Ask our children:
1. Who are our friends?
2. Why did we choose them to be our friends?
3. If our parents are not happy with our friends, what should we do?
Now tell them the story:
There was a playful little calf that always played with his friends; the tall giraffe, the short buffalo and the fat elephant. Because of his friends, his ways and manners began to change. He was no longer that warm and loving son he used to be. The mother cow became very worried, so she told him one day, “O my dear son! Your friends are not your real friends. They are just there because every day you share with them the fresh and tasty milk shake I make for you. You should rather make the little red sparrow your friend. He will help you when you need him.”
The little calf laughed and said, “O my mother! The red sparrow is so weak and useless. My friend the giraffe has the most powerful kick, my friend the buffalo has the sharpest horns and my friend the elephant has the longest trunk. They are so strong and they will protect me and look after me when I am in trouble.” The mother cow realized that her son failed to understand her. So with a crying heart she silently made du‘aa, “O Allah, You have mercy and guide my son.”
It so happened that one day while the calf was playing with his three friends they suddenly heard the loud roar of the hungry lion. The giraffe with its long legs was the first to run away. Thereafter the buffalo and the elephant quietly moved away and joined the rest of the buffaloes and elephants and were quite safe. The little calf was left all alone. Due to sudden shock and extreme fear, his feet completely froze, which prevented him from escaping. He thought to himself, “If only I had listened to my mother. She was right. My friends were not real friends.”
In the meantime, the little red sparrow who was sitting all alone on a tree above, had seen all that had happened. He quickly rushed forward carrying a huge red flower between his feet. He asked the little calf to quickly pour some milk into the huge red flower. The moment the white milk filled inside the huge red flower, it turned red as blood. The little red sparrow then flew over in the direction of the hungry lion and bravely started to peck between the eyes of the lion. The lion roared in anger, but the sparrow continued in his rescue mission until finally he let go of the huge red flower. The reddened milk splashed on the lions face and it began to drip all the way to the ground below. When the lion saw that he was bleeding to death, he became extremely terrified and immediately forgot about the little calf and fled away. The little calf was saved. He rushed towards the little sparrow and with extreme joy shouted out, “As of today you will never be alone again. We are going to be the best of friends.”
Lessons:
1. We should always listen to our parents even if we feel that we are right and they are wrong.
2. We should carefully choose our friends with the help of our loving parents.
3. Real friends are those who will help us and show us the right path.
4. We should stay away from those friends who will use us and spoil our good manners and who will eventually destroy us.