Signing of the Magna Carta (1215)

Hello there. My name is Sir William, and I am a friend to all the people in our land. We had a king named King John. He wore a very big and shiny crown on his head, but sometimes he forgot to be kind. King John didn't always play fair. He would sometimes take our toys, our food, or our carts without asking first. That wasn't a very nice thing to do, was it. It made my friends and I feel very sad. We wanted a king who followed the rules, just like everyone else. We knew we had to do something to help make things fair for everyone.

So, my friends and I had a big idea. We decided it was time to talk to the king. We sat down together and wrote all of our ideas for fair rules on a very, very big piece of paper. We called it a charter. It was a list of promises for the king to keep. Then, on a warm, sunny day, June 15th, in the year 1215, we all went to meet the king. We met in a big, green field with lots of fluffy sheep. The field was called Runnymede. I held our big list of promises, and I felt a little nervous, but I knew it was important to be brave and speak up for what was right.

King John looked at our big list of rules. He read every single one. Then, he smiled and nodded. He agreed that fair rules were a good idea for everyone, even for him. The king couldn't write his name, so he did something very special. He took his big, fancy ring and pressed it into warm, red wax. Splat. He made a royal stamp. That stamp was his promise, and we called it the Magna Carta. It meant that from that day on, even the king had to follow the rules. It was a very happy day.