"Bicicleta" is a short story by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror

Maps in a Mirror

Maps in a Mirror is a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card. Like Card's novels, most of the stories have a science fiction or fantasy theme...

. Card originally published this story in the October 1977 issue of Friend

The Friend (LDS magazine)

The Friend is the monthly English language children's magazine published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is aimed at those of Primary age , approximately ages 3 through 12...

magazine under the pseudonym Byron Walley.

Plot summary

This story is about a nine-year-old Brazilian boy named Amauri. When Amauri comes home with a bicycle one day his mother is at first worried and then very happy when she discovers that the bike was given to her son by a store owner who had also give him a job delivering groceries. This means that there will be more money to buy food for the family. There is only one problem, Amauri doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle. However, when two missionaries come to the house and learn about this they decide to teach him how to ride. After three days Amauri is able to go to work at the store.

Characters

• Amauri – Main character
• Amauri’s Mom - unnamed
• Cecilia - Amauri’s sister
• Three other children - Amauri’s other siblings
• Elder Samson – American missionary
• Elder Bonner – American missionary

Byron Walley

In the Question and Answer section of his website Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

 said that the first time he used the name Byron Walley was when he published the short story "Gert Fram

Gert Fram

"Gert Fram" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror. This short story was the first piece of fiction Card ever published...

" in Ensign magazine. Card did this because he had a non-fiction article “Family Art”, a poem “Looking West” and a short play "The Rag Mission" (published under the name Brian Green) appearing in the same issue.

External links

• The official Orson Scott Card website
• "Bicicleta" - available online from Friend magazine.