War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

I went to school very late that morning because there had been a war for several days and everything was in a mess. The very big barracks had been burned to ashes.

So I stay at home these days and can't even speak a single word of the vocabulary I learned before. He thought that he should stop going to school and go out to play in the wild. He had no talent anyway.

The weather is so warm and sunny!

Thrushes sang melodiously beside the woods; in an abandoned sawmill, a group of people who spoke the same language as us were cutting down trees and sawing them into desired shapes.

Going further, there were soldiers who had laid down their weapons and were holding wood and hammers. The sound of clanking, clanging, clanging, banging, banging, banging, banging, banging, and hammering could be heard from the surrounding buildings.

From time to time, you can see a few soldiers on both sides of the road happily shaking mud with shovels, like a group of kids who have never played in mud.

In the farmland behind, a group of cavalry gentlemen with their trousers rolled up to their knees were pulling a harvester with their horses, but they were obviously not used to this job yet.

Look at the crooked lines they plowed out, I bet even I and a stupid donkey can be better than them.

A man who looked like a general was being surrounded by a group of officers in the open space. The military doctor opposite was carefully picking out the thorn from the big man's hand.

Obviously, when the big shot saw how busy everyone else was, he also wanted to be of some use, but he didn't know anything about "farm work", so instead of helping, he only caused more trouble.

After walking through the country road to the town, I saw many people standing in front of the notice board. Almost every bad news over the years has come from there.

Either there will be tax increases, there will be conscription, or there will be droughts or floods.

But this time there were no cries and curses, replaced by cheers and praise.

Curiosity drove me to see what was going on, but when I heard the bell ringing not far away, I reluctantly pulled myself out of the crowd and ran towards the school.

When the butcher selling meat next door saw my panic, he made fun of me: "You don't have to be so fast, kid, believe in yourself, you are number one!"

I thought he was kidding me, so I rushed to school out of breath.

Today's class is extremely noisy. A group of people whispering inside is like falling into a mosquito nest by the pond.

The teacher on the podium was tapping the table with a big iron ruler.

"Quiet! Shut up! Damn it! Just calm down!"

I originally planned to sneak in quietly, but the dense crowd turned me away.

In order to enter the classroom, I could only shout "Teacher, I'm late!"

The teacher said: "Come in! Sit down quickly, we are about to start class!"

In the end, I could only walk into the classroom in full view of everyone. What was even more terrifying was that the originally noisy scene suddenly became quiet, which made me feel even more terrified and ashamed.

I quietly walked around the bench and sat down, then buried my head in my arms. After a while, the hot feeling on my face subsided.

Only then did I notice that the teacher seemed to look a little different, with a black top hat, a red bow tie, and a yellow suit.

Normally he would only dress like this on holidays, and the whole classroom had an unusually festive atmosphere.

In addition to the students' parents, there were many people from the town and people I didn't know in the room.

There were old people, children, women, and their husbands, all of whom were smiling. The miser in the town was lending his reading glasses to an old farmer with a withered face, and the two of them were holding a textbook together.

At this time, I finally realized that there was a brand new book on my desk, just when I was surprised.

The teacher spoke: "Compatriots, we will soon have a completely new course. Paris has compromised, and German will enjoy the same status as French in Alsace-Lorraine.

In fact, I am German like everyone else. We are born to speak it, but we never learn it in school. The French will not send us new teachers, so I hope to make progress together with you! "

After hearing these words, I felt extremely sad. Ah, those bad guys, that’s what they posted on the town hall bulletin board!

I will not only learn French in the future, but also German! Really terrible!

I can't write in French yet, but now I'm afraid I'll have to double those crooked letters. And those heavy books! Double the same!

I feel a little sympathy for the teacher now, because he has become a person in the same boat as me at this time, because his work has to be doubled!

Poor man!

He must have worn that precious dress to school because he thought he would never be able to attend a party again!

Why are all the people in these towns who don’t have to go to school here? They must be here to laugh at us. What a devil!

"Does anyone really think you are French? Men work in the mines, women spin yarn, and children have to leave their textbooks to work in the fields, but what are the results we get?

Not only did they live a difficult life, they also suffered unwarranted and bloody suppression. Those French gendarmes could break into residents' houses with impunity, search for those they thought were guilty, and then execute them in bloody ways.

What kind of people do our flesh and blood support? Foreigners who regard us as domestic animals! "

Then, the teacher talked about one thing and that thing, and talked about pronunciation. He said that German is by no means the most beautiful language in the world, but it is clear, understandable and precise.

He also said that we must keep it in our hearts and never forget it. As long as the people who have lost their country and become slaves remember their language firmly, it is like holding a key to open the prison door.

After the grammar class, we have another calligraphy class. On that day, the newly issued books were filled with beautiful round characters: "Germany", "Alsace", "Lorraine", and "Vienna".

At this time, the old mayor who had been silent until now spoke.

“What a mobilization it took to print so many books in a few days and transport them from Vienna to Alsace-Lorraine, and what a powerful country it was to be able to do so in contrast to the Alsatian dialect. It’s impossible to complete such a ridiculous project in such a short period of time!”

Pigeons were cooing on the roof, and I thought to myself: "Maybe these pigeons are flying from Germany. Otherwise, how can they bring peace and tranquility?"

After the calligraphy class, he taught another history class, the history of the Alsace-Lorraine people. It turned out that most of our history belonged to the Germans.

Then it was spelling time again. As expected, the teacher was completely inexperienced as he said. In addition, he was a little excited, so weird sounds often came out.

Everyone also imitated his voice and made weirder sounds, and then laughed heartily. I really don't want to forget all this.

Suddenly the church bell struck twelve times. The prayer bells also rang. There was another messy sound of drums and horns outside the window - the German Allied Forces were gathering. They would leave at this time tomorrow, and Master France would be back.

The teacher stood up, his face pale. I thought he had never been so tall.

"My friends," he said, "I-I-"

But he choked up and couldn't speak any more.

He turned towards the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote with all his strength:

"Long Live Germany!"

Then he stayed there, leaning his head against the wall, saying nothing, and only made a gesture to us: "School is over, you guys, let's go."

(It was blocked before, and I don’t plan to apply for unblocking. That’s it.)