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The sun shone brightly on this beautiful Saturday morning. Muna didn't want to miss a second of it! She ate her breakfast of hot, golden pancakes with syrup, drank a cold glass of milk, and then put her dishes in the dishwasher. Even though she could eat more, Muna didn't fell like eating. She was too excited about going outside. So she ran to her room and put on some comfortable clothes so that she could play and run easily out in the sun. But what exactly would she do today? Stopping to think for a moment, Muna went to her big wooden toy box. She started searching through all the toys, looking for the answer of what she would do.
Once Muna's parents had found out about Chip, they said that she could keep him as long as she took good care of him and her grades in school didn't go down. Muna was so happy to have a pet of her own. She held Chip, petted him behind his ears, and took him to her room. For the rest of the night, Chip remained in Muna's lap, purring, as Muna told him of all the things they'd do together-camping, going on adventures, running and playing outside together-there was so much fun to be had!
In the days after, the cat and girl became as close as an animal and human could ever be. They did nearly everything together. But unfortunately, Muna forgot her studies for school .At the end of the school semester, when report cards were given out, Muna gasped when she saw hers. Her grades had really dropped!
That night after getting her report card, Muna was nervous and couldn't even swallow as her parents looked at her report card. "Well," her father said with a sigh, "We didn't expect this when we let you keep that cat. If your grades don't go back up I'm afraid we'll have to give Chip away." Muna burst into tears. She couldn't think of giving away Chip! "Now, now, Muna. Just work hard during and after school and then you'll have nothing to worry about," Mother said to try to comfort her.
The next six weeks, Muna worked very hard, because she was very behing in her studies. She had to make up for not studying during the end of the last semester. Sometimes Chip would look at her, upset, as if he were asking her, "Why aren't you playing with me like before?" Seeing Chip like this, Muna would say, "Oh Chip, I'm sorry I've been ignoring you lately, but if I don't get good grades we'll lose each other forever!" And then a big tear would roll of her cheek and splash onto her homework.
Soon came the last day before report cards would be given out again. Muna gave Chip some tuna to eat before she went to bed. It reminded her of when she first saw Chip and how thin and scrawny he was. After he finished eating, he jumped into her lap. He was so beautiful and his spotted, colorful fur was soft and shiny. "Oh Chip," she sobbed, "I can't lose you! I wish there was something I could do to keep you!" She hugged him and then brushed his lovely coat of fur, as he looked around with his yellow eyes that shone like a far away light. She wiped her tears and then tried to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.
The next day, 10 minutes before the end of school, Muna's teacher stood in front of the class with a pile of report cards in her hand. As Muna's name was called, she walked quickly to the front of the room to get her report card. Her heart started pounding as she opened up the envelope. Then a wave of happiness fell over her. She had gotten all good grades!
When her parents saw her grades this time, they both gave her a hug. "I'm glad that you learned to be responsible about two things at once: your grades and a pet. We are very proud of you," her father said. Chip meowed in agreement.
It was a beautiful spring day, and Yasmeen was outside with the other children on the school playground. Yasmeen went to a public school, and she had another Muslim friend named Hala. They were both on the swing, when Yasmeen noticed some of the kids crawling in the grass. They looked like cats searching for mice! Thinking that they were picking flowers, Yasmeen said, "Hala, why don't we pick some pretty flowers for our moms?" Hala noticed the other students too, and then without a word they ran to join the others.
When they reached the other students, they found out that the children weren't picking flowers. They were in a bed of clovers looking for four-leaf clovers. "What do you want with those? Those aren't flowers!" remarked Yasmeen in confusion. But one of the boys laughed and said, " Yasmeen, don't you know how hard it is to find a four-leaf clover? If you do they bring you good luck!" "Wow, how neat! Yasmeen then exclaimed. She too began to crawl with the others. Hala just frowned and said, "Yasmeen... you really shouldn't..." but her friend cut her off before she could finish what she had to say. "I found one! Now I'm going to have good luck!" Yasmeen shouted.
The next week all sorts of good things started to happen to Yasmeen. She found her favorite sweater, she got a new dress from her mother, and she won a math contest at school. Yet she gave the credit to the four-leaf clover, rather than Allah (SWT) and her own hard work.
When Yasmeen noticed the green plant was gone the next week she became very upset. She began to search everywhere but it wasn't anywhere to be found. That wasn't the end of her troubles though. She broke a crystal glass and some plates. She tripped over her book bag and stubbed her toe. She even lost her new sweater. Devastated, she called Hala and told her of her bad day.
"Oh Yasmeen! Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" was her friends reply to her awful day. "Yeah, you should put your four-leaf clover in a treasure chest." Yasmeen said, despite her tears. "Anyway, I was trying to tell you that clovers don't give you luck. There is no such thing! Everything happens through Allah's (SWT) will. Did you know luck charms are haraam?" Yasmeen gasped in reply, so Hala continued saying, "You should not believe in luck charms, and that they can bring you good or bad luck. Everything really only happen through Allah's (SWT) will! Believing in luck charms is like not believing in Allah (SWT)! Yasmeen just gasped again.
