Story 1

The Hyena and the Fox

Once upon a time a fox became a problem to a

nomadic settlement. This fox attacked and ate their goats

and sheep. One day the people gathered together to plan

how they could kill this troublesome fox. The people

decided to set a trap.

The fox fell into the trap that was set for her. After

awhile, the people came and tied her to a tree. The people

decided to throw the fox into the fire.

They dug a hole near the tree where the fox was tied,

and they gathered wood and they put the wood into the

hole. They lit a fire, and said, “Let’s come back when the

fire is ready. Then we will throw this troublesome fox into

the hole.”

Soon after the people left, a very hungry hyena came by.

He heard the fox whining. He came closer, thinking he could

steal the fox’s meal. He was very surprised to see that the

fox was tied up to a tree. “What happened?” he asked.

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 The fox answered, “My uncle tied me here. My uncle

really loves me. He tied me to this tree because he saw how

thin and weak I am. He went out to kill a goat to cook in

this fire so I can eat to get fat again. But I am not hungry

now because I’ve been eating so much meat lately. Every

time I try to escape, my uncle catches me, ties me to a

tree, and he makes me eat more meat. Every time I eat, I

get a stomach ache. I’m afraid that my uncle will kill me if I

can’t eat the meat.”

The hyena opened her mouth very wide because fat

juicy meat was her favorite food. The fox said, “Untie me

from this tree so I can then tie you up. Then you can eat

the meat, and I won’t have a stomach ache.” The hyena

agreed to the plan. He untied the fox, and the fox tied the

hyena to the tree.

When the people returned to where they had tied the

fox to the tree, they found the hyena tied to the tree

instead. They were surprised, and said, “Hyena, where is

the fox?”

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 Then the hyena said, “I untied her. Now she is gone.

The fox said that she was not hungry. I’ll eat the meat you

brought for her.”

Then the people threw the hyena into the fire. The

greedy and foolish hyena died in the fire.

The lesson: You will be punished if you are too greedy.

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 Story 2
Mice

A long time ago some mice came to a very pretty

house belonging to some cats. The cats were out hunting

for food, so the mice went into the house. One of the mice

saw that the cats had many different colors of make-up.

This mouse put gold make-up on his face. He looked in the

mirror, and he liked the way he looked. He thought he was

made of gold.

Just then the other mice saw that the cats were

coming home. The cats were very hungry because they

couldn’t find anything to eat. The mice called, “Let’s go!

The cats are coming!” The gold mouse didn’t listen to his

friends. He kept looking at himself in the mirror, and he

liked his new gold color.

The cats came in, and they easily caught and ate the

gold mouse. The cats said, “We were looking for mice all

day, and when we came home we found a mouse waiting for

us.”

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 Lesson: Listen to your family and friends, and follow

their suggestions. If you don’t listen to them, you may run

into trouble just like the gold mouse.

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 Story 3
The Cat and the Mouse

A long time ago there was a cat and a mouse that

agreed to travel together. As they walked along, the cat’s

mouth began to water because she was so hungry. The cat

began to yawn and to stare at the mouse. The cat’s eyes

got bigger and bigger.

The mouse was surprised to see the cat’s big eyes

staring at him. The mouse said, “I can’t travel with you

today. Your staring eyes scare me. You travel on your own

today, and I’ll do the same.”

The cat asked, “What did I do wrong? Whenever I see

a mouse, I always yawn, and my mouth always waters.”

But the mouse went his own way. He said, “I’m not

traveling with you any more. From now on you are on your

own.”

Lesson: Don’t trust someone you really don’t know.

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 Story 4
The Foolish Man and the Thief

A long time ago a thief was walking along the road

looking for someone to rob. He met a man that lived with

his family in a small house nearby. The thief asked the man

if he lived in the nearby house. The man said he did. The

thief then said, “Bring me to your house. I want to stay

with your family tonight.”

The man said to the thief, “ If you go into my house,

please don’t steal the things that I have hidden around my

house.” The foolish man then told the thief all the secret

hiding places and he added, “Please don’t take all of my

valuable things. If you take my things, I’ll ask you to come

back so I can take all my things back from you. Then I’ll call

the people to kill you.”

The thief went to the foolish man’s house, and took

everything from him. The thief then said, “I wish that I

would always have a foolish man like this to steal from.”

Lesson: Don’t tell your secrets to someone you don’t trust.

