Page 12 - English Reader - 7

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The Shoeshine Boy
The Shoeshine Boy

Warm-Upm-Up
War
This story is about a poor boy who works as a cobbler to support his family. He is worried
about his little sisters and mother. He wants to buy a footrest and a box to help him do his job
properly. Read the story to find out if he gets his wish in the end.

It was nine o’clock. The boy, thin and small, lumbered up the steps of the multi-storied mansion He
stopped at each floor to survey the doors of all the flats. The shirt he wore was tattered and his skin
showed through it. The pockets of his dirty shorts bulged with the weight of something in them.

On one of the top floors, a door with a bigger and brighter nameplate than any other door in the
mansion, caught his attention. The boy stood staring at it a long time. Finally, moving a few yards
away and sitting down on the floor, he kept an eye on it.

People were coming out of the apartments and going down the steps. The boy studied each
thoroughly. After about half-an-hour, the door with the bigger and brighter nameplate opened and
a tall, rather well-dressed man came out.

Then he sprang up, pulled out two tins of boot polish
from one pocket and a brush from the other and
intercepting the man, said “Shoe-shine, sahib.”
The man looked at his shoes and said, “I don’t
need one now. Not for another two days.”

The boy’s countenance fell. He showed that
he was disappointed.

“I’ll charge half the market rate, sir.”
The man smiled, “It’s not a question of
money.”

“I’ll make your shoes shine like silver.”

The man still refused.
But the boy persisted. Finally the man agreed.

“Thank you,” the boy said, his face lighting up.

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