E X T EFrankenstein N S I O N KING ARTHUR AND EXCALIBUR The famous King Arthur is probably a Celtic British king or chieftain of the 6th century AD who fights against the Saxon invaders of Britain. This is his legend. When King Uther dies, his son Arthur is a baby. Merlin, the magician, gives him to Sir Hector, but Sir Hector doesn t know the boy s real identity. A long period of wars starts because there isn t a king in the country. So Merlin decides to put a special sword, Excalibur, into a stone1 and says that only the man who can pull the sword out2 of the stone will be king. After some time there is a tournament3 in London to decide the future king. All the British knights take part in the tournament, Sir Hector with his son Kay and his adoptive son Arthur as well4. Kay forgets his sword at home, so Arthur must look for one. Where can I find a sword at this time? he asks himself. At last he finds a sword in a rock5 and he pulls it out. He shows it to Sir Hector and the old man understands: Arthur is the future King of Britain. 1. stone: pietra. 2. pull out: estrarre. 3. tournament: torneo. 4. as well: pure. 5. rock: roccia, masso. A Medieval Renaissance tapestry depicting the story of King Arthur. The tapestry reads from right to left. First, Arthur draws the sword from the stone, then enters crowned as the King into his Court at Camelot. Finally, he emerges mounted and surrounded by his Knights. 31