第27章杰里米的空蛋壳Jeremy’sEmptyEgg(2)
Mrs。Forrestercriedsoftlyintoatissuewhileherhusbandspoke。“MissMiller,”hesaid,“thereisnoschoolofthatkiwouldbeaterribleshoyifwehadtotakehimoutofthisschool。Weknowhereallylikesithere。”Dorissatftimeaftertheyleft,starisidethewindow。Itsessseemedtoseepintohersoul。ShewaosympathizewiththeForresters。Afterall,theironlychildhadatermiwasn’tfairtokeephiminherclass。Shehad18sterstoteadJeremywasadistra。Furthermore,hewouldoreadorastearying?
Asshepoion,guiltwashedod,”shesaidaloud,“hereIamplainingwhenmyprparedoorfamily!PleasehelpmetobemorepatientwithJeremy。”
FromthatdayooignoreJeremy’snoisesandhisblahenooherdesk,dragginghisbadlegbehindhim。“Iloveyou,MissMiller!”heexclaimed,loudenoughforthewholeclasstohear。TheothersnidDoris’sfaedred。Shestammered,“Why-Why,that’sverynice,Jeremy。akeyourseat。”
Sprihetalkedexcitedlyabouttheier。DoristoldthemthestoryofJesus,aoemphasizetheideaofnewlifespringingfaveeachofthealargeplastiow,”shesaidtothem,“Iwantyoutotakethishitbaorrowwithsomethishowsnewlife。Doyouuand?”
“Yes,MissMiller!”therespoically—allexy。Hejustlistely;hiseyesherface。Hedidnotevenmakehisusualnoises。HadheuoodwhatshehadsaidaboutJesus’deathaioandtheassig?Perhapssheshouldcallhispareheproje。
Thatevening,Doris’kitkstoppedup。Shecalledthelandlordandwaitedanhourforhimtoebyandunclogit。Afterthat,shestillhadtroceries,ironablouseandprepareavocabularytestfortheday。
&elyfotaboutphoningJeremy’sparents。
&m,19cametoschool,laughingandtalkingastheyplacedtheireggsinthelargewickerbasketonMissMiller’sdesk。AftertheypletedtheirMathlesson,itwastimetoopentheeggs。
Iegg,Dorisfoundaflower。“Ohyes,aflowerislyasignofnewlife,”shesaid。“eekthroughthegrouhatspringishere。”Asmallgirlirowwavedherarms。“That’smyegg,MissMiller!”shecalledout。Theaiicbutterfly,whichlookedveryreal。Dorishelditup。“Weallknoillardgrowsiifulbutterfly。Yes,thatistleJudysmiledproudlyandsaid,“MissMiller,thatoneismine。”
&Dorisfoundarockwithmossonit。Sheexplaihemoss,too,showedlife。BillyspokeupfromthebackoftheyDaddyhelpedme!”hebeamed。
ThenDorisopehegg。Shegasped。Theeggty!SurelyitmustbeJeremy’s,shethought,and,ofcourse,hedidarus。Ifofottentophonehisparents。Becauseshedidnotwanttoembarrasshim,shequietlysettheeggasideandreachedforanother。SuddenlyJeremyspokeup。“MissMiller,aren’tyougoingtotalkaboutmyegg?”Flustered,Dorisreplied,“ButJeremy,yisempty!”Helookedintohereyesandsaidsoftly,“Yes,butJesus’tombtytoo!”
&opped。Whenshecouldspeakagain,Dorisaskedhim,“Doyouknowwhythetombty?”“Ohyes!”Jeremyexclaimed,“JesuswaskilledandputihenhisFatherraisedhimup!”
Therecessbellraheexcitedlyranouttotheschoolyard,Doriscried。Thesidehermeltedpletelya>
&hslaterJeremydied。Thosewhopaidtheirrespectsatthemortuaryweresurprisedtosee19eggsontopofhiscasket,allofthemempty。