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 Story 5
The King’s Daughter

A long time ago a very rich king had a smart and very

beautiful daughter. They ruled over a very prosperous city

that had three roads leading into it. Each road had a special

kind of traveler assigned to it. However, each road also

had problems, which threatened the travelers going into the

city. The first road had a mean lion that ate up everything

he saw. The second road had a gang of men who would kill

the travelers. The third road had a group of thieves that

robbed the travelers of their food and belongings.

Many men came to the king to ask him if they could

marry his beautiful, smart daughter. But the king's

daughter loved another man, and she wanted to marry him.

However, the king didn't want her to marry the man she

loved, so he announced that his daughter would only marry

the man who could get rid of the dangers on the three

roads into the city.

All the men in the city started to compete with each

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other so they could be the winner, and marry the king's

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daughter. They all failed to get rid of the dangerous

attackers on the roads leading into the city.

The girl's lover went to the girl, and said, "You are a

very smart girl. How can we solve these problems so we

can be married?

She said, "Lets take care of the lion first. We'll set a

trap for him. Don't use a spear or carry other weapons."

He set a trap for the lion. Then he called the king and

all the people in the city, and he said, " Here's the lion I

caught without a weapon." Everyone was surprised, and

they all clapped for him.

The daughter's lover then secretly went back to her,

and asked her how to get rid of the gang on the second

road. She said, "We'll cook some delicious food. We will

put poison in the food. Then we'll tie the food to some

donkeys, and have them walk along the road." The gang of

men robbed the food from the donkeys. They ate the food

very fast, and they all died.

The young man went back to the king's daughter, and

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asked her how to get rid of the thieves on the third road.

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She said, “Go find as many horses as you can. Tie thorn

bushes to each horse. Then let the horses run in different

directions to scare the thieves.” The running horses made

lots of dust, and when the robbers saw all the horses and

the dust, they thought they were being attacked by an

army.

They said, "A huge and powerful army is coming! What

shall we do?" They decided to run away in different

directions so no one would find them together.

The king was very happy that all three roads leading

into the city were now safe for travelers. He let his

daughter marry the man she loved. They had a big wedding

with many presents from the people in the city.

They were happy because they had faced these

problems together. They had discussed their problems and

decided how to solve them. They were always loyal to each

other.

Lesson: Talk about your problems with people who

care. Together you have a much better chance of solving

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them.

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 Story 6
The Traveler

A long time ago a man was traveling. On the way he

met a family. He said, “I’m going very far away. Would you

let me stay with you for the night? I need to rest before I

continue in the morning.” The family welcomed him into

their home. They brought him pillows and blankets and

food to eat.

Later that evening, the family’s animals came home.

They killed a sheep. They gave the meat and some milk to

the traveler. The traveler was so hungry that he ate it all up

without sharing any of it with the family.

The owner of the house asked the traveler, “Where

are you going, and why are you going there?”

The traveler answered, “I am going to see a doctor

because I have stomach problems. I have such a bad

appetite. I can’t eat very much.”

The owner of the house was so surprised. Then he

said, “You say that your appetite is bad. I beg you not to

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return this way after you get medicine for your bad

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appetite.” Then the owner said to his family, “What will he

eat after he gets the medicine? Now he eats only one

sheep. When he returns from the doctor, he will eat ten

sheep.”

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 Story 7
Cigaal Shiidaad and the Lion Stump

Once upon a time there was a man called Cigaal

Shiidaad. It was night and Cigaal Shiidaad was traveling in

the countryside. He saw what looked like a lion sitting in

the middle of the path. He was a coward. He thought, "Oh,

this is a lion." Cigaal Shiidaad stood where he was. He took

his shield and spear, and got ready to fight the lion. He

yelled loudly, trying to scare the lion away. But he was not

able to scare it away. It just stood there. Cigaal Shiidaad

was too scared to pass.

In the morning he saw the tree stump. He went closer

to the stump, and he said, "Stump, you are one thing, and

what I saw was something very different. What will I do? I

thought you were a lion about to attack me, but you are

only a stump. I will never travel at night again."

Lesson: Don’t be afraid of everything you don't recognize.

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 Story 8
Omar and the Hyena

Once upon a time there was a man named Omar who

cared for goats belonging to other people. He was paid

each month to take the villagers’ goats to the pasture close

to the village. One day he decided that he wanted to go to

the city to have lunch. He made a plan so he could go. He

took the goats back to the village, and yelled, “There is a

hyena! Help! Help! Come help!”

The villagers came with their weapons to help Omar

with the goats. When the people came, there was no

hyena. However, they took the goats and Omar to the

village.

Omar said that he lied. After a few days he did the

same thing again. He shouted again, “There is a hyena!”

