King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone

King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone — page 5
On a Sunday morning in late November the great cathedral of London was filled to capacity As mass was being said a sudden murmur rippled through the crowd on the cathedral steps Turning to see the cause of the commotion the archbishop stopped in midprayer and walked toward the door In the churchyard he discovered a block of white marble with an anvil sitting on top Driven into the anvil gleaming in the pale winter sun was a sword Its blade was of flawless blue-white steel and the hilt was of highly wrought gold inlaid with rubies sapphires and emeralds Engraved in the marble block were these words Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword from This Stone and Anvil Is Rightwise King Born of England Ah so this is Merlin’s plan thought the archbishop smiling to himself A group of barons and knights suddenly pushed their way through the crowd each stating loudly that he should be the first to try A few managed to leap onto the stone and give the sword an unsuccessful yank before the archbishop stopped them Order Order he shouted raising his hands to quiet the crowd I hearby proclaim that on Christmas morning