English Audio Request

The legend of King Arthur
Young Arthur
Legend says that, a long time ago, Uther Pendragon became King of Britain. He had a counsellor named Merlin. Merlin was also a magician. King Uther was in love with Lady Igraine, who died when their son Arthur was born. So Merlin said, "There are many wars with the Saxons, and besides, Morgan le Fay, Lady Igraine's daughter, is a dangerous enchantress. Your son must grow up away from the court. It is safer!" Merlin gave the baby son to Sir Ector and his wife, who raised him in the safety of the countryside with their own son, Kay. When King Uther died, Britain had no king. Nobody knew that Uther had a son, it was a secret.
The sword in the stone
One day, an enormous stone with a sword in it appeared mysteriously outside St Paul's Cathedral in London. These words were written on the big stone:" He who pulls the sword out of this stone is the true King of Britain." A lot of noblemen tried to pull the sword out of the stone but in vain.
Arthur was now fifteen years old and on his way to London to a tournament where his stepbrother Kay was competing. Unfortunately, Arthur had forgotten to bring Kay's sword. He saw the sword in the stone. He approached the stone and pulled the sword out easily! All the noblemen were surprised. Merlin said to the noblemen, "Arthur is King Uther's son and he is our new King!" Young Arthur first became a knight. Then he became King of Britain.
Excalibur
Arthur was a young king. He liked riding his horse. He was adventurous, courageous, loyal and friendly. His people loved him. His first years as king were difficult. He fought against many enemies from other lands, particularly the Saxons. First they fought with their lances. Then they fought with their swords. During one of the fights, Arthur's sword broke.
Arthur rode away with Merlin and said, "I broke my sword. I am King because of that sword. I must have another sword." "Come with me then", said Merlin. Arthur followed Merlin to a lake of clear water. In the middle of the lake, Arthur saw an arm. The arm was holding a sword in a beautiful scabbard. "Look!", said Merlin. "That is the sword and that is the Lady of the Lake." The Lady of the Lake Vivien emerged from the water and gave Arthur the sword. Arthur took it out of the scabbard and looked at it. It was a beautiful sword with jewels on it. "Look, Merlin," he said, "the word Excalibur is written on it." "Yes, Excalibur is the greatest sword in the world. But its scabbard is more precious." "Why?", asked Arthur. "It has a great magic power", said Merlin. "When you wear it, you never bleed even if you are wounded. When you fight, you must always have the scabbard with you."
The Round Table
Arthur settled his royal court at Camelot. He married the beautiful Guinevere. King Leodegrance, Guinevere's father, was very happy with this marriage. "I am honoured to give my daughter to our courageous king!" said Guinevere's father. "My gift to King Arthur is the Round Table, which belonged to his father, King Uther." The enormous Round Table had places for 150 knights. Arthur invited the bravest knights of Britain to sit at the Round Table. These knights were known as The Knights of the Round Table.
The knights were adventurous. They fought enemies and dragons, they rescued damsels in danger, and some of them even decided to look for the Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, and later used to catch his blood when he was crucified. After many long journeys and dangerous adventures, only three knights found the Holy Grail. There were Galahad, Percival and Bors the Younger.
Lancelot
One of the Knights of the Round Table was Sir Lancelot. He was kind and generous. Lancelot and Guinevere fell in love and met secretly. Mordred a jealous and scheming knight found out about them and told Arthur. Arthur was very angry. He wanted Lancelot and Guinevere to be executed for treason. Sir Lancelot and Guinevere fled to France. Arthur pursued them, leaving Mordred in charge of his kingdom while he went to war in France. Arthur killed Lancelot and sent Guinevere to live in a monastery for the rest of her life.
King Arthur goes to Avalon. (*Avalon is the land of the dead in Celtic mythology)
But Mordred was not loyal. He wanted to take King Arthur's place. He wanted to be King of Britain! So Mordred told everyone that Arthur was killed in the war in France. Mordred became King of Britain! When King Arthur heard the news, he was furious. He returned to Britain immediately. Arthur fought a long battle against Mordred. At the end of the battle Arthur took his spear and killed Mordred. But Mordred's sword went through Arthur's helmet and his head.
The great king was dying. He still had to do one thing. He called sir Bedivere and said, "I must give my sword Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake. Take it to the lake. Then throw it far into the water." Sir Bedivere went to the lake. He threw Excalibur far into the water. An arm came out of the water and caught the sword. Then it disappeared in the water. Sir Bedivere returned to King Arthur. He told him about what he saw at the lake. Arthur was satisfied and said, "thank you, my loyal friend. Now carry me to the lake!" At the lake, there was a boat waiting for Arthur. The Lady of the Lake was in it. "My life is near the end. Farewell! I am going to Avalon." The boat moved away slowly. Sir Bedivere watched the boat on the lake until it disappeared.
Adapted from King Arthur and his knights, Green Apple