"Hello," he said.
The big boy laughed again. "See?" he said, pointing at Eric. "He can't."
"Can't what?" Eric said.
The three looked at him, not saying anything. Then they all burst out laughing. They pointed at him, jumped up and down and clapped their hands together.
"What's funny?" Eric said, backing away from them, wishing his mother would come, and yet afraid to turn around and run.
"You," the girl said. "You're funny. Funny, funny, funny! You're stu-pid."
The others took it up. "Stu-pid, stu-pid. You can't talk to us, you're too stu-pid...."
They skipped down the bank toward him, laughing and calling. They jumped up and down and pointed at him, crowded closer and closer.
"Silly, silly. Can't talk. Silly, silly. Can't talk...."
Eric backed away from them. He tried to run, but he couldn't. His knees shook too much. He could hardly move his legs at all. He began to cry.