Abeedou and Bala walked out of the hut. Bala carried the trap and Abeedou had the cage. They were thinking about what Grandmother had said as they looked slowly around the compound.

Grandmother had very few things. One small round hut to sleep in, a bench where she lay during the day, and a small fire to keep her warm. Inside her hut there was a wooden peg, and on the peg hung a long piece of cloth. It was her fano, the long wraparound skirt that Malinké women wear. Those were most of her possessions.

"I want to believe, but I fear what the spirits will do to me," Bala said. "My father says we must not go to the meetings or listen to the talk about Isa, or the spirits will not bless our crops and we will go hungry."

"Have we not told you that Baabaa Ala and Isa are more powerful than all the spirits? Baabaa Ala made the earth and He gives the crops. Is not the One who made them able to make them grow?" asked Abeedou.

"Abeedou, you talk too much! We forgot to tell Grandmother that we are going to Saraya. There's not time to go back to tell her and still get to Saraya and back before dark. Forget all this talk and let's hurry to Saraya to sell the birds."

"We should go tell Grandmother, or she may worry about us," said Abeedou.

"There's not time," replied Bala. "You go back if you want. I'm going to Saraya so I can find the man who wants to buy our birds. We worked hard for these birds and I already know what I am going to do with the money."

"OK, I'm going with you," Abeedou said. "I don't want you to spend my money for me."

Bala and his friend Abeedou trudged along the dusty, hot trail to Saraya. They took turns carrying the birdcage. Finally, they arrived in the small town. They saw several old men sitting by the side of the road.

"Have you seen the man who buys birds?" Bala asked.

"He is at the post office. He is leaving soon, so if you want to sell your birds, you'd better hurry," one of the men said.

Bala and Abeedou ran to the post office. As they drew near they saw many types of colorful birds glittering in a huge cage. The man who buys birds was still in town.

The two boys began to bargain with him. Since he already had many birds, he was not willing to pay Bala and Abeedou a good price. Finally, after much haggling, he paid them 200 francs for each bird. The boys had six birds, so each boy received 600 francs. They decided to look around Saraya to see how they could spend their money. They looked in every shop. They saw tea and soda, sugar and candy, mangos and papayas, shoes and cloth. There were so many things, Bala and Abeedou could not decide what to buy. Finally, Abeedou noticed that it was beginning to get dark.

"Oh no!" Abeedou said.

  "Bala, we must start home," Abeedou said ...

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