Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, kind family, consisting of the father, in addition to the mother, and two small children in age. The whole family was sitting on the sea shore. The father was named Mahmoud, and he was thirty-two years old. He was a man and a mature father, as he did many good deeds, and was known for his righteousness in speech and action.
As for the mother, who was Mahmoud’s wife, she was at the same time his cousin, and she was called Shurouq. The two parents had been blessed by God with two delightful children, Walid and Sara. The following conversation took place in the family:
Father Mahmoud: “My daughter Sara, come here my dear. Do not go far away. And you my son Walid, pay attention, and watch out for your sister my dear.”
Mother Shurouq: “My dear husband, let the children play, and take their share of harmless enjoyment and comfort. We will watch them from here and guide them.”
Father Mahmoud: “I do not know, my dear wife Shurouq, but I worry about our children very much, for they are still small in age.”
Mother Shurouq laughed a long, resounding laugh. Here Mahmoud asked her, saying, “What is the matter, oh Shurouq? Why are you laughing like that?”
Shurouq: “Do not fear anything. Here are the two children close to us, and if anything happens, we are beside them and very close to them.” Here Mahmoud smiled and seemed a little reassured.
While the parents were talking, suddenly the child Walid entered the sea by himself. Here the screams of his sister Sara followed, and she began to mutter unintelligible words. The parents looked, and behold, father Mahmoud had noticed what was happening. He immediately ran from his place and hurried to the sea, rescuing his son Walid.
After Walid came out safely, the family was struck with extreme terror. Here Mahmoud said, after taking a deep breath: “My dear son, what you did is not correct, and it may harm you severely. The sea can take you to a very far place, and we will not be able to rescue you. Do you want that to happen, my son?”
The child Walid answered with sadness and severe regret for his deed, saying: “No, Father. I do not want that at all, Father. But I wanted to play in the water, and then return to the shore again.”
Father Mahmoud said: “If you want that at any time, you can tell me, and I will take you into the sea myself, and we will play together for some time. As you see, I am big and tall, and the water cannot drown me. You also, when you grow up, will be able to go down into the water alone. So do not rush, my son, so that you do not regret your action.”
Walid said: “I apologize, Father. I will not repeat my action again.” Here the family decided to return to the home.