After the soldiers left, the general turned to the boy.
‘Well, Yusuf, are you sure that you want to be a soldier?’
‘I’ll do my best, Uncle.’
‘If you want to be one of my soldiers, you’ll do what I tell you.
Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Uncle.’
Shirkuh now turned to his brother.
‘Ayyub, I’ll take the boy, but only because you and I are
brothers. I don’t think that he’ll be a good fighter or a soldier,
but we’ll see. If he’s any trouble, he goes home – at once!’
Yusuf wanted to do well, but it was difficult. He tried hard tolearn. But he was still
small and weak and he
found the fighting hard.
His sword was heavy.
The other soldiers were
fast and strong. His uncle
was often angry