King Arthur

[英] Janet Hardy-Gould

It is the year 650 in England. There is no king and people are fighting. One night Merlin the magician has a dream...

In the morning...

I see a wonderful king. His name is Arthur！ How can I find him？

Merlin makes a magic stone. He puts a sword in it. Only the true king can pull out the sword.

You are not the true king.

Shall I try？

Youre only a boy！

Try， son！ Lets all have a good laugh！

Arthur pulls hard.

Who are you？ Whats your name？

Arthur.

Our new king！

But I dont know how to be king.

Suddenly...

Who are you？

Dont be afraid， Arthur！ My name is Merlin. With my help you can be king.

The next day many important people come to see Arthur.

Hes very young.

Who are those people？

Thats your half-sister， Morgan， and her son， Mordred. She can see into the future.

Merlin teaches every day， and after four years he is a strong， good king.One morning， a soldier visits Arthur.

The lords from the North are coming to fight you.

Go now and fight， Arthur！

Go faster， man！

When they arrive there is a long battle.

Oh， no！ Help！

Hours later most of the other soldiers are dead.

Arthur is King of all England！

We can win every battle now！Come to my castle. Lets eat and drink all night！

Have some more food everybody！

Ha， ha， ha！

Do you know my daughter Guinevere？

No... its very nice to meet you.

Arthur and Guinevere talk all evening. When Arthur comes back...

I want to marry Guinevere.

No...no...Arthur！

I see a dark future for you and Guinevere. Dont marry her！

I am King and I choose my Queen！

Arthur builds the castle of Camelot.

Heres the new castle for my future Queen.

Arthur， I must speak to you ...

Whats the matter？

I must leave you now. I am losing my magic. Come with me， Arthur.Looking into the water.

Take the magic sword. You need this for your battles.

Thank you！

Be careful. Dont break it—without your sword you are nothing.

Goodbye， Arthur.

Three weeks later Arthur marries Guinevere.

Good luck！

Two people stand alone...Morgan and her son， Mordred.

I see an unhappy future for Arthur and Guinevere！

Guinevere gives Arthur a large round table.

The strongest knights in England can sit at this table！

I want to find the best knights in the country. Lets have a competition today！

Can I fight first？

Gawain fights many different men. Nobody can beat him.

Is Gawain the strongest knight in England？

No， I am！

Who are you？ I cant see your face.

Lets watch him fight. We can see his face later.

Shall I fight in your name， Queen Guinevere？

Yes. Good luck！

Come on， Gawain！

Oh dear！

Oh no！

Whats your name？

Lancelot.

Lancelot is the strongest man in all England. He can be the first knight of the Round Table！

Soon， knights come from all over the country. They sit at the Round Table.

Arthur and Guinevere are very happy together.

Youre our best friend， Lancelot.

And in the villages...

King Arthur， thank you！ We have lots of food to eat.

We have a strong king at last！ There is no more fighting.

Guinevere and Lancelot often go riding together.

Look at these beautiful flowers.

One night， Morgan and Mordred arrive at Camelot.

Where is King Arthur？

Hello Morgan！ Come in. Would you like to stay？

Yes.

Morgan and Mordred stay for weeks... They are very friendly to Guinevere and Arthur.

What a beautiful castle！

Thank you.

But later...

When I look into the future I see King Arthur is dead. You must be king， my son！

Yes， mother.One morning Arthur visits Morgan.

Guinevere and I have no son or daughter. Mordred can be king when I die.

Thank you， dear brother. But you are very young...

Be careful， Arthur. Mordred is a bad man.

Arthur tells Guinevere about the dream.

Dont worry. Its only a dream.

Morgan and Mordred are nice people. I can see into the future. There is no Arthur， no castle， and you are king！

Arthur and his knights often ride into the country.

Lets go！ Faster！

They come back with many stories. Guinevere listens excitedly.

Oh Lancelot. Youre very strong！

Every evening the knights eat and drink together.One day Mordred comes to Arthur.

Guinevere and Lancelot are often together.

Yes， of course... Lancelot is my best friend.

What are you saying， Mordred？

Perhaps Guinevere and Lancelot are in love...

Is it ture？ Do you love my wife？

Yes， but...

Leave Camelot now， before I kill you.

You dont understand...

Lancelot rides away quickly with some kights.

Guinevere is very unhappy. And now Arthur does not look after his country.

The magic of the Round Table is dead！

In the towns and villages people begin to fight again. Everyone is afraid.

You must be a strong king. Find Lancelot and fight him.

The next day， Arthur leaves with many knights.

Goodbye， King Arthur.

Ha， ha， ha！ Bye！

A week later， Arthur and his knights find Lancelot.

Lets fight now！ Are you ready？

But I dont want to fight my best friend. Lets talk.

No. Theres no more time.

Just then， a soldier arrives from Camelot.

Mordred is now king！ Everybody thinks you are dead， and the queen is in prison.

Lets forget our fight！ Help me， Lancelot.

Arthur and his knights quickly ride back to Camelot.

Lets find Mordred and kill him！Mordreds in the next village.

We need to sleep. Lets find him tomorrow.

Do not fight Mordred tomorrow.

Lancelot is coming with many soldiers. Wait for him.

Shall we fight Mordred today？

No， Gawain. We must wait. Lancelot and his soldiers are coming.

Arthur and his men meet Mordred.

Hello， old man！ Do you want to give me your crown？

You traitor！ Where is my wife？ I must see her.

You must fight me first！

No... no... not today. Lets fight tomorrow.

Just then， Arthur sees a snake.

Quick. Kill the snake！

Look！ We must help Mordred. Arthur wants to kill him， I think.

Suddenly all of the soldiers start fighting.

Whats happening？

Help！

Take that！

They fight for many hours.

No！

Take that！

After three hours...

My knights ， my friends ， my soldiers... they are all dead！

Gawain... my true friend.

Wheres Mordred？ I want to kill him！

Die， you traitor！

Ha， ha， ha！

No！ My sword...

Goodbye， Arthur！

Help！

Just then， Lancelot and his soldiers arrive.

Im here now. We can win the battle. You cant help me now... Im dying.

Lancelot finds Mordred.

You traitor Mordred！

No...！

Take my sword. Throw it into the water over there！

Lancelot throws the sword.A hand comes out of the water.

Come with me， Arthur.

Goodbye， Lancelot. Find Guinevere and look after her.

Yes， my lord.

Never forget King Arthur and the magic of the Round Table！