From the beginning, the youngster had taken a liking to English, it was his favourite subject.
He was always learning new words. The lessen he enjoyed most was when, after being given a new word, they had to stand up in class and use it in three different sentences. The teacher told the class that once you have used a word three times, you own it forever. This classroom exercise happened once a week and he always looked forward to it. Sometimes the teacher would let a pupil use a new word they had discovered. This was the case when he had been given a new word by the older boy who worked on the construction site near the school. He was told the word was kind of special because it gave an extra punch to what was said.
When his favourite classroom exercise came around again, the teacher was happy to give his permission to use his new word. When his turn came, he stood up. First, he told the class about the time his neighbour had brought his hammer down on his thumb, and how they could hear him shouting; then he described how his auntie had protested angrily when she was arrested for embezzlement; then he explained what their former priest was caught doing with the lady that used to arrange the flowers.
It has to be said that it was this incident that brought home to him just how powerful a word can be…