The Sword in the Stone

Transcription

1 The Sword in the Stone A long time ago, a group of battle-scarred knights had gathered to discuss the future of their lands. The former king, Uther Pendragon had been dead for sixteen years and had died without a son. His knights had fought amongst themselves about who was going to be the next king. They all wanted the honour but no one could agree. The discord had caused a lot of violence. Merlin the Magician sighed as he looked around at the gathering of knights. He knew that none of these men would make good kings. All they cared about was their own ambitions. That was becoming more and more of a dangerous problem. Britain needed a strong king to help fight off the Anglo Saxon invaders. The Anglo Saxons came from Norway and Sweden by sailing across the cold North Sea and landing on the shores of Northern Britain. They were conquering more and more territory every year and moving south rapidly. England needed a King to organize a defence.

2 However, Merlin had a plan. He had caused a stone with a magnificent sword embedded in it to appear in a clearing in the woods. The sword was clearly the sort that would be mighty in battle and he knew that all of the knights would want to claim the sword for themselves. Merlin knew that whoever could pull the sword from the stone would be revealed as the true and rightful king of Britain. He led the knights to the stone and told them about the challenge. As soon as they saw the sword and heard Merlin s words, they started pushing and shoving each other to be the first. Eventually, one knight barged in front and grasped the hilt. He pulled. The sword did not move. He heaved and hauled, using all of his strength. It would not budge. Frustrated and furious, the knight gave up. He was followed by another and another, all of them straining to pull out the sword until the veins in their heads bulged and their faces turned blue. The sword did not move at all. The knights turned to Merlin who was standing to the side and watching. This is one of your tricks, Merlin! they raged. You ve put a spell on this sword. No trick, Sir Knight, Merlin replied quietly. It simply means that none of you is the true-born King of Britain. Where is he, then? growled one of the knights, a large man with a nasty look on his face. If I ever get my hands on him, I ll fight him for the throne true born King or not! You may get your chance, if you dare to take it, Merlin told him. He turned to the group of muttering knights. I have called a great tournament here in one week. Knights have been summoned from near and far to joust and fight with swords and all will have a chance to pull the sword from the stone.

3 All will have a chance to do so and we may settle once and for all who is the rightful king! Over the next seven days, the roads were filled with a steady stream of knights mounted on their great strong horses. Their squires, whose job was to care for the knight s weapons and armour were also there as were their servants. All the knights were hoping that they would be the one who could free the sword and become King. Among this group of knights was an older man named Sir Ector and his son, Sir Kay. With them, came Sir Ector s youngest son, Arthur. Arthur was too young to participate in the tournament, but he could help his brother and father with their armour, weapons, and horses. By the time the day of the tournament dawned, the playing field was crowded with tents. From the top of each one fluttered a unique, brightly coloured flag. Each flag had its own special pattern and design, representing the knight who owned it. Arthur sat by the side of the field and looked around excitedly. He was always happiest when he was among fine horses and brave fighting men, and he loved the noise and bustle and thrills of the tournament. He knew that in just a few years, he too could participate in a tournament like this. Suddenly, Arthur saw his brother Sir Kay running towards him. He seemed frantic. I ve left my spare sword behind at our tent and I am the next knight to fight. Can you run and get it for me? Arthur scrambled to his feet, and said, Of course I will, Arthur replied. He ran off to where their tent stood and pushed aside the flap door. In the dim light, he rummaged around but could not find the sword. Someone must have stolen it! He knew he had to help his brother so he thought hard. He knew his brother needed the sword. If his main sword broke, he

