Originating in the 4th century A.D. in the Church of Jerusalem, the Thursday after the 40th day of Easter is forever designated as the Ascension Day, one of the oldest Christian holidays in the Christian church. Henry VIII, who believed in and revered Catholicism from the bottom of his heart, led the Church of England to its fourth year after the independence of the Pope and the Holy See, but he was still deeply dependent on Catholicism.

Not only does it maintain the traditions of the Catholic Church in terms of doctrine and canons, but it also strictly follows the holiday schedule of the Christian Church in the way Christianity arranges the time of the year. As a result, the Ascension Day on May 3 this year is still the most solemn court festival.

Unlike France and Germany in Europe, where a procession commemorates Christ's final ascension on this day, Henry VIII will hold various grand ceremonies on this day, including the canonization of nobles and knights, as well as the setting up of tents and stages in the open space of the court, and the holding of poetry competitions and knightly jousting tournaments. Every year during the Ascension Festival, various celebrations tend to last for many days.

In May, at the end of spring and the beginning of summer, there is neither the cold of the beginning of spring, nor the scorching impetuousness and laziness of midsummer. In this season of spring breeze and the singing of birds and flowers, the nobles and people of the northern counties, who had lost many of the leaders who led the pilgrimage, could only pour their energy and indignation against their king into the festival of Ascension.

Just after 12 p.m. on May 2, the fiery sun began to rise in the sky and begin the day, which lasted for more than 15 hours. At this moment, John Nevel, the second son of the lord of Asker Manor and the eldest son of the lord of Latimer Manor, was roaring excitedly towards the Asker stream, which was located in a forest belt south of Asker Manor.

Alfred ran forward on the lawn as he quickly took off his linen shirt. As he threw off his shirt, he turned around and rushed to John Newell, who was seven or eight paces behind him, and yelled, "John, hurry! If you can't catch up with me when you get to the river, the fish and crustaceans you catch today will be mine! ”

"Elver, you bastard, you ran out before I even shouted, you cheat! Hahaha...... "John was about to reprimand the other man for his immorality, when he suddenly saw the boy who was ahead of him slam forward and fall on the grass.

"Ouch!" Alfred's left foot screamed as he tripped over a rock, and then when he threw himself forward on the grass, "Smack! The entire right side of his face, including his forehead and hair, was pressed against a large pile of fresh cow.

"Boom!" As Alfer pressed half of his face to cow dung, he watched a pair of boys scurry past him with green grass on their feet.

With his hands on the grass, he stood up sharply. There was still a lot of cow hanging on the right side of the face to chase the owner of the feet, "John, you are the one who cheats!" You ran in front of me when I fell. ”

"You are the son of a knight, and you will never be able to catch up with the eldest son of a baron!" As soon as the words fell, I only listened to "Bah! John, who turned around and laughed at each other as he ran, ran headfirst into the trunk of an ancient tree that required two adults to hug him.

This time, Alver became cautious and sneered and ran past John, who fell to the ground on his back. Wide-eyed as he walked back and forth through the woods, the end of his race against John was about a dozen paces away.

"I won! I won! Alfred, who didn't have time to take off his linen shorts, screamed and soared into the air, curling up his legs and slamming them into the water of the Aske Stream like a depth charge.

Alfred, who had smashed himself into the water, took advantage of the momentum to sink his body in the water, puffing out his mouth and containing a breath of air, staring curiously at the strange and colorful underwater world. At this moment, something that looked like an eel, with a slender body and a long dorsal fin on its back, swam quickly past his eyes.

"Seven cheek eels!" As soon as he reached out to grab the seven-cheeked eel at the name of the thing, a lot of bubbles suddenly appeared in his mouth. Now, it seems that the air in his mouth is no longer enough, and Alfred continues to dive to catch the seven cheeks. He stretched out his legs and stood up from under the water covered with stones and mud and sand.

Standing in the stream about chest-deep, wiping a few handfuls of water from his face, along with the cow stuck to his face and hair, he saw two figures in tight-fitting dresses standing on the shore and watching him with a smile and a word. One of the girls, with long shawl hair and a dark blue dress, shouted at him, "Alver, look at the back." ”

"Miss Clara, what did you say?" Alfred said as he reflexively turned his head to look behind him.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Clara's brother standing in the stream only two or three paces away from him, and poured a lot of water on his face, "Elf, today I will punish you in the name of His Majesty the King!" ”

"John, I am a knight loyal to His Majesty, and you cannot punish me if you have not betrayed the king." Alfred, whose face, hair, and eyes were full of streams, immediately returned the color, and likewise picked up a large stream of water with both hands and splashed it on the other man's face.

When two boys, who were four years apart, splashed water on each other in the stream, Clara Nevel, who was standing on the bank, glanced at her brother who was excited in the water, "John, my wife and I didn't come to Aske Manor today to watch you and Alver fight. ”

Alfer, who heard Clara speak, splashed a puddle of water on the other's chest, "Hey, John, your stepmother is here, won't you pick some gifts for Madame?" ”

"yes, you and I catch some salmon and seven gills for Madame?"

"John, are you asking me for relief? If so, can you give me some more Ascension Day gifts? ”

John put down his hands and stopped splashing water, looking at him excitedly, "Of course you can." But how are you going to fish? ”

Alfred looked left and right at the width of the stream and said confidently, "The stream is not wide, and you can catch the fish by cutting it off with stones and wood." ”

"Well, what gift do you want?"

Alfred paddled with his hands in the water as he recalled, "Well, my sister told me that eating salmon (salmon) regularly can ward off the plague. Why don't you give me some salmon? ”

"Okay, let's catch some more salmon." John looked back at his sister on the shore, "Clara, can you get me some nets and cages?" ”

Alver stood in the water and performed a knightly salute to Clara on the shore, then raised his upper body and smiled, "Miss Clara, I would be very grateful if you let your maid bring two daggers, two battle axes, a longbow and a few arrows. ”