- In the days of King Arthur, they lived in Camelot, A source who entertained the Royal Court with miraculous feet South, magic high.

Above the castle walls, the ancient Necro meets with members of the magic round table.

Come with us now to the secret room of - Welcome.

Welcome to my secret room.

Nice to see you again.

Say, I wonder if we could, oh, produce some more magic explosions from the air.

I think there might be one up there.

Let's see right about there.

You looking at that point in the air?

Maybe I can produce a billiard ball from it too.

Well, there's the explosion, but no billiard ball.

How about over here?

Oh, the billiard ball disappeared before I could get a firm grasp on it.

I'm getting pretty old to try that sort of thing.

Maybe I just better go ahead and read my letter for the day.

Young, young Michael Fox wrote a letter to me, and it's typical of many letters.

He said, Merlin, why don't you show the letters and all the pictures and the mail you get.

Well, Michael, I don't take time every day because we get mail from, from Chicago and Washington, DC and Detroit and San Francisco and Tampa all over the country, for example, just one day.

Just one day.

Mind you, we got over 150 letters from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, from Herbert Mills School.

And if we spent all our time showing these wonderful posters, we just wouldn't have time for a show.

Instead, I'll, I'll answer your letters personally.

Well, here's, here are the number of the letters we got and posters we got from Herbert Mills School.

Michael LaPage.

You have glued them all on one piece of paper.

Oh, I like this right here.

That's Merlin.

He says, I like Merlin and his tricks.

Here's another picture of Merlin over here.

And here I have a real pointed hat, and there's my magic table and there's Excalibur, the sword.

And over here is Chauncey and a little boy.

I had on stage with me one day, Merlin and my rabbit table.

And over here is a real skinny Merlin.

I wish I were that skinny.

It's done in red and green.

And over here I again, oh, that must be Chauncey, because he's round and kind of fat and plump.

And here is our magic vase and oh my, all sorts of colors, red and green and blue.

If Michael would hold that up straight.

If Michael LaPage, just pull that straight for me.

And I can look at all these pictures over here.

Oh, this is the one we did with a boy and girl in the electric chair.

And every time they said the magic word, they would get stung and have to jump up from the chair.

That's the little girl and the little boy.

And over here's Merlin producing a lot of silks.

And here again is Excalibur.

They all seem to like Excalibur.

So many pictures.

And I shouldn't overlook the letters down below here.

We're overlooking those, but there are a lot of letters.

We've glued the posters for this day on the top from this Reynoldsburg Ohio.

And the letters on the bottom, there's a picture of Merlin and also a letter in each one.

Oh, there are just so many.

I'm just going to keep them coming quite fast.

And here's one that I like particularly because we were talking about the American flag in patriotism.

And hold it tight, Michael.

That's it.

The American flag and patriotism.

And some more and more.

Michael's pulling them out that way.

Keep pulling.

Michael, keep pull.

What, what, Mike, you're, you're, you're on the other end of the, you're on the other end of the posters.

How did you, how did you manage to do that?

- Because I'm strong.

- Because You're what?

Strong.

You're strong.

Well, you just use your strength and pull yourself right off the stage.

All right.

So many people ask about events that took place in King Arthur's day.

Perhaps we can get a theme today that will, will concern that sort of thing.

Concern the Middle Ages, which took place from the year about oh 700 to 1500 just before the Renaissance.

We should really consult the mighty Sword Excalibur.

And if you help me, we'll make Excalibur rise.

Now, let's say the magic words together and we'll find a theme on the blade.

Right on the blade of Excalibur.

Are you ready?

Good.

Here we go together.

Fine.

All together.

Fiddly Die fiddly.

D, magic sword Rise for me.

And the magic word for the day is medieval life.

Two words.

Really.

Medieval means middle ages.

M-E-D-I-E-V-A-L. Life.

Life in the Middle Ages.

We'll talk about that now.

But I like to do it by using my little sketch board.

I think one of the most different things in medieval life was the way that people shop you in the 20th century have a supermarket and you can buy anything you want in one store.

Not so in the middle Ages.

Each store or vendor or member of a guild, as they called it, if he were a craftsman, a cobbler or shoemaker or knife maker just did one thing.

If he made bread, that's all he did was make bread.

And that's all you could buy in that store.

And that's all he was allowed to make.

And these, these are representative of signs that you might see outside a shop in the middle ages, in medieval times.

And you could tell just by looking at the picture, what these people made or sold.

You tell me what this merchant made and sold in his shop.

I wonder if you can tell me what this is.

I hope that my drawing is good enough that you can tell what this is.

Well this, this is a cheese maker and this is a round loaf of cheese.

See the holes in there?

It's very much like, very much like Swiss cheese.

And he'd have that cheese sign outside of his door.

And all you could buy in that shop was cheese.

All the cheese makers lived on one street.

And frequently they'd call a street cheese street.

How about this one?

How about this one right here?

Are you getting the idea?

What is this shape like?

I'll put a heel and a sole on it and some laces and we'll sew it together, right?

This is a shoemaker right here or a cobbler.

And he would have that sign.

How about this one right here?

We'll make a tree with some branches.

And on that tree is a round object.

Well, you might not believe it, but this is an apple.

