Word came to the knights that the beast had struck again, this time slaughtering a convent of nuns. Fortunately, Sir Soot of Shade was ready to meet the challenge. He and his fellows, Sir Grimm and Sir Xardob the Hound met inside his bedchambers, where a large box awaited them on the bed.
"I have a cunning plan," Sir Soot confided in his comrades. He gestured at the box, and when the others looked inside it, their hearts fell, for they knew what was coming. "It is well known by all that what creatures of evil desire most of all is that which is denied to them; innocence, and purity of heart. So, tonight we shall dress ourselves in these clothes to pass as fair maidens, and we shall wander the moors as if lost, but secretly beneath our petticoats we shall conceal our weapons, and when the beast falls upon us we shall slay him. Verily."
Once more the knights removed their manly armour and dressed themselves in the fine cottons and silks of a woman's attire, and they were mightily impressed by the airiness of the undergarments, and admired the fact that they did not chafe at all. Then, armed to the teeth, they left the castle and began wandering the moors, nattering and giggling in high-pitched voices, all the better for deceiving evil beasts.
After several hours of wandering they found themselves at a crossroads. The moon was full. The stars were bright. The sheep were baa'ing softly nearby. Just as Sir Soot was about to recommend the group split up, a bone-chilling howl pierced the air, shattering the peace of the night. A woman's scream of pain accompanied it. The three knights ran off in the direction of the cry, but after only a few paces the ground gave way beneath them.
Their yells added to the symphony of death and despair, and they found themselves in the bottom of a hole so deep that even standing upon the shoulders of each other they could not climb out of it. Thwarted, the knights could only sit and wait as the cries of anguish were abruptly cut off, and their hearts were heavy, for the knew that the beast was feasting upon human flesh once more.
It was a long night, but eventually dawn came. The rest of Arthur's knights, worried for their missing companions, eventually tracked them down, and threw a rope into the hole, which the three could use to pull themselves out. Close scrutiny of the surrounding area led to the discovery of a single pair of heavy tracks, made by the booted foot of a man. And not far away, a shovel had been discarded, the drying earth still clinging to its flattened head.
Weary and disappointed, the knights returned to Camelot, to tell King Arthur that somebody had sabotaged their mission.