Lesson 7　The Truant　第7课　逃学的小男孩

falsely attend truant conduct therefore

guilty haste regular struggled ignorant

James Brown was ten years old when his parents sent him to school. It was not far from his home, and therefore they sent him by himself.

But, instead of going to school, he was in the habit of playing truant. He would go into the felds, or spend his time with idle boys.

But this was not all. When he went home, he would falsely tell his mother that he had been to school, and had said his lessons very well.

One fine morning, his mother told James to make haste home from school, for she wished, after he had come back, to take him to his aunt's.

But, instead of minding her, he went off to the water, where there were some boats. There he met plenty of idle boys.

Some of these boys found that James had money, which his aunt had given him；and he was led by them to hire a boat, and to go with them upon the water.

Little did James think of the danger into which he was running. Soon the wind began to blow, and none of them knew how to manage the boat.

For some time, they struggled against the wind and the tide. At last, they became so tired that they could row no longer.

A large wave upset the boat, and they were all thrown into the water. Think of James Brown, the truant, at this time！

He was far from home, known by no one. His parents were ignorant of his danger.He was struggling in the water, on the point of being drowned.

Some men, however, saw the boys, and went out to them in a boat. They reached them just in time to save them from a watery grave.

They were taken into a house, where their clothes were dried. After a while, they were sent home to their parents.

James was very sorry for his conduct, and he was never known to be guilty of the same thing again.

He became regular at school, learned to attend to his books, and, above all, to obey his parents perfectly.

父母送詹姆斯·布朗去学校读书的时候他已经十岁了，学校离家很近，所以父母就让他自己去学校。

但是，詹姆斯并不好好上学，他还养成了逃学的习惯。他会去田间或者与一些无所事事的男孩一起玩。

不止这些，回家之后，他会跟妈妈说自己在学校上课，还说他的成绩很不错。

一个阳光明媚的早上，妈妈告诉詹姆斯，让他放学之后快点回家，因为她想带他去姑妈家。

然而，詹姆斯并没有按妈妈的吩咐去做，他去了海边，那里有许多船。他在那儿还碰见几个游手好闲的男孩。

他们发现了姑妈给詹姆斯的钱，于是拉着詹姆斯租了一条船，并与他们一同划到水面上去了。

詹姆斯开始并不知道他们的行为有多危险。不一会儿刮起了风，而他们没有一个人会控制船。

一开始，他们还挣扎着乘风破浪，可不一会儿便累得动不了了。

这时，一个巨浪打翻了船只，他们被抛入了水中，想想这时的詹姆斯·布朗，这个逃学小男孩的境况吧。

他在一个离家很远并且没一个人知道的地方，父母也不知道他现在有危险。他在水中孤身一人挣扎着，眼看着就要被水淹没了。

这时，有些大人看见了这些孩子，他们迅速划着船过来，及时救起了这些溺水的孩子。

他们被带到一个房子里，烘干了身上的衣服，之后，又被送到了父母身边。

詹姆斯对自己的所作所为感到非常抱歉，从那以后，他再也没有犯过同样的错误。

在学校里他遵守纪律，认真学习，但首先他会严格遵守父母的要求。