Selim and his classmates entered inside the madrassie.Selim attentively observed the classroom.He was perplexed when he saw,that there were no chairs at the desks.Instead,he spotted that there was a pillow below each desk.
-Sit down on the cushions,please!-The muderris applied to his pupils.
Muderris Zulfikar's seat was in front of the boys' seats.Selim and his classmates sat down and saw one sheet of paper.28 letters were written down on it.
-Halil,please give 5 sheets of paper to each of them.-Zulfikar looked at his aide and gave him all the sheets of papers he had.
-Yes,I will do so right away!
Halil did as his boss told him.Then,he also sat down on his pillow.
-Children,listen to me carefully!These are Arabic letters.I will pronounce each letter and you will write its pronunciation in your native language next to each letter.You will be here untill afternoon.So,you have plenty of time to memorize these.-Zulfikar said.
-Do we have to learn all of them?-Selim asked.
-No,only 14 letters.
-How much time do we have for learning these letters?
-Untill noon.At noon,I will be telling you one story about Ottoman history.You won't learn history every day.At primary level,you will only study it on Friday.Now,start learning them!If you have any questions,you will ask my aide Halil.
Selim and his classmates were sitting next to each other in 4 rows.Selim took the feather,put it in the inkpot and wrote the first letter.He noticed,that each letter had 4 different forms according to its position in the sentence.A finger was drawn on the position of each form in order to indicate each boy
in which position were each form used.Davit finished writing 14 letters in just 2 hours.He was the first one who finished learning.Zulfikar noticed,that Selim finished and was surprised.
-Have you already finished?
-Yes,muderris!
-I didn't expect this kind of talent from you.You are truly awesome!What's your name?
-Selim.
-Where are you from?
-I am Georgian from the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.
-Then..I should not be surprised.Georgians are extremely talented in everything.Many officials of Georgian origin served this empire.Can you help others?
-Yes,muderris!I will inevitably assist my classmates.