Primary School Level

Points: A travelling salesman - dress and habits – advantages - hardships - honest tradesman.

A Street hawker is a travelling salesman. He moves about with his shop from house to house and street to street.

He dresses poorly. He sells all kinds of things, big and small. We can get cloth, crockery, fruits, vegetables, needles, toys and many other things from him. A hawker cries out his wares very loudly. Sometimes he rings a bell to draw our attention to his wares.

We can buy things from a hawker at a reasonable price. The hawker does not have to invest much money in his business. He does not have to pay any rent. He carries his goods on a hand cart or on his head. He is therefore able to sell them cheaper than in the shops. We can save time and energy by buying things from hawkers. We do not have to go all the way to the market. The hawker knows how to win over people to buy his goods. He gives a convincing sales talk.

He does suffer a lot of hardships. He is not able to take any rest. He has to remain out of doors in all kinds of weather. He gets very tired. He has to remain on his feet and be on the move the whole day.

The hawker is an honest tradesman. He tries to earn money by honest means. We should encourage him by buying things from him.

Difficult Words: Crockery-things made of china clay like cup & saucers etc; draw our attention- make us look; at reasonable price-not too high; invest- put in; convincing- making them feel that it is good; be on the move-keep walking; encourage-help.