It sounded very familiar to Elizabeth
Ann, for he did not read at all well. What was not familiar was that the
teacher did not stop him after the first sentence. He read on and on
till he had read a page, the teacher only helping him with the hardest
words.
"Now Betsy," said the teacher.
Elizabeth Ann stood up, read the first sentence, and paused, like a
caged lion pausing when he comes to the end of his cage.
"Go on," said the teacher.
Elizabeth Ann read the next sentence and stopped again, automatically.
"Go ON," said the teacher, looking at her sharply.
The next time the little girl paused the teacher laughed out good-
naturedly. "What is the matter with you, Betsy?" she said. "Go on till I
tell you to stop."
So Elizabeth Ann, very much surprised but very much interested, read on,
sentence after sentence, till she forgot they were sentences and just
thought of what they meant. She read a whole page and then another page,
and that was the end of the selection. She had never read aloud so much
in her life. She was aware that everybody in the room had stopped
working to listen to her. She felt very proud and less afraid than she
had ever thought she could be in a schoolroom. When she finished,
"You read very well!" said the teacher. "Is this very easy for you?"
"Oh, YES!" said Elizabeth Ann.
"I guess, then, that you'd better not stay in this class," said the
teacher.
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