And Therefore Who That Will Make The Chan Any Present,
Be It Of Horses, Be It Of Birds, Or Of Arrows Or Bows, Or Of Fruit,
Or Of Any Other Thing, Always He Must Make It Of The Number Of
Nine.
And so then be the presents of greater pleasure to him; and
more benignly he will receive them than though he were presented
with an hundred or two hundred.
For him seemeth the number of nine
so holy, because the messenger of God Immortal devised it.
Also, when the Chan of Cathay had won the country of Cathay, and
put in subjection and under foot many countries about, he fell
sick. And when he felt well that he should die, he said to his
twelve sons, that everych of them should bring him one of his
arrows. And so they did anon. And then he commanded that men
should bind them together in three places. And then he took them
to his eldest son, and bade him break them all together. And he
enforced him with all his might to break them, but he ne might not.
And then the Chan bade his second son to break them; and so,
shortly, to all, each after other; but none of them might break
them. And then he bade the youngest son dissever every one from
other, and break everych by himself. And so he did. And then said
the Chan to his eldest son and to all the others, Wherefore might
ye not break them? And they answered that they might not, because
that they were bound together. And wherefore, quoth he, hath your
little youngest brother broken them? Because, quoth they, that
they were parted each from other. And then said the Chan, My sons,
quoth he, truly thus will it fare by you. For as long as ye be
bound together in three places, that is to say, in love, in truth
and in good accord, no man shall be of power to grieve you. But
and ye be dissevered from these three places, that your one help
not your other, ye shall be destroyed and brought to nought. And
if each of you love other and help other, ye shall be lords and
sovereigns of all others. And when he had made his ordinances, he
died.
And then after him reigned Ecchecha Cane, his eldest son. And his
other brethren went to win them many countries and kingdoms, unto
the land of Prussia and of Russia, and made themselves to be clept
Chane; but they were all obeissant to their elder brother, and
therefore was he clept the great Chan.
After Ecchecha reigned Guyo Chan.
And after him Mango Chan that was a good Christian man and
baptized, and gave letters of perpetual peace to all Christian men,
and sent his brother Halaon with great multitude of folk for to win
the Holy Land and for to put it into Christian men's hands, and for
to destroy Mahomet's law, and for to take the Caliph of Bagdad that
was emperor and lord of all the Saracens.
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