Grandma's Bananas: The Theme of a Story, and Long and Short Vowels

1Story: Grandma's bananas by Ursula Nafula

Grandma’s garden was wonderful, full of sorghum, millet, and cassava.

But best of all were the bananas.

Although Grandma had many grandchildren, I secretly knew that I was her favourite. She invited me often to her house. She also told me little secrets.

But there was one secret she did not share with me: where she ripened bananas.

One day I saw a big straw basket placed in the sun outside Grandma’s house. When I asked what it was for, the only answer I got was, “It’s my magic basket.”

Next to the basket, there were several banana leaves that Grandma turned from time to time. I was curious. “What are the leaves for, Grandma?” I asked. The only answer I got was, “They are my magic leaves.”

It was so interesting watching Grandma, the bananas, the banana leaves and the big straw basket. But Grandma sent me off to my mother on an errand.

“Grandma, please, let me watch as you prepare…”

“Don’t be stubborn, child, do as you are told,” she insisted. I took off running.

When I returned, Grandma was sitting outside but with neither the basket nor the bananas.

“Grandma, where is the basket, where are all the bananas, and where…”

But the only answer I got was, “They are in my magic place.” It was so disappointing!

Two days later, Grandma sent me to fetch her walking stick from her bedroom.

As soon as I opened the door, I was welcomed by the strong smell of ripening bananas. In the inner room was grandma’s big magic straw basket. It was well hidden by an old blanket. I lifted it and sniffed that glorious smell.

Grandma’s voice startled me when she called, “What are you doing? Hurry up and bring me the stick.”

I hurried out with her walking stick. “What are you smiling about?” Grandma asked.

Her question made me realise that I was still smiling at the discovery of her magic place.

The following day when grandma came to visit my mother, I rushed to her house to check the bananas once more.

There was a bunch of very ripe ones. I picked one and hid it in my dress. After covering the basket again, I went behind the house and quickly ate it. It was the sweetest banana I had ever tasted.

The following day, when grandma was in the garden picking vegetables, I sneaked in and peered at the bananas.

Nearly all were ripe. I couldn’t help taking a bunch of four.

As I tiptoed towards the door, I heard grandma coughing outside. I just managed to hide the bananas under my dress and walked past her.

The following day was market day. Grandma woke up early. She always took ripe bananas and cassava to sell at the market.

I did not hurry to visit her that day. But I could not avoid her for long.

Later that evening I was called by my mother and father, and Grandma. I knew why.

That night as I lay down to sleep, I knew I could never steal again, not from grandma, not from my parents, and certainly not from anyone else.

2Understanding the story

1. Name four crops that grew in Grandma's garden.
2. What was the one secret Grandma did not share with the narrator?
3. How did the narrator discover the "magic place"?
4. How many bananas did she take altogether? Explain your answer.
5. Why did she "not hurry" to visit Grandma on market day?
6. The story does not tell us what happened when her parents and Grandma called her. What do you think happened? Give a reason from the text.
7. How has the narrator changed between the first page and the last?

Show answersHide answers

1. Sorghum, millet, cassava and bananas.
2. Where she ripened her bananas.
3. Grandma sent her to fetch a walking stick from the bedroom, and she smelled the ripening bananas as soon as she opened the door.
4. Five: one the first time and a bunch of four the second time.
5. She felt guilty and was afraid that Grandma had noticed the missing bananas (market day was when Grandma took the ripe bananas to sell).
6. Grandma had found out that the bananas were missing, and the adults talked to her about stealing. "I knew why" shows she expected it.
7. At the start she is proud and curious, sure she is the favourite; by the end she has learned from her mistake and decides never to steal again.

3Vocabulary from the story

4Literature: finding themes in Grandma's bananas

A story can have more than one theme. What matters is that you state it as a sentence and support it with evidence.

5Sounds and spelling: /iː/ and /ɪ/, /uː/ and /ʊ/

Minimal pairs

6Speaking

Retell the story in the first person, from Grandma's point of view. Start with the day she put the basket in the sun, and end with what she said to her granddaughter that evening. Your partner listens and names the theme your version shows.

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I always ripen my bananas in my big straw basket. My granddaughter is clever and curious, so I told her it was magic and sent her on an errand. When I sent her for my walking stick, she came out smiling, and I knew she had found my secret. The next day one banana was missing, and later a whole bunch. I did not shout. In the evening I sat with her parents and asked her to tell the truth. She cried, and I hugged her. She is still my favourite, but now she knows that trust is sweeter than any banana.

Theme shown: trust, once broken, can be mended by honesty and forgiveness.

7Writing

Write a paragraph of 80–100 words that states one theme of Grandma's bananas and supports it with two pieces of evidence from the story.

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One theme of Grandma's bananas is that temptation grows each time we give in to it. At first, the narrator only wants to know where Grandma ripens her bananas. After she finds the basket, she takes one banana and hides it in her dress. The next day she "couldn't help taking a bunch of four", which shows that her first small wrong made the second one easier. Only when her parents and Grandma call her does she stop, and she promises that she "could never steal again". The story warns us to stop at the first step.