Arthur and the Lady of the Lake (Campfire Story)

When Arthur was still a very young king, not long after he had pulled the sword from the stone, he was as eager as any young man to prove himself. So when a squire came riding into court with news of a strange knight, Arthur's eyes lit up.

'There is a knight in the forest,' said the squire, 'camped beside a fountain. He fights every knight who passes, and he has beaten them all. His name is King Pellinore.'

Arthur called for his horse and his armor. His old teacher, the wizard MERLIN, frowned. 'A king does not need to fight every knight in the forest, Arthur.' But Arthur was already riding away, and MERLIN sighed and followed.

At the fountain, King Pellinore sat on a great black horse, his shield gleaming. 'Who are you, young knight?' he called.

'A knight who means to pass,' said Arthur. And they charged.

Their spears shattered. They drew their swords. CLANG! CLANG! They fought until their shields were dented and their arms ached. Pellinore was older, stronger and more skilled, but Arthur would not give an inch. CLANG! Then Arthur swung with all his might, and with a terrible crack, his sword broke in two.

Arthur stood there holding a broken hilt. Pellinore raised his sword. 'Yield,' he said, 'or I will strike.'

Before he could, MERLIN raised his hand, spoke one strange word, and King Pellinore slumped over in his saddle, fast asleep. MERLIN led Arthur away, and Arthur rode in silence for a long time, red-faced and ashamed.

'I had no sword,' he said at last. 'And I had no business picking that fight.'

'Now you are learning to be a king,' said MERLIN. 'And since you have learned it, I know where there is a sword for you.'

He led Arthur deep into the forest, to a lake so still and so wide that the mist hid its far shore. Nothing moved. No bird sang. Then, out in the middle of the lake, the water began to ripple. SPLASH. An arm rose up out of the lake, clothed in shining white silk, and in its hand it held a sword in a jeweled scabbard. The blade caught the light and gleamed like a star.

'That,' said MERLIN quietly, 'is Excalibur.'

A lady came walking toward them across the water as if it were a marble floor. She was the Lady of the Lake, and her voice was as clear as the mist was gray. 'King Arthur,' she said, 'the sword is yours, if you will grant me a gift when I ask for it.'

'Whatever you ask,' said Arthur, 'I will give, if it is mine to give.'

A little boat drifted to the shore. Arthur rowed out, took the sword and its scabbard from the hand, and the arm sank back beneath the water without a sound. SPLASH.

As they rode home, Arthur could not stop looking at the blade. MERLIN watched him. 'Tell me, Arthur. Which do you like better, the sword or the scabbard?'

'The sword, of course!'

'Then you are not as wise as I hoped,' said MERLIN. 'The scabbard is worth ten of the sword. While you wear it, you will lose no blood, however badly you are wounded. Keep it close, and keep it safe.'

Arthur was quiet for a long while. Then he said, 'Merlin, why did you not let me fight Pellinore again, now that I have Excalibur?'

'Because Pellinore is a good knight,' said MERLIN, 'and one day he will be one of your best. A king does not win by beating good men. He wins by making them his friends.'

And so it was. King Pellinore came to Camelot, and he sat at the Round Table, and he served Arthur faithfully for the rest of his days. And Excalibur, the sword from the lake, became the most famous sword in all the world.

Storyteller tips: drop your voice to a whisper when the arm rises from the lake, and let the silence sit for a moment before Merlin names the sword.

Talk it over afterward: why did Merlin say the scabbard was worth more than the sword? What did Arthur learn from losing to Pellinore?