"
The history class being called at this moment the big boy got up,
shoved the little creature to the farthest corner of his desk and
giving Alice a parting scowl, went forward to recite his lesson.
Notwithstanding her desire to befriend the feathered captive she soon
became interested in the class and could scarcely refrain from laughing
outright at the answer to the teacher's question, "What happened at
Bunker Hill?"
"Old Bunker died."
This was bawled out by a freckled-faced boy, who reminded her of a
rabbit, owing to a fashion he had of twitching his nose and keeping it
in motion in some mysterious way. Even the teacher wanted to laugh,
but assuming her sternest manner she speedily restored order.
It was during the arithmetic lesson that Alice's heart went out in pity
for the youthful instructor. The majority of the pupils were bright;
but an unruly fraction, one child, refused to comprehend.
"If a family consume a barrel of flour in nine weeks, what part of a
barrel will they use in one week, Matilda?"
Matilda rolled her blue eyes up to the ceiling as if to find the answer
there, then studied a board in the floor for several minutes, then
slowly shook her head and sat down. A dozen hands were raised, and the
teacher nodded permission to a small boy who analyzed it successfully.
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