Sunday 25 September 2011


Today Saba is holding a pair of shoes.  They look like boys shoes!   Everyone is puzzled by looking at them.   

As usual they enter the little cottage and sit on the Persian rug to hear what is new that day.  Once the freshly baked bread is served by Bibi, she starts the tale of…..


The prince and the poor boy’s shoes

Once upon a time there lived a young boy with his mother in a remote village.   Every day he used to walk for miles to earn money and bring food for his mother.   He worked in a bakery, where at the end of each day he would be given the leftover of the bread that hadn’t been sold.  

The boy’s shoes were so old and worn-out that they hardly protected his feet from the cold.   One day after cleaning the shop he was getting ready to go home, when he suddenly saw a pair of pure leather shoes in the storage behind the shop.   He asked his master if he could have them since they seemed to be his size.    

The master refused to give the shoes and told him not to tell anyone about it.  So the boy finished cleaning the shop and the old brick oven and set off to walk home.   It took him quite a while to reach home as it was very cold and wet.     By the time he reached home his feet were quite sore and cold and he couldn’t feel them anymore.

After a simple dinner he went to bed to rest his tired feet and legs.    Half way through the night he woke up with a noise, right at the entrance of their little cottage.    He jumped out of bed and looked through the window.   Outside it was pitch black and he couldn’t see anyone or anything.     As he was going back to bed he heard another noise.    He thought someone was knocking at the door.  He slowly went back towards the window and peeked out cautiously.   He noticed a squeaky noise at the door.   As he looked more closely he saw the pair of shoes that he had seen in his master’s shop. 

He excitedly opened the door and took the shoes from outside.   He thought his master had taken pity on him and brought the shoes to make him happy.  

That night he slept like a rock, feeling so pleased that he didn’t need to worry about the cold feet any more. 

The next day he set off for work with great energy, happily whistling while walking.    As he reached to the shop, he saw his master waiting for him at the entrance.    He looked quite angry and disappointed.    

The boy had no clue why his master was angry.  He walked closer to say hello.

“Good morning Sire.”  Said the boy. 

“How dare you to even come close to my shop.” Shouted the master   “you are nothing but a thief”! 

“Beg your pardon Sire, I don’t understand”

“You don’t understand?  How could you say that to my face?” said master with a louder voice.

As he was getting louder and louder everyone was gathering around the shop.   Thinking that the boy has stolen something they took him to the king’s palace, where the thieves and criminals were always taken to be taken to the high courts.

The prince was practicing his horse riding, when he saw the people bringing the young boy through the gates. 

“What is happening?” said the prince. 

“This boy is a thief and has stolen something from his master.”  One of the men said.

“What has he stolen?”  asked the prince.

“He has stolen the shoes from his master’s shop”.

“I did not steal them.  They were left outside my house.”  The boy shouted.

“Outside your door aye?” laughed the men at once. 

The prince was staring at the shoes, while asking the men to take the boy inside the palace.

“Please leave him here.  I will take him to the court rooms” said the prince.

When everyone had left the Prince took the young boy inside the palace. 

“Tell me the truth, where did you get these shoes from”?  asked the prince.

So the young boy told the whole story and how he got the shoes. 

“These were my shoes that I had left by the river when we had gone hunting last year.”  Said the Prince.     “I had been looking for them since then.   They are quite precious as they belonged to my great grand-father”. 

So the young boy and the prince became very good friends.  The mother and his son never went hungry again.


Sunday 11 September 2011


Saba’s new shoes were so shiny that attracted everyone’s attention immediately. Her outfit was much more colourful and bright. She asked the children to come inside. Bibi invited everyone to sit down and asked Saba to bring the magic box. Everyone was anxiously curious to know more about the magic box.

**The Thief and the Magic Box**

The vicious thief was very hungry that day.  He couldn’t get hold of anything to steal.  Normally he managed to rob somebody, sell the stolen goods in the bazaar or trade them with quite a few grains of rice or wheat.   

That day he was making different plans in his little brain, thinking them over and wiping them off, until he settled for one.

“I know” He thought to himself “The old cobbler’s grand- son always carries a little box in and out of the shop.  He must have some money in there.  I’m going to follow him today and see if I can get it off him.”

So he sat under the shade of the old cedar tree in front of old cobbler’s shop.  A few hours passed.  The grand-son was nowhere to be seen. 

He was getting impatient and as he stood up to go, suddenly the little boy stepped out of the shop.   As usual he had the box in his hand and started to stroll towards the bushes, whistling happily. 

The vicious thief was so pleased to see this.  He let the boy pass him and, shortly afterwards, started to follow his footsteps, keeping quite a distance so that the boy wouldn’t see him.

