ebels

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

The Baron was concerned for the various countries that neighbor Lilliland after the Great War. The area was at peace now that it was 1919, but the reminders were all over the French and German countryside. It was going to take a few seasons for the farmers to recapture the soil and grow the crops that meant so much to them. The noise of war would affect the contentment of the cows, pigs, sheep and horses for a long time to come.

Suddenly, one night a very strange and frightening event occurred. A group of former soldiers from the two armies that had fought one another had joined up and became a common group of rebels. They attacked Lilliland Castle and held everyone prisoner. The Lilliland guards were a mostly ceremonial guard and could not handle an invasion of a dozen outlaw soldiers. The rebel group numbered twelve and everyone in Lilliland was afraid for the royal family and for themselves.

The invaders proclaimed that they were taking over Lilliland. A number of the castle staff and farmers knew the secret passages and hiding places in the castle better than the royal family did. They went unnoticed as they watched the rebels try to capture the entire castle. Since there were no guns allowed in Lilliland they went to the Lilliland museum and borrowed some old crossbows and arrows from an ancient exhibit.

While the twelve rebels were attending a meeting in the Great Hall in the castle, a group of over 100 farmers, towns’ people, and ski patrol volunteers surrounded the castle. The rebels were outnumbered and gave up without an arrow being fired.

All the rebels were placed in jail to await prosecution. The Baron and Professor Hamblin had a meeting with the two rebel leaders. One leader was from the German army and the other was from the French army. Both had spent some of their army years in prison. They vowed that they would go to a country that was neutral and where they did not believe in war. At closer inspection, the rebels were only boys of 18 or 19 years of age. They were homeless and had no parents since the war.

The Baron commuted their jail sentence to public service in Lilliland while they attended school and learned about different governments and how they should help people live in peace and freedom.

Years later, all 12 of the rebels found relatives in other countries with whom they went to live and they never got into trouble again.