The Story
In the mountains of Switzerland, long ago, there lived a skilled hunter and farmer named William Tell. He was known throughout the land for his extraordinary aim with a crossbow — it was said he could hit a target no bigger than a coin from a hundred paces.
But those were dark times. A cruel Austrian governor named Gessler had been placed over the Swiss people. He set up his hat on a tall pole in the town square of Altdorf and declared that every Swiss citizen must bow to it as they passed — as though bowing to Gessler himself.
William Tell walked through the square one day with his young son Walter and did not bow. He refused to bow to any man's hat.
Gessler's soldiers seized him at once.
"So," said Gessler coldly, "you are the great marksman. Let us see how great." He ordered Tell's son to stand against a linden tree. He placed an apple on the boy's head. "Shoot the apple," said Gessler. "If you miss, you and the boy both die."
The crowd held its breath. Walter stood very still and looked at his father with steady, trusting eyes. "I am not afraid, Father," the boy whispered.
William Tell reached into his quiver and took out two arrows. He tucked one inside his coat. Then he loaded the other, raised the crossbow, took a long, slow breath, and fired.
The apple split in two. Walter was unharmed. The crowd erupted with cheers.
Gessler's eyes narrowed. "What was the second arrow for?"
"If the first had harmed my son," Tell said quietly, "the second would have been for you."
Gessler had Tell arrested. But on the lake crossing to prison, a storm arose, and Tell escaped. He hid along the mountain road and waited. When Gessler's boat arrived, Tell fired one shot.
That shot was the beginning of Swiss freedom.