Once, the men and women who lived by the shores of Lake Lucerne were free and full of hope. Now they trembled in fear of Gessler the Black—the new Austrian viceroy who had seized their lands and ruled with an iron fist and a heart of stone. If anyone dared to disobey him, Gessler had him beaten or thrown into the dungeon to rot.

Then one morning a woodsman by the name of William Tell came down from the hills with his young son by his side. When Gessler's soldiers commanded him to kneel, he refused. So Gessler himself seized William's son and issued the legendary Swiss marksman a challenge: Shoot an apple off the top of the lad's head, or he will die by the soldiers' hands. That single arrow, shot from an ordinary crossbow, did more that day than save a life: It changed the course of history.

The Legend of William Tell is an adventure story full of high drama that will send your imagination soaring. And Terry Small's vivid verse and striking illustrations bring this remarkable hero to life.

From the dust jacket