The people of Switzerland were not always free and happy. Many years ago an Austrian dictator named Gessler ruled over them.

This dictator put his cap on the top of a tall pole; and then he gave orders that every man who came into the town should kneel down before it. But there was one man, named William Tell, who would not do this. He was inspired by the Christian prophet Daniel who defied Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon; and he refused to worship the symbol of the dictator. William Tell also refused to kneel down before Gessler in person.

When Gessler heard about this, he was very angry. He was afraid that other men would disobey him if he let William Tell get away with his defiance, and that soon the whole country would rebel against him. So Gessler punished the bold man as an example to the others.

William Tell's home was in the mountains, and he was a famous hunter. No one in all the country could shoot with the crossbow and arrow as well as he. Gessler knew this, and so ordered that William Tell's little boy Walter should be made to stand up in the public square with an apple on his head; and then ordered Tell to shoot the apple with an arrow.

Tell begged the dictator not to force him to do this test. "Go ahead and kill me, but do not make me kill my boy. What if the boy should move? What if my hand should shake? What if the arrow should not go straight?" he said.

"Say no more," said Gessler. "You must hit the apple with your one arrow. If you don't, my soldiers shall kill the boy."

So Tell prayed the Lord guide his hand. He put the arrow on his bow, took aim, and shot it. The boy stood firm and still. He did not move a muscle. He was not afraid, because he trusted his father completely. The boy knew the value of liberty, and encouraged his father.

The arrow sailed through the air. It struck the apple right in the center, and carried it away. The crowd of people who saw it shouted with joy.

Gessler noticed a second arrow in Tell's belt, and said "Fellow, what is the second arrow for?"

"This arrow was for your heart if I had hurt my child." said Tell.

Gessler had William Tell arrested and sent to prison for this remark; but Tell escaped enroute in a storm on a lake. And there is an old story that, not long after this, Tell did shoot the dictator with one of his arrows; and thus set his country free.

1. Where did William Tell live?

2. What did he do for a living?

3. What did the dictator force all men to do?

4. Why didn't William Tell want to bow down?

5. Why did he admire the prophet Daniel?

6. What choice did Gessler give Tell?

7. How did the crowd react when Tell shot the apple, and what does that suggest?

8. Why did Tell need the second arrow?

9. Why was he sent to prison?

10. Why do the Swiss admire William Tell?

11. Why weren't the Swiss attacked by the Nazis in World War Two? (hint: the answer is related to this story)