As soon as the bell rang at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, the doors of the elementary school opened, and the children rushed out. However, they did not disperse as quickly as they usually did, and went home to eat, but stopped not far away and gathered in a heap to whisper.
It turned out that this morning, Simon, the son of Brownshaw's eldest sister, came to class for the first time.
They had all heard about Sister Bronshaw in their house. Although she was treated with courtesy in public, her mothers spoke of her privately with sympathy and contempt. This sentiment is also contagious to the children, although they have no idea why.
Simon, they didn't know him, because he never left the house, and he didn't frolic with them in the streets of the village or by the river. They didn't like him very much, so they heard a fourteen or fifteen-year-old say, "You know what...... Simon...... Hey, he doesn't have a dad. They were all a little gloating and amazed, and they told each other when they had heard it. The boy winced his eyebrows as he spoke, as if he knew more than that.
The son of the eldest sister of Brownshaw also walked out of the school gate at this time.
He was seven or eight years old. The face is a little pale, very clean, looks very shy, and even a little helpless.
He was about to go back to his mother's house. At this time, groups of classmates, while whispering and staring at him with the clever and cruel eyes that children often used to plan bad tricks, gradually came from all directions, and finally surrounded him. He stopped, and stood dumbfounded among them, both surprised and embarrassed, not understanding what they were going to do to him. At this point, the boy, who was proud of the success of the news disclosure, asked him:
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Simon. ”
"Simon what?" the boy asked.
Simon was completely confused, and he repeated, "Simon. ”
The boy shouted at him, "Everybody's called Simon plus something." Simon...... This is not a surname. ”
He, almost crying, replied for the third time: "My name is Simon." ”
The little mischievous people burst into laughter. The victorious boy raised his voice: "You see, he really doesn't have a father. ”
There was a sudden silence. The children were stunned by this extraordinary, unimaginable, and appalling event. A boy who had no father—— they looked at him like a monster, something against nature, and felt that the contempt of the mothers for Brownshaw's eldest sister, which had not been picked out all along, suddenly strengthened in themselves.
Simon, he hurriedly leaned against a tree so that he did not fall down. He tried to argue. But he didn't know what to say to answer them, denying the terrible thing that he didn't have a father. His face was bloodless, and he could only shout to them casually: "I have, I have Dad." ”
"Where is he?" asked the boy.
Simon was speechless; The children were excited and laughing. These country kids are often in close proximity to small animals. When the hen in the pen saw that one of her kind was injured, she immediately bit him to death. They even felt the need for such cruelty. At this time, Simon suddenly found a neighbor's child, the son of a widow, and he always saw him like himself, alone with his mother.
"You too," he said, "and you don't have a father." ”
"I have," the boy replied, "I have Daddy." ”
"Where is he?" Simon retorted.
"He's dead," said the boy proudly, "my father, he's lying in the graveyard." ”
The mischievous ghosts let out a low sound of approval, as if there was a dead father lying in the graveyard, and the fact that had made their companion great enough to crush the child who had no father at all. Most of these troublemakers have fathers who are villains, drunkards, thieves, and have a habit of abusing their wives. They did the same, pushing each other and tightening the encirclement, as if they, the legitimate sons, were going to exert a kind of pressure to suffocate the illlegitimate son.
Suddenly, a child standing across from Simon stuck out his tongue at him with a mocking look and shouted at him:
"No Daddy! No Daddy!"
Simon grabbed him by the hair and kicked him hard in the leg while biting his face hard. The scene was chaotic. By the time the two of them were pulled apart, Simon had already been beaten lightly, his clothes were torn, his body was bruised and purple, and he was curled up on the ground surrounded by the little naughty people who clapped their hands. When he stood up and subconsciously wiped his dusty white blouse with his hands, a child shouted at him:
"Go tell your dad. ”
At this moment, he felt completely broken. They were stronger than him and defeated him. And he can't fight back against them because he realizes that he really doesn't have a father. He had great self-esteem, and tried to hold back the uncomfortable tears, but within a few seconds he was breathless, and although he did not cry, he convulsed violently, and his body trembled rapidly.
The enemies let out a cruel laugh. Like ecstatic savages, they instinctively held hands and danced around him, shouting over and over again, "No Daddy!
But Simon suddenly stopped sobbing. He was furious. There were several stones at his feet, which he picked up and threw at his abusers. Two or three children were hit by rocks and fled with their heads in their hands. He was so aggressive that the rest of the children were terrified. The crowd is also afraid of the red-faced man, and when they are timid, they immediately disperse and flee.
He was left alone, and the fatherless boy ran out into the wilderness because he remembered something that made him make a big decision in his mind: he was going to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river.
