Jibraan loves building with toy bricks.
Dad says, “That’s very good, Jibraan. You’ve got a gift for building things!”
What if I have another gift? Jibraan wonders. “Do I have just one gift Dad?” he asks.
“You’ll only know if you try many things,” says Dad.
“I want to try cricket,” says Jibraan.
He joins the cricket club at school and learns to bat and bowl.
He hits the ball hard.
Puuu!
“Wow!” says Coach Uno.
“What a great batsman you are. You’ve got a gift, Jibraan!”
At karate class, Jibraan practises his katas with Sensai Shaukat. His friend Sumeya does them well.
“Excellent, Sumeya!” says Sensai Shaukat.
Jibraan tries again. He makes another mistake.
He smiles at Sumeya and high-fives her.
“You’re really good, Sumeya. You have a gift.”
“You didn’t give up, Jibraan. That’s a gift too,” says Sumeya.
“How was Karate?” asks Dad.
“I made many mistakes and I didn’t give up, Dad. Karate is Sumeya’s gift.”
“You’ll discover other gifts,” says Dad.
Jibraan wonders what they are…
I love music. Am I good at music?
“Dad, can I play the drums?” he asks.
“Well, let’s try,” says Dad.
They turn some pots and buckets upside down and get two wooden spoons for drum sticks.
Jibraan imagines a whole band playing with him. He beats the drum to a simple rhythm.
didadda! paa!
Little Laith rocks back and forth on the chair as Jibraan plays the drums.
Wiki Wiki!!! Wiki Wiki!!!
Dadum, dadum, dadum,
Dadum didadda dadum.
“That sounds amazing,” says Dad.
“I love that beat. You’ve got a gift, Jibraan.”
Hahahaha!!! Yeeeee!!!
Jibraan laughs.
He loves discovering a new talent when he tries something new.
“This is fun, Dad! I love my gifts.”
Yaaaa!!! Yeeeees!!!
Just then, Little Laith rocks the chair over and falls to the floor.
Aaaahh!!
Jibraan jumps to help his baby brother.
“Are you okay, little Laith?” he asks.
He rubs Little Laith’s head.
He kisses Little Laith’s tears.
“Can I kiss it better, Little Laith?” he asks.
“Can I hug it better, Little Laith?”
Dad smiles. “Aha!” says Dad.
“Look how kind and loving you are. That’s the best gift of all! That’s the one to practise everyday.”
Jibraan laughs. Little Laith laughs too.
“What’s your gift, Little Laith?” he asks.
Credits
Originally published by Book Dash under a Creative Commons Licensed BY 4.0. This book can be read for free on https://bookdash.org/books/the-best-gift and was created by: Chantelle & Burgen Thorne (Illustrator), Ezra Harerimana (Designer), Alison Ziki (Editor), Hani du Toit (Writer)
