Dribs and drabs of childhood memories II --- My first day at school

I don't think I am old enough to have the experiences, because many people of my age were better treated by life.

To continue with my story of Dribs and Drabs Of My Childhood Memories, I'd like to relate to you, my friends, my start of schooling. But do not get me wrong, when I tell the story, I feel nothing like sorrow. No, every pieces of memory, happy or sorrowful, is a precious part of my life and I treasure them regardless of the feelings I had at the time that story happened.

When I grew up to seven years old, maybe my parents become aware that their dear son need education, like the neighbor's sons and daughters. Poor though my family was, my dad and mom were near-sighted on important matters. So it happened that my parents decided to move, to a adjacent village for my education to start.

I can never forget the day when my dad sent me to school. As you may not know, people at that time were very poor under the circumstance of planned economy. I didn't even have a note book to start with. So my father handed me a long and narrow bunch of paper that was used to keep account by an accountant and told me to use it as a notebook.

I was afraid to go to school and I nearly cried. I was sent to school with pushes and pulls. I got in to the classroom, where there were ten students or so, and was appointed a seat and told to sit down. The teacher was in the process of giving a lesson.

The teacher was talking about the Chinese pinyin. "a~~~o~~~e~~~ " , drawled the teacher. and "a~~~o~~~e~~~ ", repeated the students. I was totally at a loss what to do. Before I knew what was going on, the teacher called my name. I stood up with a start when my desk mate told me to. The teacher said, "You! Come forward to the blackboard and read them." I was overwhelmed. My legs went out of control. I tried to squeeze through the gaps between the desk and the seat but fail. And the teacher saw my embarrassment and understood that I didn't mean to come forward. He said, "Ok, sit down and listen."

I threw myself on the seat and panted, with my heart throbbing heavily.

<2B Continued>