Teacher (aghast, and wishing to gain time). Whom do you mean, my boy?
Arab. That there Jesus.
Teacher (aside). [How can this question be answered in an undenominational sense? This is the religious difficulty, full blown. If I say “a good man,” that will hardly do, for I know several of the boys are the children of the church people and Romanists; and if I say “the son of God,” that won’t do, for Tommy Markham is a Unitarian, or, at any rate, his parents are; besides, such a dogmatic statement is sectarian.] (Aloud.) I will explain all about him when I have finished the chapter.
Continues to read. The class listens with various degrees of attention until the 11th verse is finished, and then—
A Boy. Please, sir, who’s Mary? The mother of the little baby, wasn’t she?
Teacher. Yes; she was his mother.
Boy. Oh! and what does “wusshupped” mean?
Teacher. It means paying great respect, kneeling down and bowing, as we should to God.
Another Boy (better taught than boy No. 1, and jumping at once to a sectarian conclusion). Then, that there baby was God, sir?
Tommy Markham (stoutly). No, that he wasn’t!