When Helen Keller was just a baby, she was very ill. From then on, she could not see. She did not learn to talk when other children did.
Think what that would be like! Such a world is dark and quiet. You could not see all the kinds of flowers and animals. You would not hear songs or a friend's voice. You would not even know what your friend looked like. This was Helen's world-still and dark.
There seemed to be no way to teach Helen. For a long time her parent did not know what to do for her. And then when she was six years old, they sent for a teacher. Her name was Anne Sullivan. She was almost blind herself. She felt she could help Helen learn to lead a full life.
Anne found it hard to teach Helen. The child was a wild thing! She yelled and shouted in a strange voice. She pulled Anne's hair and bit her. But Anne was wise. And, in the end, Helen came to love her.
By and by, Helen learned to "hear" by putting her hands on people's throats. She could feel what they said. She learned to read books made just for the blind. She learned to talk, too.
Everyone was surprised at what Helen could do. Years ago, people like her just sat in their dark worlds. No one had time for them. No one knew what to do for them. But Helen went to school. She wrote books. She gave talks. She helped the bilnd.
Helen had grow to be a wise, busy woman. The wild young girl had come a long way!