She said little to any one but the friend over the sea , yet various plans were made then that blossomed beautifully by-and-by . CHAPTER XIX SPEAKING PIECES The first of September came all too soon , and school began . Among the boys and girls who went trooping up to the `` East Corner knowledge-box , '' as they called it , was our friend Ben , with a pile of neat books under his arm . He felt very strange , and decidedly shy ; but put on a bold face , and let nobody guess that , though nearly thirteen , he had never been to school before . Miss Celia had told his story to Teacher , and she , being a kind little woman , with young brothers of her own , made things as easy for him as she could . In reading and writing he did very well , and proudly took his place among lads of his own age ; but when it came to arithmetic and geography , he had to go down a long way , and begin almost at the beginning , in spite of Thorny 's efforts to `` tool him along fast . '' It mortified him sadly , but there was no help for it ; and in some of the classes he had dear little Betty to console with him when he failed , and smile contentedly when he got above her , as he soon began to do , -- for she was not a quick child , and plodded through First Parts long after sister Bab was flourishing away among girls much older than herself . Fortunately , Ben was a short boy and a clever one , so he did not look out of place among the ten and eleven year olders , and fell upon his lessons with the same resolution with which he used to take a new leap , or practise patiently till he could touch his heels with his head . That sort of exercise had given him a strong , elastic little body ; this kind was to train his mind , and make its faculties as useful , quick and sure , as the obedient muscles , nerves and eye , which kept him safe where others would have broken their necks . He knew this , and found much consolation in the fact that , though mental arithmetic was a hopeless task , he could turn a dozen somersaults , and come up as steady as a judge . When the boys laughed at him for saying that China was in Africa , he routed them entirely by his superior knowledge of the animals belonging to that wild country ; and when `` First class in reading '' was called , he marched up with the proud consciousness that the shortest boy in it did better than tall Moses Towne or fat Sam Kitteridge . Teacher praised him all she honestly could , and corrected his many blunders so quietly that he soon ceased to be a deep , distressful red during recitation , and tugged away so manfully that no one could help respecting him for his efforts , and trying to make light of his failures . So the first hard week went by , and though the boy 's heart had sunk many a time at the prospect of a protracted wrestle with his own ignorance , he made up his mind to win , and went at it again on the Monday with fresh zeal , all the better and braver for a good , cheery talk with Miss Celia in the Sunday evening twilight . He did not tell her one of his greatest trials , however , because he thought she could not help him there . Some of the children rather looked down upon him , called him `` tramp '' and `` beggar , '' twitted him with having been a circus boy , and lived in a tent like a gypsy . They did not mean to be cruel , but did it for the sake of teasing , never stopping to think how much such sport can make a fellow-creature suffer . Being a plucky fellow , Ben pretended not to mind ; but he did feel it keenly , because he wanted to start afresh , and be like other boys . He was not ashamed of the old life ; but , finding those around him disapproved of it , he was glad to let it be forgotten , even by himself ; for his latest recollections were not happy ones , and present comforts made past hardships seem harder than before . He said nothing of this to Miss Celia ; but she found it out , and liked him all the better for keeping some of his small worries to himself . Bab and Betty came over Monday afternoon full of indignation at some boyish insult Sam had put upon Ben ; and , finding them too full of it to enjoy the reading , Miss Celia asked what the matter was .
Then both little girls burst out in a rapid succession of broken exclamations , which did not give a very clear idea of the difficulty , -- `` XXXXX did n't like it because Ben jumped farther than he did -- '' `` And he said Ben ought to be in the poor-house . ''
Bab Ben Betty First Kitteridge Sam knowledge-box olders practise twilight