 Now we're going to start our story time. Do you guys want to start our story time? I'm more excited than that. No story time? You guys just want to skip and go straight to the craft? Yeah. Now, alhamdulillah, you guys have learned so much about Hajj that after Hajj, what happens? It's a read. So our story time, because we won't be together next week, is all about read. Who knows what this read is called? Aida al-Adha. Why do you guys think it's called Aida al-Adha? We just thought, I want to call on someone to call her raising their hand. Excellent. Excellent answer, because it's the read that we slaughter an animal to remind us about the story of Prophet Ibrahim, alaihi salam. Good. So today I'm going to read a book. I'm going to read two books, inshallah. This is the first book. It's called Peg and Cat. The Aida al-Adha Adventure. So what I do for anybody who's new here is I will read the book, but then I will make sure to show the page to everyone. So if you're sitting kind of far, I'll try and do a little bit high, but everyone should get a turn to see the page. So if you can't see it when I'm reading it, don't worry, inshallah, I will make sure to share it with you all. I mean, so the first book, Peg and Cat, The Aida al-Adha Adventure by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson. Can I put it on the floor? Can I put it on the floor? Thank you. Kind of tall. Sorry. All right. Bismillah. Peg and Cat were visiting their friends, Yesmina and Amir, during a very special holiday. Whoops. It was Aida al-Adha, a holiday Yesmina and Amir celebrated every year. Peg and Cat had never even heard of Aida al-Adha until Yesmina and Amir invited them to the celebration to check it out. We're gonna make your first Aida al-Adha the best ever. Said Yesmina, let's rock out, said Amir. They sang, Amir here and Yesmina the machine, rocking the house just like rocking the arena. Got my new tie and jacket, sang Amir. Got my best hijab, said Yesmina. Got my suit, Cat has a scarf on, sang Peg. I'm no slob, sang Cat. This is actually a cartoon show too. You can watch the episode. It's on PBS Kids, yeah. Aida al-Adha is really fun, said Yesmina. There are presents and lots of food, but mostly, said Amir, it's about giving to those with less. I like the presents and food, said Cat, but giving stuff away, how is that fun? You'll see, said Amir. Peg drew pictures of plates with food on them to remind Cat, why Aida al-Adha is really about. This sign means less, she said. This one means more than. I like the more sign better, said Cat. Amir played his stringed instrument called an Aoud. Yesmina played her electric guitar. Peg and Cat played ukulele and drums as their hosts sang about the holiday. Eid Mubarak means happy holiday. So we say Eid Mubarak as we celebrate. On Aida al-Adha, even Tat is going to see how awesome giving can be. We'll see if I see, said Cat. Time to go to the celebration. Every year, we bring this silver tray, Yesmina explained, filled with almonds, olives, apricots, and I love apricots, said Peg. Then let's add more, said Yesmina. Are those honey cakes, Cat asked. Should we? Yesmina added more, said Cat. More, more. Do you think Cat likes the honey cakes? I think so too. One important tradition, said Amir, is dividing the meat into three equal parts. When you have three equal parts of something, each part is a third, said Peg. We keep one third, we give one third to our neighbors, and we give one third to share with someone with less. Less what, asked Cat. Well, food or clothes, the basic stuff that everyone needs, said Peg. Amir divided the meatballs into three parts. The three bowls all have different amounts of meat, Amir, said Peg. But I put the same number of meatballs in each bowl, said Amir. But the meatballs are different sizes, though. If we don't divide the meat into three equals parts, this won't be the best read allowed, however. We've got a big problem, Peg noticed. Cat playing with a pair of small, swinging pans. That's it, she said. The pan balance. Do you guys think you could help them with their problem? It's not a problem? Why, why is it not a problem? But there's two, two and two. So isn't that fair? Why is that not fair? Cause this one has tiny meatballs and this one has humongous meatballs. But it's the same amount. But they don't have the same amount of meat in each, okay. Let's see what they do. Put one pair of bowls on the pan balance. This