Read Online The Girl Who Couldn't Smile by Shane Dunphy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Shane Dunphy
Ads: Link
don’t know! Do you?’
‘I work right here, at Little Scamps. With you.’
‘So?’ Gus spat.
‘So I am obviously not an Oompa Loompa, am I? I also want to make sure you all know that I am not a Munchkin, one of Snow White’s dwarfs – my name is not Sleepy or Dopey and even though I can be grumpy, you can’t call me that – and I do not hang out with Orlando Bloom. Shane has long hair. Susan has green eyes. Tush is left handed. Everybody is different – I just happen to be smaller than most people.’
He looked at Milandra. ‘Do you know that there are names for people with skin like yours that are very bad to say?’
‘You mean “nigger”,’ she said. ‘I know those names.’
‘Well, calling me a midget is like calling you that. You shouldn’t say it.’
She looked at him with huge eyes. I wondered if anyone had ever spoken to her like that before. ‘Okay, little man.’
‘Not that, either,’ he said. ‘I would never call you “black girl”.’
‘I am a black girl,’ she said.
Lonnie grinned. ‘And a very pretty one.’
I decided to intercede. ‘I think what Lonnie is saying is very worthwhile for us all to listen to. It would be a good thing if we tried to be a little nicer to one another. But come on – you still haven’t thought of the reason why today is such a special day. Will I tell you?’
Nods and yeses.
‘Well, today is the first day we’re all together in this group, and it’s also the day we start painting our murals. So it’s the beginning of two very exciting things.’
Arga jabbered something in Polish, but from her elaborate mime I guessed she wanted to talk about the painting.
I had come prepared. ‘Okay,’ I said, reaching under my chair. ‘As you know, I want everyone to paint their own pictures, so you all have your special places on the walls around the room. But I have two ideas I’d like the whole group to get involved in. Here’s the first one.’
From under my chair I pulled out a very large hardback book. I opened it at a centre page and held it up for all to see. ‘This little guy,’ I said, pointing to a beautiful painting of a rabbit in a bright blue jacket, ‘is Peter. He lives in a part of England not unlike here – it’s out in the country and there are lots of lakes and hills and woods. He has a mammy and a daddy, just like you, and sometimes he’s a bit of a naughty rabbit, and gets into trouble.’
‘I knows that rabbit,’ Rufus said solemnly.
‘Do you?’ I asked. ‘Maybe he and his family are in Ireland now.’
‘They might be,’ Ross said. ‘I do see a lot of rabbits in the woods near my house.’
‘He is a rabbit who enjoys a nice little coat,’ Mitzi said.
‘Mmm,’ I agreed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rabbit wearing clothes.’
‘Me no see,’ Jeffrey said.
‘You’ve never seen that either?’ I asked.
Jeffrey shook his head and worked his tongue. People often think that people with Down’s syndrome have oversized tongues, but that is not the case – their mouth cavities are smaller than normal, which gives the impression that the tongue is too large.
‘Are you saying that maybe the rabbits wear clothes when we can’t see them?’ I asked Jeffrey.
He nodded, beaming.
‘Well, that’s possible,’ I said. ‘What do the rest of you think?’
This conversation continued to and fro. The idea of a colony of intelligent rabbits living nearby was just too delicious for any of them to pass up. I was just about to introduce the group to Beatrix Potter and her world of animals when I noticed that Tammy had gone – her chair was empty. I waited until Tush was discussing the myth about rabbits favouring carrots (they generally prefer lettuces and brassicas and will leave carrot crops largely untouched), then handed the book to her and made my way into the kitchen. Sure enough, through the still partly open door I could see the child sitting on the table munching a scone. She had her back to me,
‘I work right here, at Little Scamps. With you.’
‘So?’ Gus spat.
‘So I am obviously not an Oompa Loompa, am I? I also want to make sure you all know that I am not a Munchkin, one of Snow White’s dwarfs – my name is not Sleepy or Dopey and even though I can be grumpy, you can’t call me that – and I do not hang out with Orlando Bloom. Shane has long hair. Susan has green eyes. Tush is left handed. Everybody is different – I just happen to be smaller than most people.’
He looked at Milandra. ‘Do you know that there are names for people with skin like yours that are very bad to say?’
‘You mean “nigger”,’ she said. ‘I know those names.’
‘Well, calling me a midget is like calling you that. You shouldn’t say it.’
She looked at him with huge eyes. I wondered if anyone had ever spoken to her like that before. ‘Okay, little man.’
‘Not that, either,’ he said. ‘I would never call you “black girl”.’
‘I am a black girl,’ she said.
Lonnie grinned. ‘And a very pretty one.’
I decided to intercede. ‘I think what Lonnie is saying is very worthwhile for us all to listen to. It would be a good thing if we tried to be a little nicer to one another. But come on – you still haven’t thought of the reason why today is such a special day. Will I tell you?’
Nods and yeses.
‘Well, today is the first day we’re all together in this group, and it’s also the day we start painting our murals. So it’s the beginning of two very exciting things.’
Arga jabbered something in Polish, but from her elaborate mime I guessed she wanted to talk about the painting.
I had come prepared. ‘Okay,’ I said, reaching under my chair. ‘As you know, I want everyone to paint their own pictures, so you all have your special places on the walls around the room. But I have two ideas I’d like the whole group to get involved in. Here’s the first one.’
From under my chair I pulled out a very large hardback book. I opened it at a centre page and held it up for all to see. ‘This little guy,’ I said, pointing to a beautiful painting of a rabbit in a bright blue jacket, ‘is Peter. He lives in a part of England not unlike here – it’s out in the country and there are lots of lakes and hills and woods. He has a mammy and a daddy, just like you, and sometimes he’s a bit of a naughty rabbit, and gets into trouble.’
‘I knows that rabbit,’ Rufus said solemnly.
‘Do you?’ I asked. ‘Maybe he and his family are in Ireland now.’
‘They might be,’ Ross said. ‘I do see a lot of rabbits in the woods near my house.’
‘He is a rabbit who enjoys a nice little coat,’ Mitzi said.
‘Mmm,’ I agreed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rabbit wearing clothes.’
‘Me no see,’ Jeffrey said.
‘You’ve never seen that either?’ I asked.
Jeffrey shook his head and worked his tongue. People often think that people with Down’s syndrome have oversized tongues, but that is not the case – their mouth cavities are smaller than normal, which gives the impression that the tongue is too large.
‘Are you saying that maybe the rabbits wear clothes when we can’t see them?’ I asked Jeffrey.
He nodded, beaming.
‘Well, that’s possible,’ I said. ‘What do the rest of you think?’
This conversation continued to and fro. The idea of a colony of intelligent rabbits living nearby was just too delicious for any of them to pass up. I was just about to introduce the group to Beatrix Potter and her world of animals when I noticed that Tammy had gone – her chair was empty. I waited until Tush was discussing the myth about rabbits favouring carrots (they generally prefer lettuces and brassicas and will leave carrot crops largely untouched), then handed the book to her and made my way into the kitchen. Sure enough, through the still partly open door I could see the child sitting on the table munching a scone. She had her back to me,
Similar Books
