After buying a desk lamp, Hala finds two receipts in the bag. Their matching amounts worry her, but the smaller details tell a different story.
01Read the Arabic story
إِيصَالَانِ لِعَمَلِيَّةِ شِرَاءٍ وَاحِدَةٍ
اِشْتَرَتْ هَالَةُ مِصْبَاحًا لِمَكْتَبِهَا مِنْ مَتْجَرٍ قَرِيبٍ. دَفَعَتْ بِبِطَاقَتِهَا، وَوَضَعَ الْمُوَظَّفُ الْمِصْبَاحَ وَالْإِيصَالَ فِي كِيسٍ. عِنْدَمَا عَادَتْ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ، وَجَدَتْ إِيصَالَيْنِ بَدَلًا مِنْ إِيصَالٍ وَاحِدٍ. كَانَتِ الْوَرَقَتَانِ تَحْمِلَانِ اسْمَ الْمَتْجَرِ نَفْسَهُ وَالْمَبْلَغَ نَفْسَهُ. قَالَتْ لِأَخِيهَا: «أَخْشَى أَنَّنِي دَفَعْتُ ثَمَنَ الْمِصْبَاحِ مَرَّتَيْنِ، وَأَنَا لَمْ أَشْتَرِ إِلَّا وَاحِدًا».
فَتَحَتْ تَطْبِيقَ الْبَنْكِ لِتَرَى الْعَمَلِيَّاتِ الْأَخِيرَةَ. ظَهَرَتْ عَمَلِيَّةُ دَفْعٍ وَاحِدَةٌ لِلْمَتْجَرِ، لَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تَفْهَمْ سَبَبَ وُجُودِ الْإِيصَالَيْنِ. سَأَلَهَا أَخُوهَا: «هَلْ قَارَنْتِ جَمِيعَ الْأَرْقَامِ، أَمِ الْمَبْلَغَ فَقَطْ؟» نَظَرَتْ بِدِقَّةٍ، فَوَجَدَتْ أَنَّ رَقْمَ الْعَمَلِيَّةِ وَاحِدٌ أَيْضًا. غَيْرَ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِي أَسْفَلِ إِحْدَى الْوَرَقَتَيْنِ كَانَ بَاهِتًا.
فِي الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي، عَادَتْ هَالَةُ إِلَى الْمَتْجَرِ وَمَعَهَا الْوَرَقَتَانِ. لَمْ تَطْلُبْ إِعَادَةَ الْمَالِ مُبَاشَرَةً، بَلْ قَالَتْ: «هَذَانِ إِيصَالَانِ لِمِصْبَاحٍ وَاحِدٍ. هَلْ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ نَفْهَمَ مَا حَدَثَ؟» رَاجَعَ الْمُوَظَّفُ السِّجِلَّ أَمَامَهَا، فَوَجَدَ عَمَلِيَّةَ شِرَاءٍ وَاحِدَةً بِالرَّقْمِ نَفْسِهِ. ثُمَّ أَشَارَ إِلَى كَلِمَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ فِي أَسْفَلِ الْإِيصَالِ الثَّانِي: «نُسْخَةٌ».
شَرَحَ الْمُوَظَّفُ أَنَّ الْوَرَقَ تَوَقَّفَ دَاخِلَ الطَّابِعَةِ أَثْنَاءَ طِبَاعَةِ الْإِيصَالِ. بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِ الْمُشْكِلَةِ، طَبَعَ نُسْخَةً أُخْرَى لِيَضْمَنَ أَنَّ الزَّبُونَةَ سَتَحْصُلُ عَلَى إِيصَالٍ كَامِلٍ. وَضَعَ الْوَرَقَتَيْنِ فِي الْكِيسِ مِنْ دُونِ أَنْ يَنْتَبِهَ. وَقَالَ: «أَعْتَذِرُ عَنِ الْقَلَقِ. كَانَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَشْرَحَ لَكِ السَّبَبَ حِينَ أَعْطَيْتُكِ الْكِيسَ».
شَكَرَتْهُ هَالَةُ وَاحْتَفَظَتْ بِالْإِيصَالِ الْأَوْضَحِ. عِنْدَمَا أَضَاءَتِ الْمِصْبَاحَ ذَلِكَ الْمَسَاءَ، تَذَكَّرَتْ كَيْفَ جَعَلَتْهَا وَرَقَتَانِ تَتَوَقَّعُ دَفْعَتَيْنِ. لَمْ تَكُنْ مَلُومَةً عَلَى السُّؤَالِ، لَكِنَّ الْمَبْلَغَ الْمَكْتُوبَ لَمْ يَكُنْ كَافِيًا لِفَهْمِ الْقِصَّةِ كُلِّهَا. الْأَرْقَامُ الْمُتَطَابِقَةُ وَسِجِلُّ الْمَتْجَرِ وَالْكَلِمَةُ الْبَاهِتَةُ شَرَحَتْ مَعًا مَا لَمْ تَشْرَحْهُ النَّظْرَةُ الْأُولَى.
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Hala bought a lamp for her desk from a nearby shop. She paid by card, and the employee put the lamp and receipt in a bag. When she returned home, she found two receipts instead of one. Both sheets showed the same shop name and amount. She told her brother, “I’m afraid I paid for the lamp twice, when I only bought one.”
She opened her bank’s app to see the recent transactions. One payment to the shop appeared, but she did not understand why there were two receipts. Her brother asked, “Have you compared all the numbers, or only the amount?” She looked carefully and found that the transaction number was also the same. However, some words at the bottom of one sheet were faint.
The following day, Hala returned to the shop with both sheets. She did not immediately ask for her money back. Instead, she said, “These are two receipts for one lamp. Can we understand what happened?” The employee checked the register in front of her and found one purchase with that same number. Then he pointed to a small word at the bottom of the second receipt: “Copy.”
The employee explained that the paper had stopped inside the printer while the receipt was printing. After fixing the problem, he printed another copy to ensure that the customer would receive a complete receipt. He had put both sheets in the bag without noticing. He said, “I’m sorry for the worry. I should have explained the reason when I gave you the bag.”
Hala thanked him and kept the clearer receipt. When she turned on the lamp that evening, she remembered how two sheets had made her expect two payments. She was not wrong to ask, but the written amount had not been enough to understand the whole story. The matching numbers, the shop’s record and the faint word together explained what the first glance had not.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| إِيصَالَيْنِ | two receipts |
| الْمَبْلَغَ | the amount |
| عَمَلِيَّةُ دَفْعٍ | a payment transaction |
| قَارَنْتِ | you compared; addressing a woman |
| بَاهِتًا | faint |
| إِعَادَةَ الْمَالِ | returning the money |
| نُسْخَةٌ | a copy |
| الطَّابِعَةِ | the printer |
| لِيَضْمَنَ | to ensure |
| النَّظْرَةُ الْأُولَى | the first glance |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- Two paper receipts do not by themselves establish that two purchases occurred; the story’s matching records explain the duplicate.
- Hala asks for clarification and compares details before deciding what happened.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Dual Case Endings: When to Use Ani and Ayni
هَذَانِ إِيصَالَانِ لِمِصْبَاحٍ وَاحِدٍ
Compare the dual subject with the object form when Hala finds two receipts.
Arabic Question Words: Who, What, Where, When, and Why
هَلْ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ نَفْهَمَ مَا حَدَثَ
Use a yes-or-no question to request a shared explanation.