pan goes down because the bowl on it has more meat. It's heavier, she said. But we can take from more and give to less, said Amir, until the pans are the same level, said Yasmina. The meat in the bowls weigh the same. How do we know they weigh the same? What's it showing us? An equal sign. An equal sign. Peg replaced one bowl on the balance with the third bowl. Those weighs the same too. They all weigh the same. Problem solved. Are you mubotic, said Kat? The end. Not, not the end. I wanted to see if you were paying attention. The group headed out for the party, but first they had to drop off a third of the meat to someone with less. We've come to the soup kitchen because the people who eat here have less, said Yasmina. At the soup kitchen they can each get a good free meal as the door to the soup kitchen opened. Amir said, it's run by Ramon, said Peg. Kat took the bowl from Peg and handed it to Ramon. We hate to run and eat, but we have a party to go to, he said. Oh, I almost didn't show you guys the picture. It's because I'm fine, I'm fine. Wait, said Ramon, I really need your help. With me. There's a man who lives in that building across the yard. He's always comes here for meals, but today he hasn't come. I wonder if he's sit, or if those crates of canned food that were just delivered are blocking his way. Oh no, they have another really big problem. See what they do. I order take out, ask Kat. No, said Peg. Today's about giving. We're going to give. We'll cross the yard with the meatballs. The crates were piled so high. Kat wondered how they would ever get past them. Let's count the crates to find the piles with less, said Yasmina. They'll be easier to step over. So what is their solution? What are they gonna try and do? So they're gonna count the crates to see which ones have less to see if those would be easier to step over. They stepped across a pile that had only one crate and another pile of two crates. One is less than six, said Peg, and 10 is more than two, said Kat. But there were even more crates to get past. Yasmina and Amir were totally freaking out. Kat held up his paws. Kat's right, said Peg. You should count backwards till you calm down. We'll count from seven, said Yasmina. We like seven. Seven days of the week. Seven colors of the rainbow. What else has seven? What did we learn today? We do seven times. Seven stones for jamarads. Seven times around the Kaaba. Seven times to wafer on the Kaaba. Good. Seven times to seven. What do I want, masha'Allah? So let's all count down from seven. Can you guys count down with me? Seven. Seven. Six. Thank you guys. As they counted, Kat gazed at those juicy meatballs. He was about to take a bite. When Peg shouted, that's it. That's it. That's it, you meatball-loving Kat. We'll divide the crates into thirds just like we did with the meatballs. That'll be easier to move. Problem solved. They're gonna make the big crates smaller. When Peg knocked on the door, she heard a familiar voice invite them in. Mac asked Peg, I've had some bad luck. Mac explained, I usually go to Ramon's soup kitchen for food. Last night, I stubbed my toe and this morning I stubbed another toe. I'm not going any place. You don't have to, said Yasmina. We brought you meatballs. Mac was so hungry that he ate the meatballs quickly and then for dessert, Amir and Peg offered him olives and apricots. Kat wanted to keep the honey takes for himself but he remembered that Eid al-Adha is about giving to those with less. So he took the tray over to Mac. Would you like a honey cake, Kat asked? I love honey cakes, said Mac. Kat gasped. Hey, giving does feel good. You're all so nice, said Mac. I don't know what to say. I do, said Peg. Eid muh barak. Eid muh barak. The end. Masha'Allah, that was very nice lesson for Peg and Kat to learn about Eid al-Adha. What do you guys think? So what did they teach Peg and Kat? What did they teach them? Eid al-Adha is more special. What should we do with our meat on Eid al-Adha? How should we do it? How should we divide our meat on Eid al-Adha? So we talk? All day, okay. One, two, three. Bismillah. Good. So we learned in hedge that we slaughter a sheep or a goat or a camel, right? One of those animals. So now what do we do with the meat? What do we learn from Peg and Kat that we do with the meat? We divide it into three parts. Do we keep all three parts? We keep it all? I don't know about that. That would be greedy. What should we do with the three parts that we do? Good. We give one third to our neighbors. One third to those who have left. And then we keep one third for ourselves. Alhamdulillah. All right, masha'Allah. Do you guys want to do one more book? Do you seriously know? Yes, do it. Let's do one more book, masha'Allah, and then we'll go to the craft. I think you guys can handle it. One more book, masha'Allah, for all you amazing listeners. But don't worry, insha'Allah. After this, we're gonna do our cheap cupcake cake, okay? And get some shaking out. And let's shake just a little bit. Shake out. