Madam Rides the Bus

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The protagonist is Valliammai, called Valli for short. She is an eight-year-old curious girl who loves watching the street from her front door and dreams of riding the bus to town.

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Valli's favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and watching the street. She had no playmates of her own age on her street, so this was her main source of entertainment and ga…

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The most fascinating thing for Valli was the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town. It passed through her street each hour with a new set of passengers. This sight created an ove…

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The town was six miles from Valli's village. The fare was thirty paise one way. To Valli, who scarcely saw that much money from one month to the next, it seemed like a fortune, though others considere…

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The trip to town took forty-five minutes. Valli planned to take the one o'clock afternoon bus, reach town at 1:45 PM, and return home by 2:45 PM on the same bus by paying another thirty paise, totalin…

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Valli listened carefully to conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus. She also asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small det…

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Valli thriftily saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, and balloons. She even resisted riding the merry-go-round at the village fair despite havi…

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Valli took advantage of her mother's daily afternoon nap from about one to four o'clock. She used these hours, which she normally spent on 'excursions' around the village, for her first journey outsid…