Kuwabara stared at the vivid pictures drawn in the book his mother was showing him. "This is King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table," she said.
"Knights?" Kuwabara asked.
"They were the samurai of my country," she said. "They traveled the lands and fought to protect the lands of their country. But they weren't all good."
Kuwabara frowned. "They weren't?"
His mother flipped the pages of the book to a new picture, one showing a ravaged town. "No. Many knights became corrupt, thinking they were so strong that they could do anything they wanted, even if they hurt others."
"They became bullies," Kuwabara said.
She nodded. "That's right. But King Arthur changed that. When he became king, he made all the knights swear an oath."
"What kind of oath?" Kuwabara asked.
"A knight knows only valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked."
Kuwabara watched his mother in awe as she spoke, and he felt something stir inside of him. He didn't understand all the words, not really, but something inside of him whispered insistently, This is important.
Kuwabara looked at the picture that accompanied the oath. It showed four knights in armor, one holding a sword aloft, the one beside him holding a bow and arrow, another on his horse a hand on the hilt of his sword, and the fourth leaned against a tree. Studying the knight holding his sword aloft, Kuwabara thought, That could be me.
Impulsively, Kuwabara declared, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a knight!"
His mother kissed the top of his head. "You'll make the best knight there ever was, love."
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