📖 Story
In a green village among the hills there was a small farm with a white wooden fence and a blue gate. On this farm lived a kind cow named Umm Khuwar, and with her lived her daughter, the little calf Naanoua. Naanoua was white with brown patches on her back that looked like clouds. She had big ears that twitched whenever she heard a sound, and a small brass bell hung around her neck that rang ding-ding whenever she walked. Naanoua loved the farm very much. She loved the green grass, and she loved running around the big mulberry tree.
But Naanoua carried a small worry in her heart. Every animal on the farm had a sound she knew well. The rooster crowed every morning: Cock-a-doodle-doo! The duck said, as she swam in the pond: Quack quack! The white sheep said: Baaa! And the faithful dog at the gate said: Woof woof! But Naanoua, whenever she opened her mouth to say something, made only a small, husky sound: Mmm... and then it faded away. She felt shy about this sound, so she would go quiet and lower her head.
One sunny morning, Naanoua saw the rooster Abu Urf standing on the fence, puffing out his chest and crowing loudly: Cock-a-doodle-doo! Everyone on the farm woke up, and the farmer, Uncle Salem, came out of his house carrying a bucket. Naanoua said to herself, "What a wonderful sound! I will crow like the rooster, and then everyone will hear me." She climbed onto a big stone, puffed out her chest, opened her mouth wide and said, "Cock... a... moo!" The rooster laughed so hard he nearly fell off the fence. "Little one," he said, "that is not a rooster's sound!"
Naanoua felt a little sad, then walked to the pond. The duck Batbouta was swimming with her five ducklings, and they were all saying together: Quack quack quack! Naanoua said, "Maybe a duck's sound suits me better." She stood at the edge of the pond, put her front hooves into the cold water and said, "Qua... qua... mmm!" Then her hoof slipped and she fell into the mud, and her whole face turned brown. The ducklings laughed, but Batbouta said kindly, "Don't be sad, Naanoua. Each of us has a sound of our own."
Naanoua climbed out of the mud and went to the barn where Soufan the sheep was standing. Soufan was chewing grass calmly, then he raised his head and said: Baaa! Naanoua said, "The sheep's sound is soft and gentle. I'll try it." She closed her eyes and said, "Baaa... mmmm..." Soufan looked at her in surprise and said, "Are you ill, Naanoua? Your voice sounds like an old creaky door!" And he gave a little laugh. Naanoua lowered her head, and her little bell rang sadly: ding.
Naanoua walked away from everyone and sat alone under the big mulberry tree. A small tear fell from her eye, and she said, "The rooster has a voice, the duck has a voice, the sheep has a voice, and I don't have a nice voice." A yellow butterfly passed by, rested on her nose for a moment, then flew away. Then the little sparrow Zaqzouq came and perched on a branch above her. "Why are you sitting alone, Naanoua?" he asked. "Because I don't know how to talk like the others," she said. Zaqzouq asked, "And why do you want to talk like the others?"
Naanoua said, "Because their voices are beautiful and well known, and everybody loves them. The rooster wakes up the farm, the duck calls her ducklings, and the dog guards the gate. But my voice is small and good for nothing." Zaqzouq hopped down to a closer branch and said, "Do you know, Naanoua? I also wanted to sing like the nightingale, because his song is long and lovely. I tried very hard and got very tired, and then I discovered that my mother knows me by my short little chirp: tweet tweet. Since that day I have loved my chirp." Naanoua was quiet, thinking. Then she said, "But my voice isn't like your chirp. It comes out small and then disappears." Zaqzouq said, "Perhaps that's because you are afraid of it, so you let it out timidly. A voice grows when we believe in it."
Before Naanoua could answer, something happened. Her mother, Umm Khuwar, was grazing in the far pasture behind the hill. She had wandered very far, and Naanoua could no longer see her. Naanoua searched everywhere with her eyes but could not find her mother. A small fear stirred in her heart, and she started running here and there. She called with the rooster's sound: "Cock-a!" No one answered. She called with the duck's sound: "Quack!" No one answered. She called with the sheep's sound: "Baa!" Still no one answered. How would her mother know that this was Naanoua's voice?