"Then she ended the phone call by saying, "I didn't realize it was that serious! Well, from now on I'll work hard and never use a luck charm again!" And she kept her promise after that.
She finally found a light blue straw basket and she got an idea. She would pretend to go on a picnic! After all, she was still a bit hungry and it was a perfect day to have a little picnic. Muna went to ask her mother if she could go outside and pack a picnic lunch to take with her. Mother smiled, because she knew Muna was still probably hungry. "Go for now and get an old blanket for you to sit on when you eat. I'm going to make you a surprise lunch," she said. "Oh! How neat!" Muna exclaimed. "I just love all kinds of surprises!" And then she ran off to find a blanket like her mother had said.
When she came back, her lunch was already neatly packed in the basket. So Muna went outside and sat under the shade of a big, leafy tree. Part of Mother's surprise for Muna was tuna sandwiches. As she was eating, happily looking at all the birds flying and singing in the tree, a cat suddenly jumped in front of her! Its coat had splashes of many colors-black, orange, brown, and white. It was a calico cat, and its big eyes were a glowing yellow. "What a colorful little cat! I'll call you...Chip!" Muna gave her new friend some of her tuna sandwich. The cat gobbled it up and cried for more. Muna noticed how small and skinny the homeless cat was. You could see its ribs. Muna didn't have any food left to give to Chip, but she still felt sorry for him. "I'm sorry, Chip, but I ate everything form my lunch. Wait right here!" She ran inside to the kitchen, made sure no one was around, and poured some fresh milk into a bowl for the starving cat. She walked back to the tree- as quickly as possible without spilling the milk- and set the bowl in front of Chip. The cat nearly leaped off of its feet when it saw the milk. It lapped up every last drop of the milk from the bowl in a terrible hurry. Then he sat down and started licking his paws, full and content.
Once Muna's parents had found out about Chip, they said that she could keep him as long as she took good care of him and her grades in school didn't go down. Muna was so happy to have a pet of her own. She held Chip, petted him behind his ears, and took him to her room. For the rest of the night, Chip remained in Muna's lap, purring, as Muna told him of all the things they'd do together-camping, going on adventures, running and playing outside together-there was so much fun to be had!
In the days after, the cat and girl became as close as an animal and human could ever be. They did nearly everything together. But unfortunately, Muna forgot her studies for school .At the end of the school semester, when report cards were given out, Muna gasped when she saw hers. Her grades had really dropped!
That night after getting her report card, Muna was nervous and couldn't even swallow as her parents looked at her report card. "Well," her father said with a sigh, "We didn't expect this when we let you keep that cat. If your grades don't go back up I'm afraid we'll have to give Chip away." Muna burst into tears. She couldn't think of giving away Chip! "Now, now, Muna. Just work hard during and after school and then you'll have nothing to worry about," Mother said to try to comfort her.
Soon came the last day before report cards would be given out again. Muna gave Chip some tuna to eat before she went to bed. It reminded her of when she first saw Chip and how thin and scrawny he was. After he finished eating, he jumped into her lap. He was so beautiful and his spotted, colorful fur was soft and shiny. "Oh Chip," she sobbed, "I can't lose you! I wish there was something I could do to keep you!" She hugged him and then brushed his lovely coat of fur, as he looked around with his yellow eyes that shone like a far away light. She wiped her tears and then tried to sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day.
The next day, 10 minutes before the end of school, Muna's teacher stood in front of the class with a pile of report cards in her hand. As Muna's name was called, she walked quickly to the front of the room to get her report card. Her heart started pounding as she opened up the envelope. Then a wave of happiness fell over her. She had gotten all good grades!
When her parents saw her grades this time, they both gave her a hug. "I'm glad that you learned to be responsible about two things at once: your grades and a pet. We are very proud of you," her father said. Chip meowed in agreement.
Yasmeen and the four-leaf clover
The next week all sorts of good things started to happen to Yasmeen. She found her favorite sweater, she got a new dress from her mother, and she won a math contest at school. Yet she gave the credit to the four-leaf clover, rather than Allah (SWT) and her own hard work.
When Yasmeen noticed the green plant was gone the next week she became very upset. She began to search everywhere but it wasn't anywhere to be found. That wasn't the end of her troubles though. She broke a crystal glass and some plates. She tripped over her book bag and stubbed her toe. She even lost her new sweater. Devastated, she called Hala and told her of her bad day.
"Then she ended the phone call by saying, "I didn't realize it was that serious! Well, from now on I'll work hard and never use a luck charm again!" And she kept her promise after that.
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