The Rollright Stones

Long ago, a proud king rode across the green hills of Oxfordshire with his men and his knights. He wanted to be king of all of England, and he was sure that one day he would be.

At the top of a hill, an old witch stepped out in front of him. She leaned on her stick and looked at him with bright, twinkling eyes. “Seven long strides you shall take, and if Long Compton you can see, King of England you shall be!” she said.

The king laughed out loud. He knew the little village of Long Compton lay just on the other side of the hill. “Stand back, everyone!” he called. “This will be easy.”

So he took one long stride, then two, then three. He took four, five, and six, and the village was almost in sight. But as he lifted his foot for the seventh stride, the ground in front of him began to rise. Up and up it swelled, until a big mound of earth stood in his way. The king stretched his neck and stood on tiptoe, but he could not see Long Compton at all.

The old witch laughed a crackly laugh. “Since Long Compton you cannot see, King of England you shall not be!” she said. “Rise up, stick, and stand still, stone!” And with that, the king turned into a tall gray stone, right where he stood.

His men had been waiting in a big circle, and they turned into a ring of stones too. A few knights had been standing a little way off, whispering secrets together. They turned into stones as well, with their heads still close together. Then the witch spun around and turned herself into an elder tree, with white flowers on her branches.

The stones are still there on the hilltop today. People call the tall one the King Stone, the circle the King’s Men, and the little group the Whispering Knights. And here is the strangest thing of all. Nobody can ever count the King’s Men and get the same number twice. Some people count them once, then count again, and get a different number every time. So if you ever visit the Rollright Stones, why not try counting them yourself?