Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/259

Rh Anna need not know any German. She said that if she wanted to learn German she could go to Germany. But the schoolmaster will have it his own way. Indeed, Grandma, nobody likes to learn the German dictando, it is so hard; if it were Bohemian; oh, my! it would be as easy as the Lord's prayer!"

"You don't understand this yet, but you ought to obey and learn all things willingly. How did the boys behave?"

"Quite well, until Johnny began to cut up with the other boys when the schoolmaster left the room. They even jumped over the benches, till I told him"

"You told me? indeed, I stopped because I heard the schoolmaster coming!"

"I'm learning nice things about you! You should watch others and you misbehave yourself; how is that?" asked Grandmother.

"O Grandma," said Willie, who till then was silent, but was busily engaged showing Adelka a piece of sweet wood and a tiny book made of gilt paper, which he got from some boy at school in exchange for a kreutzer. "O Grandma, those boys in school are so bad; why they jump over the benches and fight, and the monitor acts as bad as the rest."

"For the Lord's sake, what does the schoolmaster say to that?"

"That's while he is out of the room. When he is coming they jump back to their places, put their hands on the desks, and all is quiet."

"The little wretches!" exclaimed Grandmother.