Vocabulary in Context

Letter to a Faraway Friend

Dear Joshua,

   I have just finished helping Papa harvest mangoes.  Our mangoes are ready to pick when the skin turns orange and the soft pulp inside is sweet and juicy.  Papa cuts the mangoes off the tree with his sharp machete.

   Soon the trading ship from your country will be here.  I love to watch the schooner with its tall sails coming into the bay.

   My family trades our mangoes for cloth and other things we need.  We pile the mangoes into our canoe in small loads.  The canoe is small and light.  It can only support a few sacks of mangoes at a time.  We paddle the canoe to the port.

   There, Papa will talk with the trader.  Papa always tries to get the best price for our mangoes.  He will bargain until he is sure he is getting a good trade.

   I will give this letter to a sailor on the ship.  I'll give him a bag of mangoes for you, too.

                                Your Friend,

                                Enrique

                                            from Santo Domingo