Zaqzouq landed on her small horn and said, "Naanoua, your mother doesn't know the rooster's voice or the duck's voice. Your mother knows your voice. Call with your real voice, the voice that comes from your heart." Naanoua took a deep breath, a very deep one, until her chest was full of air. Then she raised her head toward the hill, opened her mouth and called with all the love in her heart: "Moooooooo!" This time the sound came out big, strong and warm. It flew over the farm, over the mulberry tree and over the green hill.
A moment later, from behind the hill came a big voice her heart knew: "Moooooo!" Then Umm Khuwar appeared, walking quickly, her big bell ringing dong-dong. Naanoua ran to her and pressed close to her side, and her mother said, "I heard your voice, little one, and I knew it among all the sounds! There is no voice in the world like Naanoua's." Naanoua felt a great joy, and her bell began ringing quickly, ding-ding-ding, as if it were laughing with her.
In the evening, all the farm animals gathered near the blue gate. The rooster Abu Urf said, "We heard your voice today, Naanoua. It was too beautiful for me to copy!" The duck Batbouta said, "Your voice is warm like milk." Soufan the sheep smiled and said, "I'm sorry I laughed at you this morning. You don't need anyone else's voice." And the faithful dog gave a happy bark: Woof woof! Then they decided to sing the farm song together, each with his own voice.
The rooster began: Cock-a-doodle-doo! Then the duck and her ducklings: Quack quack! Then the sheep: Baaa! Then the dog: Woof woof! Then Zaqzouq the sparrow: Tweet tweet! And at the end, Naanoua puffed out her little chest and said happily: Moooo! Uncle Salem the farmer laughed as he milked Umm Khuwar and said, "This is the finest choir in the whole village! Each of you has a different voice, and if even one voice were missing, the song would not be complete."
From that day on, Naanoua was no longer shy about her voice. Every morning she called "Moooo!" to say good morning to the sun. Every evening she called "Moooo!" to tell her mother, "I'm here." And whenever she saw a new little one on the farm trying to copy someone else, she would go up to it and say gently, "Your voice is beautiful just as it is. Try it and you'll see." And whenever her little bell rang ding-ding, she remembered that day under the mulberry tree and the words of her friend Zaqzouq, and she smiled and thanked him in her heart.
And so Naanoua learned that each of us was made different, with our own voice, our own look and our own way, and that beauty is not becoming a copy of someone else, but loving ourselves as we are and using what we have with confidence and joy. Those who love us know us by our real voice, and they are happy when we are simply ourselves.
But Naanoua carried a small worry in her heart. Every animal on the farm had a sound she knew well. The rooster crowed every morning: Cock-a-doodle-doo! The duck said, as she swam in the pond: Quack quack! The white sheep said: Baaa! And the faithful dog at the gate said: Woof woof! But Naanoua, whenever she opened her mouth to say something, made only a small, husky sound: Mmm... and then it faded away. She felt shy about this sound, so she would go quiet and lower her head.
One sunny morning, Naanoua saw the rooster Abu Urf standing on the fence, puffing out his chest and crowing loudly: Cock-a-doodle-doo! Everyone on the farm woke up, and the farmer, Uncle Salem, came out of his house carrying a bucket. Naanoua said to herself, "What a wonderful sound! I will crow like the rooster, and then everyone will hear me." She climbed onto a big stone, puffed out her chest, opened her mouth wide and said, "Cock... a... moo!" The rooster laughed so hard he nearly fell off the fence. "Little one," he said, "that is not a rooster's sound!"
Naanoua felt a little sad, then walked to the pond. The duck Batbouta was swimming with her five ducklings, and they were all saying together: Quack quack quack! Naanoua said, "Maybe a duck's sound suits me better." She stood at the edge of the pond, put her front hooves into the cold water and said, "Qua... qua... mmm!" Then her hoof slipped and she fell into the mud, and her whole face turned brown. The ducklings laughed, but Batbouta said kindly, "Don't be sad, Naanoua. Each of us has a sound of our own."
Naanoua climbed out of the mud and went to the barn where Soufan the sheep was standing. Soufan was chewing grass calmly, then he raised his head and said: Baaa! Naanoua said, "The sheep's sound is soft and gentle. I'll try it." She closed her eyes and said, "Baaa... mmmm..." Soufan looked at her in surprise and said, "Are you ill, Naanoua? Your voice sounds like an old creaky door!" And he gave a little laugh. Naanoua lowered her head, and her little bell rang sadly: ding.
