The Children's Story Read Free

well as children.”
    “But they took him away and he didn’t want to go.” Johnny felt the tears close and he fought them back.
    The New Teacher touched him gently, and he smelled the youth and cleanness of her, and it was not the smell of home which was sour and just a little dirty. “He’s no different from all of you. You sometimes don’t want to go to school. With grown-ups it’s the same—just the same as children. Would you like to visit him? He has a holiday in a few days.”
    “Momma said that Dad’s gone away for-ever!” Johnny stared at her incredulously. “He has a holiday?”
    The New Teacher laughed. “She’s wrong, Johnny. After all, everyone who goes to school has holidays. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
    The children shifted and rustled and watched. And Johnny said, “I can see him?”
    “Of course. Your daddy just has to go back to school a little. He had some strange thoughts, and he wanted other grown-ups to believe them. It’s not right to want others to believe wrong thoughts, is it?”
    “Well, no, I suppose not. But my dad never thought nothing bad.”
    “Of course, Johnny. I said wrong thoughts—not bad thoughts. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s right to show grown-ups right thoughts when they’re wrong, isn’t it?”
    “Well, yes,” Johnny said. “But what wrong thoughts did he have?”
    “Just some grown-up thoughts that are old-fashioned. We’re going to learn all about them in class. Then we can share knowledge, and I can learn from you as you will learn from me. Shall we?”
    “All right.” Johnny stared at her, perplexed. “My dad couldn’t have wrong thoughts. He just couldn’t…
    Could he?”
    “Well, perhaps sometime when you wanted to talk about something very important to your dad, perhaps he said, ‘Not now, Johnny, I’m busy,’ or, ‘We’ll talk about that tomorrow.’ That’s a bad thought—not to give you time when its important. Isn’t it?”
    “Sure. But that’s what all grown-ups do.”
    “My momma says that all the time,” Mary said.
    And the other children nodded, and they wondered if all their parents should go back to school and unlearn bad thoughts.
    “Sit down, Johnny, and we’ll start learning good things and not worry about grown-up bad thoughts. Oh, yes,” she said when she sat down at her seat again, brimming with happiness. “I have a lovely surprise for you. You’re all going to stay overnight with us. We have a lovely room and beds and lots of food, and we’ll all tell stories and have such a lovely time.”
    “Oh, good,” the children said.
    “Can I stay up till eight o’clock?” Mary asked breathlessly.
    “Well, as it’s our first new day, we’ll all stay up to eight-thirty. But only if you promise to go right to sleep afterward.”
    The children all promised. They were very happy. Jenny said, “But first we got to say our prayers. Before we go to sleep.”
    The New Teacher smiled at her. “Of course. Perhaps we should say a prayer now. In some schools that’s a custom too.” She thought a moment, and the faces watched her. Then she said, “Let’s pray. But let’s pray for something very good. What should we pray for?”
    “Bless Momma and Daddy,” Danny said immediately.
    “That’s a good idea, Danny. I have one. Let’s pray for candy. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
    They all nodded happily.
    So, following their New Teacher, they all closed their eyes and steepled their hands together, and they prayed with her for candy.
    The New Teacher opened her eyes and looked around disappointedly. “But where’s our candy? God is all-seeing and is everywhere, and if we pray, He answers our prayers. Isn’t that true?”
    “I prayed for a puppy of my own lots of times, but I never got one,” Danny said.
    “Maybe we didn’t pray hard enough. Perhaps we should kneel down like it’s done in church.”
    So the New Teacher knelt and all the children knelt and they prayed very, very hard.