The old teacher looked up angrily when Yusuf hurried into the
room. He was very late. ‘You’ll have to stay this afternoon to do
all the work that you’ve missed, boy!’
Yusuf sat next to Turan Shah. ‘Where are we?’ he asked.
Turan Shah showed Yusuf the words in the holy Koran that
the boys were reading. ‘It’s the story of the Prophet Yusuf and
how his brothers left him in the desert because they didn’t like
him,’ he smiled, not very kindly.
‘Stop talking and learn!’ The teacher’s stick hit both boys. It
hurt. Turan Shah cried out, but Yusuf said nothing.