It all happened unintentionally

It all happened unintentionally
ISAURA LEE
This book includes a learning guide for families and educators
Dear families and educators,
I would like to present to you this children story, which was prepared by the Council’s Welfare Department within
the frame of the strategy against rumours, created to stop racism.
Apart from the story, a learning guide is offered so that mothers, fathers, and educators can further study with the
children their understanding of community values, in a way that is both enjoyable and fun.
The story relates how a ‘Black Legend’ spread in Fuenlabrada because of untrue rumours started by accident and
unintentionally, leading to personal and social damage to Ahmed’s family, which is originally from Morocco.
Our main character –Dani- gathering from outer appearances the wrong conclusions, says something which ‘he
thought was true’, not being conscious of the consequences of it.
Therefore, the importance of the educator, in this case the mother, who makes him face and mend his mistake;
and also of the act of courage and honesty which changes the course of the story.
Social change is a process that requires not only great deeds, but also our contribution in the form of everyday
small actions.
I hope this story, which I am sure you will enjoy, helps to build a society more conscious, fair and committed.
Yours affectionately,
Manuel Robles Delgado
Mayor of Fuenlabrada
It all happened unintentionally
Campaign management:
SEMI, Programme for Cultural Diversity
Welfare Council Department.
Fuenlabrada City Council.
Technical management: ideasinfinitas.es
Author: Isaura Lee.
Copyright: Ana Campoy, Esperanza Fabregat,
Javier Fonseca and Raquel Míguez.
Illustrator: Mar Blanco.
In Fuenlabrada we didn’t have any shop like the one Rachid’s parents had. Before they came from
Morocco, we just got what you can see everywhere: the butcher’s, the baker’s, the haberdasher’s, the
newsagents… We got everything but a second-hand shop like the one the Ahmeds have –this is the
name of Rachid’s family.
It is a really cool shop, with a sign on the door that says: ‘Old things accepted’ written with a beautiful
calligraphy, also used for the big neon sign that has the shop’s name on it: HAV´ITALL.
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My mum loves the shop’s name. Every time she pronounces it, she giggles.
–Look at the beautiful handbag I bought at HAV´ITALL – she announces while we are having lunch; and
then right away, she has the giggles –: HAV´ITALL!
My friend Pepa says that Rachid’s granddad is a wizard because he can transform things. For example,
one time Tai’s mum gave him two jumpers that had shrunk after being washed, and then…
abracadabra! Mr. Ahmed transformed them into a pair of slippers.
That is what Rashid’s family does: they recycle old things so that they can be sold at Hav´itall.
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Everything was as usual in our lives and in Fuenlabrada, until the day when, suddenly and by
accident, as it can happen when you strike a match next to tinder, the black legend of the Ahmeds
was started and then spread.
It all began at the school gates.
At first, everything was going on as usual: Tai had been the first to get there and he was waiting for us,
feeling dead bored. His parents were so busy since his sister had been born that they didn’t pay any
attention to him. That’s the reason Tai was all the time outside, as lonely as the Artic sea.
The next ones to arrive were, as usual, the twins Pepa and Jonathan, who always walked in silence.
Almost every day I was the last one. All of us have a flaw, grandpa Ahmed says, and mine is having my
head in the clouds. I can easily be distracted, let’s say, by a fly and I can also forget what time it is. On
top of that, the wind had broken my see-through umbrella, and it was so cool watching the rain fall
over my head!
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But that day it I wasn’t the last to arrive, it was actually Rashid. He showed up at the end of the street,
and started to run leaving his mum behind.
–Hello, Rach – greeted Pepa, who says that Rach has the most beautiful eyes in Fuenlabrada.
–Hello, guys –answered Rach.
His mum came towards us slowly. When she was almost at the gates, I noticed her hat. It had so many
colours that it looked as if she had a cockatoo on her head. Then I spotted it. It was quite a big brooch,
with a blue gemstone in the middle and blue feathers all around it, and it was pinned to the hat.
When she was just a few steps away from us, Rachid’s mum waved goodbye and got on the bus that
stops in front of our school.
–That brooch you mum is wearing on her hat is my mum’s– I scolded Rachid.
–That is not true –answered Rachid, his face red as if he had smudged his cheeks with strawberry jam.
–Yes, it is! – I kept on– Do I look stupid to you? That brooch is my mum’s.
I hadn’t made it up. I had seen that blue gemstone on my mum before.
Then the school bell rang and we got in.
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In the playground, just before Marta, the Spanish teacher, asked us to come in at once, Tai whispered in
my ear:
–My father has lost his glasses. Maybe Rachid’s mum has nicked them for the second-hand shop.
So far, it had never crossed my mind that Rachid’s parents could be a gang of international thieves
specialized in old things.
–Surely they have my grandpa’s book of poems –said Jonathan in the playground– It was signed by
somebody who was famous.
Pepa scratched her head:
–And mum cannot find her fishing hat –she added– Do you think they could have it there?
Jonathan and I shrugged.
