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Then we replied.
O come all ye faithful...
But this time they joined in, singing the words in Latin.
Adeste fideles...
Britain and Germany harmonizing across No Man’s Land! I would have thought nothing could be more amazing – but what came next was even more so.
“English, come over!” we heard one of them shout. “You no shoot, we no shoot.”
There in the trenches, we looked at each other in bewilderment. Then one of us shouted jokingly, “You come over here.”
To our astonishment, we saw two figures rise from a trench, climb over their barbed wire, and advance unprotected across No Man’s Land. One of them called, “Send officer to talk.” I saw one of our men lift his rifle to the ready, and no doubt others did the same - but our captain called out, “Hold your fire.” Then he climbed out and went to meet the Germans halfway.
Explanation:
After hearing the German's song, the British soldiers responded by singing, "O come to all ye faithful..." Later they started singing in Latin. The Germans sang "Adeste Fideles..." (the Latin version of "O come to all ye faithful..." ). The United Kingdom and Germany were singing carols over No Man's Land.
After hearing the song, the British soldier exclaimed that nothing could possibly be more amazing. The roles played by the songs in the lesson were it brings peace and unity among the British and German soldiers. The songs made them forget about the hostility towards the opposite team. However, he claimed that what happened next was even more remarkable than the first. After some while, they heard that the Germans called the Britishers to come to their place. The Germans also stated that they would not shoot the Britishers, and the Britishers should not fire the Germans back. The British were perplexed after hearing the German's talk. They stood in the trenches, puzzled, and glanced at each other. Then one of the Britishmen jokingly asked the German to come over to their place.
The Britishers didn't expect the Germans would come to their place. To their surprise, two German soldiers came out from the trench. They climbed over the barbed wires without any rifles and bombs and reached near the No man's Land. Then one of the German asked the Britishers to send their officer to discuss something. While the man started to speak, one of the British men lifted the rifle to attack him. On seeing that, the others also kept their rifles ready. They were in the notion that the Germans would attack them. On the other hand, the captain of the British team asked the British soldiers to drop the weapon. Then the captain of the team came out from the trenches to meet the Germans.
The Britishers didn't expect the Germans would come to their place. To their surprise, two German soldiers came out from the trench. They climbed over the barbed wires without any rifles and bombs and reached near the No man's Land. Then one of the German asked the Britishers to send their officer to discuss something. While the man started to speak, one of the British men lifted the rifle to attack him. On seeing that, the others also kept their rifles ready. They were in the notion that the Germans would attack them. On the other hand, the captain of the British team asked the British soldiers to drop the weapon. Then the captain of the team came out from the trenches to meet the Germans.
Meanings of the difficult words:
| S.No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Bewilderment | A feeling of being perplexed and confused |
2 | Astonishment | Great surprise |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). Term-1 English Standard-9. The Christmas Truce- Aaron Shepard (pp. 126-131). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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