The little boy finally sat under a tree and looked around carefully to make sure nobody was nearby.  He then took out a bright blue colour cloth out of his pocket and laid it on the ground.  Then he gently put the box on the cloth in front of him. 

The thief was watching from behind a tree to see what happens next.  The boy slowly opened the box, while his lips were curling up with delight.  Suddenly a piece of brown leather flipped out of the box, followed by a needle and a piece of string.   With a blink of an eye, a pair of shoes was made to fit the boy’s little feet.  The thief was watching with widened eyes, while all kinds of colourful material flipped in the empty space and made to fit the boy.  Finally, the most precious stones were embedded onto a belt and wrapped around his waist!

This was a magical treasure box that could earn the thief lots and lots of gold coins for the rest of his life.  He imagined himself sitting in his glorious palace, being served fresh food and drinks all day long by his many servants. 

He suddenly jumped out from behind the tree, grabbed the box and started running as far as he possibly could.  The little boy watched him calmly as the thief disappeared. 

As the thief reached deep in the heart of the bush, he put the box down in front of him and gently opened it as his eyes were sparkling with greed. 

As he expected a piece of brown leather flipped out of the box, a pair of nice shoes was made to his size.  Then the outfits and finally the precious belt with all the jewels he could ever wish for.  Once everything was ready, they began flying towards him and dressed him like a king.   As he stood up to admire his outfit, he felt needles piercing his feet!   He tried to take off the shoes, but it was as if they were stuck.  He suddenly started to feel the needles all over his body.  

The vicious thief was jumping up and down with agony and ran towards where he had left the little boy.  Amazingly enough, the boy was still sitting calmly under the same tree.  It was as if he was waiting to be entertained by watching the thief being punished for what he had done. 

As soon as the thief put the box down on the blue cloth, he was stripped off the precious clothes.  With a loud sigh of relief he started running as fast as the fastest winds and disappeared. 
No one ever saw him again as he had moved to another village.  Perhaps he was now ready to start a more respectable lifestyle.  Perhaps he had realised he would be punished for taking things that did not belong and were not meant for him. 


Sunday 4 September 2011

Bibi was busy in her herb garden, while Saba was putting the freshly cut roses in the old vase.  Mia was enjoying the mid-morning sun and having a snooze. 
It was almost time for the little visitors to arrive.  Every day was a new adventure as they were taken on a different journey through Bibi’s stories.   By the time Saba finished arranging the roses, the children had arrived and sat on their usual place, all waiting for Bibi. 

**The Old Farmer’s Son**
Once upon a time there lived an old farmer who had two sons.   The older son loved to sit in the shade under the trees, day after day, watch the birds and the farm animals, while his younger brother helped on their piece of land. 
Every time the farmer asked his older son to help out he would bring an excuse and avoided to help.
The younger son was always at his father’s side and gave him a hand whenever possible. 
One day the old farmer decided to retire and pass his farm on to his sons.  In his heart he was not happy to give anything to his older son, because he had never offered a helping hand.  The younger son asked his father to let each of them take charge of half the farm and cultivate the land for his own food. 
He was hoping this might help the older brother become more responsible, as he had no choice but to work, if he wanted food on his table. 
The old farmer agreed and so each son took charge of half the land.  They each built their own little cottage and started to live on their own.
The first few months everything went well, as the plants on the old son’s land was still full of crop and fruits. 
As the months went by, the trees started to get drier and drier.  The plants looked really unhappy. 
On the other side of the fence, the plants looked green, fresh and happy.  There was so much fruit on the trees and so much milk from the cows that the younger son would sell them in the market and get lots of money. 
One of these days, the older brother woke up to the biggest surprise of his life.  His piece of land seemed to have gone upside down!   The roots of the trees were on the surface and the branches were hidden under the soil!   It was as if he was living under the ground with nothing to eat or drink.  He could no longer hear the birds singing. 
He was getting hungrier and hungrier by the day and he decided to ask his younger brother to give him some food.  He went over the fence and knocked at the door.  The old father opened the door and welcomed him in. 
The aroma of the freshly baked bread and the stew was swirling in the cottage.  He could no longer stand it and asked for food.  The younger son put the food on the table and invited his father and brother to eat. 
The older son was so pleased to be able to eat fresh food after such a long time. 
He served a big portion on his plate.  His hands were shaking while he was digging the hot fresh bread into the stew.  His father and brother were watching him with widened eyes as he raised his hand to put the bread in his mouth. 
As soon as he had a mouthful of the food, he shouted with agony.  It was as if the food had turned into hard rock and he nearly chipped his tooth!   He started running towards the door and spat the mouthful out on the ground, outside the cottage.   
He then ran to his own land and, from then on, worked hard to bring the plants back to life again.   He learned that to harvest the food of life he has to cultivate and feed his plants.