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, you're not shaking, shake it. Shake, shake, shake, some of that energy out. Masha'Allah, back in your spots. Masha'Allah. Trust me, after sitting all this time, you're really gonna have, you know, get really excited to go eat some of those cupcakes. All right? I mean, after you decorate them, what's gonna happen? This is called The Bed, and this is by Esmat Mubin Uddin. Are you guys ready? By the way, what do I say before I start a book? Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. All right, Anissa sat in her bed, looking out the window. Her parents were away at the Hajj pilgrimage, and she missed them. Saudi Arabia was so far from her home in America. She thought about last Eid's holiday. When she had worn her shalawar kameez with flowery orange henna designs on her hands, daddy had said, she looked just like a princess. Mommy had let her eat candy for breakfast. They all went to Eid prayers together and then visited friends all day. But today, the house was quiet. Just then, Anissa's grandmother bustled into the room. Can't see? So it sounds like her Eid this year is gonna be very different than last year. We'll see. Maybe it'll be worse, maybe it'll be better. We'll see. Anissa, happy Eid. Nani sat on the bed and greeted her granddaughter with a big hug and kiss. Time to get ready for prayers. Anissa returned the hug and then slumped back onto bed. Why the sad face, my dear? Nani gently brushed the hair out of Anissa's eyes. Do you miss Mama and Baba? Anissa nodded. She felt like she might cry. I know it's hard without your parents here, Nani said. But please don't be sad. Today of all days, we'll have fun together. Just you and me, okay? Anissa tried to smile. She didn't want her grandmother to feel bad. Okay, she said as Nani stood up and walked over to the closet. Now, I have a surprise for you. Nani lifted up a blanket on the closet shelf and pulled out a gift-wrapped box that had been hidden underneath. Do you guys see the gift box that was hidden underneath? What color is it? What color is the gift box? What color is the gift box? It's red. Kind of looks red. To me, it looks like pink, right? We'll say reddish pink with a purple ribbon. Mm-hmm, we're gonna read. Anissa pulled the ribbon off the box and opened it. Her eyes lit up as she saw the beautiful Eid clothes from Pakistan. Pulling out the kurta on top, she ran her fingers over the soft, shimmering fabric and its gold embroidery and shiny sequins. Purple and gold bangles clinked together as Nani unwrapped them. Hand-made Pakistani shoes tucked in tissue paper, still lay in the box. Nani, I love my new Eid clothes. How did you know that purple was my favorite color? Thank you. Anissa hugged her grandmother. I can't wait to get dressed. There's still more, Nani said, smiling as she pulled a bright red chalwal permise and a silky yellow gharaha out of the box. Each outfit had matching bangles and shoes. There are three sets of Eid clothes, one for each day of the three days of Eid. Which one do you want to wear for prayers this morning? Which one do you think she's gonna pick? The purple one, yes, because purple's her favorite color. The purple one! Nani smiled, it will look beautiful on you. I'll iron it while you're getting ready. But first, I have to serve the lamb kurma. That sounds yummy. Lamb kurma, Anissa jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. The aroma of her favorite dinner, cooking on the stove, made her mouth water. Please, can I taste some? Nani scooped out a spoonful of bubbling lamb curry, blew on it, made sure it wasn't too hot, and then gave Anissa a taste. Anissa savored the salty, spicy curry in her mouth. Yum, it's good! I'm glad you like it. Now let's hurry and get ready so we're not late for the prayers. That sounds good, I'm