STORY OF MY LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880. She was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. The story is of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate. The Story of My Life, first published in 1903, is Helen Keller's autobiography detailing her early life, especially her experiences with Anne Sullivan. She died on June 1, 1968 at the age of 83

CHAPTER 11• Spending a leisurely autumn at

the Fern QuarryHelen returned to her Southern home in autumn. She felt happy and content with her experiences in the north. She spent her autumn months with her family at their summer cottage, Fern Quarry. The cottage was like a “rough camp” situated on top of a mountain, near a limestone quarry. Helen spent her time in a leisurely manner at the cottage.

Many visitors came to Fern Quarry. In the evening, men played cards and talked about their hunting experiences. She woke up in the morning with the sound of rattling guns and the smell of coffee. All the men went off to hunt after bidding each other good luck for the season.

• Later in the morning, barbecue was prepared. The “savoury odour” of meat made her hungry even before the tables were set. Afterward, the hunting party also joined the feast of veal and roast pig, following their discussion on their hunting events during the day.

Helen had a pony and she named it Black Beauty, having just completed the book. Sometimes, accompanied by her teacher, she rode the pony. At times, Miss Sullivan would release the rein and the pony would stop at his will to eat leaves from trees. On other days, they would go for walks in the woods and return home with armful of laurels, ferns and other beautiful flowers. Sometimes, she would go on similar trips with her sister and cousins.

At the foot of the mountain there was a railroad and about a mile distant was a trestle spanning a deep gorge. Helen had never actually been there until one day when she, along with her sister and Miss Sullivan, got lost in the woods. They came across the trestle, which was a short cut to their home. Since they were lost, they decided to take this way in spite of the dangers: the ties were wide apart and quite narrow. Feeling the rails with the toes, Helen moved on the trestle cautiously but without fear. Suddenly, train was heard coming in from the other side. They had to climb quickly down upon the crossbraces while the train passed by. With some difficulty, they regained the track. When, ultimately, they reached back home, it had grown quite dark and all the family members were out looking for them.

Adventure with the train at the rail road

Bibliography• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller• www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967• www.perkins.org/history/people/helen-keller• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_My_Life_(biography)• www.learncbse.in• www.topperlearning.com/forums/ask-experts-19/...of...story-of-my-life.../reply• https://www.awesomestories.com/• www.educatora.in/the-story-of-my-life---chapter-wise-summary.html• www.bookrags.com/studyguide-storymylife/chapanal001.html• www.bookrags.com/studyguide-storymylife/chapanal001.html