<TITLE>14. Par 47-49</TITLE>L-47 There's a great story that we used to know, you boys, girls, when I was boy and girl, back in our ages. I meant to say when I was a boy, back in your ages, and you girls when you were at my age. I like to say this to you. Many of you's remember the old story of Arnold Von Winkelried of Switzerland. How you used to read it in your story books in school. How that one day when Switzerland, a peace loving people, backed up into the mountains there, and made them little homes. And they were in a--had their--theirself a little country there, and they loved it.
One day a great marching army come into their lands, all with great armors, and helmets, spears, thick big shields, marching on into Switzerland to take their land. What happened? The Swiss got some pitchforks, and hay hooks, and whatever they could, and got out there to defend their land. What happened? They couldn't come against those forces. There was that great marching army, just set like bricks in a wall. And they were moving on, tromp, tromp, moving on, coming right on. They had the Swiss backed up into a corner, right out in a field at the foot of a mountain. There was nothing could be done. All hopes was lost. Switzerland was gone. Their wives would be drug through the streets; their children would be killed. What could they do?

L-48 Finally, one man screamed and jumped out; it was Arnold Von Winkelried. He said, "Men of Switzerland, this day I'll give my life for Switzerland."
They said, "Arnold Von Winkelried, what will you do?"
He said, "Just over the mountain yonder is a lovely little white home. There's a wife and two babies looking for me to come back, but I'll never see them again." He said, "This day I'll give my life for Switzerland." Said, "Take care of my widow and my babies."
They said, "What will you do?"
He said, "Follow me and fight with whatever you got." And he threw down what he had in his hand; he looked over the army; he found the very deepest of the spears, and he raised up his hands and screamed, "Make way for liberty! Make way for liberty!" And he run towards that marching army. And all--all of them stopped, and every spear, hundreds of them, turned to catch him, and his long...?... flapping his hands in the air, screaming, "Make way for liberty!" And when he got right to the end of those great big fifteen, twenty foot spears, he grabbed a whole arm full of them and throwed them into his bosom and plunged hisself to death right there.

L-49 It was such a play of heroism, do you know what happened? It routed that army. And those others, them brothers seen what he had done, they grabbed their pitch forks and whatever they had in their hand, and they fought as they could, and they drove the enemy plumb out of the land. They never had a war from that day to this. See?
Oh, up in the Swiss mountains just name Arnold Von Winkelried, watch them little old fat cheeks turn red and the tears run down their cheeks. It's their hero. His dying meant peace in the land, hundreds of years peace, peace, because of the heroism. What a wonderful character. Hardly ever compared with and never exceeded, on earth.


<A HREF="P15">Next Page</A>