11. This teacher never allowed any of his pupils to speak to him without
first raising his right hand above his head, to signify that the child
had something to say; and when any child raised his hand in this way, if
he was not busy, he called upon the child to say what he wished.
12. In this way he prevented the children from troubling him when he was
busy; and in this way he also prevented them from interrupting each
other, as would be the case if several of them should speak at once.
13. On the day of which I am about to speak, he said to them, Now,
children, I have a very hard question to ask you, that does not require
you to study, but only to think about it, in order to answer it well;
and the one who gives me the best answer shall go to the head of the
class. The question is this: _What is a bird?_
14. Before they heard the question, they looked very sober, and thought
their master intended to puzzle them, or to give them a long sentence to
commit to memory. But as soon as they heard the question, they began to
smile among themselves, and wonder how their teacher should call that a
hard question.
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