50 pages • 1 hour read
Lloyd AlexanderThe Book of Three
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1964A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “The Assistant Pig-Keeper”
Young Taran tires of making horseshoes all day and grabs a length of iron, hoping to forge a sword. He pounds on it artlessly until it’s warped and looks like a snake. His teacher, Coll, explains that sword-making requires a different approach on a different type of metal.
Taran begs Coll to teach him swordplay. He picks up a fire poker and takes a few showy, bad swings. Coll quickly parries them with another poker. Taran is losing badly when they’re interrupted by Dallben, the tall, bearded, 379-year-old master of the Dallben stronghold. He tells them to stop their “nonsense,” and orders Taran to report to his cottage.
In the crowded, book-lined study, Dallben sits at his desk, on which lies a mysterious volume of wisdom, The Book of Three. He tells Taran the history of Prydain. It’s a land of many kingdoms ruled by a high king, Math Son of Mathonwy, and guarded by a mighty hero, Prince Gwydion. Both descend from the Sons of Lady Don and King Belin, who came long ago from the Summer Country, built a castle at Dathyl in the far-north Eagle Mountains, and ever since have protected Prydain.
Arawn, the evil king of Annuvin, the Land of the Dead, is jealous of their rule. He hides great treasures stolen from humankind in his kingdom. Possibly allied with him is a new threat, the Horned King, who “wears an antlered mask” and “sports with death as you might sport with a dog” (8).
Dallben tells Taran there’s much more to war than galloping and waving swords, and that the boy must stay in the stronghold for now. Dallben begins to “meditate”—he takes a nap—and Taran reaches for the Book of Three. His fingers burn as if stung by bees, and he tumbles backward in pain. Dallben wakes and suggests Taran get some lotion for his hands.
Coll treats Taran’s fingers while the boy complains that he’s an overly restricted nobody. Coll offers him the title of “Assistant Pig-Keeper” (10). Taran retorts that he already feeds and scrubs their oracular pig, Hen Wen.
The stronghold’s animals suddenly become restless. Chickens flap away, oxen bellow, and a bee swarm buzzes past. Dallben says they must consult Hen Wen. Taran hurries to her pen, where the pig burrows frantically under a wall. Taran goes to her; she runs to another corner and digs. Taran chases her back and forth, then stands outside, waiting to catch her. She emerges, knocks Taran aside, and runs into the forest. Taran follows.
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Mask of the King”
Hen Wen races up a steep, forested slope. Taran struggles up and emerges at a meadow, where he chases the pig into another stand of trees. He finds a path and follows it but quickly becomes lost. The forest is freezing cold. A thunderous sound approaches: It’s a huge, red-caped figure on a black horse. The rider’s head is covered in a helmet made of a human skull topped with antlers. Behind the rider is a platoon of marauders who howl along with the leader. One of them sees Taran and hurls his sword at the boy. Taran ducks but catches the sword’s edge on his shoulder.
Taran flees, running. He collapses and falls asleep. He awakens in late afternoon to find he’s covered in a cloak. His shoulder hurts. A white horse grazes nearby; a man offers him water. The man’s hair is streaked with gray, his face darkened by the sun; his cloak is dirty. He says he’s Gwydion. Taran leaps up, protesting that Gwydion wouldn’t look like a ruffian. He spies the man’s sword, a magnificent weapon befitting a king. Taran bows and apologizes.
Gwydion asks what the boy is doing in the forest sporting a battle wound. Taran explains about Hen Wen, the Horned King, and Dallben. Gwydion knows them all, and he’s here to seek information from the pig. King Arawn has corrupted many chieftains with promises of power and wealth, and now he sends forth the Horned King to search for Hen Wen. Taran offers to stand by Gwydion and fight the Horned King, but Gwydion says that would be foolish. Someday, though, he’ll face the Horned King in combat.
Gwydion can’t abandon Taran in the forest, and it’s getting dark. He gives the boy some food, then settles against a tree and seems almost to disappear. He suddenly announces that meeting Taran has saved him some trouble. He wonders whether an assistant pig-keeper will help his quest, or whether it’s the other way around.
Chapters 1-2 Analysis
The first two chapters get the story rolling quickly, propelling the reader into the plot. Young Taran chases after the escaped seer-pig Hen Wen, barely escapes death at the hands of the evil Horned King, meets the great hero Gwydion, and sets off with him on the beginning of their quest to save both the pig and the realm of Prydain.
The book uses third-person limited perspective, in which the narrator sees inside the head of the main character and refers to them with a third-person pronoun such as “he/she/they.” This is in contrast to the first-person perspective, where the narrator refers to themselves as “I.” The Book of Three is told from Taran’s point of view. The narrative goes wherever he goes and focuses the story, making it more personal and aiming the reader’s attention at the young hero.
A common way to begin a middle-grade novel is to introduce the protagonist as a bright-but-bored adolescent who suddenly gets into gigantic trouble and must grow up quickly to survive. In The Book of Three, this also takes the form of a Hero’s Journey, in which a protagonist leaves home, enters a dark realm where treasures lie buried, faces daunting opposition, learns important wisdom, and emerges transformed and, sometimes, triumphant. Taran will learn, among other things, The Power of Heart and the transformative power of love and friendship.
Dallben, Taran’s foster parent and benefactor, conforms to the trope of the hero’s mentor. He is ancient, widely knowledgeable, and apparently an expert of magical forces. His calmness in the face of problems suggests that he is used to challenges and too wise to let any single thing upset him.
Taran’s teacher in the useful arts, Coll, playfully parries Taran’s feeble attempts at swordplay. This suggests that Taran already has cajoled Coll into giving him a few basic tips on fighting. Taran isn’t completely unprepared to fight, but a little knowledge also is a dangerous thing. Through his journey, Taran will discover that leadership skills are even more important than swordsmanship and fighting. He will also learn that heroes are not just brawny, athletic men, but individuals who come in a variety of packages, including different genders. Through him, Alexander will explore The Myth and Reality of Heroism.
Taran wants nothing more than to be a hero, but he has a lot to learn, and unlearn, before he can become one. His heart is in the right place, but he’s also prideful and impatient, qualities that will get him into trouble much more often than they help. Gwydion at once recognizes his youthful self in Taran, and he also seems to know things about him that the boy doesn’t.
Dallben has been teaching Taran from a book that contains information of great power, and it’s clear that the boy is destined for something vastly more important than making horseshoes or caring for pigs. Taran, though, remains ignorant of his destiny. He’s not yet ready to know it.
Dallben meanwhile orders Taran to guard Hen Wen. He also forbids the boy from leaving the stronghold. When Hen Wen escapes, Taran faces an impossible dilemma: If he stays, he fails to protect the pig, but if he chases after her, he disobeys Dallben. Taran’s decision to act springs from his noble spirit and launches the plot. The reader may imagine Dallben finding both pig and apprentice missing. Whether he’s upset at the losses, or secretly pleased that the boy feels ready to face the world, is anyone’s guess.
Related Titles
By Lloyd Alexander
