The Passing of Arthur (Campfire Story)

This is the last of the stories of King Arthur, and it is a quiet one.

After many years of peace, a terrible war came to Britain, and Arthur fought his last great battle on a plain by the sea. When it was over, the field was silent, and of all the Knights of the Round Table, only one still stood beside the king: Sir Bedivere. And Arthur himself was badly wounded.

Bedivere helped him to a little chapel near the shore of a lake. The king leaned against the wall and drew out his sword, Excalibur, the sword he had received from the Lady of the Lake so long ago, when he was young.

'Bedivere,' he said, 'take Excalibur to the water's edge, and throw it as far as you can into the lake. Then come back and tell me what you saw.'

Bedivere took the sword and walked down to the shore. But when he stood at the water's edge, the moon came out from behind a cloud, and the jewels on the hilt sparkled, and the blade shone like silver. And Bedivere thought, 'This is the greatest sword in the world. How can I throw it away? It would be a waste. Men should see it and remember the king.' So he hid Excalibur among the reeds and went back.

'What did you see?' asked Arthur.

'Only the waves,' said Bedivere, 'and the wind in the reeds.'

Arthur looked at him for a long time. 'That is not true,' he said, very gently. 'Go again, and do as I asked.'

Bedivere went back to the shore. He took Excalibur from the reeds. And again he could not do it. 'The king is wounded and not thinking clearly,' he told himself. 'Someday he will thank me for saving it.' He hid the sword again and went back.

'What did you see?'

'Only the waves, my lord, and the dark water.'

Arthur closed his eyes. 'Bedivere, you have been my loyal friend for many years. But you have told me two untruths for the sake of a sword. Please. Go one more time, and do what I ask.'

And this time Bedivere understood. Loyalty does not mean doing what you think is best for someone. It means keeping faith with what they asked of you. He ran to the reeds, took up Excalibur, whirled it around his head three times, and threw it as far as he could out over the lake.

The sword flashed and turned in the moonlight. And before it touched the water, an arm rose up out of the lake, clothed in shining white silk, and caught it by the hilt. It held Excalibur up, and shook it three times, and then drew it down beneath the water, without a sound.

Bedivere came back with tears on his face and told the king what he had seen. 'Now it is done,' said Arthur. 'Help me to the shore.'

At the water's edge a small black barge was waiting, drifting toward them out of the mist. In it sat three queens dressed in black, and one of them was the Lady of the Lake. They lifted Arthur gently into the barge and laid his head in a queen's lap, and the barge began to drift away across the water.

'My lord!' cried Bedivere. 'What will become of me, now that you are gone?'

'Be comforted,' came Arthur's voice across the water. 'I am going to the island of Avalon, to be healed of my wound. Do your best, Bedivere, and keep faith.' And the barge slipped into the mist, and was gone.

Some say that King Arthur died there, in Avalon. But many people in Britain have never believed it. They say Arthur is only sleeping, and that when Britain needs him most, he will come again. That is why, the old books say, some wrote these words for him:

Here lies Arthur, the once and future king.

Storyteller tips: tell this one slowly and quietly, with long pauses. Don't hurry the three throws.

Talk it over afterward: what did Bedivere learn about loyalty? How do the Scout Law's "trustworthy" and "loyal" fit together in this story?