My Schooling 



stood for B ; the canard, the duck, told me 

 about C ; the din don, the turkey, gave me the 

 letter D. And so on with the rest. A few 

 compartments, it is true, were lacking in clear- 

 ness. I had no friendly feeling for the hippo- 

 potamus, the kamichi, or horned screamer, and 

 the zebu, who aimed at making me say H, K 

 and Z. Those outlandish beasts, which failed 

 to give the abstract letter the support of a 

 recognized reality, caused me to hesitate for 

 a time over their recalcitrant consonants. No 

 matter : father came to my aid in difficult cases ; 

 and I made such rapid progress that, in a few 

 days, I was able to turn in good earnest the 

 pages of my little pigeon-book, hitherto so un- 

 decipherable. I was initiated; I knew how to 

 spell. My parents marvelled. I can explain 

 this unexpected progress to-day. Those speak- 

 ing pictures, which brought me amongst my 

 friends the beasts, were in harmony with my in- 

 stincts. If the animal has not fulfilled all 

 that it promised in so far as I am concerned, I 

 have at least to thank it for teaching me to 

 read. I should have succeeded by other means, 

 I do not doubt, but not so quickly nor so pleas- 

 antly. Animals for ever ! 



Luck favoured me a second time. As a 

 reward for my prowess, I was given La Fon- 



149 



