If You Give Me Three Days of Light: The Best Collection of Helen Keller

Chapter 26 The Teacher's Story (3)
In the days that followed, Annie stayed with Jimmy all the time, taking care of him dressing and eating.Tell him a story.As Mi moaned in pain, she fondled Jimmy's back and massaged his legs, trying to ease his pain.The child's keen intuition told her: the dark night is the most dangerous place, and the god of death will come quietly and steal Jimmy away.She has to wake up and fight with all her strength.So Annie never had a moment's rest, nor a restful sleep, until Jimmy's death.

However, Annie fell asleep when they pushed Jimmy away.

When she opened her eyes and woke up, it was pitch black in the dormitory.She felt something was wrong, but couldn't see anything.Annie turned sharply to Jimmy's bed--couldn't touch it!She got out of bed, walked out of the room in the dark, and walked to the morgue.Her feet were weak and she was shaking so much that she could hardly stand, and Anne repeatedly warned herself to stay calm.After two steps in, she stretched out her hand and touched the iron railing beside Jimmy's bed.

Fear overwhelmed her, causing her to tremble continuously, and the heavy grief made her pass out. People found Anne in the morgue the next day, and she was motionless, lying on the ground like a corpse.The caretaker picked her up from the ground, but this hug woke her up, and she became angry with sadness, and became fierce like a beast, growling, biting, kicking... People took her hands and entangled with her After a while, she finally had to let her lie back on the ground.

After everyone left, she calmed down and lay silently on the ground without crying.Years later, she recalled that at the time, all she wanted was to die.It was one of the most heart-wrenching and sad days of her life.

At this time, a kind old lady in the dormitory came over staggeringly, trying to pull Annie up from the ground.The old woman struggled too much and panted for breath.Annie heard the panting and moaning of the old woman in her ear, and opened her eyes.She stood up from the ground without saying a word, and brought the kind old woman back to the bed.

The old man patted his side and murmured pitifully: "Annie, sit here. Cry! People are always going to die. Believe me baby, tears can dilute the sorrow in the world." And down.

I want to go to school
After Jimmy died, Anne's only purpose in life was to get out of Desborough.She knew that it was not difficult to get out of the gate of the poorhouse, but the difficulty was how to live outside the gate.She has no family to depend on, and she can't work by herself, because she is too young and has poor eyesight. Who would hire such a child laborer?

But fortunately, in these difficult days, Anne gained a friend who really cared for her, that is, a new priest named Barbara from Desburgh, who presides over every Saturday prayer and Sunday mass in the girls' dormitory ceremony.

Although the church to which Father Barbara belonged only entrusted him with these two responsibilities, the difficult environment of the workhouse and the residents who had lost hope in life entangled his conscience and compassion.When he has nothing to do, he often comes here to say hello.He chatted and laughed with the old women, and chatted about sports with the men.At the same time he also began to notice Anne.

At first Anne avoided his loving gaze, lost in her brother's grief in silence, and was in no mood to befriend anyone.Even so, she could still feel Father Barbara's amiable smile.

Later, the priest's smiling smile dispelled Anne's fear, and when the priests greeted people one by one, Anne followed him.When the priest wanted to go back, he always patted Annie to show his concern.After a few months, I don't know which day, they walked side by side and talked.Father Barbara had become Anne's friend.

One day, he made Annie an unexpected promise.They were standing by the yellow gate when Father Barbara said, "Annie, I'm taking you away, you shouldn't be here anymore."

Father Barbara felt that the treatment of Annie's eye disease was the first problem to be solved. After the treatment was completed, Annie would find a place to settle down and let her leave the lifeless Desborough.

Father Barbara had a friend who was a very good doctor at the Catholic Mercy Hospital in Lowe County, Massachusetts.Father Barbara is taking Annie to the doctor.In his opinion, this friend is the best candidate to heal Anne's eye disease.

So after Anne defected to Desborough for a full year, Father Barbara took Anne to leave Desborough and went to Lowe County to find his doctor friend.