It turned out that he remembered that a week ago, a poor man who lived by begging jumped into the river because he was penniless. Simon happened to be there when he scooped up his body. This unfortunate man, whom Simon usually thought was pitiful, dirty and ugly, but now his face became fair, his long beard was moist, his eyes were open and serene, and he was deeply impressed by his serene look. Someone around said, "He's dead." Another added, "He seems to be very happy now." Simon also wanted to jump into the river because he didn't have a father, just like the unfortunate man had no money.
He came to the river and watched the flowing water. A few fish swim and frolic in the clear water, and from time to time they leap lightly to catch the insects flying on the water. He stopped crying and went to see the fish, whose performances aroused his strong interest. However, just as the storm subsides, a few gusts of wind occasionally blow up and make the trees creak before disappearing into the sky. The thought of "I'm going to jump into the river because I don't have a father" came back to his mind with a wave of intense grief.
The weather was pleasant and warm. The gentle sun shone on the grass. The river shimmered like a mirror. For a few minutes Simon felt very comfortable, and felt the sleepiness that often followed a bitter cry, and he wished he could sleep there, on the grass, in the warm sunshine. A small green frog jumped at his feet, and he tried to catch it, but the frog escaped. He caught three times in a row and failed. Finally, he managed to grab both of its hind legs. He laughed out loud at the way the creature struggled to escape. The frog curled up on its thighs, and then flicked them so hard that they stretched out like two sticks, while its eyes with a golden hoop widened, and its two front paws fluttered into the air like hands. This reminded him of a toy made of narrow pieces of wood nailed across each other, and through the same movement, the small soldiers inserted into it were trained. At this time, he thought of home, thought of his mother, felt sad for a while, and cried again. Trembling, he knelt down and said the prayer as if he had gone to bed. But he couldn't finish it, because he was sobbing so quickly and so violently that he was already dazed. He didn't think about anything anymore, he turned a blind eye to everything around him, and he just cried.
Suddenly, a strong hand rested on his shoulder, and a loud voice asked him, "What makes you so sad, little one?"
Simon looked back. A tall worker with a black beard and black curly hair looked at him kindly. With tears in his eyes and choked in his throat, he replied:
"They beat me...... Because...... I...... I...... No Daddy...... No dad. ”
"Why," said the man, smiling, "everybody has a father." ”
The child swallowed his grief and continued without saying a word, "I...... I...... I...... No. ”
Then the worker became serious. He recognized it as Sister Brownshaw's child, though he had only recently arrived and had vaguely heard about her past.
"All right," he said, "don't be sad, son, come with me back to Mommy." You'll have ...... One's. ”
They were on the road, and the big man took the child's hand. The man smiled again. He would not be unhappy to meet the eldest sister Bronshaw, who is said to be one of the most beautiful girls in the area, and perhaps he was still saying to himself that the girl who had lost her foot was likely to repeat the mistakes of the past.
They came to a small, clean white house.
"That's it," said the child, and then cried out, "Mommy!"
A woman walked out. She stopped in the doorway with a serious expression, as if to prevent a man from stepping over the threshold, for she had already been betrayed by another man in the house. The worker immediately smiled at him, and he immediately understood that he was no joke with this pale-faced girl. He was a little overwhelmed, pinched the cap in his hand, and stammered:
"Look, ma'am, I have sent your child back, and he is lost by the river. ”
But Simon threw himself into his mother's bosom, and wept again, saying:
"No, Mom, I wanted to jump into the river because someone hit me...... Hit me...... Because I don't have a dad. ”
The young woman's face was red and hot, and her heart was like a knife, and she hugged the child tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. The workers were so moved that they stood there, not knowing how to walk away. At this moment, Simon suddenly ran up to him and said to him:
"Would you like to be my dad?"
There was silence. Dumbfounded and blushing with shame, Brownshaw's eldest sister leaned against the wall and pressed her hands to her chest. When the child saw that they did not answer, he asked:
"If you don't want to, I'll go back and jump into the river. ”
The worker just said and replied with a smile:
"Of course I do. ”
"What's your name?" asked the child, "and I'll answer them when they ask for your name." ”
"Philip. The manly man replied.
Simon was silent for a moment, so that he could take the name to heart, and then opened his arms, and said with great relief:
"All right, Philip, you're my father. ”
The worker picked him up, kissed him twice on the cheek, and strode away.
The next day, Simon walked into the school and was greeted by a malicious laugh, and at the end of the school day, when the older kid was trying to repeat the old trick, Simon threw the phrase "My father's name is Philip." ”
There was a shout of joy all around.
"Philip who?...... Philip what?...... What is Philip?...... Where did you get this Philip from?"
Simon didn't bother to answer, he looked at them with unwavering conviction and a challenging eye. He was ready to fight to the death rather than run away in front of them. The teacher helped him out of the siege, and he returned to his mother's house.
