If you would like to hear this read click the black arrow on the left of the sound bar below or to find out how this works click demo
pawnshops.mp3
Pawn Shops
A lot of people used pawn shops when they did not have enough money. What they did was to take something of value, like a suit, to the pawn shop. The man in the pawn shop was called the pawn broker. He would take the suit and hang it up in a cupboard in his shop. He would hand over some money (perhaps 1 pound to the person who brought it in.)
Later when the person got paid he would go to the pawn shop to get the suit back. To do this they would have to pay a bit more (perhaps £1-20) so the pawn broker made a profit.
If the person never got enough money to pay the pawn broker he would sell the suit and get his money back in that way.
There are still pawn shops working today but not so many people use them.
Go back to Mary Slessor story.
