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

Chapter 33 Helen Keller Letters (1)
letter one
Miss Sullivan began teaching Helen Keller to read on March 1887, 3.By late June, Miss Sullivan spelled the first words in Helen's hand, and Helen wrote the letter in pencil.

To her cousin Anna (Ms. George T. Turner)

Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1887, 6

Helen writes to Anna George Helen will have an apple in a minute Simpson wants to go bird hunting Jack will give Helen a lollipop The doctor will give Mildred medicine Mum will give Mildred new clothes
(unsigned)

letter two

Twenty-five days later, during a short trip away from home, Helen Keller wrote a letter to her mother.There are two characters in the letter that are written very irregularly and crookedly.

To Mrs Kate Adams Keller
Huntsville, Alabama, July 1887, 7

Helen writes to mother Dad gives Helen medicine Mildred wants to sit on the swing Mildred kisses Helen the teacher gives Helen peaches to eat George is sick in bed George's arm is hurt Anna gives Helen lemonade drink dog The dog stood up like a man.

The conductor punched the ticket and dad poured water for Helen on the train
Carlotta brings flowers for Helen Anna wants to buy Helen a beautiful new hat Helen wants to hug her mother and kiss her mother's face Helen wants to go home Helen misses her grandmother

goodbye (unsigned)

letter three

By September, Helen Keller's ability to organize language was improving day by day, and the range of thoughts she could express became wider and wider.

To the Blind Little Girls at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in South Boston
Tuscumbia, September 1887

Helen is going to write a letter to the blind little girls Helen and the teacher are going to visit the blind little girls Helen and the teacher are going to take a steam train to Boston Helen and the blind little girls can talk with their fingers I want to meet Mr. Ananos Mr. Ananos likes Helen and will kiss Helen Helen is going to school with the blind girls Boston's Mildred Crying Prince and Jambo will go to Boston Daddy will shoot the duck with a shotgun and the duck will fall into the water Jambo and Mamie will jump into the water and bring the duck to Papa Helen and the puppies Playing together Helen and the teacher ride together Helen feeds Handy grass, the teacher whips Handy to make Handy run fast, but Helen can't see anything Helen will put the letter in an envelope and send it to the blind little girls
Goodbye
Helen Keller
letter four

After a few weeks, Helen Keller was basically able to spell sentences correctly, and she was able to grasp the rhythm of the article more flexibly.Her ability to use idiomatic expressions has improved, but she has not fully mastered the use of articles. She just uses "did" to make some simple past tense sentences, but this is very suitable for children.

To the Blind Little Girls at the Perkins Institute for the Blind
Tuscumbia, October 1887, 10

dear blind little girls
I'm writing you a letter I thank you for the beautiful desk I'm writing to my mother in Memphis from that beautiful desk Mother and Mildred came home on Wednesday and mother brought me a beautiful new Clothes and a new hat Daddy went to Huntsville He brought me apples and candied fruit Me and the teacher are going to visit you in Boston Nancy is my favorite doll I shake when she cries Nancy wants her Sleep well Mildred is sick the doctor will prescribe her medicine to make her well I went to church on Sunday with the teacher Mr Wren read and preached the ladies played the organ and I put money in the poor man's basket I will be a good girl the teacher will curl my hair lovingly i will hug and kiss the little blind girls mr ananos will come to see me soon

Goodbye
Helen Keller
letter five

From this letter, Helen Keller knew how to use punctuation marks.

To Mr. Michael Ananos, Director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind

Tuscumbia, September 1887

Dear Mr. Ananos I am writing to you right now.I took some pictures with my teacher.The teacher will send you the photo.Photographer takes pictures.Carpenter builds new house.Gardeners dig holes and hoe to grow vegetables.My doll Nancy is sleeping.She is sick.Mildred is in good health.Uncle Frank went deer hunting.We'll have venison for breakfast when he comes home.I rode on the wheel of the cart and the teacher pushed me, and we played like this for a while.Simpson gave me popcorn and walnuts.Cousin Rosa went home to see her mother.People go to church on Sunday.I have read Tale of the Fox and the Cabinet.The fox can sit in the cabinet.I love reading my storybooks.you like me.I like you too.

Goodbye
Helen Keller
letter six

To Dr. Alexander Graham Bell

Tuscumbia, September 1887

dear mr bell

It is my great pleasure to write you a letter.Dad will send you the photo.Me and my dad and aunt have seen you in Washington.I also played with your pocket watch.I love you.I went to Washington to see a doctor.He checked my eyes.I can read story books.Can write, spell and count.I am a good girl.My sister can walk and run.We play with Jambo.Prince is a disobedient dog because he can't catch birds.The mouse ate the baby pigeon, and I was very sad.The mouse didn't understand what he was doing wrong.My mother, my teacher and I will go to Boston in June.I'm about to meet the blind little girls.Nancy will go with me.She is an obedient little doll.Dad will buy me a lovely new pocket watch.Cousin Anna gave me a beautiful doll named Ellie.

