"Bravery till the Last"
Story by Andie
,
for Lauren USA
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Day by day, the pail of flowers sat on the window seal, feeling lonely and depressed. I will tell you it's story.
One sunny Sunday afternoon, it was given to Tante Corrie, from all her nieces and nephews. Would joy it was to see Tante Corrie's face light up as she recieved the small gesture of kindness for her birthday. It reminded her that she still had someone to lover her and for her to love. After all the present were opened, Tante Corrie turned back to the flower, because even the most expensive gift fom the pile could not outshine the glow of that flower. With the guests gone, and the party accessories picked up, Tante Corrie tenderly picked up the pail, handmade, and placed in gently on the windowseal, the when that everyone saw when they passed by. Not to long after, Holland was captured by the Germans, and thats when the nightmare began.
Because Tante Corrie, with her kind heart and tender spirit, could not see anyone suffer, she emmediatly took in jews that other wise would have been taken to concentration camps. She would take them in, and by a code, send word to a "Mr. Smit" that she had another "bundle." That night, after curfew, Mr. Smit would come get the jew, taking it to safety.
Month after month Tante Corrie put herself in danger, saving hundreds of jews. The months turned to years and still the Nazis stil had control over Holland. Now this is where the sad part comes in.
When quiet evening, with no Jews hiding at her place, Tante Corrie had settled herself down for a good cup of tea with her dear brother, Cornelius. The conversation had turned to politics when suddenly there was a bang at the door and it crashed open.Cornelius was seized, and then they got a hold of Tante Corrie. They asked her who had the Jews, but all she could respond was "Mr. Smit." They took her and beat her, determined to find the truth from her, but all she would say was "Mr. Smit."
The poor plant watched her dear Mistress being tortured so and it broke her heart, knowing she could do nothin but sit there. It was a heartbreaking sight.
After they got tired of beating her , she was dragged into a small, white car and taken down to the headquarters. There she was assigned to a concentration camp for forced labor.
From that day on, a kindly neibor came to water the plant, but noticed the plants drooping stature. The plant had seen the evil in man, and her mistress was gone.
Nobody know what became of Tante Corrie, no records, nothing. The only thing that stil remains is the stories that are now passed down, how Tante Corrie, till her last days, risked her lives to help others in the concentration camp. She died after trying to fullfill someone elses norm, because the other person was sick and could not moce.
The End
Story by: Andie, age 13, USA
Send comments to: Andie