Unknown Man among the Trees

   Written by: Abdullah Fazli

Once upon a time, there were two sisters, Gulpari and Shogofa living in a green village far from the city. They were always going to school together. They were crossing a big garden to reach to school every day. One day they visited an unknown man in the garden and they greeted him. The unknown man gave each of them a pen and a chewing gum.

This story was repeating for several days and the unknown man was giving them different gifts and they were happy to find a kind man. One day, when they reached under an apricot tree in the garden, they saw that the unknown man was in the tree and he was collecting apricots.

Gulpari and Shogofa asked the man to give them some apricots. The unknown man dropped some apricots to them. The unknown man said that he would collect some apple to them and when they come back from the school, he would give the apple to them.

Gulpari and Shogofa went to school and after school, when they reached back to that garden, they asked the unknown man to give them the apples. The unknown man became happy and told them that he has collected many apples in a sack beside the tree and he wanted Shogofa and Gulpari to take as much apple as they can.

When they reached to the sack, Shogofa asked Gulpari to take some apples from the sack. When Gulpari interred her head into the sack to take apples, the unknown man came immediately, push Gulpari inside the sack then he tightened it. When Shogofa saw the scene, she cried and ran away. The unknown man took the sack on his back and ran toward the hillside.

On the way to home, Shogofa visited her father and shared the issue of kidnapping of Gulpari by the unknown man. Shogofa’s father asked about the direction of the unknown man. Shogofa told him about it. Shogofa went home and her father chased the unknown man. Gulpari was asking her father’s help. Her Father heard Gulpari’s crying and he said that he would rescue her from the kidnapper. The kidnapper hit on Gulpari’s head and she became unconscious. Gulpari’s father reached near to the kidnapper and the kidnapper threw the sack on the ground and he escaped.

Gulpari’s father opened the sack and brought out her daughter from it and he became very sad when he found Gulpari unconscious. When Gulpari’s father wanted to take her home on his back, Gulpari talked to her father and became very happy that her father rescued her. Gulpari’s father asked about the incident. Gulpari told him the whole story.

Gulpari’s father asked her to never talk and never take anything from an unknown person. Gulpari promised that she would never take anything from an unknown person and added that she would share the issue with Shogofa too.