kinda hungry. What about you guys? Does that sound good? You didn't like it? Sometimes we like something when we try it, sometimes we don't. It's very important we always try something, right? Yes. So you never know. At the prayer hall, the Imam gave a sermon about the hedge pilgrimage. Anissa had a hard time paying attention because she kept thinking about her parents and wishing they were there. After the sermon ended, the women and children in the women's section of the prayer hall folded their prayer rugs and greeted each other. And Anissa hugged so many people. The donuts on the back tables were quickly finished. Is there usually donuts when you guys go to the message on aid? No? When we came from Tampa, Florida, and every aid we go, it's covered in donuts everywhere. So it's something that we remember. Even on the plan. Outside the prayer hall. We don't wanna make a mess in the prayer hall, right? Anissa noticed two young girls standing alone watching the excitement around them. The older girls hijab. Do you guys know what the hijab is? Yeah, it's a thing called that. The scarf we were in our head, yeah. The older girls hijab was torn. The younger girls dress fell almost to the floor and she kept her arms bent so her sleeves wouldn't slip down over her hands. Anissa walked over to them. Why didn't you wear your aid clothes today? She asked. The older girl stared shyly at the floor seeing that her sister was not going to answer. The younger girl blurted out. We don't have no clothes to sleep. We have to leave all our stuff and run away because our fire burned down. The older girl turned towards her sister, Miriam, we have to be thankful the war can't get us now. We are safe and we are together. Tapas says, Allah will give us whatever we need. I wish Bobo was here with us now, but ever since we came to America, he always has to work, Miriam told Anissa. He even had to work on her aid. But later he's going to bring Zainab and Nikandy and we're going to go to the masjid together for the afternoon prayers. Before Anissa could say anything, Auntie Selma pulled her into a big bear hug. Anissa, abehti, iid mubarak, my dear, happy iid. You look so pretty, masha'Allah. As God has willed, you and your nanny come and visit me today, okay? Anissa was swept up by other aunties and friends and hugs and kisses and greetings. While hugging Auntie Berek, Anissa saw Miriam pick up a piece of doughnut off the floor. The girl looked around quickly and then she put the doughnut piece into her mouth and licked the sweet glaze from her fingers. Why do you think she took it off the floor? Maybe she was really hungry and there wasn't any more. Or maybe she didn't. Maybe. That's a good reason that we shouldn't take too much, right? Even when we have a lot of something, we should only take one or two so that we can make sure everyone gets on, right? Yes. As people were leaving the prayer hall, Anissa kept looking back at the girls. Finally, she let go of nanny's hand and went back over to them. She didn't know what to say, but she couldn't leave them without talking to them again. Hesitantly, she asked them, maybe we could play some time together. Instantly, Miriam's face lit up. Sure, she said. With a flashing bright smile, Xenob continued to look at the floor. Where do you live now? Anissa asked. In the apartments by the mosque, Miriam answered. Xenob lifted her head to look at Anissa. A small, shy smile crossed her face in number 63. A motherly woman ushered her three children and Xenob and Miriam out of the prayer hall. That afternoon, while nanny was heating up the food for dinner, Anissa told her about the girl she had met. Nanny listened quietly. Sometimes when families leave their home because of war or other bad problems, they have to leave everything they have behind, Nanny told her. Many families have come to America as refugees, looking for a safe, good place for their children to live and grow up. Does Allah help these families? Of course, my dear, Allah helps everyone. Nanny was stirring the curry, but sometimes not in the way you might think. He might send good people to help them through bad times. Meanwhile, the families have to work hard and trust that Allah's help is always near. Nanny opened the oven door to check on the roti. Do you remember the story of Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hajar and their baby Ismail? Anissa nodded. Mommy and daddy had