Long, long ago there lived a famous king. His name was Arthur. Arthur’s last battle was against his own son, Mordred. The armies started (fight) early in the morning and the battle lasted all day. When they finished (fight), Mordred was dead and the king was badly wounded.

After the battle Sir Bedivere took the wounded king to the island of Avalon. He said to Sir Bedivere: ‘I need (return) Excalibur to the lake before I die! But he was too weak to move, so the knight offered (take) the sword. ‘Throw the sword out into the middle of the lake,’ said the king. Sir Bedivere promised (do) it.

The knight stood on the shore of the lake and looked at Excalibur. It was such a beautiful sword. He couldn’t imagine (throw) it away. He decided (keep) it. On the way back to the king, he stopped (hide) the sword in the bushes.

‘Have you done it?’ asked King Arthur, when the knight returned.

‘Yes, Your Majesty,’ said Sir Bedivere.

The king smiled. ‘Tell me,’ he said. ‘What did you see?’ ‘Nothing,’ said the knight.

The king stopped (smile) .

‘You didn’t throw the sword into the lake,’ he said. ‘Go back and do it.’

Sir Bedivere didn’t want (throw) the sword into the water, but he agreed (do) it and went back to the lake. He picked up the sword and started (throw) it, but he couldn’t do it. He hid the sword again and went back to the king. Again the king asked him: ‘What did you see?’

‘Nothing happened,’ he said. ‘The sword just fell into the water.’ King Arthur was very angry. He refused (believe) the knight’s story. ‘I see that I must do it myself,’ he said, and he tried (stand) up.