Chapter 95 The Lord of the Rings in an Otherworldly World
Eldoria now had two schools, an elementary school for children under fifteen and an elementary school where each student paid three copper coins a month for expenses.
This was a key focus for Henry, as the future of Eldoria relies on these young intellectuals.
Vincent also ran a night school for those over fifteen. Students paid two copper coins a month, primarily for literacy.
With Henry's previous initiative to increase literacy pay by 20%, many commoners are now willing to learn at night, especially those without children studying, as their kids can teach them.
The benefit was that children pay attention during the day, as they need to teach their parents at night.
Henry took Emily to the elementary school, which now has two to three hundred students and only a few teachers. Kyle was one of them, and occasionally, Henry also teaches there.
Even before they arrived, they could hear the sound of students reading, which surprised Emily as the concise sentences were new to her.
"What's this?" Emily turned to Henry, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Aesop's Fables, one of the enlightening books from my hometown," Henry said with a smile. It took him several days to translate the material into the language of this era.
"Your hometown?" Emily frowned.
Today, she had heard a lot about Henry's hometown, the private warehouse that was like a dragon's treasure trove, filled with items from his hometown.
It seemed mysterious and magical to her, and she wondered when she could see it for herself.
"Let's go! There's a class that needs you." Henry said, leading the way. The current school was in an old building, as the new one was still under construction and wouldn't be ready until at least next spring.
Before Henry even arrived, they could hear the commotion in the classroom, with Vincent's grandson, Victor, being the loudest.
"These are the students I'm going to teach?" Emily raised an eyebrow, sensing that they might be a handful.
"Yes," Henry said with a wry smile. It was the most mischievous class, and if left to self-study, they could practically dismantle the whole classroom.
As soon as Henry entered, the noisy classroom fell eerily silent, only to erupt into even louder cheers in less than three seconds.
"Henry's here!"
"Henry, are you going to talk about the Arthurian Legends today?"
Victor shouted as children loved such heroic stories, especially the ones adapted by Henry for easy understanding.
"Alright, everyone, please take your seats," Henry said with a stern face.
The group of mischievous students swiftly returned to their seats, eagerly awaiting Henry's storytelling.
"Before we begin today's story, let me introduce a new teacher who will be taking over from now on. She will also be the one telling you stories."
Henry said, motioning for Emily to come forward and stand at the podium. "This is Miss Emily. From now on, you must listen to her and behave yourselves."
"Understood!" The young voices echoed in unison, with many curious gazes focusing on Emily's long ears.
"Wow! She's so tall, even taller than Miss Ellie!"
"Yes! So tall, just as beautiful as Miss Mila."
Mila, who was standing at the door, couldn't help but twitch her mouth. These children should be grateful that Ellie didn't come.
Emily was a little nervous, as it was her first time interacting with so many human children, making her palms sweaty, but she tried to maintain a serious expression on her face.
"You go watch from the side first. I'll start the class for them. In the future, just follow my lead," Henry chuckled.
"Okay!" Emily stood aside, behaving like a well-behaved child.
Henry cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention. "Today, we won't be talking about the Arthurian Legends. Instead, we'll have a different story."
The group of dirty-faced children's eyes lit up, eager to hear a story even better than the Arthurian Legends.
Will Henry read it verbatim? Of course not. With the comprehension level of these children, they would all fall asleep. So, Henry planned to tell an alternate version of The Lord of the Rings based on his understanding.
Henry said, "The story I'm going to tell you today is called The Lord of the Rings!"
"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort."
As soon as Henry began, he captured the attention of all the children, including Emily and Mila. It was a truly magical story, one they had never encountered before.
Henry added, "This hobbit was a well-to-do hobbit, with a beautiful round door, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The hobbit-hole stood in a quiet corner of the Shire, a land inhabited by hobbits in peace and prosperity. Bilbo Baggins was his name, and he was a respected member of the community…"
