Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Good evening honourable judges,

respected time keepers, fellow contestants, teachers and friends. Today I am going to
narrate a story about the Lion's Whiskers.

Haile was a happy little boy living with his mother and father in their home in
Ethiopia. But, one day his mother died and Haile was so hurt, and so confused, and so
angry. A year passed and his father decided to remarry. But, Haile remained so hurt, so
confused, and so angry. So when Zeynab met him and hugged him he pulled away
from her. When she fixed him his favorite foods for dinner he didnt eat. When she
made him a play suit out of fine cloth he ran through the woods and played so roughly
he tore the clothes up. Whenever she spoke to him he ignored her.

One day when her husband had gone hunting, Zeynab went to Hailes bedroom to talk
to him. "Haile, I love you so much and I really need you to love. . ." Before she could
finish Haile jumped up and said, "I hate you, you arent my mother. Im running
away."

Haile ran past Zayneb and out of the house. Zayneb sat down and cried and cried.
When her husband returned she told him what had happened. He told her to go on and
cook dinner and not to worry that he would find Haile. Haile was at the river in his
favorite spot. The two walked home and ate dinner without a word.

That night, as the other two slept, Zayneb got out and walked deep into the forest to
the home of the witch doctor. The witch doctor was a very wise woman who knew the
ways of peoples minds and hearts. "I need you to make me a love potion so my step-
son will love me," said Zayneb. "Well," the old woman said slowly, "Before I can give
you a love potion, you must bring me the whisker from a ferocious lion." Zeynabs
eyes grew large as she said, "How am I supposed to do that?" "Use your imagination,"
said the witch doctor.

Zeynab went home and slept just a few more hours. She got up before the sun rose
and put several large pieces of raw meat in a bag and headed toward the hills. She
walked until she found a cave which had large paw prints around it. Zeynab took a
piece of meat out and placed it in front of the entrance to the cave. Then she hid in the
bushes about 10 feet from the entrance and waited. After a few minutes a large, very
ferocious looking lion stepped out of the cave, looked around, smelled the meat, and
ate it all up.
Zayneb waited for a couple of hours then she walked up to the entrance of the cave
and placed a second piece of meat in front of it. Then she moved back only 5 feet and
didnt hide in the bushes. After a few minutes the lion came out. He looked around,
stared at Zayneb, smelled the meat, picked it up, and ate it all up.

Zayneb repeated the same process again but she moved back only two steps. The lion
smelled the meat, picked it up and began eating. Zayneb extended her hand, grabbed a
whisker and quickly pulled it out. The lion kept eating very slowly, as if walking on a
tight rope, Zayneb backed away toward the bushes. When she got into the forest she
ran back to the witch doctors home. Breathing heavily, she rushed into the witch
doctors house and held up the whisker. "See, here, I brought you a lions whisker.
Now, give me a love potion." The witch doctor looked at the whisker. "Ah, this does
look like a ferocious lions whisker. But, I dont have any love potions."

"What, what do you mean?" screamed Zayneb. "Now, tell me, how did you get that
lions whisker?" the old lady calmly asked. "Well, I had to be very, very careful and
patient." "Yes, and you were very courageous. See, you have all of the skills you will
need to get your stepson to love you without a magic potion."

Then she understood. She returned home and treated Haile nicely as before. But, she
did not make any special efforts to win his affection. She was just her sweet, giving
self. When Haile was rude to her or ignored her, she continued on as if he had said
nothing. In three weeks Haile began to smile and speak to Zayneb. In six weeks he
offered to help her with chores. In nine weeks he invited her to walk with him to his
favorite place at the river. One night about 12 weeks later, just before he fell asleep
Haile looked up in Zaynebs eyes and said, "I love you, Mom."