ABSTRACT
Jahanara, aged 11, and her younger sister Shahana, 8, live in Spitalfields, in the East End of London. They are both bilingual in Sylheti,1 which they speak to their parents and grandparents, and English, which they speak in school, to friends, and to each other. On this occasion, Jahanara is reading a story in English to Shahana at home:
Jahanara: Kora’s new pet. Kora lived in a small house beside the lake. At the back of the house there was a big hill. Lots of blackberry grew there. One fine day, she sneaked out to pick the berries…. Soon her bucket was half-full. As Kora was about to get up again, she heard a noise, a bark or a cry. Looking around, she saw something moving in the grass. “What could it be?” she screamed. She walked slowly, very slowly, over to the spot when she saw that it was a small fox cub. It looked up at her but did not move…She bent down and saw it was caught in a trap…Leaving her blackberries behind, Kora picked up the cub and made for home. “What have you got there?”asked her mother…. Her mother was a nurse…She washed the fox’s leg with hot water and put a bandage on it…The happy girl lifted the fox up in her arms. She looked up and saw the mist on the hill… “I’ll call it Misty” she said.
