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

Chapter 5 My Life (3)
We walked in the direction of the big house, and the fragrance of honeysuckle along the way was refreshing.Someone was pressing the water on the side of the road, and Teacher Sullivan put my hand on the side of the water pipe.She spelled the word "water" into my other hand, slowly at first, then rapidly, as a stream of crisp water gushed into one of my hands.Suddenly, I felt the return and awakening of a sleepy consciousness, a hazy consciousness that had been forgotten, and the language world that was mysteriously far away from me was unfolding in front of me.So I learned that "water" means something wonderful and cool flowing from my hand.This vital word awakens my soul, it brings me light, hope, joy, and places me in a space of infinite freedom!Although the barriers of the senses still exist, the barriers will be cleaned up in time.

I left the big house desperate to learn about the wider world.For me, everything is new, I start to reacquaint them, I start to remember their names, I feel that each name is the birth of a new thought.When we got home, every object I touched seemed to touch my life.It's because I see these things with a strange and new light.When I entered the door, I remembered the doll that I broke.I groped my way to the fireplace, squatted on the ground, and picked up the doll's fragments.I tried to piece it all together, but it was all in vain, and for the first time in my life, I realized how wrong what I had done, and I felt remorseful and sad, with tears in my eyes.

That day, I learned a lot of new vocabulary.Although I can't remember them all, there are a few words I will never forget, that is, mother, father, sister, teacher, these words brought me into a colorful world, "like Aaron's wand, with a wave Underneath, there are flowers everywhere."Suffice it to say, you'd be hard-pressed to find a kid as happy as I was.I lie in my crib at night, so excited that I can't wait for tomorrow to come.

close contact with nature
Many things happened in the summer of 1887, which stimulated the awakening of my soul.At that time, I began to understand that although I can't do anything now, I can use my hands to explore and recognize every object I touch.The more things I touch, the more names and uses of these things I know, the stronger my sense of my blood connection with the world, and the more self-confidence and happiness I have.

When the daisies and buttercups were in full bloom, Mrs. Sullivan took my hand through the fields.Farmers prepare for planting along the banks of the Tennessee River.We both sat on the warm grass and felt the warmth of nature's gift to human beings.I learned how sunlight and rain nourish every tree in the land, making them flourish and blossom and bear fruit.I also learned how birds build their nests and migrate to survive; how squirrels, deer, lions and various animals forage for food and escape.As my knowledge grows, I become more and more interested in the world I live in.Long ago I learned to do arithmetic, or describe the contours of the earth.Teacher Sullivan taught me to learn the beauty of discovery. I found beauty in the embrace of the fragrant forest, on every blade of grass, and on the curled little hands of my little sister Mianrou.She made me feel that "birds, flowers and I are happy companions".Let me closely connect the initial thought of life with nature,
Of course, nature does not always bring us warmth and happiness.Once, the weather was fine, and Teacher Sullivan and I went for a walk far away, but when we returned, the weather became hot and unbearable.Two or three times, we stopped to rest under a big tree by the side of the road.Finally, we came to a wild cherry tree not far from home.It was cool and pleasant under the shade, and the tree was easy to climb. With the help of Mrs. Sullivan, I was able to climb up the tree and ride among the branches.It was so nice to sit among the branches, so we decided to have lunch here.She asked me to sit on the branch of a tree, obediently, and wait for her to go home to get food and come back.

Unexpectedly, the weather will be unpredictable, I suddenly feel an indescribable change around me, the light and heat are swept away among the intertwined branches, and I know that the sky has turned dark.Then, there was a strange smell on the ground, which is the smell I always smell before a thunderstorm comes.An indescribable dread seized me, and I felt utterly alone and helpless, some power cut me off from my friends and from the solid earth.The vast and unknown atmosphere surrounded me tightly, and a sense of horror hit my whole body.I sat on the branch and did not dare to move, hoping that Teacher Sullivan would return soon.

Then, there was a moment of tranquility, but it seemed to be a moment of tranquility before the big twists and turns, which made people feel uneasy.Then, the surrounding leaves shook wildly, and the cherry tree under me trembled. If I hadn't hugged the trunk tightly with all my strength, a gust of wind would have knocked me to the ground.The tree shook very badly, and under the wind and rain, the small branches around me crackled, as if laughing at my insignificance.A violent throbbing seized me, and I couldn't restrain the feeling of fear.I curled up between the branches, just hugging the trunk, letting the branches and leaves beat me.

