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Show 86 Miss Petrov smiled wryly. "I doubt that you'll ever have to, Virginia, especially since your father will probably become state senator from Canaan in the next few years." A thoughtful look narrowed Miss Petrov's eyes, made them seem even more slanted. "Canaan," she said. "It's ironic that this town is called Canaan. Do any of you know where the name Canaan comes from?" "I do," Fred said, waving his hand. "It's from the Bible. The people of ancient Canaan were heathens who didn't believe in the one true God." "That's correct, Fred. The people of ancient Canaan worshiped the false God Baal. They sacrificed little children by throwing them into the fires of Baal, where the children were burned to death." Miss Petrov placed her hands on Karl's desk and leaned forward. Her expression grew intense, as it often did when she was trying to impress her students with an important thought. "Here, in Canaan, Pennsylvania, we have a practice which is just as horrible as the child sacrifice of ancient Canaan," she said. "Boys like you...," she looked at each one in turn, "...when you reach your sixteenth birthdays, leave school to work in the Canaan steel mills. Just as the people of ancient Canaan sacrificed their children to the fire-god Baal, the people of Canaan, Pennsylvania, sacrifice their sons to the fires of the blast furnaces." "That's not true," Karl said quietly. "Our parents don't make us go into the mill. We go because we want to." Miss Petrov stared at Karl. Her brown-gray eyes seemed to fill with pain. "I know," she whispered, "and that makes it all the more tragic." |
