard Pendragon could use his ingenious mind to
a purpose.
We had not been long in contemplation of the bag ere we had a
natural curiosity to view its contents, and, as I am willing to believe, a
humane desire, as far as the circumstances would permit, to ease
them of their pains. Therefore were we led to open the top of it, and
to expose that which lay within to the light of day. And, good reader,
it was with the liveliest trepidation that we did this; for it was hard to
say in what case the contents were like to reveal themselves.
To give the royal personage within greater ease of body, we propped
the sack against an alder tree; and then, with much concern,
exposed his head to the view. Our first sight of the King’s majesty
was a much dishevelled mass. A closer scrutiny showed the royal
forehead to have one or two slight contusions; the undressed hair
was hanging limply all about it; and a cloth tied with a cord had been
thrust into the royal mouth.
The Count of Nullepart severed the cord with his dagger and
withdrew the cloth, whereupon a pair of eyes came open in an
empurpled face which also had a somewhat contused and swollen
appearance, and a young prince was disclosed in the early prime of
his manhood.
At first he gasped a little, since his situation had clearly been one of
great rigour, and his mouth and tongue were very sore. After a
moment of some little embarrassment on the side of both parties, the
King of Castile was good enough to address us. He did so with
evident difficulty, yet in the well-considered tones of one who uses
few words and those to a point.
“I do not know,” said the King of Castile, “to whom I am indebted for
this consideration, but I beg you to believe I am grateful for it.”
I suppose a famous and powerful prince could never have spoken
from quite such a plight, yet his words were ordered with a simple
courtesy that seemed entirely to efface the circumstances of the
case. And no sooner had the Count of Nullepart heard the regal
tones of the Castilian than first he bowed to the earth with all the
grace of one who has moved in courts, and then, quite suddenly, his
addiction to laughter overcame him. Clapping his slender hands to
his ribs he began to twist and writhe most immoderately.
King John of Castile, however, from the precincts of the sack
continued to sustain the glances of the Count of Nullepart and myself
with a simple and serious dignity that no amount of levity could
abate; and indeed so kingly in his bearing was the royal occupant,
bound hand and foot as he was and laid in a clump of alder trees,
that I was fain to remove my hat and bow low before him, if only to
prove that at least a hidalgo of the northern provinces was sensible
of his condition.
The King’s majesty received my homage with a smile of great
courtesy. He then asked for a cup of water that he might moisten his
lips.
“Sire,” I assured him, “I shall esteem it the greatest honour of my
existence to have the felicity of procuring you something to drink.”
Yet, happy as I was to render this service, it was in no sense easy to
accomplish, for there was never a drinking utensil for the King’s
convenience. I was fain to regret that we had the water-cart no
longer and the skins with which it was furnished; but at the time we
cast them away this present contingency had not been foreseen.
Nevertheless, I went to the stream and dipped my hat in it, and was
able to return with sufficient water to offer the King’s majesty. And I
think I have never seen a prince who was so thirsty. Yet doubtless
his mouth and tongue were in sore case.
The King, having thus refreshed himself, thanked me very gravely
and said, not at all harshly or unpleasantly, “I do not see that foreign
robber, that gigantic and formidable English thief. Yet more than
once in the night I heard his voice. Where is he? I would make him a
compliment on the fortunate issue of his cunning.”
Although the King smiled a little wryly as he said this, he still
preserved the serious dignity of his mien.
Before I could make Sir Richard Pendragon’s excuses for not being
present, as I felt sure, notwithstanding his quiddity, the English giant,
having the blood of kings under his doublet, would have wished me
to do, there came through the soft and sweet morning airs a mighty
commotion. There was shouting, the blowing of horns and trumpets,
and then came the loud bark of a culverin.
“It would appear, your majesty,” said the Count of Nullepart with his
inimitable smiling air, which proceeding from one who wore the garb
of a peasant seemed considerably to surprise the King, “that your
worthy and loyal followers have just discovered that the royal tent
has a hole in it.”
“It would appear so, my friend,” said the King imperturbably; “and
they are a little late in their discovery. Yet I am not sure that I must
blame them. It is my custom to allow myself a long eight hours for
repose.”
It was a source of regret to us that we had no food to offer our
illustrious captive. However, we set the royal personality in as much
ease as we could devise, and for this consideration he was not
ungrateful.
All through the long hours of the forenoon we had to keep a lively
vigilance. The whole Castilian army was astir for miles about,
searching for him who lay in durance in a bag in a grove of alders.
From our concealment we could observe small parties of the King’s
soldiers walking hither and thither about the meadows. Sometimes
they would approach quite near to us; and presently a body of them
came down with ropes to drag the bed of the stream.
