Chapter 4 December
Small businessmen. One day.
My dad always told me to make more friends, promised me to bring my friends to the house every Sunday, and encouraged me to play with my friends often.
This Sunday, I was going to take the well-dressed Wattini for a walk, but before I could go out, Kalofe came to my house to look for me.
Kalofi was the tall, thin classmate with a hooked nose and small eyes, and his family owned a grocery store. Callofe seemed to be very fond of money, and he had many coins in his pocket, so he always put his hand in it and counted it secretly, and he could count it accurately at once, without having to look at the multiplication table. The speed of mental arithmetic is unmatched. He never spends money indiscriminately, and he always saves money in his hands. If he accidentally dropped a small copper coin under the chair, it would take him a week, and he would have to find it before he stopped. Delosi joked that he was like a magpie that loved to collect. Really, he also likes to pick up small things that other people throw away, even if it's a broken pen nib, a small pin, an old stamp, a leftover candle head, and he keeps them all carefully.
Kalofe had been collecting stamps for two years, and his thick stamp book already had hundreds of stamps in it, from all countries, and he said that if he had collected a full one, he would sell it to the bookstore. He also took many of his classmates to the bookstore to buy things, and the bookstore owner would give him some notebooks as a reward in order to thank him.
Kalofe was a business-minded man and often made deals with his classmates at school. He sells stationery and other small things to his classmates, and sometimes lottery tickets. Sometimes he exchanges things with his classmates, and if he regrets it after the exchange, he will find a way to transfer it back. He also plays money-throwing games and has never lost. He also collects old newspapers and sells them at cigarette paper shops. Kalofi also carried a small notebook with him, on which he carefully wrote down every account.
In class, except for arithmetic, he doesn't listen well to other subjects. He also wanted to win a medal, but just to be able to watch a puppet show for free. In the eyes of his classmates, his behavior is strange, but I think he is quite interesting and likes to make friends with him.
Today, I play buying and selling games with him at home, he knows the market price of each commodity, and he also uses scales. His folded, flared-shaped wrapping paper bag is probably even better than the guys in the store have made.
When I graduate, I'm going to open a store like no other!Kalofe said as he folded the paper bag. I took out a few foreign stamps from my collection and gave them to him, and he happily hugged me and jumped and screamed. Then, he told me about the ** of each type of stamp, but I didn't expect that some of the stamps were quite expensive. At the time, my dad was reading the newspaper next to him, although he didn't say a word. But looking at him like that, he was also listening to Callofe very carefully.
Callofe always had a bulge in his pockets and many knick-knacks, and in order to avoid being seen by his classmates, he put on a wide black coat to cover them. He always thinks carefully before he does something, and acts like a small trader. His favorite thing was the philatelic book, as if it were his richest possessions, and he was usually reluctant to show it to everyone. Everyone called him a "miser" behind his back, and said that he loved money like his life, but I still enjoyed playing with him. He taught me to do a lot of things, and like an adult, I knew a lot. Cleti, who runs a firewood shop at home, said he must have valued the stamp book more than his mother's life.
My dad didn't think so, saying, "Don't jump to conclusions about your kids. Although the child is not big-hearted, he is still kind-hearted. ”
Vanity. Five days.
Yesterday, I went to play with Wattini, and his dad took us to Rivalry Street. Later, we met Stedi on the street, who was standing in front of the window of a bookstore, staring at a map. I don't know how long he's been standing there, but I didn't expect him to work so hard everywhere. We walked over to greet him, and he only looked back at us and returned the salute, this guy is so rude!
Huatini is usually very particular about what she wears, and today is no exception. He wore a pair of long Moroccan leather boots embroidered with flowers and silk buttons, a white beaver hat on his head, a watch on his chest, and walked proudly.
Yesterday, however, his vanity suffered a setback. At that time, his father was a little tired, so he walked very slowly, and we were left far behind. So we went to a stone bench by the side of the road and sat down to wait for him. There, too, sat a plainly dressed boy with his head bowed and seemed tired. Huatini sat between me and the boy, and Huatini looked at the boy with contempt, and then at the clothes he was wearing, and wanted to show off in front of the boy.
He lifted one foot and said to me, "Look at my boots!".He deliberately spoke loudly to get the boy's attention, but the boy ignored him, his head still bowed.
