Story at a glance
- Background: Franco-Prussian War (1870–71); Alsace and Lorraine taken; order from Berlin: only German in schools.
- Franz late; dreads questions on participles; tempted outdoors (birds; Prussian soldiers drilling behind the sawmill); hurries on.
- Town hall bulletin board — two years of bad news (lost battles, the draft, orders); Wachter the blacksmith: no need to hurry.
- School silent "as a Sunday morning"; all seated; no bustle; M. Hamel kind: take your place.
- M. Hamel's green coat, frilled shirt, embroidered black silk cap (inspection/prize days); back benches: old Hauser (primer, spectacles), former mayor, former postmaster.
- "My children, this is the last lesson …" — "thunder-clap"; "the wretches".
- Franz's regret: birds' eggs, sliding on the Saar; books like old friends; fails the participles.
- M. Hamel: "I'll learn it tomorrow"; blames parents (farms, mills) and himself (flowers, fishing).
- French: "most beautiful language"; "the key to their prison"; Franz understands everything.
- Copies "France, Alsace" like little flags; scratching pens; beetles; pigeons — "sing in German?"
- Forty years; walnut trees; hop-vine; sister packing.
- History; babies' ba, be, bi, bo, bu; Hauser's trembling voice — laugh and cry.
- Twelve o'clock, the Angelus, Prussian trumpets; "My friends, I — I —"; "Vive La France!"; silent gesture: school dismissed.
Common traps
| Trap | Correct idea |
|---|---|
| The order said teach only French | It said teach only German. |
| The order came from Paris | It came from Berlin. |
| The school was noisy that day | It was unusually quiet. |
| Wachter sat on the back benches | He was at the town hall; Hauser, the former mayor and postmaster sat at the back. |
| M. Hamel blamed only Franz | He blamed the parents and himself too. |
| M. Hamel said "Vive La France!" aloud | He wrote it on the blackboard; he was too choked to speak. |