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The book "The Twelfth day of July" takes place in Ireland in the streets of
Belfast. There are two groups with different religions. The Protestants and
the Catholics. In the Protestant area there is a mural, which is the pride
of the street. It is the picture of William of Orange called King Billy and
his famous horse on the wall with the inscription "No surrender" It
commemorates the battle of Boyne, which was fought in 1690. William of
Orange, a protestant defeated the Catholics under the command of James II.
Every Protestant child knows the story because the religious education is
very strict in both areas. The tale of the siege of Derry is important for
that conflict. Thirteen young apprentice boys closed the gates of Derry
against the Catholic soldiers. James II confident that the city must
surrender, went to the walls of Derry himself to demand it, but the
Protestant citizens lined the walls and shouted: "No surrender". So the
Protestants celebrate that victory on the 12th of July every year. They
decorate the streets, wear costumes and march through the streets.
Steve, Linda, Sadie and Tommy are very good friends who live in the
Protestant area. They love their town and they look forward to the twelfth
of July. Not far from the Protestants live the McCoys, a Catholic family
with seven children. They hate the celebrations. Both of these two families
also dislike the other religion. Many times the children play tricks or
provoke each other. One day Brede, Kate and Kevin who are Catholic friends
paint "Down with King Billy" under the mural in the Protestant area and so
the fight begins. After that evening the Prods know that they take revenge
on the Catholics. In the morning the McCoys get a telegram from the hospital
in Tyron that their grandmother is very sick. So their parents drive to her
aunt and the seven children must live alone in the house. On the other side,
in the Protestant area Sadie has a plan. When dusk begins to fall she goes
in the catholic district and takes paint and brushes with her. She is sure
that there is no one who can see her. Sadie obliterated the words "The Pope
" to substitute for the word "King Billy". After some minutes she wants to
get back to her quarter. Suddenly Brede and a Catholic stand at a distance
of some metres beside her. Sadie tries to run away but doesn't know that her
shoelaces are opened and so she falls on the ground . Brede catches Sadie
and brings her to Kevin. They let Sadie go back to her home but she must
clean the wall by rights. In the Prod's area the anticipation is very big
because the 12th comes nearer and nearer. Every child works to get money to
buy the decoration for the glorious twelfth but Sadie also starts working
on a new trick. At night she goes to the McCoys house and printed these
words on the table: "King Billy is here, long live King Billy". Kevin stands
still in the doorway and observes Sadie. Sadie sees him timely and runs
away. She hides under a wall because she can't get home. Kevin and other
guards look at her the whole night with their torches. At home they don't
know where Sadie is. Tommy and his friends look for Sadie but there is no
sign of her. Tommy believes that she was going to Kevin. He says that he
hasn't seen her but Brede tells that she was here last night and messed the
kitchen.
Kevin says, they don't know where she is now. Then Brede and Kevin search
Sadie and find her in an old house . She must clean the kitchen table and
then she can go home. When they bring Sadie home two policemen and Sadie's
family come and catch them. Sadie says that the Catholics kidnapped her, but
Kevin shouts that he hasn't done anything. So the quarrel begins. The
policeman wants to clear this situation but without success. On the next day
there is bonefire night. All the Protestant children celebrate a party,
dance round the fire and sing songs.
Brian, Kate, Tommy and Sadie go to the boundary and scream swearwords into
the other area.
Many Protestant children come quick from every direction and throw with
large stones. Suddenly a stone falls high over the heads and it catches
Brede full of the side on her head. Brede is hurt. Sadie kneels beside her
and the ambulance comes. They put Brede on a stretcher. The ambulance also
takes Kevin, Tommy and Sadie with them. In the hospital waiting room Kevin
excuses for his behaviour. In the morning the doctor says that Brede gets
healthy. On the following day there is the twelfth of July. Sadie won't keep
it with her family. She goes to Kevin and they walk around the beach and
have fun. They are friends now and from that time on there are no problems
between their families.
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