Huatini put down his foot, pointed to the buttons again, and looked at the young man and said to me, "This button is not good, the ribbon on it is too troublesome, I plan to change it to a row of silver." The boy still didn't look at him. Wattini took off the white hat again and turned it with his fingers. But the boy didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he had deliberately not looked at them. Huatini was a little unhappy, took down the watch again, opened the back cover, and asked me to look at the machinery inside. But no matter how much he tossed, the boy still didn't lift his head. I asked, "Is this watch gold-plated?"”
Nope!It's pure gold!Huatini replied.
I don't believe it, there must be a little bit of silver in it. I said.
No way!100% pure gold!Wattini argued aloud, and put the watch in front of the boy, and said, "Come and see if this is pure gold?"”
I do not know. The boy didn't look at it, and replied with a blank face.
Ho, that's pretty arrogant!Huatini exclaimed angrily. At this time, Huatiani's father happened to come over. When he heard this, he shrieked to his son, "Shut up!"Then he looked at the boy for a while, then leaned over to his son and whispered, "The boy is blind." Stillini was taken aback, and then looked closely at the boy's face, and found that the eyeballs were glassy, expressionless, and could not see anything.
He blushed and stared blankly at the boy. After a while, he embarrassed and said to the boy, "I'm sorry, I don't know. The boy seemed to understand everything, smiled kindly and sadly, and said, "It's okay!."Nothing!”
After that, on the way home, Huatini didn't say a word, I knew that he was very guilty in his heart, he was just more vain, and his heart was still kind.
The first snow. Ten days.
It seems that there is no chance to take a leisurely walk on the streets of Liehuali for the time being!Now, our most beautiful friend has arrived, and the first snow of winter has arrived!Since yesterday evening, the sky has been covered with snowflakes as white as goose feathers. When I woke up this morning, I saw that the ground was already white. On the way to school, the snowflakes were still flying, stepping on the snow, and the feet were creaking. When I arrived at school, there was snow on the glass and window frames of the classrooms, which was so much fun!The teachers are all rubbing their hands together and standing under the eaves**.
When I was in class, when I thought of having snowball fights, building snowmen, skating, and listening to my father's stories around the fire at night, my heart drifted outside with the snowflakes, and I couldn't help but secretly laugh. The students seemed to be a little absent-minded, the snowflakes hit the glass windows one by one, and everyone couldn't help but look outside from time to time, only Si Dai Di was still listening attentively to the lecture, indifferent to everything outside.
When it was finally time for school to end, the school was full of cheers!Everyone quickly packed their bags and rushed out of the classroom. They were bouncing and shouting all the way. Some people grabbed a snowball in their hands, whether they knew a classmate or not, and threw it over, and those who were hit by a snowball immediately squatted down, picked up the snowball and threw it at others. Some were running around in the snow, and the whole school was bustling.
At the school gate, many parents who came to pick up their children stood there with umbrellas, and after standing for a long time, the umbrellas were covered with a thick layer of snow. The policeman's hat also turned white. In a short time, the whole of our school bag turned white. Everyone was crazy with joy. Even Splash Kexi, the son of the blacksmith who never liked to laugh, was having fun with everyone;Our little hero, Lopeti, who rescued the child from under the carriage, also jumped around on crutches in the snow;A boy from Kelabria, who saw snow for the first time in his life, was holding a snowball and squeaking and biting like a peachKlossie, a vegetable seller's child, packed a snowball into a school bagThe most ridiculous thing is the "little stonemason", when my father invited him to come to my house tomorrow to play, his mouth was stuffed with snow, he couldn't spit or swallow, he could only blink his eyes with his mouth puffed out, and he couldn't say a word. Everyone laughed at his embarrassed appearance.
The female teacher also ran out laughing, and a few snowflakes fell on her hat and green scarf. The girls from the girls' school next door also chirped out, running and jumping in the snow, their feet on the soft snow as if they were on a white carpet. The teachers shouted to us: "Go home, go home!".The children were still partying in the snow, and they were so infected by the joy that they were standing at the school gate, laughing loudly.
Little stonemasons "11th.
