Hello.
Hello, dear.
My name's Matilda.
Well now, Matilda, can I help you?
Would it be all right if I sit down and read a book for a while?
Of course it would, dear.
Please could you tell me where the children's books are?
They're right over there on the lower shelves.
Would you like me to help you find a nice one with lots of pictures in it?
No, thank you.
I'm sure I can manage.
From then on she'd come in every afternoon and spent two hours sitting quietly by herself in a cozy corner, devouring one book after another.
Soon she'd read all the children's books and asked me to help her choose a grown-up book.
Well, she started off with great expectations, and there was no stopping her.
Within a week she'd finished that one, was on to the next, and within the next six months she'd read a formidable list of adult books.
Every day she'd be sitting there, this tiny dark-haired person with her feet nowhere near touching the floor, totally absorbed in the wonderful adventures of Jane Austen and JB.
Priestley and Ernest Hemingway.
Mr Hemingway says a lot of things I don't understand, especially about men and women.
But I loved it all the same.
Well, that's the most important thing, dear.
Don't worry about the bits you can't understand.
Sit back and allow the words to wash around you like music.
Oh, I do.
And the way he tells the story.
I feel I'm right there on the spot, watching it all happen.
A fine writer will always make you do that.
Now, Did you know that the public libraries allow you to borrow books and take them home?
Really?
Could I do that?
Of course.
When you've chosen the book you want, bring it to me so I can make a note of it and it's yours for two weeks.
You can take more than one if you wish.
Oh, thank you, Mrs Phelps.
Thank you so much.
MUSIC PLAYS
You did her a great service, Mrs. Phelps.
She's a remarkable little girl.
Never come across one like her before.
Me neither.
She arrived at Cruncham Hall only yesterday, and I felt I simply must find out a bit more about her.
I was so taken aback by what she could do.
Right, children, children.
Settle down now, please.
You've all brought your pencils, I hope?
Yes, Miss Honey.
Now, this is your first day at Crunchham Hall, and I'm here to help you learn as much as possible while you are in this class.
Don't fidget, Lavender, please.
Sorry, Miss Honey.
Let's start with our multiplication tables.
Now, now, now, now.
Do any of you happen to have learnt the two times table already?
Ah, I see one hand go up.
Matilda, would you stand up, please, and recite as much of it as you can?
Um, yes, Miss Honey.
Once, two is two two, twos are four three, twos are six four, twos are eight five, twos are ten six, twos are twelve.
7 x 2 is 14.
8 x 2 is 60.
9 x 2 is 80.
10 x 2 is 20.
11 x 2 is 22.
12 x 2 is 24.
13 x 2 is 26.
14 x 2 is 28.
15 x 2 is 30.
16 x 2 is 32.
Stop!
How far can you go?
Well, I don't know.
For quite a long way, I think.
Could you tell me what 2 x 28 is?
Yes, Miss Honey, it's 56.
What about something much harder, like 2 times 487?
Could you tell me that?
I think so, yes.
Are you sure?
I'm fairly sure, Miss Honey.
What is it, then?
2 times 487?
974.
She's so good.
It's not fair.
How can she do it and we can't?
Don't worry, Lavender.
You'll soon catch up.
You will, Lavender, you will.
Of course, I don't really believe that Lavender will catch up, Mrs Phelps.
Matilda's ability is so astonishing and all self-taught.
Oh, yes, her parents haven't helped a scrap.
And the really lovely thing about her is that she always speaks quietly and politely, without any sign of showing off.
Oh, I know.
Anyway, I soon discovered that she could multiply any numbers at all.
She seems to have a calculator inside her head.
I couldn't believe it.
I couldn't resist exploring further, so we moved on to spellings.
She could spell any word I gave her.
I'm not surprised.
Then we started on poetry.
I gave Matilda a book of humorous verse and asked her to read one aloud.
Smoothly, without a pause, and at a nice speed, she began.
