FAIRS FAIR

by Narindher Dhami

What is a Short Story?

A short story is a brief work of literature,
usually written in the narrative style.
A short story is shorter than a novel, and it
usually deals with only a few characters.
A short story has limited settings and
contains a simple plot with very few events.

Elements of a Short Story

Setting

Characters

Plot

(Where and
when the story
takes place)

(The people or
animals in the
story)

(The series of
events)

Themes

Moral
Values

Language
& Style

(The central
ideas of the
story)

(What you can

learn from the
story)

(How the story

is written)

Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: The fair comes to town
Lee, Raj and Sam are best friends who live in the same street in a
neighbourhood.
One Saturday, Raj goes to Sams house to tell her that the fair has come
to town and that his father has agreed to take them that night.
They go to Lees house to relay the good news.
The three of them are very excited and talk about what they could do at
the fair.
Then, Sam runs back to her house to ask for her fathers permission. Her
father allows her to go to the fair.
Lee does the same thing but his mother does not have enough money so
Lee is unable to go to the fair.
Feeling upset, Lee tells his friends the bad news.
Sam comes up with a brilliant idea. The three of them can do some jobs
for their parents to earn some money.

Chapter Summaries
Chapter 2: Lee, Sam and Raj do some jobs
The three friends go looking for jobs to do.
They go to see Sams dad first and he asks them to wash his car.
In no time, all three of them quickly get to work.
After a short while, Lee said that Sams fathers car is very dirty to
which Sam disagrees.
Sam throws some water at Lee and then they start splashing water at
one another until everyone is wet.
They have a good laugh but when Sams dad sees what has
happened, he is very angry and does not want to pay the children any
money.
So the three friends go to see Rajs mum. She is having tea with Mrs
Green who lives across the road.

Chapter Summaries
Rajs mum does not have any job for them but Mrs Green asks
them to take her little brown dog, Micky, for a walk.
At the park, they see a little girl playing with a ball. She is there
with her mum.
Micky gets hold of the ball and refuses to let go until Lee gives it
a dog biscuit.
Then Lee returns the ball to the girl and they take Micky back to
Mrs Green. Mrs Green gives Lee a pound.
Lee is happy because now he has some money to go to the fair.
However, the little girl and her mother then show up. She shows
Lee how Micky had flattened her ball. The little girl is crying.
Lee decides to give the little girl his money so that she could
get a new ball.

Chapter Summaries
Chapter 3: Lee, Sam and Raj find a purse
Lee is now back to square one. He has no money for the fair and no jobs
to do.
Suddenly, the three friends see a woman carrying a heavy shopping bag.
She is not aware that something has fallen out of her bag.
Lee and his friends rush to have a look and see a purse filled with money.
Raj and Sam suggest that Lee keep the money so that he could have a
good time at the fair.
But Lee does not want to keep what does not belong to him.
He searches for the woman and finds her at the bus stop.
Lee returns her purse and the woman is so grateful that she rewards Lee
with five pounds.
Lee tells his friends what has happened and everyone is happy because
they all can go to the fair now.

Plot
1. Exposition
Lee has no money to go to the fair that has come to town. Sam and
Raj offer to help Lee raise funds for the outing.
2. Rising Action
The trio mess up the car wash job with Sams dad. However, the
second odd job, taking Micky the dog for a walk, earns Lee one
pound. Lee gives it away to the little girl whose ball had been
flattened by Micky.
3. Climax
Lee picks up a purse which has fallen out of a womans shopping
bag. The purse is full of money, but Lee decides to return it to the
owner.

Plot
4. Falling Action
Lee approaches the woman who is at the bus stop. The
woman is pleased and rewards Lee with five pounds.
5. Resolution
Lee happily informs Raj and Sam of his reward. The
three friends look forward to having fun together at the
fair that night.

Characters
Lee
A young boy of around 10 years old
Friendly, jolly, easy-going, likeable
Obedient, respectful
Humble, simple, diligent, co-operative
Frank, outspoken
Playful and fun-loving
Intelligent and practical
Generous and impulsive
Observant
Honest, decisive

Characters
Raj

Sam

A boy of about 10 years

old
Friendly and thoughtful

A girl of about 10 years

old
Friendly, spirited, full of
ideas
Generous, thoughtful

Fun-loving
A little dishonest

Fun-loving
Dutiful, obedient
Honest

Themes
Life is full of challenges
Lee probably comes from a one-income family, so pocket
money is most likely insufficient. Moreover, there is a baby in
the house. Thus, his mother is insistent that he not go for the
fair that night as she has no spare cash to give him.
Although Lee is disappointed, he is lifted up by his friends who
offer to help him raise funds by doing odd jobs for Rajs and
Sams parents.
Though the first odd job with Sams dad fails, the second job of
taking Mrs. Greens dog, Micky for a walk succeeds.
Lee has a crisis of conscience when he picks up a womans
fallen purse, but chooses to return it. Eventually he receives his
hard-earned reward of five pounds to spend at the fair.

Themes
Friends are a treasure
Friends are important as they will help us to grow and improve
our social skills.
Lee, Sam and Raj are neighbours and good friends as well.
Their parents recognise this and are a little permissive in
allowing them to go for outings together.
When Lee is unable to go for the fair because of a lack of
money, Sam and Raj rally round to help him earn some pocket
money. Their parents directly and indirectly help Lee.