In front of the house, Adibou receives a little notebook of politeness. In the busy alley, he opens it. On the first page, the words "Hello first!" shine so brightly that a pigeon jumps and flies away. Adibou laughs, strokes the soft cover, and calls out, "Hello!"
At the market, Adibou says hello to the baker. Then he stands behind the other customers. The smell of warm bread tickles his nose, but he just shuffles his shoes on the cobblestones and waits his turn without complaining. The baker winks at him. "Thank you for waiting!"
As he leaves the market, a lady drops her bag. Red apples roll down to the school path. Adibou places his notebook on a low wall and runs to pick them up one by one. "Oops!" he breathes. He carefully hands the apples back. But a dog grabs the notebook and runs down the alley.
Adibou follows the dog into the alley. "Please give it back to me!" he calls out. The dog trots further away, the notebook in its mouth, under the flickering lanterns.
In front of the school, Adibou stops short. Children are arriving, their arms full of backpacks. So he lets them pass first. Then, he calmly reaches out his hand for the notebook.
Suddenly, the dog drops the notebook. The children burst into laughter. Adibou walks back into the alley with "hellos," "thank yous," and smiles hanging from the windows like little flags.
