Where Did the Date Go?

It was Ramadan. Nanu, Zara's grandad, was fasting: no food, no water, all day long. Zara was only four, too little to fast.

As the sky turned pink, Nanu put the last date from the box on his plate. "That's my special date, for when the sun goes down," he said.

Nanu went to make wudu. Splash, splash, splash.

Zara sniffed the sticky date. Mmm, like toffee!

She took one tiny nibble. Nibble, nibble. Then munch, munch, munch, all around the stone! The date was gone. Zara hid the stone in her pocket.

"Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!" called the adhan. Time to open the fast!

Nanu reached for his plate. Empty! He said, "Bismillah," and sipped some water.

"Where did the date go?" said Nanu. He looked under the plate.

"Where did the date go?" He looked under his prayer cap.

Nanu looked at Zara. "Where did the date go?"

Zara's tummy went wibble-wobble. She could say, "I don't know." But then the wobbly feeling would stay and stay.

So Zara held out the stone.

"Nanu," she whispered, "I ate your date. I'm sorry."

Nanu's eyes went crinkly. He scooped Zara up for a big, squashy cuddle.

"JazakAllahu khayran for telling the truth, my little moon," he said. "Allah says in the Quran, 'Be with those who are true.' That means: be one of the people who tell the truth. And tonight, you told the truth!"

Then they shared some juicy watermelon. Slurp, slurp!

At bedtime, Nanu tucked Zara in.

"Where did the date go?" he whispered.

Zara giggled. "In my tummy!"

"And where did the wobbly feeling go?"

Zara yawned. "All gone." Her heart felt light and bright.

Outside, the moon shone softly over London, and Zara drifted off to sleep.