Syed Ahmed Ashar Shah
Once upon a time, there was a poor little girl named Sula who used to live in a small village with her parents in an old house. One day when they had nothing to eat, her father told her to sell off her only cow that they had. She went to the market to sell her cow, where she saw an old man who looked quite ill and needy.
Sula went close to him and asked him what he was waiting for, and if he wanted to buy anything from the market. The old man said that he along with his family did not have a meal since many days and he had come to the market to ask for help. Hearing this, Sula felt very sad and immediately wanted to help the old man.
She promptly asked him if he wanted to buy her cow. The old man said” I do not have any money to buy the cow, but I only have few Apple seeds with me”
Sula wanted to help the old man and said” baba, please take my cow, you can sell it in the market and give me the Apple seeds”. Sula gave away the cow to the old man in return of the Apple seeds and came back home with the satisfaction that she had helped an old man.
When she returned home, her father got very angry at her after listening to the entire story. However, her mother consoled her and understood her emotions of helping the old man even when she herself was hungry. Sula went inside her room and cried bitterly as she felt that she had not done enough for her family. Just then she remembered that she had got the Apple seeds with her and she needed to sow them outside in her garden.
She jumped out of her window quietly and sowed the Apple seeds. She came back inside and went off to sleep. That day, no one had dinner in her home. The next morning, when she got up, she saw a very big apple tree outside in her garden at the same place that she had sown the Apple seeds. She hurriedly went outside, and she was surprised to see such a magnificent and beautiful Apple tree with golden apples hanging from its branches.
As Sula was very hungry, she plucked an apple and ate it. Just then, the Apple tree vanished and a magical carpet appeared and started talking to Sula.” Sula! I am your magical carpet, and I have come to take you to your Palace. Please sit on me.” Sula was very excited. She sat on the magical carpet and through the clouds she went to a magical Palace.
However, when she reached the palace, she saw a big hammer in front of the main gate, the gate’s Guard told Sula that she can only enter the Palace if she can dislodge the big hammer. Sula, the brave girl that she was, thought for a second an immediately commanded her magical carpet to take her above the palace, so as to see the entire Palace and find out a way to dislodge the hammer.
Sula saw from above the Palace an odd machine, which did not go well with the architecture of the palace. Sula ordered the carpet to destroy the machine. Just when the machine was destroyed, the hammer got dislodged itself, and the Palace gates opened.
Sula very happily went inside the palace to find a beautiful throne, and every comfort she could have ever imagined. Sula asked themagical carpet to bring her parents to her Palace. Her mother was very happy to see what Sula had got. Her father praised Sula for her kindness and bravery. He said that he was wrong in scolding her for her act of kindness, but today he understood that kindness, bravery, and courage are the best assets of a person. From that day, Sula and her parents lived happily ever after….
Moral: A good deed done with kindness and courage is never lost. It always comes back in a different form
(The author is a class 3A, student DPS Srinagar)