Three Girls who went to a Boys’ School

In the school at Qui-Chu, there were thirty-five students, and three of them were girls. The boys kept to themselves, and the three girls played together.

One day the teacher said to his mother, "I think I shall have the girls dress in boys' clothes next year, if they come to school."

"Why?" asked his mother.

"Because the boys do not like having girls in the school. They will not play, read, or write with them. They tease and laugh at them. I am afraid the girls will have to leave the school next year, and they are only nine years old. But we shall see."

When the next year came, the mother agreed with her son. She took some cloth and made boys' clothes for the three girls. When the girls tried them on, they looked at each other and laughed. "What will you do with the ear-holes, grandmother?" they asked. "Surely the boys will know we are girls."

The mother called her son. "What shall we do with the ear-holes? They look like boys now, except for that. I am afraid the girls cannot go to school."

"I will see," he replied. He thought about it for two days. Then he went to find an old doctor in the next village, far enough away that no one would know. He asked the doctor, "Can you close the ear-holes so that girls' ears will look like boys'?"

"Oh, yes," answered the doctor, "I can, if you will pay me." So the doctor came, put something in the ear-holes, and colored it to look like skin. The grandmother was satisfied and sent the girls to school.

But the teacher forgot and called them by their girls' names. The other students laughed at the three boys with funny names, but they did not seem suspicious.

Five or six months passed, and the boys still had not discovered that the three students with the pretty names were the girls from last year. One day, a boy came to the teacher and asked, "Why do those boys have girls' names? I wish to know."

The teacher thought for a moment and answered, "Lily—Beauty—Moon. That boy is called Lily, I think, because he was so red when he was a little baby. His mother thought he ought to be called 'Red,' but that is not a pretty name for a baby, so they called him Lily.

"And do you not think Beauty's name suits him? He is the handsomest boy in the school. His mother called him Beauty because he was such a pretty baby. He is as pretty as a girl. I think it is right for him to be called Beauty. Moon's name suits him as well. You know he is gentle and fair. Did you ever see a more gentle boy in school? He has always been gentle and fair, and so his mother gave him that name. All his friends like him as they do the moon."

The boy ran away and told the other students what the teacher had said about the three boys with the pretty names.

When New Year came, each boy had to write his name on a piece of paper and hand it to the teacher, so that the teacher could give them their school names. Eight of the boys wrote "Beauty," seventeen wrote "Moon," and all the others wanted to be called "Lily." They expected the teacher to allow them to take those names.

In the summer, the students had a vacation, and the teacher went away for a while.

One day, they were all on the playground playing "Theater." They took nine of the prettiest boys, put red and white paint on their faces, dressed them like ladies, and bound their feet to make them small. Six boys put on false beards. Then they piled up chairs and tables to make a mountain, and the boys with bound feet were to cross over to the other side. The boys on the opposite side were careless, and when they met at the top, they tumbled and fell down in a heap. One boy broke his arm, one broke his finger, and one hurt his eye. The other boys ran away in fear, leaving the wounded children lying on the ground.

The three girls, still dressed as boys, stayed to help. One ran for the doctor. The other two gave the injured boys water, fanned their faces, kept the flies away, and cared for them like little mothers.

The doctor soon arrived and asked, "What were you doing, boys?" The injured boys were so shaken that they could not speak, but the girls told him what had happened.

The doctor bandaged the broken arm and finger, and dressed the bruised eye. He was a good doctor and said, "These boys must lie still for several days. They cannot get up without my orders. Now, who is willing to take care of them?"

"We will help," said the three girls.

When the teacher returned, school began again. When he called for the students' names, they gave the names they liked best—Lily, Beauty, and Moon—as before, but the teacher said, "No, these names are all wrong.

"There is only one Lily, one Beauty, and one Moon in this school now. You boys cannot use the names I gave you. You had beautiful names, but your actions were not beautiful.

"You ran away when your schoolmates were hurt. You had no pity for them. Had it not been for Lily, Beauty, and Moon, they would have died. These names mean something. Beauty makes the world a pleasant place for us to live in. The Moon shines and gives us soft light. The Lily gives us beauty and sweet-smelling odors.

"Your actions were not like your names. After this, when boys want such names, they must do something to be worthy of them."