THE CHILDREN OF ARMENIA

When you were a very little boy did you have a “Noah’s Ark” for a plaything? And do you remember the story of “Noah and his Ark?”

This story tells, you remember, about a severe storm, when it rained forty days and forty nights and all the land was flooded.

But Noah had built an ark and invited two animals of every kind, and a few persons, to live in his ark during the flood.

When the storms were over, the ark rested on a mountain, and this was Mount¹ Ararat.

Mount Ararat is in the country of Armenia, and in this country lives a very interesting people.

Armenia is a mountainous country and Mount Ararat is the highest of all the mountains. It is so high that it has a snow cap all the year round, even during the hottest part of the summer.

The Armenian children are often very pretty, with black hair, black eyes, and round, red cheeks. Theydecoration97decoration are bright and anxious to learn, and they often ride a long way on donkey²-back to get to the church schools.
three children on donkey

The schools are not free like the school you go to, and often the parents have to pay the school with grain and cheese because they have no money.

There is a free school near every church, and the priest³ is the teacher. Here the little boys and girls learn the Armenian alphabet, and also study reading, writing, geography, and grammar.

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The mirigs (mothers) of the little Armenians have to wake them very early, for they have to go to school at seven.

They sit cross-legged on the floor, and study their lessons aloud. All the children carry a lunch from home, and they eat together in another little room, still sitting on the floor.

Boys and girls go to the same school until they are ten or twelve years old; then the girls go to a different school. Here they learn dressmaking and embroidery⁴. The materials are supplied by the school, and at the end of the year the articles are sold and the money goes to the school.

The boys do not earn money for the school, but they have to sing in the church on Sunday.

When school closes at night the children form in line, with their hands folded, and march to their homes. The line stops at each house where a child lives, while the little one bids his friends good-night.

In winter there are deep snows, and then Hagopdecoration99decoration (Jacob) and Garabet (George) and the other boys build snowmen and have snowball battles.

But in summer they work more than they play, for they have to go up to the mountains with herds⁵ of goats. A few women go to cook for them, and they all live in huts built of boughs⁶.

The girls have rag dolls, with painted eyes, nose and mouth, and very red cheeks. These dolls are dressed just like the little girls, with gaily⁷ colored dresses of red, green, purple, or yellow. Their hair is braided in long braids, and strung with beads⁸ and coins.

Where is Mount Ararat?

Tell the story of Noah and his Ark.

What is the highest mountain in Armenia?

What covers the top of this mountain?

What is the Armenian word for “mamma?”

What do the children learn in the church schools?

How do the children go home from school?

What do the boys do in winter? In summer?

1 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

2 donkey   

n.驴子；蠢人；顽固的人

参考例句：

• This donkey can carry two sacks of grain.这头驴能驮两袋粮食。
• "I'll buy your donkey,"said the two.“我想要买你的驴子”两人异口同声说。

3 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

4 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

7 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

8 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。