And this fellow sells apples or fruit over here.

What is this?

Can you tell me what this man sells?

Well, that man is a knife maker.

He's called a Cutler.

It might be interesting, it might be interesting to talk a little bit about how a man became a cutler.

How he became a cheese maker or a shoemaker.

Because he had to go through an apprentice system.

He had to study as an apprentice for nine or 10 years, right?

Before he could do say that Apple looks so good.

I think I'm just gonna take that apple and, oh, that looks good.

That's realistic.

I'll just take a bite and give the rest of the rest of the apple to, to my good friend Michael LaPage.

And that knife looks so sharp.

Oh, let's test the steel.

That's a sharp.

Let's talk about knife makers, shall we?

Very well my, that's a good delicious apple.

Well, if you wanted to be a knife maker, first of all, you would have to.

You'd have to study starting from the time you were about oh nine years of age.

Now this small boy is called an apprentice, and he's working in a shop for the master.

He does all sorts of hard labor.

He gathers wood for the forge.

He works the bellows.

He makes the beds, he cleans the shop.

He does all sorts of things.

Here.

He is blowing a bellows.

He's blowing air into this forge right here.

This is a forge.

And this is a blacksmith who's a journeyman.

Now, after he become apprentice from oh 10 to 10 to 15 years, you become a journeyman.

That means you know the skill and you have the apprentice work for you.

Is this, this boy's very unhappy doing it.

His brows are very wrinkled.

His mouth is turned down and it's real hot by the forge.

And steel sparks are flying.

He doesn't like it too.

Well.

This is a journeyman.

He's making a knife blade outta steel.

Listen to him.

Hammer that steel.

Listen, it's hard work.

Now, this fellow right here, this fellow is the master.

He's the boss.

And he has a fat tummy because he now has a lot of money in his purse.

It's full of change.

And he pays the journeyman.

He doesn't pay the apprentice, but he pays the journeyman to do the work.

And he gives orders and he tells 'em just what should be done.

Maybe after this man serves as a journeyman for 10 years, he'll be about 30 years of age, he'll have a shop of his own.

And that's very nice deed.

'cause he can work for himself.

So this is the master.

And he's making certain that everyone works real hard.

Listen to him, give orders.

Listen.

Like any boss, - Boy, put those bellows to work more air for the forge.

There.

That's better.

See how red the steel gets?

And you journeyman strike while the iron is hot?

- Yes.

You had to work in an apprentice system.

You had to work in a shop whereby everyone went through a guild system.

It was very difficult work.

You know, our little friend, sir, echo in the vase, wanted to be an apprentice, but I don't think he knows how.

I'll call down there and see if he's awake.

He's only about that high.

Hello?

Down there.

- Hello?

Up there.

Say Merlin.

What is it sir?

Echo.

I'll say Merlin.

I'd like to be an apprentice and, and learn one of those trades.

- You would?

- Yes.

I I wanna be a sword maker.

Merlin.

That's - Sword - Maker.

That's what I said.

A sword maker.

Merlin.

- You.

I don't know if you could do it.

- Oh, sure, I can.

Merlin.

Just, just gimme a try and, and, and gimme a little piece of that steel.

Will you?

And I'll show you.

- All right.

Here's some steel.

I'll put it down in the vase.

- Oh, Melin.

Oh, oh, oh.

That hurt.

Why'd you drop that on my hat?

- I'm sorry.

I'm very sorry.

- What a stupid trick.

- You want a hammer too?

- Yes, please.

Gimme a hammer.

- Here's a hammer.

Ow.

- Oh, Merlin.

Oh Merlin.

Oh, - I'm very sorry.

- Well, all right, I'll accept your - Apol.

Apology.

- Apology.

Now I'm gonna hammer that sword just right into shape.

Merlin, you - Just watching.

I don't think he can do it.

- I heard that.

Merlin.

Just you listen.

Alright there.

Merlin.

Look at that.

Merlin.

- Are you finished?

That's - Beautiful.

Yes I am.

- Is this the sword?

- Yes.

There it is.

- Why that doesn't look like a sword that's so crooked.

- Well, I use it to fight crooked nights.

Merlin.

Woo.

- How can you be so silly?

Well, my father was a magician.

Just like you.

Merlin.

Alright, alright, alright.

This really, this looks more like a corkscrew than a sword.

Oh, - Well, Merlin, that's it.

- What?

What's it?

- I'm gonna be a corkscrew maker.

Please just hand me down some more steel.

Merlin, please.

- Oh my.

Here's some more steel.

Oh, - Thank you.

- I give up.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

That's enough.

That's enough.

Oh, I forgot to tell you one more thing about Sir Echo.

You know he does a trick of his own in the vase?

Yes.

I don't know if he'll ever be a sword maker, but he can.

If I put the wand in here down in the vase, would you gimme that steel back?

If I put the wand in the vase, sometimes he holds onto the wand like that all by himself.

And then when I turn the vase upside down, he still holds onto it.

If you want your own little magic wand, write to Merlin car of this station and tell me the good deed you've done.

And I'll write you and you can become a member.

Goodbye.

Now I'm gonna talk to Sir Echo.

- Merlin was produced in the studios of Ohio University Television in Athens, Ohio.