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Then Mr Corse went to theand tapped on it The big boys clattered into the entry, jeering and loudly laughing They burst the door open with a big noise and swaggered in Big Bill Ritchie was their leader He was al as Almanzo’s father’s fists He stamped the snow from his feet and noisily tramped to a back seat The four other boys made all the noise they could, too

Mr Corse did not say anything

No whispering was permitted in

school, and no fidgeting Everyone must be perfectly still and keep his eyes fixed on his lesson Al their legs Their legs grew so tired that they ached, dangling fro would kick suddenly, before Al happened, but he could feel Mr Corse looking at him

In the back seats the big boys whispered and scuffled and slammed their books Mr Corse said sternly:

“A little less disturbance, please”

For a ain They wanted Mr Corse to try to punish them When he did, all five of them would jump on him

At last the primer class was called, and Almanzo could slide off the seat and ith Miles to the teacher’s desk Mr Corse took Alave them words to spell

When Royal had been in the priht with his hand stiff and swollen The teacher had beaten the palm with a ruler because Royal did not know his lesson Then Father said:

“If the teacher has to thrash you again, Royal, I’ll give you a thrashing you’ll remember”

But Mr Corse never beat a little boy’s hand with his ruler When Almanzo could not spell a word, Mr Corse said:

“Stay in at recess and learn it”

At recess the girls were let out first They put on their hoods and cloaks and quietly went outdoors After fifteentheir wraps in the entry, and took their books again Then the boys could go out for fifteen minutes

They rushed out shouting into the cold The first out began snowballing the others All that had sleds scra the, steep slope They upset into the snow; they ran and wrestled and threballs and washed one another’s faces with snow, and all the time they yelled as loud as they could

When Almanzo had to stay in his seat at recess, he was ashairls