told her that many of the lessons of Hajj pilgrimage were based on this story. Prophet Ibrahim's family trusted in Allah, even in very difficult times. And Allah always took care of them. Nanny and Anissa said, a prayer for Zainab and Mediam's family. Then Anissa told Nanny about a plan she had made. So Anissa made a plan. Do you guys wanna see what Anissa's plan is? Later that afternoon, as shadows lengthened across the city, Muslim families were leaving them as she'd after the prayer of Asad prayer. Anissa, sit quietly. Someone will hear you. Nanny whispered to her granddaughter as they crouched behind the bushes, outside the apartment building next to the mosque. Here they come, duck down. Through the leaves, they saw the two girls and a man stop in front of the decorated baskets neatly arranged on the cracks tube in front of their door. What's this? In surprise, the man read the attached card. Happy Eid to Mediam, Zainab and their papa. Anissa felt as if she might burst with excitement. Would they like the presents? Zainab and Mediam opened the basket. Wow, beautiful clothes. Look at the sparkles on this yellow shirt. I can't believe this, the man said softly. Lamb and chicken, rice and vegetables, even desserts and candy. Who could have left all this? Papa, help us carry the baskets inside. Mediam was trying to drag a basket across the sidewalk. Put them down girls, the father commanded. We don't take charity. Let's see what happens. Their father paused. Then Mediam asked softly. But can I keep the yellow clothes? I love yellow. And what about the sparkly bangles? No, my dears, the father spoke again. You know that a Muslim does not beg from others. But papa, we didn't ask for them, Zainab pointed out. Papa didn't budge. I will provide for my family. There are other people who need this food and these clothes more than we do. Now let's go. Can I just eat this cookie right now? Anissa could hardly breathe. What if they didn't take the gifts? As she leaned forward to see better, a twig snapped. And she fell down and she ducked down. What was that noise? The father asked as he turned around to face the bushes. Anissa and Nani ducked as his heavy footsteps approached their hiding space. Are they gonna be found? Through the leaves, Anissa could see the man's stern features and firmly set chin coming towards them. Hidden behind thick eyebrows were soft, gentle eyes. In these eyes, Anissa recognized the same look of tenderness she often saw in her own father's face. Anissa and the man looked at each other for a long moment. Then abruptly, he turned around and walked back to his daughters. What do you think's gonna happen? He knelt on one knee and opened his arms. The girls wrapped their arms around him and Medium climbed onto his knee. Papa, there's more food here than we need, she said. Small fingers gently touching his cheek. Why don't we share it with the neighbors? And please, can we keep their eat clothes, please? As in up. Anissa saw the man's face soften as he drew his daughters close to him. As he hugged them, he nodded and he smiled at Anissa and Nani. After Anissa and Nani returned home, Nani picked up the phone and dialed, hello, I'd like a medium vegetable pizza, please. For delivery, she hung up and shook her head. Eating pizza on her head? My dear child, I have never had her eat like this one. Me either, Anissa said. I can't wait to tell mommy and daddy all about it. Later in the evening, as Anissa and Nani snuggled up on the couch and ate pizza for dinner, they both agreed this has been the best read ever. Shala, I am very, very, very impressed with all of you guys. You made it through a puppet show, through a hedge adventure, and two stories. You guys, give yourself a round of applause, masha'Allah. Now are you guys ready and excited to do the cake decorating? All right, let me show you what it looks like again. Bismillah. I'm here to help Anissa. And your parents should have the cupcake boxes with all the supplies. The rest are on the table and me and the volunteers will help you if you guys need any help. My parents, there's a video tutorial that gets step by step. There's a video YouTube tutorial. You can watch step by step and then we'll have the sample over there for you guys to see. But the video shows step by step. It's very simple and I'm gonna be there to help you as well. So I'm gonna meet you guys all in the back. You can get set up at the table.