Chapter 11: The First Lesson

"How sweet is the amazing grace that my sins may be forgiven!"

"I was lost before, now I am found, and now I am blind, but now I can see!"

"I have passed through many dangerous trials and snares!"

"By the grace of the Lord, I am safe, and I am not afraid to lead me home!"

……

It was a clear Saturday morning, and the sun was shining from the east, shining on the granite boulder across from the school.

The students who stayed at the school sang a crisp hymn in the early morning.

It's been the third day since they were rescued.

In the past three days, the students have fled alone, and many parents have come from outside the mountain, crying and picking up their children.

When these children came to school, not everyone wanted to.

But according to the statute of the Commonwealth of America, all Native American children must come to school after the appropriate age. Violators will be fined or flogged, or imprisoned and their families ruined.

On this continent, there were many Indian families, so they fell apart, and they were separated forever.

Even though the turtledove has been used to seeing too many joys and sorrows, the moment they see their flesh and blood reunited, they still can't help but hide behind the window and burst into tears.

Imagine that if he has a child in the future, but he is taken away in infancy, in the name of receiving 'civilized education', he will not know his life and death, and he will have his destiny in peace.

How can this be endured?

What reason does he have to be content with the status quo, survive in secret, and wait for the terrifying future?

Every time he thought about this, the resentment in the turtledove's heart would increase a little.

That's why he often woke up in his dreams, and he had to hold the gun in his hand tightly before he could fall asleep again.

No one knew anything about this, except for the peso and the great hardness that now accompanied him day and night.

Others only think of him as a wise man who is strategizing and seeing everything, or a leader who is gentle and kind and talks and laughs.

Even Geronimo, whose heart is like a poisonous snake, only thinks that the turtledove is a hard-hearted beast, and he would never have thought that the turtledove at midnight would often hide in the corner of the bed under the quilt and weep.

Even Luo Czen, who was grinding with the turtledove's ears and sideburns, she had never regarded the turtledove as an invincible general, and she had never had a chance to see the cold pine with the high cliff and the shore, and the turtledove would often sit in the study for most of the day because of self-blame - she thought that the turtledove was thinking about the future of the tribe.

Early this Saturday morning, Turtledove heard the crisp chorus coming from the school classroom, and couldn't help but hang his head and lie on the table for a while.

When he raised his head again, his face returned to his fortitude and severity.

He rang the bell on the table.

After a while, Peso walked in.

"Turtledove, what's the matter?"

"How many students are left in the school?"

"And thirty-six."

"Who's teaching them now?" Turtledove asked.

"Nobody teaches them, they're teaching themselves." Peso replied.

"Self-taught? What to learn? Turtledove asked curiously.

These children, the oldest of whom are only in their teens, can teach themselves?

When he was a teenager, he was just bent on catching birds and cicadas in the trees, fishing for shrimp in the river, and teasing cats and dogs at the neighbor's house.

"That's what they usually learn," replied Peso, "spinning, carpentry, buttoning, making clothes, and occasionally singing." ”

Turtledove remembered that when the watermill was counting the supplies in the school warehouse, he found a large warehouse full of small clothes, which turned out to be the masterpieces of these children.

The so-called 'civilized education' turned out to be nothing more than free labor.

It's just that the turtledove wonders why there are no nuns and priests now, and why they still learn this.

Thinking of this, Ikaruga stood up and decided to go to the classroom to see it for himself.

……

It's been three days since he arrived, and this is the first time he's seen in front of these kids.

When he stood on the podium, he found that the children were all sitting straight and looking at him earnestly.

Seeing the turtledoves are a little worried.

He has faced countless bullets and bullets, and he has also been calm in front of thousands of people.

But when he stood on the podium, he thought, how could he be so flustered?

He suspected that his clothes were a little inappropriate, he tugged at the placket of his clothes, he knew that he should change his clothes and come again, he should not be so reckless.

My hands probably haven't been washed clean, and there are still ink stains on my fingernails, so why don't you notice this?

Also, isn't your face a little serious? Won't it scare them?

Turtledove writhed on the podium for a long time, trying to squeeze a smile out of his face—

Under the podium, there was a child who cried loudly.

The turtledove hurriedly stepped forward, "What's wrong, what's wrong?" What are you crying about? ”

But the boy cried even harder.

The turtledove reached out and rubbed his shoulder—the turtledove felt that the child's body stiffened as his fingers touched him, and as soon as the cry stopped, his head was about to fall under the desk, and the trail of water under his trouser legs was spreading.

The turtledove withdrew his hand in disdain.

"Right...... I'm sorry, I just...... Well, don't cry...... "Turtledove sighed and walked back.

Sure enough, I won't be a good teacher!

"Don't cry, lizard!"

As she walked back to the podium, she saw a little boy come up to the weeping little girl and comfort her. "Turtledove is a good man, he won't eat us!"

Turtledove knew this little boy, he was the one Sturgeon and Smoked Fish were going to save that night, as if his name was 'Andrey'?

It's just that this child's comforting words, why do they always sound a little awkward?

After such a fuss, what Turtledove originally wanted to say, now suddenly feels that there is nothing more to say.

He originally wanted to tell these children to study hard and make progress every day.

Now I look at this unworthy school, with neither teachers nor teaching materials. The students are afraid of themselves like demons, and they stay here because they just have nowhere to go.

What else do you learn? To what?

"Ahem!" The turtledove pretended to cough, intending to say a few words and leave. It's coming anyway.

"That...... Andre? The turtledove stopped the only child he knew.

"Uh-hello, turtledove...... Mr. Ikaruga! Andrei immediately stood up straight, leaned forward slightly, and bowed his head to the turtledove.

"You-", Turtledove found that as long as he was still standing on the podium, whatever he said seemed inappropriate. He was going to ask, "Why don't you go home?" "On second thought, isn't this nonsense? Where do these children still have a home? So in an instant, I changed my mind and changed the question:

"-You, uh, I mean, the school is out, why are you still coming to the classroom?" After the turtledove asked, he felt that he was not the right question. People are students, if they don't come to the classroom, will they lie in bed and sleep?

"Back to Mr. Ikarugya," said Andre, who behaved like a sensible and well-behaved child, "we came to the classroom to learn. ”

The turtledove couldn't help but laugh.

He asked the question strangely, and Andrei answered it strangely. It's kind of flattened.

"Learn what?" The turtledove stepped down from the podium and came to little Andrei's side.

Little Andre did not look up, his eyes kept on his toes, and he was silent for a long time.

The turtledove thought that he had asked this question too much, and when he was about to give up, he heard little Andre say:

"I want to learn the skills that will make us Sioux strong, Mr. Ikaruga!"

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