Goodbye.

Helen Keller
letter seven

By the beginning of the second year, Helen Keller was more proficient in the use of idioms than before, and more adjectives appeared, including some adjectives related to color.Although she does not have the experience of perceiving colors, she can use a large number of color-related vocabulary like a normal person. This kind of mental ability seems incomprehensible to ordinary people, but it is true.The following letter was written by Helen to a classmate at the Perkins Institute for the Blind.

To Miss Sarah Tomlinson

Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1888, 1

dear sara

It is with great pleasure that I write to you this morning.I hope Mr. Ananos will come to see me soon.I'm going to Boston in June, and I'm going to buy warm gloves for Dad, a nice collar for James, and a pair of cuffs for Simpson.I saw Miss Betty and her pupils, and they had a colorful Christmas tree with lovely presents for the little ones.I got a cup, a bird and some candies.I also have lots of lovely presents for Christmas.My aunt gave me a box for Nancy and clothes.I went to the party with my teacher and my mother.We danced, played games, ate candies, ate nuts, ate cakes and tangerines, there were little boys and little girls among us, and we had a great time.Mrs. Hopkins gave me a beautiful wreath, and I love her and the little blind girls.

Grown men and immature boys weaved carpets in factories.Wool grows from sheep.Men use large shears to shear the sheep before sending them to the factory.People make clothes from wool in factories.

The cotton in the field is full of branches.Many people were picking cotton, men, boys, women, and girls.We make clothes out of cotton yarn.The cotton has beautiful white and red floral prints on it.The teacher accidentally tore her skirt.Mildred was crying.I'm going to take care of Nancy.Mom is going to buy me a nice new apron and dress and take me to Boston.I went to Knoxville with my dad and my aunt.Bessie was small and frail.Mrs. Thompson's chicken killed Leyla's chicken.Eva is sleeping in my bed.I love these beautiful and kind girls.

Goodbye
Helen Keller
letter eight

In the following two letters, Helen Keller mentioned her visit to relatives and friends in Memphis, Tennessee in January.She was taken to the Cotton Exchange.When she touched the map and the blackboard, she asked everyone: "Are people going to school?" She also wrote on the blackboard the names of all the gentlemen present.In addition, she observed a giant Mississippi steamship.

To Dr. Edward Everett Hale
Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1888, 2

Dear Mr. Hale:
It is my great pleasure to write you this letter early this morning.The teacher told me about the friendly gentleman and I was so happy to read these lovely stories, including the story of the tiger, the lion and the sheep.

I will also visit you when I visit blind little girls in Boston in June.I've been to Memphis to see Grandma and Aunt Nanny.The teacher bought me beautiful new clothes, a new hat and a new apron.Little Natalie was a very delicate little baby.Papa took us to see steamboats.It runs on a big river.A steamboat is like a house.Mildred was a good baby.I like to play with my little sister.Nancy wasn't such a good kid when I got to Memphis.She was crying all the time.That's all for today, no more.I'm so tired.

Goodbye.

Helen Keller
letter nine

To Mr. Michael Ananos
Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1888, 2

My dear Mr. Ananos, it is my great pleasure to write to you in Braille.Lucian Thompson sent me a beautiful bouquet of violets, saffron and daffodils early this morning.Adeline Moses brought me a lovely doll on Sunday.Bought from New York.It's called Adeline Keller.She can close her eyes and bend her arms and can sit and stand.She is wearing a beautiful red dress.She is Nancy's sister and I am their mother.Ellie is their cousin.When I went to Memphis, I beat Nancy with a stick because she turned into a bad boy and kept crying.

Mildred fed the chickens bread crumbs.I like to play with my little sister.

My teacher and I went to Memphis to meet Grandma and Aunt Nanny.Aunt Nanny had a child named Louise.The teacher bought me a pretty little dress, and gloves, stockings, and shoulder pads, my grandmother made me a warm coat out of flannel, and my aunt Nanny made me some aprons.My aunt made me a beautiful hat.I went to see Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grievous, little Natalie, Mr. Faris, Mr. Mayo, and Mary.I like Robert very much.Now the teacher is urging me to rest and doesn't want me to write anymore.I also really feel a little tired.

Mr. Grievous had a box of sweets in his pocket.Dad took us to see the steamboat, which was as big as a house.Steamboats float on very large rivers.Yates worked the grounds in the yard today so he could grow things.The mule pulls the plow ahead.Mom wants to grow vegetables.Dad will grow melons, peas and other kinds of beans.