The doctor immediately arranged for Annie to have her eyes examined, and he told the priest: "There should be no problem, we can help her heal."

For the first time in her life Anne came into contact with educated and compassionate kind people.They also found Anne to be bright and likable.They cared about her and listened to her heart.

Soon, they arranged for Anne to be operated on.Anne was blindfolded and lay on the bed very timidly, and lay quietly for a few days.On the day when the stitches were removed, a group of nurses followed the doctor with medicines and instruments.Father Barbara followed closely behind them.The doctor carefully removed the blindfold and the thread.

Annie heard the doctor say to her kindly, "Open your eyes."

The anticipation made her heart beat so fast that it almost jumped out of her throat and back into her chest.But when I opened my eyes, everything was worse than before, still hazy and blurry.She could only see twilight and gray shapes.The surgery was unsuccessful.

Annie burst into sobs.

The priest reassured her that the doctor was going to operate on her, and she became happy again.Because that way they would keep her on and not have to send her back to Desborough right away.

And yet she cut again, and again...and again, and never satisfactorily.In the end, the doctors diagnosed Anne as blind and not an eye disease, and there was nothing they could do.

Hospitals are where patients live, these days, so Annie must be discharged.Because they can no longer find an excuse to keep her.In order to preach, Father Barbara was ordered by the mission to transfer to another country, leaving here, and he could no longer take care of her.Where is Anne's home?
"I had to send her back." Annie overheard the conversation between the doctor and the nurse, and she understood the meaning of this sentence.

"Please don't send me back, I don't want to go back." Annie's crying and begging was heartbreaking, but there was nothing they could do but let "Black Mary" take her back.

When Annie returned to Desburg, no one cared about her or paid attention to her.She felt herself sinking in a dark cage that would never see the light of day.So she wanted to leave Desburg even more eagerly, and the old women in the dormitory laughed at her: "Annie, do you know who you are? How are you different from us? How dare you expect to leave." For a while, Anne became one of these women The object of their cynicism.

After hearing these words, Annie was very angry: "I don't care what you think or say, I must leave."

"My dear, what are you going to do after you leave?" they heard.

"I want to go to school."

This answer made them burst into laughter.

Even her good friend Maggie Caro couldn't help advising her tactfully: "Annie, you can't see, how do you live outside? Desburg is your home, this is your life!"

"So what if you're blind? I'm going out into the world, and I'm going to school, whatever it is. I don't care about fate, or what God thinks, or arranges. I'll never accept it."

"Annie, shut up! Don't talk nonsense." Annie blasphemed God, which shocked and angered Maggie Carlo.

Anne didn't want to listen to Maggie Carlo's nagging admonition, and ran out angrily.

Day after day, year after year, 1878, 1879, 1880, Anne was still in Desburgh.She is almost completely blind, and her dreams are beginning to be difficult to control. She herself gradually doubts whether the dreams can come true?

Maggie Carroll told her one day, "Annie, I don't know if I should tell you something. Have you ever heard of a school for the blind?"

Annie held her breath and asked impatiently: "You mean, people like me can learn to read and write there."

"There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you can get in."

The ridicule of Su Daxi's cousin's sister-in-law seemed to be still in my ears: "With your eyes, you will never learn to read or write in your life."

At that time, she couldn't go to school with her weak eyesight. Now her eyesight is even worse than then, how can she read and write?Thinking of this, a mass of resentment burst out: "Liar. You just made me happy and cruelly looked at me disappointed. How can a blind man read and write?"

Maggie Carroll touched Annie's hand and shook it silently for a moment. "Baby, just use this. Use your finger to touch the protruding characters, and you can read. That's how blind people learn to read and write."

Annie suddenly became enlightened, and she saw hope again.

Now Anne finally knew where she was supposed to go, but how?How to get in touch with the outside world?She couldn't read, she couldn't write, she was blind, and she couldn't get out of the fence without someone who was able to help her.Anne felt hopeless.

No one thought that in 1880, the opportunity came.

