Merlin

Young Merlin lives in a castle with his mother, Princess Adhan. The castle is in Wales, in the west of King Vortigern's kingdom. Merlin doesn't know his father. He's fighting for the king far away.

The castle is near a forest. Merlin and his mother often walk there. She teaches him about forest plants.

"When you're older, you can come here without me", she says. "But be careful. There are many hunters. And an enchantress, Ceridwen, lives here, too!"

Merlin's only friend is a toad. One day, Merlin visits the village near the castle. Two boys, Morfran and Arwel, are behind him. But Merlin doesn't see them. He talks to his toad.

"Merlin's talking to his toad!", Morfran laughs.

"Go away", Merlin says. "Or when my father comes back home ..."

"We're not afraid, Merlin. Your father's never at home", Arwel says. "And is he truly your father? Perhaps you're a demon's child!"

That night, Merlin tells his mother everything.

"What can I do about these boys?", he asks.

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castle a big old building; a rich person lives here

princess an important woman in a small country

king the most important man in a country

kingdom the country of a king

fight to hit someone again and again; when you hit someone many times

forest a place with lots of trees

plant a small green thing, with leaves, and sometimes with flowers

hunter this person looks for and kills animals

enchantress a woman who does unusual things that you can't explain

toad a small fat animal with strong back legs; it can jump well and it can live on land and in water

demon a very bad person