then she bade him mount her palfrey again , and they rode on . the ferny road was not so bonnie all the way as it had been at first , however . for they had not ridden along it very far before it led them into a narrow ravine , which seemed to go right down under the earth , where there was no ray of light to guide them , and where the air was dank and heavy . there was a sound of rushing water everywhere , and at last the grey palfrey plunged right into it ; and it crept up , cold and chill , first over thomas 's feet , and then over his knees . his courage had been slowly ebbing ever since he had been parted from the daylight , but now he gave himself up for lost ; for it seemed to him certain that his strange companion and he would never come safe to their journey 's end . he fell forward in a kind of swoon ; and , if it had not been that he had tight hold of the fairy 's ash - grey gown , i warrant he had fallen from his seat , and had been drowned . but all things , be they good or bad , pass in time , and at last the darkness began to lighten , and the light grew stronger , until they were back in broad sunshine .
held onto the fairy 's ash - grey gown .
what did thomas do to keep himself from falling off the palfrey ?
what did thomas do to keep himself from falling off the palfrey ?