The two armies faced each other silently in the hot sunlight only a short distance apart, their weapons at the ready. From a distance, each side seemed a gangly rabble, brandishing crude weapons and wearing little or no armor. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a guttural cry and each band surged forward, bent on each other’s destruction.
Both sides crashed into one another and the sound was dreadful. The smaller soldiers were immediately overcome by the shock of the attack and trampled over. The taller and stronger fighters withstood the initial blows and then squared off warrior-to-warrior and initiated deadly duels.
Quickly the battle intensified until one of the leaders gave up a cry of anguish – he’d been shot in the hand with an arrow. Removing the shaft, he charged the errant archer and pounced upon him, fists swinging and cursing him to no end. The other fighting stopped and all turned towards the fisticuff, astonished that the archer and leader engaged in hand-to-hand combat were actually brothers!
The battle depicted above actually occurred, but not on some foreign field in England or France, but on a street corner in Pennypot, New Jersey. The assailants were not two large rival armies, but two teams of about 10 children each, aged 6 to 14, taking part in a make-believe battle.
Of course, my friends and I didn't have a copy of the book, but it's nice to see a book published that captures what youth should really be like for boys. It truly brings back a flood of great memories.
Both sides crashed into one another and the sound was dreadful. The smaller soldiers were immediately overcome by the shock of the attack and trampled over. The taller and stronger fighters withstood the initial blows and then squared off warrior-to-warrior and initiated deadly duels.
Quickly the battle intensified until one of the leaders gave up a cry of anguish – he’d been shot in the hand with an arrow. Removing the shaft, he charged the errant archer and pounced upon him, fists swinging and cursing him to no end. The other fighting stopped and all turned towards the fisticuff, astonished that the archer and leader engaged in hand-to-hand combat were actually brothers!
The battle depicted above actually occurred, but not on some foreign field in England or France, but on a street corner in Pennypot, New Jersey. The assailants were not two large rival armies, but two teams of about 10 children each, aged 6 to 14, taking part in a make-believe battle.
Of course, my friends and I didn't have a copy of the book, but it's nice to see a book published that captures what youth should really be like for boys. It truly brings back a flood of great memories.