😄 The Last Lesson 😄
( 🖋 by Alphonse Daudet )
This story is narrated by a little boy Franz, who hated to learn French language and he was frightened of his teacher M. Hamel’s scolding. One day, he started for school very late and while passing the townhall he saw a crowd in front of the bulletin road (from where all the bad news had been coming from for the last two years like the lost battles, the draft and the orders of the commanding officer) but he went from there thinking that 'What can be the matter now?' as he was getting late.
When he arrived the school, there was quiet silence as Sunday morning, instead of a great bustle, sound of opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison and noise of teacher’s ruler rapping on the table.
Franz entered the class and M. Hamel treated him very kindly. He, then noticed that M. Hamel wore his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt and the little black silk cap, all embroidered which he never wore except on inspection and prize days.
He was also surprised by seeing the village people sitting quietly on the last benches which were always empty. There were old Hauser with his three cornered hat, the former mayor and the former postmaster also.
Suddenly he got a thunderclap, when M. Hamel said that – “My children, this is the last lesson, I shall give you” as an order from Berlin has come to teach German only in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. Then, the books that seemed such nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, now that he couldn’t give up. M. Hamel’s last lesson made him forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.
That day, M. Hamel had new copies written in a beautiful round hand – France, Alsace, France, Alsace. The only sound that he could heard was of the scratching of Pens over the paper.
All at once, the church-clock struck twelve & the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sounded under our windows. Then, M. Hamel took the piece of a chalk and turned to blackboard and wrote as large as he could – “Vive La France!”
M. Hamel then stopped and leaned his head against the wall, and made a gesture with his hand – “School is dismissed – you may go”.
