Ill pleased to be given a peasant instead of the knight she was seeking, Una coldly bids Georgos--the personification of Holiness--try on the armor she has brought, adding that, unless it fits him exactly, he need not expect to triumph.

But no sooner has the youth donned the armor which the dwarf produces than all recognize with wonder it must have been made for him, and Gloriana publicly dubs him "Knight of the Red Cross," because the armor Una brought bears that device.
Vaulting on his war-steed, Georgos now rides off with Una and the dwarf, and after crossing a wilderness enters a forest, where before long he descries the mouth of a cave, into which he feels impelled to enter.

No sooner has he done so than he encounters a dragon,--the personification of Heresy and Error,--which attacks him with fury.

A frightful battle ensues, in the course of which the Red Cross Knight is about to be worsted, when Una's encouragements so stimulate him that he slays the monster.
On seeing the exhaustion of her companion, Una realizes he will require rest before undertaking further adventures, and therefore eagerly accepts an invitation tendered by a venerable old hermit who meets them.

He leads them to his cell, where, after entertaining them all evening by pious conversation, he dismisses them to seek rest.