Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Page A

the Moon Festival and we are each given half a moon cake, the boys always get the half with the yellow moon yolk.”
    â€œHmmm,” said her grandfather, as if he was still waiting. “Is that so?”
    â€œYes,” continued Ruby, “and when it is the Lantern Festival, the girls are given simple paper lanterns but the boys have red lanterns in the shapes of goldfish, cockerels and dragons.”
    Ruby’s grandfather chuckled. He’d never thought about it before. He could imagine how much Ruby would have liked a red lantern.

    â€œBut most importantly,” said Ruby, staring hard at her red shoes, “the boys will get to go to university, but the girls will be married.”
    â€œDon’t you want to be married?” asked her grandfather. “You know, you are very lucky. A daughter of this house can marry any man.”
    â€œI know, Grandfather,” said Ruby, “but I’d much rather go to university.”
    Ruby’s grandfather touched her hair. “Thank you for talking to me, Ruby,” he said. “Go on with your lessons. Make the most of them while you can.”

    So Ruby went on with her lessons. Some of the boys grew up and went away to university. Some stayed in the house and started families of their own. But when they grew up, all the girls were married and sent away to live in their husbands’ homes. Ruby knew it would soon be her turn. In the ponds, Ruby could see the orange-and-white carp gulping for breath under a thin layer of ice. It would soon be Chinese New Year. Ruby felt sure it would be her last one at home.

    On New Year’s Day, Ruby put on red velvet shoes and tied red ribbons in her hair. Then she went to wish everyone a happy new year. She started with her married cousins, then worked her way up through her parents, aunts and uncles. Each one gave her a red packet full of lucky money. Finally, she bowed before her grandfather. “Good luck and prosperity, Grandfather,” she said.
    â€œGood luck, little Ruby,” replied her grandfather, and he handed her a very fat red packet.
    Ruby could feel the eyes of all her family on her as she opened the lucky red envelope. Can you guess what was in it? It wasn’t money, it was something much better than that.

    It was a letter from a university, saying that they would be proud to accept Ruby as one of their very first female students.
    So that’s how Ruby got her wish. It’s a true story. And how do I know this? Well, Ruby is my grandmother, and every day she still wears a little red.

Shirin Yim Bridges comes from a family of writers and artists. She has lived in many countries around the world—Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, England—and now lives in California. She used to write for children as a reporter on
The Student Extra
, a supplement of the
Hong Kong Standard
. This is her first children’s book.
    Sophie Blackall is an Australian illustrator whose work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including the
New York Times
. She has illustrated two books,
A Giraffe for France
by Leith Hillard and
20 Party Tricks
published by Chronicle Books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two small children. Just like Ruby, her favorite color is red.