The Breadwinner Page #4

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- I have to find him!

- Parvana! Parvana!

Parvana!

Excuse me?

Salaam? Hello?

Excuse me?

- WHAT DO YOU WANT?

- Ah!

- I said, "What do you want?"

- I want to see my father.

- Who?

My father, Nurullah Alisai,

brought here two weeks ago

without charge.

- Get out of here!

- I have money!

1,000 afghani.

I can give it to you

if you promise to help!

- Hey! What are you doing?

Nothing. Just getting rid

of a kid.

Please! Open up!

I have to see my father!

I have to see him! AHH!

Oh!

Now get out of here

unless you want some more!

They say

it doesn't always rain

the way it thunders.

Last we heard of him,

the boy had fallen down.

He had fallen down the hill

and into the deepest of sleeps.

But all was not lost.

He was discovered

by an old woman.

She had a drum.

A magic drum

that beat so beautifully

that his heart woke up.

She knew he must be on a quest

and so she asked him,

What is it you seek?

Well you see,

the dreadful Elephant King

sent his jaguars to steal the...

No one has ever

overcome the Elephant King!

I know.

What makes you think you can?

I need to.

I just need to. That's all.

That's not a very good answer.

Nevertheless,

the woman told him

he'd need to find three things:

something that shines,

something that ensnares,

and something that soothes.

Only then would he overcome

the Elephant King.

- Give them to me!

Please!

- I don't have them.

So you better go look for them.

And hurry! If the seeds

are not planted soon,

there will be no harvest!

- Yes, I know.

- She told him to head east.

East is the other way.

Still something

followed the boy.

And still,

he could not face it.

He didn't take the money?

I don't think bribes work on them.

No, no.

It probably wasn't enough.

It might have insulted him.

You'll just have to save up more

and be even smarter next time.

AHH!

- I have to be smarter?

I've heard there is a guy

who pays well for small jobs.

Come on!

Sir, we have come to work.

And you are?

I'm Deliwar and this

is Aatish. We are brothers.

What kind of a name is Aatish?

- I don't know. Ask our father.

- Where is your father?

He was martyred

by the Russians.

We can do any job you want!

For the right price.

- That's the last one, I think.

- Where are we, anyway?

About time! You boys

are not very strong.

It was more work

than you said.

Here you are. Now be off.

Hey, we did

all that you asked!

Wait! You said

you'd drive us back!

I'm not a taxi!

Make your own way home.

I'm late already

because you took so long

to load the truck!

- Wait!

I need to rest a moment.

Stay on the path.

This place might be mined.

This is not nearly enough.

We need better jobs.

- Like what?

I heard brickmaking pays well,

but it's hard work.

I wish I was stronger.

But you have an older brother,

don't you?

He used to bring you

to school on his shoulders.

What's his name?

Sulayman.

He died.

How? Was it a sickness?

- I don't know.

- But your mother

must have told you.

- She doesn't speak of it,

all right?

All right.

Hey, look what I've got!

I found it in a little box where

my father keeps his things.

Can you believe

the water is that blue?

It's very nice.

Anything written,

anything read.

Anything written,

Anything written, anything read.

I didn't pay you last time.

How much do I owe you?

- It's OK, I...

- What, you don't charge

for bad news?

Who taught you to read?

The cripple teacher?

Yes. My uncle.

Can you write

as good as you read?

I can.

Here.

I kept this in case

you wanted it.

Show me.

Show me where it says her name.

Where it says Hala.

There.

See?

Hala.

Do you know what it means?

No.

Sometimes, on a clear night

when you look at the moon,

you can see

a bright outline around it.

That outline is called hala.

My wife was named

for that light.

Here.

- This is too much.

- Don't argue with me.

Thank you.

Pull my sister's hair.

I pull my sister's...

- Stop it, Zaki.

Can I pull yours?

- Keep him quiet.

I am trying to sleep.

What's the matter with you?

Why don't you

tell Zaki a story?

Hm? We'd all like that.

Well Zaki, do you want to know

what happened to the boy?

- Elephant?

Elephant?

- Yes, yes.

And the elephant.

The boy ran and ran,

his heart beating fast in fear

and the thing that chased him...

- AH!

- ...never stopped.

So the boy hid behind the tree

and he waited for courage.

An ancient woman

had been trying to milk a goat

but her back was very sore.

My back

is very sore!

The boy took pity on her

and told her to rest

under the shade of a tree and

he would do the milking instead.

Please, sit under the shade

of this tree

and I will

do the milking instead.

When he finished

milking the goat,

the old woman shared the lovely,

warm milk with him.

It was the nicest milk

he had ever tasted,

and he complimented the woman

on her goats!

Your goats are very generous!

In return, the old woman

gave him a mirror.

See how it shines!

The boy was delighted

with the mirror

but as he looked into it,

he saw the reflection of the

thing that followed him.

What are you doing, Mama-jan?

I'm laying out

Soraya's good clothes.

Am I to sell them

at the market?

Shh. Sh, sh, sh.

Parvana, it's time to sleep.

I just need to find a way

to get to Peshawar

and I can figure it out

from there.

I think there's a beach in Goa

where the tourists

are very rich.

If they're rich,

they will buy my blue stones

and that's where I'd

set up my business and...

you could join me!

Once I find Baba.

Once you find your baba.

- 100.

- I'll give you 85.

- 90!

- 82.

85 and that's final.

85 and a bunch of grapes

and that's final.

You're leaning too hard

on the pen,

but your writing is good.

If you try it more gently,

it'll be easier.

Wait! Wait a moment!

What is it, child?

You asked me before

about the man

who used to sit there,

the teacher.

- Your uncle?

- He didn't go

to Mazar-e-Sharif.

He was taken to prison...

but he did nothing wrong!

- Which one?

- What?

- Which prison?

- Pul-e-Charkhi.

It's been weeks now

and my family has

had no word of him.

Go to the prison on Wednesday.

Ask for Roshaan.

He is my cousin.

Tell him Razaq sent you

and he will help you...

if he can.

Deliwar!

With work like this,

I'll be an old woman

by the time I get to the sea.

Or an old man.

You sit and rest, Deliwar,

and I'll tell you a story.

- A story?

- Yes, a story.

One time, in the deep past,

there was a boy

who had to return a stolen bag

of precious seeds

to his village.

Is it a happy story

or a sad story?

Just wait and see.

The boy had been told

he needed three things in order

to overcome the Elephant King.

Something that shines,

something that ensnares,

and something that...

Hey! You two! Come here!

Come on!

I know that boy.

Hurry and come here!

Come on!

We'd better do

what we're told.

Get a move on, lazy kids!

So these are the new workers.

Where are your tongues?

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