Chapter 3

Rose’s aunt smiled. 

"Get in the cart and you will see who was riding it."

Rose's uncle was surprised when he saw it was Rose riding the donkey. They went home shortly after.

"Ahh!! Ahh!! Who taught you how to ride the donkey like this, my child?" said Rose’s uncle.

Rose laughed. 

"I taught myself, uncle," she said, looking him straight in the eyes.

Rose's uncle was still weak, so his wife ordered him to sleep. He would talk to Rose when he woke up.

Rose took the buckets, loaded them into the cart, and went to the river. Rose's aunt saw Rose already unloading the buckets.

"Oh Rose, my child, thank you for the water — as if you saw that we didn’t have any."

As the sun went down, Rose began to feel lonely.

"What are you worried about, my child?" asked Rose’s aunt. 

"Tomorrow I have to go back home. Schools will open on Monday," said Rose sadly.

"Ohh… I forgot that schools are reopening on Monday. Let me wash your clothes.

Don’t you miss your mother and your friend Beauty?" Rose smiled.

"I miss them. But I will miss Stompi too." 

"You will visit us every weekend — then you can see Stompi too." 

The sun came up on Sunday. Rose was done taking a bath and went to sit under the tree where the donkey was resting. 

She was sad because she was going to miss Stompi. She started to cry. Her aunt went to her and held her hand.

"Let's go inside the house, my child." 

Rose wiped her tears and went inside. 

"Don’t worry, my child, I’ll visit you next Saturday with Stompi," said Rose’s uncle.

Rose’s aunt came with a very heavy load of bags full of potatoes, oranges, and bananas.

"Oh auntie, your bags are going to break me — they’re too heavy!" said Rose.

"I’ll accompany you to the bus stop, and I’ll tell your mother to wait for you there."

"Ohh… that would be better. Let me go, the bus will be coming soon. “Uncle, I’ll see you at the end of the week. Don’t disappoint me — please come with Stompi."

"I won’t make a mistake, my child. I will come with Stompi."

Rose left her uncle’s home and took a bus back to her village,it was 2p.m.

Rose’s aunt called Rose’s mother so she could wait for Rose at the bus stop.

When Rose arrived at the village, she found her mother already waiting. Her mother quickly took the bags from her and put them down.

"Ah,my child, I missed you so much!" she said and hugged her daughter.

 Rose was shy and couldn’t look her mother in the eye. 

"I missed you too, Mama. Where is my friend Beauty?" said Rose with a smile.

Beauty saw them on their way home, and she quickly ran towards them.

 "How are you, my friend?" said Beauty with a smile. 

Rose smiled even more.

"I'm good, thanks — and you?" "I'm doing great."

Beauty said also with smile.

Rose’s mother was watching them with a smile. 

The girls held hands and talked about what they were going to play.

But Beauty’s mother, who didn’t like Rose, was not happy when she saw them together — though she pretended to be.

"Who came with you, my child?" asked Emily, Beauty’s mother. "I came alone by bus."

Rose replied with smile.

"You are smarter than Beauty. You came by bus alone — Beauty doesn’t know anything, and she doesn’t even want to try." 

Beauty became angry at her mother and ran home quickly. Her mother followed her.

"I'm sorry, my girl. I was only joking. Rose is not better than you. 

Look how beautiful you are with your light skin and your cute face — that’s why I named you Beauty," said Beauty’s mother, trying to deceive her  daughter. 

She knew very well that both girls were pretty in their own way.

"Don’t! Don’t ever compare me with Rose — she is my best friend!" said Beauty angrily .

Beauty was about to leave — she was already at the gate — when her mother shouted:

"Beauty! Come back, I want to talk to you." 

Emily whispered in Beauty’s ear, "Don’t eat anything from Rose’s home, you hear me?"

Beauty agreed by just nodding her head, still angry at her mother. She walked out of the gate and found Rose waiting for her. 

"See what I’ve got for you, friend!" said Rose. "Show me, friend — what is it?"

"These are the oranges I brought from my uncle’s house." 

Beauty remembered her mother’s warning: don’t eat anything from Rose’s house.

"Oh friend… don’t you like my oranges?" said Rose, disappointed.

"Let’s go to our tree and play," Beauty said quickly. 

She didn’t want her mother to see her eating the oranges that Rose brought, because she loved oranges so much.

The tree was took about it was front of their gates.

Beauty was eating the oranges in a hurry. She kept looking toward her mother’s yard to check whether she was watching them.

"Your oranges are sweet, friend." 

"Ahh… friend, why are you eating so fast?" asked Rose, confused by how quickly Beauty was eating.

"I want to play with you — it’s been a while since I played with you." At five o’clock, they both went to their home. 

Beauty’s mother smell her daughter's hands.

"Why do your hands smell like orange? Who gave you an orange?" Beauty’s mother asked.

Beauty took her time to answer. 

"Hey! I’m talking to you — are you deaf?!"

Beauty’s mother was so angry she was shaking, as if she wanted to grab her and beat her.

Beauty think fast.

"Ohh… an orange? Elisha’s mother gave me one," said Beauty with a smile. 

Beauty’s mother immediately started smiling, because she loved Elisha’s family.

"Okay, I’m happy to hear that Elisha’s mother gave it to you. I thought it was Rose. I want Elisha to be your best friend, not Rose," Beauty’s mother said, still smiling.

"No, Mama. Elisha is just a friend. Rose is my best friend," Beauty said and walked away, leaving her mother standing alone.

When the sun rose, Beauty’s mother woke up early to prepare her daughter for school. She was holding Beauty’s hand.

“Today, are we not going with Rose as usual?” Beauty asked. 

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