Marco Polo, by Mariah

     

 “Nana let him go. Let him satisfy his curiosity.” Grandpa Polo touched her

gently and they watched as the little boy ran out the door to the canals. 

            “But he is only five and he could get lost, or he could drown in the sea!”

Nana fretted as she always did at this time of day.

            “You know he won’t. He is loved by all the gondola men and he is bright. I

also taught him how to swim you know. He has many friends and he will be quite

safe.”

Nana sighed and walked to the fire. “I wish his father and uncle would come

home. You are getting too old to keep him out of trouble. And with his mother

dead, who knows what he will become.”

            “Auntie! The men say a new ship has just arrived from Asia! I wonder

where they went. Maybe they saw lions and tigers! May I go see them unload?

Please!” Young Marco was a tall stocky boy of 15. 

            “Yes you may, wait a minute young man, I am coming too.” Nana’s

breath was short and Marco could tell she was excited.

            “You are coming to the harbor?” Marco’s eyes were wide with disbelief. He

knew she hated it and all the smells and men.

            “Yes I am.”

When they arrived they saw the massive ship that had pulled in that very

morning. Marco immediately ran to a group of his own young friends and they

watched excitedly as cargo was unloaded. Nana was straining her eyes for

something and she carefully watched as each passenger disembarked. Suddenly

she gasped and stared.

            “Nana! I have come home at last!” a man with a kind face ran to her and

they embraced.

            “Is it really you? You aren’t dead in some prison or desert? Or at the

bottom of the sea?” They were laughing and crying.

            “Well my little woman! How is Venice?” another man had approached. He

was a larger man with a reddish beard.

            “Oh Maffeo! It is so good to see you! Thank you for bringing my brother

home to me!” They all laughed and hugged again. “Oh I almost forgot. Marco,

please come here.” Marco looked up and hurried over to her. Nana turned

proudly to Niccolo. “This is your son Marco.”

Father and son looked at each other in surprise and then Niccolo threw his arms

around Marco. Maffeo turned to hug his nephew and they happily went home.

Two years later Niccolo with his brother Maffeo, and young Marco, began the

long trip back to Asia. Niccolo had promised the Khan that they would bring a

letter from the catholic Pope. Because the Pope had died they waited two years

for a new pope. It was 1271, and Marco was now 17 and very excited to go to

Asia. He had begged until his father said yes and now he was going to China!

            “Father, is that the palace of the Khan?” Marco asked excitedly. He already

knew it was but after three and a half years of exhausting travel it was a very

welcome sight. They had traveled by sea and on the Silk Road and finally they

were safe under the protection of the Khan.

            “Yes my son! Now you can finally see what kept me from home for 15

years.” Niccolo was just as excited as Marco and he was ready to be done with his

errand for the Khan. Niccolo and Maffeo had brought a letter from the pope and

holy oil from the Holy Land at the Khan’s request.

After many years in the service of the Khan, they were trusted and it is

possible that Marco was a government official for the Khan because he knew four

languages; and in the book of Marco Polo he told of traveling to other parts of

Asia for the Khan.

Their knowledge of the outside world convinced the Khan to keep them

with him. Niccolo and Maffeo worried that if the Khan died that they would lose

his protection and be killed by the Khan’s enemies.

“Niccolo, I am afraid he will never let us go. I have asked again today but he

said no.” Maffeo hung his head and sighed. His hair was graying rapidly. Marco

watched his uncle and father. He had noticed how slowly they moved about. He

knew that if they waited many more years that the two men he loved would

never make it. They had been in the service of the Khan for about 19 years.

“Marco, the Khan is waiting to see you.” A servant brought Marco to the

Khan. The Khan realized he was growing old and said they could go home to

Venice.

“You and your uncle and father have been of much service to my kingdom

and I am ready to let you go. Here are many jewels and gold for your service. I

know now that without my protection you will never make it home, so I have

decided to let you go.” The Khan was ill and knew he could be selfish no longer.

Marco thanked him and hurried to his father and uncle to tell them the good

news. Marco Polo, his father Niccolo, and uncle Maffeo, arrived in Venice in

1295. Twenty-four years after they had left they saw their homeland again.

They came home with many riches and treasure and they had traveled almost

15,000 miles.

The Magna Carta, by Lucy

Back in the days of knights and castles there lived a man named John.  John was the brother to the King of England. The Kings name was Richard. People called him Richard the Lionhearted. Richard was a strong and handsome fellow with lovely, long, blond hair. John on the other hand was a nice little, fat looser who was sparse in hair was losing it by the hour. 

Everyone loved Richard the Lionhearted, King of England. He was nice and a just king. One day King Richard had to leave his castle and go off to war. While he was gone, his little brother decided to take the throne and he told everyone that Richard their King had died. Prince John was not just and he wanted more money as he ruled so he made everyone pay him tons and tons of money in taxes. This made the people very poor and they did not like Prince John.

One day Richard the Lionhearted, the true King of England came back home and took back his throne. Everyone was so happy at the occasion.

A few years later when King Richard the Lionhearted died, the throne went to John.

Nobody liked King John. He taxed the people so high that they were all poor! By the time they were ready for a war, pretty much no one had any money. 

One day a big crowd of people came to the castle. The King could hear them outside so he dressed in his royal robes and called his men and they all went down to the gate to meet the angry mob. By the time he got down there and saw their faces, he knew he would not get out of this on his throne unless he did what they told him to do.

These men brought a paper. It was almost a book of laws. It said what the King would have to do and how he would have to live if he wanted his throne. This book of laws was called The Magna Carta. King John signed and was no longer the boss of everyone and everything. He now had laws to live by just as everyone else did. The signing of the Magna Carta was a great event that took place in England in the year 1215 and a wonderful growth of the people’s freedom.

Sir William Wallace: Hero of Scotland

Sir William Wallace was poor knight. He was large and very strong. At the

age of sixteen he started fighting for the freedom of Scotland. For many years

only a small force followed him and with his small force he could work lots of

damage. He knew that without a king the Scottish lords would never leave the

King of England. King Edward I was ruling Scotland at this time and he fought hard

to put down the rebellion in Scotland.  

         Wallace secretly married a woman named Marion. Because he was considered an

 outlaw it was dangerous for both of them should anyone find out. Because of the 

secrecy an English lord thinking she was

unmarried tried to court her. Wallace was caught unawares by the English lord

coming to court his wife; in the street with no retreat. He fought hard and when a

voice called him and his men to safety he ran inside a house. It was his own and

the voice his wife’s. Once inside, he regretted it. He knew that his wife would not

be safe from the English garrison there. She told him that she would die helping

him rather than see him killed on her doorstep.  She hurried them out the back

door saying that the welfare of Scotland was with him living. All night in his

mountain camp he paced anxiously fearing for her life. He had sent some men to

retrieve her and they returned with one of the servants and word that she had

been killed for helping an outlaw and because she was his wife. This broke his

heart, but he knew he needed to keep fighting for what was right and so the next

night they attacked the same city and were successful. He recovered his beloved

wife’s body and all who had loved the good woman came to her funeral.

Anyone caught helping the revolution in Scotland was brutally killed. Many

historians claim that King Edward I was a kind and religious man. He was a savage

Monarch.

            Because the men that followed him were a small force, he seldom

attempted open battle. He made raids on the English garrisons and by tricking the

enemy he often succeeded in claiming castles and strongholds. Once when he had

a larger force he fought an open battle. It was fought at the famous Sterling

Bridge. The English had about three times his soldiers. He waited until half the

English cavalry were across and then he swooped down on them. The bridge was

wide enough for only two or three horses. William sent a group of men around

the edge of the battle to guard the bridge and let none come to assist or to flee.

The English on the other side of the river watched helplessly as half their army

was shredded. Many tried to escape by swimming the river but because they

were cavalry men-at-arms, they had full armor on and most were drowned.  It

was a great victory for Scotland.

            Wallace was wise and saw that because he was not wealthy, the other

Scottish lords were jealous of his power and that they would never leave the

English unless they got the power. Wallace told his men this and then left for

France. Robert Bruce was convinced to take over the Scottish rebels and he led

them till they finally gained their independence. Wallace could not stay away for

long and because of this, a traitor went to the English and Wallace was taken to

King Edward I. He was brutally killed but no one who is truly Scottish will forget

Him.

by Mariah Flake