4 needed a spare or he would have to forfeit the match. His eyes swept the field until they lit on the sword in the stone standing off in the clearing. It was worth a try, seeing as none of the other knights had been able to pull it out. It was standing there, alone and forgotten for the moment. Arthur ran to stone, thinking only of helping his brother. He grasped the hilt and easily slipped the sword out. He stopped to stare at its beauty. Arthur admired its fine, broad steel blade and the way it shone in the sunshine. Sir Kay will be pleased with this! Arthur thought as he turned the blade from side to side so that it sparkled in the light. He had forgotten all about the legend of the sword in the stone and rushed to take it to his brother. When Sir Ector and Sir Kay saw Arthur coming with the sword that seemed to shine with a light of its own, they gasped with astonishment. Arthur didn t notice their surprise. Here, brother Kay, Arthur panted, somewhat out of breath with all of the running about he had done. Your sword was missing so I found you another one! When he looked at their faces, Arthur paled and said, Oh. It never occurred to him or to them that he would be a contender for the sword. Maybe someone loosened it. I ll go put it back. Arthur ran quickly back to the stone. He stood there confused because there was no hole to tell him where to put the sword back. He just closed his eyes and plunged the sword in again as his father and brother ran to keep up, the tournament forgotten. When Arthur opened his eyes, he saw the hilt sticking out of the stone once more. Sir Ector turned to his elder son. You try to pull it out, he said.

5 Sir Kay took a deep breath, grasped the hilt, braced his feet and pulled with all his might. He might as well have been trying to push a mountain out of his way. The sword did not budge. None of them had noticed the cloaked figure of Merlin standing in the shadows. Sir Ector paled. He then looked at Arthur. Try to take it out, he whispered. Sir Kay moved out of the way to make room for Arthur. Arthur planted his feet and with one hand grasping the hilt, pulled the sword free. The sword whished through the air as he held it over his head. Suddenly, to Arthur s amazement, his father and brother knelt on the ground before him. They were bowing their heads to him. Arthur lowered the sword abruptly. What are you doing?! he cried. Why are you kneeling? Because you are the true-born King of all Britain, Sir Ector said. I swear I will serve you to the end of my days. He was remembering a night sixteen years earlier when he had opened the door to a cloaked figure holding a wrapped bundle. Arthur was dumbfounded. Me? A King? he gasped. I m not even a knight. I don t even have a horse or a sword yet! he said, forgetting what he was holding in his hand. No, Arthur, said a voice behind him. There is no mistake. It was Merlin. He had been watching everything from the shadows of the trees. Now the magician came forward, holding a magnificent gold scabbard and belt. Take this, Arthur, Merlin said. It is yours. I have waited many years to give it to you, for I have known ever since you were born that you, and no other, are the true-born King of Britain!

6 Arthur was unable to speak. He simply gazed wonderstruck at the shining gold scabbard. He turned it over and over in his hands. Merlin watched him and for a moment felt sad that such a young boy should be burdened with so serious a destiny. Merlin knew that as King of Britain, Arthur would not find it easy. He would have to fight the Anglo Saxon invaders who were not easy foes to overcome. But that lay in the future. First he would need to find a way to bring peace to his people after so many years of rivalry and fighting. That task would begin today. The flashing sword had drawn the attention of the knights in the field. They began shouting and running toward the little group. Come! said Merlin. We must tell the people that their King has made himself known at last. They have waited a long time to hear this glad news!

7 Sword in the Stone Vocabulary Look at the list of words. Are there any words that you think you know the meaning of already? Beside each one, write a synomym or phrase that means the same thing as the word. Word From Story Battle-scarred A discord ambitions invaders embedded hilt heaved joust frantic rummaged forfeit contender whished scabbard Synomym or Phrase that Means the Same Thing -eg. covered with scars that happened when fighting These words can also be sorted by what they do in their sentences. Beside each word in the chart, write N for Noun (a person, place, or thing), V for Verb (an action), or A for Adjective (a word that describes something). As a hint, 6 of them are nouns, 6 are verbs, and 2 are adjectives.

8 Characters Name Who They Are Personality Trait Magician who watches from the shadows Sir Kay Sir Ector Too young to fight Summary -it was a period of in because had died without naming a replacement. - a huge, with a stuck in it, appears in a clearing - explained that whoever pulled the from the stone was going to be the future of Britain - many tried unsuccessfully to pull the sword - in a twist of events Arthur manages to pull the from the stone! - everyone is shocked to realize that is the future At the end of the story, Merlin thinks about what a difficult job Arthur is going to have. Identify two difficulties that Arthur will need to overcome in his new job and identify what personality traits will help him. Difficulty 1. Necessary Personality Trait 2.