"Was it a dream? Did it really happen?" he thought.
Then the boy thought about the hemp seed. He took his coat. The seed was in the pocket.
"Let's see how the King keeps his word," he thought. "Lessons start tomorrow, but I still don't know my History lesson. The headmaster told me to learn four pages from the book."
The boys came back to school after the holidays. The second lesson that day was History. It was the headmaster's lesson. Alyosha was afraid to look at the headmaster. He put his hand in his pocket. The hemp seed was there. At last the headmaster said:
"Now we're going to listen to Alyosha. Alyosha, please say your lesson."
Alyosha came up to the headmaster and opened his mouth. He didn't know his homework. But at that moment he started talking. He said his lesson without any mistakes.
"Very well," said the headmaster.
But Alyosha was not happy.
"I didn't learn that," he thought. "I don't like it at all."
Alyosha became the best pupil at once. He got only very good marks. He always knew his homework without studying. He never made any mistakes in his tests. All this time Alyosha didn't see Blacky. At first he called her in the evening. But she didn't come to see him.
"I know she is busy. She's the minister," he thought.
Then he remembered her only from time to time.
Soon all St. Petersburg knew about a very clever boy. The inspector of schools came to Alyosha's school four times to listen to him. The headmaster was happy. His school was famous now. Many mothers and fathers asked him to take their children.
At first Alyosha's gift made him sad. But then he started thinking a lot of himself. "I am better and cleverer than the other children," he thought. And he showed it to the other boys. He was no longer a good and kind boy. He became proud and naughty.
One day a voice inside him said:
"Don't be so bad, Alyosha! Yes, you have this gift. But you are not better than the other children."
But Alyosha didn't listen to that voice. Each day everyone liked him less and less. The headmaster didn't know what to do with him. He told the boy to learn more and more. But it didn't help. Alyosha didn't study at all, but he always knew his homework very well.
One day the headmaster told him to learn by heart twenty pages. But Alyosha was more naughty than usual. So he didn't even open the book.
"Why should I learn something? I've got my magic seed," he thought.
The next day the headmaster opened the book and said:
"Alyosha, please say your lesson."
Alyosha stood up and came up to the headmaster. Everyone looked at him. Alyosha opened his mouth … and nothing happened!