Fares and Half a Cookie

Fares was a little boy, five years old, who loved going to kindergarten every morning. He loved his kind teacher, Miss Wafaa, he loved the corner with the colorful building blocks, and he loved the songs the children sang together each morning. That day his mother packed his blue lunchbox with a small cheese sandwich, a red apple cut into slices, and two round chocolate cookies she had baked at home. As she closed the box she said, "These cookies are for you, Fares. Enjoy them." Fares said happily, "Thank you, Mama, I love your cookies so much!"

Fares walked into the classroom, hung his bag on the hook and said, "Good morning, Miss Wafaa!" "Good morning, Fares," said the teacher. Then she clapped her hands and told all the children, "Children, today we have a new friend who has joined our class. His name is Basel." All the children turned around and saw a little boy standing by the door, holding tightly to the strap of his bag and looking at the floor. Basel was very shy; his cheeks were red and he said nothing. "Let's all say, 'Welcome, Basel!'" said the teacher. The children shouted, "Welcome, Basel!" But Basel did not raise his head.

The children began to play, draw and sing. Every now and then Fares looked over at Basel. He saw him sitting at the end of the table, holding a single crayon and not drawing. And at song time he saw him not singing, just looking out of the window. Fares thought to himself, "Maybe Basel misses his mother. I missed Mama too on my first day at kindergarten, and I felt a little scared." But Fares was busy building a big tower of blocks, so he went back to his game.

Then came snack time, Fares's favourite time. The children took out their lunchboxes and sat on the green mat in the kindergarten yard, under the big tree. Fares sat with his two friends, opened his blue lunchbox, ate his sandwich and then his apple. Then he took out the first cookie and ate it quickly, saying, "Mmm, so delicious!" Only one cookie was left in the box, the very last one. Fares held it in his hands and was just about to bite into it when he looked up and saw something that made him stop.

Basel was sitting completely alone on the wooden bench in the corner of the yard, far away from all the other children. He had no lunchbox. He was holding a small tissue in his hands and watching the children eat and laugh. Then he quickly wiped his eyes, as if he didn't want anyone to see. Fares felt something strange in his heart, as if it had become heavy. He looked at the cookie in his hand, then at Basel. He said to himself, "Basel has no food, he's all alone, and nobody is talking to him."

Fares began to think. The cookie was big and tasty, he loved it very much, and it was the last one. He said to himself, "If I give him the cookie, I won't have anything left." But then he remembered something his mother had once told him: "Fares, when we share with others, a little thing becomes big, and one happiness becomes two." Fares thought for a moment, then smiled. He looked at the cookie, held it by both edges and broke it gently: snap! Now it was two pieces, one half for him and one half for a new friend.

Fares got up and walked toward the wooden bench, his heart beating a little, because he didn't know what Basel would say. He stood in front of him, held out the half cookie and said kindly, "Hello, Basel. My name is Fares. Do you like chocolate cookies?" Basel raised his head for the first time and looked at Fares with wide eyes, then at the cookie. "But it's your cookie," he said in a very soft voice. "It was my cookie," said Fares, "and now it's our cookie. My mum baked it, and it's really yummy. Try it!"

Basel took the half cookie with a small hand and said, "Thank you." He took a little bite, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face, his first smile since the morning. "It really is delicious!" he said. Fares sat down beside him on the bench and ate his own half too. "See? I told you!" Basel gave a little laugh. Then he said, "I forgot my lunchbox in the car this morning, and I was scared because I don't know anyone here." "Now you do know someone," said Fares. "You know me!"

"What do you like to play, Basel?" asked Fares. Basel's eyes sparkled. "I like cars, and I like building tall towers." "Me too!" shouted Fares. "I love building towers! Let's build the tallest tower in the whole kindergarten together!" When snack time was over, the two boys went into the classroom together and sat in the block corner. Fares put down a red block, Basel put down a blue one, then a yellow, then a green, and the tower rose higher and higher while they laughed and counted: ten, eleven, twelve!

Miss Wafaa saw the two boys, smiled and came over. "What a wonderful tower!" she said. "And what a lovely friendship! Who built this tower?" This time Basel answered in a clear voice, "Me and my friend Fares!" Then Fares told the teacher that Basel had forgotten his food, and the teacher thanked him for noticing his new friend and sharing with him. She said to all the children, "Children, did you see what Fares did today? He saw a lonely friend, and instead of leaving him alone, he shared something he loves. That is what a generous child does."

At the end of the day Basel's mother came to pick him up, and he ran to her saying, "Mama, Mama! I have a new friend called Fares, and he gave me half of his cookie!" Basel's mother smiled and thanked Fares and his mother. In the car Fares told his mother, "Mama, I gave Basel half of the last cookie. I wanted to eat it all, but he was lonely and sad." His mother hugged him and said, "I'm very proud of you, Fares. And how did you feel after you shared with him?" Fares thought and said, "I felt that half a cookie tasted better than a whole one!"

The next morning Basel came into the classroom smiling, and he wasn't clutching his bag strap in fear. He ran to Fares and said, "Good morning, Fares!" At snack time Basel opened his lunchbox, took out two delicious dates and gave one to Fares, saying, "My mum put in two for me, one for me and one for my friend." Fares laughed and said, "Now we share every day!" From that day on, Fares and Basel were inseparable at kindergarten.

Basel began to play with all the children, sing with them in the mornings and draw the most beautiful pictures. And whenever he saw a new child sitting alone, he would say to Fares, "Come on, let's say hello and make him our friend, just like you did with me." And so there were many happy children in the kindergarten, because half of a little cookie had started a big friendship.

And so Fares learned that sharing does not make what we have smaller; it makes happiness bigger. A generous child notices the people around him, and if he sees a friend who is lonely or sad, he goes up to him gently, says a kind word, and shares what he can. When you split something lovely with someone else, you win a friend and create a smile that will never be forgotten.