Fruit and Shoes
1 Amirah set up her stall in Market Square every Saturday morning. She sold fresh fruit and new shoes—an odd combination. Amirah's stall was popular, though. Customers always had a smile for her.
2 One day, her first customer was a kitchen maid who worked in a big house up the road. Amirah weighed a dozen pears for her and bagged them. The two women chatted and exchanged names.
3 “Amirah—you're named after the queen, then,” said the maid.
4 Amirah nodded and said, “It's a popular name.”
5 What the maid didn't know was that the merchant standing in front of her was the Queen. No one knew, except for the butcher in the stall across from Amirah. And he was no butcher, but one of the Queen's personal guards.
6 Later, Amirah noticed a little boy eyeing her stall.
7 “Come here,” she said. The boy stepped forward, staring at his bare feet. He tensed his shoulders, ready for a scolding.
8 “What's your favorite fruit?” Amirah asked.
9 The boy pointed to the apples, so Amirah handed him one.
10 “Go on, eat it,” she said. She fetched a bag and put in a few more. “If you don't take them, they'll just rot.”
11 The boy thanked her and walked away, looking in the bag. He noticed more apples and, beneath them, a pair of shoes.
Grade 4 • Benchmark Advance • Reading Quick Checks • © Benchmark Education Company, LLC