"The Giver Quartet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowry, Lois)

''For example,'' she said, smiling, ''we did not consider for an instant designating Asher an Instructor of Threes.''



The audience howled with laughter. Asher laughed, too, looking sheepish but pleased at the special attention. The Instructors of Threes were in charge of the acquisition of correct language.



''In fact," the Chief Elder continued, chuckling a little herself, ''we even gave a little thought to some retroactive chastisement for the one who had been Asher's Instructor of Threes so long ago. At the meeting where Asher was discussed, we retold many of the stories that we all re-membered from his days of language acquisition.



''Especially," she said, chuckling, ''the difference between snack and smack. Remember, Asher?"





Asher nodded ruefully, and the audience laughed aloud. Jonas did, too. He remembered, though he had been only a Three at the time himself.



The punishment used for small children was a regulated system of smacks with the discipline wand: a thin, flexible weapon that stung painfully when it was wielded. The Childcare specialists were trained very carefully in the discipline methods: a quick smack across the hands for a bit of minor misbehavior; three sharper smacks on the bare legs for a second offense.



Poor Asher, who always talked too fast and mixed up words, even as a toddler. As a Three, eager for his juice and crackers at snacktime, he one day said ''smack'' in-stead of ''snack'' as he stood waiting in line for the morning treat.



Jonas remembered it clearly. He could still see little Asher, wiggling with impatience in the line. He remembered the cheerful voice call out, ''I want my smack!''



The other Threes, including Jonas, had laughed nervously. "Snack!'' they corrected. ''You meant snack, Asher!'' But the mistake had been made. And precision of language was one of the most important tasks of small children. Asher had asked for a smack.



The discipline wand, in the hand of the Childcare worker, whistled as it came down across Asher's hands. Asher whimpered, cringed, and corrected himself instantly. "Snack," he whispered.



But the next morning he had done it again. And again the following week. He couldn't seem to stop, though for each lapse the discipline wand came again, escalating to a series of painful lashes that left marks on Asher's legs. Eventually, for a period of time, Asher stopped talking altogether, when he was a Three.



"For a while," the Chief Elder said, relating the story, we had a silent Asher! But he learned.''