Welcome to the beginning of another tale...  enjoy.

“Mrs. Perrycratchit”  by Lana Butler

As a child, I lived in Prince Edward Island, Canada. There was no kindergarten, everyone started school in grade one. School was for learning, not socializing.

Mrs. Perrycratchit was my grade three schoolteacher. She was round and shiny and cleared her throat a lot. She had dark hair that hung down the center of her back. It was always kept in a braid, with a brown rubber band at the bottom; then the braid was wound round and round itself until it formed a neat little bun. I am sure it was held there by will.

She would walk up and down the aisles with her hands behind her back and her ½ spectacles down low on her nose. She took care to look at everyone's desk. Mostly smiling at each girl and frowning at each boy.

She always chose a favorite student at the beginning of the year, named them "Teacher's Helper" and bestowed upon them the menial classroom jobs that she had no time or no desire to do; sharpening pencils, cleaning erasers, watering plants. Her one ambition in life was to make sure each child that left her class could name all of Canada's ten provinces and the two territories. (Which is all there were, when I was a child)

... (to be continued)