Puzzle

, Written by: Najia Nijat

First Lane:

Rahila is trying to thread a needle but she can’t. Qasim wants to help her but Rahila says that she would do it herself. Meanwhile, the peddler comes and they greet him.

Qasim says to the peddler that Rahila could not put the thread through the needle herself and she didn’t give the thread and needle to him to help her.

Peddler says that he would tell a puzzle first, if anyone finds the correct answer, he/she would try to thread the needle.

Qasim and Rahila accept. Peddler says the following puzzle: “its color is the same as sky’s but a rope is hanging in its neck!”

Rahila and Qasim find some wrong answers but the peddler doesn’t accept. Finally, Rahila finds the correct answer which is the needle. Peddler gives the chance of putting thread through the needle to Rahila and he asks Qasim to tell a new joke.

Qasim tells a joke. Peddler likes it and wants them to learn more jokes for next time and he goes to the next alley.

Second Lane:

Nabi and Ilyas are playing with a ball in the alley. The ball drops in a dirty stream. Nabi wants to take the ball back from the stream but her sister, Anisa prevents him and says that the stream water is not clean and it might cause him some skin disease.

Nabi doesn’t accept and takes the ball out of the stream.

Anisa asks her to go home and wash his hands with clean water and soap. Peddler comes and after greeting them, he also confirms Anisa’s saying and blames Nabi for playing beside dirty water stream. Then the peddler opens the talking box.

A boy, Shahid says: “I was playing cricket near a dirty stream. The ball dropped into the stream and I brought it out by my hand. After a few days, some red rashes appeared on my hand. My father took me to a physician and he treated me.”

Arafat, a resident of Jalalabad city, Nangarhar province says: “I was playing near a dirty water stream. I brought out my ball by my hand from the

stream and herpes appeared on my hand. My father took me to a physician. I promised that I would never play again on dirty places.”

The peddler closes the talking box. Nabi promises that he would never play near the dirty water stream again and he would prevent his friends from playing near garbage and dirty water streams.

Peddler gives them some gifts and then he goes to the alley of the story.

The Lane of the Story:

Jawed says to Sana that in the last part of the story “Lie”, Red hen got angry with the white hen.

Sana says that it was because of backbiting each other. Sana says that a quarrel took place between them and then they heard a voice that told them not to quarrel with each other.

Jawed asked Sana that who prevented them from the quarrel.

Peddler arrives and after greeting with them, says that it was the crow who prevented them from the quarrel.

Sana asks the peddler to tell them the third part of the story.

Peddler tells them the next part of the story.

“Lie”, third part:

Red said to the crow that White is her close friend but he has backbitten her.

White said to Red that he also has the same objection and she did not wish to hear bad words against herself.

They started a quarrel. Crow prevented them and asked them that who has told them that you had backbitten against each other.

Red and White said that Black hen has told them.

The crow advised them to go together to Black and solve the problem in front of her.

White and Red decided to do something about this problem.

End of the third part.