12 Tales of Christmas, Day 4

The teacher, above all, took pleasure in imparting his store of accumulated knowledge. Such hard-won stuff! Whether with a student, or an old friend, his authoritative tone inserted itself into every discussion, however trivial the theme. He considered it his solemn duty to correct people whenever they uttered an unfactual statement, or employed a word in an incorrect way (or that contradicted his vast understanding of language). Perhaps it was subconscious, involuntary, the habit of much teaching. One snowy morning the teacher was discovered at his desk, slumped over. By chance or treachery, he had suffocated on an apple.