These prizes , together with presents from the lords and ladies of the court , who liked him for his pleasant ways , made Fortunatus feel quite a rich man . But though his head was not turned by the notice taken of him , it excited the envy of some of the other pages about the Court , and one of them , called Robert , invented a plot to move Fortunatus out of his way . So he told the young man that the Earl had taken a dislike to him and meant to kill him ; Fortunatus believed the story , and packing up his fine clothes and money , slipped away before dawn . He went to a great many big towns and lived well , and as he was generous and not wiser than most youths of his age , he very soon found himself penniless . Like his father , he then began to think of work , and tramped half over Brittany in search of it . Nobody seemed to want him , and he wandered about from one place to another , till he found himself in a dense wood , without any paths , and not much light . Here he spent two whole days , with nothing to eat and very little water to drink , going first in one direction and then in another , but never being able to find his way out . During the first night he slept soundly , and was too tired to fear either man or beast , but when darkness came on for the second time , and growls were heard in the distance , he grew frightened and looked about for a high tree out of reach of his enemies . Hardly had he settled himself comfortably in one of the forked branches , when a lion walked up to a spring that burst from a rock close to the tree , and crouching down drank greedily . This was bad enough , but after all , lions do not climb trees , and as long as Fortunatus stayed up on his perch , he was quite safe . But no sooner was the lion out of sight , than his place was taken by a bear , and bears , as Fortunatus knew very well , are tree-climbers . His heart beat fast , and not without reason , for as the bear turned away he looked up and saw Fortunatus ! Now in those days every young man carried a sword slung to his belt , and it was a fashion that came in very handily for Fortunatus . He drew his sword , and when the bear got within a yard of him he made a fierce lunge forward . The bear , wild with pain , tried to spring , but the bough he was standing on broke with his weight , and he fell heavily to the ground . Then Fortunatus descended from his tree -LRB- first taking good care to see no other wild animals were in sight -RRB- and killed him with a single blow . He was just thinking he would light a fire and make a hearty dinner off bear 's flesh , which is not at all bad eating , when he beheld a beautiful lady standing by his side leaning on a wheel , and her eyes hidden by a bandage . ' I am Dame Fortune , ' she said , ` and I have a gift for you . Shall it be wisdom , strength , long life , riches , health , or beauty ? Think well , and tell me what you will have . '
But Fortunatus , who had proved the truth of the proverb that ` It 's ill thinking on an empty stomach , ' answered quickly , ` Good lady , let me have XXXXX in such plenty that I may never again be as hungry as I am now . '
Nobody bough dawn man nothing riches strength water way wisdom