On Saturday, Cousin Bell will visit us.At that time, my mother will make ice cream to entertain the guests. We have ice cream and cake to eat.Lucian Thompson is sick.I am very worried about him.

I took a slow walk in the yard with my teacher, and I learned about flowers and growing trees.The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.Sheffield is in the north and Tuscumbia is in the south. We are going to Boston in June.Then I will play with blind little girls.

Goodbye.

Helen Keller
letter ten

The "Uncle Murray" mentioned in this letter is Mr. Murrison Headey of Normandy, Kentucky.He lost his sight and hearing when he was a child.Many of his poems were loved and sought after by everyone at that time.

To Mr Morrison Heady
Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1888, 3

Dear Uncle Murray, it is a pleasure to write to you, I love you and will hug you and kiss you when I see you.

On Monday, Mr. Ananos will come to see me.I really enjoyed playing and chasing in the warm sun with Robert.I also met a little girl named Katherine Hobson from Lexington.

In June, I will go to Boston with my mother and teacher, and I will be able to play with the blind little girls. Mr. Hale gave me a beautiful story book.I read stories about lions, tigers and bears in this storybook.

Mildred cried a lot because she wasn't going to Boston with us.I would really like to play with my little sister, but she is a weak little doll who is always sick.Eva was much stronger and healthier than she was.

Yates killed the ant because it bit him while Yates was digging a hole in the garden.Mr. Ananos saw ripe oranges hanging from the branches like golden apples.

Every sunny Sunday, Robert would come to see me, and I would play with him.My cousin Frank lives in Louisville.I want to go to Memphis again to see Mr. Farris, Mrs. Grievous, Mr. Mayo, and Mr. Grievous.Natalie was a good, quiet girl, and she was going to be grown up, and Mrs. Grievous was making her a skirt.Natalie has a pony carriage.Mr. Mayo went to "Duck Mountain", and when he came back, he brought back some very fragrant and fragrant flowers.

Please receive my love and kisses.

Helen Keller
letter eleven
This letter is about a picnic together, where we can see Miss Sullivan's teaching skills of entertaining and entertaining.During this day, Helen Keller's vocabulary increased greatly.

To Mr. Michael Ananos
Tuscumbia, Alabama, June 1888, 5

Dear Mr. Ananos, I am very happy to write to you this morning because I love you so much.I was very happy to receive your two letters and the beautiful books and sweets you sent me.I'll be visiting you soon, and I'm going to ask you a lot of questions about the country.Don't you also like sensible and well-behaved children?

Mommy's getting me a new dress for Boston, and I'll look good to see you and those lovely little boys and girls.On Friday I went to have a picnic with my teacher and many other children.We had dinner and games under the big tree, and we found a lot of bracken and wild flowers.I walked in the woods and learned the names of many trees.The trees are aspen and cedar as well as pines, oaks, ash, hickory and maple.They provide people with comfortable shade, and the birds love to fly around and sing in the woods.Rabbits are running in the woods Squirrels are running in the woods Ugly snakes are crawling in the woods.The woods also grow geraniums, roses, jasmines, Japanese camellias and various other interesting plants.Every day before dinner, my teacher and I will help my mother water and fertilize these plants.

Cousin Arthur made me a swing, right there in the ash tree.Aunt Eva has gone to Memphis.Uncle Frank isn't gone yet, he's picking strawberries for supper.Nancy was sick again, and it was the new teeth that made her very sick.Adeline is healthy and fine, and she can go to Cincinnati with me on Monday.Aunt Eva was going to give me a boy doll, and Harry was going to be Nancy and Adeline's brother.I'm tired, now I'm going downstairs.I enclose your letter with lots of kisses and lots of hugs.

your forever good boy
Helen Keller
letter twelve
In late May, Mrs. Keller, Helen Keller, and Miss Sullivan set off for Boston.During the trip, they stopped in Washington for several days.There, they met Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and visited President Cleveland. On May 5, they arrived at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, where Helen Keller finally met these friendly blind little girls who had been communicating for more than half a year.

She went to Brewster, Massachusetts, in early July, where she spent the summer.She saw the sea for the first time in her life, and she mentioned it to everyone many times in the days that followed.

To Miss Mary C. Moore
South Boston, Massachusetts, September 1888

my dear miss moore
Are you happy to receive a letter from your favorite child?I love you very much, because you are my good friend.My little darling, my little sister, is so well behaved now, she loves to sit in my little rocker and put her kitten to sleep.Would you like to see sweet Little Mildred, too?She is a very beautiful little girl.Her eyes were big and blue, and her little round face was tender and red, and her hair was a bright blonde.When she's not crying, she's very sweet and well behaved.Next summer Mildred will be very glad to go out with me in the garden to pick big red strawberries.But although the fruit is delicious, I hope she doesn't eat too much, or she will get sick again.

(End of this chapter)