Perhaps she thinks that we won't fight,
on account of the trouble in Ireland. And what we English fear is that, if
she wins, she will take Belgium and Holland. Then she would be so close to
our coasts that we would never be safe. We would have to be prepared always
for invasion. So, you see, it seems to me that we are facing the same sort
of danger we have faced before. Only this time it is Germany, instead of
France, that we shall have to fight--if we do fight."
"If the Germans go through Belgium, will that mean that we shall fight?"
asked Leslie Franklin.
"Almost certainly, yes," said Grenfel. "And it is through Belgium that
Germany has her best chance to strike at France. So you see how serious
things are. I don't want to go into all the history that is back of all
this. I just want you to understand what England's interest is. If we make
war, it will be a war of self-defence. Suppose you owned a house. And
suppose the house next door caught fire. You would try to put out that
fire, wouldn't you, to save your own house from being burned up? Well,
that's England's position. If the Germans held Belgium or Holland--and they
would hold both, if they beat France and Russia--England would then be in
just as much danger as your house would be. So if we fight, it will be to
put out the German fire in the house next door.
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