King Arthur was badly wounded in one of his battles and it was his mentor and teacher, the magician Merlin who led him away to safety. Merlin took him to a hermit who was learned in the ways of medicine and healed the king’s wounds in three days. The king and the magician thanked the hermit and continued on their way.
As they rode together, King Arthur turned to his mentor, “I have now broken my sword too.”
“The Sword in Stone…” murmured Merlin. After all it was that magical sword which young Arthur pulled out from a stone that made him king all those years ago. “Never mind! A broken sword is of no use to you. We will surely find one for you soon.”
“If you say so, Merlin,” replied Arthur for he trusted the instincts of his teacher. As darkness fell, they came to the banks of a large lake. The full moon lit the water which shimmered gently and in that light, Arthur saw an arm holding up a sword in the middle of the lake.
“There is a sword for you”, said Merlin looking at the king.
“Is it for me?” asked Arthur and as he turned back to look at the lake again, he saw a beautiful maiden standing on the silvery water.
“Ask the Lady of the Lake, she will give it to you,” whispered Merlin. As they watched, the maiden approached the shore. The king saluted her and asked of her, “Fair maiden, who does that sword belong to? I have lost mine in battle and would very much like to have one.”
“That sword belongs to me,” smiled the maiden. She was lovely, ethereal, a water nymph, no doubt.
“I would very much like to have it, dear lady. Would you give it to me?” asked Arthur.
“I will give it to you… provided you give me a gift when I ask you for it.” replied the Lady of the Lake.
“Upon my honour, I promise to give you what you want when you choose to ask.” Arthur knew this sword had to be his at whatever cost. This was no trap for Merlin would have stopped him otherwise.
“Well then, see that barge over there… row over to the sword and take it along with the scabbard. That is the sword Excalibur and will see you through many victories. As for my gift, I will come to you when the time comes.” And the Lady of the Lake vanished as mysteriously as she had appeared! Arthur and Merlin dismounted from their horses and tied them up to a tree nearby. Climbing on to the barge they rowed across to the arm still holding up the sword. As soon as Arthur took the sword by the handle, the arm disappeared. They returned to the shore with the prized Excalibur and once again resumed their journey in the night.
King Arthur examined the sword carefully. He felt happy and excited, all the battle weariness seemed to melt away suddenly. Merlin smiled indulgently, “Which do you like better, the sword or the scabbard?”
“Why, the sword of course!” replied Arthur, his eyes shining. “Isn’t it a beauty?”
“That scabbard, dear Arthur, is worth 10 of the sword. As long as you have it strapped on you, you will lose no blood, no matter how badly wounded you may be,” Merlin, the magician knew everything.
Tired but happy they rode into the town of Carlion where the Knights were waiting for them. Thus came the magical sword Excalibur in to King Arthur’s possession. So what if he had broken the Sword in Stone, now there was one which had come swiftly to replace the one lost.