A story
Mansour, Nuqta and the Wonderful Box of Opposites
In his grandfather's room, Mansour found an old wooden box with two lids: white and black. From a tiny hole... hop, hop! Out came Nuqta.
"This is the box of opposites (الأضداد)! Put something in, and its opposite friend comes out!"
Grandpa laughed. "Try it, Mansour."
Mansour put in a big stone. "كَبير (big)!" He shook the box: rattle, rattle! And took out a pebble: "صَغير (small)!"
He put in a cup of hot water: "ساخِن (hot)!" Then he took out an ice cube: "بارِد (cold)!" Brrr!
He opened the window: "مَفْتوحَة (open)!" Then shut it: clack! "مُغْلَقَة (closed)!"
He jumped on a chair: "فَوْقَ (above)!" Then crawled under the table: "تَحْتَ (under)!"
He walked like a tortoise: "بَطيء (slow)..." Then ran like a gazelle: "سَريع (fast)!" Zoom!
Can you say the opposite? Big... small! Above... under!
"I'm very small," said Nuqta, "so what's my opposite?" She puffed herself up until she was the size of an olive: "Big!" Then: pfff! She was small again. Mansour laughed and laughed.
Then his little sister Hind came in, sad, because her tower of blocks had fallen.
"حَزينَة (sad)... what's the opposite?" said Mansour.
"فَرْحانَة (happy)," said Grandpa. "But how do you make happiness? The box doesn't know!"
Mansour sat with Hind and together they built a tall, tall tower. Hind clapped and laughed.
"She's happy now!" said Mansour. "And the tower isn't قَصير (short), it's طَويل (tall)!"
"You turned sadness into joy," said Grandpa. "That's the most beautiful pair of opposites."
Nuqta sang:
Big and small, above and under,
Hot and cold, listen and wonder,
Fast and slow, tall and short,
After sadness, joy of every sort!
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Match each word with its opposite: لَيْل (night) / نَظيف (clean) / قَريب (near) → بَعيد / نَهار / مُتَّسِخ
2. Complete: The elephant is كَبير (big), and the ant is _____.
3. Act it out with your body: above/under, fast/slow.
4. What is the opposite of «أَبْيَض» (white)?
Answers: 1) لَيْل ↔ نَهار (day), نَظيف ↔ مُتَّسِخ (dirty), قَريب ↔ بَعيد (far). 2) صَغيرَة (small). 4) أَسْوَد (black).
"This is the box of opposites (الأضداد)! Put something in, and its opposite friend comes out!"
Grandpa laughed. "Try it, Mansour."
Mansour put in a big stone. "كَبير (big)!" He shook the box: rattle, rattle! And took out a pebble: "صَغير (small)!"
He put in a cup of hot water: "ساخِن (hot)!" Then he took out an ice cube: "بارِد (cold)!" Brrr!
He opened the window: "مَفْتوحَة (open)!" Then shut it: clack! "مُغْلَقَة (closed)!"
He jumped on a chair: "فَوْقَ (above)!" Then crawled under the table: "تَحْتَ (under)!"
He walked like a tortoise: "بَطيء (slow)..." Then ran like a gazelle: "سَريع (fast)!" Zoom!
Can you say the opposite? Big... small! Above... under!
"I'm very small," said Nuqta, "so what's my opposite?" She puffed herself up until she was the size of an olive: "Big!" Then: pfff! She was small again. Mansour laughed and laughed.
Then his little sister Hind came in, sad, because her tower of blocks had fallen.
"حَزينَة (sad)... what's the opposite?" said Mansour.
"فَرْحانَة (happy)," said Grandpa. "But how do you make happiness? The box doesn't know!"
Mansour sat with Hind and together they built a tall, tall tower. Hind clapped and laughed.
"She's happy now!" said Mansour. "And the tower isn't قَصير (short), it's طَويل (tall)!"
"You turned sadness into joy," said Grandpa. "That's the most beautiful pair of opposites."
Nuqta sang:
Big and small, above and under,
Hot and cold, listen and wonder,
Fast and slow, tall and short,
After sadness, joy of every sort!
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Match each word with its opposite: لَيْل (night) / نَظيف (clean) / قَريب (near) → بَعيد / نَهار / مُتَّسِخ
2. Complete: The elephant is كَبير (big), and the ant is _____.
3. Act it out with your body: above/under, fast/slow.
4. What is the opposite of «أَبْيَض» (white)?
Answers: 1) لَيْل ↔ نَهار (day), نَظيف ↔ مُتَّسِخ (dirty), قَريب ↔ بَعيد (far). 2) صَغيرَة (small). 4) أَسْوَد (black).
