Page 88 - @ccess 3 Reader´s Book

The Girl and the Oranges

FRIEND: When did you decided to dedicate your life to the
education of girls?
MALALA: Actually, it was a few years ago, on a trip
to Shangla.
FRIEND: Really? Tell me more about it.
MALALA: I was with my family, traveling to Shangla because
my father had just bought some land there. As we crossed
the Malakand Pass, I saw a girl selling oranges. We
stopped to buy a few, because they looked delicious.
FRIEND: I can imagine that you were excited to have some
after the long trip.
MALALA: Yes, they were very good.
FRIEND: What happened next?
MALALA: After we chose how many we were going to buy;
my father paid the girl. After receiving the money, she
scratched five marks on a piece of paper with a pencil.
FRIEND: Why did she do that? I don’t understand.
MALALA: It was her way to account for the oranges she
had sold us.
FRIEND: Oh, so she didn’t know how to read or write, did she?
MALALA: Exactly. Those marks helped her to know the
exact amount of oranges she had sold.
FRIEND: What did you do afterwards?
MALALA: I took a photo of her and vowed I would do
everything in my power to help educate girls just like her.
That’s when I decided this was the war I was going to fight.

Reader's Book 87