The Sandcastle That Fell Down

A holiday at the beach! The waves went shhh… shhh… The sand was warm and soft like flour.

Baby Mo knew straight away what he wanted to make: a sandcastle. Not an ordinary castle. The tallest castle on the whole beach!

He filled his red bucket with wet sand, patted it down, then flipped it over. Plop! One tower done. Plop! Two towers. Plop! Three towers.

Abi helped him dig a moat all the way around. Umi stuck a little red paper flag on the very top tower.

"This is Baby Mo Castle," said Baby Mo proudly. "Nobody is allowed to break it."

Meanwhile, Baby Ais was chasing a little crab that walked sideways. Left, right, left again. Baby Ais laughed and ran after it.

The crab ran towards the castle. Baby Ais ran towards the castle. And Baby Ais's foot caught on the bucket…

THUMP!

Baby Ais landed right on top of the sandcastle. The towers collapsed. The flag went flying. The tallest castle on the whole beach was now just a heap of sand.

Baby Mo went silent. Then his face turned red. "AIS! My castle!"

Baby Ais sat in the sand with tears in her eyes. "Sorry, Mo… I didn't mean to… I was chasing the crab…"

Baby Mo clenched his fists. He was so angry. He wanted to shout again. He even wanted to throw sand.

Umi came and knelt beside Baby Mo. "Mo, it's okay to be angry. Let's take a breath first, a long one. Breathe in… and out…"

Baby Mo took a breath. Iiiiin. Ouuuut. Once more. Iiiiin. Ouuuut.

He looked at Baby Ais. His sister was crying quietly as she picked up the paper flag and tried to stick it back into the lopsided heap of sand.

Slowly, the anger in Baby Mo's chest got smaller, like a wave sliding back to the sea.

Baby Mo walked over to Baby Ais. "Ais… I forgive you."

Baby Ais looked up. "Really?"

"Really. But you have to help me build a new castle," said Baby Mo. "An even taller one!"

Baby Ais smiled wide through her tears. "Yes! I'll fetch the water!"

They built it together. Baby Mo patted the sand. Baby Ais carried seawater in a little bucket. As they worked, they sang, "One falls down, we build two. Anger goes, forgiving's new!"

The second castle was taller than the first. And because two people built it, it had two flags.

Umi sat beside them and said, "Do you know? Allah dearly loves people who can hold back their anger and forgive."

"…who restrain their anger and pardon people. And Allah loves those who do good." (Qur'an, Ali 'Imran 3:134)

That afternoon, the tide crept in slowly and carried the second castle out to sea. But Baby Mo wasn't angry any more. He just waved. "Bye-bye, castle! We'll build another one tomorrow!"

Talk it over with your little one: what can we do while we're still angry, before we forgive? Let's practise a long, slow breath together! 🏰