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• Genius

This chapter is about love for one’s mother-tongue. France lost districts of Alsace and Lorraine to the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result, German was imposed in the schools of these districts.

Suddenly, all the Frenchmen realized how much they loved their mother-tongue; they did not want to part with it. M. Hamel, the village teacher who taught French, taught last lesson to his countrymen.

He tried to teach them as much as he could. He told them they had not taken French learning seriously. He did not blame his students alone for poor learning. He also held himself responsible for the same. He was very patriotic as he appealed to his countrymen to hold fast to their mother tongue to be free from the Prussians. According to him the French language was the most beautiful, the clearest and the most logical language in the world. He appealed to his countrymen to guard it and never forget it. He was emotionally attached to the school and all his students. However, he was very brave and strong. He was really sorry for not making sincere efforts to teach French to his countrymen. At the end, he became so emotional that he could not speak. At last he wrote ‘Vive La France’ and gestured the dispersal.

Franz was reluctant to go to school because of the following reason:

• Firstly as usual he started to the school for very late. He was sure that he was going to reach the school very late.

• The second most important reason was he was not prepared for the test which was announced by his teacher M.Hamel on the topic “Participles”.

The bright sunshiny day, birds chirping at the edge of the woods, the sight of the exercising Prussian soldiers all these seemed to Franz to be more tempting than the rules for participles.

M. Hamel, the French teacher, had the highest regard for the French language and considered it the most beautiful, clearest and logical language in the world. He asked his students to guard their native language, French among them and never forget or lose it under any situation. He asked them to take a sense of pride in their native language.

Wachter was a blacksmith. He was reading the latest bulletin. He asked Franz not to go so fast to his school. He added that the little boy would get to his school in plenty of time. Wachter had read the latest bulletin about teaching of German. Franz thought that the blacksmith was making a fun of him. So, he ran to the school and reached there breathless.

<a href="http://cbseacademic.nic.in/revisedcurriculum_2021.html">http://cbseacademic.nic.in/revisedcurriculum_2021.html</a>

click on the given link to know about the deleted topics and revised syllabus of 11 th and 12th

The author narrated two instances of experiencing flood on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra during the monsoon. Once he forded one of the flooded rivers on horseback. It was not an easy task. He persuaded his mount to plunge into water with great difficulty. However he slipped over his croup the next moment and hung on to the horse's tail. Later he discovered that the tail can be used as a rudder. Both he and his horse came out of the deadly situation without any injuries and made it to the other side of the Brahmaputra.

           In another instance, he was travelling with his family on the North Bank. Before they could safely return the monsoon broke out. Driving through the roads became extremely dangeorus and most of the roads were built upon embankments in order to raise above normal flood level. Further, these roads were narrow and single-track affairs. Rowntree and his family had to experience a bumpy ride before they could find their way back onto the road. The road they were on was motorable but slippery so one skid led to another and eventually they slithered over the edge into a paddy field some six feet below the road.
 

When the king was born, the astrologer made a prophecy that someday the king would be killed by the hundredth tiger while encountering it. The king made every effort to disprove the astrologer’s prophecy. To ensure, he killed a hundred tigers. Astonishingly, the prophecy can’t be indisputably disproved as the king was ultimately killed by a tiger, though neither by a real one nor by the hundredth one. The hundredth tiger, which was weak and lifeless, escaped the Maharaja’s bullet by fainting at the shock of the bullet whizzing past. It was the “tiny little wooden tiger” from the toy shop that caused the death of Tiger King. Hence, its death is a matter of great interest.

An order had been received from Berlin that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. This order had far-reaching effects on the life at school. M. Hamel, who had been teaching French at the village school for the last forty years would deliver his last lesson that day.
It was in honour of the last lesson that M. Hamel, the teacher had put on his best clothes. Old men of the village were sitting quietly at the back of the classroom. They were sad as well as sorry for they had not gone to school more. They had come to thank the master for his forty years of faithful service and to show respect for the country that was theirs no more.
The teacher addressed the students in a solemn and gentle tone. He asked them to be attentive and explained everything quite patiently. He appealed to them to preserve French among them. During slavery it would act as key to the prison. He felt so overwhelmed by emotion that he could not bid farewell properly.

Blacksmith Watcher  ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??????

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One explanation offered by the author is that it is a tradition to stay barefoot. It is not lack of money. He wonders if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty. He also remembers the story of a poor body who prayed to the goddess for a pair of shoes.