The Road to success 3

The boys chuckled along with their captain, and I sighed with relief. "You need money to learn how to read," Bala told me. "Money?" "Money -- a lot of money." I wasn't expecting this. I groaned inwardly. "I don't have money," I said.

"You will soon have." "How? If we dip our fingers into the alms we collect, we will not be accepted in paradise." I was repeating what I had been taught. Bala's boys snickered. Bala scoffed. I am not talking about the alms money.

"Then what money?" "If you join us, you will have money, a lot of it." Bala's eye narrowed at me. "Why not join us and let us teachers you the way?" I hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Just do as Bala says," one of the boys urged. "You will have all the money you need to learn to read. It's true." I wanted very badly to learn to read. "All right," I agreed. "I will do as you say." "Welcome to the club." The boys patted me on the back.