part 16

150 When these are questions they are almost always said as if the person who says them means them as questions and wants an answer. But most of the time they are said in a way which does not ask for any answer. When these words are said so, we do not answer: "I am tired," or "I have a bad cold," or "I am not well." We say the same thing back to the other person: "How are you?" or "Hello!" Such words are like a smile or a wave of the hand. In the same way, when we meet someone in the morning, we may say "Good morning!" The weather may be very bad but we say "Good morning!" and the other person will say "Good morning!" back to us. We are not talking about the weather or about how good or bad the morning is.

151 Again, when people are parting, they may say: "Good morning!" or "Good afternoon!" or "Good evening!" or "Good night!" to one another in place of "Good-bye!" They are not talking about the weather but saying "May all be well with you at this time!" You will find few people today who know that "Goodbye!" is a short way of saying "God be with you!" But in times past, when religion had more place than it now has in education, a child could be taught this very young as part of a knowledge of English.

152 There was a teacher who tried to teach all this. Her students seemed to take in what she taught them. They said back to her all together: "When you say 'Good morning!' to us, we say 'Good morning!' to you." Next morning on her way to school, she saw one of them coming. She said to herself, "Now I will see if he has learned that point about 'Good morning!"' So she said to the young man: Good morning? Yes, it is! She had said "Good morning" to him with a question in her mind: "Will he say 'Good morning!'?" She had asked a question and he had answered it. The teacher said to herself: "I must have seemed to be asking a question, so he gave me an answer. Next time I will do better." At that minute she saw another student coming. She said to herself, "Let me try again."

153 So she gave the young man a friendly smile and said, Good morning! Thank you very much! "What was wrong then?" the teacher asked herself." I must have said it as if I were giving him something. That was why he thanked me. Next time I must keep that out of my voice." She saw a third student coming. This time she wanted the answer "Good morning!" so much that her voice became hard and sharp. Good morning! Please! You see how little one person may know what is in another's mind even when the other is trying to show him.

154 When people are from very different countries with very different ways, it can be hard for them to understand one another. Not very long ago the number of people who knew anything about people in other countries was very small. Few people went far from home or took much interest in other countries. Today all this is changed. Every day, we hear more and more about other countries and about how bad their governments are. They hear about the strange and wrong ideas other countries have of them. If we knew them better, we would see that people everywhere are very much like ourselves: not very good or very bad, but in between and able to become better or worse than they are. Our minds are as like one another as our bodies are.

155 We say: "The earth is getting smaller." It is the same size as it was, but we can go about it more and more easily. Many more people travel outside their own countries every year. We can get news today from any part of the world in a few seconds, though we may not always understand it. Many more ideas, right or wrong, about other countries are in people's minds. Most of this interest in other nations and places is good if it goes deep enough. We need to know more. If we can keep our heads on our shoulders, the wider knowledge and experience which are coming will help the world to better days.