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From that day on, Rachid stayed as mute as he was when he first came to the school and couldn’t speak
our language. He looked like a different person. He would always look down. When we had the music
class, he would arrive to the classroom, open his leather bag, put out several metal ribs that looked like
an old antenna and then he’d unfold them until he set up his music stand… Some kids would nudge
each other and laugh, but Rachid was the only one in the class that had a music stand to hold his sheet
music. What is more, his fold and unfold stand was real cool.
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Time went by, and then, one afternoon when we were again at the school gates at the end of our
lessons, everything started to change. The black legend of the Ahmeds changed its course, as it
happens when a boomerang returns.
That afternoon there was a parents meeting with our tutor. I was at the school gates with my mum
and without my umbrella when Rach’s mum showed up at the end of the street. She was wearing
her cockatoo hat with the blue gemstone brooch.
–Look at that! –I tugged the sleeve of my mum’s coat– She has stolen your brooch.
Mum looked at Mrs. Ahmed, who had already arrived, and smiled:
–Good afternoon, Fatima.
–Good afternoon, Paloma.
Paloma is my mum and I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t angry with Mrs. Ahmed. And there
was more to come. After Rachid’s mum had gone into the school, mum stared at me: her nostrils
were very open, I could see a ’V’ forming between her brows and she was breathing like a buffalo.
–Dani, how do you dare to say that? –this time it was my mum the one tugging the sleeve of my
coat–. Nobody has stolen a thing from me.
–But that brooch…
She didn’t let me finish.
–I don’t care if it’s a brooch or a coach! –she cried in a whisper, using a superpower that only mums
have–. That gemstone was on a belt I took to the shop. Nobody stole it! It’s theirs!
Next thing, as it happens in the cinema when the lights are turned on, I could see through all of it: I
remembered my mum’s belt, the one she hadn’t worn in ages and that was fastened with a blue
gemstone.
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I felt awful. I was ashamed and sad at the same time. I felt sick and I didn’t want to go back into the
school, not for anything in the world. And on top of that I didn’t know how to tell my mum that because
of me all the kids of the school said that the Ahmeds were stealing stuff for their shop.
–What’s the problem now? –mum asked– the meeting is about to start and I don’t want to be late.
I tried to speak but instead of words only tears and snot came out.
–What’s wrong with you, Dani? –mum’s nostrils were back to normal- Are you ill? Do you feel alright?
–I… I…
It was really hard, but at last I told her all that had happened. How the black legend of the Ahmeds was
started, because of me.
Mum cleaned my face with a handkerchief, checked my shirt and trousers to see if everything was OK
and then she bent down so as to look into my eyes.
–Daniel: what you have done was wrong, really wrong. And we are going to fix it right now.
–How are we going to do it?
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By the time we got in, everybody had arrived: the parents, the children, and Luis, my tutor.
My shoes felt really heavy, but mum made me go to my tutor’s desk. They spoke quietly. I started
counting the floor tiles until my mum came to me; she put her hands on my shoulders and made me
face everybody.
My knees went weak.
–Daniel has something to tell you –she announced.
As soon as she said that, she moved aside and I felt I was all alone in the world.
– The… The… The brooch wasn’t my mother’s –I whispered, because shame was tightening my throat
and therefore my voice was deafened.
The moment I spoke I heard a murmur spreading all around the room:
–What did he say? I didn’t get it
–What was it?
– Something about a roach.
I breathed in deeply before I spoke up:
–I said that the blue brooch belongs to Rachid’s mum and not to mine!
I think I heard an ‘oooooooh’ and I think that looking out of the corner of my eye I saw my friends
fidgeting as if they had ants in their pants.
I raised my gaze and looked at Pepa, and then at Tai and Jonatan. The three had put up their hands.
And right there, in the middle of the classroom, we told everybody how we had made up the black
legend of the Ahmeds, and we said we didn’t mean to. After that, we said to Rach and his mum that we
were sorry.
When we finished the class was in silence. We looked at each other and then we looked at the floor tiles.
Jonatan was the first one that said something:
–Poor Rachid…
–We will sort this out, we are really going to do it –Pepa continued–. From now on, we are going to tell
everybody how Rachid’s granddad can resurrect dead things.
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And that’s what we did.
That afternoon, we made the story change its course. A few weeks later, all Fuenlabrada was queuing to
get into the shop where they resurrected dead things. They arrived with worthless stuff and left with
something beautiful on their hands and a broad smile on their faces.
I took my see-through umbrella because I didn’t want to get rid of it even if it was broken. Grandpa
Ahmed examined it and disassembled the ribs and stretchers.
After a few minutes… abracadabra! My umbrella was transformed into a music stand that folded and
unfolded, just like the one Rachid had.
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Nowadays my sheet music is always in order. What is more, my music stand is so cool that everybody
asked for one to Rach’s granddad. My teacher wanted one for her rock band, too. Even the band from
the city’s school band asked grandpa Ahmed for some music stands, so that they could play in the
bandshell we have in The Park of the Fountain.
The music stand has become so fashionable that Rashid’s shop gets orders from other cities.
The best thing of all of this is that since the sheet music is not blown over, every time the sun is shining
our music class is outside.
