A Big Book of Little Stories Book 5: Chapter 1 - Mandu’s Running Shoes

Listen Up: A Reading Adventure with John Maytham · 3 November 2025 · 1m

Speaker 1: A Big Book of Little Stories, Book five, Chapter one, Mundoo's Running Shoes. Mundo was Speaker 1: in Grade four at Greenway Primary School in Durban. She was an excellent runner and Speaker 1: she practiced running every day. The children used to tease her because she did not Speaker 1: have running shoes. She wished she had running shoes because her feet hurt, especially when Speaker 1: the ground was hot. She also hated it when the children laughed at her. One Speaker 1: Saturday, Mundu took the money she had saved and went to the sports shop in Speaker 1: town. She looked at the running shoes but felt very sad because she did not Speaker 1: have enough money to buy them. Missus Masondo, the owner of the shop, noticed the Speaker 1: sadness in Mundo's eyes. If you win the race, I will let you have the Speaker 1: running shoes for free, she said. But if you don't win, you will need to Speaker 1: pay for them, she added with a smile. And that was what Mundu did. She Speaker 1: ran and ran until her legs ached. I must keep going, she told herself, I Speaker 1: must not give up. The big day came and Mundy was very nervous when she Speaker 1: went to the starting line, But as soon as she began to run, she forgot Speaker 1: her fear. She ran like the wind and crossed the finish line long before the Speaker 1: other participants. I've won, I've won, she shouted, joyfully, looking down at her magic shoes, Speaker 1: which now belonged to her

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