I intermittently felt strong vibrations around me, as if something heavy had fallen.The tremors passed overhead, down to the branches below me.My uneasiness has reached the limit, I am very afraid that the big tree will fall to the ground because it cannot withstand the wind and rain, and then I will fall with the big tree.Fortunately, Mrs. Sullivan grabbed my hand in time and got me off the tree.I cling to the teacher tightly, trembling with joy, I once again feel the solid ground under my feet.I think I have learned a new lesson. I understand that nature often wages sudden and blatant war on her people. Under her gentle appearance, she hides a pair of sharp claws to attack people unexpectedly. .

Because of the fear that this incident brought to me, I dared not climb trees for a long time.But it didn't last long, and the blooming flowers and enchanting fragrance of the acacia tree finally swayed me.

It was a spring morning, and I was reading alone in the gazebo.Gradually, I noticed a faint fragrance in the air.So, I stood up all of a sudden, and instinctively stretched out my hands, as if I was searching for the breath of spring passing through the gazebo. "What is this?" I questioned in my heart.Immediately afterwards, I recognized the scent of acacia flowers.I groped my way to the end of the garden, and I knew the acacia tree was at the corner of the path near the fence.In the warm sunshine, the acacia tree swayed gently, its flowery branches hanging almost down to the long grass.I am amazed how there are such delicate and beautiful flowers in the world!Even at the slightest touch, its delicate petals will immediately retract and close together, just like a tree from heaven has been transplanted to the earth.

I pushed aside the luxuriant branches and walked under the huge tree trunk. I hesitated for a while, but finally made a decision. I resolutely put my feet in the wide area between the branches and started to climb up.It was difficult to maintain a climbing position, because the trunk was very thick and the bark was chafing my hands.But I am still high-spirited and immersed in the joy of conquering difficulties.I continued to climb to the height, and there was a small stool on the height of the tree.Maybe someone else tied it here a long time ago, but now, it has merged with the tree and become a part of the tree.I sat among the tall tree branches for hours, feeling like a fairy sitting on a colorful cloud.I imagined freely on this tree of heaven, dreaming wonderful daydreams one after another.

Understanding the Meaning of "Love"
Now, I have mastered the key to language learning, and next, I hope to apply what I have learned.For normal children, learning a language is not a strenuous task, they can easily come into contact with and learn the language from the vocabulary spoken by others.But for a deaf child, mastering language must go through a slow and painful learning process.But no matter what kind of process, the result will be very pleasing.

Gradually, from being able to name only one object, I developed step by step to the point where I can roam freely in a vast language field.From the first time I uttered an ambiguous and stuttering syllable to the time when I was able to walk freely between the beautiful lines of Shakespeare, Teacher Sullivan took my hand and made a long journey on the road of language.

At the beginning, when Mrs. Sullivan told me about a new thing, I could only "listen", simply accept it, and hardly ask any questions.Because my consciousness is vague and my vocabulary is poor, but as I get more and more exposed to things, I learn more and more vocabulary.The scope of my inquiries broadened, I returned to the same subject again and again, I longed to know more about it, to know it in all its aspects.Sometimes a new word brings back a chain of memories of previous experiences.

I have a deep memory of what happened one morning. It was the first time I asked Mr. Sullivan the meaning of the word "love".

At that time, I found several violets that had just opened in the garden, so I brought the flowers to Mrs. Sullivan.Miss Sullivan wanted to kiss me to show her delight.But at that time, I didn't like being kissed by anyone except my mother.So Mrs. Sullivan took me gently with her arm and spelled "I love Helen" on my hand.

"What is love?" I asked.

She pulled me to her side and said to me, "This is where the love is" and pointed to my heart.It was the first time in my life that I felt my heart beating.But I still couldn't fully understand what Teacher Sullivan said at the time, because I still couldn't understand abstract things that could only be understood but not expressed in words.

I smelled the violets in Mrs. Sullivan's hand, spelled the words, and gestured at the same time. The question I wanted to ask was: Is love these lovely flowers?
"No." Teacher Sullivan replied.

So I figured out the word again.The warm sun shines on me and the teacher.

"Is this love?" I asked the teacher pointing to the direction of the heat. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than the sun in the world. The light and heat it emits make all things live.But Teacher Sullivan still shook her head, and I fell into deep confusion and disappointment.That's weird, why can't she show "love" to me?Let me touch it directly, and I will understand.