Yesterday, Dad invited the "little stonemason" to come to our house to play, and the "little stonemason" stuffed his mouth with snow, and he couldn't speak, so he nodded vigorously, making everyone laugh.
Early this morning, he came to my house to play as promised. When he came, he was still wearing his father's old clothes, which were still stained with stone dust and lime. Dad seemed to like him very much, and he was even happier than I was for the arrival of the "little stonemason".
The little stonemason was really funny, and as soon as he entered the door, he took off his snow-soaked hat and stuffed it in his pocket, and I couldn't help but laugh when I saw him like that. His face and nose are red from the cold, which is very cute. As the "little stonemason" strode into the house, his eyes rolled and he looked at everything with curiosity. He paced into the drawing-room, looked around again, and when he saw a portrait of a funny old man with a hunchback hanging on the wall, he put on a rabbit's face. His rabbit face, anyone who sees it can't help but laugh. When we were stacking the bricks together, the "little stonemason" was very good at building towers and bridges, and he looked like a skilled architect. He played with the blocks and told me about his family. It turned out that his family rented someone else's attic, his mother was a laundryman, and his father had to go to night school every day after work to learn Xi. I think his parents must have loved him very much, although the family was not wealthy, and the clothes he wore were also his father's old clothes, they were still very warm, and the torn parts were carefully sewn up. His tie was neatly tied, and his mother must have done it for him.
My dad is very tall, and when I get home, I have to bend down to get in, and although I am short, when I grow up, I will be as tall as my father. He said proudly. The "little stonemason" also secretly told me that his father liked to call him "rabbit head" when he was at home.
By four o'clock, we were all hungry, so my mother brought us brioche bread and let us sit on the recliner and eat it. When we had eaten and were ready to play, we saw the white ash powder on the "little stonemason's" clothes sticking to the back of the chair, and I was about to reach out to wipe it. Dad immediately stopped my hand, and waited until the "little stonemason" had gone away before he quietly wiped the white ash clean.
We continued to play the game, when one of the buttons of the "little stonemason's" jacket suddenly fell off, and my mother immediately brought a needle and thread to sew it for him, and the "little stonemason" blushed and stood quietly by watching. After playing the game, I took out my funny picture book and showed it to him, and he imitated the characters in the picture book and made all kinds of funny expressions as he looked, and he learned it so well that it made our family laugh. He had a great time at our house, and when he left, he forgot to put on his hat. I sent him to the door, and he showed me a rabbit face as a thank-you. By the way, the real name of the "little stonemason" is Antonio Rabco, and he is eight years old.
Snowball fight. Sixteenth.
It's snowing all the time these days. Today, on the way out of school, there was an accident.
After school, as soon as everyone stepped out of the street, they started to have snowball fights. Everyone threw snowballs around and had a great time. Some children also deliberately pinched the snowball hard, hitting the body as if they had been hit by a small stone. At that time, there were many pedestrians passing by on the road, and when someone accidentally hit him, he reprimanded, "Stop!".You naughty people!”
Suddenly, there was an exclamation from the crowd, and an old man was covering his face with his hands, his body was shaky, he was unsteady on his feet, and his hat fell to the ground. A child stood next to him and shouted, "Oh no!".It's hurting, save people!”
People gathered from all sides to look, and it turned out that the old man's eye was injured by a snowball. When the children playing with snowballs saw this, they were so frightened that they fled in a puff of smoke. I was standing in front of a bookstore with my dad when I saw a lot of kids running towards us. Among them were our class of Clethes, the "Little Stonemason", the philatelist Carlophe, and the bread-chewing Caron.
The old man was already surrounded by the crowd, the police also rushed over, and some people ran over one after another when they heard the news, "Who threw it?"Someone shouted. Kalofe stood next to me, pale. "Who?Who is responsible for it?People shouted. At this time, Caron came over and whispered to Carlofe, "Hey!."Go ahead and admit it!Concealing faults is the act of a coward!”
But I didn't mean to. Callofe replied with a trembling voice.
(Tips: The full text ** can be read by clicking on the card at the end of the article).
I know, but you did throw the snowball, and you must be responsible. Cuarón persuaded.
No, I'm afraid. Kalofe's body shook even more.
