"The Sword Excalibur"
My master King Arthur and I had just been through one of the most
difficult and long battles in the history of long and difficult
battles. Our rival was the tallest Knight I had ever seen
before. The Knight fought bravely, but the King beat him.
Merlin cast a sleeping enchantment over the Knight. Merlin was a
wizard with great powers. I do not know why Merlin did this, but
perhaps he saw something greater for our foe in the future.
Merlin and King Arthur took
the Knight with them to see an old man who smelled funny. I got
to carry the
burden of this man. He snored awful loud. I was so glad
when we finally arrived to the old man's hut. King Arthur's
wounds were massive and he needed some help. They went into the
old man's hut, while I stayed outside. They stayed there for
three days before we
finally left. King Arthur bounded out of the hut on day three
looking infintely better than before. I guess that the old man
was a healer of some sort. We then continued on our journey.
Now it was just King Arthur, myself, Merlin, and Merlin's horse, named
Todd,
on the road together. I had noticed that the weight on my back
had gotten lighter since we had left the old man's house. This
was when I heard my master say, "I do not have a sword." Merlin
just looked at him with a twinkle in his eye and told him to be patient
and see what was to come. After traveling a little further, we
came upon a big lake. I was oh so thirsty. As we walked up
to get a drink, I saw an arm sticking out of the middle of the water,
holding a shiny sword! "Look over there!" said Merlin.
"There is
your new weapon!" King Arthur did a double take, for this image
was unimaginable. Within the blink of an eye there was a woman
standing on top of the water next to the creepy arm. Merlin said,
"Do not fear. That is the Lady of the Lake. She is coming
closer. If you ask her nice enough, she just may give you the
sword which you so desire." I was freaking out to have this
floating lady get so close to me. King Arthur's grip tightened on
my reins. When she got close enough, King Arthur made a gesture
of utmost respect and asked, "Lady of the Lake, whose sword is that in
the arm that is coming out of the water? I wish that that sword
were mine because I have misplaced my sword."
The Lady answered, "That is my sword, King Arthur. I will let you
have it if, in return, you give me a gift when I ask you for one."
King Arthur replied, "I will do all that is within my power to give you
whatever you ask of me when the time comes."
The Lady then said, "Okay. Well, go to that dock over in the
eastwardly
direction. There you will find a boat. Row yourself out to
the sword and take it, along with its scabbard. This is the sword
Excalibur."
After King Arthur was done talking with the Lady of the Lake, he
and Merlin tied Todd and me up to a tree. I was fearful for my
master. Every time he is not on my back, I worry for his safety,
for I cannot do anything but wait patiently and watch what happens.
Arthur rowed far out to where the arm was holding the sword. I
had to squint my eyes to see at such a distance. I saw Arthur
grab the sword and its scabbard. In an instant, the arm that
was holding the sword and its scabbard disappeared, and was seen no
more.
Arthur rowed safely back to shore. I was so happy to see him on
land again, and even happier when he untied me and we began to travel
on.
King Arthur was admiring his new-found treasure. Merlin said,
"Which one do you like best, the sword or the scabbard?" Arthur
answered almost immediately, "The sword." Merlin laughed, "That
is
not wise to say. The worth of the scabbard is ten times that of
the
sword, and as long as you are wearing the scabbard, you will not lose
any blood, although you may be badly wounded." I sure hope that
the scabbard will protect me too while my master is wearing it!
We continued on
our journey until we reached the town of Carlion where the townsfolk
graciously welcomed us.
The next adventure I will tell to you is the story of "How
the Round Table Began."
Author's Note:
I chose to retell the story of "The Sword
Excalibur." I told this story from King Arthur's horse's
perspective. I kept
the names of the characters the same. However, I gave Merlin's
horse a name because he didn't have one. He really didn't play a
big role in the story, but I didn't want to refer to him as "Merlin's
horse" all the time. The name of King Arthur's horse is Meaty,
but I have yet to find a way to incorporate that into the story.
The horses weren't mentioned very much in the original story, but they
were in
the story throughout most of what had taken place. Anytime I have
ever
been around a horse, they have gotten spooked really easy so I had King
Arthur's horse be wary of the weird events that were occurring.
For example, the horse is spooked when he comes across the arm holding
the sword
sticking out of the water in the story. King Arthur's horse is
also very protective and loyal to his master. I think that all
animals have a sense of protection and loyalty for their owners no
matter what kind of animal they are.
Bibliography Information-
Story Title: "The Sword Excalibur"
Book Title: "King Arthur Tales of the Round Table"
Book Author: Andrew Lang
Year Published: 1902
Web Source: "The
Sword Excalibur"
Image Information:
Title: The Sword Excalibur
Web Source: "The
Periodical Room"