APRIL 10: The Alphabet Letters
“My story is a very sad and sorrowful one. If I tell it to you it will make you cry,” said the letter Z.
“Alphabet letters don’t cry,” said the letter S. “Tears are shed over us, but we don’t cry ourselves. So tell us your sad and sorrowful story, Mr. Z.”
“Tell us the sad and sorrowful story,” repeated the other alphabet letters.
“It shows I have a good disposition,” said the letter Z. “I’m neither angry nor cross.”
“There, there,” said the letter S. “You used me twice in that last word, which was all very well, but you need not have brought in that word angry, for angry and cross mean the same.”
“All right,” said the letter Z. “I do so little work these days that I really feel as if I didn’t know anything.”
“Poor letter Z,” the other letters all said.
“Tell us your story,” said the letter S.
“I will,” agreed the letter Z.
“Pray do,” the others urged.
“It’s the letter S which has caused the trouble,” said the letter Z.
The letter S wiggled and wriggled and twisted and turned and said:
“I beg you pardon, letter Z. I am sure I have meant no harm.”
“None at all,” said the letter Z. “I know you have meant no harm. And you needn’t beg my pardon, for it isn’t your fault. You can’t rule teachers and parents and writers and students. You do what you can for them, that is all.
“But think about it, letters, and you will understand. Just think of the number of words which used to need my letter in them and now they have put the letter S in instead.”
“Yes,” said the letter M, “that is true, and we can think about these things now, for it is recess time.”
“Think of all the words which end with the letters ‘ise.’ They used to end with the letters ‘ize.’”
“True,” said the alphabet letters; “perfectly true.”
“You’re sure you are not angry with me?” asked the letter S, wriggling nervously.
“Quite true,” said the letter Z. “As I said before, it is not your fault. But isn’t my tale a sad and sorrowful one?”
“It is,” said the other letters.
But just then up spoke the letter S and the letter I and the letter E.
“Letter Z,” they said, “come and join us or we won’t be a word. We need you, letter Z; we must have you.”
So the letter Z joined these three letters and they all jumped around as the word SIZE appeared, as you have doubtless already guessed.
“You’re all very good to me,” said the letter Z as it played around with the letters S and I and E. Each one kept its own place in the word, but sometimes they made themselves look very big and sometimes they made themselves look very small and sometimes they made themselves look just about medium size. For, as they made up theword size, and as size can be small—small size, you know—or big, they did everything they could and played all the games they could.
Then other letters formed other words and they played around, just as they should have played to show folks what they meant. You can imagine what a wonderful time the letters F and U and N had.
“Hurry, hurry,” said the letter S. “All the big S letters and all the little S letters. Hurry now to the class rooms.”
“I don’t have to hurry much,” said the letter Z, “but I will either live to a very old age from being lazy and doing nothing to tire myself, or else I’ll be forgotten entirely.”
“Oh, no, you won’t be forgotten,” said the other alphabet letters.
“We’ll see to that,” said the letters A and B and C. “We have a great deal to do with schools and lessons, you know, and we will keep you with us, never fear.”
“Thank you, thank you,” said the letter Z, as it twisted itself slowly back into the school rooms.
And the letter S said: “Thank you for not being angry with me. You’re a good sport, letter Z.”