What to be afraid of, be brave enough to admit your mistakes. Go, I'll go with you. ”
At this time, the police and onlookers shouted even higher: "Who threw it?"His glasses were shattered, and his eyes were cut by the ballast, and he was afraid he was going blind. Who the hell did it, damn it!”
At this time, Kalofe's body was shaking so much that he was about to fall, and his face was sweating.
Go, don't be afraid, I'll figure it out for you. Cuarón said firmly. Then he grabbed Kalofe's arm and pulled him into the crowd as if he were helping a patient. When everyone saw this, they understood that it was Callofe who was in trouble. Someone actually stopped them, clenched their fists and tried to go to Carofe, but Caron pushed them away and said, "Do you ten adults want to deal with a child?"The adults moved out of the way, and the crowd became quiet.
The policeman walked over, took Kallofe by the hand, pushed the crowd away, and took him to a nearby house, where the injured old man had been carried and we followed.
When he got there, the old man was lying on a bench with a handkerchief over his eyes. When I looked, I knew this old man, wasn't he the clerk upstairs, and I also knew that his nephew was also in our school.
Sorry, I didn't mean to. Callofe's voice was so low that he could barely hear it, and he trembled with fear. Onlookers crowded in and shouted, "Kneel down and confess!""Some even want to press Callofe down. At this time, a person suddenly stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "Please don't get excited, this child has bravely stood up and admitted his mistake, so don't punish him like this." He's still a kid. "It turned out that the principal had arrived. The headmaster helped Kalofe up and said, "Apologize to the old man." ”
Kalofe stepped forward and hugged the old man's leg and cried. The old man reached out and lovingly stroked Callofe's hair. At this time, everyone saw it and said, "Go!."Kids!Let's go home!”
Dad took my hand and walked out of the crowd, saying to me as he went: "Enrico, tell Dad, if it were you, would you have the courage to stand up and admit your mistakes on such an occasion?"”
Absolutely!I replied firmly.
Dad asked me again, "Then can you swear to me that you will be a person who has the courage to take responsibility?"”
Good!I swear that I am willing to be a person who has the courage to take responsibility!”
Substitute female teacher.
Seventeenth. Because of yesterday's incident, Kalofe was afraid that the teacher would punish him, so he was very uneasy. I didn't expect the teacher to come to class today, and even the teaching assistant teacher was not at school. During class, Mrs. Clomi walked into the classroom with her textbook in her hand. She was the oldest teacher in our school, and her two sons were older than us, and she heard that one of them had recently been sick, so the teacher's face seemed to be a little worried. As soon as everyone saw her walk in, they cheered. Mrs. Clomy said kindly, "Quiet!."Please pay some respect to my gray hair, I am not only a teacher, but also a mother. So everyone fell silent, except for Frandi, who was still secretly laughing at the teacher.
My brother's homeroom teacher, Mr. Deirkati, went to teach the class that Mr. Chlomi taught. And the teacher, nicknamed "Nun", went to my brother's class. This "nun" teacher usually wears black clothes, her eyes are very bright, her hair is very soft, ** white, she speaks in a very small voice, no matter what time it is, it seems to be there to pray. The teacher has a very gentle personality, always speaks to the students in a gentle tone, and never gets angry with the students out loud. Every time a student is naughty or makes a mistake, she will point her finger at the person to admonish, and the student who made the mistake will obediently bow his head and sincerely admit his mistake, and the classroom will immediately be quiet like a convent, so everyone calls her a "nun" teacher behind her back.
In addition, there is a female teacher, who is the homeroom teacher of the first grade, which I also like. Her face was ruddy, and she had two small dimples on her face every time she laughed. She always likes to put a big and long red feather in her little hat, and she always wears a small yellow cross around her neck. The teacher's personality is lively and cheerful, so the students are also very lively. She spoke as loudly as a silver bell, and if the students were loud in class, she would tap the table with her whip a few times, or clap her hands, and the noisy classroom would immediately become quiet. At the end of the school day, she also ran out of the classroom like a child, supervised the students to line up, and helped them put on their hats and button their coats to prevent them from catching a cold. I was also worried that the students would be mischievous on the road, so I kept sending them out of the street. When I saw the parents picking up the children, I advised them not to beat and scold the children at home. If a student is sick and has a cold, he will give them medicine. If a student's hands are frozen, lend them their gloves. Some children like to pester her, and they have to follow her when they go to **, and they want the teacher to kiss him, or reach out to pull the teacher's mask and pull her clothes, in short, the teacher is not at peace. But the teacher never bothered about this, she always smiled and kissed the students goodbye one by one. When the teacher got home, he found that his clothes and hair had been messed up by the students. She is also an art teacher at a girls' school, and I heard that she uses her own salary to support her mother and brother.
