Gerard Leonardy Tahapary

21070118120029
Bahasa Inggris / Kelas A

Who Took the Money?

Manuel lived in a village in Spain called Santa Maria. He worked hard and went to
work for five days a week. He married Maria at age 24 and had two daughters, Sofia and
Lucinda. Santa Maria is a poor village but not with Manuel’s family, his daughter had good
coats and shoes. The family had meat. Coffee, and other good things to eat. But not all
Manuel’s money went to his family, every month he put a little money in the bank and he
didn’t tell Maria about this. He thought that money can made people angry and fight about
money so he didn’t tell anybody about that money and planned to use the money to go to
the seaside.
Year after year, his daughter got married annd moved to the city, Sofia married Ruiz,
and they had two children, a girl and a boy. Lucinda married Carlos, and they had a girl.
When Manuel was 65, he stopped working. He stayed at the village with his wife. Manuel
want to told Maria about the money but they had many things to do in the village.
One day, Maria didn’t feel very well. She went to bed and Manuel called the doctor,
the doctor said it was nothing. But after a week, she still didn’t feel well. The doctor sent her
to the hospital in the city. The hospital doctor did some tests. They told to Manuel after a
month that Maria was going to die. Sofia and Lucinda drove her home to the village. Maria
lived for a few more weeks and then she said good-bye to Manuel and she died.
Now Manuel was alone. Few years went by and now Manuel did the housework by
himself. His grandchildren didn’t come very often because they had to study on the
weekends. Once his dauther told him, “Why don’t you come live in the city with us?” But
Manuel didn’t want to leave his home. Now he didn’t even want to go to the seaside because
he didn’t want to go away without Maria. He was 77 years old and he thought to himself after
he looked at his dog “We are all old now, we are all going to die before long. Then who is
going to have my money? I don’t want the bank to have it! I must go and get it.”
So, one morning Manuel went to the bank and took all $30.000 in his bag. The
manager cannot believe Manuel he is going home with $30.000 but Manuel said “It’s my
money. I can do what I want.” He put the money under his bed but he didn’t not sleep well.
When his cat came into the room he thought it was thief. He jumped and want to save the
money in the more safer place. In the morning he went out to the garden. He made a big
hole under a plum tree. He put the bag of money in the hole. He put dirt back in the hole and
put grass on top. Everyday he looked at that place under the plum tree.
When summer came, the plums from the plum tree are few and the taste is not
sweet. Manuel thought that the tree is told him that money can’t stay in the ground for a long
time. Manuel called all his daugher to came in the weekend and gave them the money.
They came with her daugher, at the dinner Manuel weren’t say anything about that
money. At the breakfast next morning Manuel ask his daugher to went to the garden with
him. When Manuel took the grass away and the dirt from the hole he suddenly cried and
made his daughter confused. His daugher asked him what he put on the hole and he said it
is a money. His daugher and their husband went to the police office because they suspect
someone from the village might stole the money from the hole. When Julia (his
granddaugher) put her hand in the hole she found pieces of money. They are realized that
the money was ate by many rat because Manuel cat is to old and cannot ran for a long time.
 Manuel are sad but what more can he do now. His grandson started to laugh and
said “Think about it. $30.000! Those mice ate $30.000. What are the police going to do
about this? Take the mice to jail?” All of his grandchildren are laughed more and more.
Manuel looked at them and thought, “How can they laugh? That was years of work, that
money.” But Manuel realized that he can’t got the money back. He smiled sadly at the cat.