Naanoua walked away from everyone and sat alone under the big mulberry tree. A small tear fell from her eye, and she said, "The rooster has a voice, the duck has a voice, the sheep has a voice, and I don't have a nice voice." A yellow butterfly passed by, rested on her nose for a moment, then flew away. Then the little sparrow Zaqzouq came and perched on a branch above her. "Why are you sitting alone, Naanoua?" he asked. "Because I don't know how to talk like the others," she said. Zaqzouq asked, "And why do you want to talk like the others?"
Naanoua said, "Because their voices are beautiful and well known, and everybody loves them. The rooster wakes up the farm, the duck calls her ducklings, and the dog guards the gate. But my voice is small and good for nothing." Zaqzouq hopped down to a closer branch and said, "Do you know, Naanoua? I also wanted to sing like the nightingale, because his song is long and lovely. I tried very hard and got very tired, and then I discovered that my mother knows me by my short little chirp: tweet tweet. Since that day I have loved my chirp." Naanoua was quiet, thinking. Then she said, "But my voice isn't like your chirp. It comes out small and then disappears." Zaqzouq said, "Perhaps that's because you are afraid of it, so you let it out timidly. A voice grows when we believe in it."
Before Naanoua could answer, something happened. Her mother, Umm Khuwar, was grazing in the far pasture behind the hill. She had wandered very far, and Naanoua could no longer see her. Naanoua searched everywhere with her eyes but could not find her mother. A small fear stirred in her heart, and she started running here and there. She called with the rooster's sound: "Cock-a!" No one answered. She called with the duck's sound: "Quack!" No one answered. She called with the sheep's sound: "Baa!" Still no one answered. How would her mother know that this was Naanoua's voice?
Zaqzouq landed on her small horn and said, "Naanoua, your mother doesn't know the rooster's voice or the duck's voice. Your mother knows your voice. Call with your real voice, the voice that comes from your heart." Naanoua took a deep breath, a very deep one, until her chest was full of air. Then she raised her head toward the hill, opened her mouth and called with all the love in her heart: "Moooooooo!" This time the sound came out big, strong and warm. It flew over the farm, over the mulberry tree and over the green hill.
A moment later, from behind the hill came a big voice her heart knew: "Moooooo!" Then Umm Khuwar appeared, walking quickly, her big bell ringing dong-dong. Naanoua ran to her and pressed close to her side, and her mother said, "I heard your voice, little one, and I knew it among all the sounds! There is no voice in the world like Naanoua's." Naanoua felt a great joy, and her bell began ringing quickly, ding-ding-ding, as if it were laughing with her.
In the evening, all the farm animals gathered near the blue gate. The rooster Abu Urf said, "We heard your voice today, Naanoua. It was too beautiful for me to copy!" The duck Batbouta said, "Your voice is warm like milk." Soufan the sheep smiled and said, "I'm sorry I laughed at you this morning. You don't need anyone else's voice." And the faithful dog gave a happy bark: Woof woof! Then they decided to sing the farm song together, each with his own voice.
The rooster began: Cock-a-doodle-doo! Then the duck and her ducklings: Quack quack! Then the sheep: Baaa! Then the dog: Woof woof! Then Zaqzouq the sparrow: Tweet tweet! And at the end, Naanoua puffed out her little chest and said happily: Moooo! Uncle Salem the farmer laughed as he milked Umm Khuwar and said, "This is the finest choir in the whole village! Each of you has a different voice, and if even one voice were missing, the song would not be complete."
From that day on, Naanoua was no longer shy about her voice. Every morning she called "Moooo!" to say good morning to the sun. Every evening she called "Moooo!" to tell her mother, "I'm here." And whenever she saw a new little one on the farm trying to copy someone else, she would go up to it and say gently, "Your voice is beautiful just as it is. Try it and you'll see." And whenever her little bell rang ding-ding, she remembered that day under the mulberry tree and the words of her friend Zaqzouq, and she smiled and thanked him in her heart.
And so Naanoua learned that each of us was made different, with our own voice, our own look and our own way, and that beauty is not becoming a copy of someone else, but loving ourselves as we are and using what we have with confidence and joy. Those who love us know us by our real voice, and they are happy when we are simply ourselves.
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