Mud City Read Online Free Page A

drank some more tea and swirled it around in his mouth before
     swallowing it.
    “That’s a fine dog,” he said finally, nodding at Jasper.
     “He looks hungry.”
    Of course he’s hungry, Shauzia thought. So am I.
    “Wait.” The butcher disappeared into the shop and came out
     again with chunks of meat on a piece of newspaper.
    “That’s good meat,” the butcher said, rubbingJasper’s ears while he gulped down the meat. “Good meat
     for a good dog.” He stood up. “Be here early in the morning. I’ll give
     you half a day’s work cleaning the shop. You do a good job, and I’ll pay
     you. You do a bad job, and I’ll toss you out.” He disappeared into the shop,
     but appeared again a moment later. “You can bring your dog,” he said, before
     disappearing for good.
    “Thank you,” Shauzia called after him. She knelt down and
     threw her arms around Jasper.
    “I have a job!” She felt like singing.
    She had to have something to eat. As soon as Jasper was finished with the
     meat, they went to the bread bakery, which was starting to close up.
    “If you let me have a piece of bread tonight, I’ll pay you for
     it tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll have a job in the morning.”
    The baker picked up a loaf of nan from a small stack and tossed it at
     Shauzia. She wasn’t expecting it, and it landed in the dirt. She quickly picked it
     up.
    “How much do I pay you tomorrow?”
    “Go away, beggar. I’ve given you food, so go away.”
    Shauzia’s face burned with shame. She
     wasn’t a beggar.
    She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. She might
     need free bread again.
    She shared the bread with Jasper. Then they both had a drink of water at
     the tap. The food felt good in her stomach.
    The marketplace was quiet. All the stalls were shut down. Shauzia saw
     people sleeping in the shadows and doorways.
    She and Jasper went back to the butcher shop. It, too, was closed. They
     settled down in the doorway.
    “This way, I’ll be sure to be on time for work in the
     morning,” she said. The doorway smelled funny, but she was so tired that she fell
     right asleep.

Four
    Shauzia woke to the sound of the butcher unlocking the iron grill over
     his shop.
    “Your dog will get too hot out here,” he said. “Bring
     him through to the back. There’s a pan on the shelf. Give him some
     water.”
    Shauzia and Jasper followed the butcher through the shop to a small cement
     yard in the back. There was just enough room under an awning for Jasper to stretch out
     in the shade.
    Shauzia found the pan, filled it with water and took it out to Jasper.
    “Wait here for me,” she said. “If I do a good job, maybe
     he’ll give me more meat for you, or at least some bones for you to
     chew.”
    “Clean the shop,” the butcher said. He showed her where the
     bucket, brushes and cleaning solution were kept. “I’m going to go out to
     have my breakfast now. I’ll be back soon to check on you.”
    Shauzia got to work. She worked quickly,washing down
     the empty shelves and trays where the meat would go when it was delivered. She
     wasn’t bothered by the dried blood. One of her jobs as a shepherd was to pick up
     sheep dung and flatten it into cakes. They used the cakes for fuel when they
     couldn’t find wood.
    That had been a nasty job. Dried blood was nothing.
    If the man liked her work, he might have other jobs for her.
    The disinfectant he told her to use smelled strong but clean.
    Shauzia had an idea.
    She took the bucket into the little walled yard, stripped off her clothes,
     washed herself all over with the clean-smelling water, then quickly washed her clothes
     as well.
    “I know I look funny,” she told Jasper as she put on her shirt
     that was wrung out but still wet. “It will dry, and at least I’m clean
     enough now for people to hire me.”
    She got back to work.
    “Spilled a bit of water on yourself, I see,” the butcher said
     when he returned from his breakfast. He