THE LITTLE BOY
日本語へ戻る
Once a little boy went to school.
He was quite a little boy.
And it was quite a big school.
But when the little boy found that
He could go in his room by walking right in from the door
outside, he was happy.
And the school did not seem quite so big anymore.
One morning
When the little boy had been in school awhile,
The teacher said,
“Today, we’re going to make a picture.”
“Good,” thought the little boy.
He liked to make all kinds.
Lions and tigers, chickens and cows, trains and boats ---
And he took out his box of crayons and began to draw.
But the teacher said, “Wait! It is not time to begin!”
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
“Now,” said the teacher.
“We are going to make flowers.”
“Good,” thought the little boy.
He liked to make flowers.
And he began to make beautiful ones
with his pink and orange and blue crayons.
But the teacher said, “Wait, and I will show you how.”
And it was red with a green stem.
“There,” said the teacher,
“Now you may begin.”
The little boy looked at the teacher’s flower,
Then he looked at his own flower.
He liked his flower better than his teacher’s,
But he did not say this.
He just turned his paper over,
And made a flower like the teacher’s.
It was red --- red with a green stem.
On another day,
When the little boy had opened the door from
The outside by himself, the teacher said,
“Today we are going to make something with clay.”
“Good,” though the little boy.
He liked clay.
He could make all kinds of things with clay ---
Snakes and snowmen, elephant and mice,
Cars and trucks ---
And he began to pull and pinch his ball of clay.
But the teacher said, “Wait! It is not time to begin!”
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
“Now,” said the teacher.
“We are going to make a dish.”
“Good,” thought the little boy.
He liked to make dishes.
And he began to make some that were all shapes and sizes.
But the teacher said, “Wait, and I will show you how.”
And she showed everyone how to make one deep dish.
“There,” said the teacher,
“Now you may begin.”
The little boy looked at the teacher’s dish, and he looked at his own.
He liked his dishes better than the teacher’s, but he did not say this.
He just rolled his clay into a big ball, and made a dish like the teacher’s.
It was a deep dish.
And pretty soon ….
The little boy learned to wait.
And to watch.
And to make things like the teacher.
And pretty soon ….
He didn’t make things of his own anymore.
Then it happened that the little boy
And his family moved to another house.
In another city.
And the little boy had to go to another school.
This school was even bigger than the other one.
And there was no door from the outside into his room.
He had to go up some big steps and walk down
A long hall to get to his room.
And the very first day
He was there.
The teacher said,
“Today we are going to make a picture.”
“Good,” though the little boy.
And waited for the teacher to tell him what to do.
But the teacher did not say anything.
She just walked around the room.
When she came to the boy, she said,
“Don’t you want to make a picture?”
“Yes,” said the little boy, “What are we doing to make?”
“I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher.
“How shall I make it?” asked the little boy.
“Why, anyway you like,” said the teacher.
“And any color?” asked the little boy.
“Any color,” said the teacher.
“If everyone made the same picture and used the same colors,
How would I know who made what,
and which was which?”
“I don’t know,” said the boy.
And he began to make a red flower with a green stem!
By Helen E. Buckley
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