Visit an injured old man.
Eighteenth. The old man who was accidentally injured by Kalofe, his nephew was in our school and was a first-grader. I met his nephew today at the old man's house, and the old man treated him like his own son. This morning, after I had transcribed the monthly story "The Little Scribe" to my teacher for the next week, my father said to me, "Let's go to the fifth floor to see the injured old man and see what is going on with his eyes."”
When we entered the old man's house, we found that it was dimly lit, and the old man was lying on the bed, his wife was sitting on the edge of the bed and taking care of her, and his nephew was playing games on one side of the house. The old man's injured eye was wrapped in a bandage. When he heard that we had come to visit him, the old man seemed very happy, and hurriedly beckoned us to sit down, and said that his eyes were almost healed, but fortunately there was no serious injury, and that he would be fine in about four or five days.
It didn't matter if I was hurt, it was just an accident, the poor boy must have been frightened, he was still worried about it. As the old man was talking, the doorbell rang, and his wife said, "Maybe the doctor is here, and I have to do another examination today." So he got up and went to open the door.
But when the door opened, there stood Callofe, wearing a long coat, and standing there with his head bowed, as if he did not dare to come in.
Who's coming?The old man asked.
It's the kid who threw snowballs. My dad said.
Oh!It's you, kid, come in!Are you here to visit me?I'm almost well, don't worry, I'll be cured in no time. Come in, kid. The old man said with a smile.
Holding back tears, Kalofi walked in, walked to the old man's bed, and stood with his head bowed. The old man stretched out his hand, patted him on the head and said, "Good boy, thank you for coming to see me!".Go back and tell your mom and dad that I'm okay and ask them to stop worrying. ”
Callofi looked up, her lips moving, as if she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to speak.
What's the matter, kid, is there anything else to say?The old man asked.
No ......It's nothing. ”
Alright, child, go back with confidence. Don't take it to heart. See you soon!Be careful on the road. Callofi nodded, and turned away, and the old man's nephew ran over and opened the door for him. When Callofe reached the door, he stood again, and the child looked at him curiously, not knowing what he wanted to do. Suddenly, Kalofe took something out of his coat, handed it to the child, and whispered, "Here, this is for you." After saying that, he ran away.
The child didn't know what it was, so he brought it to the old man, only to see that the wrapping paper said "gift". The old man opened the wrapping paper, and I looked at it, and I couldn't help but say "ah", and it turned out to be a philatelic book, the stamp book that Callofe had painstakingly collected and regarded as a treasure. He even gave the old man his most beloved thing to repay the old man for forgiving him.
Little scribe. Syria is a twelve-year-old fifth-grader with black hair and a fair face. His father was a railroad worker, Syria was the eldest in the family, and he had several younger siblings under him, and the whole family was supported by his father's meager salary, so life was difficult. Syrian fathers love their children very much and do not feel that they are their own burden, especially for Syria, almost giving whatever they want, but in terms of Xi, they are very strict with him. His father often urged him to study hard so that after he graduated from school, he could find a good job and make life easier for the family.
Dad is old, and he works very hard, and the overwork makes him look very old. In order to earn money to support his family, my father worked on the railroad during the day and took some copying work from other places at night, copying until late at night before going to bed. Recently, he has taken on another batch of jobs. Helping a magazine to write a sign for a magazine to its subscribers should be written in large block letters, and six dimes should be paid for every 500 notes. This job is quite hard, and my father always complains when he eats every day: "My eyes have been getting worse and worse recently. Staying up late like this will save me a few years of life!”
