The New Family at Mango Street
Value in Focus – Commitment
“April 23 is English Language Day,” chirps Melissa, jumping up and down.
“My my! What a revelation dear. What would we have done without you reminding us,” teases Lindsay, tickling Mel.
Mel bursts out laughing loudly. “Guys, what I meant was April 23 is a very special day for all of us and I just wanted to make sure none of you forgot about it.”
“What are your plans for that day?” questions Rocky. “I want to do something special to promote our beautiful English language,” dreams Jennifer.
“I have an idea,” enthuses Lindsay. “Mango Street’s house no. 10 has been recently occupied by a family who are not fluent in English language.”
“Where are they from?” questions Melissa. “I don’t know that but I heard the lady there talking to the grocer. She had great difficulty in explaining her requirements. Her son and daughter too could not understand much. Why don’t we help them improve their English?” wonders Jenny.
“It is a brilliant idea. Shall we go and let them know what we think?” asks Rocky. “Not now pal. We will go to meet them tomorrow,” decides Jason.
Next day, the five friends ring the door bell of house no. 10. A young girl opens the door and smiles at them.
“May we come in?” asks Mel. “We are your neighbours.”
The girl calls her mother. The sweet fat lady invites them inside with a smile. All of them sit on the cane chairs laid out on the front porch.
Jason explains their plan of helping them to understand and speak better English. The lady seems obliged and tells them about her family and how she did not understand English very well.
“We will help you aunty in learning how to speak and understand our language,” says Lindsay.
The lady shakes her head smilingly. She points to the fruits on the table. Rocky picks up one fruit at a time and names it. Jason asks her to repeat. She tries a few times and is able to call each fruit by its name. Her son and daughter learn the names too.
The friends stay for about an hour. By that time, the mother and her kids have learned the names of most things in the kitchen.
“We have to go now but we will be back tomorrow and teach you complete sentences,” announces Jenny.
The lady offers lemonade and cupcakes to all of them and says goodbye, smiling happily.
The friends visit the new family at 10, Mango Street every day after school and help them to learn new words and sentences. In about two weeks, the new comers are able to converse in pretty good English and have no difficulty at the super bazaar and at various social gatherings.
On the English Language Day, the new family throws a party for the five children who through the commitment and hard work had made speaking and understanding English easy for them.
Jason and Jennifer together with their parents come to the party and so do the others.
Their hostess gives a speech at the end, praising all the five children who helped them to overcome their difficulty in speaking the English language and made them feel comfortable in a new place.
The five friends are happy and their parents are proud of their kids for helping the new family learn the English language.
Value in Focus – Commitment
English Language Day – April 23, 2018
Written By: Amita is a Story Writer and a Spiritual Writer.
To share your feedback, write to her at [email protected], or leave a comment below.
