Playtime Stories - William Tell

1909--

WILLIAM TELL

Switzerland is a republic like our country, and the men who live in its mountains are a brave, free people. But long, long ago the emperor of Austria claimed Switzerland as part of his empire and sent a very wicked man by the name of Gressler to rule for him.

He had soldiers at his command and he seemed able to do all he wished, but he could not make the proud people bow down to him, and that made him very angry.

So Gessler set up a tall pole in the market place of Altorf, with his hat fastened to it, and ordered that every person should bow to it in passing. You see a great many would pass it, for the men and women from the mountains came down there to sell game and cheese and butter and some days the market place would be filled with them.

One day a tall, strong man named Wm. Tell came into the market place with his little boy. He was a famous archer and shot wolves, bears and wild goats in the mountains with his bow and arrow. Now when Wm. Tell crossed the market place he held his head very high when he passed the pole and would not bow to the hat. There were servants and spies of wicked Gessler watching and they told him that Tell had refused to bow before the hat. So Gessler had Wm. Tell brought before him and told him to place his little boy 100 paces off and to place an apple on his head. Then he was commanded to pierce the apple on the child's head.

The friends and neighbors turned pale, for they were afraid poor Wm. Tell would kill his own boy, but Wm. Tell made the child face him steadily and then he tested his bow, fitted the arrow into the notch and brought the bow slowly into place. The next moment a great shout arose — the arrow had split the apple in two and the child was not hurt. Wm. Tell then drew another arrow and killed the wicked Gessler and escaped with the little boy into the mountains where the soldiers could not find him.

--The Des Moines News, Des Moines, Iowa, February 21, 1909, page 4.