Protect

There was a village that wanted to protect its people from illnesses. They built tall walls to protect their homes, planted garlic to protect against disease, and taught children to protect their bodies with healthy food. Every morning, villagers drank clean water with lemon to protect their tummies. They exercised daily to protect their bodies and wore masks to protect them from viruses. They washed their hands ten times a day and stopped kissing each other to protect themselves from viruses. Later they didn’t even talk with each other, they were so afraid of illnesses.

One day a little girl got ill in the village. She didn’t want to eat, and didn't want to speak. Her mother didn’t care for her, because she was also afraid of getting the illness. She watched the girl from the other room and called the doctor. The doctor came and put a mask on his face, examined the girl, but could not help. The next day another girl got ill with the same illness. Slowly, more and more kids were unwell  and nobody knew why. The children didn’t want to eat, didn’t want to speak, didn’t want to do anything.

People tried to find out what went wrong. They looked at the water, the food, but everything was fine.

An old woman lived in the village, her house was opposite the school. She saw that the school was closed, because all the children were ill. It made her very sad and she was thinking what to do. ‘When I was a little girl,’ she said, ‘I felt the love of my mother. It made me feel good and happy. Give love to your kids. They need your kisses and care.’

The mothers listened to the old woman. They started to kiss their children, showing them love. And soon, the children started to get better. From then on the villagers protected their body but also protected their feelings by caring for each other.

• How do you protect yourself from diseases?
• How does your mother protect you?