The first volume of The Once and Future King, The Sword in the Stone, begins as the Wart, an innocent and wholesome boy living in twelfth-century England, is informed by his adoptive father, Sir Ector, that he must begin his education. While wandering in the Forest Sauvage after a night of adventure with King Pellinore (who hunts for the Questing Beast), the Wart chances upon the cottage of Merlyn, an old magician who "lives backward" through time and thus possesses the ability to know the future. Merlyn informs the Wart that he will become his tutor and accompanies him back to Sir Ector's Castle of the Forest Sauvage. After reviewing the wizard's references, Sir Ector hires the old magician. Kay, the Wart's older brother, becomes jealous over the Wart's fortune, as he does throughout the novel.
Merlyn's lessons consist of transforming the Wart into different kinds of animals. The boy's first transformation is into a perch, and while swimming in the castle's moat, he meets Mr. P., a ruthless tyrant who talks to him about power. At different points in the novel, the Wart becomes a hawk, an ant, an owl, a wild goose, and a badger: Each animal reveals to the Wart a different way of life, political philosophy, or attitude toward war. Merlyn also has his pupil witness a tilting match (or joust) between King Pellinore and Sir Grummore, where the two men reveal their absurd need to follow the rules of sportsmanlike combat.
