A Country Boy Quits School Lao Hsiang (Translated by Chi-Chen Wang) Maybe it is the teacher's mama.

" Arriving at school, the boy found that it was Sunday and that there would be no school. The boy told Mother the circumstances, which made her curse the institution of Sunday. The teacher answered even more gently than before. "It is the mama of anyone who happens to read the book, do you understand now?" "No," the boy said. "Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like this lady," the boy said. A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: "The ox tends the fire; the horse eats noodles." Perhaps the book is talking about such horses and oxen." The boy took his father's instructions to heart and set out for school the next day at dawn. The teacher is asleep and the classroom isn't unlocked. Grandfather was sweeping the yard when he suddenly caught sight of the boy. When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already on the platform and was holding forth on the subject of being late to school. Luckily his father happened to see the other boys also coming home from school and the teaching laking a stroll with his dog stick," and concluded that his son was not playing truant. He kept wondering, however, about the strange ways of these foreign schools. It couldn't be said that the boy was not diligent He reviewed his lesson every day after school, reading over and over again "This is Mama," until dusk. Thinking that his mother was really eager to learn, the boy pointed to the accompanying picture and said, This is Mama- the lady with leather shoes, bobbed hair, and long dress." One glance at the picture and Mother burst out crying. Where did the boy get that vampire-like mama?" Grandmother, however, did not agree with father's explanation. asked his teacher "Is this ox that can tend the fire a foreign ox ?" The following day, the boy

The teacher laughed and said, "You are too literal! The explanation cleared up at one stroke many things in the book that had puzzled the boy. One day, the boy and his schoolmates decided that they would play tea party as they had read about it in their reading. Our boy knew, of course, that he would be only inviting a beating to ask money for buying sweetmeats. Grandfather asked. We want to hold a tea party," the boy said. "It means to get together and eat things and drink tea," the boy said. "It is in the book No wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food since they went to school" Grandmother said. Grandfather said. "Remember, son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather's cough," said Mother. "Where did you get the money to buy oranges?" asked Father. The boy's father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately the table intervened. Everyday after school, he read without stopping until it was dark. Don't be angry any more!" the boy's father said. "We won't let him read this kind of book any longer.