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Reading and activities guide
1. SYNOPSIS AND STORY’S INTENTION
Synopsis:
Once upon a time there was in Fuenlabrada a little boy called Rachid. His family, the Ahmeds, had
a shop where they recycled old things and sold them after having transformed them into
something different.
One morning Dani, one of Rachid’s friends, accused Mrs. Ahmed of having stolen a brooch. After a
short while, all the school talked about the Ahmeds stealing all the stuff they were selling in their
shop… That’s the way the black legend of the Ahmeds was born and how it spread… But then, one
day, things changed.
The purpose of the story is to teach young readers to have respect for the ones that are different, as a
way to prevent and stop xenophobia.
The story of Rachid, a character that any child will easily identify with, will help them to internalize the
great power words have, and how damaging they can be if we don’t use them carefully.
The text also deals secondarily with other themes, such as friendship, honesty, courage and joint
responsibilities.
It all happened unintentionally also takes into account recycling as a topic which is both relevant and
current for 21st century citizens.
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2. READING COMPREHENSION
1.
Why was Rachid mute the first time he arrived to the school?
2.
Who starts the rumour about the brooch?
3.
What other objects have disappeared?
4.
What does the granddad use to make the music stand?
5.
What’s the name of the Ahmeds shop? Do you know any other shop names that are funny?
Make up one.
6.
What do the children think Rachid’s granddad does? Why?
7.
How does Dani feel when he discovers the truth about the brooch?
Why?
8.
Why is Dani’s mum angry?
9.
What do they decide to do to sort out the problem?
10. How do they change the rumours into something good?
11. What have the children learnt in the end?
12. Has anything similar ever happened to you? What was it?
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3. ACTIVITIES TO HAVE FUN AND LEARN
A Young reporter
Rachid’s family comes from another country. Surely you know somebody: a schoolmate, neighbor or
shopkeeper who is also a foreigner. Why don’t you become a roving reporter and complete this
questionnaire?
The more nationalities you find, the more interesting your research will be!
FILE CARD (example)
Country: France
Traditional dish: (if it is possible, write the recipe down)
Crêpes (flour, eggs, milk, a spoonful of butter. Mix all the ingredients with a blender).
Game: Escargot (similar to hopscotch, but with a snail shape).
Traditional celebrations: ‘Poisson d’Avril’ (April’s fish) It’s similar to our Fool’s Day. It is the
custom to hang a fish made of paper on others’ people backs, to make a joke.
How to say hello: Bonjour!
Celebrity: Napoleon Bonaparte.
Draw their flag:
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FILE CARD
Country:
Traditional dish:
Game:
Traditional celebrations:
How to say hello:
Celebrity:
Draw their flag:
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B The world’s flag
Imagine we lived in a world where there were no borders: there wouldn’t be any countries and we
would share the same flag. It would be a very special flag, wouldn’t it? It would have colors and
drawings that expressed our union, our shared values, and what applies equally to everybody.
Sharpen your crayons and your imagination and draw this amazing flag!
Later, at home, with your parents or with your friends, you can talk about why you painted your flag
the way you did.
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C
Recycling at home
Maybe you remember what happens in the story: Rachid’s granddad transforms Dani’s broken umbrella
into something new, a music stand. At home you can also find things you can use as raw material to
build something new: clothes pegs, shoelaces, toilet paper rolls, buttons… We encourage you to use
your imagination to assemble your own toys with materials you have around.
Not only will it be funny to make them, you will love playing with them, too!
THE PEGZOO (example):
You need: Clothes pegs, markers, a pencil, glue and scraps of paper of different
colors.
Make your own Zoo with clothes pegs!! Discover the animals that are hidden inside
them! It will be really easy to make a crocodile or a ferocious wolf… but surely you
can think of others: fishes, birds, butterflies, even vampires and dragons! These and
many more will be created thanks to your crayons and your ingenuity. You can use
the scraps of papers and the glue to decorate them, to make the butterfly wings or
even the shark fin.
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D Open air market
Surely you have at home a lot of things that are not used anymore, like Dani does. If this also happens
to your friends, nothing stops you from starting a market where you can exchange things and
discover how barter works.
You can propose it at school or home. Ask your family or your teacher for help and put a few objects
you want to exchange in a box. After that, you should all agree on a day and place where you can
exchange them. Be ready to find yourself excited to use ‘for the first time’ these second hand items!
E
Change the course of the story
Rachid’s story could have had a completely different ending, because there are many different ways to fix
any situation.
How would you have sorted the problem the Ahmeds have? What ending can you come up with for I didn’t
mean it?
Read the story again until you get to this part:
“Time went by, and then, one afternoon when we were again at the school gates at the end of our lessons,
everything started to change. The black legend of the Ahmeds changed its course, as it happens when a
boomerang returns.”
Why don’t you think of another way to change the course of the story? Go for it and write your own ending.
You can be a writer, too!
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Rachid is upset. Rumour has it that all the things that have
disappeared from his schoolmates’ houses are in the shop his
granddad Ahmed has. Could it be true? Learn with Rachid
and his friends how words can hurt if they are used carelessly
and what is the way to make a rumour change its course.