School Uniform

 Written by: Wajiha Sayar

First Lane:

Malika and Masood are playing in the alley. A number of girls who are wearing one color clothes are crossing the way. Masood is laughing on their clothes.

Peddler comes with his rabbit and the children welcome him. Peddler asks what made them laugh.

Malika says that they saw a group of girls was wearing the same color clothes. The rabbit says that they might be sisters. Malika denies and says that their number was bigger than sisters.

Masood shows them to the peddler. Peddler says that they are school girls. Masood asks him why they are wearing one color clothes.

Peddler turns on the talking box. Husain, a resident of Bamiyan province says: “the school girls’ clothes are black and their shawls are white.”

Hameeda, a resident of Ahmad Shah Baba Mena, district 16, Kabul city says that school girls uniform has gray, Khaki, and brown colors.

Masood asks why the school uniform has different colors.

Peddler says that government school uniform has the same color all over the country but private schools have their own uniforms.

Masood says that those girls were government school whom they saw before.

Peddler appreciates them by giving a pencil and a notebook and asks them to draw different schools uniforms and he goes to the next alley.

Second Lane:

Mahjabeen says to her brother, Qayum about her enrolment in the school and adds that her father would boy her school uniform.

Qayum congrats her. Peddler arrives and they welcome him.  Qayum says to the peddler that his father enrolled Mahjabeen in school. peddler congrats her and Mahjabeen thanks him.

 Qayum asks the peddler that why students go to school with uniforms. Peddler says that school uniforms identify school students from others. School uniforms keep students focused on their education, not their clothes.

Rabbit says a poem about school uniform. Children learn it and peddler want to go to the other alley but Mahjabeen says that she wants to tell a joke.

Peddler asks her to tell it. Mahjabeen says: “one day, a lazy student was absent for two days.

The teacher asked him the reason. The boy says that the first day she had washed her school uniform, and the second day when I was coming to school, I saw your shirt was hanging on the rope and I thought that you might have washed your uniform.”

Peddler likes the joke and then he goes to the story lane.

The Story Lane:

Najla and Khalil are waiting for the peddler to come and tell them a new part of the story “kind Rabbit”.

Najla hears the voice of the flute of the peddler and says to Khalil to go toward peddler with her.

They greet peddler and fairy and ask the fairy to tell a new part of the story.

Fairy asks them if they remember the previous part or not.

Khalil and Najala tell him the previous part of the story as following:

 “The old rabbit went back to Long Ear’s house and found him crying. Old rabbit asked the reason. Long Ear said that she has no friend to visit her and she is suffering from loneliness.

The old rabbit asked her to think about why all left her alone and when anyone sees you, why she/he changes her/his way.

Long Ear remembered about her bad behavior with others.

The old rabbit told her that kindness causes kindness and cruelty causes injustice. Long Ear asked how. The old gave her a cipher(key) to find the answer.

The fairy tells that Long Ear was getting better and he was homesick and went out from his home.

The fairy tells them the fifth part of the story.

ُThe Kind Rabbit: Part Five

The piebald rabbit was crying. Log Ear kindly asked about her trouble. Piebald was afraid of Long Ear and said that she is suffering from stomach ache. Long Ear asked about her parents. Piebald said that they have gone to find some foods. Long Ear took Piebald to the Old. Old gave Piebald some medical herbs. Old thanked Long Ear for helping Piebald. All rabbits of the jungle were talking about the help of Long Ear with Piebald and they were eager to serve Long Ear.”