Boy completes the first grade

 HAVANA -- (AP) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro has finally met the 6-year-old
 boy who was the focus of his politics for much of the past seven months, media
 reports said Saturday.

 Castro visited Elián González's family Friday to congratulate the child for
 completing first grade, according to Granma, the Communist Party daily.

 The reports did not say where the meeting took place, but the government
 prepared a house in Havana for Elián, his father Juan Miguel and their family after
 the child's return.

 ``Comrade Fidel visited Juan Miguel and his family and was able to meet and
 greet Elián,'' said Radio Reloj. It said Castro gave Elián a copy of The Golden
 Age, a children's book by Cuban independence hero José Martí.

 Castro wrote a dedication in the book: ``For when you are in the fourth or fifth
 grade and can enjoy one of the most tender works of Martí.''

 It was the first reported meeting between the Cuban leader and Elián since the
 child returned from the United States on June 28.

 Meanwhile, an exhibit featuring drawings that Elián and his schoolmates
 sketched during their stay in Washington opened Friday in their hometown of
 Cardenas.

 The drawings, which included flowers on cardboard made into cards in honor of
 Mother's Day, are displayed at the Oscar Mará de Rojas museum, a century-old
 national monument.

 The radio did not specify the number of drawings on display or whether the exhibit
 would be permanent.

 Four first-graders from the boy's school went to Washington in April to help Elián
 prepare for his return home.