When the people came, there was no hyena and no sign of a

hyena. They began to doubt. They asked him to tell the

truth. Then he said, “ I was afraid of something and I

wanted someone to keep me company.” The people were

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very surprised, and they felt bad. They gave him the name,

Omar the Liar. After that, no one believed Omar again.

Another day, while he was tending his goats, a real

hyena came, and Omar yelled for help. “There’s a hyena

coming!” No one came. The hyena ate Omar.

Lesson: Lying is very bad. Your first lie kills trust. No one

will ever believe you, even if you’re telling the truth.

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 Story 9
Cigaal and the Enemy

Once there was a man named Cigaal (Igal). While

Cigaal was asleep, his wife heard that enemies from a

neighboring town would soon attack them. Cigaal’s wife

quickly ran home to wake her husband, to tell him about the

attack. Cigaal didn’t believe his wife. He said, “You always

make things up, and tell stories to frighten me.”

His wife said, “I didn’t make this up. It’s true. All the

women and children are talking about the attack. The men

are already gathered to get ready for the attack. You are a

man. You must help them now.”

While they were talking, the enemy arrived. The people

in town shouted, “Here they come.”

Cigaal wondered what he should do. Then he said to

his wife, “We can’t escape now. The enemy will kill all the

men. I am going to sleep in front of our house. Roll me in a

rug, and cry, 'Oh, my husband is dead.'”

Cigaal’s wife wrapped him in a rug, and she cried and

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cried. Cigaal didn’t trust her to cry as much as he wanted

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her to cry. So he said to her, “Cry louder! Cry until tears

come from your eyes.”

While she was crying, the enemy came. They asked

her when her husband had died. Before she could answer,

Cigaal said from inside the rug, “Say that he died

yesterday.”

His wife said, “He died yesterday.”

The enemy was shocked to hear Cigaal speak. They

said, “This is not a real man. He is such a coward that he

cannot hurt us. Let him live with the women and the

children. Let’s go.”

Lesson: People don’t respect a coward.

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 Story 10
The Bird and the Fire

A long time ago two birds were neighbors. They built

nests next to each other in the same tree. The nests were

warm and safe for all their baby birds. However, an eagle

found their nests. The eagle would come and eat their baby

chicks and eggs whenever they flew off to find food.

One bird thought, “How can I keep my babies safe from

the eagle? The eagle is stronger than me. We are small,

and we do not like to fight. Let’s light a fire in one nest.

The eagle will smell the smoke, and never come back

again.”

However, the nests were close together, and the fire

burned up both nests and everything around them.

Lesson: Be careful. If you don’t know how to do

something, you could hurt yourself and others.

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 Story 11
The Fox and the Hyena

Once upon a time a hyena and a fox were neighbors.

The hyena and the fox owned many different animals (like

humans own animals), but the fox had less than the hyena.

The fox made the hyena love her, and after awhile the

hyena asked the fox to marry him. She quickly said yes,

and they got married.

One day the fox left home while the hyena was

sleeping. She went to the lion who needed someone to

take care of his animals for the day because he was tired.

The fox asked the lion, "Are you tired today?"

The lion said, "Yes, I'm tired."

The fox spoke softly and sweetly to the lion. "Go get

some sleep. I'll keep your animals for the day."

The lion said, "Will you watch them really well ?"

"Oh, yes I will," said the fox."

The fox ate the lion's fattest sheep. Then she took a

little meat, and returned home where the hyena was still

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sleeping. When she went into her house she spread some

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blood from the meat on the sleeping hyena's mouth. Then

she ran back to the lion's animals. The lion came a little

while after, while the fox was watching the animals. He

counted the animals, and he saw that the fattest sheep was

gone. The lion asked the fox what happened to the sheep,

and she said, "The hyena ate it. I tried to protect it, but I

couldn't."

The lion ran very fast to find the hyena. He saw the

blood on the hyena’s mouth, and believed what the fox

said. The lion killed the hyena. The fox then had all the

animals, and she got rid of her husband.

Lesson: Never trust a greedy person.

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 Story 12
The Sheep and the Goat

Once upon a time a goat and a sheep lived together in

a lovely house. One day they left their house to eat some

grass. When the goat returned, she saw a snake coming

out of the house. The snake stopped by the door of the

house. It was waiting to eat anything that tried to enter

the house.

The goat ran to the sheep, and said, "I saw a snake

come out of our house. What will we do?"

The sheep said, "Show me the snake!" They both saw

the snake in front of their house, waiting to eat them. They

ran away as fast as they could. They came to the monkey's

house which was on a banana farm. They asked the

monkey for water, milk, and a place to sleep. The monkey

asked, " What happened to you?"

