he headmaster took Totto-chan to see where the children had lunch. "We don't have lunch in the train," he explained, "but in the Assembly Hall." The Assembly Hall was at the top of the stone steps Totto-chan had come up earlier. When they got there, they found the children noisily moving desks and chairs about, arranging them in a circle. As they stood in one corner and watched, Totto-chan tugged at the headmaster's jacket and asked, "Where are the rest of the children?"

"This is all there are," he replied.

"All there are?" Totto-chan couldn't believe it.

There were as many children as this in just one grade at the other school.

"You mean there are only about fifty children in the whole school?"

"That's all," said the headmaster.

Everything about this school was different from the other one, thought Totto-chan.

When everyone was seated, the headmaster asked the pupils if they had all brought something from the ocean and something from the hills.

"Yes!" they chorused, opening their various lunch-boxes.

"Let's see what you've got," said the headmaster, strolling about in the circle of desks and looking into each box while the children squealed with delight.

"How funny," thought Totto-chan. I wonder what he means by 'something from the ocean and something from the hills.' This school was different. It was fun. She never thought lunch at school could be as much fun as this. The thought that tomorrow she would be sitting at one of those desks, showing the headmaster her lunch with "something from the ocean and something from the hills" made Totto-chan so happy she wanted to jump for joy.

As he inspected the lunchboxes, the headmaster's shoulders were bathed in the soft noontime light.