GRANDFATHER RAN HIS knobby fingers through his bushy gray hair as he shuffled down the short hallway from his living quarters to the chilly storefront.
“Brrr, cold day. Where is that boy with the water for tea?” he muttered to himself, as he pulled his thick woolen shawl closer around his stooped-shoulders. “Ah! There he is, taking his time.”
A slight boy of twelve, straining under the weight of two wooden water buckets, stumbled through the doorway.
“Torix, my boy, what has kept you? Why you’re soaking wet! Let me take one of those buckets. Come, come back to the fire.”
Torix gladly handed one of the heavy buckets to his grandfather. Struggling with both hands, he heaved the other to the cozy room at the rear of the store, where a crackling fire welcomed him.
“It’s those blasted Roman soldiers again, Grandfather. I was almost to our door with the water when a pair of them bumped me to the ground and spilled my buckets. On purpose, Grandfather!” Torix stormed. “They walked away laughing their fool heads off, calling me Brittunculi, wretched little Briton. I had to go back to the trough and wait in line again.”
“Ah, I see,” Grandfather replied, nodding his head thoughtfully. He removed his shawl and wrapped it snugly around the boy’s shoulders. “We are both blessed and cursed by the Romans, that’s sure.”
Torix sliced barley bread and cheese for their breakfast while the old man ladled water into the kettle to heat for tea.
“Everywhere I go, Grandfather, I have to look out for them. I dodge down side streets if I see them. I avoid walking through the plaza square. I hide behind oxcarts like a scared rabbit. So I’m small. Why is that so hilarious to them? They’re bullies, you know that? Huge, thickheaded bullies who can get away with anything just because they’re Roman!”
After a moment of silence, Grandfather said, “One friend, you know?”
Esta historia es de la edición November/December 2017 de Cricket Magazine for Kids.
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Esta historia es de la edición November/December 2017 de Cricket Magazine for Kids.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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