#8: A strong student

[A true story]
A long time ago in America, white people and black people lived apart
( جدا از هم ). So it was hard for them to understand each other, work together, or make friends. And that made people afraid ( ترسیده ) of each other.
     Then there came a time when there were new laws ( قانون ). They said that black children and white children must go to school together ( با یکدیگر ). White parents were not happy. Black parents were afraid.

It was September. The start of a new school year. Ruby Bridges was six-years-old. She was in first grade. The year before ( قبل از ), she was in kindergarten
( مهد کودک ). But her school was a school for black children. That was the only kind of school she knew. Ruby loved her school. She loved to learn. She was a good student.

When Ruby went to her new school, tall white men walked with her so no one would hurt
( به کسی صدمه زدن ) her. There were white people everywhere. They shouted ( فریاد زد ) at her to go home. They said many terrible, terrible ( وحشتناک ) things to her. But Ruby was very brave ( شجاع ). She kept ( ادامه داد ) walking. When Ruby got to school, she was the only black student at the school . . . and she was the ONLY student!  Every school desk was empty ( خالی ) because white parents were angry ( خشمگین ) and wanted the government ( دولت ) to reverse ( برعکس ) the law.
    Every day Ruby walked with the tall white men to school. For 3 months Ruby was the only student. Miss Henry was her teacher. Miss Henry was white. Ruby had never seen a white teacher. Miss Henry loved Ruby and Ruby loved Miss Henry. Miss Henry knew that the world outside ( خارج از ) the school could be very ugly ( زشت ) and unkind ( نامهربان ), so when Ruby came to school, Miss Henry tried to make school beautiful and kind. Miss Henry was Ruby's best friend.
     Miss Henry knew that Ruby was very smart ( هوشمندانه ) and could succeed ( موفق شدن ). She knew Ruby wanted to learn. Every day they learned together, just the 2 of them in that big school. Miss Henry saw that Ruby was not angry ( خشمگین ) or scared ( ترسیده ). She just wanted to learn.  Miss Henry always said she admired
( تحسین کرد ) Ruby.
     Very, very slowly a few students came back to school but they were not allowed ( مجاز نیست ) to be in the same class with Ruby. She was still all alone ( همه تنها ). She could hear their voices
( صداها ), but she couldn't see them.

    Finally, by the very end of the year, all the students were back in school. Ruby made lots of friends. She learned with them, she ate with them and she played with them.  
     Every student like Ruby, and every teacher like Miss Henry, slowly, slowly helped to change the country. Needing ( نیاز به ) to change and get better never stops. It is still needed today.
     Once, Miss Henry asked Ruby if she was  afraid or angry when she saw people shouting ( داد زدن ) at her. She said, "No Miss Henry. I'm not angry with them. Every day I ask God to forgive ( بخشیدن ) them because they just ( فقط ) don't know what they are doing."