Mrs. Rihana had a sudden guest in the middle of a weekday. She was readying for her post-lunch routine—tending to the flowerbeds in her backyard—when her uncle, Mr. Gafaar, showed up.
She hadn’t seen her uncle for a long time. His visit came to her as a pleasant surprise.
She greeted Mr. Gafaar warmly.
Mr. Gafaar insisted on the two of them taking the chairs in the backyard. The spring sun was shining brightly, with a consistent breeze making the weather even more pleasant.
“Would you like some tea?” asked Mrs. Rihana.
“I would love some. Has been a while since I tasted your special lemon tea,” he said, smiling.
Mrs. Rihana didn’t have anything at home to serve with the tea.
She called Hasan, her 6-year-old son, who had just returned from his school.
Hasan was happy to see Mr. Gafaar, who he was particularly fond of among his granduncles.
“How are you, my dear grandson?” Mr. Gafaar asked Hasan.
“I am well,” replied Hasan, giving his granduncle a tight hug.
Mrs. Rihana asked Hasan to go to the grocery shop in their street to buy cookies.
Hasan ran to the shop.
The shopkeeper gave him a pack of cookies Mrs. Rihana purchased often. But the pack was torn.
“This is the last pack I have. You must take it,” the shopkeeper told Hasan.
Hasan accepted the pack and walked toward his home.
The cookies inside the torn pack looked delicious.
Hasan wanted one. He resisted, but eventually took one.
He took a bite, but before he could swallow it down, his guilt took over.
He felt sorry about eating the cookie without his mother’s permission. He threw away the remaining half of the cookie, before he reached home and handed the pack to his mother.
Hasan looked down all the time. He could not face his mother.
Mrs. Rihana got what had happened. She smiled.
“Do you feel sorry for what you did?” she asked Hasan.
“Yes, I am sorry. I felt tempted and took a cookie without seeking your permission. I shall not have done it,” he said.
“You promise not to repeat the mistake?”
“Yes, I do.”
Mrs. Rihana gave Hasan a hug and kissed his forehead. She took two cookies from the pack and gave them to Hasan.
“Here. This is your reward for speaking the truth and realising your mistake.”
Hasan gladly accepted his prize, and jumped into the chair next to Mr. Gafaar.
Mrs. Rihana bought everyone her special lemon tea, which they tasted during a conversation.