~~[Post 13] - Those little things that make you smile ~~

So, I am reading ” And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini and no, this is not a book review.

There was this moment yesterday, worthy of a mommy memoir.  It happened, courtesy, this book, or rather a bed-time story told by a father to his kids in the first few pages of the book.

Most of you who regularly read my posts already know that I have this story telling routine every night with my daughter. I have to make up my own stories these days, as she already knows every story out there. Yes, the minimum 7 stories story-telling routine has been going on for quite a number of years now, and I am always out of stories. So when I read this bed-time story in Hosseini’s book yesterday, I had one new story for my daughter for the night. In the book, the bed-time story is pretty elaborate and I am going to cut it short and just give the gist of it. BTW,  I cried buckets when reading this whole elaborate bed-time story and sorry if I am spoiling this for you by giving a brief version, it sure is worth a read, so please do read the one in the book.

The bed-time story:-

It is about a family which has 5 kids and the younger one is the obvious favorite of the father. Then there’s this giant who comes in search of food to each village and takes a child from a home to satisfy his hunger. If a child is not willingly given, he takes all children from the chosen home. Obviously, in the story, the family with 5 kids is chosen by the giant, and the family has to choose.  So, the little one is given away ..the father is not able to get over the grief of giving the little one away.. he goes almost insane over this grief and one fine day, just leaves, in search of this giant to take revenge. He reaches the giant’s den, demands a fair fight. The giant amused at this bravery by the father, takes him inside, and shows him this other beautiful world beyond, it’s full of kids that he has taken away from homes, these kids are living a life that their parents back home cannot provide… the father catches a glimpse of his little son, playing there, looking happy, getting everything that a child requires in life. The giant gives the father a little time to think and decide what he’d want to do. There are two options given. Either leave the kid and never come back or take the kid away to the poverty stricken life and never dare to come back to ask the giant to accept the kid back again.

The bed time story goes on in the book to a conclusive end, but I did not reveal the ending to my daughter. At this point, I stopped the story, and I asked my kid, what’d you choose if you were the father?

And pat came the reply – Ah, simple. None of the two. I will tell him that there’s a third option which is the bestest.

I was quite amused, and asked her what would that be?

She took me by surprise when she said  – The father can get his wife and his 4 other kids and permanently stay here in the den with the 5th one. See, everyone happy no?

I smiled at her genuine innocent response and held her close and said – Exactly dear, you are so smart, that’s what the father did and they all lived happily ever after..

Of course, the bed-time story in the book ends differently, I didn’t have the heart to reveal her the actual ending 🙂

Her response echoed deep within me for a long time after.  The last thing I remember before going to sleep myself is recalling her response and smiling.

Did any little such thing make you smile today?