“Why?” they asked.

“Because Shankar is scared of crowds,” said Ammu.
“Then we’ll play with him one by one,” said Kumari.


“You can’t,” Ammu said.

“Why?” asked Unni.

“Because we’re going out today,” said Ammu.


“Then we’ll come tomorrow,” said Abdul.

“We’ll bring bananas for him,” said Venu.

“We’ll play with him one by one,” said Kumari.

“Okay,” said Ammu.
 She didn’t know what else to say.