Later on she taught him all the English words she
remembered herself, which were three, 'bruss' and 'wass' and
'isstockin',' her limited but very useful vocabulary as lady's-
maid. He learned them very well, but he continued to know only
three, and he did not use them very often, which Tooni found
strange. Tooni thought the baba should have inherited his mother's
language with his blue eyes and his white skin. Meanwhile, Sonny
Sahib, playing every morning and evening under the peepul-tree,
learned to talk in the tongue of the little brown boys who played
there too.
When Sonny Sahib was four he could drive the big black hairy
buffaloes home from the village outskirts to be milked. Abdul
walked beside him, but Sonny Sahib did all the shouting and the
beating with a bit of stick, which the buffaloes must have
privately smiled at when they felt it on their muddy flanks, that
is if a buffalo ever smiles, which one cannot help thinking
doubtful. Sonny Sahib liked buffalo milk, and had it every day for
his dinner with chupatties, and sometimes, for a treat, a bit of
roast kid. Chupatties are like pancakes with everything that is
nice left out of them, and were very popular in Rubbulgurh. Sonny
Sahib thought nothing in the world could be better, except the
roast kid.
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