For the next three months, Philip, a tall worker, often walked near the house of his eldest sister Bronshaw, and sometimes saw her doing needlework by the window, and plucked up the courage to go up and talk to her. She answered him politely, but always with great dignity, never laughing at him, and not letting him into her house. However, like all men, he was a bit pretentious, and always felt that when she spoke to him, her face was redder than usual.
However, once a reputation is broken, it is difficult to recover, and even if it does, it is still very fragile. Despite the caution of Sister Bronshaw, there are already people in the local area who are gossiping about it.
Simon, as for him, loves his new dad so much that he goes for a walk with him almost every night after he gets off work. He went to school on time every day, and walked past his classmates with a very dignified attitude and ignored them.
One day, however, the older boy who had taken the lead in attacking him said to him:
"You're lying, you don't have a dad named Philip. ”
"Why not?" asked Simon, huffing.
The older child rubbed his hands together and continued:
"Because if you really have such a father, he should be your mother's husband. ”
Faced with this correct reasoning, Simon panicked, but he still replied, "He's my dad anyway." ”
"Perhaps," said the older kid with a sneer, "but he's not exactly your father." ”
Sister Bronshaw's child bowed his head and walked thoughtfully towards Daddy Loison's blacksmith. Philip worked there.
The blacksmith shop seemed to be hidden in the bushes. It was dark in the shop, except for the red glow of a large furnace that reflected strongly on five bare-armed blacksmiths, striking on the anvils with a deafening clanging sound. They stood there like a flaming flaming elf, gazing at the iron that was changing shape at will, and their heavy thoughts fell with the hammer.
Simon didn't see anyone when he entered, and he crept over and pulled his friend's clothes. The latter came back. The work came to an abrupt halt, and everyone watched with concern. In this unusual silence, Simon's weak and immature voice sounded:
"Hey, Philip, Aunt Michaux's son just said to me that you weren't exactly my father. ”
"Why?" asked the worker.
The child replied very innocently:
"Because you're not my mother's husband. ”
No one laughed. Philip stood, his two large hands on the handle of the hammer resting on the anvil, his head pressed against the back of his hand. He was pondering. The four companions looked at him. Simon, who looked very small among the giants, waited anxiously. Suddenly, a blacksmith spoke to everyone, and said to Philip:
"In spite of all her misfortunes, Sister Brownshaw was indeed a kind and industrious girl, and a decent daughter-in-law was married to her by an upright man. ”
"That's true. The other three said.
The worker continued:
"If this girl has stumbled, is it her fault? I know more than one woman who has had a similar experience in the past and is now very respected. ”
"That's true. The three men responded in unison.
The man continued: "Only God knows how much this poor girl has suffered by pulling her child alone, and how many tears she has shed except when she goes to church. ”
"That's true, too. Several others said.
After that, nothing could be heard except the whirring sound of the bellows fanning the fire. Suddenly, Philip bent down and said to Simon:
"Go tell your mom that I'm going to talk to her tonight. ”
With that, he pushed the child by the shoulders and sent him out.
He went back to work. Coincidentally, five hammers landed on the anvil together. And so they hammered until it was dark, and they were all like those hammers that were handy, strong, powerful, and cheerful. But, just as at a feast, the cathedral bell always rings more than any other church, and Philip's hammer strikes rhythmically with a deafening sound that drowns out the sound of other hammers. As for the blacksmith himself, standing in the flying sparks, forging with enthusiasm, his eyes shining brightly.
When he came to knock on the door of Sister Brownshaw's house, it was already full of stars. He was dressed in the same smock and a bright shirt that he wore for the holidays, and his beard had just been trimmed. The young woman appeared at the door and said to him with a look of embarrassment, "Mr. Philip, it's not good to come here when it's dark." ”
He tried to answer, but he stammered and didn't know what to say, and faced her awkwardly.
She continued: "Besides, you must know that you can't gossip about me anymore. ”
At this time, he resolutely said:
"So what does it matter, if you are willing to be my wife!"
He didn't answer half a word, but he heard the sound of a man falling in the dimly lit room. He hurriedly walked in. Simon, who was already asleep in bed, heard kissing and a few soft whispers from his mother. Then he was suddenly picked up by the hands of his friend, who held him up by the arm of his Hercules, and said to him in a loud voice:
"Tell them, your classmates, that your father is Philip Remy, the blacksmith, and that whoever bullies you will pull out his ears. ”
The next day, when all the students had arrived and the class was about to begin, little Simon stood up, his face pale, his lips trembling, and he said in a loud voice, "My father is Philip Remy, the blacksmith, and he said that whoever dared to bully me again would pull out his ears." ”
This time, no one laughed again, because everyone knew the blacksmith Philippe Remy, and everyone would be proud to have a father like him.
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