Sima and Siza
Lwando Xaso
Claire Ingram

Simamkele loves dolls. Mama buys him lots. They keep his loneliness away. 

Sima's favourite doll is Siza. Sima wants to be a nurse when he grows up.

1

He loves to put on Mama's skirt, and twirl. Like magic, he suddenly becomes Sima the nurse.

He plays hospital-hospital and makes sickly Siza and all his dolls better.

2

Wherever Sima is, Siza is there too.

3

But Sima's friends do not like Siza.

One day, they took him away and stuck his head in the toilet.

4

When Papa came home, Sima was nursing Siza. "What are you doing?" asked Papa.

"I'm being a nurse," said Sima. "Will you play with me?"

"Yes. But we will go to the park and play soccer," said Papa.

5

His friends saw Sima and Papa playing soccer. They joined in.

Sima and Papa often play soccer now. But they still haven't played with dolls.

6

One day, Sima was playing hospital-hospital with his dolls.

He heard Mama shout. "Sima! Run! Papa is waiting to play with you at the park."

7

"Why on earth are you wearing a dress?" said Papa in an angry voice. 

Just then a ball flew out of nowhere and.

8

Knocked Papa down. Everyone panicked. Except Sima.

He knelt and tied his blanket around Papa's bleeding head. "Call an ambulance!" he shouted.

9

"He needs stiches in his head. You did just the right thing," said the nurse.

Sima was proud.

10

"You're a hero. You'll make a great doctor one day."

"But I want to be a nurse, just like you," said Sima.

11

"Thank you, Nurse Sima," said Papa. 

Now Sima and Papa play hospital-hospital and soccer – and his friends do too.

12
You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:
Sima and Siza
Author - Lwando Xaso
Illustration - Claire Ingram
Language - English
Level - Longer paragraphs