Ali looks at the man behind them. He is big and strong.
‘No, I don’t know him. He doesn’t work in the market.’
‘Watch my bag!’ the old man says. ‘Perhaps he’s a thief.’
Ali thinks of the money in his pocket. ‘Let’s walk quickly,’ he tells the old man.
‘I can’t walk quickly. You’re young, but I’m not!’
Suddenly, the big man takes the bag from Ali’s hand and starts to run away. Ali runs after him. The man hits Ali. Ali falls down, and his money falls out of his pocket. The man puts down the bag. Then he takes Ali’s money and runs away.
Ali gives the bag to the old man.
‘Thank you very much,’ the old man says. ‘You're a very good young man.’
Ali is unhappy, but he does not talk about the money. That evening, he does not tell his mother and father about it.
‘I can start again,’ he thinks. The day after that, Ali is at the market. People are making a lot of noise. Ali is standing and waiting for work.