The King Stone

Legend has it that all the Rollright Stones were once human beings: a king and his army. They encountered a witch, who owned the land over which the ambitious conqueror marched. On seeing the king, she pronounced,

Seven long strides shalt thou take:
If Long Compton thou canst see,
King of England thou shalt be.

At this, the king shouted,

Stick, stock, stone,
As King of England I shall be known!

But when he had taken the seven strides, all he could see was the Archdruid's Barrow, which blocked his view of the village in the valley below.

The witch cackled, and cried:

As Long Compton thou canst not see,
King of England thou shalt not be.
Rise up stick, and stand still stone,
For King of England thou shalt be none.
Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be
And I myself an eldern tree.

In the distance, the sight that the king never managed to see. But then, it was always a stone - wasn't he?