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Famous StoriesSir Walter RaleighThere once lived in England a brave and noble man whose nam... Damon And Pythias A young man whose name was Pyth'i-as had done something whi... Three Men Of Gotham There is a town in England called Go-tham, and many merry s... The Kingdoms There was once a king of Prussia whose name was Frederick W... Sir Humphrey Gilbert More than three hundred years ago there lived in England a ... Picciola Many years ago there was a poor gentleman shut up in one of... He Never Smiled Again The bark that held the prince went down, The sweep... Whittington And His Cat The City There was once a little boy whose name was Rich... The Sons Of William The Conqueror There was once a great king of England who was called Wil-l... The Barmecide Feast There was once a rich old man who was called the Bar-me-cid... The Ungrateful Soldier Here is another story of the bat-tle-field, and it is much ... The Blind Men And The Elephant There were once six blind men who stood by the road-side ev... The Sword Of Damocles There was once a king whose name was Di-o-nys'i-us. He was ... Horatius At The Bridge Once there was a war between the Roman people and the E-tru... Cornelia's Jewels It was a bright morning in the old city of Rome many hundre... Sir Philip Sidney A cruel battle was being fought. The ground was covered wit... Antonio Canova A good many years ago there lived in Italy a little boy who... Julius Caesar Nearly two thousand years ago there lived in Rome a man who... George Washington And His Hatchet When George Wash-ing-ton was quite a little boy, his father... Socrates And His House There once lived in Greece a very wise man whose name was S... |
THE STORY OF WILLIAM TELLThe people of Swit-zer-land were not always free and happy as they are to-day. Many years ago a proud tyrant, whose name was Gessler, ruled over them, and made their lot a bitter one indeed. One day this tyrant set up a tall pole in the public square, and put his own cap on the top of it; and then he gave orders that every man who came into the town should bow down before it. But there was one man, named William Tell, who would not do this. He stood up straight with folded arms, and laughed at the swinging cap. He would not bow down to Gessler himself. When Gessler heard of this, he was very angry. He was afraid that other men would disobey, and that soon the whole country would rebel against him. So he made up his mind to punish the bold man. William Tell's home was among the mountains, and he was a famous hunter. No one in all the land could shoot with bow and arrow so well as he. Gessler knew this, and so he thought of a cruel plan to make the hunter's own skill bring him to grief. He ordered that Tell's little boy should be made to stand up in the public square with an apple on his head; and then he bade Tell shoot the apple with one of his arrows. Tell begged the tyrant not to have him make this test of his skill. What if the boy should move? What if the bow-man's hand should tremble? What if the arrow should not carry true? "Will you make me kill my boy?" he said. "Say no more," said Gessler. "You must hit the apple with your one arrow. If you fail, my sol-diers shall kill the boy before your eyes." Then, without another word, Tell fitted the arrow to his bow. He took aim, and let it fly. The boy stood firm and still. He was not afraid, for he had all faith in his father's skill. The arrow whistled through the air. It struck the apple fairly in the center, and carried it away. The people who saw it shouted with joy. As Tell was turning away from the place, an arrow which he had hidden under his coat dropped to the ground. "Fellow!" cried Gessler, "what mean you with this second arrow?" "Tyrant!" was Tell's proud answer, "this arrow was for your heart if I had hurt my child." And there is an old story, that, not long after this, Tell did shoot the tyrant with one of his arrows; and thus he set his country free. Next: ARNOLD WINKELRIED Previous: GRACE DARLING
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