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  Baba’s Magical Cane

  by

  Nicole Sakhai

  Illustrated by Si Sakhai

  ISBN: 978-0-7443-1707-7

  Copyright 2011 by Nicole Sakhai

  All Rights Reserved

  Published by SynergEbooks

  http://www.synergebooks.com

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  One fall early morning, a little old man who was more than one hundred years old sat at his kitchen table eating cake and drinking tea. His children called him Baba, which means ‘father’ in Farsi.

  Baba was getting older and he needed a cane to help him walk. At first he didn’t like using it because it made him feel different from everyone else. The cane made him feel old and slow.

  What good can come from this old piece of wood anyway? Baba thought.

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  As the morning slowly came to an end, the kitchen became brighter and warmer from the sun. Baba decided he would go for a walk after he finished his tea, “My tea needs more sugar,” said Baba.

  Unfortunately, the sugar was on the other side of the table and hard for Baba to reach. He thought and thought what to do. No one was home to help him, so he had to figure a way to get the sugar on his own.

  He looked down and saw his cane. How could this old cane help? he thought.

  Taking the cane in his hand, he pointed the round top part toward the sugar bowl.

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  Going behind it with his cane, he pulled it toward him until he could reach the bowl on his own.

  “Okay, so my cane can do more than one thing, but what else can it do?”

  When Baba started his walk, the air was crisp, the sun warm. The sound of chirping birds and children playing made for a pleasant and peaceful walk. The trees were covered with green and gold leaves. One was overflowing with apples.

  Baba wanted an apple but the tree was too high for him to reach.

  Thinking what to do, he looked his cane. It's worth a try. Using his cane, he reached up high and shook the leaves, causing several of the apples to fall to the ground. “I did it!” he said.

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  But, there was one problem… how was he going to pick up the apple? Baba couldn’t bend down without falling. Unfortunately, this was something his cane couldn’t help him with.

  Luckily, some children, who were outside playing saw Baba from across the street.

  Immediately, they went over to help him pick up the apple.

  While munching on his apple, Baba was getting close to the neighborhood market.

  Because it was such a nice day, several people were sitting outside eating their lunch.

  The market parking lot was busy. From several feet away, Baba saw a runaway cart going very fast, headed directly for a car.

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  “Stop that cart!” Baba heard someone shout.

  With no time to think, Baba dropped his cane to the ground in the direction of the runaway cart.

  The cane was thick enough that it stopped the cart, knocking it over. A woman holding a young child came running toward Baba.

  “Thank you… you stopped that cart from damaging my car.”

  Baba nodded. He was happy to help.

  “If there is ever anything I can do for you…” the woman started to say, but Baba was already on his way down the street headed for the park.

  When he arrived, he sat down on his favorite bench, where he could see almost everything. The air was cool and crisp and the people in the park were wearing hats and coats. The reflection from the sun was so bright, it gave the lake a deep blue color.

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  Near where Baba was sitting, he noticed a little boy fishing. The water is too cold to fish, thought Baba. He watched the little boy as he patiently waited for a fish to bite. But none did.

  Time was passing; the sun was going down and it was starting to get dark.

  As Baba got up to leave, he noticed the boy was struggling with his fishing line.

  The line was stuck on something in the lake. The boy tried and tried, but he couldn’t get the line to budge.

  Determined to get his line, the frustrated boy put down his fishing pole, took off his shoes and socks and started walking into the water, not thinking about how cold the water would be or how deep the lake was.

  All that mattered to him was saving his brand new fishing pole.

  As the boy shivered, he sank deeper and deeper into the water.

  Baba shouted for him to come out. The boy couldn’t hear him, because just then, he had stepped into a deep part of the lake. Barely able to keep his head above water, the boy was splashing and yelling for help. He was going under fast!

  Baba watched in fear, yelling for someone to help. Unfortunately, everyone had gone home.

  He realized he was the only one who could save the boy. But how? He could barely walk unless he had his cane. His cane… of course!

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  He waded quickly in the freezing water as far as he could… time was running out!

  The boy was getting tired and finding it harder and harder to keep his head above the water. Baba reached out with his cane, yelling at the boy to grab it. The boy reached for the cane, but it was too far away! Baba went as far as he could without falling.

  “Try again!” he said to the boy. With both of them reaching as far as they could, the boy was finally able to grab the cane. Baba pulled the cane toward himself, being careful not to fall. The boy used his other arm to help him swim toward Baba.

  Just then, a man and a woman came rushing to the lake to help. Finally, they were able to get Baba and the boy safely back on land.

  Minutes later, people gathered at the lake to see what all the commotion was about.

  Ambulances arrived to make sure that Baba, the boy, the man and the woman were alright after being in the freezing water for such a long time. Luckily, everyone was fine.

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  People from the news stations arrived and asked Baba and the boy what happened.

  The next morning, Baba’s picture was in the paper. And a magazine wrote a story about him. He was called a hero! Because without his help the little boy could have drowned.

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  A few days later, there was a special ceremony for Baba at the Mayor’s office.

  Baba was given a special medal and everyone wanted to talk to him and shake his hand. When Baba went up to make his speech, he spoke of how less than a week earlier he was feeling helpless because he couldn’t do as much as he use to, and needed a cane to help him walk.

  “One thing I have learned,” he said, “is that you can take something not so fun in your life and turn it into something good to help others!”

  So never again did Baba mind having to use his cane. For he knew when it would come in handy.

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  This book is dedicated to the memory of:

  EBRAHIM SAKHAI born in Esfahan, Iran in 1899. Ebrahim came to the United States in 1985 to live with his wife and son. He worked part-time as an accountant at his grandson’s rug store. Ebrahim became a citizen in 1997. He lived with his son and his daughter in-law and their two dogs up until his death in 2005.

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  Nicole Sakhai, Baba's Magical Cane

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