After a day or two after this, I played with beads in my room, and I strung beads of different sizes evenly together, first two large ones, then three small ones, and so on.But I always made mistakes. Teacher Sullivan patiently pointed out the wrong beads one by one.Finally, I noticed an obvious sequence error. At that moment, I suddenly found that I was completely focused on the handicraft class. What kind of abstract concept is this kind of attention, Sullivan The teacher touched my forehead and spelled the word "think" in my palm.

All of a sudden, I understood that the word was a product of my mental process, my first recognition of an abstract concept.For a long time after this, I couldn't keep my mind on the beads on my legs.As new ideas burst forth, I tried to find the meaning of "love."

At that time, the sun had been covered by clouds, and then there was a burst of rain, but in an instant, the southern sun erupted with its unique light.

I asked Teacher Sullivan again: "Is this love?"

Teacher Sullivan replied: "Before the sun comes out, love is a bit like the clouds in the sky." I still don't understand.The teacher went on to explain: "You know, you can't touch the clouds, but you can feel the rain falling; you also know how much the flowers and the dry land long for the rain and dew after a long day of heat. Although love is not an entity, you cannot touch love, but you can feel it, just like the beauty of rain nourishing all things, you can feel this beauty. Therefore, without love, there is no happiness.” The flower of truth is in my heart My mind suddenly bloomed, and I suddenly found that there were invisible connections extending between my soul and other people's souls.

Feel the beauty of knowledge

From the first day Mrs. Sullivan taught me, she talked to me like those hearing children. The only difference is that instead of speaking directly, she spelled sentences in my hands.How much I wanted to have a direct conversation with Mrs. Sullivan when I couldn't understand the vocabulary and idioms she gave me so that I couldn't have a conversation.

This tangled emotion lasted for several years.For those deaf children, the simplest idioms and expressions used in daily communication are really too difficult, and you simply cannot master them in a short period of time or as long as two or three years.Those who can hear can learn these languages ​​from constant repetition and imitation.They hear the conversations of adults at home, which stimulate the development of their thinking virtually, and the topics of conversation are also of interest to them, so they will naturally express their thoughts without deliberately learning.This innate way of expressing one's thoughts doesn't work in deaf children.

Beyond that, communicating with people is a bigger problem for me, because it's hard enough for someone who's just blind or just deaf to master the art of conversation.And for those who are both blind and deaf, it's even harder!They can't distinguish the speed of the tone, the pitch of the voice, and can't observe the facial expressions of the speaker. Usually, a look can show the speaker's mind, but the blind and deaf cannot receive this information.

Teacher Sullivan noticed this, and she was determined not to let my physical disability interfere with my studies.Word by word, she taught me over and over again, telling me how to participate in other people's conversations.This is really a long and difficult process.The hard work paid off, and finally I was able to talk to people.After studying for a long time, I can grasp the content of the conversation and know when to say what.

After learning how to communicate with people, the next focus of my study is "reading".Whenever I spelled words, Mrs. Sullivan would hand me cards with raised letters on them.I learned quickly, and I knew that every word represented an object, an action, or a quality.For example, the words "doll", "is", "on", and "bed", each of which has its own corresponding object and form.I had a spelling board, and at first I was able to piece together short sentences on it.So, I used "is on bed" to mean putting the doll on the bed.While making sentences, I also learned the meaning of sentences and the correct grammatical structure.Nothing entertained me more than this sentence-making game at the time.The teacher and I played for hours at a time, and everything in the room was used as a prop for us to practice making sentences.

Gradually, I transitioned from reading words on flash cards to reading books, and I regard myself as a "junior reader".I searched frantically for words I knew.Once I found a word I knew, I was as happy as playing a game of hide and seek.In this way, I started my reading career.Slowly, I began to read some series of stories, and later I was able to "retell" these stories.

In the process of teacher Sullivan teaching me, I did not let me study certain courses systematically.So, when I study hard with enthusiasm, it is more like playing and entertaining, that is to say, I study with interest.Mrs. Sullivan would express everything she taught me in a story or a poem.Not only that, as long as she encounters happy or interesting things, she will tell me in detail, and she has turned herself into a little girl.Therefore, I was lucky. In the process of learning, many children were afraid of boring grammar, difficult arithmetic problems and difficult noun explanations, but they did not affect me. It has become my most cherished memory.

As for why Teacher Sullivan can give me such caring heart beyond ordinary people, I can't explain it. I think I can only thank God for letting Teacher Sullivan come to me, teach me, and love me.In addition to love, the teacher also has an excellent ability to describe, she can quickly skim over the boring details, and never nag me about what I learned the day before yesterday.She can always explain the boring scientific principles very vividly, allowing me to understand rather than rigidly accept.

(End of this chapter)