KING ARTHUR

 

Chapter 3 :  Excalibur

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Part 1

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King Arthur went round the country on his horse. He met his people and helped them. One day he came to a great wood. When evening came, King Arthur was not out of the wood.

Then he saw a very big, beautiful castle in front of him. He went nearer, and the great door of the castle opened. A woman came out.

‘King Arthur,’ she said. ‘I am Queen Annoure. Stay in my castle. It is getting dark. I will give you food and a bed for the night.’

Arthur was hungry and thirsty. He was also tired. He looked at the dark sky. ‘Thank you,’ he said, and he went in.

The Queen was kind to Arthur. She took his horse and gave it food and water. She took Arthur to the dining-room of her castle and gave him bread, meat and wine. Then one of Queen Annoure’s men took the King to his bedroom, and Arthur went to sleep.

 

The next morning, after breakfast, Queen Annoure wanted to see Arthur.

‘I would like to show you my castle and the beautiful things in it,’ she said. ‘I am the richest person in the world. Look — everything here is mine.’

Arthur looked at her castle. They went from room to room, and each room was richer than the room before that. There were beautiful things everywhere.

Queen Annoure knew a lot of magic, so she could make beautiful things.

Then they came out on to the top of the castle.

‘Look at those beautiful trees and gardens,’ said the Queen. ‘And look at those woods. They are mine too. This is my country.

And can you see that great wall round the castle?

Stay with me and be king here! You cannot leave. The door of the castle is shut, and that great wall will stop you. My men are ready. Do not leave, or they will kill you.’

‘Your magic cannot hurt me, and your men cannot kill me,’ answered King Arthur.

Then, with his sword in his hand and his helmet on his head, Arthur went out of the castle, and through the door in the great wall. Nobody could stop him.

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Part 2

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Queen Annoure sent one of her men to Sir Pellinore. He lived near her castle, and he had a place at King Arthur’s Round Table.

‘Queen Annoure says that a very bad knight is on his way to her castle. He wants to kill her and take her money. He is very near here, and he will go past your house. Please go out and fight him for my queen,’ the man said to Sir Pellinore.

So Pellinore sat on his horse and waited. He did not know that King Arthur was the ‘very bad knight’. Arthur met Pellinore on the road.

‘Sir! Knight!’ cried Arthur. ‘Why are you waiting here? Do you want to fight me?’

‘Yes!’ shouted Sir Pellinore, and he took his sword in his hand.

Pellinore hit the King with his sword and Arthur fell from his horse. He stood up. He was very angry and pulled out his sword. They had a long fight, and then the King’s sword broke.

‘Ha!’ cried Sir Pellinore. ‘That is the end of the fight! I can kill you now!’

Arthur threw down his sword. He ran at Sir Pellinore and threw him on to the ground.

The two men were very tired, but they fought for a little longer. Then Arthur put his foot on Pellinore’s head. Arthur took the helmet from his head, so Pellinore could see his face.

‘Shall I kill you? ‘ Arthur said.

Pellinore looked up and saw Arthur’s face.

‘My King!’ he cried. ‘I did not know it was you! Queen Annoure wanted me to fight a bad knight on this road.’

‘I am not that bad knight! But I know you did not want to kill your king,’ said King Arthur.

Then the two men were friends again.

Sir Pellinore hurt King Arthur in the fight, so Merlin visited Arthur. In three days Arthur was well again.

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Part 3

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‘My sword broke in the fight,’ Arthur told Merlin.

‘That sword was not important,’ said Merlin. ‘ Come with me and you will find the best sword in the world. It is a magic sword from Avalon, the place of magic.’

The King went with Merlin through a dark wood. The trees shut out the light from the sun and Arthur could not see the sky. After a long time they came to an open place in the mountains. There were no trees, but Arthur saw a strange lake. The water was very blue and there were flowers next to it.

‘Now go to the lake,’ Merlin told Arthur. So Arthur left his horse with Merlin and walked down to the magic lake. He looked across the quiet blue water - and there, in the centre of the lake, he suddenly saw an arm with a beautiful sword in its hand.

‘Go and take it,’ said Merlin. ‘It is the sword Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake made it for you. She lives in her home in the water of the lake.’

A lovely young woman walked across the water and stood on the ground next to King Arthur.

‘I am the Lady of the Lake. Your sword, Excalibur, is waiting for you.’

 

There was a boat on the water. King Arthur got into it and went to the middle of the lake. He took the sword, and the arm went into the water. When Arthur came back to Merlin, the Lady of the Lake was not there.

 

The sword was inside a scabbard. It was a very beautiful thing.

‘That is a magic scabbard,’ said Merlin. ‘No man can kill a person with that scabbard.

Have it with you always, because an evil woman will try to take the scabbard and the sword away from you.’

King Arthur and Merlin went home again. Arthur’s knights listened happily to the stories of his journey.

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