Kunta.

[Kitosdad]

Four years old Kunta was perplexed! Something strange was surely happening within his family circle.
Yesterday his parents had been so excited when they had received a letter in the village.
Whatever it was, it certainly appeared to be good news, because his parents had taken him to visit all of their relatives, and they were all laughing and shaking hands and waving their arms in the air at the news his father had to relate.

Well, whatever it was Kunta, was tired and he wanted to go back to his own house.
His father laughed when Kunta said he was tired, so he hoisted him onto his shoulders and they left their relations to return home.
That evening, while his mother was putting him to bed, she told him of all of the exciting things that were about to happen to him.
He was too tired and confused to understand what his mother was saying, he was just happy to be home and in his own little bed.
He fell deep asleep whilst she was still talking to him.

Kunta was so happy in his kindergarten. He had many friends there, but it had taken him a long time to understand what the older ones were saying sometimes, but slowly, as his vocabulary increased, he began to understand more and more.

In the next few months he was about to move to the school for older children and he was eagerly looking forward to this.

Some weeks later he was surprised to see his parents packing their suitcases.
His mother laughed when he asked why they were doing this.
Surely they weren't going away and leaving him here alone.

"Of course not Kunta. We are all going to live in Germany.
We are going on a big aeroplane, and when we get there we will have a house to live in and you will be going to a new school."
"But I don't want to go to another school mammy, I'm happy here with my friends," he wailed.
"Well, we have to go to Germany because daddy has a good job waiting for him there. You'll just love it . There are lots of children, and shops, and cinemas, and we'll have television,and you will have a bicycle and lots of new things."

Kunta didn't know what to say in reply. He had always wanted a bicycle, and having a television would be great.
He decided that he had better say nothing more, his parents would do the right thing for him.

The day of their departure saw the whole village turning out to wave them good-bye. Kunta had tears in his eyes as he kissed his grand-parents, and he didn't dare look at his friends before he had dried his eyes.
The taxi took them to the airport and they boarded the huge plane that stood on the runway.

His mother was afraid as the big plane took-off, and she held his hand tightly.
Kunta had asked to sit by the window and he was amazed to see how tiny everything now appeared the higher they climbed.
He looked for his village, but of course he couldn't recognise it from the many villages around.

The flight attendant told them that there would be a movie being shown shortly and this kept Kunta entertained for a long while.
They were served a meal and drinks, and then Kunta slept.
He slept for a very long time because he was tired, having not slept well the previous night.
It was a long and tiring flight, and his parents were relieved when they heard the captain telling everyone to fasten their seat-belts, as they were about to land.

After safely landing, his father collected their baggage from the carousel and they walked through the customs control to the exit.
A friend of his father was waiting to meet them, and he excitedly waved the keys to their apartment in the air.
His mother embraced their friend and Kunta had to shake hands with this friendly stranger.
All around him was activity, lights and noise. This was so very different from his life in the village.
They drove to their apartment in their friend's car, and he helped them with their baggage to the second floor of the apartment block.

His father unlocked the door and switched on the lights.
Kunta was overjoyed.
There in the corner stood their television.
It was an old television, but he didn't realise that.
All he knew was that it was a television, and he begged his father to turn it on.
He revelled in changing the channels and he was delighted when he found a channel showing cartoons. This was great!

His parents sat smoking and drinking coffee with their friend until very late, and then the friend said he had to go.
They all bade him good-night, and after he was gone his father said it was time for bed.

For the next two days his parents were kept busy arranging the apartment to be just the was they liked it. Kunta sat and watched cartoons all day long.
He was very happy.

On Monday his father left the apartment very early and went to his new job.
His mother dressed him and they walked to his new school.
When they arrived there Kunta was taken aback.
The school yard was full of children, but they were all white!
He was the only coloured child there.
To make matters even worse, all of these children were talking a language which he couldn't understand.
He looked up at his mother in bewilderment.
"Don't worry Kunta, you will soon learn their language," she said.

Kunta wasn't too sure about that!

His mother walked with him to his class and introduced herself and Kunta to the teacher. He said how happy he was to greet them, and that he hoped that Kunta would prove to be an apt pupil, and that he would be happy in his new life here in Germany.
The fact that Kunta could not speak German would not be a problem as a special class was set aside for non-native speaking children.

Kunta joined his new class and he chose a seat at the back of the class.
The teacher paid particular attention to him and his work, noting that he was a very attentive and studious pupil.

Kunta very quickly learned to read and write, and soon he was asking his parents for books other than the ones that the school used for his lessons.
He read books at an alarming pace, seemingly absorbing every word that he read.
His mother was delighted that Kunta was such a good reader, and his father encouraged him further by taking him to the local library were he was able to choose books on many subjects.
The librarian was amazed that such a young boy should have such a variety of interests.
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Kitos. I have ran-out of ideas for this story, and I would be delighted if someone would like to attemp to continue, or finish it.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.