Alice Mancosh was very worried about her
son, John. He was often unhappy.
  One morning she walked into his room,
turned on the light and said, “It’s time to get up,
John. You can’t stay in bed all day.”
  John turned over in bed. He did not want to
get up. He turned off the light.
  “Don’t go back to sleep,” Alice said. “Get up now or you’ll
be late again for school.” She turned the light on again.
  Fifteen minutes later John came into the kitchen and sat
down at the table.
  “Eat your breakfast quickly,” Alice said. “It’s almost eight
thirty.”
  “There’s no hurry,” John told his mother. “I’m not going to
school today.”

  “Why not?” his mother asked. “Is it a holiday?”
  John shook his head. “No, it’s not a holiday.”
  Alice sat down next to her son and took his hand. “John,”
she said, “tell me what’s wrong. Why do you hate school so
much?”
  For several moments John was silent. Then he said, “The
teachers bully me and the students don’t like me.”
  “John,” his mother said, “I’m sorry about that, but you
cannot stay at home.”
  “Why not?” he asked.
  “There are two very good reasons you must go to school,”
his mother said. “First, you are thirty-five years old. Second, you
are the school principal.”

            上　课　日
  艾丽斯·曼考什非常替儿子约翰担心，因为他经常不快乐。
  一天早上，她走进他房间，把灯打开，说：“约翰，该起床了，你总不
能一整天都躺在床上啊。”
  约翰翻了翻身。他不想起床，于是把灯关掉了。
  “不要再睡了，”艾丽斯说，“快起床，不然又迟到了。”她又打开了
灯。
  十五分钟后，约翰来到厨房，坐在桌子旁。
  “快点吃早饭，”艾丽斯说，“都快八点半了。”
  “不用急，”约翰对他妈妈说，“我今天不打算去学校。”
  “为什么？”他妈妈问，“今天放假吗？”
  约翰摇摇头说：“不，不是。”
  艾丽斯坐到儿子旁边，握住他的手说：“约翰，告诉我发生了什么事，
你为什么那么讨厌学校？”
  约翰沉默了一会儿，然后说：“老师欺负我，学生们也不喜欢我。”
  “约翰，”妈妈说，“对此我很难过，但你不能待在家里。”
  “为什么不能？”他问。
  “有两个非常好的理由。”妈妈说，“首先，你已经35岁了；第二，你
是校长。”