The Stupid Son
The father smiled and asked: "How were the days while I was away, my son? Did anything new happen? Are you all okay?"
The little boy replied confidently: "Everything is fine, Dad. Just one small thing... the broomstick broke a week ago."
The father laughed gently and asked: "How did the broomstick break?"
The little boy answered seriously: "You know, Dad... when a camel falls on something, it breaks it!"
The father stopped, surprised: "A camel? You mean our beloved camel?"
The child confirmed: "Yes, Dad. It was running in a panic, it stepped on the broom and fell on it, and the stick broke."
The father shook his head and asked: "Is the camel okay?"
The child bowed his head and said in a sad voice: "She died yesterday..."
The father shouted in shock: "Died?! And why was she running so scared?"
The child replied: "She was running from the fire..."
The father's eyes widened even more in shock: "Fire?! What fire?!"
The child said: "The fire broke out in our house and it burned down..."
The father stood stunned and asked: "Our house burned down?! How?! Who caused this?"
The child replied in a quiet voice: "My brother Ahmed... may he rest in peace."
The father was startled and asked in a trembling voice: "Did Ahmed die?!"
The child said: "Yes, he was smoking a cigarette, it fell on the rug, the house caught fire... and he didn't make it out."
The father yelled: "He was smoking?! Why?!"
The child said: "He was sad, Dad... because he missed Mom."
The father froze and quickly asked: "And what about your mother?!"
The child said, with tears in his eyes: "She passed away... may she rest in peace."
As the father heard all this, he couldn't handle the shock of the surprises, and he fell to the ground...
Lessons Learned
- The importance of clear and direct communication to avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary shock.
- The impact of secrets and difficult news when they are revealed suddenly.
- The need to think about how to deliver bad news in an appropriate and considerate way.
Discussion Questions
- What mistake did the child make in the way he delivered the news?
- If you were the child, how would you have told your father what happened?
- Can a series of shocks cause physical and psychological harm to a person?
Suggested Activities
- **The "Breaking News" Game:** Ask children to act out different situations where they have to deliver difficult news and discuss the best ways to do it.
- **"Positive Thinking" Session:** Ask children to think about how to turn bad news into situations from which they can learn or handle calmly.
- **Expressive Drawing:** Ask children to draw the father's facial expressions at each stage of him hearing the news.