The sword was Excalibur. It had a lot of power. The Lady of the Lake gave it to King Uther but asked him to give her his first born child.Uther became powerful.When his first child was born Merlin the magician came to take the baby. Uther tried to stop him but thieves attacked him. Before he died he put Excalibur into a stone and asked Merlin to make his son a king.Merlin promised that only someone with a pure heart could pull it out and become the next King of English.