They answered, " There is a dangerous snake in our

house." The monkey felt so sorry for them that he gave

them food and water. Then he took them to a nice house

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made of banana leaves. They thanked the monkey, and

they slept.

When they woke up, the monkey said, “I’ll let you live

in this house with me. We should all stick together, and

help each other." The goat and the sheep were happy.

They became friends with the monkey, and ever since then,

they were strong friends. Together they were safe against

any enemy.

Lesson: There is safety in numbers, even when it means

very different kinds of people getting along together.

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 Story 13
The Elephant and the Squirrel

A long time ago an elephant and a squirrel were

friends. They would play together. One day they went

swimming. The elephant carried the squirrel and put him in

the water. Then he left him alone to swim. The squirrel

struggled for air because he could not swim. The elephant

didn’t know that the squirrel couldn’t swim and that he was

struggling to get out of the water. The squirrel got stuck in

the mud, and he was very tired. When the elephant came

back to get the squirrel, he saw that the squirrel was tired

and sad. He played with the squirrel, and carried him on his

trunk. The elephant was trying to make the squirrel happy.

The next day the squirrel came to the elephant. The

squirrel said, “I came here to tell you, my friend, that the

fun we had yesterday is killing me. The things that are fun

for you are not good for me. I can’t stand this anymore.”

The elephant was so surprised. He said, “All I wanted

was to play with you, and to be friends with you. You say

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that I’m hurting you instead of playing with you. What did I

do to you?”

Then the squirrel said, “What you like may not be what

I like. So please, my friend, leave me alone.”

Lesson: Everyone does not like the same thing. What one

person likes doesn’t mean it’s good for everyone. Don’t

expect everyone to like what you like, and don’t think that

you should like what everyone else likes. Don’t be friends

with someone that could hurt you.

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 Story 14
The Hyena and the Sheep

A long time ago there was a sheep who was lost by her

owner. While she was walking alone, she met a hyena

walking on the road. As soon as the hyena saw the sheep,

he looked around to see if anyone was looking. He called to

the sheep, “Hey, sheep. Who is with you today?”

The sheep said, “No one is with me. I am lost, and I

don’t know where I am.”

The hyena got excited, and he couldn’t believe his

good luck at finding a sheep alone. He asked her again, “Is

it true that you are all alone?”

The sheep said, “Yes, it’s true. I’m all alone. I am lost

from the other animals and the people that own me.”

The hyena closed his eyes, and laughed and laughed as

hyenas do. The sheep knew that the hyena’s laugh meant

danger. The sheep ran away. When the hyena finally

opened his eyes, he couldn’t find the sheep. He got mad,

and he yelled, “Sheep, come back! I won’t eat you.”

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 The sheep continued running. She said to herself, “The

hyena can find someone else to trick, but he won’t trick

me.” The hyena missed his chance.

Lesson: Don’t be too quick to let people know that you are

alone. Don’t be too quick to trust strangers who offer help

when they know you are alone.

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 Story 15
The Fox and the Crocodile

A long time ago there was a fox whose sister was

getting married. The fox wanted to help her sister plan the

wedding party. The fox had no tongue so she couldn’t make

the special sound used to help celebrate the wedding. She

decided to ask around for someone to loan her a tongue for

the wedding. She went from one animal to another asking

to borrow a tongue, so that she could make the special

wedding sound. She said that she would return the tongue

after the wedding.

Finally, she went to the crocodile. The crocodile was

sleeping on the edge of the river and she said, “Crocodile,

please lend me your tongue so that I can make the special

sound at my sister’s wedding.” Finally the crocodile agreed,

but she warned that she would have to return the tongue

as soon as the wedding was over. The fox said, “Thank you.

I’ll return it as soon as possible.”

The fox took the tongue and went to her sister’s

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wedding. She made that special sound the whole night

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long. The crocodile was waiting for the fox to return his

tongue. When the wedding was over the fox didn’t return

the tongue. The other animals asked the fox why she didn’t

return the tongue to the crocodile. The fox said, “ For a

long time I didn’t know how food tasted. I don’t want to

lose my chance to taste all the different delicious foods,

and I can’t do this unless I make these sounds.

Ever since then the crocodile has no tongue. He grabs

his food without tasting it. The fox never goes to the river

or anywhere she might meet a crocodile. She is scared that

the crocodile might kill her and take her tongue back. The

crocodile is still waiting for the fox to get his tongue back.