At the time, Massachusetts officials were mostly unconcerned with state poorhouses.But the people went crazy about how bad and miserable the environment in their workhouse was.So the officials had no choice but to organize a team to investigate the poorhouse, and this year they will come to investigate Desburgh.

In fact, these rumors of walking among the people are correct, and Desburg should have been investigated long ago.The buildings are dilapidated and medicines are in short supply; the food is poor and full of bugs and bacteria; there are swarms of rats in the courtyard, and they come out to grab food and hurt people rampantly during the day.The most shocking was in 1875, when there were 80 babies here, but after the winter, only 10 remained.

Although the director of Desburgh is not a bad person, the problem is that the state government only pays each poor person 1.75 yuan a week, including all basic necessities.The executives can only use this limit to maintain expenses, and use poor funds to pay for firewood, rice, oil, salt, birth, old age, illness and death.

But the experienced men in the workhouse did not expect the mission to improve their lives.Surveys like this have been conducted before, and you have seen too many of them.Usually, it was a group of officials who came and shook their heads, shocked and speechless at the sight of poor people in workhouses languishing in the minimum living conditions.When they left, they kept shouting: "Need to improve." Then there was no information and no information.The bad situation still continues, there are still insects and bacteria on the food, and the rat population is still rampant.

However, Anne expects a miracle to happen and everything changes.She wanted them to find her, to notice her—to send her to school.

Maggie Caro told Annie: "The leader of this regiment is François Chambon, remember his name, maybe you can leave Desburg if you find him." Anne firmly remembered this name, and finally, the investigation Here comes the regiment.They sampled the food, looked around the living environment, got down and looked at the rat hole, and asked all kinds of questions.They were speechless and yelled at the dire situation.Annie followed them hour after hour, walking around every corner of Desburgh.She couldn't see them clearly, so she could only falter and follow their voices.There is only one thought in her mind every day, and that is how to muster up the courage to ask these people for help.

When the investigation was coming to an end, a group of members of the inspection team walked to the yellow gate and shook hands with the executives of Desburg.They were going to leave soon, but Anne at this moment hadn't figured out which one was Mr. Chambont until now.But it's too late if you don't call for help.

"I have gained a lot." A gray figure said this.

"We'll tell our decision as soon as possible. Goodbye!" said another figure.The door rattled and was about to close slowly.

She is about to lose her last chance!Suddenly, she threw herself into the crowd who were about to leave.

"Mr. Chambon, Mr. Chambon!" She cried to all the members, "I want to go to school, I want to go to school, please let me go to school!" Her tears were streaming down, her voice trembling.

Supervisor Desburg wanted to drag her away, but a voice stopped him. "Wait a minute! What's the matter, little girl?"

Anne stammered, "I'm blind, I can't see, but I'm going to school, I'm going to."

"How long has she been here?"

"I do not know either."

After they asked some questions, they left without saying anything to Annie.

Annie cried herself to sleep that night, convinced that she had failed completely.

A few days later, Maggie Caro staggered into the women's dormitory. "Anne, Anne, they told me to come to you quickly. Pack your clothes, you're leaving here soon." It turned out that Mr. Chambon had helped Anne register.As a poor student of a charity, she went to the Perkins Institute for the Blind, 20 miles from Boston.

Annie finally got her wish and went to school.

Before leaving, friends from the poorhouse quickly sewed two clothes for her.For the first time in years Anne had new dresses—one was red, the other was blue with black flowers.

parting day.Lao Ding was waiting for her at the door in a carriage, and Annie chose to wear a beaming red dress to commemorate this day.All the friends came to the gate to see them off, and they kept telling Annie.

"When you learn how to write letters, you must write and come back. Our Anne will be able to read and write..." "Be a good girl." "Come back and see us." "You can't be like here, Always talk back. Be obedient." Annie treasured all her instructions deep in her heart and never forgot them all her life.

When the "Black Mary" rumbled away from Fort Despers, Lao Ding waved the whip in his hand, pointed back to the slowly closing yellow gate and said: "Annie, after you walk out of this gate, don't come back again, you heard me?" No? I wish you all the best!"

