King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone

Long ago, the old king of England died, and he had no grown-up son to take his place. All the lords and knights wanted to be king, and they argued and argued. So a wise old wizard named Merlin made a plan to find the true king.

On Christmas morning, the people of London found a big square stone in the churchyard. On top of the stone sat an iron anvil, and stuck deep in the anvil was a shining sword. Golden letters on the stone said that whoever could pull out the sword would be the true king. One by one, the lords and knights stepped up and tugged with all their might. But the sword did not move, not even a tiny bit.

On New Year’s Day, a great contest was held in a field outside the town. Among the knights who came was a kind old knight named Sir Ector, with his big son, Sir Kay. With them came young Arthur, whom Sir Ector had brought up as his own son, so Kay was like a big brother to him.

When they got near the field, Sir Kay cried, “Oh no, I left my sword at home!” “Don’t worry, I will fetch it for you,” said Arthur, and he rode back as fast as he could. But when he got to the house, the door was locked, and everybody had gone to the contest. Arthur did not want his brother to be without a sword. Then he remembered the sword he had seen in the churchyard. “That one will do,” he thought, “and I can bring it back later.”

Arthur hopped off his horse, took hold of the handle, and pulled. Out slid the sword, as easily as a knife out of soft butter. He did not read the golden letters, and he did not know what it meant. He just rode back and gave the sword to Kay.

Sir Kay looked at it, and his eyes grew wide. He ran to his father and said, “Look, I have the sword from the stone, so I must be king!” Sir Ector took them both back to the churchyard. “Tell me the truth, Kay, where did you get this sword?” he asked kindly. Kay looked at his feet and said, “My brother Arthur gave it to me.”

So Arthur slid the sword back into the anvil, and the knights tried again. Nobody could move it, but when Arthur took the handle, out it came once more. Sir Ector knelt down, and so did Sir Kay, and all the people cheered. That is how young Arthur became King Arthur, the most famous king of all the old stories. And the very first thing he did as king was to ask his brother Kay to stay by his side.