Everybody read aloud, the smallest boys repeating the alphabet in a sing-song, while the advanced boys read their portions in a different sing-song; and everybody raised his voice to its loudest so as to drown the other voices.

The good boys never took their eyes off their page, except to ask the rebbe a question; but the naughty boys stared around the room, and kicked each other under the table, till the rebbe caught them at it.

He had a ruler for striking the bad boys on the knuckles, and in a corner of the room leaned a long birch wand for pupils who would not learn their lessons.
The boys came to heder before nine in the morning, and remained until eight or nine in the evening.

Stupid pupils, who could not remember the lesson, sometimes had to stay till ten.

There was an hour for dinner and play at noon.