A story by Rabindranath Tagore (1892) — a fruit-seller from far away, a little girl, and a father's secret.
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This is a famous Indian story, told here in simple English. A father tells it. Read each part, then try the questions from memory.
My daughter Mini is five years old. She chatters all day. She never stops talking, and I like it. Her mother is sometimes tired of it, but I am not.
One morning I was writing my book in my room. Mini was playing near my table. Suddenly she ran to the window and shouted: "A Cabuliwallah! A Cabuliwallah!"
In the street there was a tall man from Cabul, far away in the mountains. He wore loose clothes and a big turban. He had a big bag on his back, and he carried boxes of grapes.
Mini called him. But when the man looked up at her, she was afraid. She ran to her mother. She thought there were children inside his big bag!
The seller came to my door. I bought some fruit. Then he asked: "Where is the little girl, sir?" I brought Mini out. He gave her nuts and raisins, but she did not take them. She held my hand and looked at his bag. That was their first meeting.
1. Why was Mini afraid of the Cabuliwallah?
2. What did he give her, and what did she do?
1. She thought there were children inside his big bag.
2. He gave her nuts and raisins, but she did not take them. She held her father's hand.
A few days later, I came out of the house and saw Mini on a bench near the door. She was laughing and talking, and the big Cabuliwallah was sitting at her feet. He was listening to everything she said. Her pockets were full of nuts and raisins.
Now they were great friends. Every day they had the same two jokes. Mini asked: "Cabuliwallah, what have you got in your bag?" And he answered: "An elephant!" Then they both laughed.
Then he asked: "Little one, when are you going to your father-in-law's house?" Mini did not understand. So she asked him: "Are YOU going there?" For a man from Cabul, 'the father-in-law's house' was a joke. It meant prison. "I will hit that father-in-law!" he said, and Mini laughed and laughed.
Mini's mother did not like the man. She was afraid of everything. "Maybe he will take our child away," she said. I said: "No, that is not possible." And the friendship went on.
Every year in January, the Cabuliwallah — his name was Rahmun — went home to his mountains. Before he left, he came to see Mini every day.
1. What were the two jokes?
2. What was Mini's mother afraid of?
1. 'What have you got in your bag?' — 'An elephant!' And 'When are you going to your father-in-law's house?' — which, for Rahmun, meant prison.
2. She was afraid that the man would take Mini away.
One morning, a few days before Rahmun went home, I heard noise in the street. Two policemen were taking Rahmun away. A man did not pay him for a shawl, they had a fight, and Rahmun hit him with a knife. The man was hurt, and Rahmun went to prison for many years.
Mini ran out and shouted: "Cabuliwallah! Are you going to your father-in-law's house?" Rahmun laughed. "Yes, little one. That is where I am going!"
Years passed. We forgot Rahmun. Mini grew up. She did not come to my room any more. Eight years later, it was the day of her wedding.
That morning, a man came into my room. It was Rahmun. He had no bag, no long hair, and he looked old. "I came out of prison last night," he said. "May I see the little one?" He had some nuts and grapes in a piece of paper for her. He thought she was still a small girl.
I said: "There is a wedding today. You cannot see her." He went to the door. Then he came back. He took a small, dirty piece of paper from his coat and opened it on my table. It was the print of a little hand. His own daughter's hand, in the mountains far away. He carried it every year, close to his heart.
I looked at the print. He was a father, too — just like me. I sent for Mini. She came in her red wedding dress. Rahmun looked at her and could not speak. At last he said: "Little one, are you going to your father-in-law's house?" Mini understood the words now. She went red and looked down.
Then I gave Rahmun money and said: "Go home to your own daughter, Rahmun." Because of that money, the wedding had no electric lights and no band. But for me, the wedding was brighter — because far away, a father was meeting his daughter again.
1. Why did Rahmun go to prison?
2. What was on the piece of paper, and what did the father do after he saw it?
1. A man did not pay him for a shawl, they fought, and Rahmun hit him with a knife.
2. The print of Rahmun's own daughter's hand. The father sent for Mini, and then gave Rahmun money to go home to his daughter.
A story that covers eight years needs time words to move it along: one morning, every day, a few days later, years later. The verbs stay in the past simple.
Put each verb into the past simple.
1. One morning a tall man (walk) down the street.
2. Mini (run) to the window and (shout).
3. He (give) her nuts, but she (not / take) them.
4. The policemen (take) Rahmun away and he (go) to prison.
1. walked
2. ran / shouted
3. gave / didn't (did not) take
4. took / went
One each, from: every day · one morning · a few days later · years later · at last.
1. Mini saw a Cabuliwallah in the street.
2. they had the same two jokes.
3. the father saw Mini and Rahmun laughing together on the bench.
4. it was the day of Mini's wedding.
5. Rahmun looked at the young bride and he said: "Little one…"
1. One morning
2. Every day
3. A few days later
4. Years later
5. at last
Make the question with Did…? and give the short answer.
1. (Mini / like) the Cabuliwallah at first? — No, she .
2. (Rahmun / go) home every year? — Yes, he .
3. (the mother / trust) him? — No, she .
4. (the father / give) Rahmun money at the end? — Yes, he .
1. Did Mini like … didn't
2. Did Rahmun go … did
3. Did the mother trust … didn't
4. Did the father give … did
In the Speak tab, use a time word at the start of each part of the story: One morning… Every day… Years later…
Rabindranath Tagore wrote this story in 1892 in Calcutta, India. Men from Cabul (Kabul, in Afghanistan) came to the city every winter to sell dried fruit. In 1913 Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature — the first writer from Asia to win it.
The story looks like a story about a little girl and a stranger. But at the end we understand: it is a story about two fathers. One is rich, one is poor. One is Indian, one is Afghan. But both of them love a daughter who is far away — Mini is going to her husband's house; Rahmun's daughter is in the mountains.
This is the heart of the lesson — do all three out loud. The timer helps you keep going: fill the time with details.
Tell 'The Cabuliwallah' to someone who does not know it: the man at the window → the two jokes → the mother's fear → prison → eight years later, the wedding → the handprint → the money.
Use time words and the past simple, and at least five key words (seller, chatter, bag, prison, raisins, joke, wedding, afraid, hit, print).
At the end, the father gives Rahmun money, and the wedding has no lights and no music. Was that a good decision? Give your opinion and two reasons. Then give the opposite opinion for one minute.
Tell a story about two people who meet again after many years. Use time words and the past simple.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: