We Want A Christmas Tree!

Abraham and Sarah were twins. Their family had migrated to the UK earlier on that year. Everything was very different from the town in which they had grown up where markets bustled with traders calling out what they had to sell, and the smell of spices filled the air, as sweet potatoes baked over an open range.

There were no longer fresh vegetable and fruit markets where villagers brought the produce they had grown into town on trucks, carts or bikes. Now, there were supermarkets with their bright lights, shopping carts and prepackaged fruit and vegetables. They looked nice, but somehow they didn't taste the same as those back home.

Back home in the old country Sarah and Abraham always knew when it was time to say their prayers, because at the corner of nearly every street was a mosque and the call to prayer would ring throughout the city like an echo when the time for prayer arrived. Now, it was easy to forget it was time for prayer, because there were no mosques that called to remind them.

The twins, Abraham and Sarah, were surprised to find that school was also different in England. Back home, boys and girls went to separate schools, but here, they were in the same class in the same school. It was very strange and they felt shy, but at least they had each other.

After a little while they started to settle in well and made some friends, but they missed their grand parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins back home.

It was the end of November. The children had just recovered from chickenpox. They had not been out of the house for two weeks or so. First Sarah caught it and then Abraham. But now they were better and the doctor told them they could go back to school. Winter had come early, and their mother had made a nice warm fire in the living room and the logs of wood crackled away as the flames danced their way up the chimney.

The twins were tired of watching television and were looking out of the window at the cars going by -- everything looked so cold outside! Then, suddenly, little white snow-flakes started to flutter down from the gray sky above -- they had never seen snow before and called excitedly for their mother to come and see.

It wasn't long before everything outside was covered in white. The street lights flickered, magic filled the air as the snow sparkled and glistened like tiny diamonds falling from the sky and the trees and bushes all took on funny shapes.

Sarah and Abraham wanted to go outside and play in the snow, but it was getting late and their mother told them they must wait until tomorrow, after all, she reminded them they had only just got over chickenpox!

Abraham was the first to wake up the next morning. He rushed to the window to see if the snow was still there. It was! He ran into Sarah's room and woke her up to tell her the good news. She was very excited and together they looked out of the window at a new world cloaked in white. The snow had stopped falling, everywhere looked so beautiful, and the winter's sun made everything sparkle -- it all looked very inviting!

Just then their mother called, "Sarah, Abraham have you said your Fajr prayer yet?" With all the excitement they had quite forgotten, so they quickly made ablution and prayed. When they came downstairs their breakfast was ready on the table, and they ate it up in record time.

They wanted to go out and play in the snow -- but they knew they had to go to school, but, there was a little time. Their mother gave them their packed lunches and told them to put them in their school bags. They were so anxious to go outside in the snow that their mother did not have to tell them to put their coats and boots on -- they were ready in no time! Their mother told them that she would drive them to school that day instead of catching the school bus.

Just then the telephone rang and their mother answered. She seemed to be talking for such a long time, and the children could not wait to go outside. Abraham opened the front door and peered out ..