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Alak was busy preparing noodles at his street stall in Chiang Mai when a large black car with black windows drove slowly past. 'It's the new gang boss,' said one of his regular customers. 'People say he has returned after twenty years in Bangkok. Very rich and very cruel, so I heard. We should all keep out of his way.'
Ten
minutes later
the car came back. It stopped. From the
front seat came a young hoodlum.
He walked up to Alak and said, 'The boss wants a
bowl of noodles.'
'Yes sir. Of course sir.' Said Alak, avoiding eye contact
with the young man.' He served a bowl of steaming
noodles which was passed
through the rear window to the boss. Two minutes later the young
gangster handed the bowl back to Alak and said.......
'The boss loved
them. He said they were very good.
How
much?' asked the young gangster.
'Please sir. Tell your boss that the noodles are free. Thank
you for choosing my humble
noodle stall.' Alak raised his
hands together in a respectful
wai.
Every day for the next week,
the gangster's car stopped at
Alak's noodle stall. 'Alak, my friend,' said his most regular
customer, 'he
must really like your noodles! But aren't you a little worried? it's
bad for business, no one wants to eat here anymore.'
'Of course I'm worried! Do you know where I got the money to buy this
noodle stall two years ago?... I found it in an envelope outside my
door one morning. Maybe it's the gang's money and they know that I took
it and spent it!
I'm in big trouble, but what can I do? I have no family, as when we
were babies, my sister and I were left at the
hospital
by our young
mother. She was too poor to look after us. I have no way to pay
them
back.'
Adjectives
humble:
Having low social class or position.
respectful:
In this case meaning 'feeling somebody is important and senior to you'.
Verbs
pay
sb.
back:
To return money that you borrowed from somebody.
Nouns
a gangster:
A member of a criminal gang.
Thai
words
wai:
A sign of respect, or to say thank you. You hold your hands together
like praying, and bow.