"Yippee!" Zonke shouts when the school bell rings. At last he can go home. This afternoon he wants to play soccer with the other boys.

"Hey! Look out," a voice suddenly rings out in front of him. He never noticed Bheka. Bheka growls at him.

"Sorry," Zonke quickly replies. He wants to walk around Bheka. But Bheka suddenly pushes him. Zonke stumbles. Bheka laughs. "Do you have big feet that you fall so easily?" he mocks.

Annoyed Zonke straightens himself. A girl, Thandi, helps him. "Thank you," Zonke says. "You're welcome," Thandi says. "I saw everything. Bheka really is a bully."

Zonke runs home. It's quite hot. Fortunately the house isn't far.

Suddenly, he notices something in the road. He stops. What is it? It is as big as the palm of his hand. It is brown. And it is made from leather.

It's a wallet! Zonke can't believe his luck.

He quickly glances inside the wallet. Wow, it contains money!

Zonke's heart beats faster. Then he puts the wallet in his pocket. He quickly glances around to see if someone noticed.

Yes! Somebody is approaching. It's Bheka. He is only a few steps behind Zonke.

Zonke hurries on. He hopes Bheka hasn't seen him. He doesn't want to glance over his shoulder again.

The wallet lies safely in his pocket. When he gets home he will take it out and see how much money it contains.

At home Zonke puts down his school case. Then he walks to the shady tree next to the house. Carefully he takes the wallet from his pocket. His heart beats faster.

He counts the notes. Fifty one hundred a hundred and fifty two hundred Rand! He is mega rich. But then he hears a familiar voice. "What are you hiding?" It is Bheka!

Zonke hides the wallet behind his back. "Too late. I saw you picking something up," Bheka says. "That's why I came to check you out."

Bheka pulls Zonke's arm. His eyes grow wide when he sees the wallet. He takes it. "Wow! This is nice. Are you going to keep it?" Bheka asks.

"I don't know yet," Zonke stammers. Bheka also counts the money. "You know the saying: finders keepers." Bheka whistles. "You must surely keep it. If I picked it up, I would keep it."

"But somebody lost it," Zonke says. Bheka laughs. "So what? They were careless. That's why it's your money now."

"I will have to think about it," Zonke says. "You don't have to think about it," Bheka says. "I'll tell you what to do. KEEP THE MONEY. Buy yourself a new pair of shoes. Or a soccer ball."

"No!" a girl's voice sounds. It is Thandi from school. "Zonke, the money doesn't belong to you. You don't have the right to keep it."

"What do you know, Thandi?" Bheka asks. He pulls a face. "You're just trying to be miss smarty pants. Zonke doesn't have to return the money."

Zonke listens to the two of them. He doesn't know what to do. He would like to keep the money. But Thandi may be right. You can't take things that don't belong to you. Even if you pick them up.

Bheka suddenly stands right in front of him. Bheka folds his arms. "So, what are you going to do, Zonke? Will you keep the money? Or will you try to find the owner?"

Zonke thinks and thinks. "I'm going to return it," Zonke finally says loudly.

Thandi smiles. "That's the right thing to do. You'll see."

Bheka shakes his head. He returns the wallet to Zonke. "You're a coward," he says and leaves.

"You're not," Thandi tells Zonke softly. "If you keep the purse you will be as ugly as Bheka himself."

Zonke smiles. He is glad she has helped him make the right decision. "How are we going to find out whose money it is?" he asks.

Thandi looks inside the wallet. She takes out a bank card. Gugu Dube is written on the card. The name sounds familiar to Zonke.

Thandi removes something else from the wallet. It's a small picture of Gugu and her children.

Now Zonke recognises her. "She lives nearby. Come along. We're going to return her wallet."

Together Zonke and Thandi run along the gravel road. Auntie Gugu's door is open.

They knock. In a moment someone comes to the door. It's auntie Gugu. Shame, she seems to be crying.

Zonke feels bad that auntie Gugu is crying. But then he takes the wallet from his pocket. Auntie Gugu's sad face immediately turns happy. She laughs.

"My wallet!" she shouts. "I can't believe it." She checks the money in the wallet. "And all the money is here. I am so happy. I had to go and buy some food. But then I lost my wallet. I thought we would go hungry this week."

She gives both Zonke and Thandi a kiss on the forehead. Then she danced around with joy.

After a while Zonke and Thandi walk home. Zonke is very glad that he did the honourable thing.

Thandi is right. If he kept the wallet, he would be just as ugly as Bheka. But today he actually feels like a hero!