Refreshing morning stories : Hellen Keller

Helen Keller at the age of 19 months,(not quite 2 years old) was a happy, healthy child. She was already saying a few words.

Then she had a high fever which caused her to become deaf and blind. She felt lost. She would hang on to her mother's skirt to get around. She would feel of people's hands to try to find out what they were doing. She learned to do many things this way. She learned to milk a cow and knead the bread dough. She could recognize people by feeling of their faces or their clothes. She made up signs with her hands so she could "talk" to her family. She had 60 different signs. If she wanted bread, she pretended to be cutting a loaf. If she wanted ice cream, she would hug her shoulders and shiver.

Helen was a very bright child. She became very frustrated because she couldn't talk. She became very angry and began to throw temper tantrums. At age 7, they found her a teacher named Anne Sullivan. Miss Sullivan herself had been blind, but had an operation and regained her sight. She understood what Helen was feeling.

She taught Helen the signs for the letters of the alphabet. Then she would "spell" the words in Helen's hand to communicate with her. Initially her tantrums, made it mighty difficult for Sullivan, see for yourself, the famous breakfast scene from 'The Miracle Worker' (1962):


One day Anne led Helen to the water pump and pumped water on her hand. She spelled the letters W-A-T-E-R as the water ran over Helen's hand. She did this over and over again. At last it dawned on Helen that the word "water" meant the water which she felt pouring over her hand. This opened up a whole new world for her. She ran everywhere asking Anne the name of different things and Anne would spell the words in her hand. This was the key which unlocked the world for her.

When she went to college, her teacher Anne went with her and tapped out the words of the instructors into her student's hand. Helen had an amazing memory, and she also had skills very few people have ever been able to develop. She could put her fingers to a person's lips and understand the words which were being spoken. She went on to become a famous author and activist who inspired and still inspire millions.

[Must read 'The Story of My Life' by Helen herself and must watch 'The Miracle Worker' for even more exciting instances of an extraordinary teacher-student relationship]