The Water Pump

Amm Abdel-Azim, a one-legged farmer who loves his fields, owns a hand pump that draws sweet, ice-cold water from deep underground. He shares it freely with the whole village: 'People are my partners in this pump.' While he is away, his family stops letting people use it, and the pump clogs with mud. He patiently cleans every rusty part until it shines, and lets a little boy have the honour of pumping first. The clear water flows again. 'The heart must be clean,' he says, leaving readers to wonder whether he means the pump's heart or his family's.