Marriage is a terrible thing.

      I thought so when I was a boy of 12. This attitude came to me because of my first English teacher, Miss Qian.

      The first impression she left was her beauty. To me, she was exactly like a princess who had walked out of a fairy tale.

      Yet, she was strict with us and we seldom saw a smile on her face. Once, though, she herself could not help laughing in class.

      "What's the difference between the capital letters 'M'and 'W'?" she had questioned us?

      It was so different question that no one dared raise his head.

      At last, a short boy stood up and broke the silence. "One is lying on its back while the other  is lying on its stomach, "he offered.

      For the first time, she laughted. Needless to say, we all burst into laughter.

     We all studied hard for Miss Qian's class, and looked forward like no other.

      She taught us many English songs such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star", "Ten little Indian boys" and "Red River Valley". Her sweet voice moved each of us and our study efforts were doubled. Even now, I still remember the lesson she taught me.

       One day, I was cheating on an examination when a student next to me suddenly stood up, pointed to me and disclosed my secret.

       Miss Qian's crystal eyes were fixed upon me and full of reproach. Oh, how I wished to find a place to hide.

       Then in a calm voice, she told the entire class the story of "The boy who cried wolf". I had head this story several times before, but this time i felt different.

        A strange warm stream rose from the bottom of my heart. I tried my best not to weep, but my effort did not assist me at all.

       Soon after the incident came the day when Miss Qian had to leave us. A tall young man came and took her away. We lined up to see her off until they were out of sight.

         Everyone was saying that they were going to get married.

         "What is marriage?"   I asked myself. I was perplexed by the problem. It disturbed my little brain for many days. In the end I came to the following conclusion:

          Marriage is a terrible thing.

          It was marriage that took my beloved teacher away.