The Sword and the Stone
Long ago, Uther Pendragon was the king of
Britain. His chief magician was Merlin. Merlin used his powers
to help the king fight his enemies and win the hand of the
beautiful Igraine. When the king and queen had their first child,
Merlin warned them that their son’s life would be in danger at
the castle so Merlin took the baby into hiding.
Three years later, the King died. For the next
twelve years, the lords and their knights fought over to
determine who should be the next king. Then one winter, Merlin
came out of hiding. He told the Archbishop of Canterbury to
gather all the nobles at the cathedral. When they arrived, the
nobles saw that a stone with a large sword thrust into it had
been set in the churchyard. The words inscribed on the stone
say: “Whoever can pull the sword from this stone is the true king
of Britain.”
All the knights tried to remove the sword, but
not one of them could even move it. Finally, the Archbishop
decided to invite all the knights in the land for a tournament.
Each knight would have a chance to pull the sword from the
stone.
A proud knight named Sir Kay traveled to the
tournament with his younger brother, Arthur, and their father
Sir Hector. Just before the event began, Sir Kay realized he had
forgotten his sword. He ordered Arthur to go back to their inn
to get it. However, when Arthur got there, the doors were locked
and no one answered to his call. Everyone was at the
tournament.
While he was thinking about what to do, Arthur
spotted the large sword sticking out of the stone in the
churchyard. Arthur grabbed the handle and gave it a sharp tug.
The sword slithered from the stone smoothly and silently.
Arthur quickly rode back to the tournament
and handed the sword to Sir Kay. Sir Kay recognized the weapon
and quickly hid it under his cloak.
Answer the given questions using complete sentences.
1. What happened after Uther Pendragon died?
2. Why did Merlin come out of hiding?
3. How would the people of Britain determine the one who
deserves the crown of the king?
4. Why did Sir Kay ask Arthur to go back to the inn?
5. Why would Arthur get the sword from the stone?