When people asked the girl where she lived she answered "mama." Her chubby feet were bare--she was too young for real shoes. But she looked well-fed and was well-clothed. How do you return a child to her parents when she's too young to tell you where she lives?
As the devout left the mosque, word spread from one neighborhood to another. After morning prayer, many mosques through town picked up the announcement, and the parents who hadn't found their daughter got her back that night. "Kids just start walking," it was explained to me. "They go far. They walk and walk without paying attention to their path, and then can't find their way back."
Kids have a lot of freedom, and also high expectations of their capabilities.
Last weekend I went to a birthday party for a one year old. His cake was enormous, about as big as he is. After lighting a dozen candles his mom lifted him up by his armpits and said, "blow!" He wasn't too successful. Next she set him down on his unsteady feet and put a napkin-wrapped knife in his hand. "Let's cut the cake!" she said.
Her baby still has a lot to learn, but he's going to learn it fast. By the time his fourth birthday comes around he'll probably be used to handling sharp knives, lighting fires, and wandering around the paths near his house. And if he looses his way, his mom can count on her neighbors to guide him back to her.
