21 Jul / Nabeel’s New Pants: An Eid Tale retold by Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Proiti Roy
While you’re preparing for Eid– which should begin next week on July 29 (the moon has a calendar all its own!) – add ordering, buying, or borrowing this book to your list of to-do’s right now. Nabeel and his family are about to provide quite the nourishment for the soul.
Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer, is almost over. Nabeel the shoemaker has been busy helping others. On the eve of Eid, Nabeel closes his shop and goes to buy gifts for his family: for his wife, a new burqa; for his mother, an embroidered dupatta; for his daughter, new bangles. At the last minute, Nabeel adds a pair of new pants to replace the patched pair he’s been wearing. The pants, however, are “[f]our fingers too long.” But no one has the time to hem them because they are all too busy getting ready for Eid, so Nabeel happily pulls out the scissors and thread himself.
Finished with his task, he goes out to “visit the poor and sick and give them money for Eid.” In his absence, each of the women reconsiders her hasty denial, and one by one, hems Nabeel’s ever-shortening pants …. over and over and over again. The next morning, Nabeel’s whole family has quite the surprise … and loving laughter, too. Working together, they manage to get to the mosque on time.
Regardless of your religious affiliations, be assured that Nabeel’s story is so universally resonating and inspiringly sweet that surely it shouldn’t be relegated to the once-a-year shelf. Don’t be shy: read at will, whenever you need a loving, nurturing, giggling pick-me-up.
As for next week with the new moon-to-be? Eid Mubarak, Eid Saeed indeed!
Readers: Children
Published: 2007