Lesson: Like the crocodile, a person can do good things but

she might not get any reward.

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 Story 17
Two Men Who Fought

Once there were two men who fought each other.

They both said, “It is your fault, not mine.” They kept on

arguing back and forth, back and forth.

They finally went to talk to an old man. They told him

what happened, and why they couldn’t agree. They asked

him to solve their problem.

He listened to each side very carefully. He considered

all the facts. Finally, he pointed to the one that seemed

guilty. He said, “It is your fault. You need to stop causing

the problem."

The accused man yelled, “No, you’re taking the side of

the guilty man.” The old man laughed at him. He said, “Do

you know a Somali saying that says that two men can’t be

guilty at the same time? Therefore, you must apologize.”

The accused man felt that this must be true. He went

to the other man, and apologized to him. He said, “I accept

the results of this.” From that time on, the two men were

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friends.

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 Story 18
Dagdare

Once upon a time a man married a beautiful woman.

They had a son together. After a while the husband

married another woman. He divided his animals into two

different parts for each of his wives. He built a big house for

his new wife. The house was next to the house of his first

wife.

When the first wife saw the beautiful young wife and

the new house, she got jealous. She got so jealous that she

was almost crazy. Jealousy took over her. The next night

she left the house with her baby. Her husband was with the

new wife so he didn’t know that the first wife had left with

their child.

In the morning, everyone found out that she had gone.

They went to find her, but they couldn’t.

She tried to find where her family lived, but she got

lost. She traveled many days and nights. She finally got to

the Nugal Valley. The Nugal Valley was known as a place

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where a woman named Dagdare hunts for people.

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 While the first wife was walking, she sensed that

someone was running after her. But the running she heard

was different than the running she knew. The running

created all kinds of dust and wind. She knew that the

person running after her was Dagdare. She kept running

faster and faster and Dagdare kept running after her too.

The mother and her son were both fat. Dagdare loved

fat people. She was very hungry for them. Dagdare was use

to running fast, and no one she chased ever got away from

her. Dagdare was running faster and faster, but the mother

was running too. While they were running, they came to

some hargega holes (deep holes) in the ground. When the

mother saw these deep holes that she couldn’t cross, she

said, “Allah, save me.” Then she jumped across safely with

her son.

Dagdare stopped, and didn’t want to take the risk of

jumping over these holes. When she couldn’t jump, she said,

“Oh hargega holes,

They can stop a man running at full speed.

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They can stop a man that is flying.

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 Oh, look at the woman’s body.

Oh, look at the whiteness of her skin.

Oh, look at her body shake.

Look at her cute baby.

Oh, hargega holes.

Oh, they can stop a flying man.”

Lesson: You can do many things, if you really try.

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 Story 19
The Power of Education

Once upon a time, two men were traveling together.

They were cousins. They were on their way to a special

school that taught religion. While they were traveling, they

stopped at a town that was ruled by an uneducated king.

Since it was a Friday, they prayed at the mosque where the

king talked nonsense. They slept in this town at night. In

the morning they continued their travels. Finally, they

reached their destination and they started to learn about

the Islam religion. After they finished their religious

education, one of the men said, “Let’s go back home.”

The other one said, “I will not go back home until I learn

about politics.’’ The first man said okay, and he started

traveling back home.

He returned to the town where the uneducated king

lived. When he was in this town, the king was leading

Friday’s prayer again. The man prayed with them. After

they had finished the prayers, the king gave a speech. He

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said anything he wanted because he was not educated. No

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one dared to say that the king was wrong. However, the

man who learned religion took over the speech. He changed

everything that the king said. He made the king look like a

fool. The king ordered his soldiers to put the man in prison.

They took the man from the mosque, and took him to jail.

They put him in a dungeon.

After two years, the prisoner’s cousin returned to the

town after he finished his political education. He didn’t know

his cousin was in jail. It was another Friday (Prayer day for

Muslims). When they finished prayers, the king started to

give his same old speech. After the king finished the

speech, the man who learned politics raised his hand. The

king let him talk. The man said, “Your king is so intelligent.”

He kept praising the king. Then he said, “The luckiest

person in this world is the person who prays with this king

for four Fridays, but you would be luckier to cut one hair

from his head. Everyone started running to get a hair from

the King’s head. A mosque full of people tried to grab the

King’s hair. They climbed all over the King, trying to get his

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hair. The King died. Then the people who lived in the town

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chose the man who learned politics to be their King. He let

his cousin out of jail. He had very tangled and matted hair

after being in jail for two years.

Lesson: Any education you gain will help you one day.

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