She remembered Lao Ding's words clearly.

On October 1880, 10, Anne drove to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in a carriage, to a new and unfamiliar environment, and at the same time to her second chance in life, which was the beginning of a new life.

new life
The school life began, and the school life she had dreamed of for many years finally came true, but the student life she encountered at the beginning was far from what she had imagined in the past.

At that time, Annie was 14 years old. In terms of life experience, she was a youthful age with no social experience. In terms of knowledge, she did not know how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide, and did not know English, geography, history and other terms and their meanings. meaning, everything has to be learned from scratch with young children.

Anne was mixed with five or six-year-old children in a room, and she looked very mature and clumsy.Some girls used the nickname "Old Anne" to tease and ostracize her.Annie was out of tune with them and was in great pain.She is like a fighting cock ready to fight, nervous and alert.Life is full of challenges, and she falls into confusion, disappointment, and rebellion.Every night when she went to sleep, she wanted to cry loudly, but she could only beat the pillow and cry secretly: "I hate them, I hate all of them."

As time passed, Anne learned to read with her fingers touching the raised letters, and she learned to read and write using Braille, but unfortunately she didn't have the patience to learn spelling.Because Annie has always mistakenly thought that it is enough for people to communicate with each other, so why bother to count one more or one less letter.What a nitpicker.She felt that it was a headache to memorize the words accurately.

The English teacher took the trouble to explain to her: "Annie, be patient and principled. Everything has a right side and a wrong side. Therefore, the principle of our doing things must be righteous and good." As wind in the ears, still go its own way.The teacher gradually lost his patience and changed to another method, but this method deeply hurt Annie's self-esteem.

Once, the teacher took out Annie's composition and read it aloud to everyone. When encountering a misspelled word, she stopped and corrected it with a reproachful tone and clear pronunciation. The students thought it was a very fun game. Whenever the teacher stopped, they were rocked with laughter.The laughter struck Annie like a sharp sword. She gritted her teeth and held her breath, cursing them silently over and over again in her heart.

For a long time thereafter, she endured this torture almost every day.One day the laughter was so sharp that she couldn't bear it any longer, so she jumped up from her chair and said, "What's so funny! You fools, you only laugh, you only suck, you suckers."

"Putting up" is Anne's usual colloquial language in Desburgh. She often blurts it out without any meaning, but the teacher feels that her dignity has been affected.She ordered Anne sharply: "Get out! Sit on the steps, and I will come to you later."

Angry and stiff with rage, Anne rushed out of the classroom, knocking a row of empty desks on one side.Annie walked to the door of the classroom without looking back, turned around, "I don't sit on the steps and wait." She proudly added, "I will never come back to this class again. With a bang, she slammed the door and turned away.

When such a shocking thing happened, Anne was naturally called into the presence of the principal, Mr. Ananos. Mr. Ananos tried his best to make her understand how rude and disrespectful he was, and warned her: "I will never do this again in the future." It can be done."

Annie was confident, and replied angrily: "She provoked me to do this, it's her fault!"

Mr. Ananos explained: "Annie, the point is not whose fault it is. As a student, you must respect your teacher. Otherwise, how can we maintain school discipline? You have to admit your mistakes to the teacher."

She felt that the teacher wronged her, so the teacher should apologize to her!Of course she didn't ask the teacher like that.But she felt full of grievances.

Mr. Ananos sighed: "Forget it, forget it, go back to your room and wait for the news. Think about what I said."

After Annie closed the door and went out, Mr. Ananos was dejected and had a terrible headache. "What should I do? There is no room for her here anymore. She is too presumptuous. We should send her home, but where is her home?"

Someone knocked on the door, and it was Teacher Mo Meili, the best teacher in the school, who came in.

She was concise and to the point: "I heard that Annie got into trouble, will she apologize?"

Mr Ananos said resignedly: "I'm sure she won't apologize."

(End of this chapter)