It was then, with the most civil apologies in the world, that we were
fain to take up the cloth and the cord, and humbly to request the
King to permit us to do our offices. Yet at the same time we assured
him with every token of high respect that it would be our chief care to
place as little hurt upon him as would consist with our unhappy duty.
However, as we made to put this further indignity upon the King, his
calm fortitude seemed almost to give way. Turning his proud eyes
upon us, he said in a voice that touched me to the soul, “My friends,
if you will plunge a dagger into my heart, your names will be
mentioned in heaven.”
The Count of Nullepart and I conferred together.
“Upon my soul,” said the Count of Nullepart, “I think the royal flesh
should be a little respected.”
“I am of that opinion also,” said I; and then my Asturian prudence
jogged my elbow. “All the same, worshipful, we are laid in a sore
predicament. A live king is worth more than a dead one; and if we
leave his mouth unlocked, why, a single word might be our undoing.”
“As you say, my dear Don Miguel,” said the Count of Nullepart, “a
single word may undo us; but, by my faith, if one so humble as
myself may speak upon a high subject, I believe this to be a true
prince, and I, for one, do not fear to accept a parole of a true prince.”
Upon this speaking the blood of my ancestors mounted in my veins.
“Sir Count,” said I, “I fear not either. You shall offer a parole to the
King’s majesty.”
“The honour is yours, my dear Don Miguel.”
“I do myself the honour of yielding to your years and merit, most
worshipful Count of Nullepart.”
But, in spite of his protests, the Count of Nullepart persisted smilingly
in conferring the signal honour upon Miguel Jesus Maria de Sarda y
Boegas of offering a parole to his Majesty the King of Castile.
“An it graciously please your Majesty,” said I, “this grievous restraint
shall be spared you, if you will deign to give your kingly word that
neither by speech nor act will you reveal your gracious and royal
presence unto your loyal subjects should they fare hither in quest of
your gracious Majesty.”
The King did not hesitate to bestow his thanks upon us for our
favourable consideration, and duly pledged his sovereign word.
Now I know there are some who say, “Put not your faith in princes”;
but from this time onwards it has ever been a source of sincere
gratification that the Count of Nullepart and I thought well to reject
this adage. For, as you are to learn, the bare word of the King was
about to be tried in the severest possible way; and it must always be
written to his honour that, captive and enforced as he was, neither by
word nor deed did he do violence to his covenant.
It happened about midday, as we were viewing with a continual
anxiety the number and proximity of our foes, who were ever moving
nearer and nearer towards us, that we observed a party of them
making for our hiding-place. To escape their notice was impossible,
as the clump of alder trees was too meagre to cover us closely; and
had we moved out into the open meadows we must have been seen
at once. Therefore in this dangerous pass we had a free recourse to
our five wits.
First, we crept down to the stream and plucked several armfuls of
the long rushes that grew there. Returning thence to our hiding-place
we turned over the bag so that its princely burden was laid on its
belly, with humble and profound apologies for the necessity, and
having seated ourselves upon our illustrious captive—with as little
hardship to him as we could contrive—proceeded to weave our
rushes busily, as though we were a couple of peasants whose trade
was the making of baskets.
When the soldiers came near we were to be seen labouring
assiduously, while the bag upon which we were set was very fairly
concealed. And when we observed them to be moving towards us in
a straight line, so that further secrecy was out of the question, the
Count of Nullepart lifted up his voice in a merry lilt, lest it should
appear that we had a desire to shirk them.
His song seemed to startle them, for as they came up, and they
numbered near to a dozen, their captain asked us roughly what the
devil we did there.
“We are pursuing our trade, gracious excellency,” said the Count of
Nullepart.
“What the devil is your trade?” said the captain of the soldiers.
“Our trade is the making of baskets, gracious excellency,” said the
Count of Nullepart.
“Let us hope then that you make better baskets than you do music,
you loud rogues,” said the captain; “and what the devil have you in
the bundle there?”
No sooner had the captain of the soldiers made this inquiry than, to
our profound alarm, he gave the bag a prod with the point of his
sword; but the occupant thereof, upon whom we were seated, being
in a very sooth a royal king, kept himself very close.
“Oh, the bag, your excellency!” said the Count of Nullepart, feigning
a mighty carelessness. “The bag contains grasses all the way from
Esparto for the making of baskets.”
“Soh!” said the captain, laughing at that which he considered to be
the Count of Nullepart’s simplicity, “the bag contains grasses all the
way from Esparto, does it? I suppose it does not, by any chance,”
and the captain winked at his troopers, “contain the person of the
King’s majesty?”
“The person of the King’s majesty!” cried the Count of Nullepart,
opening his eyes very wide. “Oh no, gracious excellency! it contains
grasses all the way from Esparto. Perhaps your excellency would
like to see them?”
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