Johnny Belinda Page #2

I might take it out

in fishing in that pool of yours.

Looks like a wonderful place for trout.

- You're welcome anytime.

- Thanks.

Good morning, Stella.

I was early so I stopped in to tidy up a bit.

The dishes...

Please don't bother.

- Are you going out?

- For a little while.

That's a nice dress. New, isn't it?

- I made it myself. I make all my own...

- Very pretty.

I'll see you tomorrow.

We may have fish for dinner.

I like fish.

I've got the most wonderful way of...

No guarantees.

Look, Mrs. Lutz, the new doctor.

He hasn't been to church once

in three whole months.

Nice example.

He's a fine doctor. What he did for my Tim.

She's always talking about,

"He's a fine doctor..."

just because he put a bandage on a cut.

Hello?

Here, let me help you. Hello.

Now, where do they go?

Oh, the chickens.

Don't be afraid.

You watch me talk.

That is a...

rooster.

And these are...

hens.

Very good.

That's a tree.

Tree.

Yes.

Water.

Very good. Now if you give...

water to the tree...

it will grow.

Water to the tree, it will grow.

Yes, it will grow. The tree will grow.

It has very big roots. The roots go...

deep into the earth.

Earth.

And all of it together...

is land.

Land.

Good. Earth.

Eggs.

Four of them. Four.

No. One, two, three, four.

Four.

You're right. You're learning very fast.

Pretty soon you and I will be able to talk.

Talk. Right.

What're you trying to do, McCormick,

shake the clapper out of the bell?

- Where's my flour, Mac?

- Ain't it ready?

I can't see it.

The Dummy should be here to serve you.

She ain't done it.

I put it down for her.

You'll have to come back tomorrow.

Where can I get a team weekdays?

I'll have to wait till Saturday.

But if it ain't done then,

I'm going somewheres else.

It'll be ready. I'll make her remember.

How can you expect a dimwit

to use her head?

What's all this? What is it?

Water, ocean.

Ocean.

What's got into you?

I write it all down for you.

Here, it's as plain as the nose on your face.

Oh. Well, I guess I forgot.

Look.

Well, I was wondering.

She never makes a mistake.

Did you ever think

of sending her to school?

School?

She's deaf and dumb, man.

There's no teaching her nothing.

Here's the extent of her learning.

I make a sign at the top of each page.

A cross for Pacquet,

a circle for McCormick...

two lines for the McQuiggens and so on.

A mark for each bag.

I put them down when they come in,

she strikes them off when they're ready.

She's learned to identify every man

by his mark.

Must be over 40 names in this book

and she knows every one of them.

So that shows, Mr. MacDonald,

that your daughter is an intelligent girl.

Now, there's a special school

for the deaf at McGill.

Schools cost money...

and money don't grow on trees

in this country.

We're lucky to keep body

and soul together, we farmers.

I couldn't spare her. Thanks.

There's work enough around here as it is.

But she could be taught, I'm sure of it.

What's her name?

Me wife wanted her named after herself...

Belinda. Belinda MacDonald.

But they call her the Dummy around here.

They shouldn't.

Even though she can't hear,

these people have very keen perceptions.

- Aye.

- They notice things.

Come to think of it, she's fond of colors.

I took her to church once years ago.

They played the organ.

A look come over her face

as though she heard.

I knew all the time

she couldn't hear a thing.

Well, I'm losing time.

I must get on with my work.

Good day to you.

Would you mind if I talked to her

once in a while?

Talk?

When I was an intern at the hospital

I worked for a while with deaf children.

Why, I might even have one of the books

still kicking around somewhere.

I'd like to try

to teach her some lip-reading.

You'll be wasting your while, man.

But you're welcome here anytime.

- $1.80, Mrs. Lutz.

- Did you get the oilcloth?

No, but I will save it for you

when it comes in. Thank you.

Bye.

There's the doctor again.

Talking to himself.

- It's spooky.

- I think he's queer in the head.

Pretty smart

when it comes to making out his bills.

Hello. Happen to know what kind

of tobacco Black MacDonald uses?

MacDonald has not bought here in weeks.

Dr. Richardson, I receive your bill.

Rather steep for a stomachache, yes?

As far as I remember, it was three calls.

Two of them after midnight.

Dr. Peterson always took his fees out

in barter, like everyone else.

Mr. Pacquet,

I have to get cash somewhere.

You and a few others

are the only ones who can afford it.

You wouldn't have to pay me any bills

if you'd stick to that diet I gave you.

The only trouble with you is

you eat too well.

Now, I'll have this. See, 15, isn't it?

Or would you rather wait

and have me take out a splinter?

Get your filthy bug out of my dough.

The spuds is covered with them.

I can't pick everyone off single-handed.

And milk, and plow,

and blast stones without any help.

- Don't blame me.

- I'm not blaming you, I'm only telling you.

I suppose you want me to pull the plow.

I suppose I'm not doing my share, cooking,

and mending, and baking, and spinning.

- Who helps me?

- You got the Dummy.

A fine lot of help, that one.

All the grand ideas that doctor

has been putting into her head.

Filling her up with fancy notions.

You know what she was doing

instead of feeding the hogs?

Brushing her hair.

That's not fair to me.

I'm doing the work of six.

What's this I hear about you

loafing all day? There's work to do.

Aggie, did you see that?

She knew what I was saying.

Oh, tosh.

She can hear. Belinda, come here!

- I tell you she understands, woman.

- You're wandering in your head.

- But she came when I called her.

- She was reading your lips.

She's been a very good pupil.

Belinda, how do you say hello to a friend?

That's right.

"I am happy to see you."

And I'm happy to see you.

- Telling me she can talk that way?

- Of course.

We've been studying

from a book of signs...

which were devised by a Frenchman

a couple of hundred years ago...

the Abbe de L'Epee, he was a priest.

See, each word has its own sign.

For instance, there's "man."

The sign is this: Touching the hat brim.

- And what would "woman" be?

- This. Comes from a bonnet string.

And that's "mother."

Baby. You see, woman with a child.

It's beyond believing. It's as clear as day.

And that is the sign for "day."

You see, this represents the horizon and

this is the sun coming up over the horizon.

This is noon

with the sun directly overhead.

Afternoon, evening, and night

when the sun has disappeared completely.

Good morning.

Good night.

And that's "bread."

What is it? It's a butterfly. Sure.

It is a butterfly. It flutters.

Aggie!

Aggie, come here.

- I got something.

- What?

Look sharp now. Think fast.

What does this mean?

- It means you've gone loony.

- It's a butterfly. Look.

Don't go waving your hands at me,

I'm not the Dummy.

And if you want to have any bread to eat

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