The title of this book is The Promise. The author is R. L. Scott-Buccleuch. The story is set in Salvador, which is the capital of Bahia, a state in Brazil. More than a million people live in Salvador, but some of them are very rich and others are very poor. In this story, Pedro Moreira lived with his wife, Maria, in a small hut there. One day, Maria was going to have a baby, but Pedro was worried about the new baby’s life because he didn’t have his work and much money. They were very poor. The new baby was born safely, but he was small and thin. One old woman held the baby in her arms, and then she told Pedro, “Your boy will grow up and become famous. Be a good father to the boy. One day, he will be a good son to you. That is my promise.”
The baby was called Paulo, but after three years, the other children called him Palito because his arms and legs were very thin, and his legs were twisted. “Palito” means “a thin stick.” Palito often played football with the other boys. Then he learnt to turn quickly and carry the ball past other boys.
When Palito grew bigger, Pedro was thinking that Palito is going to be a footballer becase his playing was good. On his fifteenth birthday, Palito became a member of the football team of his father’s company. He became more skillful, and more people came to watch his play. So his name became well-known in Bahia. He was offered a job from Bahia Central. That was one of the main teams in Bahia. However, he wanted to play for Brazil, like the best players, and he needed more experience and training. So he just asked the manager of Bahia Central to wait without refusing. One day, Chico Perez, who is the manager of a team in Sao Paulo, came to see Palito and then watched his game. Palito’s play was very good and excited people so much.
After Chico watched his game, he offered a job to Palito with his team. The team was named White Star and this was the best team in the world, so Palito started to work hard in White Star. He was still famous all over Brazil, but his legs were becoming more twisted. So working hard was very bad for his legs. While he was playing in the last game in the season, a defender kicked Palito hard on the legs and Palito fell to the ground. Then he was taken straight to the hospital. The bones in his legs didn’t grow hard and they became twisted because he didn’t have enough to eat when he was a baby. So he had to have the operation immediately.
After he had the operation, he couldn’t play for Brazil for a long time. About three months later, Palito started training again, but he had lost all his old skills. So he couldn’t play very well, like in the old days, and he was disappointed. Some days he didn’t appear at the training at all. He was drinking too mujch and his friends were really worried about hism. However, finally Palito found he could still be a great footballer again, and then he decided to work and train harder. He had trained and done many kinds of exercises in a Japanese gymnasium for a long time. He came to be able to run fast again.
One day, he was offered his job for Brazil, and he flew to Rio de Janeiro for his game. A week later, Pedro’s dream came true. In the huge stadium, Palito was playing for Brazil. His playing was very good and he scored one goal in the game. His family and all spectators congratulated hism. Six months later, Palito got married to his cousing and they built a children’s hospital. Their hospital gave help to many poor children. As the old woman said in the old days, Palito became well-known in many countries all over the world. The old woman had spoken the truth.
I was imprssed by this story because Palito’s life was very hard but very great. When I saw this title, I didn’t know the meaning of it, but finally I understood it. Exactly that was a promise. I want you to read this book.
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