Once Syria said to his father, "Father, let me copy it for you!"I will write carefully and promise to write as well as you do. Dad never agreed, he said, "No, your task now is to study hard." I don't want to waste any of your time. Not even for an hour. Syria knew her father's temper, so she didn't say anything more, but she already had a plan in her heart. He paid attention to it, and his father had to work until midnight before going back to the bedroom to rest. On several occasions at night, as soon as twelve o'clock struck, I heard the sound of a chair being dragged, followed by the footsteps of my father gently walking back to the bedroom.
One night, after his father had gone to sleep, Syria got out of bed and quietly dressed, tiptoed to his father's writing room in the dark, lit the oil lamp, and saw a blank note and a list of magazine subscribers above the table. He was both happy and a little scared, happy that he could finally do something for the family, but he was afraid that his father would be unhappy if he found out. So while he was writing, he listened to the movement with his ears sideways, for fear that his father would get up and see it. After writing for a while, the notes gradually increased, and his hands became sore, so he put down the pen, rubbed his hands vigorously, and continued to write. It wasn't until I had written one hundred and sixty sheets, which were worth two dimes, that I put the pen back in its place, turned off the lights, and went back to my room to sleep.
At dinner the next day, the father was in a good mood, patted Syria on the shoulder and said, "Son!".Your dad really isn't old!I did a third more work than usual last night!My hands don't feel sore, and my eyes don't get tired. ”
Syria didn't say anything, but she was secretly happy in her heart, and it seemed that she hadn't been discovered by her father yet. It turned out that my father had a Xi of just copying mechanically from the book every night, and as soon as the bell rang at twelve o'clock, he would stop writing and rest, and only in the morning would he count the number of strips.
Syria thought to herself, "Dad didn't know I was writing for him, and he thought he wasn't old." Good!Let's do it!”
Every night, as soon as the clock passed twelve o'clock, Syria quietly got up again to help my father copy it. He wrote for several nights without his father noticing. Only once, at dinner, Dad said, "That's weird!".Recently, lamp oil has suddenly become too expensive. Syria laughed secretly, but fortunately his father did not say anything else, and after that, he continued to get up every night to copy.
However, every day he got up in the middle of the night to copy, and after a long time, he was a little sleepless, he couldn't get up in the morning, he was sleepy during class, and he always yawned when he Xi at night.
Once, while Xi was studying in Syria, he fell asleep on his desk, which had never happened before. "Hey!Get up and Xi your homework!Dad clapped him on the shoulder and shouted. Syria opened its eyes and pressed on to read the book. But over the next few nights, he would nap every time he did his homework, and it got worse and worse, and he either fell asleep on his book or couldn't get out of bed in the morning. Every time I Xi the textbook, I always yawned constantly, and my face was tired, as if I was tired of my homework.
When his father noticed him like this, he reminded him many times to learn Xi by heart, and later he even got angry, although he never scolded the child.
One morning, Syria woke up late again, and he was sitting there eating breakfast with sleepy eyes, and his father couldn't help but say to him, "Syria, your recent performance has disappointed me so much." You're a different person than before!Remember, the hope of the whole family is pinned on you. Got it?This was the first time Dad had scolded him, and Syria was very sad and thought, "Yes, Dad is right!"Recently, my health has been really bad, and my homework has fallen behind. I can't go on like this, I have to stop now!”
At dinner that night, Dad happily announced, "Everyone's listening!".This month, I've earned six dollars and four dimes more than last month. With that, he took out a bag of candy from the drawer, saying that he had bought it to celebrate. When the younger siblings heard this, they all clapped their hands and cheered. Syria was encouraged to see her family so happy, and she thought to herself, "Okay!I'll continue to copy at night, and I'll try to study more during the day. That's it. ”
Dad went on to say, "Of course it's good to earn an extra six dollars and four dimes, but this kid ......."As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Syria and frowned and said, "I really can't do anything about him, it's so disappointing for me!."Syria desperately held back the tears welling up in her eyes, and endured her father's reproach silently, feeling extremely aggrieved. But the thought of doing something for my family makes me happy.
In the days that followed, he continued to copy at night. However, he stayed up late every night, his body couldn't bear it at all, he couldn't keep up his energy during the day, and his face became very bad. After another two months, Dad often had to scold him.
(Click on the card above to read the full article.)
Thank you for reading, and if you feel that the recommended book meets your taste, please feel free to leave us a comment!
If you want to know more exciting content, pay attention to your continuous recommendation!